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the Chief Magistrate of this Colony, who is also a Commissioner of the Court of Admiralty.
From these Papers Your Lordship will observe that the "Spee"
Pitman's Evidence, &c.
was, according to Captain Pitman's statement, sent by him in consequence of rifling the said Junk, and that he took her into Shanghai, where, taking the depositions, it was determined by the Consul in conjunction with Captain Pitman, to send the Spee to Hongkong for her Master and crew being brought to trial before the Admiralty Court on indictment to be preferred against them by the Legal Authority of this Colony.
The "Spee" arrived here on the 29th July and the whole of the documents that had reached me were placed in the hands of Sterling, the Attorney General, when it was deemed prudent to await the arrival of Chinghe, the only witness that had been detained by Captain Pitman, who was an eye-witness of the Spee firing into the Junk. This witness had been severely wounded in the foot by the fire from the "Spee", and was not in a fit state to be removed when that vessel was sent away from Shanghai, but when sufficiently recovered he was also sent down, and arrived here on the 20th August, and was by my directions placed in charge of the Police.
I also ordered Her Majesty's Ship "Cambrian", and Her Majesty's Ship "Childers" down from Shanghai, that Captain Pitman and the other officers of that vessel might be brought forward as evidence of what took place in their presence. Captain Pitman arrived here on the 7th September, but unfortunately in the meantime the Witness Chinghe, above referred to, had absconded, having eluded the surveillance of the Police, and could nowhere be found, having no doubt been induced to do so by ...