722934-1858-GOVERNMENT-NOTIFICATION-NO-66 — Page 2

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The Hongkong Government Gazette.

REPORT.

[JULY 31, 183

COUNCIL CHAMBER, SATURDAY, 17th July, 18

SIR-We, the Members of a Commission appointed by Your Excellency, on the 20th day of May, 1858, to inquire into and report u certain charges brought against Mr Caldwell, the Registrar General, having inquired into the same do now report,—

That we commence l'our public proceedings on the 27th of May last, and have had Twenty-five Sittings, extending over a period of Sa Waks; that we have examined upwards of Fifty Witnesses, and a vast mass of Documents, and have extended our inquires into a number rotters, some of which, irrelevant as they may now appear, were so woven into and combined with the immediate subject of inquiry, that was not considered safe to leave them unexamined. We allowed ourselves great latitude as to the kind of evidence we admitted, and w obliged to do so particularly in the matter of hearsay evidence, though not to the extent which the Attorney General (who sent in a pro on the subject) considered justifiable or even necessary. We may observe here, that the same gentleman also forwarded a protest against :: wanner of taking Chinese evidence, as being in his opinion palpably favourable to Mr Caldwell. But we now repeat, what the Chairn. stated at the time of the reception of the protest, that we consider the Attorney General's complaint totally unfounded.

We have experienced great difficulty in our labours: First, from the nature, arrangement, and wording of the charges-some of appeared unnecessary, as it certainly was most distasteful to us to inquire into; Secondly, from the reluctance of witnesses to give evidens. and Thirdly, and especially from the refusal of the Attorney General to act as accuser, or to recognize the charges as his charges. Unk these circumstances, we considered it advisable to engage the services of Mr Day to act as examiner, parties interested being inforined that would receive at his Chambers any information which it was intended to bring before the Commission.

On the subject of our inquiry we report:

That charge 2, has been satisfactorily met and explained by Mr Caldwell, though there existed strong primà facie grounds for bringing That charge 4 is not proved, but that there were grounds for bringing it.

That no proof whatever has been brought forward in support of charge 5.

That charge 14 is not proved as regards Mr Caldwell himself, though it appears that Mrs Caldwell has had transactions in land ani houses for her sister since December last, when Mr Caldwell became Licenser of Brothels; but that there is no evidence that Mr Caldwell hai any knowledge of such transactions.

That charge 15 has not been proved.

That no proof has been given in support of charge 16, but that there were grounds for bringing it.

That there is no proof whatever of charge 16, and that there were no sufficient grounds for bringing it.

That there were no grounds whatever for bringing charges 18 and 19.

That there were no grounds whatever for bringing charge 3.

That with regard to charge 6, a long and intimate connection between Mr Caldwell and Ma-chow Wong has been proved, but tha there is no proof of any connection by affinity according to Chinese law or custom.

That with regard to charge 7, it is proved that Mr Caldwell has been in the habit, on Ma-chow Wong's unsupported information, of arresting persons; but that there is no evidence as to his confiscating or restoring property.

That as regards charge 8, there is no evidence of any connivances or procurements of Mr Caldwell; but that it is manifest that th Chinese are very averse to give evidence against him.

That as to charge 9. it has been proved, that Mr Caldwell aided in the acceptance of Sze-kai, his former servant, as Bail for Ma-chow Wong, and that Sze-kai had been imprisoned for debt, for a few days, a short time previously.

That we think it unnecessary to make any other observation regarding charge 10, than that there is no evidence of Mr Caldwell having deceived the Executive Council.

That with reference to charge 11, a partnership with Ma-chow Wong in a lorcha is proved, and in fact admitted by Mr Caldwell; but that there is no evidence as to payments to Mr Caldwell out of the produce of plunder måde at sea.

That as to charge 12, there is. no evidence whatever,

That of the fact stated in charge 13, of the release of the men upon Mr Caldwell's representation as to their character, there is no doubt whatever; and that it appears incomprehensible how any person with Mr Caldwell's knowledge of the Chinese language, and holding the appointment he did, could have been ignorant of the character of the boats in which the men were seized, and that one at least of these men was a notorious pirate, particularly as it is in evidence that Ma-chow Wong was connected with the boats.

That with regard to charge 1, it being only a matter of inference, we find in support of such inference, that a sum of money was offered by a Chinaman as a mark of gratitude to Mr Caldwell, for being instrumental in the release of a lorcha seized by Pirates, in which th man's father was; but that this money was refused by Mr Caldwell, and on such refusal that it was offered to Mrs Caldwell as a present for the children. A majority, however, of the Commission do not feel satisfied that Mrs Caldwell accepted this money. that a Chinese female named Shaplok, who had been in frequent communication with Mr Caldwell (and is reported, but not proved, to be a It has also been proved sister by Chinese usage of Mrs Caldwell), received from the Foo Tai pawn-shop the sum of $100, because the sentence on a pawn-broker belonging to the said shop had been mitigated, as was supposed, through her influence, and that she received a further sum of $50 for her personal trouble in the matter. Further, since the commencement of this inquiry, Mr Caldwell has, solely upon the information conveyed in an anonymous letter, that certain property had been stolen, personally, and without the assistance of the police, searched a room in the occupation of Assow, the Police Court Interpreter, whom Mr Caldwell knew to be about to give evidence before the Commission. Mr Caldwell, in the opinion of the Commission, acted in this matter injudiciously, to say the least of it. Notwithstanding these facts, coupled with the circumstance of Mr Caldwell's connection with so notorious a character as Ma-chow Wong, it appears to a majority of the Com. mission that, although Mr Caldwell's original appointment as a Justice of the Peace may have been injudicious, they do not necessitate so strong a measure as his removal from that office.

Finally, we would state, that in the course of the inquiry it has come to our knowledge, that previous to the appointment of the Com- mission, certain papers connected with Ma-chow Wong's trial, and which might have been of service to the Commission, have been destroyed; but it has been clearly proved that their destruction was ordered solely because they encumbered the Chinese Secretary's Office, while it appeared that they were then of no value, and could not be further required.

Tu Ilis Excellency

SIR JOHN BOWRING, Kt. LL.D., Governor of Hongkong,

$c., gre.,

80.

We have the honor to be,

Your Excellency's

Most obedieat humble Servants,

CHAS. ST GEO. CLEVERLY, Chairman.

II. TUDOR DAVIES.

GEORGE LYALL.

A. FLETCHER.

JOHN SCARTH.