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Q-Were the rattans introduced then ?
:
A-Before it was the "cat," which was more formidable than an Army or Navy one. Q-Were the rattans used the same sort as are used now?
A--The same.
Q-The same weight?
A-Yes.
Q--And size?
A-Yes; it is an Indian rattan.
Q--You advised it as a copy of the Indian system?
A-Yes, a copy of the Indian system. I was five years in India and saw it at work there.
Q-Is it used in the prisons in India?
A-It is used in the prisons and as an ordinary form of punishment; six or twelve strokes with the rattan and a man gets no more punishment for trivial offences.
Q-What is the heaviest number of strokes you saw inflicted in India? A-Thirty at one time.
-Can you compare the effect of the rattan on a Chinaman here and the effect on an Indian there ?
A-It is less severe on the Indians; they are better feeders; they are cleaner feeders; the wounds heal more readily.
Dr. ATKINSON-The effects are less?
A-Yes. I have never seen any bad cases here, only a delay in healing. I have never seen anything like what was done with the "cat." A man was absolutely damaged for life with the "cat," and many men have died from the effects.
THE CHAIRMAN—You say you have seen the "cat" administered here on Chinese ? A-On Chinese and English prisoners.
Q-And comparing the effects of the "cat" ou the Chinaman and the effects of the rattan your opinion is that the effects of the rattan are much more lenient?
A--Certainly, much more lenient. Floggings used to take place down at the market-place near the Harbour Master's Office. We have marched men down there, flogged them at the post, and marched them back again.
Q--What led you to suggest the introduction of the rattan ?
A-The "cat" is used in the Gaols at home, but was too heavy and very hard on the small amount of muscle the back of a Chinaman usually contains, and the only place where Chinamen are developed at all is the buttock. They are well developed on the buttocks and lower limbs.
Q-Do you think it would be better to whip a Chinaman across the buttocks or just across the outside part of the thigh?
A-Across the buttocks.
Q--The thrashings administered by Chinamen in their own country are, I under- stand, sometimes on the outside part of the thigh, that is the reason I ask you the ques- tion. You think it is better on the buttocks?