JAPANESE SPIES.

NZ Truth, Issue 12, 16 November 1907, Page 5

JAPANESE SPIES.

THE TRICKS OF TWO • MONKEYS.

Deserters from the Ship Hobart

"Tell a Tale at Auckland.

In Japan every member of the community is a Government agent, and when an unsuspecting New Zealander arrives at Tokio, the luggage porter who handles his belongings duly acquaints the authorities with the circumstance, and the hotel-keep-er keeps the police posted up m the movements of the New Zealand stranger. The'rickshaw man is an agent of the police, and if the visitor makes a purchase of the smallest kind the happening is chronicled m tho special records with embarrassing exactness of detail. Even when •the European inspects the immoral brown ladies exhibited m the mollshops to . tempt his fastidious and lascivious taste, and he selects the prettiest as the plaything of an hour, his temporary missus gives a full and faithful description of the proceedings, and these are filed Avith other information respecting the person from over the sea. This system of espionage is not. confined to Japanese shores, but is carried beyond them, and every individual from, the land where they worship the bones of their illustrious ancestors is a small brown detective, With a highly-devel-oped gift for the assimilation of useful information. There are repiesentatives of Britain's treacherous ally acting as menials m every part of thi world, and these are cautiously ob taihing information respecting armament, defence preparation, and numerical strength of possible fighters m view of. the time when the white race will be matched against the brown. In Japan no stranger is permitted within oniles of any fortification, and the use of a camera or drawing pencil is absolutely forbidden. In Australasia the smirking Oriental is shown with pride over out miserable attempts at defence, and the New Zealand Government even places special trains at the Jap-o'-warsmen's disposal to enable them to find out the lie of the future Japanese country. These remarks are prompted by the views that two young Japanese, who turn out to be students, were recently brouc.-ht before the Auckland Magistrate's Court on a charge of DESERTING THE BRITISH SHIP rfbbart on November 5. Of course, the British Mercantile Marine is now largely composed of foreigners and the boy of the bull-dog breed is getting so scarce that his anatomy will presently 'be exhibited as an extinct creature beside the bones of the moa and the dodo, but it is bad for our shipping when the Jap pokes, his nose into it, and he had probably learned all he wished to know when he left the vessel Hobart at Auckland, it is also bad for Auck-' land and New Zealand generally that these spies should attempt to gain a footing m this country. This brand of alien is even more objectionable than the pig-tailed article, because he has been taught western methods of warfare by the fat-headed whites, and he is a geographical menace to the people of A ustralasia. The yellow samples m the northern city exhibited surprise when they found themselves m the lock-up, and explained that their great desire was to become acquainted with the "grand and honorable English nation," the rulers of the world, and m accordance with which they had set out on their wanderings. In support of their explanation, they concocted the following epistle with infinite pains : — "W 7 e can't return to our boat with such unhonorable face. If we should return to the ship, we have not any other method than death as a Japanese. We are Japanese students. When we learned English language we will return to Japan immediately. I beg your pardon. If you please, let us stop at this town,, and we will complain to our captain, to pay us off by our interpreter. We indeedly compunctive, too, that our last Conduct was no good." The authors of the above remarks, despite their expertness m caligraphy and phrase-making, affected to be unable to understand any English spoken to them, and the services of an interpreter had to be obtained. The yoimfcest of the foreigners was engaged on the vessel as caMn-boy, m which position it is presumed ' he would have to understand Orders hurled at him m the English tongue. The elder Jap was quartermaster, and he, too, appears to have been "pointing" when he said he didn't understand English. The cabin-boy explained that he jiad asked for cash repeatedly, but had been told that it was being sent to someone m Japan, while the Quartermaster thought that by leaving the money due to him from the ship, he Would depart FROM PIER WITH HONOR. The vessel's captain informed the Court that the youngest nuisance was a plain, unadulterated liar, as he had been engaged as cabin-boy at a shilling a month after the captain had 'ieen pestered by requests m Moji Harbor to take the youth aboard, although they didn't require a cabin-boy at the time. The brown • George Washington- merely wanted to see the world, and the captain didn't seem to care if he never saw him agaih. The quartermaster was required on the ship, however, and his return was demanded. The levanting couple were remanded till the vessel sailed, when they were duly placed aboard to see some more of the world.