254
Thomson objected to a further adjourn. the case had been adjourned two or Bade us berthana Worship upheld the objection and dir-
Grist to call his witnes
esses.
• Ching, I boatman, said he was at Mira Bayton) the 4th September, when there was some disturbanos_on:** The trouble was caused by the man on the Nam Chou steam launch sing to pay the tax for landing passengers, No shots were fired from the Kam Sang on the 4th deptember. Shots were fired on shore
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
| whatever to do with the assault. No doubt the man was assaulted, but he was assaulted by the villagers for trying to get passengers without paying the tax.
A couple of witnesses deposed that the de- fendants did not take part in the assault.
His Worship discharged the fourth defend- ant, as the evidence of identification was not complete, and sentenced the other four to three months' hard labour. In' the other case a fine of $25 was imposed.
[September 23, 1899.
THE HUNGHOM MURDER CASE,
At the Magistracy on Thursday afternoon, fore Mr. H. Gomperts (Acting Police trate), Pung Pun, carpenter, Market Street, Hunghom, and Li Ki, cook, Bulkeley Street, Hunghom, were charged on remand" for that- they feloniously, wilfully, and of their malice aforethought did kill and murder ons Pan Får, sawyer, at Hunghom on the 22nd August"
Mr. Bowley (Acting Crown Solicitor) peared for the prosecution, and Mr. F. Barting-
In reply to Mr. Thomson, witness said hOPPOSITION TO THE ACQUISITION ton Deacon for the defence.si
belonged to one of the 18 villages. The people - asked the owner of the Nam Chou launch to pay the landing tax, but he had no money to do so*All the other launches paid the tax. (5) Lee Yee, another boatman, said he was in Mirs Bay on the 4th September and saw the two launches there. The steam launch people hod fight. The men of their 18 villages maked the people of the Nam Chou launch to pay the landing fee, but they refused, and in consequence the people of the 18 villages wished to prevent the Nam Chou from carrying pas engers. No shots were fired from the Kam Sang on the 4th September. The men by the steam launches did not fight, and the men of the 18 villages did not actually fight with the men of the Nam Chữu; they only fired two shots,
Mr. Grist addressed a few more words to his Worship; asking him to dismiss the case, as the probability was decidedly in favour of the de. fendant;!
+ His Worship said he would reserve his doci- gion until he heard the other case.
"Mr. Thomson briefly opened the other case,
The complainant, a ticket collector on board the stoum launch Nam Chou, said he was in kis launch in Mirs Bay on the 7th September. He went sahore în a small boat to get passen- sura, calling out; " Any of you people wanting to go to Hongkong may go in this boat." The first defendant, who was standing on the sands, said "Kill him, beat him," then about ten men
OF LAND BY FOREIGNERS AT WUCHOW..
The following translation of a Chinese letter from Wuchow has been placed at our disposal:-
Ever since the opening of the various porte to foreign trade the business with foreigners has been increasing daily, and it ought to be managed in such a manner as not to produce dissatisfaction to either party, Chinese or for. eigners. Since the West River was thrown open to foreign trade a large number of steamers have been coming and going and business has in- oreased and become prosperous. Foreign mer chants vie with each other in buying land
increasing the value.
Pun Ying Fui said he was a carpenter and last month was employed in the Kwang Tak Cheong, & ship-building yard at Hunghom. He left on the 2nd instant. He remembered the 22nd August. He was working at the Kwong Tak Cheong that morning when Pun Fuk, the deceased, came and asked him to come and drink tea, and they went out into Bulkeley Street. It was the custom for the shipbuilders to go out at 12 o'clock for their midday meal. The men in the employ of the Dock Company went out at the same time, a whistle being blown
•
as a signal that it was 12 o'clock." When:in Bulkeley Street and on the way to the eating house near the market they met the first pri- soner. The deceased asked the first prisoner He did not know what he wanted
whereon to erect wharves and godowns, thereby for money for. The first prisoner i said
Junks and cargo boats are usually moored along the banks of the lower part of the river at Wuchow, and people from the city al
also go to that part to procure water for domestic изд. Sometime last month a foreigner an- nounced that the land along the bank of the river at this point had been purchased by him for the purpose of building wharves and godowns, that no boats were to be allowed to anchor there, and that the people would not be allowed to trespass on the land for the purpose of obtaining water. The boat people, being afraid, removed their boats to the upper part of the river at the month of the Tiger River, and though the current there is so strong as to render it unsafe for the embarkation of passengers or the landing or discharge of cargo, they for the present have kept quiet. The feeling of the people who had to go or send to the river bank for water was, however, greatly excited,
the
::
he would not give him any and would fight first. The deceased then pushed the brit pri- soner with his hand, and then the first pri- soner bit Pun Fuk, striking him violently. Pun Fuk than ran back, and the first prisoner run after him and stabbed him in the left but- took with a chisel. Then another man who had came up hit the deceased with a hammer. He could not recognise the man who struck Pun Fnk with the hammer. After this Pan Fuk ran on to Temple Street, and witness caught hold of him as he was falling and became an- conscions. Blood was flowing from him. A constable then came up and Pun Fuk was put into an ambulance. A man named Chan Jui assisted him to hold up the deceased while the ambulance was being brought. There were good many men in the street. He was sure was the first prisoner who struck the with a chisel, though he had not seen hins befo
hed at him. The third defendant gave him a vusk with his two hands and he fell into the water. The second defendant and several others struck him with their fists all over his body. The first defendant" "struck him with a spear ich he had in his hand and then poked +kim" with it on his right side, and hurt him and when they saw the carriers turned back by The first prisoner was coming, from the dire
very badly. The frat defendant called out ugain, ~ «Beat him; kill him, don't be afraid." Hearing this call the fifth defendant rushed toward the complainant with a long sword in ouch hand and tried to chop him. He ducked into the water and thus escaped the blows.
He then went further ashore and sat down on the hands, as he had swallowed some water. He was sitting down for about ten minutes, when he tried to get into his boat to go on board the the steam launch. The first defendant pointed à revolver at him and said, "Don't go aboard your steam launch, if you do I will kill you by iring this revolver." When he heard this he was frightened and he ran to another part of the beach and engaged a small boat, which
rowed him to the steam launch.
In reply to Mr. Grist witness said it was high tide when this oconrred, and it all took place the water side of the low water mark. had not been having any trouble with villagers at Mirs Bay, No demand had been for landing tax: The people wanted to nt the Nam Chou steam-lanuch because wanted to keep the business for their own launch. He had known the fifth defendant since the fourth moon, and he had known the others for several years. On this occasion there were 0 or 900 men ashore armed with sticks and
and they were all threatening him than ten rushed at him. He knew some the others besides the defendants. The defendanta were employed on board the Kum not because he could not get at that he was taking proceedings 5 defendants. 2) buduate Court He went into the Hospital September and came out on the 19th
din, a boatman at Mire Bay, and uve evidence ved
sid there had been considerable to the landing and the I nőt been allowed
that the defendants had nothin
i
the foreigner their animosity grew very great and they wanted to find out who had sold the land to foreigners. The more they talked the more excited they became and at last, on the 30th August, they called a meeting in the guildhall and decided to petition the mandarins. A party numbering about fifteen then devised the following scheme: They ran to the yamen of the magistrate and repres ented that a disturbance had broken out between some foreigners belonging to the Customs ser- vice and Chinese, and they asked the Magistrate to go and suppress it. The Magistrate set off, and while on his way the crowd, male and female, old and young, pressed round his chair and compelled the bearers to carry him to the guildhall, where a great number of the elders and gentry were awaiting him. They com plained to him of the above facts with regard to the sale of land and urged him to take the matter in hand. There was no chair nor any other furniture in the hall and the Magistrate had therefore to stand. He told the people that the matter they spoke of was a very serious one and that he must communicate with the Prefect. The people then repeated upon the Prefect the strategem they had used upon the Magistrate and brought him also to the guildhall. The elders and gentry then knelt before him and stated their grievance The Prefect thereupon summoned the former owner of the land and ordered him to repay to the foreigner the $200 he had received as the price and to take the land back. This was done. and the Prefect promised the people that he would see that no land is hereafter clandestinely let or sold to foreigners.pdfhtt
At the Autumnal festival it is customary for the yamen runners at Canton to levy a squeese on the flower boats, and having the sanction of long usage the squeeze has hitherto been sub. mitted to This year, however, the rauners wanted to raise the rates, with the result that the Reepers refused to pay and nearly all the bosts have for the time being been closed,
tion of the Dock when they met him. He did not remember having seen the second pri soner before. When the carpenters - went out to their mid-day meal they did not usually carry a chisel their hands. The chisel with which the first prisoner stabbed the de- ceased was exactly like the one produced. He saw it in the first prisoner's hand when he was running. He and Pun Fuk had nothing in their hands. No one was fighting except the deceased and the two prisoners. He had known Pan Fuk four or five years. When the affair took place Pan Fuk was employed at Mong Kok. Witness was near the deceased when he was struck. The hammer with which the deceased was struck had an iron head.
In reply to Mr. Deacon, witness said he was not a relative of Pun Fuk. They did not belong to the same guild, as the deceased was wood Bawyer while he was a carpenter. The deceased stopped the first prisoner and asked him for some money. He did not know why the money was asked for, nor did he know now. When the first prisoner first struck the de- ceased they were standing at the corner of Temple Street, and the deceased ran up Temple Street, the first prisoner following. Other people followed as well, and looked, on. He did not notice whether the man who strok the deceased with a hammer came from, the crowd or not. 'I he man only struck onoa: then ran away. The first prisoner away as soon as he had stabbed the He saw the chisel with which the deceased stabbed in the first prisoner's hand whenɛ first met him. He never saw the man hammer before. He was between: 30. He could recognise him if he saw him He had heard nothing about trouble in the guild. He did not know anything about the guild to which the deceased belonged, He had never seen the second defondant before.
em
Keong Shing said he was a ployed in the Kwong Lung Sing he was working at Kwong Tak Cheong On
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