Sessional_Paper_1884 — Page 111

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56.-Have you as a Police Officer ever had your attention specially directed towards smuggling from Hongkong into China?

A.-No.

57.-Have you any knowledge that salt or opium is smuggled from Yaumáti?

A. Yes; they are.

58. Can you tell a so-called smuggling junk from her appearance?

A.-I can.

59.-Will you describe what you call a smuggling junk?

A.—A salt smuggling junk is a boat of from 300 to 500 piculs capacity, sharp built, and a very fast sailer. They have always about a double crew on board. Each man is supplied with a musket, sometimes snider rifles--sometimes breach-loaders, and sometimes muzzle-loaders, and sometimes a portion of both. Most of them carry a small gun, from two to six pounders, sometimes eight pounders. They are as a rulé covered over all round from the gunwale and round the bow with netting, which is put there to prevent bullets from the Revenue Cruisers piercing their boats;—they say this netting will keep back bullets.

60.-Do these junks take out the usual papers in compliance with the Ordinance?

A. They do, regularly. We have never any trouble in that respect.

61.—I believe you know something about a fight which took place between a number of salt junks, and the Chinese Revenue Cruiser Pingchauhoi, in 1876?

A. Yes.

62.-What do you recollect about it?

A.-I cannot fix the date; but it was either in 1876 or 1877, I came across a number of men in the Joss House at Yaumáti. They were brought to the Station, and on being questioned they said they belonged to a number of salt junks which had left Hongkong with salt, and that they had been overtaken by the P'ingchauhoi off Ch‘éungchau. They had a fight with them and ran their junks ashore. They placed their guns on a shore battery, but their junks were ultimately seized and taken to Canton. Two of them had been sunk. A number of these men were suffering from wounds-some bullet wounds-and two of the same lot were sent to the Civil Hospital by the Inspector of the Water Police.

63.-Do you know where this fight took place?

A.-Ch'éungchau was the name of the place they gave.

64. That is, how far out?

A.-About 7 miles from here.

65.-Have you ever known or heard of any other fight of this description?

A.-No; I have not.

66.-Will you state what is the manner in which these Salt junks leave the Colony? What is their manner of operation?

A.-As a rule, salt junks leave in parties of three or four, watching their oppor- tunity for a favourable wind and dark night. They rarely go singly, and if they do the quantity they desire to smuggle is very small. The salt junks are not specially