58
LAUNDRYMEN ON STRIKE.
WHAT THE CAPTAIN SUPERINTENDENT OF TOLICE PROPOSES.
12th July. Yesterday at noop a large deputation repre- senting the proprietors of the public laundries in the city waited upon the Captain-Superin- tendent of Police (the Hon. F. H. May) for the purpose of consulting with him in regard to the difficulty in which they have been placed by their employés coming out on strike. One of the bye-laws relating to laundries made by the Sanitary Board on the 1st of August, 1895, and *approved by the Legislative Council on the 16th of August, 1895, says: Any room used as a public laundry shall not be used either as a dwelling or as a bed-room, or for any purpose other than that of a laundry." This is a bye- law which will meet with the approval of every European member of the community. Re- cently some shopmen and fokis have been pro- secuted for committing a breach of this bye-law, they having been proved to have used the laundry premises as sleeping places. They have taken offence at this, and in the hope of bring. ing about a change have struck work. As Mr. May told the deputation, there is not the slightest chance of this bye-law being altered. He added that if the men refused to return to work steps would bare to be taken which would result in their services being dispensed with altogether so far as the Europeans are con- cerned. We understand that Mr. May proposes to see if arrangements cannot be made to get the washing of Europeans' clothes done in the Gaol. If this proposal can be carried out it will be for several reasons an improvement on the old system.
The proposal of the Captain Superintendent has had the desired effect. for on getting to know about it the laundrymen in the Central District decided to resume work, and the Wan- chai laundries are expected to start to-day.
13th July.
The strike of laundrymen is now practically over. Many of the laundries resumed work yesterday, and before the end of the week they will no doubt all be in full operation. The threat of the Captain Superintendent of Police to commence a laundry in the Gaol has acted like magic, as the laundrymen recognise that if once a laundry is commenced in connection with the Goal a good deal of their business will be gone for good. It certainly would be much better if instead of baring so much "shot drill" the prisoners could be usefully employed either in washing or something else.
TLE CAINE KOAD MURDER.
EXECUTION OF OZORIO.
DEATH PRACTICALLY INSTANTANEOUS.
At about six o'clock on Monday morning, 11th July, Joan de Matta Ozorio was executed in Vic. toria Gaol for the murder of Francisco Xavier de Jesus on the evening of the 9th of May last. Our readers will remember that Ozorio was en- gaged to be married to Miss Glafira Portario (the cousin of the murdered man), who resided with Mr. and Mrs. de Jesus at No 2, West Terrace Caine road. Ozorio had got it into his head that his sweetheart had been unfaithful to him, and appeared to have half suspected that Mr. de Jesus was the betrayer, though from the evidence given at the trial there was not the slightest ground for the suspicion. At about half-past six on the evening of the 9th of May Ozorio and his sweetheart were in the verandah at No. 2, West Terrace. They
quarrelling; the girl had endea voured to take from Ozorio a revolver which he had purchased at that afternoon from Messrs. Lane, Crawford, and Co. Mr. de Jesus's mother came out to tell them to keep quiet, and Ozorio gave her a push. A few minutes afterwards Mr. de Jesus came home. Hearing that his mother had been pushed down, he went on to the verandah, and addressing Ozorio asked, "What is this, Juanjica?" and Ozorio immediately emptied five chambers of his revolver, four of the bullets striking Mr. de Jesus, who rushed into the house and died within a few minutes. Ozorio was disarmed by a young man named Xarier, assisted by Miss Portario, and was immediately afterwards given
were
THE HONGKONG WEELY PRESS AND
(July 16, 1898.
into the custody of au Indian constable while | May), Dr. Thomson (Medical Officer at the walking along Caine road.
Gaol), Chief Warder R. H. Craig, a priest, and the necessary gaol officials. Ozorio's demon- nour during the trial and since was such as to lead one to conclude that when the end caine he would not meet his fate with anything like com- posure, but that the scene on the scaffold would be rendered still more painful by the unhappy man's breaking down. The Superintendent of the Gaol, when our representative quos- tioned him on the point, said he preferred not to say anything.
The following day he was brought before Commander Hastings at the Magistracy. There were several remands, considerable delay being caused by the difficulty experienced in getting cortain letters or copies of letters found in Ozorio's desk translated from Portu- guese into English. Ultimately prisoner was committed for trial, and on Tuesday, June 21st, his trial on the charge of wilful murder was begun at the Supreme Court and did not con- clude until the Friday evening following, when the jury, after a consultation lasting but six or seven minutes, brought in a verdict of guilty and that prisoner was of sound mind when he committed the deed. Ozero had a most able counsel in Mr. Francis, Q.C., who delivered an address for the defence which could not have been improved upon. The case was, however, from the first, practically hopeless. Ozorio had a reputation for eccentricity, and au endeavour was made to magnify this into n predisposition to insanity; but no medical evidence was called to support the sugges- tion that Ozorio might have been tempora- rily insane when he shot Mr. Jesus, while on the other hand Dr. Atkinson, Dr. Lowson, and Dr. Thompson expressed a contrary opinion. Sentence of death having been pronounced upon prisoner, the Portuguese community, beaded by Mr. Romano (the Portuguese Consul) did all in their power to secure a reprieve. A petition presented to His Excellency the Gov- admitted the justice of the verdict ernor but expressed the hope that the sentence "out of consideration would be commuted for Ozorio's family and friends, out of consideration for the Portuguese community, who will be put to shame by his public execution, ont of consideration for the criminal himself to give him time for repentance, out of consideration for the Portuguese nation and people, the faithful allies and friends of Great Britain, who have abolished the death penalty among themselves, who have stipulated in their treaty for the extradition of criminals, that no I nglish subject given up by them shall be subject to the penalty of death, and who will feel ever grateful, if in the administration of public justice on a Portuguese subj.! who hos become liable to the extreme penalty . lish law, regard may be had to Portuguese The petition was con- feeling and opinion." sidered at a special meeting of the Governor and the Executive Council, who decided that the law must take its course.
Both the Macao papers contain articles ox- pressing regret that the petition for a com mutation of the sentence was not granted. It appears that immediately after the commission of the crime the Governor of Macao telegraphed to the Lisbon Government stating the cir
The cumstances and the probable penalty. Portuguese Minister for Foreign Affairs took up the case and even the Queen of Portugal, so it is said, wrote to Queen Victoria. Letter from the Governor and the Bishop of Macao to the Governor of Hongkong are published in our Portuguese contemporaries. The Bishop's let ter is given in English as follows:-
"Governo Ecclesiastico da Diocese de Macau- To His Excellency the Honourable Major Gen- eral, Governor of the English Colony, Hong- kong-Honourable Sir.-A u an can commit a crime without being a criminal, Tribunals never did and nover will be able to estimate with rigour and exactness the amount of liberty that violent passion, such as jealousy, leaves to man. It
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The inquest was held in the Goal before Com- mander Hastings, the jury being composed of Messrs. D. H. Silas, J. Makie, and A. F. de Jesus Soares.
The jury having heen sworn they proceeded. to view the body, which was laid on a trestle in a shed. The face looked thin, but the expres sion was not unnatural, and the mark caused by the rope on the neck was plainly visible.
R. H. Craig was the first witness called. He said I am Chief Warder at Victoria Gaol. The body the jury have been to view is that of Joan de Matta Ozorio, who was committed to gaol under sentence of death on the 24th of June last. The sentence was duly carried out at 6- this morning, in the presence of the Superintendent, Dr. Thompson, and myself. I produce the Governor's warrant.
Dr. Thomson said-I am the Medical Officer at Victoria Gaol. I was present at the execu- tion of the prisoner Ozorio this morning, and at 7-30 I examined the body. 1 found dis- location of the neck with compression of the spinal cord.
Commander Hastings-In your opinion was death instantaneous P
to
Dr. Thomson-Practically so.
A verdict of "Death by hanging according
was returned. the justice of the law The body was subsequently removed and buried by Ozorio's friends.
EDUCATION IN HONGKONG.
THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH AND CHINESE.
P
KINDERGARTENS,
The annual report of Mr. A. W. Brewin, In- of Schools, is published in the Govern- ment Gazette. Exceptional interest attaches to it as the first report of the new Inspector. The educational policy of the Government has bitherto been largely influenced by the opinion of the Inspector for the time being and asanm- ing that it will continue to be so influenced in the future we may expect to see a return to the lines laid down by the late Dr. Stewart. The following are extracts from the report:-.-
NATURE OF THE EDUCATION GIVEN IN
THE SCHOOLS IN THE COLONY. There is no change to record under this heading. The Government has been unable as yet to give affect to its resolve to encourage an English education in future for the Chinese population. In schools which give an English education the syllabus is founded on that in force in English primary schools, and the text- books used are also those in use at home. But it is questionable whether either syllabus or books are suited for the teaching of English to Chinese. The text-book most in use in the first standard seems to have been compiled with the object of including as few words as possible. And boy of twelve-and that is the age at which Chinese begin to study English- should be able to learn twice or three times as many words in the course of a year. I do not see how the same methods and books can be suitable both for English and Chinese boys, nor how, from an educational point of view, the best results can be obtained in a school where
is for this reason that the fundamental law all civilized natious places in the bauds of the Sovereign Ruler the sacred privilege of pardon- As a Portuguese ing and commuting sentences. citizen and as a minister of the Religion of Jesus Christ, which is all sweetness and mercy, I approach. with the greatest resp ct. Your boys of both nationalities are taught in the Excellency, in the name of Him who prayed samne class, and I doubt whether there are com for pardon for those who crucified Him, to askpensating social advantages to be gained from you for clemency and mercy for the unfortunate Portuguese Joao da Matta Ozorio, who in the Supreme Court of Justice of Hongkong has just been sentenced to death. Clemency and mercy, Sir! Your Excellency's most humble servant in J. C. (Signed) JOSE, Bishop of Macau."
The dread sentence was carried out at six
o'clock in the morning in the presence of the Superintendent of the Gaol (the Hon. F. H
the association. In purely Chinese schools the education approximates very closely to that given in schools in China. It is true that geography (of a very elementary kind) is taught in the higher standards, and an extra subject, but in arithmetic, as the teaching of Chinese itself there has been no advance for the last twenty years. In the Annual Report for 1876 Dr. Stewart wrote "The School Book Committee's books.
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