Proitable.

Otago Witness, Issue 2151, 16 May 1895, Page 49

Proitable.

Chinamen are very clever in devising means of raising money, and the Chinese Consulgeneral at Singapore, in the Straits Settlements, who is a master of this art, discovered a very iageuifius method of enriching himself at the expense of liis fellow countrymen. Buug very benevolent, or wishing to be thought so, he exprpsud himself as greatly troibled about alleged ill-treatment in China of Chinamen fr< rathe Straits, and he therefore issued to returning Chinamen letters of protection called passports. These protecting passports involved payment of fees from Idol to 4d')l ; and es the yearly number of returning China m/n is euorni'jus, and the fees were consular perquif.it '8, the *y3tem was an excellent ote— tor tbe Consul. Suno of the coolies, however, did not much appreciate the plan, and as many of them did not voluutaiily apply for passports, iho Consul issued "Ju-Tan," or letters tf instruction, ordering people to do so. This was rather too much, at) d the Sti aits Got eminent interfered by issuing a placard warning nil Cbiuamen tha*; their Cousul had no juris'liction over them. While it lasted the Cousul is said to have pocketed £40,000.