July 28, 1902.)
their satisfaction that the foreign executive | officers of steamers have done all in their power to prevent the evil.
We cannot do better than supply you with extracts from the Chief Officer's report on the Kaifong's case: ----
April 3d, 3 p.m. Finished loading main ballast tank, had tauk lids put on and gave stredore orders to fill top of tank with cargo. and saw them myself preparing to do so.
April 4th, a.m. Went down below to have a look round, found all hatches on top of tank. I asked the stevedore if the top of tank was full and he said it was; they were theu stowing cargo on top of same.
3 p.m. same day, Cargo all on board except a few odd packages and one beat.
K
At 9 m. I turned in, giving quarter. masters strict orders to call me at once if they saw any sampuns come alongside with strange people in them, but they failed to do so, saying they saw no one.
April 5th, 530 a.m. The u engineer came to me and said he had seen a number of strange faces on board and did not think they belonged to the crew. I immediately searched the ship fore and aft, where it was possible to go, but found no one. When the crew and pas sengers were all back from being disinfected the 2nd officer and myself starched the ship again and
found 6 stowaways in different parts of the ship: I got the besun and quarter- masters and put them all out of the ship, and then made another search Int fennd no more, and, finding such a number, naturally con- cluded there were no more, The deck was crowded with Chinese. I spoke to several and told them too on shore and they either turned cut to be stevedore's tallymn, or passengeis, or friends of same. At the time the doctor was examining crew and passengers I had to send sampars away from the ship's side, and while crew and passengers were mustered on deck officers and engineers searched. the ship and could find no one. At 2 pm. the vessel sailed.
•
April 6th, a.m. The Captain came to me and said he could bear voices down the ventilator leading in to main 'tweendecks. The hatches were immediately taken off and three stowaways were found. The Captain gave me orders to block the door leading out of No. 1 into No.
tweendecks up, which was done at cuce by shifting cargo in No. 2 'tweendecks and putting it up against the door.
}
F
71
the steamer carefully searched, although we slackness in carrying out our orders of having must admit that with mar y Chinese passengers on board it cannot be eray to detect stowaways.
S. T. C.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
private enquiry into the whole and, after careful examination, were enabled affair,
to exonerate the foreign executive officers from blame. The fact is, we and they were the victims of a carefully devised plot, in which every native on beard the vessel was concerted and an interested party. The native
Hongkong. 28th June, 1902. hope wis there of discovering the plot when 60 | letter of 2 th inst., enclosing copies of corres- crew number 60; the foreign officers 6. What Sir. We leg to acknowledge receipt of your were working against 67 one whatever, pondence that has passed between your Cham- that the captain's suspicions were aroused on penalties on stowaways by vessels to the except by chance, and it was purely accidental ber and the Colonial Secretary relating to the the voyage and led him to institute a searcha Philippine Islands, cn which subject you ask took three or four days, owing to the connivance hunt from one part of the ship to the other that us to express our views.
of the crew, before the entire lot was discovered.
It was not unusual, in the rush and crush of busily occupied in their various duties that they loading in Hongkong, for deck officers to be to have not time to be ecntinually on the watch | against stowaways, and, as the receiving, stow- ing, and discharging of cargo is under the chief officer's direction, in the bards of a native compradore and ștevedore, who form part of the easier for them then to arrange the stowage of crew and travel on the vessel, nothing is cargo, while the officers' backs are turned, in accommodation of stowaways who come such a way as to leave vacant spaces for the board at night ard are secreted away with the knowledge of the quarter-master en while the officers are asleep,
watch
April 9th, Heard voices down ventilator leading to top of main ballast tank; searched agalu lut found no one. The Captain, then asked me if I was sure the top of the tank was full of cargo and I told him it was, also: gain asked the stevedore and he said it was properly ful. The cargo was then removed from off the top of the tank, hatches taken off, and found there was no cargo on top of tank; searched down below and found tins of hot chow and water. The port tank lid was removed, and in the starboard Lunker the engineers fotud 29 stowaways; searched ship but found no more.
April 10th. Searched ship and found more stowaways down after between decks, having to come out of their hiding place on accouul of the heat.
**
|
April 11th. Captain, officers and engineers searched ship fore and aft, but found no more. Going down again on top of the fresh water tank forward could see no signs of auyone hav- ing been there, the cargo cf flour being stowed right up to the deck. Commenced to pull down cargo and found, three tiers in. a properly con. structed room built and full of stowaways, the same as in the after between decks. To build up a bulkshead would take about half an hour, and could be done without anyone knowing, and quite impossible for any ne to find it out with- out pull ng down the cargo. They had plenty of chow with them, biscuits, &c. There was from 150 to 200 tons of space left in the between decks which made it very easy for them to build up such places."
The above, states in detail what steps were taken by the foreign executive officers to dis- cover and eject stowaways from the vessel during the time of loading and prior to her departure from Hongkong. The facts in the report are corroborated by the master of the Kaifong, and by the British engineers on board at the time, and we bare no reason to doubt their accuracy.
In addition to this we held an exhaustive
on
the mercy of our native employers, but this we We admit that we are to a great extent at
cannot prevcut. Force of circumstances empel us to employ native crews, and we would again ask you to urge Government to alter the e- against the conspiracies of our own sent law, in order that we may be protected
they run of being concerned in eine punished servants who would quickly aj preciate the risk by hard labour without the option of à fine.- We are. Sir, your obedient servants,
native
BUTTERFIELD & SWIRE. Agents, China Navigation Co.. Ld.
A. R. LOWE. Esq..
Secretary, General Chamber of Commerce,
(Copy)
The China & Manila Steamship C'ó, Ld.
Hongkong, 26th June, 1902. The SECRETARY.
Hongkong.
Chamber of Commerce, Dear Sir, Stowaways fo Manila. We have fasted between Messrs. Butterfield & ibank you for copies of correspondence which
Swire, the Government, and yourselves,
We quite agree with Messrs. Butterfield & wire that the penalty for secreting stowaways inadequate. For instance, a stowaway way pay u board steamers bound to Manila is quite
as much as $30, $400 for a passue to the person or persons who secrete him, yet, should is forthcoming to implicate the "aiders and the stowaway be found and sufficient evidence abettors," the maximum fine which can be imposed is $500, which they can well afford to
pay.
Cur steamers are always carefully searched before leaving port and before rutering Manila, yet it is a very difficult thing to prevent one or abourd the steamers, especially when there are a secreting themselves somewhere
Lig Lumber of coolie passengers.
two
m(11
We cordially endorse the opinion of Messrs. Butterfield & Swire as to the inadequacy of the present Colonial Ordinance dealing with stow- met the requirements of the time of its aways. Sneh Ordinance Lo doubt satisfactorily inauguration, and was sufficient to deal with its existence, but the cases of minor offences which called for We contend that with the acquisition of the Philippines by the
American Government there bas
labour which has raised wages to a point which sprung up in those Islands a demand for skilled tempts Chinese who are prohibited from enter- ing these Islunds to go to great expense, and obtain an entry, and we are convinced that incur any inconvenience and risk of detection to
they pay large sums to a regularly organised combination to he smuggled in, which com- of the Chinese crews and assistants on board biustion acts with the connivance and assistance
the steamers on the Manila run.
What we most strongly object to is this, that Chinamen are sometimes caught by the secret service people ashore in Manila without papers er passports and when they are question. ed as to where they Lare come from, they may Hongkong in such and such a stean.er. This say that they came crer as stowaways from appears to be sufficient evidence for the ruthori- ties in Manila, who in mediately fine the steamer nemed by the Chinaman even although he was not found aboard by them. We think if a two years', with hard labour, penalty was imposed that it would go a long way to check the stow- away business, if not altogether stop it.-Yours faithfully,
SHEWAN, TOMES & Co.,
General Managers, P. S.- On the lest occasion on which we had stowaways, there were nine caught in Manila who said they had travelled on our ss. l'erla. Three said they had travelled over in the cabin tore- roow, the remaining six said they came in the coal bunkers. On the strength of this dismissed the chief officer from cur service, a8 we thought there might have been some
we
We need hardly state that the most strennous fforts are made by us to prevent the con- regalce of stowaways. Our res els in many instances are searched by detectives lent to na thoroughly searched by the ships' officers prior by the Hongkong Police Department, also to departure, again on the voyage across, and lastly Lefore arrival at the Philippines. Not. withstanding that the occasions on which stowaways are discovered on board our steamers are extremely rare, yet heavy fines have been inflicted on our steamers in instances where stowaways have eluded the vigilance of ships' officers and been discovered on shore by the Manila authorities, and these fines have been paid by us withont satisfactory proof being forthcoming to convince 18 that the offenders had been carried by our vessels. The stowaways on being brought on board either will not or cannot point out the persons who secreted and fed them on the voyage, and the punishment inflicted on those who are brought to justice is not sufficiently deterrent to prevent others making the attempt, proving the lucrativeness of the business to the combination which we feel sure exists.
That more stringent measures are necessary in dealing with such of the culprits as are would respectfully suggest that an attempt be brought to justice we have no doubt, and we made by the Police authorities to at at the
men who are the "aiders and abettors" in this nefarious Lusiness. Notwithstanding the fact that the full penalty has on several occasions beeu imposed in the Hongkong Court, the smuggling of Chinese into the Philippines still goes on, and under existing conditions we fear will continue to do so.
It is against the people who make a profit' out of the successful, or unsuccessful, smuggling of Chinese as before mentioned that we advocate most severe measures should be taken, and we shall be grateful for any steps that your Chamber may take for the accomplishment of obedicut servants, this end. We have the honour to be, Sir, your
Per pro. JARDINE, MATHESON & Co., General Managers, Indo-China S. N. Co., Ld.
WM. A. CRUICKSHANK. The Secretary,
Hougkong General Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Eduard C. Andre, the Belgian Consul at Manila, ha cbtained a divorce from his wife Clemintiva (née Cabanes). Mr. Cabanes, senior, was well known in Spanish official circles of Manila in the '80's. His daughter was then considered cne of the Lelles of the city. She has now been condemned to pay the costs of the divorce case and the Court has further de- creed that she shall deliver up to Mr. Andre, the petitioner, the children of the marriage, and is forbidden from bearing his name henceforth.