212 Australian Life 



language. He shakes his head and smiles 

 blandly, murmuring the words, "No savvy," at 

 intervals. For all his politeness, it is not pos- 

 sible to break through his wall of reserve. 



In Northern Queensland, the Chinaman is often 

 a wealthy shopkeeper, and an employer of both 

 coloured and white labour. His admirers can 

 point to his donations to the charities in proof 

 that he is not ungenerous, and to his unfailing 

 politeness to show that he is a genial soul, shame- 

 fully misunderstood. The fact remains that his 

 object in life is to return to China with as much 

 money as he can possibly carry with him, and 

 that meantime his low standard of morality is the 

 more dangerous to his adopted country because 

 he seldom brings his womenkind with him. The 

 Chinaman has done good work in the Northern 

 Territory by proving the immense possibilities of 

 that district for raising coffee, arrowroot, cotton, 

 and other tropical products. Against this service 

 must be set his utter want of scruple in the em- 

 ployment of the aborigines, whom he rewards 

 with doles of rum and the opium that has so 

 deadly an effect upon them. 



Against the Chinaman as a citizen may further 

 be urged his taste for secret societies, and organ- 

 ised opposition to the law. Definite information 

 on the subject of his secret societies may not 

 readily be obtained, because of the reserve he 

 maintains upon this subject above all others. It 

 is known, however, that there are two important 



