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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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C.O. 882

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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23. In the summer of 1900, when the Boxer disturbances were at their height, a feeling of uneasiness was excited among the Chinese of the district. Boxer agents spread reports that the Europeans were poisoning the wells in the villages, and the villagers in the south-east in one case arrested six Chinese, who were strangers and believed to be well poisoners, and are alleged to have drowned some of them, though this was never proved.

In 1901 certain Chinese fishing boats registered in Wei-hai-wei reported that they had been robbed by Chinese when fishing off the coast of Corea, and the gunboat "Plover" was despatched in pursuit of the pirates, who were captured and brought back to Wei-hai-wei, tried and shot.

Two cases of murder occurred in the territory in 1901. In one case the three culprits were found guilty and shot in the village where the crime was committed. In the other case it was found impossible to secure evidence to bring the crime home to any individuals, but the leading people in the villages concerned were all sentenced to various terms of imprisonment.

24. No fees of Court are charged, and Chinese litigants appreciate the accessi- bility of the Court of the District Magistrate. In the case of the indigent Chinese it would be inadvisable to charge costs of Court, as this would be sure to lead to irregularities, and the Chinese would dislike coming to Court, for fear of being squeezed. As far as Europeans are concerned, as there are only two or three such cases in a year, fees would hardly be worth the imposition. Experience shows that when a village headman for one reason or another declines to take action for a com- plainant in his village, the latter now comes direct to the District Magistrate for redress. During 1901, the number of cases in the District Court increased largely. All petty disputes are referred to the village headmen, who are bound to report their tlecisions to the Magistrate.

During the last half of 1901, and up to date, there have been very few serious dases of crime, and no capital sentences were carried out. The judicial work in the island is chiefly concerned with dealing with police night cases, breaches of Municipal and Magisterial orders. On the mainland, the District Magistrate deals with a large number of civil disputes among the Chinese, about land and house property, family inheritance, adoption, division of property and other Chinese customs and usages. There is practically little or no litigation between British inhabitants and very few Anglo-Chinese suits. In short, the judicial work in the new Settlement is largely confined to the Court of the District Magistrate between Chinese parties.

25. It is found difficult to get Chinese of the same village to give evidence against each other, unless their interests are opposed. In China a Magistrate con- victs the culprit on the general opinion he forms of the case and not entirely by the rules of evidence. A Chinese Court does not, as with the law in Europe, ask or expect witnesses to convict the prisoner. In serious cases of crime, the headmen Avill not take any executive action until they are instructed to do so by the Magis frate. The Chinese villagers, like all Chinese, gamble either more or less. The evil in the district is, however, kept well within bounds, and small fines for opening gambling booths are very often imposed by the Court. In most cases the headmen come and report this offence. If gambling is detected in any village and enquiry shows that it has been carried on systematically, a fine is imposed on the whole village through the headmen.

Police.

26. Nothing shows more clearly the entire absence of general lawlessness and disorder amongst the Chinese inhabitants on the mainland than the fact that been possible to dispense with the services of a regular Civil Police Force for nearly has three years in an area enclosing 300 villages with a population of 120,000 people. At present, the island is policed by a European Inspector and a small force of a dozen Chinese constables, and as it is immediately under the control of the naval and military authorities stationed there, authority is well enforced. In the leased area,

the District Officer acts as Chief Police Officer. He has a staff of four Chinese notice servers, and these, together with the assistance of the headmen of the villages, carry out ordinary police processes and effect all arrests. If serious trouble is anticipated the officer in command of the 1st Chinese Regiment, on requisition, sends a military escort to attend the Magistrate in executing the law. This military escort is, however, very rarely applied for now, as experience shows that taking armed soldiers into the

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villages to execute civil processes has a bad effect, and undermines the influence of the headmen, who are the natural police of the district. It also leads the soldiers of the Chinese Regiment to interfere with local civil affairs, and checks the confidence of the headmen and villagers in the District Magistrate.

The only serious disturbance that has occurred in the territory, calling for the employment of an armed Civil Police Force, was the attack on the Boundary Com- mission in 1900, but as this was directly prompted by the local officials outside the boundary, and as all frontier difficulties are now settled, there is no reason to anticipate further serious troubles over this.

The only Municipal Police Force at Mahto at present consists of four Chinese watchmen, who beat the Chinese watches in the night.

No secret societies exist as far as is known to the police. It must not be for- gotten that during 1900 and 1901 the province of Shantung was administered by Governor Yuan Shi Kai, and that the strong attitude he took up during the Boxer troubles and the severe measures he took to suppress all internal disorder, contributed not a little to the absence of crime in the neighbourhood, and checked any symptoms of disturbance in this part of the province.

Crime on the Frontier.

As regards crimes committed on the frontier, it is provided by the Frontier Regulations that the case shall be tried by the Magistrate in whose jurisdiction the defendant lives. In the case of Chinese, if the crime is a serious one, i.e., murder or burglary, both British and Chinese Magistrates sit and hear the case in either district, and punish the offender according to the law in force in the district to which he belongs,

Extradition of offenders is also arranged for, and the British Magistrate and Chinese Magistrates may attend at the trial of the person extradited to see that he is tried for the offence alleged, and that no torture is inflicted.

Gaols.

27. There are two establishments. The gaol on the island has been open for two years, is under the charge of the European Inspector of Police there, and contains accommodation for about fifteen prisoners. The gaol on the mainland was built in 1901, and is a strong, substantial building, capable of holding twenty prisoners. It is surrounded by a high wall enclosing an exercise ground, in which the prisoners break stones for punishment. The District Magistrate acts as Superintendent of the gaol.

Rules and regulations for its administration were made by the Commissioner in 1901. The average daily number of prisoners is seven. The Acting Colonial Surgeon inspects the prison every week.

Legislation.

28. Previous to the introduction of the Order in Council, Wei-hai-wei, 1901, law was established by the Commissioner promulgating Magisterial Orders.

Some 50 orders dealing with land, municipal and sanitary regulations, mining prospectuses, house tax, licences for hotels and boarding houses, monopolies for ex- clusive rights of retailing Chinese spirits, opium, chandoo, &c., were thus brought into operation. As no mention is made in the Order in Council, Wei-hai-wei, 1901, as to the validity or otherwise of all legislation made prior to its proclamation, these Magisterial Orders presumably remain in force. The provisions of the Order in Council of Wei-hai-wei, 1901, are very far in advance of the present wants of the Settlement, and could only be carried out at the expense of a considerable addition to the cost of the Civil Establishment.

As a matter of fact, there is practically no litigation here amongst the very few British subjects or other foreigners residing here, and very few cases between Chinese and Europeans ever occur. The bulk of the judicial work in entirely Chinese dis- putes, and in adjudication on these matters it is best to follow Chinese customs and usages as far as is reasonable and just-without paying too much attention to procedure and rules of evidence, with which the Chinese are unacquainted. There are

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