of 1845. It had now become the practice to notify the day on 1845.
which the Court would sit on its summary side.
The following reference to the Supreme Court at this stage Chinese Ad-
will be found interesting. The introduction of Chinese advo - vocates and.
the employ
cates and of the Chinese language, as well as the appointment.ment of
of educated Chinese in the administration of justice in Hong- educatedin
kong, found its advocates at this early period in the history ofthe adminis
the Colony, and, as will be seen, the all-important subject of tration
justice. of
correct interpretation found its place also in the following extract Chinese in-
terpretation.
from a paper of the time dealing with those questions : -
" Regarding the Supreme Court we hardly dare hazard any opinion. Its
leading members are able men, and have shown themselves worthy of the
trust reposed in them. As friends of the Chinese, we should like to see this
Court provided with its learned Chinese advocates. We have occasionally
attended its sessions, when Chinese have been at the bar ; and we have there
supposed the case reversed, and the Chinese made the language of the Court,
and the ablest sons of Han administering justice, and the foreigner seeking
redress or labouring to make defence. Would the foreigner in that case be
satisfied ? Great care should be taken, in giving testimony, especially where
life is concerned, that every word be faithfully translated ; otherwise how
can judge and jury decide rightly."
On this subject, see also The Chinese Repository, Vol. XIV., 1845 , p. 297.
† See Chap. XI. and XII., infrà.
See The Chinese Repository, Vol. XIV., 1845, p. 297.
82 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG.
Chap. III § II. A number of Chinese barristers and solicitors, admitted in
1845. England, have joined the local bar from time to time within
recent years, sufficient to meet all local requirements , and so
also has the magisterial bench been occupied by one gentleman
at least of Chinese nationality, but the question of interpreta-
tion , it is feared, is one that will always occasionally crop up.
Resignation Though the Supreme Court was now working satisfactorily,
of Mr. Farn-
comb, an official connected with a different Court had reason to be
as Coroner. dissatisfied with his position, for the records show that Mr.
Farncomb, the Coroner, who had succeeded Mr. Fearon in that
The reason. office in September, 1842, resigned his appointment in April,
1845. He had, it would appear, received the temporary appoint-
ment at his own solicitation , the question of remuneration
being left open pending instructions from the Home Govern-
ment. On the arrival of Governor Davis, Mr. Farncomb
took an early opportunity of addressing him regarding his
office, and was informed that on the arrival of Mr. Sterling, the
Attorney-General, matters would be definitely arranged. Ac-
cordingly, on the 27th March, Mr. Farncomb received a letter
from the Colonial Secretary informing him that the Government
had determined to allow him five dollars for each inquest,
" provided the proceedings were copied out and lodged with the
Chief Magistrate.' To this Mr. Farncomb declined to conform,
and , it is said, " threw up his office in disgust." He complained
that, apart from the clerical duties which were now required of
him , he had to " furnish his own stationery, printed forms,"
besides other items which he mentioned but which are now
of no interest ; at least, added Mr. Farncomb, if Government
Mr. Hillier " would not pay for his valuable time, they might reimburse his
succeeds Mr. actual outlay. On the 9th of April , Mr. Č. B. Hillier was
Farncomb.
gazetted as his successor.
April
Criminal The April Criminal Sessions commenced on Tuesday, the
Sessions. 15th of that month . The calendar was not very heavy, con-
Mr. Shelley
acts as taining only six cases, none of them of a serious nature. At
Hindustani
interpre ter. this session Mr. Shelley, Clerk of Councils , acted as Hindustani
Mr. D. R. Interpreter, and Mr. D. R. Caldwell, as Chinese Interpreter. *
Caldwell,
Chinese Mr. McSwyney, having resigned his appointment of Deputy
interpreter. Registrar of the Supreme Court, advertized on the 1st May,
Mr.
McSwyney, as practitioners were wont to do at this time, that he
Deputy had been admitted to practise as "barrister-at-law, at-
Registrar,
resigns to torney, solicitor, proctor, and notary public, and could be
practise.
As Mr. Caldwell's career forms, as will be seen hereafter, a very important factor in
connexion with the judicial history of the Colony, it is expedient here to note that he
was born in St. Helena, and was employed in various mercantile firms in Singa
pore, Hongkong, and Canton. Subsequently, he returned to Singapore where he
joined the Commissariat Department, coming afterwards with Major Caine in June, 1840,
in the same fleet, from Singapore to Chusan. In 1843, on the recommendation of Major
Caine, he joined the Colonial Service as interpreter to the Chief Magistrate (Major Caine).
IMPORTANT CASES IN THE SUPREME COURT. 83
consulted at his offices, corner of Wellington and Cochrane Chap. III § II.
Streets." His was the fourth admission to the Supreme Court 1845.
to practise, and as Deputy Registrar, he was succeeded by Mr. succeeds
Mr. F. Smith
Mr.
Frederick Smith, Clerk of the Court. McSwyney.
On the occasion of the Queen's Birthday, nineteen prisoners Free pardon
(corresponding with Her Majesty's age) confined in the Gaol to on prisoners
Queen's
for minor offences, or who during a long period of imprisonment Birthday.
had been reported as well-conducted , received a free pardon.
An important case was heard by the Supreme Court on the 2nd Admiral
Cochrane's
June, a special jury being empanelled for the trial of an action
againstof
brought against Mr. John Carr, the editor of the local newspaper, editor the
the
The Friend of China, for publishing an article in an issue dated as Friend of
far back as the 13th July, 1844, alleged to contain a libel against China,
Carr, forMr.
Rear- Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane. The Attorney-General libel.
appeared for the plaintiff and Mr. Goddard for the defendant. Mr. Carr is
acquitted.
For certain services rendered by a schooner called the Vixen to
H.M.S. Wolf, and for which the Admiral awarded to the former
ship $ 100 as full and sufficient salvage, the defendant took
occasion to vilify the Commander - in - Chief, stating he had acted
arbitrarily, haughtily, and unjustly in that no adequate reward
would be paid for services rendered to Her Majesty's ships.
For the defence, it was contended that nothing that the defendant
had said implied guilt on the part of the Admiral and that, in
fact, defendant had merely accused the Admiral " of not being so
liberal as he might have been." The Attorney- General replied,
and, after the Chief Justice had summed up, the jury, after a
short consultation, returned a verdict of not guilty. The action Government
Action of the
of the Government in this matter was disapproved of and cer- in the matter
tain members of the community, to mark their disapprobation of.
disapproved
of the Admiral's conduct and of the support he had received
from the Government, defrayed the defendant's expenses by Mr. Carr's
common subscription. Although the alleged libel had been defrayed by
published nearly a year before, there can be no doubt that the subscription.
action of the Government in this matter was hastened by the
conduct of another editor of a newspaper in connexion with
the abominable stories affecting the Honourable Major Caine's
character.
The records show another important case tried in the
Supreme Court also in June, but different in character to
the previous one mentioned . It was an action tried on the Rustomjee
13th June before the Chief Justice, the plaintiff's being Messrs. and Co. r.
Macvicar
D. & M. Rustomjee & Co., against Messrs. Macvicar & Co. and Co.
The plaintiffs were represented by Mr. Sterling, the Attorney-
General, and the defendants by Mr. Goddard . The action was
brought to recover the amount of insurance on goods damaged
on board the Corsair on her passage from Hongkong to Woo-
sung. The defence was, that the vessel was not to have sailed
84 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG.
Chap. III § II. from Hongkong. After a great deal of evidence had been
1845. adduced , the jury found a verdict for the plaintiffs , thus
establishing that the vessel was trustworthy. No point of law
turned upon the case.
June The Criminal Sessions closed on Thursday, the 19th June,
Criminal
Sessions. having occupied
fourteen cases upon Court
the the four days
Calendar, only,
some though
being there were
of importance.
Conviction of Private McHugh, of the 18th Royal Irish Regiment, was
Private
McHugh for sentenced to a term of imprisonment for causing the death
causing of Private Higgins of the same Regiment, and Henry Daniel
death of a
comrade. Sinclair, gunner of the schooner Ariel, for piracy, was sentenced
Henry to transportation for life . At the same session Chun Afoon
Daniel
Sinclair was sentenced to death for shooting, with intent to murder ,
transported
for life during an attack at East Point on the 7th May. Though
for piracy. similar attacks had been numerous and many of the assailants
Chun Afoon
sentenced to killed or wounded , this was the first case in which one of the
death for a robbers had been actually captured at the time of committing
murderous
attack at the offence, and it was hoped his fate would be a salutary
East Point. warning to his confederates . It was gratifying to notice the
Decrease
such of
crimes. decrease of crimes of this nature, and undoubtedly the security
now existing in the Colony was to be ascribed to the efficient
body of night Police organized during the past year. At the
Criminal Sessions held on the 30th June, a ghastly case was
Conviction of heard. It was that of three men belonging to H.M.S. Driver,
Ingwood, of
H.M.S. named Charles Ingwood , Thomas Cox, and John Mears,
Driver, for
murder. who were arraigned upon the charge of having murdered an
Englishman of the name of Wilkinson, on Friday, the 2nd
May, 1845 , at Whampoa . The prisoners and deceased , a baker
in the employ of a Mr. James McMurray, at Whampoa Roads,
had met on shore. After drinking together, they all came off
in a Chinese sampan, when, some angry words passing between
them, it was alleged the prisoners set upon Wilkinson , tied up
his hands and feet, and threw him overboard , the body being
picked up afterwards at Whampoa Reach on the 5th May, in a
state of decomposition . The Chief Justice presided at the trial ,
Mr. Sterling, the Attorney- General , prosecuted , and Mr. Goddard
appeared for the defence. From the evidence it would appear
that the prisoners were at the time under the influence of drink,
but " sober enough to know what they were doing. " Originally
four men had been charged , but Joseph Charlow, a shipmate,
with a promise of pardon held out to him, turned Queen's
evidence . It was proved that Wilkinson, the deceased , had
been very abusive to Ingwood, -Cox and Mears at this time,
sitting aft and being mere spectators of the awful drama that
was being perpetrated, though offering no assistance whatever
to the deceased. In the result Ingwood was found guilty and
sentenced to death, the jury acquitting Cox and Mears. It was
EXECUTION OF INGWOOD AND CHUN AFOON. 85
hoped in some quarters that the Governor would extend to the Chap. III § II.
condemned man the mercy which, as Her Majesty's represent- 1845 .
ative, he was entrusted with, and the community thus spared
the dreadful sight of an Englishman being hanged in Hongkong,
but the unfortunate inan was hanged on Thursday, the 3rd Execution of
Ingwood.
July, 1845. He had been attended by the Colonial Chaplain ,
the Reverend Vincent John Stanton , who after the execution said
that " he had visited Ingwood often during his imprisonment,
and was fully convinced that he was not a hardened offender,
and could not have been guilty of premeditated murder, but had
been maddened by provocation and liquor." To a shipmate,
Ingwood said he wished to warn his shipmates against " samshoo
(a native intoxicating drink ) , and he hoped his fate would
make an impression upon them which would not be effaced .
The wretched man had been doomed to the further indignity * Ingwood is
of suffering in company with the Chinaman Chun Afoon, who, hanged
together with
it will be remembered, was sentenced to death on the 18th Chun Afoon.
June, and who had since been , with less success , however, than
his three countrymen under similar circumstances in February,
using every effort to save the offices of the hangman .† The
double execution took place at five o'clock in the morning, on
a gallows erected at West Point, the Chinaman having been
received into the bosom of the Roman Catholic Church and
attended to by an Italian priest. The execution of Ingwood, until Ingwood the
first
this time, was the only recorded instance of a European being European
hanged in Hongkong. In the annals of crime instances of more hanged in
Hongkong.
refined cruelty and fiendish malice are occasionally met with, Ingwood's
but it would be difficult to point to a more cold- blooded , crime,
deliberate, cowardly murder than the one for which Ingwood
was so righteously sentenced to death . The ermine of Justice The law of
is now less stained with blood than formerly, but as the law of to
England as
murder.
England still contains murder among capital offences, no com-
mutation of the penalty can reasonably be looked for except in
cases presenting strongly extenuating circumstances, or where
facts brought out subsequent to the trial cast a doubt upon the
evidence ; but in cases like Ingwood's, it is difficult to see why,
if mercy had been extended to him, Chun Afoon , who was not
even charged with committing murder, but only with intending
to do so, could have been hanged without this being regarded
as a judicial murder.
The Ordinance to raise an assessed rate on lands and houses Assessed rate
for the purpose of upholding and maintaining the Police Force on lands
houses and
for
(No. 2 of 1845 ) , came into operation on the 1st July, 1845. maintenance
of Police
The opinion of the law officers of the Crown was that the Force.
* See the action of the Government after the execution of the two Englishmen Gibbons
and Jones, as related in Chap. XXVI., infrà.
† See antè p. 75.
86 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC., OF HONGKONG.
Chap.III § II. assessment provided for was a direct tax upon property by the
1845. landlord , and not by the tenant, but the terms of the Ordinance
Ordinance were rather ambiguous and it was not clear whether the tenant
No. 2 of 1845.
The opinion or landlord was the party responsible. This Ordinance was
of the Law
Officers of not without giving cause for dissatisfaction, as indeed , do most
the Crown. laws having taxation for an object. The measure was con-
Landlord empowering Government
and tenant. sidered unconstitutional and illegal, as
Public assessors arbitrarily to value all household property with the
dissatisfac-
tion. view of raising a new tax, ostensibly, it was said, for payment of
a Police Force, " there being no municipal body of any kind
in the Colony to determine whether such tax be necessary or
equitably levied and appropriated ." The rate was primarily
payable by the tenant, though as regards the public it was
ultimately a charge on the landlord ; but in cases, for instance,
where the agreement for occupancy had been made by a military
Constitution officer , the landlord might be applied to, in the first instance, for
of
Legislature the assessment. It was clear therefore that the assessment was
attacked. a direct property tax, and for this ( considered ) special legislation ,
the constitution of the Legislature was again attacked. It was
admitted to be unreasonable to ask for an elective Council, but it
Memorial to
Lord was urged that the inhabitants were entitled to representation, so
Stanley. far as it could be obtained by the nomination ofrepresentatives by
the Crown. A memorial to Lord Stanley, protesting against the
Mr. Bruce, measure, was accordingly got up on the 13th August, and for-
Colonial
Secretary, warded to the Governor for transmission to the Secretary ofState.
goes on on short leave, of Mr.
leave. Consequent upon the departure
Major Caine, Bruce, the Colonial Secretary, on the 16th July, 1845 , im-
Acting
Colonial portant changes took place in the establishment of the island .
Secretary, Major Caine, who was appointed to replace Mr. Bruce, being
Mr. Hillier, succeeded by Mr. Hillier as acting Sheriff and Police Magistrate,
Acting
Sheriff and
Police Lieutenant Armstrong, of the 18th Royal Irish Regiment,
Magistrate ; replacing Mr. Hillier as assistant Magistrate . But all these
Lieutenant changes were only of short duration, for Mr. Bruce returned to
Armstrong,
acting the Colony and resumed the duties of his office, on the 25th
Assistant
October, 1845. Mr. Samuel Fearon, the Registrar- General,
Magistrate.
Mr. S. however, took a year's leave on the 16th July, when Mr. Andrew
Fearon ,
Registrar- Lysaught Inglis, clerk in the Marine Magistrate's Office was
on leave. goes
General appointed to act as Registrar-General, Mr. Hillier performing
Changes . the duties of Marine Magistrate, Mr. W. H. Leggett, clerk to
Mr. A. L. the Chief Justice and to the Supreme Court, with the concur-
Inglis .
Mr. Hillier. rence of the Chief Justice , being appointed Coroner, vice Mr.
Mr. W. H. Hillier.
Leggett.
Major- Major- General D'Aguilar now again came in for public
General
D'Aguilar comment. It will be recollected that the stopping of the
causes bamboo -beating nuisance was ascribed to him. He was
prosecution
and now accused of causing the conviction of a Mr. Welch for
conviction "having singing in his house between the hours of 10 and 11
MAJOR-GENERAL D'AGUILAR AND MR . WELCH . 87
o'clock." It was said that " Mr. Welch had the misfortune to Chap III. § II.
occupy a house near that in the temporary occupation of the 1845.
Honourable Major-General D'Aguilar, to whose gentle ear the of a
Welch Mr.for
rude sound of civilian hilarity was peculiarly obnoxious , though having
music
he could complacently listen to the mirth of the military mess in his ' in
house.
the rear of his house on their evenings of entertainment ." Episodes in
the case.
According to the report, the General had sent for Sergeant
Atkins ( formerly of the 18th Royal Irish Regiment ) and had
ordered him to go to Mr. Welch's house with his , the General's,
compliments, and request him to stop the noise. Sergeant
Atkins , in company with Constable Isaac Simmers (formerly
a private in the Royal Irish Regiment) accordingly proceeded
to Mr. Welch's house and found his way to the room where
Mr. Welch had a party of friends , and in an insolent manner
informed Mr. Welch that General D'Aguilar ordered that the
noise be stopped at once. Mr. Welch then quietly told the How Mr.
Welch
Police sergeant to go downstairs, and, on second thoughts, treated
" feeling the indignity cast upon him " by the intrusion of General
D'Aguilar's
policemen in his house, opened the window and , calling out to emissary.
the sergeant, told him that if he came again with such a
message, he would horse-whip him. The next act in the
farce, continued the report now condensed , was the appearance
the next day of Sergeant Atkins before Lieutenant Arms- He is
trong, " of the Royal Irish Regiment " ( who was acting as prosecuted.
Case tried by
Assistant Magistrate in the place of Mr. Hillier, temporarily Lieutenant
promoted Chief Magistrate ) and who, swearing to an information Armstrong.
Mr. Welch
containing the threat of horse-whipping above- mentioned should fined for
he return to Mr. Welch's house, summoned Mr. Welch 'Sergeant threatening'
accordingly before the Magistrate to answer to the charge. On Atkins.
the 13th September, the Magistrate, Lieutenant Armstrong,
sentenced Mr. Welch "to pay a fine of $20 to the Queen." Use- Public
less to say that the charge and sentence were both considered comments
the whole on
iniquitous, and the attention of the Attorney-General and the matter.
public called to the unjust sentence of the " servile Magistracy ,"
but, as in the case of the bamboo-beating, the records do not
29
show that, after this, Mr. Welch ever had any more " singing '
in his house.
The news that a baronetcy had been conferred upon the Governor
Davis made
Governor reached the Colony on the 14th September, 1845 , a Baronet.
and the honour was considered a well-deserved one and for which.
Sir John Davis was well worthy. The following is a copy of
the announcement as it appeared in the London Gazette, of
the 11th July, 1845-
"The Queen has been pleased to direct Letters Patent to be passed under
the Great Seal, granting the dignity of Baronet of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland unto John Francis Davis, Esquire, Governor of
Hongkong, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten."
88 HISTORY OF THE LAWS, ETC. , OF HONGKONG.
Chap. III § II. On the 23rd September, Mr. Hillier, the acting Chief
1845. Magistrate and Sheriff having charge of the Gaol, refused
Mr. Hillier, access, without a written order from himself, to several Euro-
acting
Sheriff, peans confined in the Debtor's Jail . His conduct was con-
refuses access sidered inexcusable, and regretted because the impression
to prisoner s
in debtor's heretofore had been, that " he was not infected with those
gaol.
harsh feelings which were so peculiarly characteristic of the
Executive of Hongkong." The prisoners complained they
were being detained as felons, and from the correspondence that
ensued afterwards between the Government and themselves, it
does not appear that they gained any advantage by their
action.
Comparison The Bombay Gentleman's Gazette, of 1st October, 1845 , con-
between
Hongkong tained an article drawing a comparison between Hongkong and
and Chusan. Chusan which it was desired to see retained, the comparison
Gentleman's being anything but favourable to the former . The following
Gazette.
extract is, however, given as containing an account of the early
Early
History of history of the Colony and showing the lawless population which
Hongkong.
Lawless the authorities had so early to cope with, and for the success
population. of whose measures no small praise or credit was due
"As to the population and progress of Hongkong, the only known facts
are, that in January, 1841 , it was ceded to Captain Elliot, and great offers
were made by him and Commodore Sir Gordon Bremer to induce settlers to
go there. The floating population on its being taken, was about 7,800
smugglers, stone-cutters and vagabonds ; in March, 1842 , it rose to 12,360 ;
in July, 1845, it was about 19,000, but of the worst characters from the
neighbouring coast of China, for not one respectable Chinaman had come to
settle there during the 3 years of British occupation . The mandarins of
the next provinces order their outlaws to Hongkong, and such was the
frightful state of society in the island , that in that small population, there
were, in June last, 20 opium eating shops, 31 brothels, etc., etc. The
Europeans, who dwell there, sleep with pistols under their pillows, for their
lives or property cannot be considered safe either by day or by night. The
true character of this Colony was clearly described by anticipation in the
Canton Register of the 23rd February, 1841 , in which it is called " a
Gehenna." The lawless population refuse to be controlled , and the procla-
mation of the Police Superintendent, Major Caine, was met by a counter-
edict by the leaders of the determined scoundrels, who look upon the British
settlers as their prey, to be plundered and butchered whenever opportunities
offer......"
The foregoing picture though dark, having regard to the
facts before touched upon regarding the early condition of
affairs here and the people that had settled in Hongkong, can-
not be said to be overdrawn, or, if exaggerated , certainly not
untruthful, and it must have been a matter for congratulation
to the authorities to see their untiring efforts rewarded, and to
the residents, to see how much crime was being stamped out
Doubtless reference is here made to the riots in connexion with the Registration
Ordinance, in October, 1844, antè pp. 66-68.
BRITISH SOVEREIGNTY VIOLATED. 89
through the admirable exertions of those very authorities whom Chap. GIII § II.
they often, but unnecessarily, abused. 1845.
On the 6th October, Mr. Charles Gordon Holdforth was Mr.
appointed Coroner, pending the receipt of Her Majesty's Holdforth,
Coroner.
pleasure. This was doubtless in succession to Mr. W. H. Donth ofMr.
Leggett, appointed in July last vice Mr. Hillier, and who had Leggett.
died at Macao on the 23rd September, 1845. Pending Mr.
Holdforth's appointment , after Mr. Leggett's death, Mr. Hillier
had resumed the office temporarily.
Two inferior agents of the Chinese Government, having Chinese
violated the sovereignty of British law by coming over to Agents
Hongkong and apprehending a suspected Chinese without the violate
Sovereignty
authority of a warrant from the Police Magistrate, were con- of Hongkong.
demned, on the 15th October, to one month's imprisonment. They are
convicted.
A notification from the Government enjoined all inhabitants to Government
apprehend any such persons in future and to bring them before Notification
as to such
the Magistrate for punishment . Ordinance No. 11 of 1845 , Agents.
regulating the harbour of Hongkong, passed the Legislative Ordinance
11
Council during this month. The Ordinance repealed Ordinance No
1845 . of
No. 19 of 1844 under which some previous regulations had Ordinance
been passed, but which were now rescinded and embodied in the No.
1844.19 of
above Ordinance. The Ordinance for the naturalization of Ordinance
aliens ( No. 10 of 1845 ) passed in October also, was disallowed No.
1845.10 of
by proclamation ofthe 1st January, 1848 , followed by the publi- Act 10 and
cation of the Act 10 and 11 Vict . , c. 83 , relating to the same 11 Vict. , c.
83.
subject.
The first appeal case against a Magistrate's decision was First Appeal
heard on the 3rd November of this year. Mr. McSwyney Case against
Magistrate's
moved on behalf of the appellant in the case of Christopher V. decision :
Armstrong, for a writ of mandamus calling upon Messrs. Caine Christopher
e. Armstrong.
and Hillier, Justices of the Peace, to show cause why they
should not assemble a Court of General Sessions to re-hear
Ordinance
the above case, and wherein the Magistrate, Lieutenant Arm- No. 11 of
strong, had fined the appellant $ 100 for a contravention of the 1844.
Rule made
Spirituous Liquors Ordinance, No. 11 of 1844. The Justices not
appearing, the rule was made absolute on the 10th November, Costs refused
but the Chief Justice refused costs, as it was not usual " to Magistrate.
Mr. Hillier
grant costs against Magistrates ." takes short
On the 12th November, Mr. Hillier, the Assistant Magistrate, leave.
Lieutenant
proceeded on six weeks leave of absence, being replaced by Armstrong
Lieutenant Armstrong, who had previously held the position , acts.
t . L.
on the 10th December, Mr. Andrew Lysaught Inglis, acting Inglis,
Registrar- General, was appointed at the same time an Assistant Assistant
Magistrate.
Police Magistrate for the Colony.
The last Criminal Sessions of the Supreme Court for the year, December
Criminal
opened on Monday, the 15th December, and closed on Friday, the
90 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG.
Chap. III § II. 19th . The calendar had been a heavy one, and with three or four
1845. exceptions, the offences were trifling and might well have been
Sessions.
Trivial cases settled by the Magistrate without occupying the time of the
committed Court and of the Jury unnecessarily, a number of cases ending
by the
Magistrate. in an acquittal. Most of the prisoners found guilty of robbery
A Chinaman were sentenced to long terms of transportation. In one case, a
sentenced
death. His to Chinaman , charged with murder, was sentenced to death. His
accomplice is accomplice, who had escaped to Canton, was afterwards arrested
arrested in
1848 and in the Colony at the end of 1848 , and tried, convicted, and
convicted. executed in December of that year.
Judicial
events of The judicial history of the Colony during 1845 presented
1845. few prominent points of interest. Several important Rules of
Resumé.
Court passed during the year ( notably those of the 1st November,
which related to the sittings ofthe Court, practice and pleadings,
proceedings in formâ pauperis, criminal proceedings and fees of
Court) were all disallowed by the Home Government, notifica-
tion to that effect appearing in March , 1847 .
Despite occasional complaints at the measures of Government,
matters rolled on in comparative tranquillity. The Police
Assessment Ordinance drew forth a deal of discussion, ending in
a memorial to Lord Stanley. To this memorial at the end of the
year no reply had been received, but its import might have been
inferred from the fact of a proclamation published on the 26th
December, announcing that the Ordinance had been approved
of and confirmed by Her Majesty. The other legislative
measures were chiefly confined to amending former Ordinances
so as to render them more adapted to existing circumstances.
Disapproval of the wholesale manner in which the Magistrates
inflicted corporal punishment upon the Chinese began to make
itself heard, trifling offences in many instances involving a
sentence of from 50 to 100 strokes of the rattan . Though
some of the sentences passed during the year in the Courts
might have appeared severe, in the then condition of the Colony,
severity was certainly called for, and indeed , if not paradoxical ,
it became humanity .
Ch. III § III. A Coroner's inquest was held on Friday, the 2nd January,
1846. 1846, on the body of the Chinese contractor for the military
Coroner's
hospital and officers ' barracks. The deceased was found hang-
Inquest.
Suicide ing by the neck in the morning at his residence near the
amongst barracks . Upon his person was found a paper stating that, in
Chinese.
consequence of his not being able to meet his obligations at the
end of the year, he had destroyed himself, and also that he had
lost considerably by the contract for the officers ' barracks in
consequence of his being obliged to build a stone front , "the
contract having been for a brick one.' The jury, curiously
enough, returned a verdict of temporary insanity, though
VERANDAHS . 91
upon what grounds could not be imagined , as the suicide Ch. III § III.
appeared to have been most deliberate, and it is a well 1846.
known fact that suicide is common among the Chinese, males
or females, whenever in trouble . Needless to say, of course,
that the charge relative to the alteration of the terins of the
contract was found afterwards to be untrue.
Piratical attacks had now begun afresh, and it was believed Piracy.
that the pirates had made Hongkong their abode, in consequence
of which the Police, of course, came in for censure . It was said The Police.
that there were 300 Chinese of notoriously bad character resident
in the Chinese part of the town and suburbs , and that so long as
they were permitted to remain on the island, robbery and violence The Indian
night Police.
would continue. The Indian night Police came in for a meed Lighting of
of praise, and the lighting of the streets was favourably com- the streets.
Public
mented upon, but the European Police apparently did not stand opinion of
high in the estimation of the residents . Their frequent visits European
porti on of
to and lounging about in the Chinamen's shops, had not escaped Police Force.
observation. Several important appointments were made dur-
ing this month, amongst others , those of several of the principal Justices of
officials and residents to be Justices of the Peace for the Colony. the Peace.
On the 29th January, Mr. Adolphus Edward Shelley, the audits
Mr. the
Shelley
Auditor-General, was appointed to audit the accounts of the Registrar's
Registrar, Mr. Cay, on the ecclesiastical side of the Court, Mr. accounts.
Charles Markwick being also appointed ' one of the appraisers and Ma
Markwick,
auctioneer' on the same side of the Supreme Court, in place of Appraiser
and
Mr. Edward Newman who had hitherto held the appointment. Auctioneer of
The London Gazette of January 30, announced that Her Majesty the Court, in
had been pleased to appoint Mr. Samuel Turner Fearon , the place of Mr.
Newman.
Registrar- General, (who had proceeded on leave on the 16th Mr. S. T.
July, 1845 ) , to be ' Registrar -General and Collector of Chinese Fearon
gazetted
Revenue ' for Hongkong. Registrar-
General and
Collector of
In January, also, Government permission was given for the Chinese
construction of verandahs projecting beyond the boundaries of Hongkong.
Revenue for
lots over any public road or street within the City of Vic- Land.
toria, in accordance with a plan, open for inspection at the Verandahs.
Surveyor-General's Office. This permission superseded the
Government Notification of 19th November, 1844. No provi-
sion has ever been made in the Crown Lease for these erections
which are, to this time, allowed by the licence of the Director of
Public Works . The consequence is, that the purchaser of a
house, in hundreds of cases , acquires no other title or estate in
the exterior parts of the building he purchases , than what passes
by his deed of assignment as an easement, if such an easement
attached to his holding, which, under the Governor's instruc-
tions for the disposal of land , appears to be somewhat doubtful .
92 HISTORY OF THE LAWS, ETC. , OF HONGKONG .
Ch. III § III. In February, Mr. Holdforth, the Coroner, received the appoint-
1846. ment of Deputy Sheriff, Major Caine retaining the sheriffship ,
Mr. and on the 23rd March, Lieutenant Pedder, the Harbour-
Holdforth,
Deputy Master and Marie Magistrate , who had proceeded on leave
Sheriff.
Return of of absence in March, 1845 , resumed the duties of his office.
Lieutenant
Pedder. Messrs. Farncomb and Goddard , solicitors , advertised on the
Messrs. 21st March, 1846 , that they had formed a partnership as
Farncomb
and Goddard " attorneys, solicitors, proctors, and notaries at Victoria, under
in partner- the firm of Farncomb and Goddard," and that Mr. Farncomb
ship.
would transact the business of the firm as notary public. But
this partnership apparently was not of long duration, for on
the 4th July it was announced that the partnership heretofore
subsisting between them had that day been dissolved " by
mutual consent."
Flogging in The frequency of the application of corporal punishment
Hongkong.
mentioned in March, 1845 , and the injurious effects of unne-
cessary severity were now beginning to tell upon the public
Disgusting mind . Disgusting exhibitions of public flogging were reported
exhibitions of
flogging. to be of almost daily occurrence in the town : in one case about
an hour before sunset one afternoon , in the Queen's Road,
between the foot of Pottinger and Cochrane Streets, one poor
wretch being tied up to the door - post of a public house next to
the then temporary Police Station there, and afterwards stripped
and his back " lacerated with the rattan." No pretension was
Wholesale made to an over - refinement of feeling, but the wholesale system
flogging
objected to. of flogging inflicted by the Magistrates was objected to . The
extent to which the rattan was made use of was said to be
almost incredible, and that the records of the Police Court, on
examination, would show that there was more flogging in
Hongkong than probably in any country in the world accord-
ing to the population . For the most trifling offences the Chinese
were being daily sentenced to be publicly whipped. On Satur-
54 Chinese day, the 25th of April , 1846 , no less than 54 men were flogged
flogged and
their tails and had their tails cut off, - a mode of punishment common in
cut off on
those days -for no other reason than that of being on the island
pretext of
having no without registration tickets , and the severity of the sentence was
registration
ticket. further increased by their being handed over afterwards to the
They are tender mercies of the Kowloon mandarins to be sent back to the
afterwards places to which they belonged . The existence of any local law
handed over
to mandarins authorizing the Magistrates first to punish and then to hand
at Kowloon. over delinquents to the Chinese authorities was not known .
By the treaty, criminals or other offenders were only to be
The origin of handed over on application . The origin of the offence for which
the offence
for which the 54 men were flogged happened in this wise : a policeman
they were
flogged. saw a Chinaman carrying a piece of timber which he believed
had been stolen, and arrested the man. On the policeman and
THE REGISTRATION ORDINANCE AND FLOGGING . 93
his prisoner passing near some native houses near Spring Gar- Ch. III § 111.
dens, some Chinamen threw stones and the policeman was 1846.
obliged to abandon his captive, though afterwards, meeting with
assistance, he was able to re-capture him. A strong body of
police was sent down, but as it was found impossible to identify
the offenders, they arrested such of the men as were without
tickets of registration, and they, together with the thief, were
next day brought up before the Police Court. Against the
latter the charge was clearly proved , and the rest were tried
under the Registration Ordinance and sentenced to pay a fine of
$5 each or, in default, to receive each 20 strokes with the rattan
and " to lose their tails." As they failed to pay the fine, the
alternative of the sentence was enforced, and they were after-
wards forwarded , as before stated, to the mandarin at Kowloon
with a letter stating that they had been punished and requesting
that he would order them " to their native districts and forbid
them to return." As is apparent, the difficulty of identification Difficulty of
identifica-
alone had rendered it necessary to proceed against the men tion.
under the Registration Ordinance, though the offence, for which
some of them at least had been guilty, was assault with intent
to intimidate the police, but to meet which the authorities
deemed it advisable to charge the 54 men as above. As will before
Case brought
be seen later on, this case came before Parliament in August. Parliament.
The Registration Ordinance, as worked, was reported a Registration
failure, though possibly it might eventually prove beneficial to Ordinance
failure. a
the Colony, but only by being worked differently. So long as
it was made an apology for severities such as were described , it The
was injurious rather than beneficial, and so long as it permitted surrender
men underof
the Magistrates to surrender men to their brother-magistrates, the
of the Celestial Empire, it was a disgrace to the Colony and Chinese to
Ordinance
gave rise to the most unpleasant suspicions . Between English authorities
deemed a
Magistrates and those of China there should be no community disgrace.
of feeling, no negotiations , except such as were provided for by
Νο
treaty. Commenting upon the case, a local paper said that community
"the barbarity of the Police Court was of a piece with the between
English and
brutality of the legislation which would brand and mutilate Chinese
human beings who had committed no crime, but who were Magistrates.
obnoxious as being members of a secret society," reference being Strong
local
doubtless had to the Triad and other secret Societies Ordinance, comm
No. 1 of 1845 . upon the
flogging case.
Ordinance
The spirit was observable on the bench which ren- No. 1 of
dered the Council " contemptible. " But be this as it may, 1845.
there was no doubt that crime had greatly diminished , to
whatever cause due, though perhaps severity was now less State of
crime at this
called for. Seldom was a robbery of any magnitude now heard stage.
of, nor did the natives show any disposition to be insubordinate.
94 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG .
Ch . III § III. At the last session of the Supreme Court there was scarcely
1846. one case of importance, whereas formerly there were a dozen.
Sentences ofThis was certainly satisfactory as showing that the population
flogging
deemed was more orderly and that sentences of whipping inflicted by
excessive the Magistrates, and which had now begun to be objected to as
and
unnecessary.partly excessive and partly unnecessary, had at least had some
Lieutenant salutary effect. Lieutenant Thomas Wade, of Her Majesty's
Thomas
Wade 98th Regiment, having been placed at the disposal of Government
appointed by the Major- General Commanding, the Governor , on the 6th
Chinese
April, appointed him to the office of Interpreter to the
interpreter of
the Supreme Supreme Court, pending Her Majesty's pleasure. It will be
Court. remembered that Mr. Wade was appointed in a similar capa-
Duties of the city to Her Majesty's land forces in July, 1843. On the 15th
Marine
Magistrate. April, notice was given, that for the future Lieutenant Pedder,
the Harbour- Master and Marine Magistrate, recently returned
from leave, would only take cognizance of such cases as Marine
Europeans Magistrate where the parties were Europeans or Lascars , and
and Lascars. that all marine cases in which Chinese were the parties would
The Chinese. be heard and disposed of at the Police Magistrate's Court. It
was with much satisfaction that the public now learnt that Mr.
Mr. Lena Lena, who had, with much credit to himself, filled the office of
and the
suppression Harbour- Master during the absence on leave of Mr. Pedder,
of piracy. had been entrusted with the command of two gunboats to cruise
in the river, and among the adjoining islands, for the suppression
of piracy. The evil had lately been on the increase by being suf-
fered to go unchecked, but, though it might have been dealt with
sooner, it was considered fortunate that the appointment had been
conferred upon one so likely to perform its duties efficiently.
Day robbery An impudent robbery took place in broad daylight on Wed-
at West
Point. nesday, the 29th April, near the stone quarry, a little to the west-
ward of the naval stores, seven Chinamen , armed with various
weapons, having stopped an equal number of their countrymen
and stripped them of their clothes, leaving their own rags
in exchange. Only one of the robbers was caught, the rest
having escaped over the hill before assistance could be obtained .
Escapes from Several escapes had also taken place from the Gaol recently,
Gaol.
and it was a subject of regret that, while some were flogged for
trivial offences, other prisoners , who had been tried and sentenced
to transportation, were permitted to escape. In February, six
convicts had broken out of gaol , and a recent escape was that of
a man undergoing inquiry upon a charge of attempting to
poison his employer. In the first instance the prisoners , on a
stormy night, had forced a door, and in the last a hole was
burned in the roof allowing of free egress . It was a singular
coincidence that in both cases the guard should have failed to
discover the efforts which the prisoners were making to re-gain
their liberty. No doubt, the want of a responsible head with
THE VICE -ADMIRALTY COURT . 95
sole charge ofthe prisoners, and with no other duty to perform, was Ch. III § III.
the primary reason for such carelessness , for the Chief Magistrate 1846.
with his heavy duties, though to a certain extent relieved of The Chief
Magistrate,
some of his police work, must yet have had quite enough to do the Gaol, and
without having to exercise supervision, such as it was , over the the Police.
His hea vy
prisons. duties.
Regulations for appeals to the Privy Council from the Appeals to
Supreme Court, dated the 21st January, 1846, were published on the Privy
Council.
the 5th May, and on the 9th , Her Majesty's Letters Patent, dated Letters
the 10th January, 1846 , appointing commissioners to hold admi- Patent.
Commissio-
ralty jurisdiction within the Colony were published . The ners to hold
Commissioners thereunder were the Governor, the Chief Justice, Jurisdiction.
Admiralty
the Officer commanding the Troops, the Colonial Secretary, the
Chief Magistrate of Police, and the Flag Officers or Captains of
ships ofwar in the harbour. Either of these commissioners could
examine or commit parties charged with piracy. The prisoners
could be tried by three of the commissioners , of whom the
Governor or Chief Justice was to be one, with a jury. These Court with
Admiralty
Letters Patent now fully provided for a Court with admiralty Jurisdiction.
jurisdiction in Hongkong, and those appointing Sir John Davis, Governor
the Governor, to be Vice- Admiral of the island, and John Walter Admiral
Davis, Vice-
of
Hulme, Esquire, Judge of the Vice- Admiralty Court, dated the the Island.
4th February, 1846 , were duly published on the 4th June. Chief Justice
The May Criminal Sessions commenced on the 27th . The calen- Judg
Hulme,
e of the
dar was a comparatively light one, some of the cases, however, Vice-
Admiralty
being of importance, one prisoner, Ching Afat, being found guilty
court.
of murder and sentenced to death. A charge of piracy brought
May
against seven boatmen in the employ of the opium farmer was Criminal
Sessions.
heard at this session . Mr. McSwyney, for the prisoners , took Ching Afat.
an objection that the crime was committed at a different spot sentence of
death for
from the one mentioned in the indictment and which was not murder.
within the jurisdiction of the Court. The Chief Justice coin- Piracy case
cided in this and the prisoners were discharged . In this case discharged.
Features of
an incident happened not at all uncommon in Chinese cases, the case.
principally due perhaps to difficulty in recognizing Chinese Difficulty in
features or ability to discriminate amongst people so very much Chinese
recognizing
alike. It was remarked in Court that of the seven men com- features.
mitted by the Magistrate and bailed out, one of the number was Substitution
of prisoners.
not there, another man having taken his place at the bar. The
Police, it was said , were ready to certify that a youth who was
particularly conspicuous in the affair, and one of the seven
bailed by the Chief Magistrate, was not in the dock on trial,
but presumably owing to the preliminary objection taken, in
consequence of which the prisoners were discharged , nothing
arose upon the fraud pointed out , another person making up the European
number of seven. Another case was that of a European policeman conniving
policeman at
who was accused of conniving at the escape of a prisoner under escape of
96 HISTORY OF THE LAWS, ETC., OF HONGKONG.
Ch. III § III. his charge. The case broke down on some technical point-a dif-
1846. ference between the real name of the prisoner and that given in
prisoner the indictment-but as such cases had been numerous, it was
acquitted.
not without cause that suspicion of collusion between prisoners
Collusion
between and their keepers had become general.
prisoners and On the 3rd June, a Mr. Wiseman was summoned in the Police
Police as
Prison Court under section 7 of Ordinance No. 14 of 1845 , and fined
guards . £ 5, for furious riding or, as was stated, galloping ' his horse
Prosecution
of a Mr. near the gap, a locality, says the report, used then for that
Wiseman
instance ofat purpose by nearly every resident on the island. It appeared
General that the real complainant in the case was General D'Aguilar,
D'Aguilar for who accordingly again came in for a good deal of public talk.
alleged
'furious The Superintendent of Police, Mr. May, stated that General
riding.' D'Aguilar whom the defendant had encountered , had desired
General
him to pull up, but without effect, and then called out : " Is
D'Aguilar
and public there no Police to take notice of this ? " Upon which Mr. May,
comments.
who was present, replied that defendant would be summoned ."
Subservient
This case was considered as fresh evidence of the objection-
Magistracy.
able nature of the Police establishment and of the subservient
Magistracy. Both were under the control and influence of the
Executive, and, until the connexion ceased , no effective Police
or impartial Magistracy could be expected . As to General
General
D'Aguilar D'Aguilar, he had made himself somewhat conspicuous in his
considered eccentric conduct on various occasions. From his actions it was
eccentric.
supposed he had passed his life among Helots and that he knew
little of the manly independence of a British community.
Reference was then made to his stoppage of the bamboo - beating
by watchmen in August, 1844 ; his interference with Mr. Welch
who had some singing in his house, in September of the same
year, and to his almost daily assumption of the duties of a
constable in rebuking those who rode past him on the road,
and after more abuse had been heaped on him, the General was
asked how he could reconcile his treatment of others with the
" bacchanalian orgies " which had been heard in his own house
"on the evening of the Sabbath ."
Frequent Murders were becoming frequent amongst the Chinese and
murders
amongst the gallows , which had by this time been frequently in use,
Chinese.
did not seem to be a great terror to evil -doers in Hongkong.
The gallows
no terror. A Chinaman named Ching Afat sentenced to death on the
Execution of 28th May, as stated in the account for that session , for murder-
Ching
His Afat. ing a countryman of his on the 29th April, was executed at
resistance on daybreak on the 6th June. The unfortunate man used every
the scaffold . means in his power to resist a death which Chinamen regard
Death by
as peculiarly ignominious. He refused to walk to the place of
hanging
regarded as execution and had to be carried in a chair . On the scaffold he
ignominious resisted being placed on the drop or having the rope fastened
by Chinese.
round his neck.
THE NOTORIOUS PIRATE CHUN TEEN SOONG. 97
On the 13th June, the appointment of Mr. P. C. McSwyney, Ch. HII § III.
as Coroner was gazetted , as from the 29th May. The attack 1846.
Mr. P. C.
and murder of the captain and part of the crew of the Privateer , McSwyney ,
a schooner laden with opium, on the 14th June, created some Coroner.
sensation in the place. This was one of the most daring cases Daring
of piracy recorded for a long time past, and the continued piratical
attack on the
exertions of the authorities did not go altogether unrewarded, Privateer
one of the miscreants being afterwards arrested and con- opium ship .
victed. This notorious pirate, named Chun Teen Soong, was Conviction of