"MOONSHINERS."

Evening Star, Issue 17333, 22 April 1920, Page 7

"MOONSHINERS."

FAMOUS DKTECUVKS GOOD WORK. lit the course of his address on behalf of accused persons in the Criminal Court recently (says the Melbourne 'Herald') a barrister commented severely on the methods of the police who had employed a woman to Secure evidence. .Mr Justice M|Arthur tokl the jury that *it had nothing to do with the police methods, and the comments regarding them should, not influence the jury, lie referred to a. celebrated detective who utilised himself in many ways so effectively that he was insti'i::iier.tal in breaking up gang,; of illicit diMiiiers. The name of the detective was not mentioned, but it was clear that Detective-inspector John Mitchell Christie was the olhVer to whom the Judge retailed. .iir Christie, who retired many years ago. v,';u a past ma.-ter in the art of disguise, flu aifected the characier of a travelling tinker in the Wairnambool district nearly oO years ago in order to gain information relative to the illicit, distillers ill that part. 01 the country. Complete success attended his investigaand the gangs v.\ re captured, together with their apparatus for making the spirit. The detective-inspector had been instructed how to use a soldering lion by a metropolitan tinsmith before he i-tartcd on liis nii.-siun to the western district, and many of the funnels gave him work in repairing leaky dishes and ran;;. Une woman emploved him to repair a "worm"' used bv the iiii, it distillers, and that was tho ! eginning of the end for that gang, whose a:.est followed shortlv after the visit of tiie unsuspected and eleverlydisraiised tinker, wlio. the. people of the district said, "looked like a poor old v oni-out tramp." ,S,rne of the police v.ho were the Cusumi.s olnciais i n trackiu;; down the " nKvm.-hiuors " were at, times completely i> v the dis-gm-ed leader of the expedition. a .Salvationist rolling -,he • -\y av q, v • Christie also secured valuable information against illicit distillers, and on one occasion he dressed and worked as a street scavenger, sweeping gutters, in order to obtain the- information necessary to bring a lawbreaker to justice. Hi R successes cursed such excitement in the western district that a newspaper, the publication ot whu-h has now ceased, decided to publish a portrait of ;he dining man of rnnnv disguis.es. Unfortunately, his photograph was unobtainable in time for the 'issue of the newspaper, and the' resourceful journalist sent hj s ri iee t to pre?* with a portrait «f the Karl of ITopetoun (who was at tfWit time the Governor of Victoria), and lahaHed it "Detective-inspector Cnnstie. ' Xobodv was more amused by it than Lord Hopetoun himself.