CHINESE LIQUOR IMPORT REVELATIONS

Rotorua Morning Post, 31 August 1931, Page 6

CHINESE LIQUOR IMPORT REVELATIONS

— — - . TEN GALLONS MONTHLY. STRANGE STORY FROM ; CHRISTCHURCH. Possessing in Its ' undiluted form a potency which, reputedly, has a staggering effect on the unaccust.omed palate, Ohlnese wine iigures regularly, if gparingly, on the list ■of items that nhi'istchurcii imports, says the Christchurch Sun. During the last 12 months the average -quantity imported has been about 10 gallons a montli. It is. brought in almost /entirely for the consumption of ihe Chinese community, and being an overproof iiquor, is subject to an extremely heavy duty. For inslance, on a shipment cleared recently Ihe duty aniounted to £54 lOss. Its home consumption value was £6 4s 4d. Though described as a wine, it is actually a s.pirituous liqu'or, distilled t'rqm rice husks, and, according to one man wlio has sampled it for the j tirst and last time it, "has'a taste lilco l melhylated spirits, only more so ; a [ man wouid have to be lined with : galvanised iron to stand up to • it . . ." | The Chinese, iie explained, use it i rliiefly for medicinal purposes, mix- j ing it with their imported herbls, and j

uiey xppi it arnong inemseives. From the point of view of revenue, it was i prolitahle item, as the amounl of 1 money sont out of ihe counlry in payment for it was only a very small proportion of what the Customs Dcpartmcnt collected. Regular Shipments of Goods. Regular shipments of goods feactled Christchurch to the order of Chinese merchants every month, added Tho Sun reporter's informant, who has had a long experience in clearing tliis ciass of ineFchaiidise frOm the Cus- i toms sheds. A big proportion of these skip"rrients* consist of foodsturfs dear to the heart of Ihe Oriental epicure. Rice, ihe staple food, comes regularly, packed in mats, and with it fairiy large quantities of peanut oil, which is used to savour most of the food. Tlien there were such little delicacies as dried fish, sallcd cahbage, dried mushrooms, and dried oysters, not forgetting eggs in the shell, whicli "orne paekcd in lime and wood ash, and which announee their contents :n a partic-ularly pungent manner. With ihe delivery of all these things the Chinese merehant has to give a wrilten guarantee that they will be aonsumcd by Chinese only, the obje.et ■ being to prevenl. tliein entering into mmincrcia] cninpetition. The guarantee is probaidy a very proper safeguard. Iiui one wnnders wellier it is di.s'dutely neeessary in snme cases. ! The Chinese also imporl their own h'*r]is, which possess all sorfs of ilieged cJiraiive properfies. Just whai their pharmaeeutieal values are is oroliahly known only to the* Chinese 'hemselves, hui some of the prescrip'ion^ certainly run to extromes. One, which was imported some time ngo. and which is hardiy likely io be iisted in the B.P., consisted of half n dried rat wrapped neat-ly in lierlis. This is supposed to iie a eure for stnnincli cninpiainls, the idoa heing fnr the sufferer to boil part of the mixlure and drink ihe Iiquid! Preserved ginger was onee imported for sale, but the quantity that comes ! in now is much less, be.cause of a duty of 4d a 11>. which was imposed j fo protect the manufaeture of this ! sweetmeat in the Dominion. The Chinese importers, stated the Customs agent, are ahsolutely lionest j ;n all their dealings. "They pay promptly," Iie said, "and are the best cust oim"'s a tradosman can have." In the past some atfempts have been made to get things past ihe Cus'oms without paying any duty. 'mt tiio practice now is to insist on Ihe invoice for the goods, which is made out in Chinese ch ara otara, liein'.' •iccompanied ]>y a eertitied translation made at Ihe port of sh'ipment.