846
Defendant-No, sir.
His Worship (to complainant)-Have you any witnesses to call ?
Defendant-It is not necessary to call wit- nesses; I admit it.
His Worship-Will you stop talking? I do not want to hear anything from you at all un- less you put questions. You can make any statement you like afterwards, but at this stage it is irregular for you to say anything beyond putting questions.
Defendant-I apologise.
Complainant said he had a witness to call. Mr. Robert Lang said-I was in the Hong. kong Hotel on the 30th October. I heard the word "liar" and it was qualified, but I do not know exactly what the qualification was. Something else was said, but what it was I cannot tell you. I heard a quarrelsome sound. As far as I know Mr. Andrew did not say any thing.
This concluded the complainant's case. His Worship (to defendant)-What have you to say?
Defendant-It is very difficult to trace the slander to its source.
His Worship-I do not want a speech of any description. I do not want you to trace the slander" to its source; that is a pure truism and we all know about it. We now want some information.
Defendant-In the month of May I bought
I
two tons of asbestos from Mr. Andrew. offered him payment for it, but we could not agree as to price. Since that time there has been a succession of reports current from him or somebody who has animosity against me, and as I am a new beginner in the colony it is very difficult to get along with people hampering me with slanders. For some time I have been trying to find out who was slandering me.
On the 30th I was on board the steamship Empress of China. I had a portion of steam piping to cover, and Mr. Andrew had another portion, and it was a competition between the two com- positions as to which was the more valuable. Captain Tillett told me that Mr. Andrew would get the biggest part of the contract if his com- position proved equal to mine, or if; as Mr. Andrew had informed him, I was using his material and calling it mica composition. Since I had two tons in May, which was used up immediately, I have not had a single thing from Mr. Andrew. He wanted me to buy five tons at 4 cents a picul, and afterwards said the price was 4 cents a lb.
His Worship-Aren't you giving away a trade secret now?
Defendant-No, there is no particular secret about it. When I found that he was trying to destroy my success I think I was justified in calling him a
liar." Don't you think contemptible liar." His Worship-You are only aggravating the
14
of I called him a
•
offence by repeating the expression now.
Defendant-And so is a man who sets such a
report current. I had no intention whatever of committing a breach of the peace. You cannot break the peace with this man; no matter what you do to him you cannot break the peace; there is no fear of that. The man who would do such dirty underhand tricks would do anything ex- cept face you straightforwardly.
His Worship-Have you finished? Defendant Yes.
·His Worship--Have you any witnesses ? Defendant-No.. Captain Tillett is not here, and the Mongkut has gone away.
His Worship-There is no doubt that the words used were such as might have caused a breach of the peace; there is not the slightest doubt about that.
Defendant-In other cases they might per- haps, your Worship, but not in this.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS, AND
His Worship-You will have to enter into recognizances of $100 and find two sureties of $50 each to be of good behaviour for six months.
Defendant-Thanks.
It is stated that at the recommendation of Mr. Hayashi, the Japanese Minister, the Taungli Yamên have obtained the consent of the Emperor to establish a class for the study of the Japanese language in the Tungwênkuan, or college for the study of foreign languages at Peking.
FIGHT BETWEEN JAPANESE AND CHINESE AT KOWLOON.
TWO POLICEMAN STABBED. On Wednesday night about sixty Japanese coolies who had left a transport at Hongham met a number of Chinese coolies and a row sprang up. They fought one with another and the Japanese, who were armed with sticks, knives, and a few with revolvers, were getting the best of it. Fortunately the police put in an appearance soon after the disturbance com- menced and quickly put an end to it. An Indian constable scattered the whole crowd in all directions while three other policemen were arresting five of the ringleaders. One of them, named Tamara, offered considerable resistance to P.C. 63, whom he threw to the ground. A Chinese constable went to assist and he was stabbed on the left arm with a knife which Tamaru carried. After dispersing the greater portion of the rioters the Indian constable re- turned to assist in the arrest of Tamaru and this constable was also stabbed in the back. P.S. Gillies then collared the ruffian and marched him off to the police station. Four more arrests were made of coolies who were carrying arms. At the Police Court on Thursday Tamaru was charged with unlawfully cutting and wounding the two men, and he was remanded until next day as he had witnesses to call. The remainder were
charged with disorderly conduct and were fined $1 each. There was an additional charge against them of carrying arms without a licence, and for this offence each was ordered. to pay $10, with the alternative of a month's imprisonment.
The Japanese coolie, Tamaru, who stabbed two policemen at Kowloon during an affray be tween Japanese and Chinese, was again brought up at the Police Court on Friday before Mr. T. Sercombe Smith. Witnesses for the defence were called, but they proved nothing, and the prisoner was sent to gaol for six months with hard labour.
THE MURDER OF A NORWEGIAN SEAMAN.
Sercombe Smith, the man and woman charged At the Police Court on Friday, before Mr. T. with the murder of Johann Gundersen, a Norwegian seaman, were again brought up. Mr. Gedge (of Messrs. Johnson, Stokes, and Master's office) appeared for the Crown. Dr. Atkinson said some wounds on the man's body and head might have been caused by the hatchets produced; the hatchets would not have caused all the wounds. The hatchet
without the handle might have caused some of the punctured wounds in the head. An inter- preter at the Central Police Station said that after being cautioned at the station when charged the man. said, "My boat is a passenger boat. Sometimes Europeans engage my boat, but not at this wharf that night. When Ah Ning and Inspector Stanton found me and asked me, Do you know anything about that affair or not? I said I do not know about this affair; that is other people's business and not mine. I have not done this business; someone has falsely accused me.' The woman said, One night he and two others went off to a ship. It was a windy night and two Europeans brought a drunken man on board the boat. We took him to a ship and put him on board. He had no money to pay and kicked me. That man was about thirty and had a moustache. The ship he went on left next day (Monday). Of the two who brought him one was tall and the other rather
#
51
November 7 1895.
UNION INSURANCE SOCIETY OF
OF CANTON, LIMITED.
The twenty-second ordinary meeting of the shareholders in this Company was held on Wednes- day, at noon, at the offices, 4, Praya Central, Mr. G. B. Dodwell presided, and there were also present Messrs. H. L Dalrymple, D. R. Sassoon, NA Siebs (Directors), N. J. Ede (Secretary), J. An- drew, D. Haskell, B. Byramjee, J. H. Cox, R. C. Wilcox, JH. Lewis, A. G. Morris, A. Ross, J. Goosmann, C Rogge, E. J. Hughes, V. A. C. Hawkins C. S. Sharp, W. H. Potts, A. Coxon, W.. Saunders, R. H. R. Burder, J. McKie, J. B. Coughtrie, and H. J. M. Carvalho.
The SECRETARY read the notice conve the meeting.
*
The CHAIRMAN said-Gentlemen, before proceeding with the business of the meeting, the directors wish to express their sorrow at the death of two gentlemen who were with us at our general meeting last October, and who were for many years intimately associated with the Society-Mr. Hoppius, who was a member of the Board, and Mr. Lyall, one of our auditors. Many of you were friends or acquaintances of these gentlemen, and I feel sure you have deplored their loss equally with the Board. The report and accounts of the Society were issued to shareholders on the 11th instant. They have no doubt been perused by every one present and unless you desire me to do otherwise I will as usual take it that you accept them as read. Our net premium for the year 1894 shows an increase of $231,000 over that of the previous yes, which, you will agree with me, is a most satisfactory feature. A large premiam income does not always result in handsome profits, but I am happy to say that it does so on this occasion, and the directors have been enabled to pay an interim bonus of 25 per cent. to contributing shareholders in the early part of this year, and to recommend to you now; tions, of a lividend of $12 per share, and the the further payment of 6 per cent. on contribu-
placing of f$80,000 to the reserve fund-(ap-
you a gratifying outturn of our business for plause), all which I trust will meet with your sanction and approval and be considered by
port the profits have been divided in accordance 1894. (Applause). As mentioned in the re-
with the provisions of the old articles, but in this year, the Board will under the new articles the future, beginning as from the 1st January be in a position to recommend such distribution as may at the time seem desirable. It will no to contributors two-thirds of the interest derived longer be compulsory to include in the bonus from the capital and reserve fund, while at the
same time the Board will not overlook the value to the Society of the bonus system. You will notice that there has been a loss in Australia on deposits with banks that were reconstructed. Since then the Board has thought it advisable. to sell out the remainder of our deposits in those banks, though at a further loss on this account of £1,560. You will observe that there has been a profit on investments realised in Eng- land, and since the 30th June there has been a still further profit made in the same way, which will be dealt with in future accounts.. With reference to the exchange fluctuation account, a resolution to pass a portion of this to paid up capital account will be submitted to you after the business in the report is finished., We have had to keep the matter separate, as it involved separate proxies to vote on that sub- ject. At our last general meeting the Chair- man informed you that £40,000 of our sterling tall and thin, and wore a black jacket, a new
funds had been converted into silver and satis pair of blue trousers, a black cap, rather hand-factorily invested, and I may now mention that some, and a pair of new black shoes." The prisoners were remanded until next Thursday.
short. The man who went on board was rather
Young Shanghai at Home. Extract from a boy's letter:-"They gave us a treat the other day; it is called a Garden party in this country A Lady said to me what's your name? I said Jack. I come from China. What, are you a Chinaman! No, I said, I am a Foreigner. Not English P said the Lady. Why, of course, you silly, all English people are Foreigners in China. She then said will you have Claret cup or Ginger-beer. No, thank you, I said, the only spirits I ever drink is Lemonade."
since then another £22,000 has been drawn and dealt with in a similar manner, and we have also lately converted in London some of our gold assets to the extent of about £45,000 into Indian silver 34 per cent. rupee paper, in order that our exchange fluctuation fund may insure our still considerable gold securities to a higher sterling value of the dollar. The remuneration of the Carpan servants is, as you know, left to the directors, and in view of the present excellent report the Board have thought it well to vote a special bonus of 10 per cent. on their salaries for thẻ year to the members of the staff. Instead, how- ever, of paying the employes this amount, the
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