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residents almost to a man gathered at the door of the Council chamber to show their respect to the accused official, and uncovered their heads as he passed in to meet his accuser.
The proceedings lasted three days, various witnesses being examined. The demand made by the accused for a public enquiry was refused, leading to the community's denouncement of the whole affair. The witnesses called were merely all naval and military officers, and one of them actually declared that the charges were absolutely groundless; yet all three counts were laboriously enquired into: though many witnesses were in favour of the accused, Major Caine is recorded as having been in favour of the prosecution, and eventually the Chief Justice was actually suspended.
There is no need to go into detail about public condemnation of this farcical affair; nowadays we can comment that it needed Gilbert and Sullivan to do the matter justice, but the immediate result of the Council's decision becoming known was a series of public addresses to Mr. Hulme, sympathising with him, and extolling his uprightness and other virtues; these eulogies coming from the inhabitants of Hongkong, from the British residents of Canton, from the attorneys practising at the Supreme Court (who also sent a gift of a gold snuff box), from the members of the Special Jury and from the principal Chinese residents of the Colony. In face of this, the historian is compelled to believe that a grave injustice had been done to a man who had merely earned the spite of highly-placed persons.
To go into greater detail fairly fully, mainly because of the insight it gives us into the things that could happen in the early years of Hongkong's history, the subject has been quoted here would take up too much space.
In a few months' time, in 1848, the Chief Justice was re-instated by the Secretary of State, returned to the Colony, and enjoyed a long term of popularity in conducting his important office, leaving finally in 1860, when he was succeeded by Mr. W. H. Adams.
From Bruce's picture, already alluded to, we know that in the first few years of his appointment Chief Justice Hulme had a residence at the northern end of the ridge where the doctors' quarters of the Royal Naval Hospital are now situated, overlooking the then fashionable Spring Gardens, now a congested semi-slum portion of Wanchai.
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residents almost to a man gathered at the door of the Council chamber to show their respect to the accused official, and uncovered their heads as he passed in to meet his accuser.
The proceedings lasted three days, various witnesses being examined. The demand made by the accused for a public enquiry was refused, leading to the community's denouncement of the whole affair. The witnesses called were me arly all naval and military officers, and one of them actually declared that the charges were absolutely groundless; yet all three counts were laboriously enquired into: though many witnesses were in favour of the accused, Major Caine is recorded as having been in favour of the prosecution, and eventually the Chief Justice was actually suspended.
There is no need to go into detail about public condemnation of this farcical affair nowadays we can comment that it needed Gilbert and Sullivan to do the matter justice but the immediate result of the Council's decision becoming known was a series of public addresses to Mr. Hulme, sympathising with him, and extolling his uprightness and other virtues, these eulogies coming from the inhabitants of Hongkong, from the British residents of Canton, from the attorneys practising at the Supreme Court (who also sent a gift of a gold snuff box), from the members of the Special Jury and from the principal Chinese residents of the Colony. In face of this, the historian is compelled to believe that a grave injustice had been done to a man who had merely earned the spite of highly- placed persons.
To go into greater
the subject has been quo fail here would take up too much space:
fairly fully, mainly because of the insight it gives us into the things that could happen in the early years of Hongkong's history.
In a few months time, in 1848, the Chief Justice was re- instated by the Secretary of State, returned to the Colony, and enjoyed a long term of popularity in conducting his important office, leaving finally in 1860, when he was succeeded by Mr.W. H. Adams.
From Bruce's picture, already alluded to, we know that in the first few years of his appointment Chief Justice Hulme had a residence at the northern end of the ridge where the doctors' quarters of the Royal Naval Hospital are now situated, overlooking the then fashionable Spring Gardens, now a congested semi-slum portion of Wanchai.
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