("Daily Press" of 24th January, 1876)
On Saturday the four men who were convicted in respect to the Sowkewan murder case, were set at liberty; but the matter does not appear as yet to be by any means
Al-
at an end. As already mentioned, an enquiry is to take place into the conduct of the Police in connection with the affair; and no doubt some very interesting facts in regard with it will then come out. It is somewhat strange that the Commission consists of only official persons, two of whom are more or less connected with the matter. REGISTRAR-GENERAL has taken a very prominent part in all the proceedings and the The preliminary investigations in regard to them took place before Mr. MAY, so that the only member of the Commission who is completely independent, is Mr. MITCHELL. though there is every reason to have confidence in the astuteness and impartiality of the last named gentleman, it can hardly be considered that he is fairly placed on such a Commission, where he stands every chance of being in a minority should he differ from either of his colleagues. It would be far more satisfactory, if a Commission of this kind consisted, at least in part, of persons not connected with the Government, where there would not be the slightest chance of any bias. From all that is said, there is every prospect of a perfectly new complexion being placed upon the matter, before the full investigations with regard to it are at an end.
(Daily Press" of 25th February, 1870.)
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A case which was before the Police Court on Monday seems to call for some notice. It appears that the Acting Superintendent of Police issued an order to the effect that "all Police officers should afford immediate assistance to the bearer of the document, who was one of M. CALDWELL'S runners, in apprehending any old offenders he might point out.” In consequence of this, the Chinaman into whose hands the order fell, was accompanied by a Police Inspector to No. 50, Market Street, where, on the strength of this warrant, five men were arrested, four of whom, it appeared when the case was gone into, had been taken up simply because they were lodging in the same house as a man who had over a year ago been sentenced to a term of imprisonment. Now, it may very fairly be asked whether anybody can inform the public' what is the status of Mr. D. R. CALDWELL's informers, and how comes that they are considered tit persons to be entrusted with a warrant made out simply in favour of the bearer? It is too well known that any power of this kind placed in the hands of such Chinamen as are likely to take up the position of public informers, or in plain English of spies, will almost to a certainty be turned to account as a means of squeezing. As Mr. Mar very pertinently observed, in nearly all cases of this kind there was sufficient to lead to the impression that squeezing was going on, though the Chinese contrived to keep out such evidence as would lead to conviction, or would, in other words, be sufficient to permit the bench to take cognisance of it. When such is the deliberate opinion of a gentleman who has probably more experience as to Police matters than anybody else in the colony, it is surely time that a stop were put to the issue of warrants in favour of any Chinaman, be he good, bad or indifferent, to whom those rather doubtful indi- viduals, Mr. CALDWELL'S informers, may choose to intrust them.