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intelligent and reliable 1 he had distinctly swo rfectly underst hat the prisoner The prisoner had full opportunity istrate to deny having made the he could have then said that the woman had committed suicide.
before the confessions
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
THE CHINA ASSOCIATION.
MEETING OF THE HONGKONG BRANCH.
IMPORTANT SPEECHES,
On the 25th March the annual meeting of the member of the Hongkong Branch of the China Association was held in the Chamber of Com merce room, City Hall, on Thursday, 25th March, 1897. Mr. T. Jackson presided and there were also present Hons. C. P. Chater, J. J. Bell-Irv. ing, T. H. Whitehead, Messrs. F. Henderson (Secretary), E. W. Mitchell, G. Sharp, G. C. Anderson, G. Murray Bain, D. E. Brown, G. C. Cor, V. H. Deacon, H. L. Dennys, J. J. Francis, Q.C, D. Gillies, R. M. Gray, H. M. Hillier, W. G. Humphreys, J. H. Lewis, E. Osborne, R. L. Richardson, W. J. Saunders, HSmith, G. Stewart, G. T. Veitch, and R. C. Wilcox.
The SECRETARY read the notice calling the meeting.
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His Lordship, in summing up, referred to the story of the sorceress and asked the jury to consider whether her evidence was not given just to suit the circumstances of the case that had since arisen. He thought it was likely that woman to whom such a prediction was made would falsify the prediction by not committing foide The jury had also to consider, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, whe- ther there was reasonable ground to arrive at the decision that someone other than the prisoner could have entered the room in the way sug- gested by the defence. There was no sugges- tion that any property was stolen and no suggestion of revenge, so that the jury had to consider whether that theory was reasonable The CHAIRMAN-Gentlemen, before asking and probable. The defence had great difficulty you to pass the report I would like to make a in explaining the bruises on the wrist and arm, few remarks. Since our report was printed which the doctor had said were caused before
received the gratifying death. His Lordship thought the jury could officially of the opening of the West River, come to no other conclusion than that the and Sir Claude Macdonald is to be very heartily prisoner was the person who put the body in congratulated on terminating negotiations the trunk, as no other person could have had which have spread over a great number of years, the means and opportunity and time to deal while the Chinese Government must also be with the body in that way and to have locked congratulated on recognising the desirability of and corded the box and put the blood-stained opening that important waterway to the com- things in it. When the police found the body merce of the world. Let us hope it will be only in the box one would have thought that the precursor of other and more important that was the time for the prisoner to speak concessions and that when the time comes for if he himself had found the woman dead. The our soldier diplomatist, Sir Claude Macdonald, jury would consider whether the prisoner to leave Peking he will be able to exem- would not have said "Yes, there is the body; plify the beautiful line, "Peace hath her vic it is my wife and I was trying to get her away. tories no less renowned than war." (Applanse,) I found her murdered or found she had killed In connection with the West River I take this herself, and I thought I would get her away as opportunity of trying to do justice to Mr. I was frightened." But nothing of that kind Fraser, our Consul at Canton. We are all was said; on the contrary, he made a statement. aware that by treaty we were allowed to send The Crown suggested that the chopper was the goods by river under transit pass, but what the weapon used by the prisoner, and the defence Chinese gave with one hand they took away was that the wound could not have been
with the other. The obstruction, the squeezes, inflicted by the chopper. The jury would find the charges, the difficulties that they placed that its edge was exceedingly keen. It was, of in the way of our availing ourselves of that course, strange if he used that weapon that the clause in the treaty were such that British wound we not a more serious one.
It was
merchants could not ship goods under it. But evident that the weapon was not used with Mr. Fraser was not the sort of man to allow that any very great force. It was possible that his state of things to continue. He invited British hand might have been stayed; he might have merchants to send goods to Wuchowfu and he been seized with pity and 80 decided said he would see that the clauses of the treaty not to cut the woman's head half off as were carried out and no injustice done to the was ordinarily done by murderers. In re-merchants. You all remember the difficulties gard to the statement made by the pri- soner to Inspector Stanton the jury would have to consider whether the prisoner did not think he would make a clean breast of it, seeing the body, the blood-stained clothing, and the knife. Inspector Stanton was a skilled Chinese scholar and was it likely he would speak without foundation on the point? If the Inspector could not understand the prisoner how could he have known, what was perfectly true, that the prisoner and the woman came here by the Rio de Janeiro on the 19th February? His Lordship, after dealing with one or two other matters, then directed the jury to consider their verdict.
The jury retired at 5.20 and returned into court twenty-seven minutes later.
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Was some Society. must say that the Sea dry, has performed his He has gained the complete confiden of the Colonial Office, but Office, and he is very for his opinion on point and all sorts of commu him. We were asked very important matter am glad to say there was of opinion about that subject, in accord with the Association the Chamber of Commerce in Hongkong, the Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, and with the London Association and the London Cham- ber of Commerce. There are no two ideas about the fact that it would be desirable to increase the duties if you can make one charge answer for all and put a custom chop on a box and so free it to go all over the Empire without further charge. The Foreign Office has the fullest information that it
can possibly get. The matter is in the firm hands of Lord Salis- bury, and there we are quite prépared to leave it. (Applause.) Another matter that we have discussed to a certain extent is the light dues. I do not want to pledge my colleagues, as I know some of them, differ from me, but I am glad to give you my own opinion. When I was in the Legislative Council here about twelve years ago the funds of the colony were low and they were going to get up a spirit farm. That would have been an atrocious nuisance. Steamers would have been examined to see if they had spirits on board, an excise officer would have been continually on board, and ships would have been delayed. On that occasion several gentlemen and I got up a petition to stop this spirit farm and I am glad we were successful In the debate that took place I said shipping is the life and soul of Hongkong and instead of doing anything to worry shipping to keep it out we ought, metaphorically speaking, to place a siren at each en- trance to the harbour to entice shipping into it. (Hear, hear.) I am glad to say that the Chamber of Commerce is a very healthy and useful institution here and I have never known it, during my long residence here, more As it vigorously worked than it is at present. embraces everything we have to do you may say, "What is the use of the China Associa tion ?" I say the more cosmopolitan the Chamber of Commerce becomes the more necessity is there for the China Association to (Applause.) am focus British opinion. perfectly sure that we should be appealed to not only by the Foreign Office but by the Colonial on matters - on --which they would Office not think of appealing to a cosmopolitan Now there is a little Chamber of Commerce. matter in connection with the subscrip- tion. We thought of making the China Association more popular by reducing the subscription to $5. I am quite ready to admit that that is quite enough for what the members get out of it. But our suggestion The subscrip. was not welcomed at home. tion is a guines at home and they want establish all branches of the Associ
Members the same footing. kong Branch are entitled to privileges of the London Association and veren, and so the subscription for will be one guinea. I hope no one the Association on account we have heard a great deal about com
There petition with British trade. bounties on shipping bounties on sugar bounties on all sorts of things, and you
What will be the result yourselves,
My own ipression: commerce P have planted
the The trade.
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Mr. John Andrew had to overcome in the early part of the year, but now goods are shipped under transit pass and there is no other impost. I think that is a very satisfactory statement, and Mr. Fraser deserves the thanks not only of the China Association, but of the community generally. (Applause). Referring to the Association, we have, I am afraid, not done quite as much as was expected. (Hear, hear.) At the same time I do not admit that we have put our light under a bushel or that we have hidden our talent in the ground. We have interfered in connection with several things, and got in close touch with various bodies, and that is a strong point. If the members would keep the Committee advised on different subjects and the Committee kept the Foreign Office advised everything would go smoothly. I would just like to read the opinion formed of the Society by no less an authority than Mr. George Nathaniel Carzon. Mr. Curzon, speaking at the banquet given to Li Hung-chang in London, said that "the China Association was a happy and a potent link between the Far East and the West, for it united those whose interests A Portuguese boy was walking at the side of and capital were engaged in those remote parts his bicycle in Queen's Road East on Saturday of the world with those of us who might be Afternoon when s ricksha, which was coming in doing different things, but who, nevertheless, the same direction, collided with the bicyle and felt a cognate interest in the same country and the front wheel was smashed. The cyclist in the subjects at home. The China Associa caught hold of the coolie and took him to the tion had earned the confidence of the Govern | police shion on Monday, at the Policements both of Great Britain and of China, made on the Cour the cor
ainant tried to prove gross. They regarded in the Foreign Office the views Paul seness on the part of the coolie. It was of that Association with respect, and they not m quite ol
idence how and where infrequently invited it to aid them, and the convi
as no negligence presence of his Excellency there that ev ischarged the coolie was a proof that the Association had acq could take a civil for itself a similar consideration and 81 KW Mounsey estimate in Government circles in I
Well, gentlemen, I have not the slight
→ The foreman announced that the jury were unanimous in returning a verdict of not guilty. This verdict created considerable surprise in Court and when the prisoner was told he was free he hesitated somewhat before leaving the dook.
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