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the Sun-fook-tie, otherwise the Pak-ma hong in Hospital street (the house in former days known as the Cauton Register Office.)
That being in this hong, the forty five were dealt with as slaves. and frightened into assenting to execute labour contracts to go Havana, One of the forty five escaping, returned to Hongkong, and informed the Registrar General ; and that officer, after a delay of a wreck, luid the story before His Excellency the Governor, by whom he was authorized to proceed to Macao and obtain the release of the men alleged to have been kidnapped.
The Registrar General accordingly, accompanied by Ahsoong, the escaped--or supposed to have escapeil-Cooler, landed in Macao on the 21st of January 1850; and as by the advertizement in the Daily Press of that date appended* no steamer left Hongkong for Macao before noon, the hour at which they so landed must have been late in the day a circumstance of moment as will be shown anon.
Alisong has stated in evidence—that after landing he saw the thirty two whom-when he escapad-lio left at the Sun-fook-tie long, in a boat.— The 22nd of January being Sunday, nothing was done by Mr. Cald well towards thading the mea so seen in a bout, and when he went with the Procurador and other Macao officers to the Sun-fook-tie hong on Monday the 23rd, finding that some thirty Coolces had been sent to the French ship Emilie Pircire two days previous, it was assumed that these were the thirty two for whom he sought-Mr. Caldwell, indeed, has sworn that the names and description of the men who had so left the Hung answered to the names and descriptions given to him by Absoong as being a portion of the forty five, and to this swearing I shall refer presently-
They then went to the St Antonio barracoon, and finding there four of the forty five, arrangements were made for their release, and eventually they were released.
After that another man was brought by Ahsoong, as being one of the forty five, and he, too, was released.
Mr. Caldwell then returned to Hongkong, and, with Ahsoong, and another man calling himself Kwon-sun-quan, gave such evidence to the Police Magistrate as warranted His Worship in committing Shum Abing for trial. And the circumstance mast be noted at the outset, that neither at this preliminary investigation, nor at the Supreme Court did either of the five that were released at Macao give evidence; neither of the numes of the released men being Kwon-sun-kwun ;--while all the released men signed their names to Contracts, and Kwon-sun-kwan conid not write. Upon evidence of which the above is the general tenor, Sham Abing was convicted and sentenced as stated.-
Advertisement of Feima at Noou-Shamrock at One v. A.
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In his defence at the courts, and in a statement which he sent to me during the time I was in the Criminal gaol expiating my sentence for the Tel found at the Sessions of September 1859, Shum Aling denied that he deceived the men-denied that he sold them--daniel every thing criminatory but the receiving some Two hundred mul two or three dollar's in quisition of a debt to him for board of 120 of whom the 45 that went to lacno formed a section-He admitted that he went to Macao with the men :--ussorted that, ou landing, the forty five went to the boug of a respectable East coast firm called Maun-shing ;--that thence ten went to The Sun-foot-tie long on agreement to go, to Havana, and that of the money which they obtained in advance of wages, he received what was due to him, riz 2025. What amount was actually given in advance he did not know; for Eng-Atuk, one of the forty five, acted as broker, and received all øver what he got.
Well, if this defence had been substantiated at the trial, the indict- ment would have fallen to the ground; for in so receiving, out of an advance of wages, money hona fide due to him, he committed to crime; →he did, in short, what any other person in business wordd do, and no
more.
Instead of employing a lawyer to defend him, and there is this excuse that he had no money for a retainer, -Shum Ahing sent a Jetter to Mr. Caldwell from the gaol, in which he said that, knowing he wanted for Mab-elow Wong's wife the house which had been built for carrying on the business of the Kwong-yee-loong, he would give it up, and would also give him Pour hundred dollars if he would cause the charge against him to be dropped.
But it is necessary that I should tell you how I have arrived at It was in this wise. When His a knowledge of this circumstance
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Excellency said he was willing to receive from me any statement tending to show that Shum Ahing was innocent of the crime of which he was convicted, I referred to my diary of the period when Shun Alting was in gaol on remand, and I found that I had noted that a man, described as Mr. Grandpre's servant, had taken a message or letter from a prisoner to Caldwell, in which the prisoner in question, had asked Caldwell to help this Shum Ahing; and knowing that this prisoner had been released, and was in Canton, I sent for him, and asked him to tell me what he remembered of the matter. The Rev. D. Vrooman happened to call just as he arrived, and in order to do away with any appearance of collusion between us, I asked him to put the necessary questions and finally to request the deponent to put in writing all he hail The result was a paper of which the following is Mr. Vrooman's
to say. translation.
DES
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