In connexion with the arrest last week of two Portuguese at a Chinese gambling resort, the Portuguese community, in a notice on the walls of the Club Lusitano, are warned to resist arrest unless a police officer is in possession of a proper warrant, authorized by the Portuguese consular authorities. The notice is signed by Mr. A. Casanova, Portuguese Consul-General.
After referring to the taking into custody of the two youths on the 17th instant, the document alleges that they were taken vw prison handcuffed through the public streets. At the station they were treated as persons of an inferior class. All Portuguese subjects are therefore notified that for the sake of the prestige of their country, they must not submit to such treatment. They must not allow themselves to be handcuffed. Should one of them be apprehended without @ warrant, he should telephone the Consul-General, who will tale whatever steps may be necessary. conclusion, the Consul-General states that he is notifying the Commissioner of Police with reference to the matter. He is to be told that in future no Portuguese can be arrested without the authorization of his consul. If such authorization is not forthcoming, Portuguese are to resist arrest. They should henceforth, as a precautionary measure, carry with them their registration papers.
It cannot but be felt that this order will make it almost impossible for the police to carry out their duties efficiently if they must obtain warrants in every case of dealing with foreigners. Two Portuguese and four other foreigners were discovered in a Chinese gambling den. Had they been sure of meeting with foreigners—which is very unusual in such places—the police would have been obliged to obtain warrants from the Portuguese, Danish, Japanese and Spanish Consulates. By the time these formalities had been gone through, the birds would undoubtedly have flown, Every "Special" knows with what despatch it is necessary to conduct these raids. Frequently a moment's delay will result in the finding of but a few coppers and gambling chips. The most elaborate machinery exists in many of the larger establishments to evade capture. In addition to there being an army of touts in the vicinity to transmit the necessary warning, in the houses themselves there are secret exits, trap doors and men waiting behind the main entrances ready to push home a huge bolt, locking a heavy wooden door.
Another aspect of the question is that the police have always arrested foreigners committing a felony or in a drunken and disorderly con-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.