December 20, 1902.]
ordinary bathroom. Mr. Evans and the two assistants were imprisoned nor would the coolies allow them to go down. The coolies were hoaded by a big dark coolie-named Eng L e- who, we understand, is a low kek, that is to say he has lived in Singapore for some considerable time. A messenger took the news of the serious position of the Protectorate officials to Mr. | Bailey at the Protectorate, and the latter went round to Mr. Evans's assistance. As soon as he got his head above the level of the floor of the room he was attacked and sustained a cut lip and injury to the nose. Though he did his utmost to get through the coolies to Mr. Evans, he was obliged to go down the stairs, though
he would not leave the house.
News of this state of affairs was tolephoned to Mr. Grove, Chief Police Officer, who at the moment happened to be in his office, taking the reports of European officers who had come in from outstations. Mr. Grove and the other Europeans, together with a few policemen who were at the Police Court, and some Sikh and native constables who were in the station, off duty, armed themselves and went off to Wayang Street immediately. Ther were hundreds of Chinese and natives around the house. Headed by Mr. Grove, the police ran up the stairs, and when Mr. Grove got to the level of the room in which Mr. Evans was imprisoned, the coolies immediately went for him, aiming blows at his head and cutting him on the chin. Mr. Evans shouted out that it was not safe to come up and that the coolies would not let him (Mr. Evans) come down.
Just about this time the trap door was shut down, with the police n the stairs beneath. At this critical moment, Mr. Grove sent over to the Police Court for the Chief Magistrate, Mr. E. L. Brockman, who soon arrived accompanied by an interpreter. Through the interpreter Mr. Brockman three times warned the coolies above that unless Mr. Evans and his men were
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released the police would fire. This warning was given through a broken board of the trap- door, through which the ringleader and several other coolies could be seen and heard gesticu lating and shouting defiance. The only reply of the ringleader to the warnings was a laugh and come on, fire as much as you like," or something to that effect. The ringleader, pinted to his chest and asked to be shot there, and another man made a sign of throat-cutting. Thereupon, Mr. Grove ordered Acting Inspector Connor to fire one shot at the meu at the top of the stairs, and Connor at once levelled his Snider and landed a charge of back shot in the ringleader's right side, dropping him dead at once. As this had no effect, Mr. Grove ordered Det. Insp. Brennan and Serg Dunn to fire, and another man got a dose of back shot in the back, low down. Still the remains of the trap door were kept down, and then Mr. Grove rushed up with a rifle. A big coolie aimed a blow at his head with a pole and Mr. Grove shot him in the mouth, killing him instantaneously. Then all the police, headed by Chief Insp. Sullivan, rushed the stairs and gained au entrance to the room, upon which there was a general fight and the coolies, who apparently had had enongh but still did their best to keep back the policemou, were overpowered, and Mr. Evans was rescue, Some idea of the hot scuffle which took place when the police got into the room can be adduced from the fact that every coolie was afterwards found to be wounded, one man having his head so badly injured that he was sent to hospital at once together with the coolie who was shot in the back. The police used sword Layonets, rifle butts, batons and sticks. Each policeman captured a coolie, took him out to the road, gave him a hammering, and carted him off to the Central Police Station; and in this way all the coolies in the room were arrested.
A visit to the scene by the Straits Times man, during the last stage of the fighting, showed the necessity for the prompt action of the police. Outside the house were huge crowds of coolie Chinese, whose attitude was not parti- cularly reassuring and had to be kept back by armed police. The house is of the usual type of coolie emigrant depot, with narrow stais, and two rooms on the first and second floors respectively. In the room above, our repre- sentative found the two dead coolies, the Boor drenched with blood, and signs all around of the severity of the struggle.. The police were
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. in possession of the house. The coolin who was passenger between two American ports. Pas- shot in the back was sent to hospit1 as expedisengers travelling between two American ports tion ly as possible. Mr. Gentle, the Coroner on a foreign vessel often pay this $200 fine to was soon on the scene to view the bodies; and the ompany owning the vessel; and if this was shortly Drs. Leask and Fraser from the General done by Moffit it would go to show his anxiety Hospital arrived and examined the dead men to embark on the Hongkong Maru. In his case The men at the Central Police Station were all the fine would be $400, for he would have to badly damaged, one baving a nasty gash from pay for his wife. a sword bayonet over his ribs, and all the others having broken beads, and smashed noses aud teeth. They were not able to walk, and later on were s nt to Hospital in batch-s,
The two dead men, one of whom was the ringleader, and whose names were Eng Lee and | Gol Pow, are natives of the Lwee Chew district, near Shanghai, which is understood to be pro- ductive of a good many bad characters. The proprietor of the depot is Low Teng Lye. The difficulty experienced by the police in getting into the room is illustrated by the fact that at one stage of the proceedings, a fire escape ladder was sent for to enable the police to get into the room; but as the widow was closed with fixed iron bars, and it was thought the crowd might attempt to pull the ladder away while the police were attempting to get in. this means of entry was of no use. During the proceedings, Messrs. Baker and Frankel, who were passing in a ricksha, rendered the police assistance. When the wounded coolies have sufficiently recovered they will be brought up before a Magistrate,
At the inquest last week on the bodies of the two Chinese killed in the above affray a verdict of "justifiable homicide was r. turned against the police.
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ARREST OF HONGKONG FUGH!
TIVE AT SAN FRANCISCO.
The San Francisco Chronicle of the 15th ult. says:-
•
Upon the arrival of the Hongkong Maru from th Orient yesterday morning. l'efective Fréel went a' oard and arrested R. P. Moffit, who was on the steamer's passenger list, under the name of R. J. Murphy. He was accompanied by Bis wife, and he affected great surprise when Freel placed him under arr. st The police say that Moffit is wantel in Hongkong for the embezzle. ment of $1,000, and intend to try to hold him until the arrival of extradition
papers, which will be not less than two months hence. The accused mau has retained attorneys, and it is quite likely that he will be discharged from custody to-day on a writ of habeas corpus. The olice have no evidence against him, and their only authority for arresting him was a calligram from Honghong signed
་་
He was
The San Francisco Call of the same date adds that Moffit was taken to the City Prison and placed in "the tanks" pending further develop: menis. Ho at once employed Attorney Peter F. Danne to secure his release on a writ of habeas corpus.
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GENERAL CHAFFEE'S REPORT
ON THE PHILIPPINES.
Major-General Adna R. Chaffee's report on the Philippines, published at Washington last month, covers the campaign of General J. H. Smith in Samar, refers to some friction that occurred between the civil and military authori. ties regarding Leyte, and discusses the actions of various officers and the work of the Army in the suppression of recent insurrections. General Chaffee warmly defends the officers, and assumes full responsibility for all that was done under official orders. He says that the various Filipino bands were of little military importance, and in time can be handled by the insular constabulary. Speaking of the campaign in Samar, General Chaffee says that he finds nothing in the written instructions which "was not conferred by the conditions th re to be overcome." General Chaffee says the formation of concentration camps was necessary to suppress the insurrection in the provinces of Batangas, Lagun, and Tayc-: tas. Im reserts that the civil aut orities in some intances aided the insurrectiɔuists, and says: "It was found necз sary to arrest and confine 3 or 4 of the i teligent class in arsler to remove the influence of the mis es over the masses of the popu ation." General Chaffee requests the rom val of al censure that has been passed publicly apou General B Il re- garding the orders, circulars and instruc ious which Le is-ued while putting down the insur- rection.
An interesting feature of General (haffee's report rela es to the Moros in Mindanao aud Jolo. He says that it will require time, tact, and patience to establish United States an thority over all the Moro settlements. In this connection he says: The sooner the Sultan of: Jolo's title, actual or assumed, as sovereign and as sole owner of land in the Jolo archipelago is Police." The cable-quieted the better for the sitnation. Probably gram was dated October 20, 1962, and asked the there is little doubt that a money consideration Sau Francisco police to arrest Moffitt or Murphy. I would relieve the situation of his claim aud his who was a passenger on the steamship Gaelic. presence and could this be done, laws, just but The cablegram described the man wasted, an1 simple, and so plainly stated as to be understood said that he was accused of the ombezzlement of by the Moro population generally, might be $2,000. When the Gaelic arrived at this pot enforced through the Datos upon their followers several days ago she was hoarded by Detective without much trouble or frequent resort to force. Freel, but he could not find Mollit.
It will be impossible for many years to ignore told that a man named Murphy, with his wife, chieftainships-Datos-and to dal directly had left the Gaelic at Honolulu. Moffitt sys with the individual Moros as is done with civil it is true that he left the Gaelic at Hono'uẩn, lised, Christian people. It will, however, be a and he s'ates that he stayed a Honolulu fog a long step aboad for the inhabitants of Join week before taking passage on th Hongkong archipelago when the Datos are independent of Maru. He denies that he his committed any the Saltan and recognise the United States as crime, aud particularly the crime alleged the only sovereign to which allegiance is due against him. He states that for the past four and as the only authority empowere! to enact years ho has worked as an expert accountantin laws for the gove:nment of the inhabitants and Hongkong and Shanghai, aud been employed the country; that all the inhabitants are equal at different times by several different Chinese before the law; th 1Chr.stian people have a right and British firms. He claims that the only to live. These few simple propositions acknow money he has handled for other persons has ledged, the government of the Moro people been that coming into his hands in the process would not at all be difficult. But to advance so of checking up accounts. He claims not to far will consume much time and may result in know the name of the person complaining national conflict; for the modifica ion of present against him. Moffitt states that he is 30 beliefs to accord with the above ideas will id years of age, and says that he was born in some cases require that military force be used." Austral'a of Scotch parents. He left Queens General Chaffee says that force has been used: land and went to the Philip ines, and only to the degree necessary to make it under- from there to China.. He will not offer an stood plainly that persons entitled to protection explanation of why he left Chins under cannot be murdered, and that the authority of an as-umed Dame. That fact, and the the United States cannot be questioned. The further fact that he changed steamers at inattention of the United States forces, he says, Honolulu, convinces the police that he was flee- bas been misunderstood, and the Datos believe ing from justic, and that he was doing every- the troops to be cowards and afraid to attick thing porrible to prevent his apprehension. their defences. He says force must be applied It is probable that the company owning the
to humb'e their pride and assumed invincibility, Hongkong Maru, which is a foreign vessel, will Commenting ou other sections of the islands, have to pay a fine of $200 imposed by a United General Chaffeee says that at the time of States law upon a foreign vessel carrying awi ing his report the army was on a peace
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