576 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG .
Chap . XXVI. exceptions , the community outside the official pale were inclined
1859. to overlook his faults and to feel sorry for the treatment he had
received , particularly when the talent, deep research , and pains no
matter how trivial the case, of the professional man , came to be
considered, although there was no denying that he was violent and
impetuous and occasionally out - stepped the bounds of propriety .
Time and health were quite secondary considerations to him or
His incor- to the interests of his clients . No one could think of this or his
ruptible
sense of incorruptible sense of public duty, his implacable animosity
public duty. towards the officers of Government whom he believed to be dis-
honest, and not respect him. He laboured under the delusion ,
however, that if he brought home iniquity to his oppressors , he
His conscious
ness of at least would enjoy the smiles of the public in support of his
rectitude consciousness of rectitude, and the success of his efforts might
and the
success have been tested by the cases of the Crown v. Tarrant* and Cald-
of his efforts . Well v . The Pork Butchers . And again his straightforward
The Crown courage and indomitable pluck were certainly the leading fea-
r. Tarrant.
tures of his character- for instance, the complaint which he con-
Caldwell
r. The Pork trived to bring against Dr. Bridges before the Opium Farm
Butchers . Commission . No one had heard of it before, and without him ,
Mr. Anstey's probably Dr. Bridges might have gone on unscathed.§ Then
charges
against Dr. again in charging the same individual before the Caldwell
Bridges.
Inquiry Commission . The accusation was brought before the
face of the accused , without ever having been hinted at before .
The labour and worry which the Caldwell Inquiry alone must
No other
man in the have cost him must have been enormous -in fact, there was not
Colony another man in the Colony whose capacity for work , whose ability
qualified
the task for for instituting or being responsible for similar proceedings, and
which Mr. determination to carry them through, were at all equal to the
Anstey had
undertaken . task. Yet at every turn and corner he was thwarted by the
Thwarted Governor himself and by the acting Colonial Secretary, Dr. Brid-
by the ges, who actually made themselves partisans of Mr. Caldwell,
Governor
and Dr. and to what lengths both the latter and Dr. Bridges would have
Bridges, as
partisans gone, had it not been for Mr. Anstey, it is difficult to say.
of Mr. Undoubtedly if the advisers of Sir John Bowring did not
Caldwell.
actually connive at Mr. Caldwell's escape from the charges
Government
of Sir John brought against him, at all events they contrived to whitewash
Bowring him on account of his past services to the Navy in putting down
contrived to
whitewash piracy as well as of what was considered the desirability of keep-
Mr. Caldwell. ing him in the service on account of his knowledge of Chinese. T
Qualified Chinese interpreters, as has been seen, were not to be
* Ante Chap. XXV. § I., p. 556.
† Id., p. 564.
Antè Chap. XXI., p. 472.
§ See further on this subject, Vol. 11., Chap. XXXIV.
On this point see antè Chap. XII. § I., p. 286, and also Chap. XXVI., infrà.
See antè Chap. XVI . § 1. , p . 361 ; Chap. XVII. § 1. , p. 408, and paragraph 20 of Sir
John Bowring's despatch, antè Chap. XXIII . p. 520.
THE LOCAL PRESS ON MR . ANSTEY'S Departure , 577
had , and, having taken him back into the service, it was not Chap. - XXVI .
thought desirable to get rid of him, and undoubtedly Major (now 1858.
Colonel) Caine , who had introduced him into the service, was not Colonel
Caine
desirous that his protégé should appear as an undesirable subject. desirous
If Government had done well and its duty, Mr. Caldwell should that his
have been dismissed then and there after the result of the Com- protégé,
Caldwell.Mr.
mission, and the community would have had less reason to think should
appear not
as an
more of those into whose hands the administration had fallen . undesirable
subject.
As it is , Mr. Anstey left Hongkong in extremely bad health, leaves
Mr. Anstey
having suffered for months , according to the certificate of Staff Hongkong
Surgeon Menzies, " from dyspepsia in an aggravated chronic form in bad health.
and from neuralgic headache of so severe a character as to have
seriously impaired his health and constitution . " The community ,
however, showed Mr. Anstey no civility before he left, and
although it was well known that he had sold his bungalow and
was houseless for some days before his departure, it is said the
only one who extended a hospitable hand to him was an Ame-
rican gentleman .
A local paper, whilst commenting upon the sad facts leading Bowrin
Sir John
g
to the suspension of Mr. Anstey and of the determination of the directly
Government of the Colony to shield Mr. Caldwell's conduct responsible
for condition
from investigation, as well as to the animosity displayed towards of affairs
in the
Mr. May for his laudable conduct in supporting Mr. Anstey Colony.
in declaring in unqualified terms that Mr. Caldwell was con- The ani-
nected and associated with Ma Chow Wong, and whose suspen- mosity
displayed
sion in consequence had been actually resolved upon at the same towards
time as Mr. Anstey's was perpetrated, concludes as follows as Mr. May.
regards the career of the latter in Hongkong : -
" Regarding the victim, the Honourable T. Chisholm Anstey, we feel bound
to speak personally. That he is a very impracticable man when he is
thwarted cannot be denied . That he is excessively zealous and often erratic
even when not thwarted, we do freely admit - but that he has clean hands, a
keen sense of public duty, and a heart that bears not malice long, we do
firmly believe. With an ardent temperament, an enthusiast in his profession,
and a sort of gladiator both at the bar and at the House of Commons, he
has been brought up under a pressure of friction which makes the excitement
of opposition essential. He sees his path of duty only as it serves the in-
terests of his client, and all other considerations are sunk or thrown aside.
From that path neither fear, favour, nor reward will divert him — and on that
path he stands or falls....He is far too capable, too restless, too indefatigable
a man for a small Colony like this -but had we had a Governor who could
have restrained his impetuosity instead of rousing his indignation, he would
have been a great blessing to this Colony, and to our relations with China
too. The ultimate question of his suspension rests not with the present
Ministry, nor with the present generation. It is a great fact-the culminat-
ing point of a sad catastrophe, which history recording with detestation will
make him the antidote of. That he can be made the unwilling scape-goat
we do not believe, but even if he is, he will not be a silent one,"
578 HISTORY OF THE LAWS, ETC. , OF HONGKONG,
Chap. XXVI. How far this prognostication proved correct, events will show,
1859. and the truth of the allusion to the fact that, had there been a
different Governor, " Mr. Anstey would have been a great bless-
ing to this Colony, " explains the whole of the disreputable con-
troversies which led to the disappearance from Hongkong of this
worthy man and at a time when his presence was all but indis-
pensable . It is doubtful whether, if Mr. Anstey had been made
acting Colonial Secretary, instead of Dr. Bridges whom Sir John
Bowring had had forced on him by Mr. Mercer, and whom he
himself had denounced , the scandal which will ever attach to his
administration , through his weakness and incapacity, would have
been possible, and to that one fact alone must be attributed the
disgust perhaps which had wrought itself into Mr. Anstey's
mind to bring on eventually his own downfall. In modern
times such things would be well nigh impossible.
Mr. Anstey But Mr. Anstey was not the one to rest quietly on such laurels
not resting
on his oars as he had now won through his own exertions in the face of
on arrival in the greatest opposition , especially after the verdict of the Jury
England.
in the case of the Crown . Tarrant, and his determination and
pertinacity, characteristic of the man , on his arrival in England
to see Hongkong purged of its ' noisome scandal ' * was, as will
hereafter be seen, but the natural outcome of the treatment he
had received .
A Chinaman
again upon The name of a Chinese resident again appearing on the Jury
the Jury List. List, at a debate in Council held on the 22nd February, by a
majority of 6 to 3 , it was decided to retain the name on the list.
Anxiety of From this period , Chinamen aquainted with the English
of Chinese
to serve language have been placed on the Special and Common Jury
upon the
Lists , and the anxiety on the part of many of them to take their
Jury.
place with the rest of the community in serving upon the Jury
has been frequently manifested by the applications sent in by
Ordinance them to the Registrar of the Supreme Court when preparing
No. 18 of
1887, s. 8. the Jury List in accordance with section 8 of Ordinance No. 18
of 1887.
Antè Chap. XVII. § I., p . 405.
† See antè Chap. XX. § II., p. 465.
The following is the section : -
The Registrar shall, on or before the first day of February in each year, make a list
in alphabetical order of all persons ascertained by him to be liable to serve as jurors, set-
ting forth the name and surnames of each at full length, together with his profession,
business, or occupation, and place of abode, and shall cause a copy of such list to be posted
for the term of one fortnight at the chief entrance to the Court. And any person may
apply by notice in writing to the Registrar requiring that his name or the name of some
other person may be respectively either added to or struck off from the said list, upon cause
duly assigned in such notice ; and the Registrar, immediately after the expiration of the
time for posting such list. shall forward the same and such notices as may be so served on
him, to the Clerk of the Legislative Council..........
THREE ENGLISH SAILORS TRIED FOR MURDER. 579
In the List of Jurors for 1898 , five special jurors are China- Chap. XXVI.
-
men , while in the list of common jurors figure the comparatively 1859.
large number of twenty -three.
Generally, to be placed on the list of special jurymen is con- The position
of a ju ry
sidered to denote a position of standing, and the eagerness man.
on the part of many of the mercantile community especially,
irrespective of the Chinese , to be placed on that list is always
fully evident, and so on an inverse ratio it is considered dignified ,
if not an honour as well, on the part of the Chinese, to serve on
the jury. Not many privileges are conferred upon a juryman Ordinance
No. 8 of
except qua juryman, but under Ordinance No. 8 of 1895, sec- 1895, s. 5 .
tion 5 , a special or common juror may carry arms without a
licence.
At a special Criminal Sessions held on Wednesday, the 23rd Murder of a
February, 1859 , Robert Gibbons, Robert Jones, and Charles Wil- Chinese
on boardboy
the
liams, seamen on board the American ship Mastiff, were indicted American
for the wilful murder of a Chinese boy, a servant to the captain ship
TrialMastiff.
of the
of the ship . The prisoners were defended by Mr. Kingsmill . English
The case for the Crown was conducted by Dr. Bridges, at the sailors, Gib.
bons, Jones,
request and in consequence of the illness of the acting Attorney and Williams.
General, Mr. Green.
On the 28th December, in consequence of the deceased mak- The facts.
ing a charge against the prisoner Gibbons, the captain, to avoid
the desertion of the crew, moored his ship near Green Island .
On the last night of the year, the deceased was murdered by
means of a rope being tightly fastened round his neck and his
body thrown overboard . It was known that the captain had a
large sum of money on board which was kept in a secret
drawer in the captain's library, but no one knew where the money
was kept except the captain himself, his wife , and the Chi-
nese boy. The motive of the murder therefore was robbery,
because, the boy once out of the way, suspicion would fall upon
him which his disappearance would but strengthen Just one
week after the murder, by an accident, the body of the murder-
ed boy appeared within a few inches of the ship , to demand, as
it were, justice against his murderers . The prisoner Gibbons
made an admission that he was present when the murder was
committed , and from the information he gave, ninety- six of the
stolen sovereigns were afterwards recovered, as well as a gold
chain which was found in a belt he was wearing at the time and
which furnished clear proof also as against the prisoner Jones,
as the belt belonged to him. Williams denied that he was even
a spectator of the crime or that he had had any hand in it. Sentenced
to death.
The Jury, after consulting about fifteen minutes, returned a
580 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG.
Chap . XXVI . verdict of guilty against the three prisoners . The Chief Justice,
1859. as was customary with him in such cases, retired and returned
The Chief into Court wearing the Black Cap, and sentenced the prisoners
Justice
and the to death, holding out no hope of mercy.
black cap.'
Sentence On the 2nd March the sentence against Williams was com
against
Williams muted to penal servitude for life , and that against Gibbons and
commuted.
Jones was carried out at half-past six on Monday morning, the
Execution
of Gibbons 7th March, over the eastern wall of the Gaol . Upwards of two
and Jones. thousand persons , principally Chinese , were present. It is said
The Chinese that the Chinese " were very much gratified at the fact that so
gratified .
strict justice was dealt out, and the murder of a Chinaman was
The enthu The military mandarin
siasm of the visited with so severe punishment. "
Chinese formerly stationed at Kowloon , who was about to proceed on
mandarin the Yang-tsze, expressed
at Kowloon. active service against the rebels on
himself on the subject with so much enthusiasm that it seemed
he had formed something like a correct idea of the justice of
English Courts.
The lament-
able bun- There was some criticism on the bungling manner in which
gling at the Gibbons was despatched , and the painful exit of the poor man
execution.
was described as lamentable. Not satisfied with the public
Not satisfied
with the execution of these two unfortunate Englishmen, which in itself
public was quite sufficient as the law had been fully vindicated, the
execution
of the Government now, as had been done in the case of the unfortu-
Englishmen, nate Ingwood , hanged together with the Chinaman Chun Afoon
the Govern-
ment seek in July, 1845 , † sought further advertizement, if not gratifica-
further
advertize- tion, by issuing the following notification on the day after the
ment to execution, with the view evidently of further ' pleasing the Chi-
please the nese' ::-
Chinese.'
Government GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION.
Notification
that under His Excellency the Governor has caused the issue of the subjoined pro-
authority
British lawof clamation to the Chinese population of Hongkong, on the occasion of the
equal justice recent execution of two British subjects for the wilful murder of a Chinese
is dealt to all. boy on board a vessel in this harbour.
In adopting this measure, His Excellency is influenced by the desire to
make known to the Chinese inhabitants in and beyond the Colony that, by
Her Most Gracious Majesty's Government and under the authority of British
law, equal justice is dealt to all persons without regard to nation, to blood, or
to any accidental circumstances whatsoever.
By Order,
W. T. MERCER,
Colonial Secretary .
Colonial Secretary's Office,
Victoria, Hongkong, 8th March, 1859.
•
* Upon the subject of the Black Cap ' and Chief Justice Hulme, see antè Chap.
XVIII., p. 430.
+ See Chap. 111. § II., antè p. 85.
HONGKONG AFFAIRS BEFORE BOTH HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT. 581
What effect such a notice as this could have had upon a peo- Chap. XXVI.
ple like the Chinese , it is hard to conceive, making the positive 1839.
The absur-
absurdity of it, to say the least, all the more apparent . dity of the
notification .
An Order of Her Majesty- in- Council , dated the 3rd March, Order of Her
Majesty-in-
1859 , repealing prohibitions on the trade of British subjects an
with China, imposed by the Orders -in- Council of the 24th 3rd March,
1859,
February, 1843 , and 13th June, 1853 , was duly published on repealing
the 9th July, 1859 . prohibitions
on the trade
of British
The annihilation of the Caldwell and Ma Chow Wong con- subjects.
Mr. Anstey
nexion, achieved by Mr. Anstey and consummated by his sus- and the
pension, had now arrived on the tapis of the House of Lords Caldwell-
Ma
and House of Commons to serve as oil poured on the flames. Wa WongChow
In February public meetings were held at Sheffield and at New- connexion
in the House
castle " relative to the conduct of Mr. Caldwell and the doings of Lords and
generally of the Government of Hongkong," and the resolutions House of
Commons.
embodied in petitions signed by the Mayors and inhabitants, Public
which were afterwards laid before the House of Lords . meetings at
Sheffield and
Lord Cranworth , in presenting the Sheffield petition , (which Newcastle.
asked that certain members of the Hongkong Government be Petitions
to the House
punished for wickedness and corruption ) , said : -" I entirelyof Lords
signed by
concur in that prayer." the Mayors
and inhabit-
Earl Grey told the Earl of Carnarvon that even though one ants of
day of Sir John Bowring's time was unexpired he should be Sheffield
Newcastle. and
recalled for the sake of example. Discussion
in the House
Lord Lyndhurst said that, after the most minute inquiry, he of Lords
upon the
pledged himself to the course suggested by Earl Grey. petitions.
In the House of Commons , Sir James Graham, Mr. Gladstone , In the House
and other leading members of the House, also spoke in favour of Commons.
of some such step as had been suggested by Lord Grey, and
adopted the resolutions come to by the House of Lords .
On a subsequent day Hongkong affairs, including the case of In Commons
the House
of
the Crown against Mr. Tarrant, and the destruction of papers, Mr. Ridley
by order of Dr. Bridges, which implicated Mr. Caldwell with asks for
particulars
Ma Chow Wong, again came up for discussion in the House of about the
Commons, when will be seen the view which the Colonial Office Caldwell-
Ma Chow
had already taken of the scandalous state of affairs prevalent Wong
in the Colony. The discovery by Sir Edward Lytton , the connexion
the case ;
Secretary of State, from a perusal of the papers of " hatred , against Mr.
Tarrant and
malice, and all uncharitableness in every possible variety of destruction
aspect , and consequently what might be considered a description of papers
of official life in the Colony, " was about the best picture that by Bridgof
Dr. order es.
could have been drawn upon the subject at so early a stage of
58 :2 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG.
Chap. XXVI . the discussion . The following debate of the proceedings in the
1859. House of Commons is taken from the Home papers of the period,
Sir Edward and Sir Edward Lytton's amusing speech in reply to Mr.
Lytton's
reply and Ridley will no doubt be read with more than ordinary interest
interesting even at this period , the confirmation of Mr. Anstey's suspension
speech.
Proposal being now, moreover, a foregone conclusion : --
to refer
papers to " Mr. Ridley asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, whether Her
legal adviser. Majesty's Government had received the report of a Commission appointed to
Mr. Anstey's inquire into a charge brought against Mr. Daniel Richard Caldwell for par-
suspension
confirmed. ticipating in the profits of piracy during the time he was holding an office
under the Government of Hongkong ; also a report of the trial of “ The Queen
against William Tarrant," which took place in the mouth of November last,
in the Supreme Court in Hongkong, and in which trial it was sworu that
certain papers implicating Mr. Caldwell in the above charge were destroyed
by order of Dr. Bridges, acting Colonial Secretary, at that time exercising, as
was alleged, an unlawful authority conferred by the Governor of the
Colony. If these reports had been received, what course Her Majesty's
Government had taken with reference to the transactions to which they re-
late ; and whether they would lay upon the table any papers which might
contain information on the subject.
Sir E. B. Lytton was understood to say, that the Government had received
the report of the Commission, and in order to give the House some idea of
the extent of the papers relating to the subject, he had brought them down
with him . [The Right Honourable Baronet then exhibited a large pile of pa-
pers, and considerable amusement was caused by their dispersion over the table
in consequence of the string by which they were tied together having given
way.] On the arrival of the documents they were found to contain many
points of legal evidence, and the greatest possible amount of abuse-(laughter)
--and it had been considered necessary to submit them to the strictest in-
vestigation. They proposed therefore to refer them to a legal and dispas-
sionate colonial adviser of the Crown . He discovered in them hatred , malice,
and all uncharitableness in every possible variety of aspect, and consequently
what might be considered a description of official life in the Colony. (Laugh-
ter.) With respect to the second question , whether he had received a report
of the trial of " The Queen v. Wm . Tarrant," he begged to say that he had
received from the Governor only the result of that trial, but a full report of
the trial, taken in shorthand , had been promised, and ever since the an-
nouncement of that fact a universal shudder every day pervaded the Colonial
Department. (Laughter. ) What would be the extent of that report Heaven
only knew . (Continued laughter. ) With regard to the main question, the
Commission had acquitted Mr. Caldwell of the charge of participating in the
profits of piracy. They had also acquitted him of several other grave charges,
which ought never to have been brought against him, particularly by a bro-
ther-officer, and the brother-officer who made them ought to be dismissed from
the office he now held unless he could make a satisfactory explanation .
Nevertheless, certain facts had come out in the course of the trial which showed
that, so far as regarded the interests of the Colony, Mr. Caldwell ought to be
dismissed from his office, unless he could give some satisfactory explanation,
which he had been called upon to do . On the other hand, he must say that
the mode in which Mr. Anstey had originated and conducted that inquiry,
and the breach of official confidence which occurred in the course of the trial
had led the Governor to suspend him ; and after a dispassionate consideration
of the papers, he could come to no other conclusion than that the Governor's
decision ought to be confirmed . The right honourable gentleman, having
entered into a detailed statement of the facts as they appeared in the papers,
THE TIMES ON HONGKONG GRIEVANCES , 583
said he now came to the question as to the course which Her Majesty's Gov- Chap. XXVI,
ernment intended to pursue with reference to these transactions. It was his
1859.
intention, as soon as possible, to direct a most careful examination into the
whole of the facts. The honourable gentleman wished to know whether the
Government had any objection to the production of papers. He (Sir E.
B. Lytton) shrunk from the responsibility of laying such a mass of papers
on the table. He would rather lay the table on them. ( Laughter.) He
had not the slightest personal or official objection to their production, and
if the honourable member would move for them he would have them ; but he
should look with compassionate admiration on any devoted member who
would undertake to read them. (Laughter.)"
The Times of the 15th March, in a most interesting but far up
TheonTimes
the
from complimentary article upon Hongkong generally, mention- position in
ing also the trouble that the place had already given to the Hongkong,
authorities in England , while commenting upon the discussion
in the House of Lords and in the House of Commons , dealt
fully with the state of chaos in the island, and not wrongly to The
Sirallusion
John
attributed it to the ' faults in the conduct ' of Sir John Bowring Bowring and
and the incongruous positions held by Dr. Bridges, as well asDr. Bridges,
A man of
The sug-
the imperfectly regulated energies of Mr. Anstey.' tact and
firmness to
gestion of sending out ' a man of tact and firmness to settle the
settle the
matter ' was but the precursor of the coming and necessary matter '
changes now awaiting the Colony. The article, evidently by a suggested.
' knowing hand, ' headed " Hongkong Grievances ," was as
follows :-
" It is now some months since we made passing allusion to the abnormal
and not very creditable state of our official arrangements in the little island
of Hongkong. The subject has, as we then predicted, gradually forced itself
upon the public attention ; certain keen-sighted grievance-hunters of Sheffield
have made it the ground of a public meeting and a Parliamentary petition ;
and the inhabitants of Tynemouth have shown curiosity upon the matter, and
have backed the petition of the Cutlers. The makers of sword blades and
the builders of ships feel a natural interest in elements of disturbance happen-
ing far away, and Hongkong has once again been honoured by a mention in
the Imperial Parliament. The sound of the name in our Parliamentary pro-
ceedings never bodes good to our national interests . It is always connected
with some fatal pestilence, some doubtful war, or some discreditable internal
squabble ; so much so that, in popular language, the name of this noisy, bust-
ling, quarrelsome, discontented, and insalubrious little island, may not inaptly
be used as an euphemous synonym for a place not mentionable to ears polite.
We cannot wish that the sea should take it back again to itself, because
English lives and English property would be endangered ; but, if these could
be withdrawn, we should very willingly resign any benefits which we derive
from its possession , to be relieved of the inconveniences which it forces upon
us. Lord Malmesbury in the Lords, and Sir E. Lytton in the Commons,
seem thoroughly to have sympathized with the tone in which we treated this
last difficulty when it arose. It is a troublesome, vexatious, and paltry affair,
imposing upon everybody a great deal of trouble for a totally inadequate
object, and with the promise of a most unsatisfactory result.
At the date of the last advices every official man's hand in Hongkong was
against his neighbour, and , as that important dependency of the British
Crown is distressingly complete in its official staff, the hostilities are more
difficult to remember than the intestine wars of the Seleucida or the politics
584 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG .
Chap. XXVI. of the Italian Republic. There is a Governor, a Lieutenant-Governor, a Chief
1859. Justice, an Attorney- General, an acting Attorney-General, a Council, a
Colonial Secretary , a Registrar and Protector of Chinese, a Colonial Treasurer,
and others " too numerous to mention." The officers are all criticized , repre-
sented, or calumniated by some six newspapers, whereof we believe that at
least one has a daily issue, and no one restricts itself to a single weekly
appearance. The island, in which these agencies work and boil over, is con-
siderably less than the Isle of Wight, and the inhabited portion might all be
put into Hyde Park. When we last heard of this amiable community, the
Governor had run away, to seek health or quiet in the Philippines ; the Lien-
tenant-Governor was at issue with Mr. Tarrant, of The Friend of China, on
account of Mr. Tarrant's persistent accusation that the Lieutenant-Governor
had , at some remote period , encouraged or protected his servant in " squeezing "
the Chinese ; the Attorney- General was suspended for bringing certain charges
against the Registrar ; the acting Attorney-General had been worried to death,
and another was succeeding to his perilous office ; the Colonial Secretary was
absent, but the acting Colonial Secretary was undergoing accusations of
having, while uniting in himself the somewhat incongruous duties of a private
barrister and Colonial Secretary, given his clients the benefit of his official
position and having destroyed papers which compromised a notorious offender ;
the Colonial Treasurer was being cross-examined in a witness-box as to the
pressure he had put upon The Daily Press when he had the editor in prison ;
the Registrar and Protector of Chinese had accumulated upon his head all the
accusations that can be reasonably brought against any one man, from piracy
on the high seas down to brothel-keeping ; the newspaper proprietors were
all more or less in prison, or going to prison, or coming out of prison, on pro-
secutions by some one or more of the incriminated and incriminating officials ;
and the Chief Justice was trying an action against the Governor.
We are now about to attempt an analysis of those papers which Sir
Bulwer Lytton produced amid the respectful discouragement of the British
House of Commons. Produce them, or even print them as we may, their
contents will never be thoroughly known to any one, but the reader of the
Queen's Printer's printing office, to whom they might afford a plausible ground
for an application to increase his salary. They form an imbroglio which no
man desires to unravel, and they conceal a secret history which no one wishes
to discover. No doubt, there are faults in all these official people. There
are faults in the imperfectly-regulated energies of Mr. Chisholm Anstey, for
if those energies had been better regulated , they would have carried him very
far clear of Hongkong . There are faults in the conduct of Sir John Bowring,
for it is a fault in any man not to make himself popular in a community of
English merchants. There is a fault in the position of Dr. Bridges, at once
Colonial Secretary and the counsel of such men as Ahlum the baker, and Ms
Chow Wong, the convicted pirate . There is a fault also in the position of
Mr. Caldwell who is allied by marriage, to the Chinese population and who,
therefore, never can disabuse the Chinese of the notion that he is as one of
them, and can be acted upon as they are acted upon. But then we must
expect to find faults in every public man, and persons who are necessitated
to " go to Hongkong" are not exempt from the general infirmity . As to the
Hongkong Press , which every one is using, prompting, disavowing, and pro-
secuting, the less we say of it the better ; for we could say nothing of it that
would at all tend to the credit of our profession .
Any attempt to deal judicially with this congeries of intrigues , accusations,
and animosities here in England must signally fail. We cannot do justice at
the Antipodes while cartloads of evidence are arriving by every post and local
* Evidently by this quotation the writer had in view the words of the well-known
and, at one time, popular song " You may go to Hongkong for me."
THE SUSPENSION OF MR. ANSTEY . 585
information is wanting to the judges. It is a case for a dictator. It would Chap. XXVI.
-
be better to send out some sensible man with power to mediate, and , failing 1859.
mediation, with authority to judge. A man of tact and firmness would settle
the matter in a week, but he ought to be empowered to leave behind him the
menace that the first person who recommences this state of official chaos shall
be at once dismissed . We cannot be always investigating a storm in a tea-
pot, wherein each individual tea-leaf has its dignity and its grievance."
As may be judged from the debate in the House of Commons Sir Edward
before noticed , the Secretary of State had , at this time, fully con- Lytton's
patch dis-des
sidered the question of the suspension of Mr. Anstey, which, no missing Mr.
one could ever have imagined would end otherwise than in being Anstey.
confirmed. Sir Edward Lytton , in a despatch to Sir John Bow- The Secre
ring, dated the 17th March , set out his reasons for coming to the tary of State
no
decision that Mr. Anstey should be dismissed from his post. takes of
Founding his decision , as will be seen, upon the first act in the accusations
drama of the disgraceful episodes , the Secretary of State consi- against a
public officer
dered that, quite apart from the unfounded charges ' which Mr. in a ss
unle Colony
they
Anstey had brought against the Registrar- General, there were come before
other grounds which made his dismissal necessary. Sir Edward him Gov.
the through
Lytton then commented upon what he considered should be the ernor.
special function of an Attorney-General and the differences of
'The At-
Mr. Anstey ' year after year with other officials and the local torney-
Government which made his removal imperative, showing that General is an
officer whose
Sir John Bowring's raking up of everything unfavourable that esp especial
he could possibly think of in reference to Mr. Anstey in his now function
to render is
famous despatch, had not escaped attention . He concluded, as counsel and
foreshadowed by The Times, by saying that "the unfortunate assistance to
the local Gov-
condition of the public service in Hongkong " would be fully ernment."
66
investigated by the new Governor on his arrival." The des- The unforty-
patch is of such an important nature that no apology is offered tion nate of
condi-
the
for reproducing it in full and as worthy of preservation : -- public
service in
Sir, Downing Street, 17th March, 1859 . Hongkong to
I have had under my consideration your despatches of the dates and num- be inquired
hers specified in the margin , relating to the proceedings which have termi- into
new by the
Gov-
nated in the suspension of Mr. Chisholm Anstey from the office of Attorney- ernor.
General. I have also considered the representations of Mr. Anstey himself,
in the letters addressed to me, of which the dates are also added in the mar-
gin. Although some of these have not been properly brought to my notice,
inasmuch as the Governor and the Executive Council have not had the
opportunity of examining and commenting on them, and others contain more
of recrimination and attack on other parties than of defence of Mr. Anstey
himself, yet considering him in the light of a party placed on his defence,
I have been anxious to give him all the benefit which he could derive from
the statements contained in them.
It appears from these documents that Mr. Anstey made several specific and
very serious charges, involving not only violation of official duty, but grossly
immoral conduct, against the Registrar-General, Mr. Caldwell, at first in his
place in the Legislative Council, afterwards in his letter of 13th May, 1858,
to the acting Colonial Secretary, and that addressed to Lord Stanley on the
17th May, but communicated to the same officer. A Commission of Inquiry
was nominated to report on those charges. The Commission reported that
586 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG.
Chap. XXVI . some portion of them (comparatively unimportant) was proved ; that although
1859. some other charges were not proved , yet Mr. Anstey was not without reason
for bringing them forward ; and others, and those among the most serious of
all, were not ouly unfounded , but there existed no reason whatever for ad-
vancing them.
Such a report constituted of itself a most serious charge against Mr. Ans-
tey. And the Executive Council, by their finding on the subject, substan-
tially adopt the view of the Commission ; and were further of opinion that
Mr. Anstey should be suspended from office, which was done. Mr. Anstey
complains, as I understand him, that he had not due opportunities of defence,
and, moreover, that he was turned into an accuser in this case against his own
will. On the first point, I shall ouly say that ample opportunity of defence
appears to have been afforded him. As to the second, I agree with yourself
and the Council in thinking that Mr. Anstey having thought proper to bring
forward charges of this nature against a fellow -officer in a formal and official
manner, had no right to shrink from the responsibility of supporting them
before a Commission summoned by the proper authorities, and to the com-
petency of which no reasonable objection could be taken.
It is necessary, however, that I should remark on one further argument of
Mr. Anstey, because it relates to the functions of this department. One of
the reasons on which he appears to rely as justifying him in not pursuing
the case against Mr. Caldwell before the Commission is, that he, Mr. Anstey,
had brought the charges against that gentleman before the Secretary of
State, and was expecting the Secretary of State's decision. Mr. Anstey
cannot be ignorant that he had no right whatever to bring those charges
before the Secretary of State as from himself ; and that if he thought proper
to do so, instead of following the legitimate course of addressing them to the
Governor, it was no part of the functions of the Secretary of State to enter-
tain them. The Secretary of State takes no notice of accusations against a
public officer in a Colony, unless they come before him through the Governor,
and appear to him, when thus officially placed under his notice, to require
such investigation . Mr. Anstey had also express warning from the Gov-
ernor (as reported in your despatch of the 18th May, 1858) , that these charges
were referred to the Commission , and it is not too much to say that he must
take the consequences of deliberately neglecting that warning.
Agreeing with the Commission of Inquiry that the charges have failed,
and with the Executive Council that the failure of these charges, considering
the reckless spirit of hostility in which many of them were brought forward,
renders in itself Mr. Anstey unfit to continue in office, I have accordingly
advised Her Majesty to dismiss him from his post.
But I am bound to add, that this dismissal would have been necessary on
other grounds, which the documents before me only too clearly disclose.
The Attorney-General is an officer whose especial function it is to render
counsel and assistance to the local Government. If he fails in the discharge
of this duty either wilfully or through incompetency, his dismissal is required ;
not, necessarily, as a punishment, although it may be deserved in this sense
also ; but because the local Government must not be deprived, through his
ignorance or his perverseness, of the requisite assistance. Nor is it enough
that the law adviser may be able to show that he has in strictness performed
his formal duties, by doing the legal business in which he may have been
retained. His functions are much more extensive, more important, and more
delicate than these . The local Government must have the benefit of his
general assistance on the many points on which a lawyer's counsel is constant-
ly required. But if a law adviser sets himself in constant opposition to the
local Government ; if he is prodigal of accusations, urged in every way acces-
sible to him, against other officials ; if he takes on himself to judge and act
in opposition to the Governor, as , for instance, in resigning his post as Ma-
DEPARTURE OF ADMIRAL SIR M. SEYMOUR. 587
gistrate (which it may be very useful that a law adviser should hold), because Chap. XXVI.
he does not choose to sit on the Bench with a fellow justice whom the Gov- 1859.
ernor has acquitted of charges brought against him ; if he constantly uses
himself, and encourages in others, a tone of bitter hostility towards indivi-
duals with whom he is displeased , and of gross disrespect towards higher
officers and the Governor himself ; his removal becomes an imperative duty
on his superiors. And it is quite needless for me to do more than refer to
the contents of the mass of papers before me, and to the reports which my
predecessors have unfortunately had to entertain year after year, of the differ-
ences of Mr. Anstey with other officials, as well as with the local Govern-
ment , as evidencing only too abundantly the application of these remarks to
the conduct of that gentleman .
I do not consider this the proper occasion to take notice of the various
considerations raised by these papers as to the conduct of other parties, and
as to the unfortunate condition of the public service in Hongkong, at the
present time . But these matters will not fail to have my serious considera-
tion ; and I consider it essential that they should be fully investigated by
the new Goveruor on his arrival.
I have, etc.,
(Signed) E. B. LYTTON.
Governor Sir JOHN BOWRING.
Naturally, a man of Mr. Anstey's activity would not rest
satisfied with such a complete discomfiture to himself as the
above despatch proved to be , and it will be seen later on how
through his own energy and determination he brought about
not only Mr. Caldwell's dismissal, * but a very modified tone as
to the real reason for his removal from the service as well as
an acknowledgment of the services he had rendered to the
Colony. But otherwise, taken with the discussions in both
Houses of Parliament as before alluded to, this despatch was as
plain a recall of the Governor, Sir John Bowring, as well could A plain recall
be, and it was high time that notice had been taken of the state of Sir John
Bowring.
of affairs prevalent in Hongkong.
The Naval Commander-in - Chief, Rear - Admiral Sir Michael Departure of
Admiral Sir
Seymour, left Hongkong in H.M.S. Calcutta, on the 19th March , M. Seymour.
carrying with him the best wishes ofthe community and a presen-
tation of plate of the value of two thousand guineas with an appro- The commu-
nity present
priate address . He had been nearly three years on the station him with an
His position had been one of no slight difficulty, especially at address and
a piece of
the commencement of hostilities with China, when, in ignorance plate of
of the views of Her Majesty's Government, he blockaded the of value
the2,000
Canton river with a small force ill adapted for the purpose. On guineas.
the 17th March, prior to his departure, Sir Michael Seymour Admiral
wrote to the Governor recording " his sense of the important Seymour
records his
services rendered by Mr. Caldwell on the numerous occasions he sense of Mr.
Caldwell's
accompanied Her Majesty's ships against pirates." services.
* See Vol. II., Chap. XXXV.
† See Vol. II., Chap. XXXVI.
Antè Chap. XIV. § II., p. 342.
588 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG.
Chap. XXVI. Sir Michael Seymour was succeeded by Rear- Admiral Hope,
1859. who reached Hongkong on the 28th April .
Admiral
Hope
succeeds On the 10th April, Mr. E. H. Pollard , who had proceeded
Admiral
Seymour. to England for the purpose of getting admitted to the English
Return of Bar, returned to the Colony, having been called to the Bar by
Mr. Pollard the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple the year before.
as a barrister.
Temporary At this date, the Assistant Magistrate's Court was removed
removal
of the to the building on Pedder's Hill , formerly occupied as the Civil
Magistracy
to Pedder's Hospital . This removal was only to be temporary, pending
Hill. the reconstruction of the very inconvenient Courts. *
Hongkong At this period the affairs of Hongkong again attracted the
affairs
again before attention of Parliament. On the 14th April, Mr. Edwin James
Parliament. moved for the production of copies of all correspondence, Judges'
Motion of
Mr. Edwin notes, or other papers, on the following subjects, or any of
James for them :
production
of papers.
1. The resignation of the Justiceship of the Peace for Hongkong by Mr.
Thomas Chisholm Anstey, sent in to the Local Government on the 13th day
of May, 1858 :
2. His suspension on the 7th day of August, 1858, from the Attorney-
Generalship of the Colony of Hongkong, and from the office of Counsel of
the Superintendency of Trade in China :
3. The case of the Queen v . Tarrant for libel, tried at the November Ses-
sions ( 1858 ) of the Hongkong Supreme Court (Criminal side) :
4. The charge of alleged complicity of Mr. Caldwell, J.P. , and the Protec-
tor of Chinese at Hongkong, with Hongkong pirates :
5. The charges made against the acting Colonial Secretary ( Dr. Bridges),
with reference to the foregoing subjects, and also the Opium Farm monopoly :
6. The charges made against the Lieutenant-Governor of Hongkong (Colo-
nel Caine) and his Chinese compradore, with reference to extortion and bribe-
taking, in the years 1846 and 1848 :
7. The proceedings against Mr. May, Superintendent of Police at Hong-
kong, Mr. Tarrant, Registrar of Deeds there, and the Police Court Interpre-
ter Tong Akou, and the dismissal of the Police Court Interpreter Assam, ‡ for
having severally given evidence against the said parties, or any of them :
8. The Imperial regulations (if any) by which the several suspensions or
removals before mentioned were authorized .
These were in due course duly produced, and, as will be seen
hercafter, availed of by all interested .†
* On the subject of the Police Courts, see antè Chap. XI., p. 237, and post Chap.
XXX.
On this subject, see also Chap. XXXI., infrà.
Assow -see antè Chap. XXIII. , pp. 508, 529 § 66.
THE MORNING HERALD ON HONGKONG AFFAIRS. 589
The following letter at this stage from the Secretary of State Chap. XXVI.
to Mr. Anstey on the subject of his suspension, and the " sin- 1859.
cere regret with which he had found himself obliged to confirm " the Letter
Earlfrom
of
same is not inappropriate :- Carnarvon to
Mr. Anstey
Downing Street, 16 April, 1859. expressing
Sir , sincere
regret ' at the
I have to acknowledge your letter of the 14th instant, respecting your sus- confirmation
pension from the office of Attorney-General at Hongkong. It contains some of his
expressions which render it necessary for me to explain the object with suspension.
which my letter of the 13th (to which it is an answer) was written.
While Sir Edward Lytton was auxious to express the sense which he enter-
tained of your talent and energy, and the sincere regret with which he had
found himself obliged to confirm your suspension, it was not his intention to
imply that the proceedings of the Governor and Executive Council were
unjust or arbitrary, or to indicate any general dissent from the grounds on
which they acted. It would be unfair, both to them and to yourself, that any
misapprehension should be allowed to exist on this point. I cannot undertake
to return any answer to your request for re-employment in the Colonial
service of this country ; but the application shall be laid before Sir Edward
Lytton, as soon as the state of his health allows him to resume the ordinary
transaction of business.
I have, etc.,
(Signed) CARNARVON.
T. C. ANSTEY, Esq .
Concerning the agitation which had now commenced in Eng- The Morning
on
land , regarding affairs generally in Hongkong, The Morning Heraldo
Sir John
Herald of the 28th April contained a strong article upon the Bowring
existing discreditable state of things. Sir John Bowring not and the
discreditable
unnaturally came in for a share of the invective levelled at state of
some of the authorities for having allowed things to reach the affairs.
' An empty.
scandalous stage they had . The paper in question said : — headed,
malevolent,
"... We are pleased to learn that Lord Lyndhurst supported by Lord lying,
political
Brougham will bring the matter forward in the House of Lords as soon as quack like
practicable. Mr. Edwin James again makes the motion in the Commons, old Bowring."
and unless the Ministers wish to establish the principle that the subordinate
officers of Government in distant parts can bend the law unto their will, re-
ducing iniquity to a system, and still enjoy immunity, we should say they
must afford the House the fullest satisfaction and information. Sir Bulwer
Lytton's jokes will not do again.
It is annoying to see an empty-headed, malevolent, lying, political quack
like old Bowring drawing upon himself such notoriety. True it is unenviable
but that makes no difference to him ; for being as unscrupulous as Louis
Napoleon, and having about as much idea of propriety as Titus Oates, our
opinion is he would be in bliss in a pillory so long as none of the by- standers
threw anything hard at him.""
It may be interesting to note at this stage that The Morning Mr. Anstey's
Herald was a paper with which Mr. Adams, Mr. Anstey's suc- successor Attorney-as
As to Sir John Bowring, see the previous extract from The Journal of T. Raikes,
Esq.,' and the similarity of language there used-antè Chap. XVI. § II., p. 387.
590 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG.
Chap. -XXVI . cessor as Attorney-General of Hongkong* was intimately asso-
1859. ciated for some years as a law reporter.†
General,
Mr. Adams,
connected On the 2nd June, 1859 , a brother of the now famous Mr. D.
with The
Morning R. Caldwell, the Registrar-General and Protector of Chinese,
Herald. named Henry Charles Caldwell arrived in Hongkong from
Arrival of
Mr. H. C. London by the ship Northfleet. He had previously been Re-
Caldwell, a gistrar of the Recorder's Court at Singapore and was a fugitive
brother of
Mr. D. R. defaulter from there, having some years before embezzled trust-
Caldwell, moneys in his official capacity. Ever since his detection in 1856-
from London. 1857 a backed criminal warrant from Singapore had been lying
Previously
Registrar in the hands of the Superintendent of Police at Hongkong for
of the execution at the moment ofhis expected arrival in the Colony, his
Recorder's
Court at wife and family having preceded him. Yet on Mr. H. C. Cald-
Singapore well's arrival, not only was he not arrested but actually allowed
anda fugitive
defaulter. to depart out of the jurisdiction the same night for Macao,
A backed where his brother, Mr. D. R. Caldwell, had previously obtained
criminal
warrant in a residence for him and where he was to carry on the business
the hands of a notary and general agent amongst the Chinese. By what
of the
influence Mr. H. C. Caldwell was thus allowed to escape the
Superin-
tendent of meshes of the law is not apparent, but suffice it to say that the
Police.
He is allowed matter did not escape Mr. Anstey, who at once brought it to
to depart the notice of the Secretary of State. The local press also took
for Macao.
up the subject in strong terms, but Mr. H. C. Caldwell was
Mr. rt
repo to the allowed the greatest immunity from any possible interference.
Anstey's
Secretary
of State .
Mr. H. C. How he got out of his difficulties and whether he or others on
Caldwell his behalf compounded his felony ' is enveloped in mystery,
afterwards
an attorney as but he eventually found his way back to Hongkong and entered
of the the office of Messrs . Cocper- Turner and Hazeland , solicitors ;
Supreme
Court of then he articled himself to Mr. R. C. Owen , the barrister ( who
Hongkong. under the provisions of Ordinance No. 13 of 1862 had elected
to act as an attorney ) , being admitted some years after as an
attorney and solicitor of the Court. He soon made for himself
a lucrative practice and became one of the leading solicitors in
Hongkong. Another of the wonderful incidents in regard to
the history of this Colony. Mr. H. C. Caldwell having amassed
a competency retired to England , and died at his residence at
Twickenham, England, on the 28th June , 1883 , at the age of
sixty-eight.
Mr. Anstey's
pamphlet After publishing a pamphlet entitled " Civil Government at
Civil Gov. Hongkong " and otherwise continuing to agitate in England
ernment at and endeavouring to enlist sympathy as to the unfair treatment
Hongkong.'
* See Chap. XXIX., infrà.
† See Vol. II., Chap. XLIII.
Parliamentary Papers, 1860, pp. 445, 448.
MR. ANSTEY JOINS THE INDIAN BAR . 591
he considered he had received, a Home paper advising him Chap. XXVI. .
to re-enter Parliament and ' badger Lord Palmerston ,'- Mr. 1859.
Anstey left England for Calcutta, via the Cape, in Novem- to HeIndia
proceeds
and
ber, 1859. From Calcutta Mr. Anstey proceeded to Bombay joins the
where he joined the local Bar. Fresh investigations instituted local bar.
in 1861 , by the new Governor, Sir Hercules Robinson , under
instructions, ultimately led , as will hereafter be seen, to the Mr. Anstey's
return to
dismissal of Mr. Caldwell, the Registrar- General , from the Gov- England
ernment service, when Mr. Anstey, doubtless considering that on Mr.
Caldwell's
his chance had again arrived for renewing the agitation of the dismissal
past and badgering ' the Colonial Office, returned to England , in 1861 .