+
66
and was attested in March of that year. The second marriage was not until December, 1900, so that it must have been over 15 years after he joined the Engineers that he made this second marriage. He was married in England on the 14th July, 1899, that is, five years and three months after being attested in the Engineers. I do not know what age they take people into the Engineers, but I should imagine that, having joined the Royal Engineers and been attested in Maroh, 1885, when it came to July, 190, which is five years and three months afterwards, he must have been certainly not a minor at all at the time of his marriage.
The Prisoner-I was under 16 years when I joined the Engineers, my Lord.
The Attorney General-I have the date of his joining here. He left Hongkong in February, 1898, and at that time was still in the Royal Engineers; and his wife left with him. While they were here they lived in the married quarters at Lyeemun. He returned alone to Hongkong in November, 1900, and was met by Crombie, a warrant officer of the Royal Engineers, who knew his wife and in- quired for her. Prisoner told Crombie that his wife was dead. Then on 1st December he went through the form of marriage with this woman, who is a teacher at the St. Francis Convent, Wanchai. In the marriage certificate he is described as 18 years of age. His age must be considerably over that, because if he joined the Engineers in 1885, and it was more than 15 years before this second marriage, he must have been considerably over 30. The only thing I have in the way of an official record to show that he is not speaking correctly is as to his age. But as to any body telling him that because he married his cousin there are thousands and thousands of such marriages-it was therefore legal to marry another woman, he must have been very foolish indeed; as to his being a minor at the time, I can only say that the records are absolutely against that. I see in the depositions the age he has put down is 35. I should think that is very much nearer. Therefore, there being no basis his remarks fall to the ground. I do not wish to say anything in aggravation. The man has pleaded guilty. I do not wish to press for an unduly severe panishment, but I do not think his account of the separation from his first wife, who I understand to be an extremely respectable woman, tends to lessen the offence.
His Lordship, in passing sentence, said- Prisoner at the bar, I have listened to your statement. You said a good deal which would have been better left unsaid. Half of your statement I connot believe. You must abide by one thing or another.. You said you were 28 at the time of the marriage: that is absurd, because at that rate you must have joined the Engineers when 13. I have no pity for you at all; you have ruined two women in this way. The sentence of the Court will be two years' hard labour.
LARCENY.
Wong Lam, a tailor, was charged with steal- He ing two pieces of satin and one of crape. pleaded not guilty.
The following jury were empanelled :-J; H. Jessen, B. M. Castro, Chow Dart Tong, H. C. Sandford, W. E. Pucker, T. Blair, and H. A. W. Slade.
After evidence, which showed that the cloth was entrusted with the defendant to be made inte garments and that he pawned it under false names and addresses, the jury found the charge proven.
His Lordship passed sentence of 18 months. This case came before the Sessions as the offence was committed more than six months ago and was therefore outwith the jurisdiction of the Magistrates' Court.
A similar case was that in which Wun San
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
IN SUMMARY JURISDICTION.
BEFORE HIS HONOUR T. SERCOMBE SMITH. (ACTING PUISNĚ JUDGE),
KWOK KAM CHUN v. COMPAGNIE DES MESSAGERIES MARITIMES.
Plaintiff claimed restricted damages of $1,00 for injuries alleged to have been caused to his fishing junk Cheung Kwan Lee by being run down by defendant's steamer Indus on 22nd | September last in the neighbourhood of the island of Pedro Blanco Evidence had been completed on Monday last.
Mr. Morgan Phillips, barrister-at-law, appeared for the plaintiff, instructed by r. John Hays of Messrs Johnson, Stokes and Master, solicitors; and defendants were represented by Mr. John Hastings, solicitor.
on
|
(January 27, 1902. two persons on board a junk at Castle Peak Bay.
'T'hey pleaded not guilty.
The Attorney-General (Ion. W. Meigh Goodman, K.) conducted the prosecution, in- structed by Mr. F. B. L. Bowley, Crown Solicitor; and Mr. Morgan Phillips, barrister- at-law, appeared for the first defendant, in- structed by Mr. O. D. Thomson, so icitor.
The following jury was empanelled:-Messrs. A. F. de J. Soares, C. C. Correth, W. P. Lambert, J. Ramsey, E. S. Gabbey, A. M. Baptisto, and D. M. Graham.
'The Attorney-General in opening the case, said that the alleged theft took place on a passenger junk which sailed every week from Hongkong to Fookwing, which is 40 or 50 miles away, beyond the New Territory. There were about eight altogether forming the crew and 17 or 18 passengers. The junk sailed in the afternoon. Castle Peak Bay was reached about midnight. Here, it was alleged, the de- fendants terrorised the crew and the passengers and robbed them, going on shore afterwards.
After evidence, the jury found the prisoners guilty, and his Lordship sentenced them each to seven years' hard labour and to get two whippings of 20 strokes each.
Tuesday, 21st January.
IN CRIMINAL JURISDICTION.
CHIEF JUSTICE), ·
MANSLAUGHTER.
*
Pung Chun, a musician, was charged with having on 25th November, in a house in Holly. wood Road, killed another musician.
He pleaded guilty of manslaughter.
His Lordship, in delivering judgment, said that be had given the case some consideration since last sitting in Court, and the question before him
what was
ship canie into collision with tho junk. He went to deal with the evidence adduced regarding the positions of the junk and the steamer at the time they wore alleged to have collided, and also reviewed the facts submitted in relation to the current running. As to the question of collision, he commented on the evid ence of both parties concerning the point, and observed that a feature of the defendant's evid- ence was that no shock was felt to the ship. As to the point raised regarding the white hull and black funnels of the Indus, bis BEFORE HIS HONOUR A. G. WISE (ACTING Lordship said that as a jury he had taken the opportunity of going across the harbour while the steamer was in port and passing very close to her bows. When going over to Kow- loon he could not distinguish her colour, though when returning he got a better sight of her and could just see faintly that she was while. That was his only experience in the matter, and of course the ship was in harbour, where probably it was more favourable than the conditions out at sea. On the whole, on that point he was of the opinion that it was very unlikely that the people on board of the junk could in the panic of collision have taken such minute notice of the steamer as they stated they did. It had been urged that the plaintiff when coming into Hongkong had no knowledge of the ship which had collided with him, but only the knowledge that he had been run into. It was not until he had been in Hongkong and had made enquiries that he was aware, according to Mr. Hastings, of which ship it was thought to bo. His Lord. ship proceeded to deal with the question of the paint being scratched off the bows and pointed out they had heard the evidence of the officer on board whose special duty it was to make a round of the ship on her arrival in harbour and see whether any paint was off or not. His evidence was clear and definite on the point, for he stated absolutely there were no signs of a collision having occurred. That was a point upon which the plaintiff laid considerable stress, and, it seemed to His Lordship, a point which had not been proved to the satisfaction of the Court. It was quite true that had the Indus been in collision with a junk there must have been some paint scratched off, but the evidence on that point was of such a nature that he could not accept it against the testi- mony of an officer whose special duty it was to make a round of the ship and see whether or not paint had been scratched off. The onus of proof, he concluded, having been on the plain. fiff to satisfy the Court on the evidence that the steamer which collided with the junk was the Indus, belonging to the defendant company, that onus, in his opinion, had not been dis- charged, and the defendant company would therefore have judgment with costs.
Monday, 20th January.
IN CRIMINAL JURISDICTION.
CHIEF JUSTICE);
ARMED ROBBERY.
got 18 months' hard labour for stealing certain BEFORE HIS HONOUR A. G. WISE (ACTING articles of clothing from a house in Victoria where he lodged nearly two years ago-on 21st February, 1900. He disappeared up country at the time, but was noticed in the street a week or so ago by one of the men whose property he had stolen and handed over to the police.
Kwok Wai, Kong Cham Sing. Ng In, and Lam Cheung were charged with having, on 10th December, being armed with revolvers, stolen $145 and certain other property from
The
The Attorney-General (Hon. W. Meigh Goodman, K.C.) stated that he had considered with a great deal of care whether he should charge the prisoner with murder or man- slaughter, and had come to the conclusion that it would not be safe to indite him with the capital offence. The fatal assault took place in a club in Hollywood Road where some Chinese musicians were in the habit of meeting in the evenings so that they might be hired. On this particular evening there were a number of these 1
inusicians in the club and after the night's work. they sat down in a friendly way to supper, which began about two or half-past two o'clock in the morning and lasted till about half-past three. There was no doubt they consumed a fair amount of samshu and were not in full command of their intelligence after supper. In these circumstances a quarrel took place between the deceased man and the prisoner. The quarrel seemed to have arisen as to the question of who ought to have been employed in due rotation on some former occasion when a musician was summoned to go to some entertainment. prisoner happened to have a knife and in the quarrel the deceased was stabbed. Tho only really independent evidenos that could be got was that of a Chinese doctor who had a cubicle in the room and was undoubtedly sober. He stated that they made a great deal of noise at supper and he requested them to be quiet. According to him the prisoner did abuse the deceased man. There were two distinct fights- the first being with fists. There was a consen- sus of opinion that the prisoner warned the deceased that he had a knife if he wanted to fight. In the latter's dying deposition, he stated that defendant did so warn him. That was very similar to the statement made by the They were half-drunk, defendant himself. however, and they began to fight and prisoner stabbed his opponent in the abdomen. Had the man been properly attended to be might have been saved. But both were very heated, and deceased chased the prisoner some little distance away from the place and then sank down, his bowels began to protrude and practically there was no chance of his recovery. He was taken to the Hospital and attended to by Dr. Bell. Peritonitis supervened and he succumbed on the 2nd December. Prisoner, it was quite possible, was telling the truth when he said that he was in the back room and deceased came from the front room and challenged him to fight; that he told the other man he had better not fight as he had a knife; that