No. 6 of
1847. the number of prisoners from time to time in gaol , and to
Summary lessen the expense attending the detention of Crown witnesses,"
jurisdiction passed the Legislative Council on the 9th September.
of Police The
Magistrates measure was considered in some quarters as an encroachment
and Justices
of the Peace upon the powers of the Supreme Court ; but, be that as it may,
extended.
Encroach- the Magistrate's Court inspired less confidence than ever, and
ment upon the new Ordinance made matters worse. No news had yet
the powers
of the been received of a successor to Major Caine, and with the
Supreme passing of such an important Ordinance as above, it was again
Court.
Police Court Suggested that none but an experienced and legally qualified
inspires no person should be appointed to the Chief Magistracy .Such legal
confidence.
A legally qualifications were required at Home, and Lord Brougham's
qualified Act provided that no person shall be eligible for the position
Chief
Magistrate of Chief Magistrate who had not five years standing as a
desired .
Lord barrister. The public, however, had no hope of any amelio-
Brougham's ration in the Magistracy under the rule of Sir John Davis, but,
Act.
with his knowledge of local affairs, it was hoped that the Chief
No hope of
amelioration Justice would set his face against an Ordinance which gave the
under Sir
John Davis. Executive any control over the law Courts, and rendered the com-
Futile munity amenable to the judgment of men who were confessedly
appeal to
the Chief unacquainted with the laws of the country , -a very futile appeal
Justice for in all conscience having regard to the relations between the
amelioration Chief Justice and the Governor !
of affairs.
Governor Sir John Davis left the Colony for Cochin China on the 6th
Davis leaves
for Cochin October, 1847 , in H. M S. Vulture, Captain MacDougall, accom-
China.
panied by H. M. sloop of war Ringdore, Captain Clifford. His visit
was understood to have relation to the then existing commercial
Major- relations with Cochin China . During his absence, Major-
General
D'Aguilar General D'Aguilar assumed the reins of the Government .
acts.
Sessions of
the Vice- A sessions of the Vice- Admiralty Court was held on Friday, the
Admiralty 8th October. There were eight cases on the list , and the Grand
Court. Jury found true bills in all of them . In his charge the
Chief Justice Chief Justice stated that " he had not been allowed to see the
complains to
the Jury that indictments , " -a most extraordinary statement which under
he has not
been allowed any circumstances could not but appear unjustifiable and which
to see the at this distance of time can only be traced to Sir John Davis'
indictments. vindictiveness to Mr. Hulme. Mr. Parker obtained the postpone-
Sir John
Davis' vin- ment of one case on the ground of the shortness of the notice of
dictiveness. trial served upon the prisoners, and the acting Attorney- General,
Mr. Campbell , suffered another slip through his fingers , by a
flaw in the indictment, in having laid the stolen property as
belonging to two parties, whereas the first witness for the
prosecution distinctly swore that there were four partners each
MR. C. B. HILLIER. 147
with an equal interest in it. The Chief Justice took the oppor- Chap. VII.
tunity of suggesting that the ends of justice would not have 1847.
been defeated had attention been paid to what had occurred in
a former case of the same description , when by omission of the
words " and others " the prisoners escaped . Nothing further
transpired at this session calling now for observation .
No greater surprise could have come upon the public than Mr. Hillier
the announcement , on the 19th October, 1847 , in the official confirmed
as Chief
paper, that a despatch had been received from the Secretary of Magistrate.
State " confirming the appointment of Charles Batten Hillier,
Esquire, to that of Chief Magistrate of Hongkong ." This Public
came as a bolt upon the public from the clouds . Undoubtedly surprise and
comments.
the service was small, and the selection limited , but, as had
often been pointed out before , there were other offices for which
Mr. Hillier was qualified . It had been repeatedly represented
that for a position such as that under consideration , even at this
early stage of the Colony, a properly qualified lawyer and a
gentleman of experience was required, and more so than ever
since the passing of Ordinance No. 6 of 1847 relative to the ordinance
jurisdiction of the Magistrates. But with Sir John Davis , public No1847.
opinion counted for little and as is apparent it was only neces-
sary to oppose him in any matter, for him to show more
obstinacy. Mr. Hillier first joined the Government as Assistant
Magistrate under Major Caine in June, 1843, previous to which
he had been in the merchant service, so that after only four
years service he had now reached the highly honourable and
responsible position of Chief Magistrate, without any qualifica-
tions whatever except a knowledge of Chinese acquired in a
comparatively short time. Such rapid promotion in modern Rapid
times is quite exceptional, but Mr. Hillier owed this to his promotion
of Mr. Hillier
devotion and unswerving subserviency in things in general, to and to what
Sir John Davis and his immediate chief Major Caine. How- itChief
was due.
ever that may have been and however manifestly unfair to the Justice
hand inno
the
community in many respects - certainly Mr. Hulme, the Chief matter.
Justice, had had no hand in the appointment -one thing the
records disclose all through , and that is, that there existed no
more zealous and energetic officer at the time in the Government Mr. Hillier
service than Mr. Hillier. Whether in the Magistracy or as aofficer.
zealous
regards the Police, Mr. Hillier had ever been to the fore and His merits
ready to help in whatever way he could, and as to the Police, recorded.
>
he had occasionally shown much activity and rendered good
service, though upon the bench he appears often to have
* A strange confession of this is to be found many years after in the evidence given
by Major (then Colonel) Caine in his case against Mr. Tarrant for libel. He said Mr.
Ilier was almost like a child ofmy own. See evidence of Colonel Caine in the libel
ce of the Crown (on the information of Lieutenant- Colonel Caine) r. Tarrant, (17th
September, 1859) —reported in China Mail No. 763, September 29, 1859, p. 154, and infrà,
Chap. XXIX.
148 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG .
Chap. VII. adjudicated upon matters wherein in reality he himself was the
-
1847. prosecutor, and, be it said, not often to the advantage of the
prosecuted ; and though not one word is to be found in his
favour, to say the least, in connexion with his confirmation as
Chief Magistrate of Hongkong, it is as well that his merits
should be recorded here. The Government had evidently taken
time to think over his appointment, for although Major Caine
was confirmed as Colonial Secretary in April, it was not till
now that Mr. Hillier received his ; but it may be that a great
deal in regard to him had depended upon the disclosures
made to the Select Committee of the House of Commons,
and it will be remembered that Captain Balfour, formerly
Consul in Shanghai , and who had known Mr. Hillier for
some time, had stated in reference to the latter that he had
known him as " a zealous officer who had well qualified himself
for the performance of his police duties by acquiring the Chinese
language." * Coupled with the strong recommendation of Sir
John Davis, Mr. Hillier was therefore confirmed . He certainly
came within the meaning of "the few in authority perfectly
qualified " mentioned in The Dublin University Magazine of
His illegal July, 1847 , quoted in connexion with Major Caine.t His
sentences of
whipping. illegal sentences of whipping alone would not bear recapitula-
tion, leaving aside the fact that, at the time of his recommendation
Action to the honourable position he now held, he was under threat of
pending
against an action in damages for illegal arrest, and practical deportation
him. in connexion with the two Portuguese gentlemen extradited to
Macao in August, 1846. This action first came into Court in
April, 1848 , as hereinafter mentioned ; but this was one of the
many cases in which Mr. Hillier had but obeyed superior
orders. Contemporaneously with his confirmation as Chief
Ordinance
No. 6 of Magistrate, the Ordinance No. 6 of 1847 , previously alluded to ,
1847. extending the jurisdiction of the Police Magistrates and Justices
of the Peace, was promulgated . It enabled the Magistrates to
dispose of all the petty larceny cases, and thus relieved the
Supreme Court of about half the arduous duty of the Criminal
Ordinance Sessions. So far this was an improvement, but the Ordinance
objectionable
as the Chief itself was objectionable inasmuch as the Chief Magistrate was
Magistrate unfit for the responsible duties it entailed upon him , even
unfit for the
duties though he acted under instructions from the Governor. The
imposed. real object of the enactment, however, was an encroachment
Real object
of Ordinance upon the Supreme Court by the assumption of judicial power
an encroach
men t upon by the Executive, to whose control the Chief Magistrate
Supreme tamely submitted. Without going into the provisions of the
Court.
Ordinance itself, it was necessary to inquire whether under
* Antè Chap. VI., P. 134.
† Antè p. 141 .
See Chap. III § III, P. 106.
FLOGGING OF PAUPERS . 149
the usual limitations of a Magistrate's Court, and if untrammelled Chap . VII.
by an adherence to the dictates of his superiors, Mr. Hillier was 1847.
qualified for an appointment which required an extensive ac- Comments
upon Mr.
quaintance with the common and statute law of England . It was Hillier's
sufficiently well known that Mr. Hillier had never studied law even qualifica
tions.
in a subordinate capacity ; his decisions afforded ample evidence of
the fact . Upon these grounds his appointment was objection-
able in ordinary police proceedings ; but when he had a criminal
jurisdiction equal to that of a Court of Quarter Sessions with a
Jury in England, people may well have been apprehensive of
the consequences . Adding to this his submissive acquiescence His sub-
to the wishes of the Governor, it became clear that judicial missive
acquiescence
power was grasped by the usurping hands of a , weak and othe
partial Government, tottering under legislative and executive wishes of
the Execu
duties which it was too infirm to control. It was essential in tive.
an upright Magistrate that he should be free from any influence
whatever, otherwise his Court was corrupt, the laws violated ,
and the people oppressed . That Mr. Hillier acted under advice
of the powers that be was beyond question , and this was never
more emphasized than in the case of the two Portuguese before A Magistrate
noticed . A Magistrate who defers to the will of another is a deferring
the will ofto
person to be held in dread as dangerous to the community .' another.
On Saturday , the 23rd October, the Police hunted up about Vagrant
hunted up
a dozen paupers. In the afternoon, according to sentence, the papers
miserable creatures were flogged near West Point and landed on and
etc. flogged,
the opposite shore. The sight was described as disgusting in Disgusting
the extreme, some of the culprits being lepers and other beggars sight.
Some of the
whose faces were by no means unfamiliar to many. Afflicted culprits
and miserable, borne down by disease, these were certainly not lepers.
the men who had rendered the island insecure . It was no doubt
difficult to deal with such people, but, on the other hand , if their
presence was sanctioned at any time, this place would simply
be inundated with them, though it would appear that while
such creatures were in reality being harshly used , others of the
most infamous character went about unmolested . Surely, Flogging
again
flogging was not an appropriate punishment for such vagrants discussed .
as those described , and some milder measure of punishment
might have been adopted , but flogging had now been resumed,
and to carry it out was apparently determined upon . Thus the
opinion, formed in April last, that probably with more discrimi-
nation and less cruelty, sentences of whipping might not prove
* The first maxim of a free state is, that the laws be made by one set of men, and
administered by another ; in other words, that the legislative and judicial characters be
kept separate. When these offices are united in the same person or assembly, particular
laws are made for particular cases, springing oftentimes from partial motives, and
directed to private ends : whilst they are kept separate, general laws are made by one
body of men, without foreseeing whom they may affect ; and, when made, must be applied
by the other, let them affect whom they will. Archdeacon Paley. Principles of Moral
and Political Philosophy. Chap. VIII., Bk. 6.
150 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG .
Chap. VII. so dreadful after all, proved futile . Indeed , the new Police
1847. Court Ordinance No. 6 of 1847 , s . 5 , authorized corporal punish-
Ordinance ment to the extent of " 60 stripes , to be inflicted with a cane
No. 6 of
1847, s. 5 , or rattan," with the addition that persons unable to give a
authorized
satisfactory account of themselves were liable, if unregistered ,
60 stripes. to be sent out of the island .
October The Criminal Sessions of the Supreme Court , which began
Criminal
Sessions. on Saturday, the 23rd October, closed on Wednesday, the 27th .
Heavy There were 48 cases on the Calendar, the most important one
Calendar.
The case of which was that of Mr. Tarrant and Afoon accused of conspi-
against Mr.
Tarrant racy to injure the character of Major Caine, as mentioned in
and Afoon June last.* When the case was called, the acting Attorney-
postponed
at request General, Mr. Campbell, who had advised the Government in
of Mr. connexion with the matter,† moved for a postponement on the
Campbell,
acting ground that a material witness, Major Caine's compradore,
Attorney- was absent from the Colony. He produced an affidavit to that
General.
effect, but it did not disclose that any attempt had been made
to secure his attendance, though it was well known that the
man was residing near Canton, having prudently withdrawn
Mr. Coley, from the jurisdiction of the Court . Mr. Coley, on behalf of the
for Mr.
Tarrant, accused Tarrant, said that Afoon was not at first included in the
objects. charge. He had , on the contrary, been examined as a witness
against Mr. Tarrant, but, apparently because he had not gone
far enough and given such evidence as was wanted of him , he was
afterwards included in the charge and made a defendant. Lo
In Tin, Major Caine's compradore, was not examined as a wit-
ness either in the Magistrate's Court or in the other inquiry
that was held before . He had absconded after charges had been
made against him, and it was not probable he would return .
The Chief The Chief Justice observed that at least the witnesses who
Justice upon
the point. had given evidence before the Magistrate who had committed
Mr. Tarrant for trial, were known ; that the affidavit was practi-
cally of no use, as it did not show that any endeavour had been
made to secure Lo In Tin's attendance, and only stated that
he was absent, but he thought that no obstacle should be
Trial thrown in the way of clearing up a somewhat mysterious case
postponed.
by forcing an immediate trial, and he therefore further post-
Return of poned it on the assurance of the acting Attorney-General that
Governor his witness would be present at the December Sessions .
Davis from
Cochin On the 30th October, the Governor, Sir John Davis, resumed
China. duties on his return from Cochin China.
Complaints
against Mr. Complaints against the Sheriff, Mr. Holdforth, were now for-
Holdforth,
the Sheriff. mulated in regard to his treatment of Mr. Markwick, the Govern-
6
He with- ment Auctioneer, who had heretofore conducted the Sheriff's
draws
'Sheriff's Sales , ' and from whom these were now withdrawn by Mr. Hold-
* Ante p. 143.
† For Mr. Campbell's report , see the trial of Major (then Colonel) Caine against Mr.
Tarrant, for libel,-Chap. XXIX, kufrů.
MUTINY OF TRANSPORTED CONVICTS ON BOARD SHIP. 151
forth, and given to a Mr. Duddell . Mr. Markwick had received his Chap. VII.
appointment in the early days from Major Caine when Sheriff, and 1847.
was also the Appraiser and Auctioneer to the Supreme Court on Mr. SalesMark-
' from
its ecclesiastical side, and no just reason having been assigned wick, the
by Mr. Holdforth for withdrawing his sales from Mr. Markwick, Auctioneer,
and gives
except of being able to do as he chose, improper motives , in thethem to
absence of any apparent cause, were said to lie at the bottom Mr. Duddell.
Improper
of the change, and as events proved afterwards, having regard motives
to Mr. Holdforth's conduct in other matters, the surmises were assigned .
not altogether wrong. The records of 1848 and 1850 , it will be
seen, speak amply upon the subject. *
On the 6th November, 1847 , the ship General Wood left Hong- The ship
kong for Penang with ninety-two convicts on board and confined General
Wood.
in a prison built on the lower deck. On her arrival at Singapore, the
Mutiny of
trans-
this prison was taken down to make room for a cargo of sugar , ported
and the prisoners were removed to small spaces abreast the convicts.
main and after hatches , where, for want of other means of secur-
ing them , a chain was rove through their leg irons , the key
being entrusted to the sepoy who kept watch over them . The
vessel sailed from Singapore on the morning of the 2nd January, The
1848, and anchored the same evening off the Carimas. A little convicts
break loose
after midnight the convicts broke loose and took possession ofthe on leaving
Singapore.
ship, several of the officers and others being either killed or, panic and
through being panic- stricken , throwing themselves overboard , murder of
officers, etc.
Having taken full possession of the ship , one of the convicts They take
undertook to pilot them back to China. They accordingly possession
of the ship,
slipped the cable and with the assistance of some of the lascar and compel
the crew
crew, whom they compelled to work, made sail , but very soon to work.
lost all notion of the course they were steering, and at last after They run
twenty days ' sailing in different directions, ran upon a reef upon a reef.
about nine miles from the North Natunas. The vessel carried European
several passengers from Hongkong, including Lieutenant and passengers
on board .
Mrs. Seymour and Mr. Farquhar. They, with several of the las-
cars and as many of the Chinese convicts as the ship's boat would
hold, steered for Pulo Laut, and had not proceeded above half
way to the island when they saw the ship go off the rocks and
go down head foremost, carrying with her all those who had Rescued by
remained on board waiting the return of the boats . The Malay Chiefs.
unfortunate passengers met with kindness from the Malay chiefs
who conveyed them to Bungoran, the " Orang Kya " there
directing the headmen of the different islands to secure the other
convicts should they attempt to land, and to forward them to Blame
Bungoran also. Much blame was attributed to the authorities attributed
to Hongkong
in Hongkong for having put the convicts on board without a authorities.
guard or any means of securing them . It was a fact that these
* See Chapters X and XII., infrà.
Lit. Malay rich man '- otherwise ' head man .'
152 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG .
Chap. VII. ninety - two convicts , many of them known to be desperate ruf-
1847 . fians, were put on board without even a pair of handcuffs, and
that Captain Stokoe ( who had slipped over the ship's side dur-
ing the panic after the convicts had broken loose, and thus got
drowned ) finding this to be the case, had positively refused to
sail until he had been supplied with these, and that after wait-
ing two days, the Sheriff furnished him with only fifty pairs of
handcuffs for ninety-two convicts .
H. C. S.
Phlegethon The authorities in Singapore, on hearing ofthe mutiny , imme-
sent after diately despatched H. C. S. Phlegethon, to Pulo Obi, near the
the convicts, entrance to the Gulf of Siam, to ascertain the whereabouts of the
convicts. There a large number of the men were afterwards
Those captured, a card case and work box containing a note addressed
captured.
to one of the ladies, who was a passenger on board the General
Conduct of Wood, being found in the village. On the return passage of
captured
convicts the Phlegethon to Singapore, some of the captured convicts were
on board the actually overheard inciting the others to master the crew and
Phlegethon.
capture the vessel . Two jumped overboard, one of whom was
Their trial drowned, while another tried to hang himself. A supplemen-
at Singapore. tary Criminal Sessions was held at Singapore on the 18th and
19th May, 1848 , for the trial of the prisoners captured . Sixteen
of the convicts, also the Chinese carpenter and two Chinese
sailors of the General Wood, were charged with having seized
the vessel, and caused the death of Captain Stokoe and his
officers. The indictment contained three counts charging them
with " piratically assaulting Captain Stokoe , the commander,
and several others, and with having piratically, violently, and
feloniously taken the ship . " The trial lasted three days ; the
The Recorder summed up the evidence in a speech of four hours'
Recorder's
summing up. duration , and the Jury having retired about 6 p.m. , at half past
Extraor 11 , brought in the astonishing verdict of " guilty but without
dinary
verdict of violence, " with a rider recommending several of the culprits to
the Jury . mercy. This verdict naturally excited considerable comment
and, as an excuse, some of the Jury stated afterwards that they
Sentence of had misunderstood the explanations of the Recorder.
death The
recorded. Court met on Saturday at noon when sentence of death was
directed to be recorded against the whole of the prisoners . Five
of them, viz . , the carpenter, the two Chinese sailors, and two of
the convicts who appeared to have taken an active part in the
Sentence of affair, were sentenced to be transported to Bombay for life.
transporta- The Court took further time to determine what should be done
tion.
Recorder's with the others. In passing sentence the Recorder made some
comments on strong remarks on the verdict of the Jury, to which he said,
the verdict.
although he could not arrive at the grounds on which they had
formed their opinion of the case , he was bound to endeavour to
give effect, and that although sentence of death would be record-
TRIAL OF MUTINOUS CONVICTS . 153
ed against all the prisoners on the first count, yet he felt so Chap. VII.
hampered by the verdict of the Jury, that he could not allow 1847.
that sentence to be carried out. His Lordship
Lordship hoped that his
thus acting on what he believed to be the constitutional view of
the law, would not be attended by evil consequences . The No military
guard on
Singapore papers ascribed the catastrophe to there not having board the
been a military guard on board the General Wood, and the General
Wood.
Hongkong Government was saddled with the responsibility .
But a Governor surely had no power to order troops on a duty
which carried them beyond the limits of his own authority, and,
besides, the passage of the convicts was contracted for, and the
expense of putting up a prisoners ' room , guard , etc., was defray-
ed by the owner of the ship . The usual way apparently was to
pass a chain cable through the prison room to which the con-
victs were linked by the leg, and in the event of their proving
refractory, the chain was bent to one of the anchors which could
be let go on an emergency . A perusal of the narrative pub- Due precau-
lished in the Singapore papers led to the painful conclusion tions
takennot
that due precautions had not been observed on board the General on board.
Wood, and that to this was to be ascribed her capture the day
after she left Singapore . The prisoners ' room was taken down
to afford more stowage for sugar, the convicts were loosely
secured, and badly guarded, and when they did get free, though
only armed with billets of wood , there was no attempt to over-
power them. To censure those who were beyond censure was
an absurdity, but justice compelled one to say that, had the
discipline been such as it ought to have been in a convict ship ,
the General Wood would never have been captured . The records the Insurance
vessel on
of the time show that the insurances effected on the ship were disputed .
not afterwards paid . The case was laid before counsel and an
opinion given that the policy not having stated specifically that
it included loss from mutiny of convicts , the assurers were not
liable. The point, however, was to have been discussed in the
Supreme Court at Bombay, in regard to which unfortunately
nothing is to be traced in Hongkong.
A free pardon was granted to Charles Thompson ( con- European Constable
victed with three other constables at the Criminal Sessions held Thompson
on the 15th April last of larceny in a vessel in port and on board pardoned.
of which he had been placed as a guard ) on the 12th Novem-
ber. No reason was assigned for the pardon granted to this
particular man. On the same date, Patrick Collins, Patrick Soldiers also
Doyle, and James Hamilton, privates in Her Majesty's 18th pardoned.
Royal Irish Regiment, convicted of robbery in February last
and under sentence of imprisonment of one year, also received
a free pardon.
* Sec antè p. 138 ,
154
CHAPTER VIII.
1847-1848 .
SECTION I.
1847 .
Suspension of Chief Justice Hulme. Unfounded charge of habitual drunkenness pre-
ferred against him by Governor Davis .- Trinidad Judicial Scandal.-- Mr. Hulme a general
favourite in Hongkong. - Reprehensible conduct of Governor Davis. -Degrading accusa-
tion against a Judge. -Comparison drawn between Lord Chief Justice Jefferies and Chief
Justice Hulme.- Chief Justice Hulme had gained the respect and esteem of the community
at large.--Charge originally preferred in a confidential despatch to Lord Palmerston.-
Object of Governor Davis' private communication to Lord Palmerston. - Lord Pal-
inerston regarded it as an official document and handed it to the Secretary of
State for the Colonies. -Earl Grey demanded an investigation.-Governor Ďavis
tries to withdraw from the accusation.--Character of a Judge could not be defamed
with impunity.--Lord Grey requires Governor Davis to apologize or prove his charges.
-Chief Justice Hulme cited to appear before the Executive Council. - Members of
the Council. -The charges.- How the community received the charges. -The principal
residents attend at the Council door to mark their respect for the Chief Justice.—
Disgust at the conduct of Sir John Davis. - Chief Justice demanded a public inquiry
which was refused him. - Members of the Council were all cited as witnesses for the prose-
cution . - Major-General D'Aguilar protested against the proceedings. -The sanctity of his
hospitable board violated .- His private note to Governor Davis given in evidence.-
Governor Davis asserts his reason for this course.- Underhand and groundless charges.—
Character and position of the witnesses. - Nature of the evidence.-- Major Caine's testi-
mony. The first charge negatived. Mr. Hulme afflicted with a varicose vein in the leg.-
The second charge rebutted.-- Major Caine's testimony again the exception. - The third
charge set aside by a host of evidence. — Major Caine again the exception. - Contrary to
expectation, the Chief Justice is suspended on the first charge, of being drunk on board
H. M. S. Agincourt in November, 1845.--Belief not entertained that the Home Govern-
ment will sustain the measure. - Sir John Davis as informer. -The affair a vile slander.—
Government Notification of the suspension of the Chief Justice.--Residents leave their
cards at the Chief Justice's house. - Chief Justice against suggestion of a public meeting.-
Addresses of sympathy. All complimentary.- The Dublin University Magazine on
Chief Justice Hulme.-- Chief Justice Hulme an acquisition in Hongkong. - His gift of law
books to the Supreme Court Library. --His suspension a public calamity. - Sir John Davis'
nominee to the acting Attorney-Generalship as Mr. Hulme's temporary successor. — The
address of the community. - The reply. The address of the Special Jury. - The reply.-
The Attorneys of the Court accompany their address with a handsome gift. -The Chief
Justice's reply to the address of the Attorneys of the Court. -The Principal Chinese
Residents also show sympathy. -The reply of the Chief Justice to the Chinese - English
law.--Gratifying addresses.-Chief Justice's wife and family. - Motto on the gold snuff
box. -General sympathy with the Chief Justice. A disgraceful affair.- Conduct of
Governor Davis commented upon . Chief Justice Hulme a victim of persecution —The
Compton papers.-- The recall of Governor Davis a probability.-- Departure of Chief
Justice Hulme. -The ovation given him by Europeans and natives.- The Chinese display
flags and fire crackers. -A champagne tiffin on board.- The conduct of Governor Davis as
viewed outside the Colony.-The Press of India. - The career ofthe Governor.- The Compton
Case.-Governor Davis as the ' despicable ' man - Government Notification announcing
appointment of Mr. C. M. Campbell as acting Chief Justice. -Universal sympathy with
ChiefJustice Hulme. - Mr. Hulme in private life.—Mr. Campbell had directed the prosecn-
tion against Mr. Hulme.- How Mr. Campbell conducted himself on the bench. - Mr. N. D'E.
Parker, Crown Prosecutor. -Ordinance No. 6 of 1846. - Chief Justice Hulme only left the
Colony one month after his suspension. -Probable reason. - The Establishment of the
Supreme Court at the time of his suspension .- Rumoured resignation of Sir John Davis.-
Mr. S. G. Bonham as his successor.- Press conclusions.-The case of Cairns v. Lieutenant
Sargent of the 95th Regiment. -Action for damages for assault and battery.-The cause.-
Verdict.- Plaintiff, Editor of Hongkong Register, an inoffensive man. -Had refused
155
apology. -Governor Davis goes to Canton.- Major-General D'Aguilar acts.- December
Criminal Sessions. -Major Caine and his compradore. Abandonment of case against Mr.
Tarrant. Mr. Parker's reasons.- Mr. Tarrant lays his case before Earl Grey. - Governor
Davis ' reasons for abandoning the charge -Mr. Campbell. Alleged squeamishness.- Mr.
Tarrant asked Chief Justice Hulme to intercede for him with Earl Grey.-- Governor Davis
returns from Canton.-He appoints his nephew, Mr. Mercer, a member of the Legislative
Council in the place of Chief Justice Hulme.- Mr. Trotter, clerk to the Chief Justice,
resigns. Mr. Campbell recommends Mr. E. H. Pollard as successor -Mr. D. R. Caldwell,
Interpreter and Assistant Superintendent of Police. - Prosecution of Mr. Shortrede , Editor
of the China Mail for contravening Ordinance No. 2 of 1844 two years previously-- Press
contravention.-Prosecution is withdrawn.-Information had been filed by Air. Campbell
who was to have tried the case. -Judicial affairs of 1847 ; resumé.- The Report of the
Committee on our commercial relations with China. -The dual position of the Governor.—
The evils of the divisium imperium. - Ordinance No. 7 of 1846 .
SECTION II.
1848 .
Disallowance of Ordinance No. 10 of 1845, Naturalization of Aliens. -And Ordinance
No. 3 of 1847, Prevention of Piracy.-Approval of Order of Court relative to the execu
tion of writs of capias.-Mr. Cay, Registrar, appointed Master in Equity.- Mr. Pollard,
Keeper of Records and Muniments. -Mr. F. Smith, Surrogate of the Vice- Admiralty
Court. Mr. S. G. Bonham appointed Governor, vice Davis.- His previous career.- Sir
John Davis' life in Hongkong after the Hulme episode. -Public opinion of Mr. Bonham.-
Sitting of the Vice-Admiralty Court under Mr. Campbell. - The Chimmo Bay piracy.—
Too Apo, the informer.--The Jury return a verdict of guilty on his evidence. - Governor
Bonham afterwards pardoned the prisoners.--Major-General Staveley succeeds Major-
General D'Aguilar. - He is gazetted Lieutenant-Governor of Hongkong. -Death of Mr.
Goddard.-Execution of pirate convicts . -Piratical acts and the position of those who
committed them. -Not the mere dregs of society.-Too Apo, the informer. -Major-General
D'Aguilar appointed Colonel of the 58th Foot.-- Departure of Major-General D'Aguilar.-
A dinner in his honour. - Addresses.-His magnanimous conduct towards Chief Justice
Hulme.--By this single act Major-General D'Aguilar's faults and eccentricities over-
looked. His career as Lieutenant-Governor of Hongkong reviewed.-Mr. Compton his
fellow-passenger to England.--The Dublin University Magazine. Skit on Major - General
D'Aguilar.-The Bamboo Act.' ' The Cackling Geese.'-Death of Major-General D'Agui
lar.-Land -Rules of Court regulating admission of Translators and Interpreters.-
Supreme Court removed from Wellington Street to the present building in Queen's Road.
The Irish celebrate St. Patrick's Day in the old Court House.
" Ch. VIII § I.
READING not infrequently of judicial misconduct in Colonial Suspension
Courts of Justice ; meeting often with bad temper, bad law and of Chief
Justice
bad logic, and aware that the private lives of some of our Hulme.
Unfounded
Judges have not been quite in keeping with the purity of the charge of
ermine, the reader at times therefore is not surprised at coming hab
drunkenness
across some startling news from some part of the Colonial world preferred
(as for instance the comparatively recent case known as the against him
by Governor
Trinidad Judicial scandal * ) at which the mind revolts ; but Davis.
here, however, the people of Hongkong had yet to be pained and Trinidad
Judicial
astonished at quite a different proceeding , initiated this time by Scandal.
the Governor of the Colony against the Chief Justice, Mr.
Hulme. Of the latter gentleman , it was said he was zealous Mr. Hulme a
general
and intelligent to a degree, of a lively and social temperament, favourite in
and of perfect uprightness and thorough independence. He Hongkong.
appears to have been a general favourite in Hongkong , except
of course at Government House, and his judicial decisions had
given every satisfaction . There is something incongruous and Reprehensi-
repugnant in the very idea of a charge of habitual drunkenness ble conduct
* Anderson r. Gorric, 10 T. L. R. 383 ; id. 660 ; [ 1893 ] , 1 Q. B. 668 ; 71 L. T. 382 .
156 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG.
Ch. VIII 1. being preferred against a Judge, and supposing even that Mr.
1847. Hulme had been guilty in respect of this degrading charge, which
of Governor Sir John Davis had preferred against him, the course pursued by
Davis.
Degrading his accuser deserved the strongest reprehension at the hands of
accusation every honourable man. The accusation dragged the functionary
against a
Judge. who, above all others, is bound to maintain a rigid integrity
and a scrupulous propriety of deportment, down to the level of
the noisy brawler, who exposes his folly to the world and
courts the disgrace he cannot avoid . It upsets all preconceived
notions of the judicial character, and draws the mind insensibly
Comparison back to the days of the infamous Jefferies, who was said to have
drawn
between drunk himself to death in the Tower, and of whom a contem-
Lord Chief porary historian affirmed that, even in his better days, " his
Justice
Jefferies and friendship and conversation lay much amongst the good fellows
Chief
Justice and humorists, and his delights were accordingly drinking,
Hulme. laughing, singing , and all the extravagancies of the bottle." If
such an accusation , therefore, be in its very nature odious , if it
startles one when brought against a Judge of whose character
nothing is known, how much more hateful and more astonish-
ing must it prove when the party assailed is one whose reputa-
tion had hitherto been without spot or blemish, and who had
Chief so demeaned himself as to have gained the respect and esteem
Justice
Hulme had of the community at large. Such would seem to have been the
gained the
respect and case of Chief Justice Hulme . It is proper to state that the
teem of the charge was first preferred in a private despatch written to Lord
community
at large. Palmerston, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs , by Sir
Charge John Davis, in his capacity of Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary
originally
preferred in and Superintendent of Trade, shortly after the decision in the
a confident al Compton Case touched upon herein in November last . * This
despatch to
Lord decision proved the reverse of palatable to Sir John Davis
Palmerston. who had not been able to prevail upon the Chief Justice to
sustain the illegal decision of the Consular Court after he had
improperly written to him privately asking him to do so.
The Chief Justice's adherence to the law of his country, in
opposition to the wishes of Sir John Davis, gained him the
enmity of that functionary, and the declaration of the legal
advisers of Her Majesty's Government that the Judge could not
have acted otherwise, f added oil to the flame that burned in
His Excellency's breast.
Object of
Governor It occasionally happens that the biter gets bit, the fox falls
Davis'
private into his own trap, and such was the case in this instance. Sir
communica
tion to Lord John Davis never expected that his private communication
Palmerston. would go further , nor did he intend it to lead to an investiga-
* Ante Chap. IV.
Letter dated February 24 , 1847, from Viscount Palmerston to Sir J. Davis- see
also Chinese Repository, Vol, xvI., p. 444,
CHIEF JUSTICE HULME BEFORE THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL. 157
tion ; his object was secretly to blast the character and ruin the ch. VIII § 1.
prospects of his enemy. But the reputation of a Judge is not to 1847.
be blasted by charges conveyed covertly to Her Majesty's Lord
Palmerston
Government, and Lord Palmerston , regarding the despatch as regarded it
an official document, very properly handed it over to Earl as an official
document
Grey, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, who forthwith and handed
demanded an investigation. In reply to this, Sir John Davis Secretary
it to the of
reported that " since Mrs. Hulme had returned from England, State for the
the Chief Justice had improved , and that it would consequently Colonies.
Earl Grey
be unnecessary to pursue the matter further." The character demanded an
of a Judge, however , could not be defamed with impunity, and investiga-
tion.
Lord Grey intimated to Sir John Davis that he must either Governor
apologize or prove his charges, and he chose the latter alterna- to
Davis triesaw
withdr
tive. from the
accusation.
Accordingly , on Monday, the 22nd November, 1847 , it became Character of
a Judge
generally known that Chief Justice Hulme had been cited to could not be
appear before the Executive Council, the members of which defamedwith
were Sir John Davis, Major- General D'Aguilar, Mr. A. R. impunity.
Johnston ( Secretary to the Governor as Plenipotentiary ) , and Lord Grey
requires
Major Caine, to answer to the following charges brought against Governor
Davis to
him by Sir John Davis :- apologize or
prove his
1st. For having been intoxicated at a dinner party given by Rear- charges.
Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane on board of H. M. S. Agincourt in the latter Chief Justice
Hulme cited
part of 1845 .
to appear
2nd. For having been intoxicated at the house of Major-General before the
Executive
D'Aguilar in July , 1846. Council.
3rd. For being an habitual drunkard . Members of
the Council.
The announcement of these charges was received with incre- The charges.
dulity ; even on Tuesday, the 23rd November , it was doubted that How the
such infatuation as an attempt to prove them could exist, but community
erring humanity was not to end here, and the endeavour to blast received the
charges.
the reputation of such a man as Chief Justice Hulme, in reference
to whom such favourable comments have appeared herein
regarding the past , was to be gone on with at all risk. A note
in Mr. Hulme's handwriting , intimating to a neighbour that
such was the fact and requesting Mr. Hulme to attend the
Council and give evidence, left no doubt as to the course to be
pursued . The principal
On Thursday, the 25th November, the first day residents
the Council met , the principal residents , almost to a man, attendat the
attended at the Council door to mark their respect for the to Council door
mark their
Honourable the Chief Justice by uncovering as he entered to respect for
the Chief
meet bis accuser. For three days the Council was engaged Justice.
examining witnesses. Disgust
There are scarcely words in the language the at
conduct
severe enough to express one's disgust, even at this distance of of Sir John
Davis.Justice
time, at the conduct of Sir John Davis in reference to his distin- Chief
guished victim. On Thursday, before the proceedings commenced , demanded a
158 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC., OF HONGKONG .
Ch . VIII § I. the ChiefJustice demanded that the inquiry be a public one . This
1847. was denied him ; an act of injustice as the members of the
public Council were all cited as witnesses for the prosecution , it being
inquiry
which was ruled that their evidence should be taken last, in order to fill any
refused
Members him.
of hiatus in the testimony that had preceded them . In Courts of
the Council Inquiry, it is not usual for the members to appear as witnesses ,
were all
cited as but, on this occasion , precedent, decency, and honour were set at
witnesses for defiance. The mind revolts at the idea of the sanctities of
the prose-
cution. private life being invaded for the purpose of substantiating such
Major- accusations, and Major- General D'Aguilar, as a member of
General
D'Aguilar Council, protested against the proceedings in toto . He protested
protested against the sanctity of his hospitable board being violated by
against the an inquiry as to the conduct of his guests. He also protested
Proceedings, an inquiry
sanctity against a private note to Sir John Davis, marked ' private and
of his hospit-
able board confidential ' being received in evidence, but the Honourable
violated.
His private Baronet read it, coolly remarking at the same time that his
note toGov- letter to Lord Palmerston was also private. The one, how-
ernor Davis ever, was intended to ruin a man of high moral and intellectual
given in
evidence. character by underhand and groundless charges ; the other, a
Governor
Davis asserts confidential communication between two acquaintances inadmis-
his reason for sible in evidence according to the code of honour which
this course
Underhand regulates society. General D'Aguilar showed at all events that
and ground his heart was in the right place, and not an Englishman in
less charges. China ( apart from a few officials ) but admired his manly
advocacy of the privileges of society so grossly violated.
Character The witnesses for the prosecution were nearly all naval and
and
of position
the wit- military officers ; one officer of rank testified that he had met
nesses. the Chief Justice at dinner parties eighteen times, and that he
was always the first man to leave the table, "the charges being
perfectly groundless."
Nature ofthe To prove the first count, that of having been intoxicated on
evidence.
board H. M. S. Agincourt, various witnesses were examined , but
they proved a negative. The first declared that he had seen
admirals , generals, and governors a great deal more excited .
Major Others testified much the same, with the exception of Major
mony. testi-
Caine's Caine. That official declared that the Chief Justice was intoxi-
The first
cated on board the Agincourt and also at the General's party, but
charge
negatived. that he had not seen him under the influence of wine on other
occasions. The first charge was negatived by Sir John Davis'
Mr. Hulme own witnesses, and in a few words the facts were these. Mr.
afflicted with Hulme was at the time afflicted with a varicose vein in the leg."
* That this was so and a complaint of long standing in the Chief Justice, the follow-
ing extract from a letter, addressed by Mr. Hulme to his clerk Mr. Leggett, still on the
records of the Court, and written as far back as the 7th December, 1844, clearly testifies :-
"Dr. Dill thinks I shall be able to come to Court on Monday, but that it will be ne-
cessary for me to keep my leg up on a couch. I shall therefore in all probability be
obliged to have the suitors , etc., into my private room, as the couch would be much too
low for the Court table." Magna est veritas et prævalebit.
SUSPENSION OF CHIEF JUSTICE HULME . 159
To enable him to appear in dress at the Admiral's party , the Ch. VIII
- § I.
bandages were removed for the evening. Mr. Hulme, like 1847.
many other good men, was of a gay and mirthful disposition, a varicose
frank, gentlemanly, and social, -just the person, it was said, to vein
leg . in the
be courted on such occasions . In the course of the evening his
weak leg getting troublesome, and without recollecting that he
was the guest of a creature of etiquette, he placed it on a
couch or chair.
The second count , that of having been intoxicated at General The secon
charge
D'Aguilar's table in July, 1846, was also rebutted .The guests, rebutted .
military and civilian , proved the charge to be false. Major Caine Major
Caine's testi-
was again an exception , his evidence being in favour of the prose- mony again
cution ; but opposed to it, there were recorded the declarations the
tion.excep
of several military men who were present, and that of a civilian
who left the house with the Judge and shook hands with him
in the street.
The third count, that of being an habitual drunkard and the The third
only one of grave importance, was set aside by a host of evidence charge
aside byseta
including officers, naval and military ; the heads of firms ; the host of
medical attendant of the accused ; the lawyers practising before evidence,
his Court ; and a representative of the press who generally
attended every Court to report. The evidence showed that on
the Bench, the Chief Justice was remarkable for his composure
of manner, for his patience in attending to the testimony of
prevaricating Chinese witnesses , and for the impartiality of his
legal decisions . All this certainly was incompatible with the
shattered nerves of a drunkard. Those who had had the ad-
vantage of meeting him in society declared unhesitatingly that
the charge was false. The number of witnesses was not short
of thirty for and against the prosecution, though, with the ex- Major Caine
ception of Major Caine, the testimony was favourable. The exception.
again the
above is a condensed report of the proceedings before the
Executive Council. Those who were acquainted with the
whole facts treated the matter with derision, though it was
rightly believed that, if he had the shadow of an excuse for
doing it, Sir John Davis would suspend Mr. Hulme until the
decision of Her Majesty's Government was known . In the face
of the evidence , however, it was said , the Governor would
scarcely dare commit such an outrage, though he had power to
suspend any member of the Government, taking upon himself
the responsibility which at times was rather a serious one.
Contrary to expectation and in defiance of strong proof to Contrary to
the contrary, the Chief Justice was suspended from office on the expectation,
Chief
the first charge, that of having been intoxicated on board Justice is
H.M.S. Agincourt in November , 1845 , that is to say, exactly two suspended on
160 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG .
Ch. VIII § I. years before the institution of the inquiry ! No one for
1847. a moment entertained the belief that Her Majesty's Govern-
the first ment would sustain this unjust measure. Although the in-
charge, of
being drunk quiry had been conducted with closed doors , the evidence was
on board
H.M.S. Agin- known as much as if it had been open . People of all classes ,
court in Nov. naval , military, and civilian, bore testimony to the falsity of
ember, 1845.
Belief not the allegations, but, as may be seen, it had been pre - arranged
entertained that the upright Judge was to be got rid of, for apart from be-
that the
Home ing the judges, with the exception of Major - General D'Aguilar,
Government all the members of the Council had either been informers in
will sustain
the measu re. the matter or had been heard as witnesses. Sir John Davis
Sir John as President occupied the respectable position of informer, and
Davis as
informer. both Major Caine and Mr. Johnston had been heard as wit-
nesses for the prosecution. Major- General D'Aguilar, with the
true feelings of a soldier and a gentleman, denounced the whole
The affair affair as a vile slander, but these feelings unfortunately did not
a vile
slander. then predominate in the Executive Council of Hongkong. The
inquiry, beginning on Tuesday forenoon , the 25th November,
concluded late on Saturday, the 27th, and on Tuesday, the 30th
Government
Notification November, appeared the Government Notification that the Chief
of the Justice had been suspended ; -very quick work it will be admit-
suspension ted, but suggestive of much. So soon as the result was known,
of the
Chief the residents to a man left their cards at the Chief Justice's
Justice.
Residents house . It was intended to hold a public meeting to determine
leave their upon the measures to be taken, expressive of the feelings of the
cards at the
Chief community, but this was abandoned in compliance with the
Justice's Chief Justice's wish , he being apprehensive that it might be
house.
Chief construed into a hostile demonstration towards the Government.
Justice
Addresses expressive of sympathy for his unmerited punish-
against
suggestion ment, admiration for his high moral character, and entire con-
of a public fidence in his rectitude on the Bench were immediately got up
meeting.
Addresses and presented to Mr. Hulme from the following parties :-
of sympathy.
First-from the inhabitants of Hongkong, the address being
dated the very day of the publication of the suspen-
sion of the Chief Justice from office.
Second- from the British Residents at Canton.
Third-from the members of the Special Jury .
Fourth-from the attorneys practising before the Supreme
Court, the address being accompanied with a hand-
some gold snuff- box.
Fifth-from the principal Chinese residents of the Colony.
All These addresses were all in the highest degree complimen-
complimen-
tary. tary ; but after witnessing the Chief Justice's career upon the
The Dublin Bench for three years , there could be no doubt that he fully
University deserved all that was said of him. It would not be amiss to
EULOGY PASSED ON CHIEF JUSTICE HULME . 161
insert here the following paragraph extracted from an article Ch, vIII § I.
upon Hongkong and some of its officials which appeared in The 1847.
Dublin University Magazine of July, 1847. The article fully Magazine
shows what an acquisition the Colony had in the person of on Chief
Justice
Chief Justice Hulme. The gift of his law books to the Supreme He
Hulme.
Court library, where they are to be found to this day in a per-
Chief
Justice
Hulme an
fect state of preservation and where they are yet of value, is
alone an act of unselfishness and generosity, having regard
acquisition
in Hongkong.
especially to the fact that in those days, the Court had yet His gift"
acquired no library of its own, -never to be forgotten in con- of lawto the
books
nexion with his career in Hongkong . The following is the Supreme
Court
paragraph alluded to : - Library.
" CHIEF JUSTICE HULME ."
"Some notice must be taken of the Court of Justice, in the construction of
which many difficulties , all who know anything of the routine of business in
legal offices are aware, must arise in a new colony. These difficulties have
all been overcome by the exertions of the highest judicial officer in the ser-
vice of the Crown. A most happy selection was made of a gentleman, and a
lawyer of great ability, in the person of Mr. Hulme, to fill the office of first
Chief Justice in the island . Nothing can exceed the masterly manner in
which, unaided , he has prepared a body of general rules and orders for the
regulation of the Supreme Court. The urbanity of his demeanour, the
soundness of his judgment, and the impartiality of his conduct upon the