“MOONSHINERS.”

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3483, 11 May 1920, Page 7

“MOONSHINERS.”

FAMOUS DETECTTX-‘HS GOOD

VVORK4

.In the course of his address on behalf of accused persons in the'Crilnixral Court recently (says the Melbourne Herald) a barrister commented sevel'el}‘ =on the methods of the police w.,=:ho had employed a woman tog”. secure ‘evidence. Mr Justice Mg’Artllur told the jury that he had nothing to do with the police methods, and the‘ comments regarding them should nQtl influence the jury. He referred to a‘ cenlebrated detective Who distinguished himself in many ways so effectively that he was illstrumental in breaking up gangs of illicit distiller-s, The name iof the detective was ’not inentioneld, ibut it was clear that Detective John ‘Mitchell was the officer to whom the lJuclge referred. ‘ Mr Christie, who retired many years lago, was a past master in the art of disguise. He affected the character ‘of a travelling tinker in the armamlbool district nearly 30 years ago in lorder to gain information relative to lthe illicit distiller-5 in that part of the !country. i Complete success attended his injvestigations, and the gangs were captured, together with their apparatus

‘for making the spirit. The detectiveinspector had been instructed how t-0 use a. soldering iron by a metropolitan tinsniith before he started. and many of the i:'a.rnlers gave him Work in repairing leaky dishes» and cans. One womzfii employed him to rep.-iiir a “worm” used by the illicit distillers, and that was the beginning of the end for that gang, whose arrest. followed shortly after the visit of the unsuspected and cleverly-disguised tinker, Who, the people of the district said, “looked like :1 poor old worn-out tramp.” ‘Some of the people who were assisting the Customs officials were, at times completely fooled by the disguised leader of the expedition. As a Salvgttionist selling the War ‘Cry, Christie also secured valuable iinformation against. illicit distillers, ‘and on one vcccasiou he dressed and worked as 21 street scavenger. sweeping gutters in order to obtain the inforniatimi IlP(',€.'\‘S:ll'lv‘ to bring the lawbreaker to justice. His successes Caused such ex:-iteinent in the western district that a newspaper,’ the publication of which has new ceased, decided to publish a'port"rait -of the daring man of many disguises, Unfortunately his pliot-ograpli was obtainable in time for the issue of the newspaper, and the resourceful journalist sent his sheet to pfessz with 5. pox‘-trait of the Earl of Hopetoun (who was at that time Governor of Victoria), and; labelled it “I‘)eteetive-inspector Christie.” Nobody was more amused than] Lord Hopetoun himself, 1