That Heathen Chinee.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XVIII, Issue 1774, 21 December 1885, Page 3

That Heathen Chinee.

At Sydney lately, according to a contemporary, a gentleman lost upwards of four hundred poultry within five months, and latterly he took to spending the night among the outbuildings of his premises, in the hope of being able to stop these foul proceedings. One morning, towards the end of last month, as he was making a final inspection of the place before retiring, he came unexpectedly upon a party of about thirty ducks who were starting for town without leave. They were accompanied by four Chinaman, who had paid a casual visit to the locality, and were now engaged in escorting their feathered friends on their journey. The X, 3. W. colonist brought his gnu te bis shoulder and ordered the whole party to stand. The ducks obeyed the command, and abandoned their contemplated excursion, but the China, men, who bad an urgent appointment, started hastily for town. The colonist then sent two charges of No 6 shot in pursuit, and one of the Celestials being struck amidships came to the ground. Ue endeavoured to escape further consequences by pretending to be dead, bat his assailant, who probably thought that even a defunct Chinaman was of some value, if only to the coroner, raised him kindiy but firmly by the hair, and took him into custody. When he appeared at the ocnrt the exact locality of hie troubles was explained fcy pantomine, and when the prisoner positively declined all invitations to he seated, and obviously preferred to balance himself in a son of doubled-np position on the front of the dock, a light dawned upon the juiioUl mind, and the police magistrate forbore to press the point. Strangely enough no comment was made on the prosecutor’s manner of administering double-barrelled justice on his own account.