CHINESE STOWAWAYS.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13362, 2 March 1909, Page 6

CHINESE STOWAWAYS.

There may be some exaggeration in the reports from Australia and China of tho operations of a syndicate for the smuggling of Chinese into Australia, but there can be little doubt that 2Xtensivo operations of some sort have been going on for some time, with a good deal of success. Since the discovery of twenty stowaways in the steamer Eastern last December, Australians have been prepared to believe almost anything about tho ingenuity of as smugglers of Iranian goods. These Chinese wero foun<l in two tiny caves in the cargo at tho bottom of the chip. Investigation showed that they had .been fed by the Chinese crew, and that the cargo had been so stowed at Hong-Kong as to leave passages by which they couid get to tho surface of the cargo, and perhaps tho dock, for air. Above th* hold wero tho Chinese passengers' quarters, in which was a room for storinp rice. In the floor of this room a trap had been cut, leading to tho hold, and through this secret aperture, food and drink had been passed* to tho stowaways. How long this ingenious system of concealment had been in operation no one knew, but the ' Sydney Morning Herald" was justified in remarking that a echeme that had reach, ed such perfection could not bo an experiment. It was rumoured that thirteen other stowaways got ashore from the samo vessel. According to what the "Herald" claimed to bo "inside- , * information, the average stowaway was not a labourer imported l by an employer, but a man who wanted to join a relative in Australia. He would approach one of the crew of a ship going to Australia, and the seaman would drop a hint that such-and-euch an agent did that kind of thing. The agent would, then be approached, and on being satisfied as to certiin paints—particularly as to payment—would undertake to ship the would-be stowaway to Australia, and have him landed safely. Once tho eearoli of the ship in Sydney was over, it was an easy matter to smugglie th© stowaway ashore. The prioo per head mentioned' in our cable messages yesterday was £150 ; the "Herald" thought it was £80. The agent had to make arrangements -with the stevedore and his men, and with every member of tho Chinese crew. Besides the main Australian ports there is the Northern Territory, with its great stretch of unwatch«?tl coast-line, to be considered. It is possible that hundreds of Chinese enter Australia by th© back door every year. In December the Federal Government passed an Act inflicting a severe penalty on the captain and: owners of any vessel having Chines© stowaways < n board, but wo are afraid; the most careful captain is no match for the cunning of the Chinese, when such large profits are at stake. It looks as if the Commonwealth may have to adopt some such system of registration as is in vogue in the Transvaal. The ter in charge of the- above measure admitted that it was difficult to say what the alien population of Australia, was. West Australian figures, however, throw a significant light on the stowaway question. The census of 1901 showed 14CK3 Chinese in the State, and' a rough census taken test year gave an iurreas« of between 600 and TOO. But the Customs returns cf arrivals and departures recorded an increase of only 235. Mr Deakin was evidently right in saving that the ingemiity of Chinese methods of evading the Customs officers had increased- in proportion to official vigilance. Australia stands committed to the White Australia policy, and; is not likely to allow a syndicate of Chinamee to grow wealthy by law-breaking.