TRADE MORALITY IN SAN FRANCISCO.

Evening Star, Issue 4313, 22 December 1876, Page 4

TRADE MORALITY IN SAN FRANCISCO.

Occasional glimpses of manners and customs in other countries are entertaining and useful, and these are to be gathered more from private correspondence than from the hasty observations of tourists. When men write to each other they relate their experience in free, easy, and colloquial language, and seldom strive to exaggerate or ought set do\* n in malice, albeit occasionally their words may not be too carefully selected. The following racy passages occur in private correspondence which we are permitted to publish :- -

The Yankees of the present day are fast becoming a nation of thieves, from the highest to the 10/. est classes. The system of prying upon each other has become chronic and ramifies through all grades. Compared •with the skilful swindlers who seek to get rich by appropriating others'goods, the ordinary burglar or highwayman is pure. The highwaymen are called "road ageuts," and are not often interfered with, for really they are comparatively decent sort of fellows, seldom taking anything less than a box of gold, aud frequently assisting the poorer passengers with a few dollars to help them on. Artful dodging is very scientifically conducted. The other day an Otago tcuris"t fell among thieves in this wise—where is little matter to state, the how is the main : He was accosted by Sharper A who, having apparently marked him as as fair game, addressed r him in the freest aud most lriendly st) le. "Ah, how do, old fellow ? When did you get from East?" Your Otago friend was not to be done, but drew himself up and very coolly answered, "Oh! sir, you are mistaken; I came from New Zealand." "Why, isn't your name X;" "No," answered my innocent friend, "my name is Y." "Oh ! excuse me—l see lam wrong—good day," and so they parted, and A went his way. Wandering along, shortly afterwards— perhaps half-an hour Y met another friendly interlocutor, who claimed intimate acquaintanceship with him on very sure grounds. sharper B made a dead stand, held out his hand in the most friendly style, and addressed your countryman as my dear Mr Y. " How are you, my dear Mr Y. ? How glad I am to see you. How do you like Sau Francisco after the long voyage from .NewZealand'.' And how do you feet after your voyage ?" Again Mr Y. was obliged to confess he did not know the man. "JS T ot know me! Well, you have a short memory. Don't you recollect that I came up from Honolulu in the same vessel with youV Y. looked hard at his questioner, but although he could not remember him, thought ifc very likely to have been so-so could not repudiate so genteel an acquaintance. He thawed at once and yielded to B's invitation to "take a drink." How long was necessary to swallow "the drink," or whether it was "deep as a Dutchman's draught," I don't know; but while it was going down in came a fearfully successful digger—just sold a big bag of twenty dollar gold pieces. They got to tossing,, and sharper B wins lots of them, the digger in the meantime drinking "deep as the rolling Zuyderzee," and apparently becoming "very tight." Y was persuaded by his friend to "go in and win." But he did not win, and as his dollars left his pocket he began to " smell a rat" and made an excuse to depart under the plea of going to his hotel (close by) for some money. I need not say that Y did not return. He told me his history with the selfconsoling remark, "Eh, mon, what a lucky escape ! Why, they might ua' murdered me. Eh, mon, you see I've been forced to draw in a bit, but I maunna complain." You may publish this in the Stai< for the benefit of tourists.