THE QUEENSLAND LABOR TRADE. 225 
Many a native went to Queensland with the express determination to 
get a rifle on the expiration of his agreement. No one in Queensland 
was allowed to sell rifles to a Kanaka, and yet they purchased them 
by the thousands. Snider carbines and Tower rifles abounded in the 
islands. The Samoan vessels were reputed to be the worst offenders 
with regard to the furnishing of rifles, one being given for every recruit, 
and another being brought back by the recruit on his return. All 
vessels leaving Queensland for the islands were examined by the 
customs officials and were searched for contraband goods, and the 
returning laborers were forced to adopt devious means of secreting 
their guns and ammunition. 
The regulation box given to returns when they were paid off was a 
huge affair, 36 by 18 inches, and sometimes these were fitted with false 
bottoms and carbines were stowed in them, the barrel being cut short 
or the stock being taken off. Innocent-looking boxes of Queensland 
plants were found to have earth on the top and a layer of cartridges 
underneath. During the Government inspection rifles were sunk in 
the water butts or stowed away in the sheep pens or even lowered over 
the side into the sea. The native crews would always stow away the 
rifles for a fee, concealing them on the ship or up aloft, or even under 
the ballast. ‘These crews were mostly Tanna men or Loyalty Islanders, 
hardened ruffians, most of them grown old in the trade. 
When the Ivanhoe was wrecked in Florida the commissioner had 
reason to think that the returns had a number of rifles on board, but 
a search of the ship revealed nothing. He then went ashore and after 
digging about in various places on the beach came across a whole 
consignment of rifles buried in the sand. Should the ship’s company 
be likely to refuse to allow a return to land his rifle in public, a friend 
would come out in a canoe by night and the rifle would be lowered 
over the side. It was a common practice for returns to bring back 
charges of dynamite with fuse and cap all fixed ready for firing. 
These were used for dynamiting shoals of fish. Such charges of dyna- 
mite have been found stowed away under the ballast next to the ves- 
sel’s skin. What wonder, then, that vessels like the Sybil and others 
have been lost at sea when carrying returned laborers. 
All boats going ashore to recruit were armed. ‘The native crew had 
rifles slung under canvas covers on the sides of the boat and the white 
men carried revolvers and had rifles also. The regulations were that 
no boat should go ashore to recruit unless accompanied by a covering 
boat. The recruiting boat contained the white recruiter, who was 
generally the ship’s boatswain or second mate, and two natives; the 
covering boat had two white men, one of them the government agent, 
and three natives. In the recruiter’s boat was the trade box, and at 
times murderous attacks were made by the shore people to gain pos- 
session of this box. These boats always landed stern first, so as to 
