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Q-Do you ever take a prisoner's word that he has been an opium smoker?
A-No, unless I have reason to suspect that he is an opium smoker.
Q-Can you state whether the majority of the prisoners who have been flogged for refusing to do hard labour consists of opium smokers?
A-No.
Q-Can you tell me whether that is so or not?
A-They do not appear to me to be hard smokers.
Q-My question was this. Are the majority of prisoners who refuse to do hard labour opium smokers?
A-I cannot say.
Q-Do you consider that the opium smoker is a fit subject for low diet?
A-Yes, for the first few days. A man is depressed and cannot eat for the first few days.
Q-Is he a fit subject for hard labour?
A-If he is a heavy smoker, certainly not.
Q-Is he a fit subject for corporal punishment ?
A-Yes; I should say six strokes.
Q-Do you remember ever having sanctioned the whipping of a man with six strokes who was an opium smoker ?
A-Yes.
Q-But that, I suppose, has been after careful inquiry?
A-Yes.
Q--But you say as a rule you would not order a whipping beyond six strokes for an opium smoker?
A-If I have reason to believe he is an opium smoker. The majority of men will give you that excuse for not being flogged.
Q-If you have formed an opinion that a man has been an inveterate smoker-
A-I would not put him on hard labour.
Q--And you would not allow him to suffer corporal punishment beyond six strokes?
A--No.
Q--Can you suggest any efficient substitute for flogging?
A--No. You cannot abolish flogging.
Q--Have you ever formed an opinion as to why Chinese in Gaol refuse to work ?
A-Yes, because they find the work very hard and the diet very poor.
Q-What is your opinion of the relative physical sensitiveness of a Chinaman compared with a European?
A--I believe a European is more sensitive than a Chinaman.
Q-Physically?
A-Yes.
Q-Nervously?
A-Yes.
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