I hereby certify, that I have explained and registered the above contract passage
ticket.
Signature
Emigration Officer.
Victoria , Hongkong, the day of 185
J. J. W. D'ALMADA CASTRO,
For the Clerk of Councils.
No. 43 .
No. 43.
Copy of a DESPATCH from the Rt. Hon . H. LABOUCHERE, M.P., to Governor
Sir John BOWRING .
( No. 10. )
Sir , Downing Street, February 16, 1858 .
I have received and laid before the Queen an Ordinance passed by
yourself and the Legislative Council of Hongkong on November3rd last,
entitled No. 11 of 1857, "for
“ licensing and regulating Emigration Passage
* Page 71 . Brokers,” the transcript of which was enclosed in your Despatch No. 161 of
November 11.*
I have received the Queen's commands to acquaint you that Her Majesty
has been pleased to confirm and allow this Ordinance.
You will cause Her Majesty's decision to be signified to the inhabitants of
Hongkong by a proclamation to be published in the usual and most authentic
manner.
I have, & c,
Governor Sir John Bowring, ( Signed ) H. LABOUCHERE .
&c . &c .
No. 44 .
No. 44.
Copy of a DESPATCH from the Rt. Hon . H. LABOUCHERE, M.P., to Governor
Sir John BowRING .
( No. 175. ) Government Offices, Victoria, Hongkong,
December 2, 1857 .
Sir, (Received February 2, 1858. )
I HAVE the honour herewith to forward a letter received this date from
Enclos
ure
.
the harbour master regarding the proceedings of a British ship employed in the
Havannah Chinese Coolie trade. I entertain little doubt that aa bold attempt
has been made by the parties concerned to set at defiance the requirements of
( 75 )
the Chinese Passengers Act. Should punishment not follow in this instance,
the example will be speedily imitated by other ships in these seas, and I have
therefore to express my hope that every means may be taken to effect the
>
capture of the “ Dream ” befere her cargo is landed .
I havé, &c .
The Rt. Hon . H. Labouchere, M.P., ( Signed) JOHN BOWRING .
&c . &c. &c.
Encl. in No. 44.
Enclosure in No. 44.
Emigration Office, Victoria, Hongkong,
SIR , December 2 , 1857.
I DO myself the honour to report for the information of his Excellency the
Governor, that the British ship “ Dream, " A. Wilson, Master, of the burthen of 1,106 tons,
belonging to the port of Glasgow, Potter, Wilson, and Co., owners, received the
harbour master's clearance from this port for that of Macao on the 12th October last ;
copy of which clearance is herewith transmitted.
It has come to my knowledge that the “ Dream " left Macao about the 15th November
last, bound to Havana with between 400 and 500 Chinese Coolies on board, thereby com
pletely setting at defiance the Chinese Passengers’ Act of 1855.
The first section of the Act clearly defines the “ Dream ” as a Chinese passenger ship ;
the fourth section provides that no “ Chinese passenger ship ” shall proceed to sea without
receiving certain papers from the Emigration Officer, and entering into a bond with two
sureties. These papers have not been received from me, the Emigration Officer of Hong
kong, neither hasthe bond been entered into.
Section 8 provides that the ship shall be forfeited to Her Majesty for proceeding to sea
without the papers described in section 4.
As it appears to me that there can be no doubt of the illegality of the proceedings of
the master of the “Dream,” and as I deem it to be absolutely necessary that the peculiar
traffic in which the “ Dream ” is engaged should be under strict surveillance, I would
respectfully request that the necessary steps may be taken for the seizure of the
“ Dream ," as is provided for in the Act.
I have, &c. ,
(Signed) E. R. MICHELL ,
Emigration Office
Sub - Enclosure to Enclosure in No. 49. Sub-Enclosure to
Encl. in No. 49.
Port CLEARANCE for the “ Dream ," burthen 1,106 tons , under British colours,
Captain Alexander Wilson , bound for Macao, in ballast.
This is to certify to whom it may concern, that the master of the above-mentioned
vessel has rendered an account of her import and export cargo, and complied with all
the regulations of the port.
(Signed) HENRY GUNTHORPE ,
Chief Clerk to the Harbour Master.
Registered at the Harbour Master's Office,
Victoria, Hong Kong, October 12 , 1857.
(Signed ) E. A. MICHELL,
Acting Harbour Master.
No. 45. No. 45 .
Right Hon. H.
Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. HENRY LABOUCHERE to Labouchere to
Governor Sir John Bowring . Governor Sir J.
( No. 20. ) Bowring.
SIR, Downing Street, February 25, 1858.
With reference to your Despatch , No. 64 * of the 10th of April last, Feb. 16, 1858.
* Page 62.
respecting the Chinese emigrant ship “ Gulnare," I transmit to you for your
information the enclosed copy of a report from the Emigration Commissioners.
The question of issuing the instructions suggested in para. 5 has been sub
mitted to the Foreign Office for Lord Clarendon's consideration.
In reference to the concluding paragraph, I have to request that you will
state whether the inquiry therein alludedto was made by the emigration officer
at Hongkong, and if not, why it was omitted , and that you will give positive
directions that it should never be neglected on any future occasion of a similar
kind .
I have, &c.
Governor Sir John Bowring . ( Signed) H. LABOUCHERE .
(250.) K 2
( 76 )
Encl. in No. 45. Enclosure in No. 45.
Copy of a REPORT from the Emigration Commissioners to H. MERIVALE, Esq.
SIR, Emigration Office, 16 February, 1858.
We have to acknowledge your letter of the 29th ultimo, accompanied by a
despatch from the Governor of Hongkong, reporting the circumstances connected with
the sailing of the “ Gulnare ” with Chinese emigrants for the Havannah, and by a letter
from the Marine Department of the Board of Trade, calling attention to the great
mortality which occurred on the voyage.
2. From Sir J. Bowring's despatch , it appears that the “ Gulnare" arrived at Hong
kong on the 13th of March, from Swatow, with 432 Chinese emigrants on board ; that
the next morning the emigrants endeavoured to seize the ship, and, failing in that, to set
her on fire ; that after a desperate conflict, in which the third officer and one of the crew
were wounded, nine of the emigrants shot ( killed, we presume, is meant), many more
wounded, and three had jumped overboard, the mutiny was put down ; that 18 of
the ringleaders were afterwards brought to trial and found guilty, and three ordered
for execution, of whom one was actually executed, and the remaining 17 transported
for life ; and that the emigration officer having examined and reported that the
“ Gulnare ” was “ provided in every way in a complete and satisfactory manner,” she was
despatched from Hongkong on the 30th of March with 326 emigrants on board.
3. By the letter from the Board of Trade and its enclosure, it appears that the
“ Gulnare ” did not finally sail from Hongkong till the 1st of April, and that she arrived
at Havannah on the 19th August; she was therefore 20 weeks on the voyage. During
that time the mortality amounted to 58, or 17-79 per cent. ; of those who died, 21 are
said to have died of fever, or fever combined with dysentery ; 8 of dysentery ; 12 of
debility, of whom 9 are described as opium smokers ; and 3 committed suicide ; the
remaining 14 died of various diseases. The account gives no further particulars from
which it is possible to form any opinion as to the causes of the mortality, or the mode of
treating the sick ; but we observe among the deaths that of the Chinese doctor, who died
on the 8th of June, when the ship had been at sea ten weeks. As, however, 26 deaths
had occurred before this, and as under any circumstances the rate of mortality in a sickly
ship would be likely to increase the longer she was at sea, we can hardly infer that the
greater mortality in the latter ten weeks was attributable to the loss of that officer.
We presume that a duly qualified surgeon was on board in addition to the native doctor.
4. We fear that there would be no possibility, at this distance of time and place, of
instituting any effective inquiry into the causes of the lamentable mortality in the ship.
The report of it did not reach the Board of Trade until the 19th ultimo, exactly five
months after the “ Gulnare ” arrived at Havannah, and as a ship’s log is not, under the
Merchant Shipping Act ( sec. 286), delivered in to the Board of Trade until the arrival
of the ship in this country, a delay sufficient to embarrass, if not defeat inquiry, must
always intervene between the landing of African or Asiatic emigrants in the West
Indies and the report of the circuinstances of the voyage in this country.
5. The only means of obtaining an effectual inquiry into cases of this nature is by an
investigation on the spot immediately on the arrival of the ship. Such an inquiry would ,
as a matter of course, be instituted in any British colony on the arrival of an emigrant
ship with a loss of a large proportion of her emigrants. In foreign portsa similar
inquiry might, we presume, be instituted by Her Majesty's Consuls ; and as Havannah
is the principal foreign port in the West Indies to which emigrants are conveyed in
British ships,we would submit that the Consul at that port should be instructed, when
ever a British ship arrives there with emigrants, to inquire into the circumstances con
nected with the voyage, and especially to endeavour to ascertain the causes of any
mortality which may have occurred, and the different forms of treatment adopted in
different ships ; even if such inquiries should not reveal anything requiring the Consul's
immediate intervention, the information obtained might be of great value in framing
regulations for the future management of Chinese passenger ships.
6. In respect to Sir J. Bowring's report on the " Gulnare,” we may perhaps be allowed
to pointout an omission which appears to us remarkable. The circumstances connected
with that vessel proved that the emigrants were unwilling to proceed in her, and would
suggest, therefore, that they might have been collected on board either by force or fraud.
To prevent such a transaction , the regulations attached to the Chinese Passengers' Act
provide that the emigration officer shall not give his clearing certificate until he shall have
mustered the passengers, and ascertained to the best of his power that they understand
whither they are going, and the nature of the contract into which they have entered. It
would not be fair to infer, because Sir J. Bowring has not mentioned it, that the
emigration officer did not comply with this particular regulatior.;but under all the cir
cumstances of the case, the very cursory way in wbich the emigration officer's inquiry is
mentioned, and the total omission of all reference to this essential point, appear to us so
remarkable, that we think it right to notice them . We must also point out that no
allusion is made to any medical examination of the people before the emigration officer's
certificate was granted.
We have, & c.,
(Signed) T. W. C. MURDOCH ,
FREDERICK ROGERS.
( 77 )
No. 46. No. 46 .
Copy of аa DESPATCH from Lord Stanley to Governor Sir John Bowring.
( No. 7. )
SIR , Downing Street, March 16, 1858.
I TRANSMIT herewith copies of a correspondence which has taken place
between the Foreign Office and the Emigration Commissioners on the subject Foreign Office,
of the great mortality which has taken place on board ships conveying Chinese Feb. 15, 1858.
emigrants to Cuba. Emigration
I request that you will furnish me from time to time with returns of vessels Commissioners.
March 6, 1858 .
clearing out from Hongkong under the Chinese Passengers' Act, and with any
information which it may be in your power to supplyrespecting British vessels
taking passengers at other ports without complying with that Act.
I have, &c .
( Signed ) STANLEY
Governor Sir John Bowring,
&c. & c. &c .
Enclosure ] in No. 46. Encl. 1 in No. 46.
SIR, Foreign Office, February 15 , 1858.
I Am directed by the Earl of Clarendon to transmit to you the accompanying
copy of a despatch from Mr. Crawford, Her Majesty's Consul -General in Cuba, enclosing
a statement, showing the number of Chinese Coolies introcluced into that island between
the 1st January 1847 and the 31st December 18.57, and also showing the number of
deaths that have taken place on the voyage, and I am to request that in laying these
papers before the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners , you will move them to
favour Lord Clarendon with any observations which they may have to offer with regard
to the great mortality which appears to have taken place on board British ships engaged
in transporting Chinese to Cuba. Lord Clarendon desires me further to request that
the Commissioners will inform him , if they have the means of doing so , whether the pro
visions of the Chinese Passengers' Act are complied with by British vessels engaged in
carrying Chinese passengers to Cuba.
S. Walcott, Esq. I have, &c.,
& c. & c. ( Signed) SHELBURNE.
MY LORD, Havana, December 31 , 1857.
With reference to your Lordship's despatch, S. T. No. 35, dated the 30th ultimo,
the receipt of which I have the honor to acknowledge, with its enclosures upon the sub
ject of the trade in free colonists from China, I have to observe that it has been on
board of some of the British vessels which have brought Chinese to this port, subsequent
to the enactment of the laws for regulating such passenger vessels, that the greatest
mortality has occurred upon their voyages from China attributable only to the previous
condition of the colonists themselves, and in some degree to the qualities of the water,
which was taken in at some of the places where they called on their way here.
I beg leave to lay before your Lordship a concise abstract from the archives of this
office, which shows the number of ships of the several nations, and their tonnage ,number
of passengers landed, and the deaths on board.
>
It is distressing to retlect that the extract from the “ New York Herald ” is in the main
correct. The mortality has been enormous until now on board of these passenger vessels,
but it is to be hoped that it will be less in future, because the effects of the opium , which
the Chinese smoke to great excess, will be better atteuded to, and tobacco be allowed
them , so as to wean them of that pernicious habit by degrees, instead of taking it from
them all at once, –a practice which proved fatal to so many of them who had been used to
smoke, and otherways consume the opium to great excess, and more pains will be taken
in selecting transports with more perfect ventilation, and having better accommodation ,
as weil as by providing better provisions and water. Towards these desirable requi
sites the activity and intelligence of the inspectors of passenger vessels might be
directed with great advantage, and their sailing qualities should be attended to ; indeed
they ought all to be furnished with screw propellers.
I have, &c.
(Signed) J. T. CRAWFORD .
(250.) K 3
( 78 )
List of CHINESE LABOURERS imported into Havana up to 31st December, 1857,
Nationality of No. of Chinese Chinese Deaths on Percentage
Vessel. Vessels. | Tonnage. embarked. landed . the Voyage. Mort of Remarks,
ality
British 26 18,549 9,606 8,215 1,391 143 Many of the Chinese jumped
overboard,
American 9 7,832 3,910 3,538 372 93
Dutch 8 5,003 2,773 2,463 310 11
French 6 4,453 2,825 2,478 347 121 Screw steamer of 1,600 tons
brought 842, and lost
besides 58 Chinese.
Spanish 5 2,038 1,779 1,489 290 111
Portuguese 3 1,246 1,049 1,021 28 2
Peruvian 3 2,484 1,314 812 502 387 Cord lost 117 out of 292 ;
cause, bad water.
Bremen 1 560 249 236 13 51
Norwegian 1 470 221 179 42 19
Chilian 1 250 202 155 47 231
Total 63 42,930 23,928 20,586 3,342 14 s From June 3, 1847, to Dec.
31 , 1857.
( Signed ) J. T. CRAWFORD,
Havana, December 31 , 1857. Consul-General in Cuba.
Encl. 2 in No. 46. Enclosure 2 in No. 46.
EXTRACT of a REPORT from the EMIGRATION COMMISSIONERS to H. MERIVALE, Esq.
dated, Emigration Office, March 6, 1858.
“ We have to acknowledge the Earl of Shelburne's letter of the 15th ultinio,
enclosing a Report from Her Majesty's Consul-General in Cuba, on the subject of Chinese
immigration into that island during 1857, and desiring us to offer any observations which
may occur to us in regard to the mortality which took place in the British ships engaged
in this traffic, and to state, as far as we have the means of doing so, whether the pro
the Chinese Passengers' Act are complied with by British vessels carrying
visions ofpassengers
Chinese .
“ 2. From the Schedule attached to Mr. Crawford's despatch , it appears that 63 vessels,
measuring 42,930 tons, took on board for Cuba 23,928 Chinese passengers ; that of these
3,342 equal to 14 per cent. died on the passage, that of the above 63 ships, 26 measuring
18,549 tons were British , and that these British ships embarked 9,606 passengers, of
whom 1,391 , equal to 14.48 per cent.,died on the voyage. Mr. Crawford gives no specific
information in respect to the causes of this great mortality , but attributes it in general
terms to the state of the passengers at the time of embarkation, to the badness of the
water on board , and to the sudden withdrawal of opium from those accustomed to
smoke it.
“ 3. From a return of so very general a nature no inference can be drawn. The only
facts which it shows bearing at all on the question of mortality are the numbers embarked
compared with the tonnage of the vessels which carry them . But they bear apparently no
relation to the number of deaths. Thus the space in the British ships, assuming their
tonnage as a criterion, is rather above the average, yet their mortality is also above the
average mortality. But the most striking contrast is between three Portuguese and three
Peruvian vessels comprised in the return. In the three Portuguese vessels measuring
1,246 tons, 1,049 passengers were e mbarked of whom only 28, equal to 24 per cent. , died.
In the three Peruvian ships measuring 2,484 tons, 1,314 passengers were embarked, of
whom 502 or 38 per cent. died. Thus while the tonnage of the ship was doubled, and
the number of passengers increased by only one-fourth, the mortality was multiplied 14
fold . It is indeed stated that one of these vessels lost 117 out of 292 by bad water, but
even deducting this vessel, the mortality in the two others would be 37.67 per cent, or
131 times as great as in the Portuguese ships.
* 4. With such opposite results in the only facts which the return discloses, it is im
possible to draw any inference from it, and we regret to say that the other information at
our command does not enable us to supply the deficiency. We have scarcely any infor
mation on the subject of Chinese emigration during 1857, beyond what is comprised in
the letters from the Foreign Office to the Colonial department of 6th June and 17th
August last, which were communicated to us by Mr. Labouchere's directions. But the
facts stated in the enclosures to those letters show that the collection of emigrants in
China is carried on in a very irregular and unsatisfactory manner, and without those
precautions which are necessary to ensure that the people put on board are voluntary
emigrants, and at the time in a fit state of health to undertake the voyage. Those cir
cumstances, taken in connexion with such particulars as reach us from other quarters,
( 79 )
ead us to believe that a large portion of the mortality is probably attributable to the
nabits of life of the people who embark and to their state of health at the time of
embarkation .'
No. 47.
No. 47 .
Governor Sir J.
Copy of a DESPATCH from Governor Sir John Bowring to the Right Hon . Bowring to the
HENRY LABOUCHERE, M.P. Right Hon . H.
Labouchere, M.P.
( No. 38. ) Government Offices, Victoria, Hongkong, March 1858.
March 27 , 1858.
SIR , ( Received 21st May, 1858.)
I have the honour to inform you, that in compliance with your in
structions conveyed in despatch No. 101 ,* dated 18th August 1857, proceedings – Page 68.
were taken to enforce the payment of the bond signed by Messrs. Lyall,
Still & Co., in the case of the “ John Calvin,” and yesterday a verdict was
given for the Crown for the amount of the said bond, viz. 1,0001., the jury
having appended to their verdict the opinion which you will find referred to in
the various documents which I now enclose.
I received from Messrs. Lyall, Still & Co. the application, of which I send
copy, requesting that I should stay the execution for the penalty involved in No. 1 .
the verdict. I could not consent to this in a case where I have been acting
under your direct instructions, but I have expressed my willingness , under the
peculiar circumstances of the case, to recommend to you a mitigation of the said
penalty.
I forward herewith letters from the Chief Justice and the Attorney -General,
by which you will see that such mitigation would be deemed by both a becoming No. 2.
No. 3.
act on the part of the Government.
Had not the prosecution been instituted in consequence of your directions,
I should not have hesitated in suspending the payment of the bond. The house
condemned is one of great respectability; it availed itself of no legal quibble
or technicality to escape responsibility, and I am persuaded there was no intention
or desire on the part of Mr. Lyall to evade the requisitions of the law.
Mr. Anstey has availed himself of the opportunity to make some observations
on the Coolie trade, which is undoubtedlyassociated with horrible cruelties and
crimes. Several documents I have lately forwarded to the Earl of Clarendon
will,, I doubt not, excite his Lordship's attention ; and, perhaps, you may
think it desirable to convey to the Foreign Office Mr. Anstey's statements
as to the character of the contracts entered into with Coolies shipped for the
Havannah .
I have, & c.
Right Hon. Henry Labouchere, M.P. ( Signed ) JOHN BOWRING.
&c. &c. &c.
Enclosure 1 in No. 47. Encl. 1 in No. 47.
SIR, Hongkong, March 25 , 1858.
In reference to the cause which was tried to -day in the Supreme Court, of the
Queen against ourselves, in the matter of the “ John Calvin ,” we have the honour to
inform you that a verdict was found for the plaintiff, but that the jury unanimously
appended to their verdict the expression of their opinion, “ that the ship, John Calvin ,'
was fitted and properly equipped for the purpose ;that there was ample provision, space,
and accommodation in the ship for the number of passengers taken in the ship ; that the
mortality arose alone from the act of God ; and that the act of the emigration officer, in
not landing all on board in excess of the 81 named in the certificate, may have misled
the owners.
From what fell from his Honour the Chief Justice and the Honourable the Attorney
General in the course of the trial, we believe we are correct in stating that they quite
concur in this expression of opinion on the part of the jury ; and we would therefore
solicit from his Excellency theGovernor the indulgence that he would give directions for
stay of executionfor the penalty involved in the verdict until the matter can be brought
to the notice of Her Majesty's Government, and the pleasure of Her Majesty be known
thereon. We have, &c.
(Signed) LYALL, STILL, AND Co.
To the Hon. W. T. Bridges, Esq., D.C.L.,
Acting Colonial Secretary,
& c. & c. &c.
( 250.) K 4
( 80 )
Encl. 2 in No. 47. Enclosure 2 in No. 47.
SIR, Hongkong, Friday, March 26, 1858.
With reference to the case of theAttorney -General v. Lyall and Still, I beg to repeat
what I stated from the Bench yesterday, that I feel assured when the home authorities
have the whole matter before then, when they are made acquainted with the very fair,
upright, and honest conduct of the defendants, who, as owners of the ship “ John Calvin,"
evinced throughout the utmost anxiety to comply with every requirement of the Chinese
Passengers' Act of 1852, they will not insist upon forfeiture of the bond. The Crown
having, with the laudable view of inquiring into the real cause of the awful mortality
which occurred on board the “ John Calvin,” thought fit to institute legal proceedings, I
allowed the whole case to be fully entered into, although in the view I took as to the
legal construction to be put upon the 18 & 19 Vict. c. 104 , the greater portion of the
inatter introduced was irrelevant, strictly speaking.
I directed the jury that, inasmuch as there were on board a greater number of Chinese
passengers than specified in the certificate of the emigration officer, their verdict must be
for the Crown. I , at the same time, told them that they were at liberty to find any facts
specially if they so thought fit. They, accordingly, found
“ That there was ample space and accommodation and sufficient provisions for the
number of passengers actually on board, and that the mortality on board was the act of
God. That the ship was in every respect properly equipped, and that the fact of the
emigration officer having allowed the excess of passengers above 81 to remain on board
was calculated to mislead the captain and owners.”
I have, &c.
The Hon. the Acting Colonial Secretary. (Signed) JOHN WALTER HULME.
Encl . 3 in No. 47. Enclosure 3 in No. 47.
Attorney -General's Office, Hongkong,
SIR, March 26, 1858.
The Crown Solicitor has informed you that in the case of “ The Attorney -General
v. Lyall and another,” I obtained a verdict yesterday before a special jury of seven, for
the full penalty of the bond given by the defendants and their absent principal, Mr.
9)
Thornhill, late master of the John Calvin ."
66
I did not oppose the wish of the jury to append to their verdict a recommendation of
the claims of Messrs. Lyall and Still, the defendants, to the favourable consideration of
his Excellency in respect of the remission of the penalty, or the stay of execution. There
can be no doubt that the vessel was well found in all respects for the number of Coolies
actually on board , that the mortality of the middle passage was the act of God, and that,
by Mr. Hillier's informing Messrs. Lyall and Still that he should not order the number of
Coolies in excess of 81 to be relanded here, that lamented and most excellent officer did
mislead Messrs. Lyall and Still as to his powers, their liabilities, and the intentions of
Government.
Moreover, I am bound to acknowledge the fair and honourable frankness with which
every particle of evidence, however inadmissible on strict principles of law, was allowed
by the defendants to be used on the part of the Crown , it being their own desire that the
whole of the facts should be before the jury. And I must here remind his Excellency that
this too was their conduct from the beginning. If they had not furnished his Excellency's
Government, when first applied to, with the extract from the master's letter from the
Havannah, detailing the important particulars of his voyage, the action could not have
been tried at all, or at least not until the questionable expedient of commissions to the
Havannah and elsewhere had been tried and succeeded . In truth, they have been cast
by evidence which themselves furnished.
I mention these facts, because they are highly creditable to the defendants, and deserve
to be recorded.
There are, however, some observations on other questions arising out of this trial
which I wish to lay before his Excellency, since they go to show the importance of a
still more thorough revision of the Chinese Passengers' Act, 1855, than it is undergoing
or has hitherto undergone.
One good result has been obtained, the closing (by Ordinance, No. 9 , of 1856, approved
by Her Majesty ) the door to all hope of evasion of the “ definition ” of “ Chinese passen
ger ship," contained in section I. of the Imperial Act. By that Ordinance, vessels clear
ing out hence for any port, with intent there to commence the voyage of more than seven
days' duration, shall be deemed to have commenced it at this port.
If the draught Ordinance for the further amendment of the Act, which stands for
discussion to -morrow in Council, shall be allowed to pass into a law, a far more mischie
vous fraud upon the enactment will have been prevented for the future. By extending
the meaning of " Chinese passenger ship ,” so as to bring within the several enactments of
the Act, applicable respectively to the case, all passenger ships managed or conducted by
persons here, but themselves lying in roads or harbours outside our waters, a disgraceful
traffic exclusively carried on by citizens of American republics, northern and southern, by
( 81 )
one French firm , by one German firm , and other foreigners abusing the shadow of British
protection , and opposing British law to Chinese prohibition, must infallibly be rooted
out.
But I submit to his Excellency that the revision should not stop here.
The disclosures that were made in the course of the proceedings yesterday, of frightful
abuses beyond the control and even the knowledge of the owners and masters of these
ships, in many cases appear to call for further legislation ; and as much of the mischief is
beyond the competence of a single Colonial Legislature to correct, the whole case might
very fitly receive the consideration of the Imperial Parliament.
It is impossible to peruse the Spanish form of contract presented to Mr. Hillier by the
late Consul for the Spanish Queen at this port, and not to see that every one of the
Coolies who accepted the terms therein specified and is now in the Havannah, is in fact
a slave for the period of his service.
Let his Excellency take that document and compare it with the carefully and mercifully
worded form of contract used by this Governmentfor the purpose ofCoolie emigration to
our own colonies (“ Papers and Instructions relating to Emigration from China,” January
and March 1853), and Sir John Bowring cannot fail to be struck with the contrast.
Bearing in mind what are the securities which his own Government provides in such
cases, what will not be his Excellency's indignation to be told that, where the Spanish
shippers and their foreign abettors have unrestrained liberty of action, these are the terms
which they impose upon their emigrants, and which are published by themselves under
the sanction of their own consular agents :
1. To work for eight years in Cuba, under the orders of the speculator or his assigns,
for the contract is negotiable or transferable, and whether at prædial labour or domestic,
and whether for private persons or for governmental establishments ( including, of course,
the mines), the selection to be entirely at the discretion of the undertaker:
2. Hours of sickness are not to be included in the melancholy computation of the labour
term , nor is that to be deemed to have begun on the immigrant's arrival, if sick at that
time, but only from the period of his restoration to health .
3. No limitation on the master's right to regulate the duration of a day's labour is
allowed, except that the bondsman is to have his “ horas seguidasde descanso y el tiempo
preciso ademas para la comida y el almuerzo," nor is even Sunday an exception in this
respect.
4. The wages (in the principal case, 4 dollars per mensem ) are to cease, and revive with
the health and vigour of the Coolie, whose daily food is limited moreover to a half -pound
of salt meat, and two pounds and a half of vegetables.
5. That these allowances are short of the usual rate in Cuba may be inferred from the
concluding significant stipulation, that, "although II know and ascertain ( aunque yo se'
y me consta) that far greater are the earnings of free labourers and slaves ( jornaleros
libres y esclavos) in the island of Cuba, I will conform myself to the wages stipulated..
6. Subjection to the “ order and discipline ” of the “ establishment,” & c., destined to
the immigrant, and especially to the " system of correction ” imposed therein, to supply
the deficiencies of Spanishlaw, by way of punishment for “ default of application and
>
constancy in labour,” for “ disobedience of the orders of the master or his agents,” and
for “all such like faults ; ” and the denial of all right to transfer himself to another
master.
: .7. Renunciation clear and express of all right of action or suit against the same per
sonages ; and in particular,
8.Renunciation of all benefit of protection under the ordinances of Isabella II. of
22d March 1854 (Articles 27, 28, 43, 44, and 45), touching colonisation, rescision of
contracts and payments of wages, and also of all other laws and dispositions touching
the same, bereafter to be published.
It is not uncharitable to suppose that at Macao, Amoy, Swatow , Cumsingmoon, and
other ports in our neighbourhood, this infamous form of agreement is carried through in
all cases without scruple, as without check.
In the particular case, Mr. Hillier so far amended it that he struck out the .“ renun
ciations ” last mentioned, and added a clause imposing on the undertaker the condition
that no Coolie was to work for more than 12 hours per diem , upon the average .
But these amendments were obviously far short of the exigency of the case.
It must be rememberedalso, that there being no provision for compelling the emigra
tion officer to re- land all alleged emigrants denying their supposed contracts , no less than
206 recusant persons therefore, in whose favour he had not interfered for the purpose
of making any such amendments, and some of whom were, as he certities, “ mere
children "and unfitfor such undertaking, were, in fact, carried to sea along with the 81 ;
and that of these, all who did not die on the passage are now at Havannah , bound by the
common form of engagement ; but unprotected by the special clauses which Mr. Hillier
introduced in favour of the rest.
I think that such a provision for the compulsory re -landing of passengers ought to be
immediately recommended for adoption.
But I further think that no power to clear and pass emigrant labourers, under any
contract like the above,ought to be vested in any British officer so long as the slave
trade is á crime.
( 250.) L
( 82 )
The indefinite power of coercion ; the want of reciprocity with respect to complaints
on the score of wages and food ; the sordid calculation of horæ non of sickness, no
matter how necessarily incident to the nature of the employment; the arbitrary power
to transfer and assign the servant; the arbitrary denial of all power to the latter to
exchange masters ; the enormous duration of service, if taken in combination with the
probable nature thereof ; and the bold avowal of a right of chastisement not recognized
even by Cuban law : these are surely ingredients whose compound is nothing else than
unadulterated slavery.
I will go further ; the contract is not one of hiring and service at all ; and the laws of
“ master and servant ” are entirely out of place. It is a contract with A. by B. to work
not for A. alone, but for all the other letters of the alphabet ; an undertaking not pro
tected by the letter, and to say the least, inconsistent with the spirit of the law, and the
policy of Great Britain, whose dominion this island unquestionably is.
If, indeed, we were bound by our Chinese treaties to tolerate or give effect to such
enterprises, that would change the situation of the case ; but the truth is far otherwise.
British law is strained, evaded, and violated ;; and British policy and honour brought into
serious embarrassment for the protection of a traffic prohibited by Chinese law, and
carried on within British jurisdiction by aliens, audaciously pretending to be aggrieved
because they are threatened by the British authorities with the same restraints to which
British subjects are by law amenable.
I take the liberty of enclosing the document which has given rise to these remarks.
On receiving it back, I will cause it to be restored to the registrar ; his Excellency will
see that I have altered the order of arrangement, but not the effect, in my analysis.
An Act of Parliament, were it possible to obtain one, for the amendment and consolida
tion of the Chinese Passengers Act, the local ordinance, and the practicable clauses of
other enactments of Parliament in pari materia, would be a great boon to humanity ;
for to do complete justice to the present need is only within the power of Parliament.
If this be not to be hoped for, much partial good may be done by local legislation ;
and I shall be very ready, on receiving instructions to that effect, to prepare the proper
ordinance.
In conclusion, I have to acknowledge, whilst perusing this last sheet of my present
mmunication, your letter ( No. 163) of this date, on the subject of the principal case.
I have already stated what took place at the trial, and I need not say that I fully
concur in the entire verdict.
The case, so far as Messrs. Lyall are concerned, is a very hard one.
No one pretends that, as owners, they are liable under the Act. They had no part in
the violation of any one of its provisions.
But they were also sureties, and it is solely in that character that they are reached ,
for their master's performance of his obligations.
Honestly ignorant, perhaps, that Mr. Hillier had no power to connive at his violations
of the Act, or perliaps that they were such, he did violate it merely in proceeding to sea
with a number of passengers in excess of the 81 , for whom the emigration officer had
granted his certificate. Thereby he forfeited his bond, and caused the same forfeiture
to fall upon his two sureties.
It is right to mention also that Mr. Lyall, in his evidence yesterday, in support of his
own case, stated that, on Mr. Hillier's saying, “ You must act on your ownresponsibility,
I shall not order the rest to be re-landed here,” he, Mr. Lyall, informed Mr. Hillier, and
afterwards the Colonial Secretary, that under these circumstances he must desire the
master to reland them at Macao (whence most of them had come). on his way to the
Havannah ; or, ifthey preferred that, to take them on from Macao, when he got there, to
the Havannah. He added that neither assent nor dissent being signified by those two
officers, he gave his orders accordingly to the master, and, as he presumed , the master
obeyed them under the same impression with himself.
Mr. Weatherhead, I find, has quitted his office, it being after hours ; but on the rc
opening of the office to -morrow , I shall forward some proofs bearing on this part of
the case .
I have, & c.
(Signed) T. CHISHOLM ANSTEY.
Encl. 4 in No. 47. Enclosure 4 in No. 47.
SIR, Attorney -General's Office, March 27, 1858.
12. I HAVE the honour, with reference to my letter of yesterday, to forward the
enclosed documents selected from among those produced, and read at the trial of the
' Sent in original.) Attorney-Generalv. Lyalland another on behalfofthe Crown. They belong now to
the Supreme Court.
Also a copy of my own notes of Mr. Lyall's own examination and cross-examination is
herewith sent ; it includes the summing-up also.
I omitted to state yesterday, that not being able to reconcile it to my sense of justice
to mulct these defendants of the amount to which they are liable to me under a recent
( 83 )
ordinance for my fees, I have directed Mr. Hazeland (acting for his absent partner,
Mr. Cooper Turner, the Crown Solicitor,) to omit them from his bill of plaintiff's costs
in the action .
I have, &c.
The Hon. W. T. Bridges, Esq., D.C.L., ( Signed) T. CHISHOLM ANSTEY.
Acting Colonial Secretary .
Enclosure 5 in No. 47. Encl. 5 in No. 47 .
In the Supreme Court.
Attorney -General v. Lyall and another.
Copy of the Attorney-General's Notes of Defendant Lyall's Examination and
Cross - Examination .
The Honourable George Lyall, examined by Mr. Day, states :
My partner and I were in 1856 owners of the ' John Calvin .' It was intended to
send to Havannah 301 passengers. In the beginning of March they were all on board.
The late Mr. Hillier was then emigration officer. I had frequent communications with
him on the subject. I gave him notice of the intention to carry those passengers. He
was aware of the day of her sailing. He went on board several times to inspect lier.
On the first occasion he found there were only 80 who wished to go. He spent about
three days in investigating the case on board. He then told me that he was so
thoroughly convinced that they were not ill used , that he would not re - land them . He
read the contract to them in my presence . He told me that he was perfectly convinced
they knew where they were going, and that they knew the nature of their contracts ;
and he said , he believed they were practising fraud on us ; which he would defeat, by not
ordering them to land here . I told Mr. Hillier that I should give instructions to the
captain to take them to Macao, and land them all there, if they would not go on to
Havannah. I told Mr. Mercer (the Colonial Secretary )the same; he said he had been su
informed by the emigration officer. They both of them said, I must do it on my own
responsibility. She sailed the next day. There were 301 originally ; 297 sailed, four
were landed (I think by Mr. Hillier ), oneor two of them for punishment ; I forget what
the others were landed for. [ Is shown the passengers' list.] There are some marked
here as not on board. [Is shown his letter,dated Tuesday evening,' beginning · The
other men '] That letter refers to a proposal to substitute some men in place of the
recusants. It was not carried into effect.
“ The vessel was equipped with necessaries and medicines for 302 days.”
Cross-examined by the Attorney -General ; states-
“By an arrangement with Mr. Hillier, she was to replenish her fuel and water at St.
Helena, not having stowage for the whole voyage ; with that exception, she was equipped
with necessaries for the whole way. [Is shown the Colonial Secretary's note, dated
' Tuesday morning,' beginning ' Dear Hillier - About Mr. Rozario.'] The conversation
there referred to by Mr. Mercer I believe to be the one I have already mentioned . [ Is
shown the draft minutes of Mr. Hillier.] They are perfectly correct, I have no doubt ;
but I have no doubt of the accuracy of the additional facts I have above stated. I need
not say that I do not for a moment believe that Mr. Hillier meant otherwise than most
fairly. I had nothing to do with the Coolie contracts; I was only an owner of the vessel
>
employed to take them.”
Copy of the Attorney -General's Notes of the Chief Justice's summing -up.
C.J.— “ I do not think I need trouble you, Mr. Attorney -General, to reply. It is only
matter of law , and I am quite with you.
" Gentlemen, I do not agree with Mr. Day's law at . all. If you believe the evidence of
Captain Thornhill's letter, you must find a verdict for the Crown.
Nevertheless, I did notwish to prevent the defendants from going into the whole case,
however irrelevant.
“ I do not consider that it was necessary to add an express enactment that the certifi.
cate of the emigration officer must be an accurate one. That is implied. Otherwise these
Acts will always be evaded.
“ But you are fully at liberty to append to your verdict a recommendation to the
favour of the Crown, if you think that there was, in fact, ample accommodation, and that
the frightful mortality on board was the act of God.”
The jury, after a minute's consultation , returned their verdict thus :
“Our verdict is for the Crown ; and we are fully satisfied that the vessel was in every
way fitted and provisioned for the voyage ; that the mortality was the act of God ; and that
the emigration officer,by not ordering the re-landing of the Coolies in excess of 81 , might
have misled the owners.
True copy
Hongkong, March 27, 1858. (Signed ) T. CHISHOLM ANSTEY, A.G.
( 250.) M
( 84 )
No. 48 .
No. 48.
Governor Sir J. Copy of DESPATCH from Governor Sir John Bowring to the Right
Bowring to the Honourable H. LABOUCHERE, M.P.
Right Hon. H. Government Offices, Victoria, Hongkong,
Labouchere, M.P. ( No. 48. )
April 12, 1858.
Sir, ( Received June 3, 1858. )
Page 79. With reference to my despatch, No. 38* of 27th March last, I have the
honour to forward to you the enclosed letter to your address from Messrs.
Jardine, Matheson & Co., Dent & Co., and other firms, praying a remission of
the penalty inflicted on Messrs. Lyall, Still & Co. as sureties in the case of the
“ John Calvin ."
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. ( Signed ) JOHN BOWRING.
Henry Labouchere, M.P.
&c. &c .
Encl . in No. 48 . Enclosure in No. 48.
SIR, Hongkong, April 10, 1858.
WE venture to address you, not only unsolicited, but without the cognizance of
the parties interested, with reference to the proceedings recently instituted in the
Supreme Court of this colony by Her Majesty's Attorney-General against Messrs. Lyall,
Still & Co. , as sureties to a bond for the due fulfilment by the master of the British ship
“ John Calvin ,” of the provisions of the Chinese Passengers' Act, in the hope that you
will be pleased to give the case your liberal consideration, for we feel that in the event of
the penalty to which they have subjected themselves being enforced, it would, under
peculiar circumstances, press with great hardship upon those gentlemen.
We do not wish, Sir, to deny that the defendants may have rendered themselves liable
to the fine decreed, according to the strict letter of the law ; but a careful review of the
whole case abundantly shows that there was no attempt at concealment in any one of
their acts ; and the evidence on the trial is equally conclusive as to the fact of the vessel
being adequately fitted and provisioned for the voyage, as well as fully competent, under
the certificate of the emigration officer himself, to convey the number of passengers that
were on board ; while it is recorded as the unanimous opinion of the jury, concurred in
by his Honour the Chief Justice, that the frightful mortality that took place during the
voyage was the act of God alone, and in no way attributable to negligence or want of
proper care or precautions on the part of Messrs. Lyall, Still and Co. It was, moreover,
expressly stated by the Attorney-General on the trial, that it was not as owners of the
vessel that he charged the defendants, but solely as sureties to the bond. We would
further respectfully submit, Sir, that had the emigration officer strictly done his duty, by
ordering the Chinese passengers on shore when they demurred to going on the voyage, no
groundfor the recent proceedings would, in all probability, have arisen, whereas the course
adopted by that functionary was doubtless calculated to mislead, if it was not the sole
cause of the whole irregularity.
We trust therefore, Sir, after aa careful perusal of the evidence elicited on the trial, and
on consideration of all the circumstances connected with the transaction , you may be
pleased to take a favourable view of the position of the defendants, and to sanction the
remission of the penalty.
We have, &c.
(Signed) JARDINE, MATHESON & Co. GILMAN & Co.
DENT & Co. BLENKIN , RAWSON & Co.
TURNER & Co. FLETCHER & Co.
LINDSEY & Co. W. H. WARDLEY & Co.
BIRLEY & Co. GIBB, LIVINGSTON & Co.
To the Right Hon. H. Labouchere, M P.,
Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies ,
& c. &c. & c.
HONGKONG, & c.
RETURN
Po as Address of the HOUSE OF LORDs, dated 21st June 853,
FOR
Cories or EXTRACTS of CORRESPONDENCE between the
COLONIAL DEPARTMENT and the GOVERNOR of Hono.
KONG , and between the COLONIAL DEPARTMENT and
the Foreign OFFICE, on the SUBJECT of EMIG PATION
from HoxGKONG and from the CAINESE EMPIRE D the
BRITISH WEST INDIES and to FOREIGN COUNTRIE and
their PossessIONS, since the 1st of January 1853 .
PART I.
( The Lord Bishop of Oxford .)
Ordered to be printed 228 July 1858 .
( 250 )
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