TE OVERLAND FRIEND OF CHINA, 10TH SEPT. 1857.
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SUPREME COURT OF HONGKONG,
CRIMINAL SESSIONS. Monday, 31st August, 1857 REGINA : William TardaNT.
capacity of counsel to and for the said Cheong-Ahlora that if the said Cheong hilam had become an insolvent debtor and his estate had been administered under the Ordinance for the relief of insolvent debtors within the said Colony of Hongkong the said!sume would have been disallowed to the said Cheong Ablam as being disbursed in payment of extor onate and exorbitant demand] "Doctor Bridges meaning the said William. Thomas Bridgesin short dreaded the ex- Hpose threatened in our issue of Saturday the Twenty fifth "ultimo [meaning a statement made printed and published in For making and publishing a Libel.
the number of the said " Friend of China and Hongkong. Before a Special Jury, consisting of John Heard, Gazette" of the twenty fifth day of July, One thousand eight Hundred and fifty seven; according to the tenor ad effect 0. T: Siemssen, Patrick Campbell, F. W. Law following, that is to say "We are placed by the verdict of rence, John B: Compton and C. F. Still, Esquires. " one of the most respectable juries ever empanelled in this The Jury duly aworn, the Acting Registrar "Colony in a position to challenge the Insolvent's Balance sheet; and should it be, as we shall not be surprized to proceeded to read the information filed by Henry
"find, that blum's bankruptcy is due not so muchto his very Kingsmill, aquire, Acting Attorney General of our proper stoppage at business here as to some astounding extor- Sovereign Lady the Queen; reciting that, in the "tion in the shape of lawyer's fees, or payment of hireling month of January last, an issue joined on an in "scribes, the facts will duly be made patentto the public, and formation exhibited against one Cheong Ahlum it will be hoped produce a public benefit. And that the said William Thomas Bridges had exacted such extortionate and for administering poison that on the trial the exorbitant sums as and for his fees as such Counsel as afore mid Cheong Ahlum was acquitted, and was imme said that if the affairs of the said! Cheong Ahlum had been diately afterwards arrested, and thenceforth detain brought into the Insolvent Court he the said William Tho mas Bridges would have been exposed and held up to-public ed in custody in the common Gaol of Hongkong contempt for exacting the same.] "But what can the peb- asa Political offender and a dangerous character "lic think of a Government that to all intents and purposes until the 31st day of July last, when he was licenses swindling, that Hterally holds out a premium to vil- berated and discharged. In the meanwhile, to wit "lany of the depest dye 1 Meaning that the said William on the 22nd of Aine last, issue joined on a certain Thomas Bridges is a swindler, and that by his holding the action in which William Tarrant was Plaintiff and port of ctingolonial Secretary he is enabled to set in such a manner as to swindle and defraud the creditors of the mid the said Cheong Alum wis Defendant, and on Cheong-ahlum, and also that the said William Thomas Brid- ges, is a villain, and that the continuing of such a swindler trial a verdict was given for the said' Plaintim;- and on the occasions of both these trials one Wil- and villain in so important an office as that of Acting Col- Ionial Secretary is holding out: an encouragement to others to ham Thomas Bridges, Doctor of Civil Law, being imitate his example in being guilty of such offences as would then and now a Brister practising at the bar of draw down on them the contempt and scorn of well disposed this Colony, was Counsel for the said Cheong and right thinking people, he the i: William Tarrant then Ahlum; and that the said Dr. Bridges, since the well knowing the said defamating libeli to be false, to the great damage scandal and disgrace of the maid William Tho- 16th of February last. has been holding the office mas Bridges to the evil example of all others in the like case and performing the duties of Acting Colonial Se. offending, and against the peace of Our Lady the Queen her cretary; and that divers judgments had been, prior Crown and dignity, and therefore the said Acting Autorney to his discharge from gaol, recovered against the General praye due proces of lam
To this the defendant pleaded Not guilty, and‹ said Cheong Ahlum, By-divers Creditors, and Handed up the following additional pleas
un-
the maid William Tarrant contriving and' unlawfully, wickedly and maliciously intending to injure vilify and pre- judice the said William Thomas Bridges, and to deprive him of his good name, fame, credit and reputation and to bring him into publie contempt, scandal; infamy and disgrace, on the fifth day of August in the your of Our Lord Une tho sand eight hundred and fifty seven in a certain news paper
allet The "Friend of China and Hongkong Gazette lawfully wickedly and maliciously did write and publish and? cause and procare to be written and published a false scandal- Du, malicious and defamatory libet cons ining divers falbe scandalous, malleious and definatory things of and concern- ing the said William Thomas Bridges and of and concern. ing himthawaid William Thomas Bridges in the way of, and in respect to his said profession of a Barrister and business in conducting the defence of the said Cheong Ahlum in and sinout the said twin trisla as aforesaid and of and concerning the conduct of him the said William Thomas Bridges as such Acting Colonial Secretary, as aforesaid according to the tenour and effect follo ing--"Doctor Brides's" (mean "ing the said William Thomas Bridges action-imthe mat- "ter of releasing Ablam the poisoner" (meaning the sad heong Ahtum from durance forms a climax to the may "extraordinary thingsofthis performing since he has asted
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"Colonial ecretary,
The Sheriff was informed that bondi
And för a further plea in this behalf the said! Willám Tarrant saith that our Lady the Queen ought net farther to prosecute the said indictment against him; because he saith that it is true that "the Sheriff was informed that bondi would be given conditioned for the non-return of Allum to this Colony for five years and on receiving sach bonds Ahium was to be released! The Sheriff in consequence of "this notification; told the Gaol Governor to be prepared to let "him goy and, a few hours after telling the Gol Governor the first place submitted to him the Sheriff, who, in his capacity "this, Ablum; was out and off","--without the bonds being in
of Assistant Magistrate or as a Justice of the Peace, had, by formal warrant, committed the said Aklum to gaol,--nor toas the consent of the said Sheriff, the Commilling Magistrate, asked or obtained for the acceptance of such recognizance by any and Gaols are required; and it is true that the said sams other Justice of the Peace, as by the law and practice of Courts drawn by the complainant Dr Bridger for managing Allum's case were more than would have been allowed by the Ordinance for fees and costs; and that therefore the said Dr Bridges had reason to dread the expose threatened by the defendant in his paper of the 26th of July mentioned-and the said William Tarrant in fact saith, that, heretofore, and before the publication in the said indictment mentioned, to wit, on the 30th or 31st day July last, there was an official interference with the ordinary course of conducting public business, to the manifest détriment of public Justice; by reason whereofit was for the public benefit that the said matters so charged in the said information should be publish ed. And this he the said William Tarrant is ready to verify; and therefore he prayath judgment, and that by the Court here he may be dismissed and discharged from the said pre- mises in the said information specifled;
Issue being joined, the Acting Attorney General' address evidently prepared proceeded (in aa with much care, references to the law of libel going back as far as 600 B C. when beating with a stick was the punishment) to indicate to the Jury the points on which they would have-to-decido. Arrived at the concluding part of the article of the 5th of August, Elis Lordship the Chief Justice sug gested the propriety of striking the whole para graph out of the information" Evidently it does not refer to: Dr Bridges said his Lordship-it *applies to Government, it is straining the point to suppose that it applies to Dr Bridges--the inuendo is overstrained, the matter charged had better stop short of that-- Government can, no doubt, "bear that" To this the learned Prosecutor con. sented—and after putting in the defendant's admis- sion that the articles referred to in the information. had been written and published by him in the paper of which he had been proprietor upwards of seven years, called as his first witness William Thomas Bridges DC.L. who deponed as follows. This deposition is taken from the China Mail...... (the only part of the report in that paper which may be considered fair)
would be given conditioned for the non return of Ahlum "(meaning the said Cheong Ahlum to this Coly for "five years and'omɑreceiving such bende- Ahlum" (meaning "The said he ng-Ahium) was to be releaset: The Sheriff in-consequence of this no ification told the Gaol Governor to be prepared to let hum" meaning the said Cheong-Ah "lumgo; and wfw-hour after telling the Gaol Governor "this: Ahlum?""{meaning the sail heeng Ahlum)" was out d'off!! Me Inglis "(meaning the said Gaok Governor) in "the exercise of his judicial capacity, did what was needful with the recognizance tendered-saidi dovuments being "drawn, it is believed, by Doctor Bridges, (manning the "said William Thomas Bridges himself neither the Acting * Attorney General, nor the Crown Solicitor knowing any thing about them [meaning that the said William Thomas Bridges had taken a vantage of his filling the post of Acting Colonial Secretary surreptitiously and improperly to prepare such documents and by so-deingfraudulently and in breach of good faith and of his duty as Acting Colonial Secretary to aid in and procure the discharge of the said Cheong-Ahlum from the saidi Gaot without the knowledge of the judgment oneditors of the said (hsong-Ahlim and before they could have time to take the necessary steps to proceed against the person of the said Cheong-Ahlum in satisfaction of their judgmanta.) "There are many who willy-Well: Ahlum
[meaning the said Cheong-Ablum]" is-of-A good rid" "Jance of bad rabbish But what say his creditors of "course the reason why Doctor Bridges" (meaning the said William Thomas Bridges]. "has managed to get Ahlum (meaning the said Cheong hlum) away quickly and quiet ly is apparent to all. The sums drawn by him Doctor Brid "ges [meaning the said William Thomas Bridges] for mana- "ging the case (meaning the conductingofthe defence of the said Cheong-Allum in the said two trials by the said›Wil- liam Thomas Bridges as such counsel for the said Ahlama aforesaid)," would not have been allowed had be Ablum" [meaning the said 'Heong Ablum] gone through the (haol- vent Court meaning that the said William Thomas Bridges had exacted from the said Cheong Ahlum such extortionate
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and exorbitant soms in the way of fees for his services in the D" TONIR " BWIRE, VI 100 lecuuve, weITIYU MA | 10 was ou maini evasion;""FL"
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