October 21, 1897.1
up theirs. This was neither according to foreign methods, nor was it in accordance with Chinese practice, which does not recognise This course summing up at all on either side. of procedure was defended by the defendants' counsel on the ground that it was unfair that the plaintiffs should have both the first aud last word. It has been left for the defendants' counsel in this case to discover an unfairness in the procedure of every civilised country in the world, and as it is the universal practice. I think it may be concluded with some certainty that it is not unfair, But whether it is fair or unfair, it is the only reasonable course from the nature of the case. The defendants' counsel in | his opening left many of the points of his case to be argued in his summing-up; no one com. plains of this. It is inevitable; but the plain- tiffs' answering, and this by the procedure adopted by the Court, he never will bare. But as this was an exceptional Court, its procedure in this particular again cannot be adduced as a precedent.
There is another point, somewhat personal, to which I feel bound to allude. During the course of the case, the defendants' counsel made remarks and addressed me in a manuer which everybody acquainted with the ordinary rules of courtesy in courts must have felt to be unseemly; and this was done without one word of remonstrance from the presiding judge. Had such remarks been made to a Chinese magistrate sitting on the bench with me I should have insisted on an apology and should have known how to enforce it.
I desire to add that so far as Mr. Ts'ai himself is concerned I have experienced the greatest I make every courtesy and consideration. allowance for the position in which he was placed, in conducting an important case in a novel and unfamiliar manner, and I quite see that his posi- tion was a very difficult oue.
It was an unfortunate decision which was arrived at that no discussions in private should take place between Mr. Ts'ai and myself; but for it, much which I have been obliged to say would have been unnecessary and the divergence of our views upon the case itself might well have been less pronounced. Had we consulted in private as the case went on he would have been able to give me information of the light in which he looked at the Chinese evidence which, coming from him, might have induced me to consider it in a different manner; on the other hand, I might have given him information from my experience of foreign witnesses, which might have been of use to him in judging of their credibility. As it is our minds have probably travelled along perfectly distinct planes of thought; and it is not to be wondered at that a 'joint" enquiry, carried out in such a manner has resulted in a decision which I am unable to say is a just one and, I fear, cannot be called an amicable arrangement.
66
I now come to the judgment arrived at by Mr. Ts'ai, a copy of which was handed to the Acting Consul-General for Great Britain on the 11th September. As I do not imagine that it is possible, by any arguments bich I may use, to convince Mr. Ts'ai that he is wrong-and the judgment having been delivered, it would be useless even if I did so--I do not propose to enter into any lengthened statement of the reasons for my protest. It will be sufficient for me to say that so much of the judgment as relates to the detention of the vessels is contrary to the Treaty. When the defendants stopped the steamers, either they had a complaint | against the plaintiffs, or they had not. If they had no complaint against the plaintiffs they had no justification or excuse for stopping the steamers. If they had a complaint against the plaintiffs, the Treaty says that they should proceed to the Consul, and it is now settled that, if the Consul cannot arrange the dispute, it must be decided by the Supreme Coprt. The defendants did not proceed to the Consul, but took the law into their own hands and thus acted illegally. Much of the remainder of the judgment is unsupported by evidence; it ap- pears to be founded upon the statement of counsel rather than upon the evidence laid before the Court. I think it is my duty, however, to refer to one portion of the case more fully.
As allegation was made in the answer of the defendants that the plaintiffs had wilfully caused the breakdown of the Woning. This
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
315
reported the case to the Sub-Prefect, who at once proceeded to Canton to bring an action against the Commandant, who has been dismissed from office.
allegation was at the trial unsupported by any It is true that evidence worthy of the name. one witness insinuated that Mr. Herzberg, the chief engineer, had caused the breakdown, but
The charitable institutions have received let- upon the question being plainly put to him, he had not the courage to maintain this charge ters from Hoihow asking them to raise subscrip. nor the honesty to withdraw it. I think it my tions to aid the sufferers from the late flood and duty to say that, to anyone accustomed to hear typhoon. A few days ago the Kwong-yun Hos- and observe witnesses, this man's evidence waspital sent oue thousand dollars to the district.
On the 26th ultimo four robbers were caught unworthy of credence, and on the other hand, Mr. Herzberg was plainly the witness of truth. in the district of Ho-un. in Wai-chow prefecture, I do not for one moment believe the insinuation where a procession was taking place. The rob- against Mr. Herzberg, and I think that he gavebers were caught in a very jeurious way, as they his evidence throughout in a most bonest and had all hidden themselves in the oil-barrels Danner. The allegation belonging to an oil shop. They were sent to the straightforward against Messrs. Bennertz & Co. ought never to local Magistrate, who sentenced them to death have been made, and the Court ought to have by strangulation. The friends and relatives of the robbers, thinking that it was not right to said so in its judgment,
sentence them to death for such light crimes as those committed by them, gathered a large number of people to set fire to the oil shop, which, together with a number of neighbouring shops, was burnt to the ground.
think I ought also to say that, in my opinion, the evidence did not show any frand on the part of the plaintiffs. Their claims rested upon a construction of the charter-parties, which the Court has held to be wrong, but even if it is, neither the construction nor the claims founded upon it can properly be said to be frandulent.
I do not know whether Mr. Ts'ai's statement at the end, that the four steamers should be speedily handed back to the defendants is in- tended for an order, but if it is, I must be allowed to point out that he had no jurisdiction to make it,
Finally I would point out that Mr.Ts'ai an- nounced at the conclusion of the hearing that bis judgment would be delivered in open court after due notice. This was not done, and upon all the foregoing grounds and others, I hereby formally protest against the judgment of Mr. Ts'ai dated the 11th day of September, 1897.
(Signed) NICHOLAS HANNEN, H.B.M.'s Consul-General. (Forwarded to T'sai Taotai on the 5th October, 1897.)
GREAT EARTHQUAKE IN THE PHILIPPINES.
ex-
Manila papers contain reports of a great which occurred on seismic disturbance the 21st September along the west coast of Mindanao and, in the Sulu Sea, which is considered to have equalled in violence the great earthquakes experienced at Manila in 1863 and 1880. A letter from Zamboanga to the Comercio states that at 3.20 a.m. on the 21st an oscillation of marked intensity was
3 a minute and balf. perienced lasting The inhabitants at once rushed out of their houses and congregated in the streets. Smaller shocks were experienced at intervals until 1.30 p.m., when one of extreme violence took place which brought most of the houses down, the various public buildings being amongst those destroyed. At the same time a tidal wave occurred, after which the water for some time rose and fell in rapid succession. From some of the villages along the coast a large loss of life is reported and there was consider able destruction of property at all of them. Private letters published in the Comercio give graphic descriptions of the harrowing ex- periences through which the writers passed.
CANTON NOTES.
[FROM THE
'CHUNG NGOL SAN PO."] The late Commandant of Kinchow, named Mo Mam-tsoi, is now awaiting trial in Canton, under the following circumstances. Some time ago some telegraph posts were lost in Kinchow of the telegraph office were and runners
The sent to make enquiries into the case. runners arrested in a village a hawker selling jelly_and dragged him to the yamen of the Sub-Prefect, prosecuting him for stealing the posts. The Sub-Prefect, seeing that the hawker was innocent, discharged him. The runners then told the jelly hawker that they had spent as much as twelve taels in executing their to repay them that errand and asked him
but the hawker refused to pay sam, anything, The runners then devised another plan to recover their expenses and went to tell the Commandant that they had discovered the lost posts in the jelly-bawker's village. The Commandant then sent a number of soldiers to surround the village, and when they arrived there they robbed all the houses. The villagers
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A large bumber of soldiers were sent by the. gunboat Kwang-Lee to Shinhing to be dis- banded a few days ago, by the order of the Viceroy, who received instructions from the Peking Government.
As rice, oil, and firewood are so dear, the the Nam-hoi weavers sent applications to Magistrate asking him to abolish the likin taxes on the said articles. The Magistrate replied that he will consult with the Viceroy and the Governor. The prices of the articles in question are double those charged before the time of the China-Japan war
On the 5th instant two men delivered a letter to an oil shop in Fa-un district demanding fire hundred dollars and threatening that if the demand was not complied with the shop would be burnt. The letter was signed by the chief robber, named Tong. When they had də. livered the letter the two men went to another shop to snatch some money from the counter. The shop people at once, gave chuse and shot one of them dead. The people in that place are now very frightened that the robbers will come to plunder them. All business is at a standstill and all the shops are closed. The junks have also stopped running between Can- ton and Fa-un.
The gunboat Fou Wo arrived at Canton from a few days ago. The rice was to be sale at Wuhu with a cargo of fifty thousand bags of rice delivered to the rice-merchants for low prices.
HONGKONG.
The encampment of the Hongkong Volunteer Corps concluded last Monday after a most in- structive week. The men worked hard, splendid discipline was maintained, and the health of all was always good. The English mail steamer Kaisar-i-Hind was caught in a most severe storm on her way up from Singapore and she presented an extraordinary appearance as she steamed into the harbour last Sunday morning. All her boats were carried away and most of the deck fittings were blown or swept overboard. The official inquiry into the loss of the British steamer Namóa was held on Tuesday and yes- terday. The Captain's certificate was not dealt with. The shareholders in the Union Insurance Society, 'Limited, met on the 13th inst. and the shareholders in the Canton Insurance Society, Limited, met last Monday,
There were 2,252 visitors to the City Hall Museum last week, of whom 191 were Europeans. Competitive designs for the Victoria Hospital for Women and Children and the Victoria Nursing Institute are invited by the Jubilee Com- mittee.
A coolie employed at the Taikoo Sugar Re- finery was killed on 12th October through his queue catching in a spindle, by which he was drawn into the machinery.
́H.M.S. Centurion, Commander Login, ar- rived at Nagasaki on the 13th October from Port Hamilton. She was to remain a fortnight in port, and then proceed to Hongkong.
A correspondent sends ns the following joke- We have been informed on good authority let :- that there will be the usual daily meeting of brokers, etc., at the bar at Il a.m. The question before the meeting is a proposal to apply to the authorities for permission to use the name
Royal Cocktail Club.”
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