{
May 21, 1904.]
said that the premises insured were the top floor and not the second floor.
Further evidence went to show that Pun Tak and Hing Hang Chi were the same mau.
On the Attorney-General closing his case Mr. Slade said that he had no witnesses.
岛
The Attorney-General read a statement by the prisoner, afterwards saying that on the man's own admission he was left in charge of the pre mises in qustion. Prisoner had told a story about auother man bringing powder ia paper and spirits-of-wine to the house he was in charge of. Why did he let this man bring these things in ? Prisoner's wife and this man had escaped, so prisoner naturally put the blame ou them. He affirmed that the jury had quite sufficient circumstantial evidence to returu a verdict of guilty.
Mr. Flade with remarkable alility impressed on the minds of the jurors that the ciime of arson was a very serious one, and the jury there- fore had to be very car-ful that they bad the right man before they convicted the prisoner. It was their duty to convict they had no reasonable doubt as to the man's guilt-and oaty 80.
In all other circumstances they must give defendant the benefit of the doubt, it being the duty of the Crown to prove the man guilty not the duty of prisoner to prove himself inno cent Mr. Slade continuing picked the evidence of each to pieces, proving that the sum total of if proyed, nothing. The really guilty person was not in custody.
After his Lordship had sammed up the jury returned a verdict of not guilty" by 5-2.
•
Thursday, 19th May.
IN CRIMINAL JURISDICTION,
BEFORE HIS HONOUR SIR WILLIAM. M. GOODMAN (CHIEF JUSTICE.)
ALLEGED CONSPIRACY.
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Ng Tseung, an old Chinaman, and Hon Him, his wife, were charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of law and justice by pretend- ing to the Squatters Board that the first prisoner was the lessee of a plot of Government ground at Mati (the leases being in fact dead). by which means the lease was allowed by the Squatter's Board; the man was also charged with committing several fraudulent acts before the Board thereby obtaining the lease.
They pleaded not guilty, and were defended by Mr. E. H. Sharp, K.C. (instructed by Mr. F. Paget Hett, solicitor, of Mr. G. K. Hall Brut. ton's office).
The following jury was empanelled -Messrs. P. C. Cunningham, F. W. While, S. E. Moses. J. T. d'Almada e Castro, R. Walpole, A. Schmidtboru, and L. Kerr,
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
The Attorney-General remarked that was detail. At any rate he could not have been more than 15 or 16 years of age at the time. The woman and her husband got the lease.| Chan Tso left the land and went to live at squatter's lease held by his father. Defendants Chungshawa. giving the defendants the
adopted the name of the deceased Chan Cheung went to live on the plot, built a hat, and
in whose name the lease was made out.
When the annual squatter's rent became due the defendants went to the Treasury and paid and Chan Cheung's wife. it, passing themselves off as Chan Cheung In March of 1904. Chan Tso, the original squatter's son. went to the woman and asked her for his father's squatter's licence. She said she had and he went to a solicitor, Mr. John Hastings, lost it. Chan Tso was not satisfied with this for advice. Then it was discovered that the defendants had been before Mr. Wakeman, the secretary of the Squatters Board, and had filed a new claim to his land, the male defendant stating that he was Chan Cheung and the woman that she was Chan Cheung's wife. That evidence for the purpose of deceiving the Board. was a deliberate act of manufacturing false Defendants, although aware of the fact that from the Squatters' Board and had not com- Chan Cheung was dead, had concealed that fact municated it to the Public Works Department. leaving them to assume that Chan Cheung was alive and that the male defendant was he. evidence of the officials of the Squatter's Board The
and its records showed the following conclu- sions. The male defendant deliberately signed Chan Cheung's name to his claim with the intention of having the claim allowed by the Squatter's Board. On 19th February, 1904, he signed his name as being Chan Chenug, and on 17th March his claim was heard by the Board and was allowed to him as being Chan Cheung. On 24th March, the two defendants. Chan Tso, the son, and Mr. Goldring, his solicitor, were in the Land Office. The male prisoner there stated to the Squatters Board that he WBS Chan Cheung and the woman Chan Cheung's wife; also that he had appeared before the Board on 7th March as han Cheung and that he was the same (han Cheung who had signed the old claim in 1896.
The Attorney-General, Hon. Sir Henry S. Berkeley (instructed by Mr. F. B. L. Bowley. Crown Solicitor), appeared for the Crown. In opening the case, he said the prisoners were charged with manufacturing false evidence for the purpose of obtaining from the Squatters Board a claim to a plot of land which without these false statements would not have been allowed. The Squatters' Board was a Board presided over by the Puisne Judge, which adjudged upon these claims to land. There was a man named Chan Cheung who used to culti vate some Crown land at Mati as a squatter. He held a squatter's licence for three-and-a-half acres of land.
This squatter's licence was for year, renewable every year.
and was transferable. In 1896 this man Chan Cheung lodged a claim with the Squatters' Board for & Crown lease of the land for which he held a squatter's licence. Chan Cheung was an old squatter; his family had been there a long time. There were a good many such claims heard before his claim came on. Chan Cheung had died. He died in May, 1898. Defendants were aware of this fact. Thore was a son called Chan Tso who would tell the jury that in Sep- tember of the same year that his father died the female defendant came to him and offered him, a child, $20 a year for a lease of this land for cultivation purposes. The boy was induced to let the land for that rental.
one
Mr. Sharp (interposing) said it was incorrect to call the son a child; he was 21 years of age now,
Evidence was taken for the prosecution and the hearing was afterwards adjourned till to-day.
HONGKONG.
The Eclipse arrived from Mirs Bay on the 18th inst.
The U.S. gunboat Callao left for up-river on the 18th inst.
death
389
On Sunday the golfers of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank beat Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co.'s representatives by the margin of one match.-Mr. T. 8. Forrest on Wednesday defeated Mr. C. W. May for the golf champion- ship.
It is with regret that we have to record the of Mr. William Ralph Seymour, assistant master at Queen's College. Mr. Seymour was admitted to the Government Civil Hospital, a few days ago and died on the 17th
inst.
Visitors to the City Hall Library and Museum Library, 94 Chinese, 225 non-Chinese; Museum, during week ended 1. 15th inst. were:-
1616 Chinese, 88 non-Chinese.
The
tracy, has resigned his position. After many.
Mr. Cheung Tsoi, Third Clerk at the Magis-
years' hard work he some time ago secured the position of Third Clerk, and from that he was transferred to the Land Court on a higher salary. Later, however, he went back to his old position. Third Clerk at the Magistracy. staff, etc.. into his room to wish Mr. Cheung On Tuesday Mr. Gompertz called the clerical Tsoi good-bye. Mr. Cheung had been 18 leaving to take up a better position. years in the Government service, but was
On Monday afternoon H.M.S. Hert was run into by a steam launch called the Lai Wo in the harbour. The bow of the launch struck the Hart amidships near the engine room. Hart sustained considerable damage, it is reported. but was able to regain anchorage. She is a torpedo-boat destroyer of 275 tons. with six guns and an i.h.p. of 4000. When the collision occurred, a Chinese woman fell off the launch and was drowned. The coxswain of the launch was arrested by the water police.
MISCELLANEOUS.
concession at Hankow on the 1st inst.. under A new church was consecrated in the British
the name of the Church of S. John the Evangelist.
substantive appointment of Harbour Master at Mr. W. A. Carlson has been promoted to the
Shanghai, which has not been filled since the death of the late Mr. A. M. Bisbee, Mr. Carl-
time. son has been Acting Harbour Master for some
mouth at the Admiralty-Lieutenant J. A.
The following appointments were made last - Gregory, to the Tamar for the Janus, in com- mand, to date April 4 Sub-Lieutenant J.
April 4. M. Ogilvie, to the Tamar for he Janus, to date
and on the Continent for material for construc- Japan has placed large orders both in England
delivered with the utmost possible despatch. tion of torpedo-boats. The material is to be
Que British firm alone is said to have received
destroyers. an order for material for the building of ten
N.-C. Daily News writes:-We hear that there The Nganlufu (Hupeh) correspondent of the
town some hundred miles from here, near Han- has been an attack upon a Russian priest at a kow.
The feeling against the Russians is very strong, hence this attack on the Russian mis- sionary. The whole of his effects are said to have been destroyed and his house pulled down. A weiyuan is said to have been sent up to insti- tute an enquiry.
It appears that the Empress Dowager of She is said to have given permission to sell her China recently sat to a Japanese photographer. photographs to the public. Her Majesty has been led to do so by hearing the wife of a certain foreign Minister say that the Emperors to be sold to their subjects, who always place and Kings of Europe allow their photographs their sovereigns' portraits in the most honoured position in the household.
Artificer of H.M.S. Ro ario, has been found in The body of Charles Hotson, Engineer-
the river at Shanghai off the French Bund. The unfortunate man was last seen alive about 1 a.m.. on the 1st instant, and it is believed he met with foul play. The body was badly decomposed and pockets were cut out and his watch and chain could only be identified by his clothing. His
missing, the only articles found ou him being his sleeve-links. When last seen he was leaving for his ship in a sampan from a point near the Astor House.
inst. of the Hon. James Montague Bent The death occurred at Penang on the 10th
Vermont, U.M.G., Member of the Straits Legislative Council. Deceased was one of the oldest Straits residents, He came out in the
with the Batu Kawan sugar estate, of which he early sixties and from the first was associated
was manager first, succeeding to the managing roprietorship in the late eighties. He was at
the Prye sugar estates. the time of his death one of the proprietors of He held several
A meeting of Mercantile Marine officers sail- ing out of Hongkong was held last week in the Connaught Hotel, and as a result it has been decided to form a club. A club-room has been engaged in the Connaught Hotel for a period of three months, and if the movement meets with blished. The name of the club is the Marin success there will be permanent quarters esta- Officers' Association. It will fill a long stand- ing want in shipping circles in Hongkong and the China coast. The rooms will be opened on the 1st June. On the 5th of the same month a meeting will be held for the purpose of elect-minor Governmental offices in the Colony, and ing officers and making arrangements for the had been a Justice of the Peace und Police working of the association. Captain Robinson, Magistrate for Province Wellesley. He was of the 8,8. Ying King, has been appointed secre- granted the honour of Companion of the Order tary and treasurer, and a temporary working of S. Michael and S. George in 1901, and when committee has been elected. A considerable he retired from the Legislative Council was number of members have been enrolled already. allowed to retain the title of Honourable,