The steamer Cromarty; recently arrived at this port from Ocean Island, a lonely spot in the South Pacific. En route hero the captain signalled at Sydney Heads that he had, five days after leaving Ocean Island, picked up a boat containing seven men, five of whom were Frenchmen, the remaining two being Arabs. The position where the boat' was picked up is approximately 400 miles distant from the coast. of Now Caledonia, and the captain's impression that the men were escapees from the French penal settle ment was added to by the fact that the boat carried a good stock of arms and ammunition. The seven men were in a state of exhaustion when rescued, and their story was that they, were a party of fishermen who had been blown off the land, and were unable by reason of bafiling winds to make their port. The unseamanlike manner displayed in the handling of their craft, scarcely bore out their statement, moreover the presence of a considerable quantity of flour and biscuit pointed to the fact that a voyage of some length was the original object. As each man climbed up the ship's ladder hho was disarmed, and the boat was finally hoisted and taken on board. No fishing tackle was foulld in their lion, whilah fact was decotinted for by, their spokesman saying they had thrown it overboard to lighten their craft in a breeze, they had previously encountered.
On arrival here they were interrogated a sere tf then lot any knowledge of by a detective through an interpreter,
English. The replies being deemed unsatisfactory, and more especially as all seron came under the provisions of the Alien. Restriction Act, they were re-mored to the detective office in custody. Here they were cross-examined by the French Consul M. Lo Maistre; "cable advices received from New Caledonia rendered it necessary to detain them in custody ponding further.nquiry. Later advices to hand' proved conclusively that all the men, with the exception of one of the Arabs, were sca] ticket-of-leave men; the same cable states that their boat was stolen. A full description of the men has been forwarded to Noumea, and the men have been further remanded, pending the arrival of French officers to escort them back to the penal settloment.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.