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"that, the prisoner will be fairly tried, and ultimately not be convicted unless he is really guilty. But here, in considering whether or not there is a probable cause, it is impossible not to feel that, for practical purposes, and as regards the prisoner's fate, and the responsibility in connection therewith, the decision, though formally a decision as to probable guilt, is really a decision involving the consequences of a verdict of guilty or not guilty in a capital case."
As I have pointed out in previous despatches, on the testimony of Mr. Hewlett (the English Consul at Canton) and other reliable authorities, it is certain that, whatever engagements may be made by Chinese Viceroys and Governors, judicial torture is still practically as much a part of judicial procedure in China, as it was (at least in political cases), in England to the end of the 16th century, in Scotland to the end of the 18th century.
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