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but some portions of it went on in defiance of the order. When the level of violence increased, one rioter—or so he was assumed to have been—was killed when the Sikh constables opened fire with their carbines. The results of their fire caused many to believe that in the future they should be armed with shotguns as a more appropriate weapon for the confined quarters of Hong Kong. No one knows what the actual casualty figure was in this one incident of gunfire because the Chinese were believed to have carried off their wounded to be treated at home. It was also assumed that some of their dead may also have been removed in the same manner. In the disturbances five constables were injured—none fatally—and troops from the garrison had to be called out to keep order in the streets, though they never really saw any action. About one hundred of them were quartered in the Tung Wah Hospital with the permission of the directors, who also offered to serve as intermediaries between the government and the Chinese population. Their offer was turned down.
By the next day, Saturday the 4th, the violence had subsided to the level of scattered minor incidents. But the strike spread to the rice-pounders, coal-heavers and street coolies, as well as some slaughterhouse workers. The French convent was having great difficulty in getting food. With police protection from the street mobs the boatmen returned to work, but they still refused to work for the French.
The action of the courts in fining the boatmen for not servicing French ships was reversed on the grounds that the statute used was intended for regulating charges, not for forcing boatmen to work when they did not want to. A large number of rioters did appear in the courts over the next several days. The editor of the Daily Press used their appearance to lament the passing of flogging. In his view only flogging would properly chastise the Chinese for whom imprisonment was not a deterrent.18
With speed born of fear, the Legislative Council passed an emergency Peace Preservation Ordinance (No. 22 of 1884) on October 9.19 This authorized the collection of arms belonging to the Chinese residents of Hong Kong, and the banishment of those considered to be agitators. For all the reverence which Englishmen displayed for their Anglo-Norman legal system, they never found a contradiction in the fact that as colonial administrators they seldom
HONG KONG RIOTS OF OCTOBER 1884
61
but some portions of it went on in defiance of the order. When the level of violence increased, one rioter-or so he was assumed to have been--was killed when the Sikh constables opened fire with their carbines. The results of their fire caused many to believe that in the future they should be armed with shotguns as a more appro- priate weapon for the confined quarters of Hong Kong. No one knows what the actual casualty figure was in this one incident of gunfire because the Chinese were believed to have carried off their wounded to be treated at home. It was also assumed that some of their dead may also have been removed in the same manner. In the disturbances five constables were injured-none fatally-and troops from the garrison had to be called out to keep order in the streets, though they never really saw any action. About one hundred of them were quartered in the Tung Wah Hospital with the permission of the directors, who also offered to serve as intermediaries between the government and the Chinese population. Their offer was turn- ed down.
By the next day, Saturday the 4th, the violence had subsided to the level of scattered minor incidents. But the strike spread to the rice-pounders, coal-heavers and street coolies, as well as some slaughterhouse workers. The French convent was having great difficulty in getting food. With police protection from the street mobs the boatmen returned to work, but they still refused to work for the French.
The action of the courts in fining the boatmen for not servicing French ships was reversed on the grounds that the statute used was intended for regulating charges, not for forcing boatmen to work when they did not want to. A large number of rioters did appear in the courts over the next several days. The editor of the Daily Press used their appearance to lament the passing of flogging. In his view only flogging would properly chastise the Chinese for whom imprisonment was not a deterrent.18
With speed born of fear, the Legislative Council passed an emergency Peace Preservation Ordinance (No. 22 of 1884) on October 9.19 This authorized the collection of arms belonging to the Chinese residents of Hong Kong, and the banishment of those considered to be agitators. For all the reverence which Englishmen displayed for their Anglo-Norman legal system, they never found a contrtdiction in the fact that as colonial administrators they seldom
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