Nagle

The appellant, coming from China, and claiming to be the minor son of Chin Lung, a domiciled Chinese merchant, was denied admission to the United States for failure of proof of the mercantile status of his father. He appeals from the judgment of the court below, denying a petition in his behalf for habeas corpus. In the petition it was alleged that the evidence submitted before the Commissioner of Immigration and the Secretary of Labor, attesting the mercantile status of Chin Lung, was of such a conclusive character that to refuse to he guided thereby was abuse of official discretion. -The proof was that Chin Lung was a member of the firm of Qwong Sun Kee Company, engaged in general merchandise business in a small way at Monterey, Cal., and that, connected with the store and under the same roof were two rooms used for a restaurant and a lottery.

The ground on which Chin Lung was found not to be a merchant within the meaning of the Chinese Exclusion Act (Comp. St. § 4290 et sec.) was that a very considerable portion of his time was devoted to the lottery business. The report of Butler, immigration inspector, was that on visiting the premises he found Chin Lung in the lottery room,…