26
emigrant ship Utopia in Gibraltar harbour on the 17th March, 1891, when the Utopia sank with great loss of life. The question of pre- venting such lamentable accidents has engaged the Admiral's attention and the result is the invention of a guard, or mouselière as he calls it, which he has adopted on his own flag. ship and which he maintains should be applied
would have been prevented. which we take from the Paris edition of the New York Herald, explains the invention :-
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
out.
MURDER AND SUICIDE AT SHAUKIWAN,
knew
The cries of
January
three
right up to the 'ricksha. Complainant was not talking to the defendant. Defendant did not appear to be walking away from the complain- ant. I saw a piece of oil cloth torn on de- When I saw the parties fendant's 'ricksha. complainant had not got hold of defendant.
defendant, and he was coming from west, about John Minhinnett, recalled, said--The last witness is the police constable who arrested
twenty feet away, when I saw him. Defendant went towards the monument with the ricksha on leaving the lane. I had held of defendant and met the police constable, who, was "doubling was bringing him back to the Central when I
what was the matter. He did Complainant told me to take defend station. I was going east and défe Soon after nine o'clock on Thursday night coming towards me. Complainant wa an Indian policeman named Sunt Singh, No. yards behind the 'ricksha, and was w
a ricksha or the complainant -- 545, murdered a young Chinaman at Shankiwan did not see
come out of the lane. The position of the Station and afterwards blew his own brains to all vessels, merchautmen as well as men-of-
The murderer has been in the Police parties led me to suppose that the ricksha
was coming from Wanchai. Force about eleven years and for some time
Complainant ap war, having straight stems or rams, and even on fiddle head bows it would be an advantage. past has been very friendly with the China-peared to have been drinking. He was walking
steadily.
Policeman" came Had the Craithie had such a guard on when
man, whose name is Pau Koo Loi, the son she struck the Elbe the sinking of the latter of the keeper of a tea house at Shaukiwan. from Queen's Road, near the City Hall. At and the lamentable loss of life that occurred How the quarrel which culminated in the Whilst in the lane I saw no 'rickshs. I ran that time I was about in the middle of the lane. The following, tragedy arose is not known, as no one
The that they were anything but friendly. murder took place in the stables of the station and the first to raise an alarm was a Chinaman who heard a rifle shot. He rushed to the stables and saw Pau lying on the floor bleeding, and his coat was in flames. The injured man removed with all possible speed to the hospital, said "Sunt Singh shot me," and he was then
but he died before he got there. Inspector Hall and a European constable were in the station and when informed of the tragedy they at once hurried round to find the murderer. While searching for him they heard a couple of rifle shots and proceeding to the Indians bath room they found him lying on the floor He had put a bullet through his head. When the Chinaman was murdered he must have been very close to the Indian, as the firing of the shot ignited his jacket and most of it was burnt. The bullet ente ed his left side. penetrated his back, pierced a clear hole through the window, and at length lodged itself in the I store room of the station. The murderer cer- In the case of the latter. Admiral Makarofftainly premeditated his crime as he took down conceived various ideas, but the result of his experiments showed that the more simple method of fitting the ram with a guard or hood made of heavy rope and matting, was the most practical and effective.
Malta, 10th April. The Russian warship Vladimir Montmach has lately been fitted with a Makaroff ram- guard for her passage through the Suez Canal.
This action was taken in view of a previous collision there between another warship and a merchant vessel, which latter was sunk. I ae. cordingly took the opportunity on the recent calling at this port of Rear-Admiral Makaroff, commanding the Russian squadron in the Mediterranean, for the purpose of docking his flagship, the Imperator Nikolai I., prior to his sailing for the Pacific, to interview him in connection with his ran-guard.
FOR MINIMIZING COLLISIONS,
Admiral Makaroff very courteously explained to me the details of his ram-guard. He said he
had devoted some of his leisure hours to the study of minimizing the result of collisions at sea, especially those in time of peace between warships having a ram.
In order to test his plan. Adiniral Makaroff prepared two models, one of a ship with a ram. and the other of a section of a ship's side. Both models were floated in a tauk, the one with the ram being put in motion by means of a rope having a weight attached, to give a uniform speed. The experiments were carried out with the ram-guard on and with the bare ram.
While the guard was on the impact of the ram could not more than indent the side of the ship supposed to have been struck, but, when the guard was removed the ram actually pierced the other vessel.
Such results having convinced Admiral Maka. roff of the effectiveness of Lis method, he decided to provide all the ships of his squadron with the ram-guards described.
Admiral Makaroff does not claim to have arrived at the absolute means of preventing the dangers of collisions at sea, and he said he would be glad if others would elaborate on his or other methods to reach the desired goal. He himself pointed out some of the shortcomings to which his present ram-guard is liable, such as the loss of speed, however small, to a vessel fitted with a rope guard, on account of the larger surface presented, or to the guard getting unshipped from any cause whatsoever.
AN IMPROVED GUARD,
¡ dead.
|
his own rifle, but as he could not find any cart ridges of his own he took some out of another man's pouch which was hanging up in a room. An inquiry will of course be held. The mar- dered man was to have appeared at the Police throwing stones into his house. The case was Court on the 3rd inst. to prosecute a coulie for called on in the ordinary way, when Inspector Hall said Your Worship, the prosecutor in the was murdered last night." The coolie was accordingly discharged.
case
++
A EUROPEAẬN FINED FOR GIVING FALSE EVIDENCE,
At the Magistracy on the 3rd inst., before Mr. T. Sercombe Smith, Chau Ching, a ricksha coolie, was charged with assaulting John Minhinnett, overseer in the 'ublic Works Department. At the conclusion of the case the complainant him- self was put on the charge sheet and fined $50 coolie was discharged. for wilfully giving false evidence, while the
John Minhinnett said ---I am an overseer of the Praya Reclamation Works. On the 2nd inst. at 8.45 p.m. I got into a 'ricksha opposite the New Victoria Hotel., Defendant was the driver. I told him to take me home to 3. Arsenal Street. When I got into the 'ricksha defendant took me down a side street near the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank on the east side. He dropped the ricksha and turned round, having left the shafts. He did not leave the shafts, but turned round in the shafts. He came up to me and put both hands into my waistcoat pockets. I got out of the ricksha then. Defendant picked up the shafts and made away shouting Policeman." I went after hini and arrested His plan is to case the vessel's ram with a de-hin ontside the monument in front of the City tachable metallic guard built in sections, sach section--which would be filled with cork or other material-to be of thinner strel as the point is reached. The result of the impact of a ram so protected should be that the guard would flatten itself against the sides of the vessel collided with, which, instead of being ripped open and sunk before anything could be done to save her, would probably not be more than indented.
He is at present devising another guard that would not be subject to any of the inconveniences mentioned, but which would afford as good protection in the event of collison.
The subject merits attention, and from the results of the rope guard experiments it can safely be presumed that had the Camperdown been fitted with such a guard we would not have had to deplore the dire calamity which befel H.M.8. Victoria off the Syrian coast.
The Japan Gazette understands that the Edgar has been ordered to sea to search for the missing Bonnington.
Hall. I was too surprised to seize him at first. My overcoat and under coat were not buttoned. i was perfectly sober. I brought the defendant to the station with the assistance of a police constable. I did not lose sight of the 'ricksha. I was taken not more than ten feet down the lane, which is pretty well lit. I had not touched the man. Nothing was taken from me; there was nothing in the pockets into which defendant put his hands. No other ricksha or person was about.
Defendant asked no questions!
17
P.C. Singh said-On the 2nd inst. at 9.5 p.in. I heard someone call out "Policeman four times in Queen's Road Central, near the City Hall. I ran towards where the cries came from. I saw defendant drawing a 'ricksha and walking ahead, followed by the last witness, in Queen's Road Central. I asked the defendant
and caught hold of the 'ricksha to stop him. "p The police constable was not in the lane when I
was there. It was not two minutes between
the time I was assaulted and the time I saw the policeman. Had the policeman been in the lane he must have seen the assault.
P.S. Hannah said-I was in the charge room when Mr. Minhinnett brought defendant up last night. Complainant was not drunk, but had been drinking. He complained of an assault with intent to rob.
Defendant said-Complainant engaged my ricksha near New Victoria Hotel. Op approach- ing the bank he told me
to go faster.
went as fast as I could. On approaching the City Hall he stopped my 'ricksha, got out of it, kicked me, and tore my oil cloth. I stood and told him to stop I called for the police. I told the policeman I was half killed. Complainant paid me no fare! I did not go down the
lang at all.
His Worship discharged the defendant and fined Minhinnett $50 for wilfully giving false testimony.
!
DISORDERLY CONDUCT ÎN THE CHARGE ROOM,
}
THE VOLUNTEER. AND ANOTHER MAN'S RIFLE,
At the Magistracy on the 31st Dec, before, Mr. T. Sercombe Smith, Thomas Mcek, of Queen's Road Central, was summoned for behaving in a noisy and disorderly manner in the charge room of the Central Police Station, whereby a breach of the peace might have been occasioned.
Defendant pleaded not guilty. Inspector Kemp said—About 8.10 a.m. on the 26th instant I was on duty in the charge room of the Central Police Station. Defendant called there and asked me for the return of a rifle which he left there on the previous day. I told him I could not return the rifle until the case against Mr. Alves had been decided. The rifle was standing in a recess of a door about eight feet away, and defendant could see it. He stepped up, took possession of it, and said. “I would like to have it because I want it to-day to go on a shooting expedition." I told him to put the rifle back. He said "I want the rifle, and if I can't get it I want someone to take it from me." I took the rifle from him. He offered no resistance and left the charge room. The case referred to about Mr. Alves was dis posed of by your Worship on Saturday
This was the evidence for the prosecu Defendantisaid-The substance of the tor's evidence is correct. The reason I pressed the point was that on the first day I laid the rifle down it was taken from behind me. spoke feelingly and firmly to the Inspector F admit I was a bit incensed at the time.
His Worship Why you should have been I do not know!
Defendant-I am a Volunteer and have a per fost right to carry a rifle.
His Worship-Yes, but this was not rifle; you took it from Mr. Alves in the because he had not a licenos.
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