While loading the baggage the Maquinna, which took the passengers and luggage out to the liner Empress of Australia anchored off Vicioria, an Indian boy remarked to one ai the Cus toms atticers that the orange boxes he was handling were very heavy for oranges. Customs officers immediately opened the threa boxes in question. 'The boxes were found to contain cartridges for pistole and revolvers of ditferent calibre. They were neatly packed in copies of a local paper and were well gre A row of oranges had been packed at tha bottom, on all sides, the top and' centre, and in between the cartridges had been placed. The oranges were shipped from Victoria and had an address written on the outside in Chinese characters, Officials are_convinced, from appearances, that tha ammunition was destined for the warring factions in China. A close watch for suspicious characters was kept on board thd liner previous to her -departure for the Orient. When the Empress of Asia docked a few days ago a tin of cocaine, valued at) $2,000, and weighing 2 lb, 14 oz., was seized by Customs men. was concealed inside an un claim. ed mattress among baggage from the steerage.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.