Sessional_Paper_1884 — Page 102

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On the 24th January, 1883, a boat was found in the harbour off Tsimshatsui point, containing 27 men. They told me that 25 of them were smugglers and two, boatmen, the owners of the boat. It was an open Hunghòm passage boat, between 40 and 50 piculs capacity. The smugglers were the same as those arrested some time ago by Mr. CAMERON at Yaumáti. They were all armed; there were 17 rifles, 13 revolvers, all loaded. They had opium, roughly speaking, to the value of about $3,000. I wrote a report of this arrest to the Captain Superintendent of Police, asking for instructions how I should act, hearing that the Commission was sitting. I received instructions to charge them with being armed with deadly weapons, not being the holder of night passes under the Pass Ordinance 14 of 1870, as a test case. The prisoners were discharged.

TO THE COMMISSION.

I have been in charge of the Water Police for 5 years or more at different times; during that time no case of a junk being over-armed has come under my notice. I have

•never seen any fights in the waters of the Colony. I have seen salt leave the harbour frequently as cargo, but I cannot say whether it was smuggled or not.

JOHN FLEMING Sergeant, states:-I have been in the Police Force 11 years. I was at Yaumáti for 2 years from November 1877, till December 1879, as Sergeant. When there, I have often seen salt smuggled. I knew it was going to be smuggled, because the people themselves told me so. I have seen junks starting in bodies of six or seven, armed about 3 times as heavily as the ordinary junk. There are about 20 or 30 of a crew, each armed with ammunition and muskets, and sometimes rifles. As a rule they

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have small cannon, one, two, or three. They generally start in bodies of six or seven, about dusk. I have met crews coming back by the mainland, and on asking them, they have told me through the Chinese lòkang that they had been attacked by Chinese Revenue Cruisers, had run their junk ashore, and made their escape back again. They used to say that as they did not resist, but simply left the junk to be taken by the Revenue Cruiser, the Cruiser did not care about arresting the men, but only the junk. A salt shopkeeper in Yaumáti told me that he has even bought back a junk that had been captured. I have never seen any of these salt smugglers wounded. I have heard firing in the neighbourhood of the Kapshuimún and Shamshuipò, and it was always put down to cruisers and smugglers. There is generally a launch belonging to the Chinese Customs in the neighbourhood of Shamshuipò.; at any rate there used to be one there in 1879, when I was at Yaumáti. When I was at Yaumáti reports were made on several occasions to the Police of highway robberies on the Kaulung road near Kaulung City, which on investigation turned out to be seizure of opium by the Chinese authorities where the men, who complained of being robbed on the high road, entered Chinese territory. I remember a small junk being sent to Yaumáti by the Hongkong Govern- ment, and there sold. The junk was laden with saltpetre, and was confiscated on account of leaving the harbour at night without a clearance. The junks that smuggle salt are generally from 150 to 200 piculs. There are a few as small as 40 or 50 piculs. When acting as Inspector in charge at Sháukiwán last year, in the months of June and July, . I charged 4 men, belonging to the Chinese Customs Station at Fatt'auchau, for unlawful

possession of a Hongkong junk in British waters, &c.

The above statement made to the Secretary is read over to Sergeant FLEMING and declared by him to be correct.

See post

page 99.