That the Chinese are inveterate gamblers is a generally acknowledged fact, and the systematic manner in which they carry on their nefarious profession, for profession they make it, invariably bathes the vigilance of the prlice, who, however, have succeeded now and then in' making arrests, but the strongholds of gaming, guarded by scouts at every entrance, have hitherto existed almost with impunity. Low-ko-chang, a block of buildings behind the Toilet Club in the Nanking road, has long been regarded as the principal rendezvous for native gamblers of all classes; and it has been represented as dangerous to a foreigner to enter after dark, the headmen doing desperate Cantonese. But a deep laid scheme by a native reformer of vice, especially of opium smoking and gambling, on which he has written several pamphlets in his own language, has led to a raid on one of the dens in Low-ko-chang, as briefly reported in our columns on Tuesday, and the success achieved will no doubt cause a temporary suspension of operations in others. 'This Chinese reformer, who gained considerable notoriety and praise for the steps he took in Hongkong for the suppress sion of gambling, now holds the position of butler in the residence of a' foreigner in the Settlement, and a few days ago hie gave one of his underlings a dollar to go and gamble with at Low-ko-chang, with instractions to ascertain who were the headmen of the establishment and to explore the various means of ingress and egress of the building, which passages were watched, &c., The man made the visit, gambled for the greater part of the night with a run of good Tuck, obtained the information he desired, and reported in due course to his master, who, through his foreign employer, communicated with the police, and a raid was arranged for Sunday night last. The task was a difficult one, as everybody must admit who knows the ramifications of the locality. Besides, it was known that all the doors would be strongly barred, and that it would be the exception and not the rule if there were not scouts in each passage to give timely warning of the approach of strangers and more particularly of the poles. Perhaps on account of it being sunday evening, when the gamblers might conclude the police were at their devotions, about a dozen of the force, including Superin-tendant Penfold and Inspectors Fowler arid Wilson, piloted by their informer, managed to reach the building where the gaming was going on, unobserved by the look-outs. They attempted to enter by a back door at the top of a long narrow staircase, but found the door strongly barricaded. It gave way to the force of a few blows with a sledge hammer in the hands of Inspector Wilson; but inside all lights had been extinguished, and the Police found themselves in a room in which persons were tumbling one over another, smashing through partitions and the roof, making their exit and concealing themselves the best way they could. As soon as possible the lights from two dark lanterns was turned on, and men were found hiding in all conceivable places in this and the adjoining rooms—in fact, the building had rooms innumerable, lead ing one from the other, with stairs communicating with other blocks. Forty-one men were ferreted out and made secure, then Inspector Wilson, accompanied by an amateur and one or two constables, ventured on the roof. One man was found standing under a ledge, and when the amateur approached him, he welcomed him with {7Ghin-chin, master," whereupon six others, who had been lying down on the other side of the ridge jumped up and attempted to escape. After an exciting chase on the roof, five of them were captured, while the sixth, determined to evade his pursuers, risked his life by jumping into an alley, a depth of over thirty feet. Confident that he was either killed or so injured that he could not escape, a policeman was sent round to gather up his remains, but he was non est. The captures on the roof increased the total to forty-seven, and with the gambling materials found in the rooms, including about $20 and 10,000 cash, which were foun on the fluor, they were marched off to the police stations—half to Hongkew and half to the Central. On being searched, $90 in all were found in their possession, $16 being the most that was found en one man.
On Tuesday they were taken before the Chinese Magistrate Chen and R. H, Maclay, Esq., United States Assessor, at the Mixed Gourt. The Court room and the entrance to the yamen were thronged bs crowds of spectators, and it was only with difficulty that admi 1 was obtained to the Court.
To prevent over-crowding, the gamblers were tied together by their queues in groups of five, and each in turn was questioned by the Court. They represented a variety of districts in China, being divided as follo Shanghai 13 Woosil 3 Chingpoo 21 Kading Canton 13 Yangchow Ningpo - 9 Pootung 1 Soochor 4 Foochow 5 1 Shaoshing a 1 Kweichow 1
Total...47
Their several spheres in life were as varied as their native places; but nearly all of them were of the lower classes, such as shoemakers, bakers, artisans, soldiers, labourers, farmers, etc., etc. Some few, however, proved to be rather conspicuous, one being a clerk in the ILM. Customs, one a private secretary of the District Magistrate, another a collector of rents in the employ of -a leading foreign firm, and another a carpenter for 16 years past employed at the Naval Yard. All appeared abject and thoroughly penitent.
The investigation was very protracted and but little information could be elicited from
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.