Sessional_Paper_1896 — Page 901

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who brought the deceased to Hospital spoke a strange dialect. No paper was given with deceased, who was carried to Hospital on the other man's back. He also understood the bearer to say that deceased came from on board ship. There are a few people who regularly carry patients from the emigration houses as they say. That is all the proof he had of their coming from a barracoon. He had only received three tickets from the emigration houses, although he had had, perhaps, eleven patients from those houses. He had been paid for all the eleven patients. Some of these were paid for at one time, some at another, but he could not recollect if the deceased was paid for or not. Some- times he got a dollar or two, but for which coolie he could not say. He had received from Mr. CALDWELL $10.40 altogether. When a man died in the Hospital he reported it to Mr. CALDWELL, and was paid. He went to report deceased, but A-kow, who did all business between himself and Mr. CALDWELL, was out having gone on board ship, but another man in Mr. CALDWELL'S house said to him that he could take $2 from what Mr. CALDWELL had advanced and bury the man. He rendered no account to Mr. CALDWELL, who had every confidence in him.

Mr. CALDWELL here said that he had known witness many years and had every confidence in him. There was no regular account between them. Whenever the wit- ness came to the house to report anything he was paid a dollar or two.

The Coroner said that Mr. CALDWELL having mentioned yesterday (Friday) that he saw the worst points in the coolie system, and would mend them, he was quite satisfied.

Examination continued-Some three men had returned to the barracoons from the Hospital. Touching the deceased he said that when he came to Hospital he complained of a pain in his side, but being a Chinchew man he could understand nothing further. The deceased was put in a room, but did not have a doctor. The man who brought him to the Hospital used to come with medicine until the ship sailed, and then no more was brought by that man. After that another man came and looked at him, and on being asked said that the first man (bearer) had gone away in the ship. He (wit- ness) then supplied deceased with congee and ten. If it happened that any morning deceased's friend did not come, he supplied him with tea and congee when he (deceased) required it. Deceased's friend used to come and look at him two or three times a day. The second man came twice, but he had not come up to Court to-day.

A man was here brought in, but witness said he was not the second man who had been to see deceased.

Further examined-It was four or five days since he had seen the second man, and since that time the deceased had been dependent on the people in the "I-Ts'z" for every attention. He had not given deceased any medicine or sent for a doctor, but a person from the emigration house came frequently to see deceased.

(The witness being an old man and seeming nervous was desired by the Coroner to sit down which he did with a long sigh saying-" Oh what a deal of business there is.")

The Coroner desired the old fellow to be told, the reason why there was a deal of business was on account of Englishmen setting more value on life than Chinese.

The witness was pressed very much to tell why, if the deceased was under his care for the last four or five days that he was allowed to become so filthy.

Witness said that the deceased could not drink tea, so it was not considered worth while to take any trouble with him. He got his living by looking after the temple, and selling joss-paper, sticking plaster, &c. He also depended on charity. It was his duty to clean the temple, boil tea, &c.

The Coroner said the system seemed to be that if a man could. drink tea, he got it, if not, no more trouble was taken with him.