CHINESE "SMUGGLERS."

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17294, 18 October 1919, Page 13

CHINESE "SMUGGLERS."

i SOVEREIGNS IN BAGGAGE. QUEER SCENE AT MELBOURNE. [>Rom OFR OWN cnßßß?povpprNr."] SYDNEY. Oct. «. ! The law to-day «ivs that only twenty i

sovereigns may be taken not of Australia j and they must be taken openly. The I I sovereign is worth up to 50e in the East to-dayand so the Chinese try to smuggle them away. There was a queer scene on j a Melbourne wharf this week, just before the steamer Eastern left for China I with 100 homeward-bound Chinese among j her passengers. These ChrnJse* carried Sheir luggage very carefully down to the wharf, hours before the boat was to sail, piled it there and sat on guard. The customs detectives, ! always suspicious of the Chinese, decided to have an extra careful inspection. A group of them gathered before the mountain of luggage and the Chinese stirred uneasily. An official opened a box and noticed a small mirror. It seemed heavy. Undo the back" said the inspector. The j Chinese owner protested earnestly. The j j back was ripped open and 34 sovereigns j were found there gummed to pieces of paper. Kim Sow was arrested. | I A cube box puzzled the detectives. I ! They could not get at the inside of it. ! | They forced off the lid. There imbedded j j in a most ingenious fashion in the wood- i j work, were 105 sovereigns. Chin Lin i I was arrested. ! | An aped Chinaman who clung- affectionI ately to a hag of raisins aroused attention. ] j A detective thrust a speculative hand | among the raisins and the old man j shrieked. Eleven sovereigns were found. | Ah Chow was arrested. i The detective* examined curiously an j alarm clock, which was ticking innocently. Whaffor, break clock." said the agonised owner. They took the back off; nine more sovereigns. Ixx>cv Poo was arrested. Then one of the distressed onlookers, a Shanghai man, threw up his hands shrieked, and ran towards the gates. He was pursued and brought hack. " Why should he run?" asked the officials. Thrv examined him carefully. Inside the leather lining of his hat they found 25 • sovereigns. Ling King was arrested. • A detective picked up a photograph from among some clothing. The owner , gave a sort of jump. So they rut open , the back of the photograph. ' Two more I ! sovereigns, and Ah Chee was arrested. > I The Eastern sailed eventually, but i nearly a dozen Chinese and more than •| 200 sovereigns, hooked to China, stayed . I behind in custody. i TTm^?TT?ZT7rT—rT"—