16
(“China Mail" of 9th December, 1870.)
317
LUNG ACHUNE, the party accused of being a suspicious character by one of Mr. D. R. CALDWELL'S detectives, was brought up on remand this morning. Evidence was produced which showed the informer's evidence to be totally false in every way. He was the aggressor, not the defendant. He drew the knife used and he threw it over- board. The complainant was therefore placed in the dock, sentenced to twelve mouths' hard labor, ordered to find sureties in $100 for another year and to be recommended for deportation.
("Daily Press" of 12th December, 1870.)
It is really painful to be compelled to allude over and over again to the same pu- blic abuses in Hongkong in almost the same words; but, when it is found that they are repeatedly recurring, and that, so far from the Government taking any steps to remedy them, they appear only anxions to hush them up, nothing is left but to make a point of calling attention to them whenever they come afresh before the public. On Saturday the report of a case at the Magistracy was given, which displays in a most painful manner the working of the informer system in Hongkong. The matter is briefly related. One of the employés of one of Mr. CALDWELL'S informers was convict- ed of having trumped up an entirely false charge against a Chinaman, who was about to leave in a Macao passage-boat. It seems that the informer went on to the junk, and demanded that one of the men should come on shore with him, or if not, should give him his jacket. A scuffle ensued, which resulted in the former getting hold of the man whom he had endeavoured to squeze, giving him in charge of a Chinese Police Sergeant, and then bringing a false accusation against him at the Magistracy. Mr. RUSSELL, after a careful investigation of the facts, sentenced the inforiner to twelve months' imprisonment with hard labour, and ordered that he should afterwards find security in $200. This sentence will no doubt meet the approval of the public, and it is to be hoped that the like severity will be shown in all cases of the kind.
The circumstances which are brought to light, however, are of the most serious des- cription. We here find that the Chinese in Hongkong are pestered by cascals utterly removed from the shadow of control. The man just convicted was not even one of Mr. CALDWELL'S informers, but was actually an employé of a man employed by him, and of whom he had no knowledge whatever. Is this not a disgraceful state of affairs? It is useless to say more with regard to it. We are sick of the subject, and the public must be sick of reading of it. But is it conceivable that the Government of Hongkong will allow this monstrous abuse to go on without making the most strenuous efforts to put an end to it? One word, however, must be said. It has been stated that the runners in Mr. CALDWELL'S employ are only used to assist the Gambling Farmer in the super- vision of the Hells. Can any one say what connection there is between the Gambling Houses and the Macao passage-boat, that one of these informers should be found intimi- dating men there?