September, 22 1900.]
steamers are likewise forbidden to do." Sir Robert Hart to (Mr. Bax Ironside, 12th May, 1899).
·Cargo shipped - - is to
pay such duties as the Customs decide to be leviable." (Inland Regulations.)
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Sir Claude Macdonald erased the words decide to be leviable and substituted "are entitled to levy under treaty." (Blue Book, No. 1, 1899, p. 177).
"I am instructing Her Majesty's Consul on the West River to watch the matter and to protest against any differential treatment." (Mr. Bax Ironside to Lord Salisbury. July 6th. 1899).
your
"I approve action in the matter." (Lord Salisbury fo Mr. Bax Ironside).
t-t
like foreign steamers." (Consul Hoisie, Wu- chow trade report, 1898).
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
223
His Lordship-When I said face value I meant market value.
The Attorney-General.-The face value of 100 $50 shares would be $5,000, but the mar- ket value would be between $7,000 and $8,000.
His Lordship (to the prisoner)-Do you wish to say anything to me'in regard to the sentence i to be passed on you? I will hear you.
The Prisoner No; I have nothing to say. His Lordship-You don't wish to say any- thing.
The Prisoner-No.
His Lordship-Mr. Attorney-General, what character does Mr. Osborne give him apart from this matter P
The Attorney-General-I understand that up to the commission of this offence in 1898 he had rendered good and faithful service to the company for eight years, and that the company found him to be a good servant and an intelli- gent one His intelligence was clearly exhibited in this case.
of these documents. Although the matter would be found out eventually, still he might reasonably expect that it would not be found out for some months. Of course in order to complete this forgery he must be familiar with the mode in which these certificates were filled up and must "British steamers first procure blank forms. He seemed to have now prevented got access to the book of blank forms of certifi- from carrying cates of shares and to have torn a blank form passengers to and from out of the latter part of the book-in a part Dosing and other which it would take a year or so to reach. Ho large passenger then proceeded to fill it up. which he had no stations not ports of right to do, because that was the duty of another call. Chinese steamers clerk. He then forged the signature or initials are nominally on the of the examining clerk, and then he forged Mr. same footing, actually Osborne's signature. He did this exceedingly they are not, as cleverly. Ho understood he had been in the experience has already employ of the company for ten years, and con- proved
The sequently he had abundant opportunities of prohibition, operates getting specimens of Mr. Osborne's signature, to the d'sadvantage had he been so inclined. He made a very of the British | ingenions copy of Mr. Oshorne's signature, steamers
and which was not exactly an easy one to copy. His Lordship, addressing the prisoner, said— differential treatment He then took it to two directors for signa-You have pleaded guilty to a very serious offence. is thus established.” fure. These gentlemen, seeing the signature There are five different ways of dealing with the (Consul Fox to Mr. of the examining clerk and also that of Mr. offence which is charged against you, and in Bax Ironside, June Osborne, also signed it, thinking all was right. respect to one at any rate of these ways you are 9th, 1899).
He also forged a blank transfer. This was a
hable to le sent to imprisonment for life with very clumsy forgery. He had no specimen of hard labour. Of course. I do not propose to go Dr. Divers signature to go by, and therefore to that extout, or anything like that extent; he had to draw upon his imagination. Thi but it seems to me that wher persons are em- signat tre won] we given the prisoner away ployed in positions of trust and abuse that trust entirely, had thase been tried. The signatur-in the very serious way that you have done the was a very bad itation; it was not at all lik
court is bound to pass a severe sentence. You Dr. Divers. Aed with these two document-
see you committed here a forgery of documents he went to endeavour to procure an advance dealing with large sums of money. Therefore money upon the He went to the compradore persons like you who go into the evil course of of the Dominican Mission. who expressed his gambling and resort to acts of that kind must willingness to lend him-S6,000 on the strength be shown that they cannot do so without risking of the security of these documents and a pro- very severe punishment. I take into considera- missary note. but like a prudent man hetion what the Attorney-General has said No protest has been thought better to go to his solicitor in the first in regard to your services, and also I take into consideration your having shown throughout these proceedings that you apparently were sorry for what you had done. So far as you could yon have expressed your contrition, and the At court ways makes full allowance for that. the same time I feel I should not be doing my duty if I passed upon you a less sentence than four years' imprisonment with hard labour.
The Chinese ignored
Sir Claude's erasure and the I. M. Customs published the Regulations as originally drufted; namely. "snch duties as the ustoms decide See Supplementary Rules. Blue Book No. 1, 1900, p. 188).
to be leviable"
made.
The final instructions given successively to every British Minister might be summed up in half a dozen words :- "When in doubt consult Sir Robert Hart." (Extract from The Times).
SUPREME COURT.
September, 18th.
CRIMINAL SESSIONS.
BEFORE HIS HONOUR SIR JOHN CARRINGTON, C.M.G. (CHIEF JUSTICE.)
FORGING
DOCUMENTS FOR THE PURPOSE OF
PROCURING MONEY.
There were five counts in the indictment against Ng Chik Yat, alias Ng Kow, alius Antonio Aguino, viz. (1) forgery (2) uttering a counterfeit writing; (3) forging transfer of shares; (4) offering, uttering, disposing of and putting off a forged document of shares; (5) causing to be delivered and paid certain money upon forged instruments with intent to defraud, He pleaded guilty.
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The Attorney-General (the Hon. W. Meigh Goodman, Q.C.) said the prisoner understood English. He pleaded guilty at the Magis. tracy. The facts in this case showed very ingenious fraud.
It seemed that one Dr. Divers became the transferee of 100 shares in the Hongkong and Kowloon Wharf and Godown Company, Limited, as long ago as, September 1st. 1896.
Therefore in 1898, when this forgery was committed, it must have been known to the prisoner that Dr. Divers was the possessor of these shares. It seemed to bare occurred to his mind that if he could forge a certificate of these shares, and then forge a blank transfer he would be able to procure a considerable temporary loan upon the security
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instance and see whether the documents were
all right or not. He accordingly went down to the office of Messrs. Deacon and Hastings, and the documents came before a gentleman not Mr. likely to be easily deceived, Mr. Looker. Look r in carefully examining these documents noticed that the transfer was dated October 18th, whilst the certificat- for shares was datel the 19th, so that the shares were, according to this, transferred before the prisoner got them. That was a serious blot in the title. Mr. Looker naturally informed his client, who throw up the transaction. The prisoner then altered the 18th to 28th. This made the transfer nine days after the certificate of shares, which of course would do very well.
Armed with these documents he ap- proached the compradore of Messrs. Watson and Co., and from that gentleman he succeeded in extracting $6,000 on the security of these documents, together with a promissory note in which he promised to repay the money with interest. Then the discovery was made that it was a fraud, and the man was arrested. was arrested on board a steamer' an taken to the Magistracy, and there he pleaded guilt; – as he had done that day. What he had plè ded guilty to was first the common law mis lea- meanour of forging this certificate, and forging the transfer and uttering it, and then the offence of obtaining this 86,000 by this forged
H
document. The whole thing was that he was
practically charged with forging these docu- ments for the purpose of obtaining money. He had been asked by Mr. Osborne to place be fore his Lordship a few facts with regard to the prisoner. He had been in the employ of the company for ten years; he had pleaded guilty and had not put them to any trouble in the matter; and Mr. Osborne understood that the man had got into difficulties through gambling. He was bound in justice, however, to say that this was not an isolated case. There were other cases besid s this which it had not been thought necessary to bring be
fore the court.
gambling in shares ?
The Attorney-General I am informed that he has been gambling in share, and that he was probably influenced by others more ex- perienced than himself.
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THE MURDEROUS ASSAULT ON A JAPANESE DOCTOR.
Yamanaka Takachi pleaded guilty to the in- dictment charging him with (1) wounding with intent to disfigure aud (2) wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
His Lordship, to the interpreter-Tell him I will hear anything he wishes to say in regard to his sentence, and he can explain to me any reasons why his sentence should not be a heavy
one.
The
The Attorney-General said that perhaps he should make a remark or two to explain the facts to his Lordship. He was afraid they had not got quite to the bottom of this case. prosecutor was a Japanese doctor named Kiomat- su Kakekinchi, who resided at No. 11. Gage Street. He said he came here in August, 1898. He aid the first time he ever saw the prisoner Was on the 19th of August at his rooms, and asked for Some The prisoner came medicine. complaining that something was
the matter with his stomach.
The doctor
He
proceeded to give him some medicine, made it up for him, and placed it on the table, when, apparently without any provocation, the man took out a knife and attacked the doctor and wounded him in a very serious manner. understood that two arteries were severed. Dr. Bell, who attended to the man's injuries, found him suffering from two severe cuts—one on the right side of the head two and a half inches long, and the other on the left arm. They were both clean cuts, and he understood that two arteries were severed, and Dr. Bell promptly applied ligatures. Had this not been done the man might have bled to death.
It was a very
His Lordship -- What kind of gambling-extraordinary case. No explanation was forth- coming. The only thing the prisoner told the Magistrate was that he intended to disfigure the doctor. Why he intended to do this he (the Attorney-General) had not the least idea. Perhaps his Lordship would like to ask the pro- His Lordship - What was the face value of | secutor if he had any idea. He thought at first that the man was not right in his head, but he was not aware of anything of the kind.
His Lordship-Has he boon under observation at the jail?
the 100 shares ?
The Attorney-General-- As your Lordship is aware the shares of the company vary a good
deal.
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