188
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(151)
Besides the case above referred to, he appeared before our late Chief Magistrate once or twice in matters touching extortion. From his numerous delinquencies, Mr Hillier had a thorough abhorrence of the man. He was also apprehended upon a charge of obstructing the police and conniving at the escape of a man charged with felony, (afterwards ascertained to be a notorious pirate;) but his early patron still presided over the fortunes of Wong, bailed him out, and, attending at the Police Court, re-established the purity of his reputation; and once more Akee returned to his lair at the market, "a wiser if not a better man."
Whenever a case of piracy broke down at the Police Court, Akee's shadow was seen in the background, though his agents alone appeared bodily in court.
An outline of the case not tried at the late sessions of the Supreme Court cannot be other than useful intelligence to the public. In July last, a respectable trader chartered a junk to bring a cargo of sugar, blue dye, and sesame seed to the colony. On the 6th July, the day after sailing, the vessel was attacked and captured near Linting by a fleet of pirates, and during the attack, the wife of the master, the wife of the master's son, and two of the junk's crew, were killed, and the master and some others of the crew wounded. The pirates threw the dead bodies overboard, sailed the boat to Linting, and the same night trans-shipped the cargo into their own vessel, liberating the captured boat at about 3 A.M. of the 7th July. The latter got under weigh at daybreak and sailed to Hongkong, and at 7 o'clock the same morning information was given to the charterer, who, after sending word of the piracy to the police, went in quest of the plundered cargo.
At 9 A.M. the same day he found 110 bags of the sugar, and 15 tubs of blue dye, at Ma-chow Wong's shop in Bonham Strand. The man in charge of the shop referred the owner to Ma-chow Wong, with whom accordingly he had an interview at the Central Market. Ma-chow Wong, after decrying any appeal to the police, promised to restore the sugar in his possession, and to use his best influence to aid in the recovery of the remainder, stating that the person who had given him the sugar had left the colony. Accordingly, the sugar and blue dye were given up, but only after a demur subsequent to the first arrangement, and on understanding that the receiver was to give Ma-chow Wong a bonus of $100. The books of the shop prove these strange facts, that before and after the delivery of the sugar, Ma-chow Wong had been in direct correspondence and dealings with the pirates, having paid to the latter the $100 received from the owner of the sugar, the day subsequent to its delivery, and consequently at that time with a full knowledge that the recipient was a pirate. Another peculiar feature of the matter is, that as early as 7 A.M. of 7th July, (the day after the piracy,) a man from Ma-chow Wong's shop had effected a sale of the sugar to another dealer—a friend to the firm; so that if there had been any delay in the search, the sugar would not have been found.
The charges against Tong Aku, the interpreter, trumped up in consequence of the assistance rendered by him against Ma-chow Wong, resulted in his entire acquittal; and his accuser in each instance was so plainly convicted of perjury, that the Magistrate deemed it his duty to sentence the one not already a convict to pay a fine of £10, or suffer two months' imprisonment. As the money was of course not forthcoming, the scoundrel is now at work on the roads among the chain gang.
We have only further now to add, that we believe it to be quite true that Ma-chow Wong, and his partner in iniquity Wong Atung, have for some reason been allowed to retain their queues, when others, and much lesser criminals, have been deprived of theirs. This, we presume, will now be rectified, for so far as we understand, there is not the slightest hope of pardon—and it were a lasting shame to Sir John Bowring and his Council did they extend it to such a miscreant.—China Mail, 17th September, 1857.
Now had you any doubt as to who was the party implicated and pointed at?—Had you then the least doubt that that article referred to Caldwell's participation with Ma-chow Wong and pirates?
Mr Mongan.—I do not like to swear as to what my opinions were at that time; I am not certain about it.
Attorney General.—Did it not appear to you very strange that Sir John Bowring—that a just and honorable Government—should have selected Caldwell for this investigation of the documents?
Mr. Mongan.—It did not strike me at the time, but it did some time afterwards.
Attorney General.—When?
(150)
Mr Mongan.—Yes.
I think all papers taken out were put back when examination was made.
Mr Mongan.—Yes.
Attorney General.—You have rooms upstairs as well as down,
Mr Mongan.—Yes.
Attorney General.—Now I will read you your deposition. (to Court)—Your Lordship will take—You had read this article in the China Mail (reads).——that down—That's a new fact—Are you sure of that?
"An alarm, groundless we believe, seems to prevail among the public, and especially the Chinese port that through a mistaken leniency on the part of Sir John Bowring, the convict Ma-chow Wong may be again let loose on the community.
Government must be too well aware of the antecedents of this "highly respectable" and "very ill-used" individual, to permit him even a chance of escape. The books of the firm found in his shop are of themselves, we are told, quite sufficient to justify his deportation under Ordinance No. 2 of 1857, for they prove a direct communication with the mandarins, and especially with a lieutenant of the notorious Chan-kwai-chih. They also shew the purchase of such immense quantities—thousands of dollars' worth of munitions of war, including gunpowder, shot, guns, muskets, shields, stinkpots, &c., as could by no possibility have been employed for any purpose but that of piracy. He is there shewn also to have been connected in some manner with the robbery of Silk from Messrs Gibb, Livingston & Co.'s godowns, and to have likewise taken an active share in recovering pirate-vessels seized by H. M. ships-of-war. He has, besides, engaged extensively in a slave trade carried on in the Straits; and is shewn to have advanced money to, and actually assisted in the escape of, pirates. He seems to have been the universal agent in all matters connected with the defence of criminals, and the sums of money disbursed in the shape of lawyer's fees are enormous; in fact, one would almost be inclined to consider him the authorized protector of Chinese miscreants of every kind. Some money transactions with foreigners are referred to in his books, and others we warrant, of which for the present we will say no more, than merely to state, that in the "gold-dust robbery alone," a sum of about $1000 out of $40,000 was recovered, and ordered to be handed over to the poor unfortunates from whom it had been stolen, and that its distribution was somehow made through Ma-chow Wong. How much stuck to his fingers, we cannot say; but we are assured that only about one-half reached those for whom it was intended, and that even that sum was not fairly distributed.
We have no means now of ascertaining particulars of his numerous appearances in public, but besides his having to disgorge $20 which he had extorted from a poor Chinawoman just returned from California, and the particulars of which will be found in the China Mail of February 15 and 24, 1853, we know that in 1847 he and several others were tried at the Supreme Court for breaking into the store of Mr Hall, and stealing children's wearing apparel, stationery, &c. Some of the clothing was afterwards offered to Mrs Clifton for sale, and this led to the apprehension of a man, who stated that he received the articles from Ma-chow Wong. The house of the latter was searched and other portions of the stolen property found under his bed; nevertheless he escaped conviction—for even in those days he had a friend in the council. From that time until he became fat upon his ill-gotten gains, Ma-chow Wong was considered as the orbit round which the satellites of plunder revolved, and to him as the centre of attraction came the booty. He became the recognized head of the turbulent class of Chinese people, and a man of might and power for evil; and even held subordinate situations under government, such as that of Tepo of Shek-pai-wan, from which he was summarily ousted by Mr Hillier in 1853.
Attorney General.—Well, was there not enough space in those offices to accommodate such documents for a few weeks, until Mr Wade's return?
Mr Mongan.—There may have been.
Attorney General.—There may have been. Why quibble in this way? You know there was ample room.
Mr Mongan.—Yes, certainly there was room to have accommodated them 'till Mr Wade came back.
Court.—There was room.
Mr Mongan.—Yes, my Lord, I suppose there was.
Attorney General.—Did it not occur to you, during examination of those books, as something strange that you should be directed only to assist Mr Caldwell?!
Mr Mongan.—I knew nothing about Ma-chow Wong at that time—It may have appeared singular. Very likely I thought it singular.
Attorney General.—You, a gentleman of your attainments, to assist the man who was affected by the libel in the Mail...
Mr Mongan.—I dare say it did occur to me then, and I know it occurs to me now.
Attorney General.—Very well, that is all I want to know. You see the letter begins "Mr Caldwell has been directed to make the translation—you to assist"—and then the Chief Magistrate to send. "What seal was it on those packages?
Mr Mongan.—I am not sure what seal was on them—
Attorney General.—They were sealed, you say—you must know what kind of a seal it was.
Mr Mongan.—I do not mean to be positive about it.
Attorney General.—When you sent them to Mr Wade, do you not remember what stamp was on them?
Mr Mongan.—No.
Attorney General.—But you do not remember any stamp?
Mr Mongan.—At no time do I remember what stamp was on the wax.
Attorney General.—Have you not sworn that the suspicious documents would not take up more than half a cubic foot?
Mr Mongan.—Yes, I have sworn so—I mean that if all the suspicious documents had been collected together they would not measure more altogether than half a cubic foot.
Attorney General.—You were examined twice by the Caldwell Commission.
Mr. Mongan.—Yes—once on the 23d of June.
Attorney General.—And with exception of a slight discrepancy, the 30th of September for 29th of September, you swore, at the Police Court, to the truth of those depositions.
Mr Mongan.—I did.
Attorney General.—Well, what made you alter that statement at the Police Court—why those corrections?
Mr Mongan.—I know that I received the books the day after the letter forwarding them—I thought so—I had not the letter before me.
Attorney General.—The letter is dated the 28th—What made you think this?—What induced you to correct?
Mr Mongan.—On referring to my memorandum book I found that I received the papers on the 30th.
Attorney General.—You read the article in the China Mail?
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Besides the case above referred to, he appeared before our late Chief Magistrate once or twice in matters touching extor tion. From his numerous delinquencies, Mr Hillier had a tho He was also apprehended upon rough abhorrence of the man. a charge of obstructing the police and conniving at the escape of a man charged with felony, (afterwards ascertained to be a notorious pirate;) but his early patron still presided over the fortunes of Wong, bailed him out, and, attending at the Police Court, re-established the purity of his reputation; and once more Akee returned to his lair at the market, "a wiser if not a better man."
Whenever a case of piracy broke down at the Police Court, of a surety was Akee's shadow seen in the back ground, though his agents alone appeared bodily in court.
An outline of the case not tried at the late sessions of the Supreme Court cannot be other than useful intelligence to the public. In July last, a respectable trader chartered a junk to bring a cargo of sugar, blue dye, and sesame seed to the colony. On the 6th July, the day after sailing, the vessel was attacked and captured near Linting by a fleet of pirates, and during the attack, the wife of the master, the wife of the master's son, and two of the junk's crew, were killed, and the master and some others of the crew wounded. The pirates threw the dead bodies overboard, sailed the boat to Linting, and the same night trans- shipped the cargo into their own vessel, liberating the captured boat at about 3 A.M. of the 7th July. The latter got under weigh at daybreak and sailed to Hongkong, and at 7 o'clock the same morning information was given to the charterer, who. after sending word of the piracy to the police, went in quest of the plundered cargo.
At 9 AM the same day he found 110 bags of the sugar, and 15 tubs of blue dye, at Ma-chow Wong's shop in Bonham Strand The man in charge of the shop re- Terred the owner to Ma-chow Wong, with whom accordingly he had an interview at the Central Market, Ma-chow Wong. after decrying any appeal to the police, promised to restore the sugar in his possession, and to use his best influence to aid in the recovery of the remainder, stating that the person who had given him the sugar had left the colony. Accordingly, the sugar and blue dye were given up, but only after a demur subsequent to the first arrangement, and on understanding that the receiver was to give Ma-chow Wong a bonus of $100. The books of the shop prove these strange facts,that before and after the delivery of the sugar, Ma-chow Wong had been in direct correspondence and dealings with the pirates, having paid to the latter the $100 received from the owner of the sugar, the day subsequent to its delivery. and consequently at that time with a full knowledge that the recipient was a pirate. Another peculiar feature of the matter is, that as early as 7 AM of 7th July, (the day after the piracy,) a man from Ma-chow Wong's shop had effected a sale of the sugar to another dealer-a friend to the firm; so that if there had been any delay in the search, the sugar would not have been found,
an
The charges against Tong Aku, the interpreter, trumped up in consequence of the assistance rendered by him against Ma- chow Wong, resulted in his entire acquittal; and his accuser in each instance was so plainly convicted of perjury, that the Magistrate deemed it his duty to sentence the one not already a convict to pay a fine of £10, or suffer Two months' imprison- As the money was of course not forthcoming, the scoundrel is now at work on the roads among the chain gang.
ment.
-where we are only astonished to see that Wong Akee is
We have only further now to add, that we believe it to quite true that Ma-chow Wong, and his partner in iniquity Wong Atung, have for some reason been allowed to retain the queues, when others, and much lesser criminals, have bee deprived of theirs. This, we presume, will now be rectified, for so far as we understand, there is not the slightest hope of pa don-and it were a lasting shame to Sir John Bowring and bi Council did they extend it to such a miscreant.-China Ma 17th September, 1857.
Now had you any doubt as to who was the party im plicated and pointed at ?-Had you then the least doub that that article referred to Caldwell's participation with Ma-chow Wong and pirates?
Mr Mongan. I do not like to swear as to what my
I am not certain about it. · opinions were at that time;
-
Attorney General Did it not appear to you very strange that Sir John Bowring-that a just and honorable Government-should have selected Caldwell for this in vestigation of the documents?
-
Mr. Mongan.-It did not strike me at the time, but i did some time afterwards.
Attorney General.When?
( 150 )
Mr Mongan-Yes.
I think all papers taken out were put back when exa- mination was made.
Mr Mongan-Yes.
ا نعلم
Attorney General-You have rooms upstairs as well as down,
Mr Mongan--Yes.
Attorney General.—Now I will read you your deposition Attorney General.--(to Court)—Your Lordship will take-You had read this article in the China Mail (reads.)—— that down-That's a new fact-Are you sure of that?
"An alarm, groundless we believe, seems to prevail among Mr Mongan. Yes, to the best of my recollection. the public, and especially the Chinese port that through a mistaken leniency on the part of Sir John Bowring, the convict Attorney General.-The Chinese Secretariate is attach-
Ma-chow Wong may be again let loose on the community. ed to the Superintendency of Trade,
Government must be too well aware of the antecedents of this "highly respectable" and "very ill-used" individual, to permit him even a chance of escape. The books of the firm found in his shop are of themselves, we are told, quite sufficient to justity his deportation under Ordinance No. 2 of 1857, for they prove a direct communication with the mandarins, and especially with a lieutenant of the notorious Chan-kwai-chih. They also shew the purchase of such immense quantities-thousands of dollars' worth of munitions of war, including gunpowder, shot, guns, muskets, shields, stinkpots, &c,, as could by no possibility have been employed for any purpose but that of piracy. He is there shewn also to have been connected in some manner with the robbery of Silk from Messrs Gibb, Livingston |& Co.'s godowns, and to have likewise taken an active share in recovering pirate-vessels seized by H. M. ships-of-war. He has, besides, engaged extensively in a slave trade carried on in the Straits; and is shewn to have advanced money to, and actually assisted in the escape of, pirates. He seems to have been the universal agent in all matters connected with the
Attorney General.-Well, was there not enough space in those offices to accomodate such documents for a few weeks, until Mr Wade's return?
Mr Mongan,--There may have been.
Attorney General.-There may have been. Why quib- ble in this way? You know there was ample room.
Mr Mongan.-Yes certainly there was room to have Faccomodated them 'till Mr Wade came back.
Court. There was room.
Mr Mangan. Yes, my Lord I suppose there was defence of criminals, and the sums of money disbursed in the thAside, andibly, I must answer that way.)
Mr Mongan.Within the last four or five months. Attorney General.-Did it not occur to you, during examination of those books, as something strange that you should be directed only to assist Mr Caldwell?!
Mr Mongan.I knew nothing about Machow Won at that time-It may have appeared singular. Very likel I thought it singular.
Attorney General-You, a gentleman of your attain ments, to assist the man who was affected by the libel i the Mail...
Mr Mongan.I dare say it did occur to me then, and I know it occurs to me now.
Attorney General-Very well that is all I want know. You see the letter begins "Mr Caldwell has « been directed to make the translation-you to assist "and then the Chief Magistrate to send "What seal wa it on those packages?
Mr Mongan.-I am not sure what seal was on them-
Attorney General-They were sealed you say--you must know what kind of a seal it was.
Mr Mongan. I do not mean to be positive about it. Attorney General.--When you sent them to Mr Wade do you not remember what stamp was on them?
Mr Mongan.-No.
but you do not remember any stamp?
Attorney General-They were returned from Mr Wade
Mr Mongan. --At no time do I remember what stan was on the wax.
Attorney General.-Have you not sworn that the sus- picious documents would not take up more than half a cubic foot?
Mr Mongan. Yes, I have sworn so---I mean that if all he suspicious documents had been collected together they would not measure more altogether than half a cubic foot
Attorney General.---You were examined twice by the Faldwell Commission.
form of lawyer's fees are enormous; in fact, one would almost be inclined to consider him the authorized protector of Chinese miscreants of every kind. Some money transactions with for- eigners are referred to in his books, and others we wat of, of which for the present we will say no more, than merely to state, that in the "gold-dust robbery alone," a sum of about $1000 out of $40,000 was recovered, and ordered to be handed over to the poor unfortunates from whom it had been stolen, and that its distribution was somehow made through Ma-chow Wong. How much stuck to his fingers, we cannot say; but we are assured that only about one-half reached those for whom it was intended, and that even that sum was not fairly distributed.
We have no means now of ascertaining particulars of his numerous appearances in public, but besides his having to dis- gorge 820 which he had extorted from a poor Chinawoman
Mr. Mongan.-Yes-once on the 23d of June. Attorney General. --And with exception of a slight discrepancy, the 30th of September for 29th of September, you swore, at the Police Court, to the truth of those depo-just returned from California, and the particulars of which will sitions.
Mr Mongan. I did.
Attorney General. Well what made you alter that statement at the Police Court--why those corrections?
Mr Mongan.---I know that I received the books the day after the letter forwarding them--I thought so---I had not he letter before me.
Attorney General. The letter is dated the 28th--What made you think this ?-What induced you to correct?
Mr Mongan.—On referring to my memorandum book I found that I received the papers on the 30th.
Attorney General. You read the article in the China
Tail?
be found in the China Mail of February 15 and 24, 1853, we know that in 1847 he and several others were tried at the Supreme Court for breaking into the store of Mr Hall, and steal. ing children's wearing apparel, stationery, &c. Some of the cloth- ing was afterwards offered to Mrs Clifton for sale, and this led to the apprehension of a man, who stated that he received the ar- ticles from Ma-chow Wong. The house of the latter was scarched and other portions of the stolen property found under his bed ; nevertheless he escaped conviction-for even in those days he had a friend in the council. From that time until he became
fat upon his ill-gotten gains, Ma-chow Wong was considered as the orbit round which the satellites of plunder revolved, and to him as the centre of attraction came the booty. He became the recognized head of the turbulent class of Chinese people, and a man of might and power for evil; and even held subordinate situations under government, such as that of Tepo of Shek-pai- wan, from which he was summarily ousted by Mr Hillier in 1853.
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