September 24, 1898. |
$3
Prisoner then said, "I'll beat you, you old wo- man.' She then ran into the kitchen and came back with a piece of firewood in the fight hand and a chopper in the left hand. The firewood was about three feet long and there Was a knot at one end. There was a light coming in from outside through the win. dow, but the lamp at the top of the stairs
was
not lighted. When prisoner came out of the kitchen with the chopper and the fire-wood deceased was standing close to the landing of the staircase. The boy was still lying on the bed in the cubicle. She did not see any wound inflicted either with the chopper or the fire-wood. She only saw blood coming from her mother's head. Immediately afterwards her mother rolled downstairs.
The mother of the husband having given evidence,
Dr. Carter Bell, assistant superintendent at the Government Civil Hospital, said de- ceased was admitted to the hospital at apout a quarter to 11 on the night of the 5th inst. She had a scalp wound on the right side of the head an inch and a half long and going down to the boue. It was a clean cut. The hemorrhage had stopped. The woman had also a bruise on the centre of the head. On the 7th she got worse, and died on the ninth inst. He subsequently made a post mortem examination. On the right side of the head was the scalp wound he had already des. cribed. There was an effusion of blood over the right upper eye-lid. This would be caused by hemorrhage on the surface of the brain, and this was the cause of death. This blood on the surface of the brain was caused by the scalp wound. The wound might have been caused by a piece of fire-wood. It was possible it might have been caused by a fall downstairs, but be should say the firewood would be much more likely to have caused it.
Sergeant Scott said that at about half-past nine on the evening of the 5th inst. he was on duty at No. 7 Police Station when the coucu- bine came to the Police Station, and in conso quence of what she said, be accompanied her to Third Street, taking two lukons with him. From here they went to Hwong Fung lane, where they found deceased in a dazed condition with a wound on the right side of her head, He subsequently sent her to the hospital.
Wong Fang Wi, interpreter at No. 7 Police Station, said that when brought into the Police Station, prisoner said, "I did not strike her; her daughter pushed her downstairs."
Prisoner, when asked if she had anything to say, said-My mother-in-law used to go to the house in Kwong Fang Lane to take her meals. On the fifth September, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, my mother-in-law went to this house us usual to take her meals. The concu- bine and the boy were not at home just then. but she got home before my mother-in-law left with the child at about five o'clock. Shortly afterwards deceased and the boy's mother came to Third Street. The mother under the influence of drink and
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Was
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
20th September.
IN SUMMARY JUrisdiction.
BEFORE MR. JUSTICE WISE (PUISNE JUDGE.)
LEUNG FUK V. HUNG AN SHI
YUK SHUI,
AND WONG
In this case Mr. Hastings appeared for plain. tiff and Mr. Grist for second defendant. First defendant had not been served. The claim was for $600, damages occasioned by a collision be tween plaintiff's cargo boat and defendants' steam launch Kam Kai in the harbour on the 17th August. Defendant had paid into court 8320, but objected to judgment.
His Lordship said he could not give judg. ment for $320, adding that judgment could be entered for plaintiff against second defendant with costs from the date second defendant was made a party in the suit, and the amount of damages could be referred to the Registrar.
Mr. Hastings said he could not accept that. His Lordship-You cannot accept anything else.
Mr. Hastings submitted that the wrong doer was the launch belonging to defendant, and the principal expense was that occasioned by the detention of the launch, which it was believed purposed going to Amoy out of British territory. Second defendant came down from Amoy after the seizure and instructed Messrs. Wilkinson and Grist to act for him. He (Mr. Hastings) asked for costs from the beginning, because whether it was necessary for defendant to appear or not it was for plaintiff.
His Lordship asked Mr. Grist what were the items he objected to.
Mr. Grist said that in one case instead of $268 the amount should be $68.28, which was a very considerable reduction. It was so all the way through. Every single item would bare to be gone into, and there would be a great deal of evidence called.
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His Lordship-I cannot take it now. Mr. Grist said that in regard to the question of costs if it had been an Admiralty suit it would have been a different thing. The action would have been against the wrong-doer, which was the launch. But there was no action against the launch. It was impossible for a man to get judgment for costs incurred previons to the other mau being made defendant. Had he been made defondant ut once it would not have been necessary to have incurred the expense, as he would have found security at once, and the launch would have been released. It would be unjust to make second defendant pay costs. incurred prior to the time he was made defend ant.
His Lordship-The best plan will be to give judgment against you, reserving the question of costs until I get the report of the Registrar as to the damages.
HONGKONG SANITARY BOARD.
May, Captain Snperintendent of Police), there being also present: Hou. R. D. Ormsby (Direc. tor of Iublic Works), Mr. J. Dyer Ball (Acting Registrar-General), Mr. E. Osborne, and Dr. F. W. Clark (Medical Officer of Health and Acting Secretary).
created a disturbance in the house. She On Thursday afternoon a meeting of the Hong. wanted to know where the child was. I replied, kong Sanitary Board was held under the chair The boy is seleep; let him sleep here." De-manship of the Vice-President (Hon. F. H. ceased said, "No, I must take the boy." I said, 'It makes no difference whether the boy sleeps in my place or in yours." She said she intended to take away the boy. I said, "You cannot take away the boy. The boy is the son of my husband.' Deceased persisted in taking the boy away, and pushed me. I pushed her back. Then deceased took up a piece of fire- wood and struck me with it. The concubine tried to get her mother away and the mother fell downstairs herself.
His Lordship having summed up, The jury retired to consider their verdict. On their return, after an absence of about ten minutes, Mr. Aitken (the foreman) said they found prisoner guilty of the offence of man- slanghter, adding as a rider, We think she did not do it willingly but in the heat of the moment, and we recommend that prisoner be dealt with as leniently as possible."
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His Lordship said he gave full effect to the recommendation of the jury that prisoner should be leniently dealt with, as he believed she struck deceased in the heat of the moment. However, the least sentence he could pass upon her was one of 12 months* hard;labour.
THE REGULATION OF CEMETERIES.
sanitary maintenance of cemeteries were sub- The amended bye-laws for the regulation aud
mitted.
Mr. USBORNE asked if the Medical Officer of
Health would explain why some of the bye-laws
had been amended and new ones added. It would assist them to arrive at a proper conclu- sion as to whether they were necessary or not. He thought it was also due to the public that they should know whether they were necessary
or not.
251
in the cemetery belonging to his creed in Happy Valley and on arrival at the grave, which was closely surrounded by many others, it was found that the coffin could not be properly lowered. On further excavating to make room for it other coffins were laid bare and one-that of an infant-had to be taken out and replaced on the top of Row's coffin. When finally lowered in the grave I do not think the corpse could have been two feet below the surface." That letter appeared in the press. He might say that while there was a bye-law saying that bodies must be interred at a certain depth, unless there was some representative of the Board present to see that that was done these breaches of the law would occur and the Board could take no action. For that reason the Colonial Secretary referred the matter to himself and the President of the Board with the view to their making better provision for the control of cemeteries other than the Protestant cemeteries at Happy Valley, where there was an officer of the Public Works Department. But there was practically no con- trol over the other cemeteries, and with the view to providing that control these amended bye-laws had been submitted to the Board,
The VICE-PRESIDENT-The fact is that the bye-laws were there, but there was no one to see that they were enforced.
Dr. CLARK-Bye-law one is very necessary from the fact that practically no officer of the Board had any right of entry to these cemeteries. The VICE-PRESIDENT-On the last occasion the consideration of the amended bye-laws was postponed on the suggestion of the Acting Principal Civil Medical Officer, who promised to submit a draft bye-law as to the length of time after interment & corpse might be ex- huned, but he has not done so. I do not know whether members wish to go on now with the consideration of the bye-laws as they stand. At the last meeting there seemed to be some feel- ing that the Board should be bound down to a fixed limit of time.
Mr. DYER BALL-I seconded Dr. Lowson's resolution, but I simply desired that we should have a little more time to consider the bye-laws, I have no further objection in any way.
Mr. OSBORNE said he had carefully gone through the bye-laws and the correspondence which led up to them, and when he came into that room he was of opinion that Nos. 8 and 9 were unnecessary. However, after the explanation of the Medical Officer of Heath he withdrew his objection. It seemed to him
as regarded No. 8 that it would be giving the Chiness a great deal of unnecessary trouble to require them to ask the permission of the Medical Officer of Health to disinter, but be understood now that they had been doing this all along and that they had no objection to it. In regard to No. 9 he thought it was un- necessary to worry people in charge of funeral arrangements by obliging them to give two hours' notice to the Sanitary Board's official of their intention to inter; but the Medical Officer of Health had pointed out that these bye-laws as they existed were useless inasmuch as there could be no one present to enforce them. The only point which occurred to him was that it should be made a little more definite where the public were to give this notice and to whom, because in this colony burials took place so very quickly after death that the Sanitary Board's offices might be closed the whole of the time between the death and the time
of burial. For instance if a death took place on Saturday the burial would take place on the Sunday.
an official
Dr. CLARK-The Board have resident down at Happy Valley.
Mr. OSBORNE-And notice can be left there ? Dr. CLARK-It is intended it should be.
The undertaker will know where to give notice. 1 beg to move that the bye-laws made by the Board for the regulation and sanitary maintenance of cemeteries on August 6th, 1891, be repealed.
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The Hon. R. D. ORMSBY seconded and the motion was carried.
The amended bye-laws were then gone through seriatim and adopted.
THE REGULATION OF COMMON LODGING HOUSES.
Dr. CLARK said the question of the cemetery bye-laws was raised in consequence of a letter received by the Colonial Secretary from the Secretary to the Commodore complaining that according to a report made by P. C. Row, of the R. N. Yard Police, certain irregulari-half of the Kwong Yuen shop, No. 294, Queen's ties were observed at an interment. Row said: Road Central, for registration of their premises
The man being a Roman Catholic was buried as a lodging-house, adding :-
Messes. Deacon and Hastings applied on be
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