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was a part of the ordinary judicial procedure in China, and that Chinese criminals surrendered by the Government of Hongkong would be liable to it. I made it my business to visit with Mr. Hewlett incognito the Chief Criminal Court at Canton; and I can confirm the accuracy of his description in the official documents which were forwarded to Your Lordship in Mr. March's despatch No. 30 of the 14th February ultimo. I saw myself several burglars and highway robbers of the most ruffianly appearance, fastened in a painful kneeling position, by cords attached to their thumbs and big toes, to upright stakes, exactly as graphically depicted by Mr. Hewlett. It was not, I own, quite clear to me whether these criminals were being tortured in this way to extort confession or evidence, or as part of their sentence. If the latter, the punishment was not so severe as that properly inflicted for crimes of violence in England; probably not if the former, the torture was