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instructions of Captain Hoare, who also in- structed him to engage a crew. He was to receive $200 per month. He told the defendant that he wanted a crew for the Fat Lee, and he paid him the money for them-$310 for the first advance. His terms were that the defen- dant would find him nine men at 8310 a month to take the boat up to Taku, when the engage- ment would be concluded.
In reply to Mr. Hays, witness said he did not know what arrangements were made by the defendant with the crew. He did not know whether the engineer was told that if the lights did not burn properly he would be dismissed the service Captain Hoare came to see him three or four days before he sailed. He asked him if be would take the Fai Lee to Taku and he said he would. On their arrival at Tongku the quartermasters refused duty-they refused to keep the lights burning- and Captain Wood, the American quartermaster-general, made a clean sweep of the ship. Witness had no fault to find either with the chief or second engi- neer. He (witness) returned to Hongkong because he was sick.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
A PRISON WARDER'S CASE.
THE CASE OF WARDER BEVES.
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[November 17, 1900. splendidly passed over to Leach, who return. od. Russell and his partner were defeated. and Pettigrew sent in a ball that Howard On the 9th inst., before Mr. Hazeland at the just managed to save. He was rushed, how. Magistracy, R. M. Beves, a warder in Victoria ever. and carried the ball outside the twelve Gaol, was again brought up on remand for neg-yards' limit-a mistake that gave the R.A.'s a leoting his duties on the 2nd inst. The charge free kick and practically the gift of a goal, The leather was was made under Sec, 17 of Ordinance No. 7, 1899, Griffiths netting the ball. which reads: Every prison officer who, after centred and passed over to Browne who parted with it to Leo. He carried it past the half. having daly engaged and bound himself to servo As such officer, absents himself from his duties, backs, and with almost a clear goal, failed to or who, upon being dismissed or permitted to score. The leather was again sent into midfield, resign from, or ceasing to belong to, the service and the R. A. forwards gave a good exhibition of the prison, does not deliver up all arms, of what might really be called play. When a man got on the ball, he dribbled as far as cir- accoutrements, appointments, and things en-
cumstances and his opponents permitted. Then, trusted to him for the performance of his duty as such officer, shall be liable to a fine not excned- not hanging on till it was too late, he passed, ing $100, or to imprisonment, with or without and thus darting from man to man-now in hard labour, for any term not exceeding three the centre, now on the wing-the ball was kept the greater part of the time in the club's ter- months, and every such offender shall forfeit all pay during such imprisonment."
ritory. That no points were gained was due in no small measure to Russell and his partner, who workled like Trojans and tackled repeatedly. At half-time the game stood--R. A. I ; Hong- kong 0.
The evidence in support of the charge was that defendant was absent from duty at six a.m. on the 2nd inst. The defendant on the previous evening gave up his clothes and accoutrements, saying to the chief warder on the same day- Some time ago I gave a month's notice to leave. That time is up now, and I am going." The chief wurder replied "Whatever you do you must take the risk of it." The defendant was on probation for three months from 3rd August last, and his appointment as warder had not
In reply to his Lordship, the witness said he was under Captain Wood's authority at Tongku. Captain Wood ordered the men from the ship. Witness had nothing to say in the matter. His engagement was to go up to Taku until the trouble was finished at $200 a month. There was nothing in the agreement about paying his fare back. He returned to Hong-been confirmed." kong because he was sick. Captain Hoare paid him $310 as the first month's advance for the crew, and he handed the money over to the defendant. He was not engaged for a de- finite number of months, nor did he tell the de- fendant to engage the crew for a definite number of months. He did not tell the defendant to pro- mise these men that they would have their fares paid back. There was no arrangement between him and the crew that they would be paid their passage money back to Hongkong.
Before the witness left the box his Lordship told him that he was asked to come there at a quarter-past two and he did not appear till a quarter to three. This was rather a serious matter. He had really been guilty of contempt of court. He kept the Court waiting for ten minutes. He must not let it occur again. A quarter-past two was a quarter-past two in that
court.
Witness--I came here as fast I could. Mr. Bratton, in summing up for the defence, submitted that the only arrangement made by the defendant with the plaintiff was that he was to be engaged to take the boat up to Taku for $70 a month. There was no writing whatever to show what arrangement was made with the crew, but it had come out that Captain Hoare was the man who engaged Captain Cannon and that the latter engaged the defendant to gat a number of coolies. It came to this that the defendant was merely the agent of Captain Hoare, and that the claim should not have been brought against the defendant but against Captain Hoare.
Mr. Hays also addressed the court,
His Lordship observed that this was a case which illustrated the inadvisability of not putting a contract in writing. The Court was called upon to decide upon two versions of what took place in the Hung On boarding-house in August. According to the evidence ho found that the contract was to this effect-that the plaintiff was engaged to form part of the crew of a launch going to Tongku for an indefinite period at $70 a month. He found that the plaintiff was well aware that the defendant was merely an agent in the matter for Captain Cannon or some other person. He therefore, thought that the plaintiff had failed to prove his case, and he accordingly gave judgment for the defendant with costs.
The following appointments have been a2- nounced at the Admiralty:-Lieutenants.-A. F. St. C. Armitage, to the Hermione, reappoint ed temporary, on promotion, to date October 1; 8. Newcome, to the Terrible, reappointed tem porary, on promotion, to date July 15; and H. C. Carr, to the Sandpiper, in command, re- appointed on recommissioning, un ated. Sub- Lieutenants.-J. Jones, to the Hermione, H. P. Smyth-Osbourne, to the Terrible, to date October 15. Midshipmen.-H. S. W. Boldero, to the Goliath, to date September 24.
His Worship-The point for my decision is, whether the defendant was or was not a prison officer at six a.m. on the morning of the 2nd inst. Section 101 of the Prison Regulations reads as follows:- Subordinate officers on the permanent staff, as well as those whose proba- tion has not been completed, shall, on their ser- vices being dispensed with, be entitled to a month's notice or a month's pay in lieu of notics ; but if they have committed an offenco meriting it, then they shall be liable to be dismissed at once without having any notice or pay in lieu of notice. An officer who wishes to resign his ap- pointment shall give three months' notice or shall pay to the Superintendent a sum equiva- lent to three months' pay of the rank he may hold." The latter part of the section applies to permanent officers as well as to officers on pro- bation. I am of opinion that the giving of three months notice or the payment to the Superintendent of a sum equivalent to three months pay is a condition precedent to the right of the defendant to resign his appoint- ment, and until he complied with either of these two requirements he would still remain a prison officer. I therefore convict the defendant of the charge, and order him to pay a fine of $100, in default of which he will be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for six weeks.
Beves has given notice of appeal.
FOOTBALL.
HONGKONG A.F.C. V. R.A. COMPANIES.
This match was played at Happy Valley on Monday afternoon in ideal football weather, there being just enough of the raw element in the atmosphere to keep the players from becom- ing overheated and fagged. The teams were:-- Hongkong A.F.C.-Goal-Howard; backs-- Russell and "A.N.R."; half backs-Kew. Jen- kins, and Bonnar; forwards-Lee, Brown, Noble, Tregear (5th J.H.C.), and Low.
R. A. Companies -Goal-Rose backs- Hutcheson and Jackson; half-backs-Stewart, Griffiths, and White; forwards-Leach, Jones. Pettigrew, Canavan, and Robinson.
The
The change of position seemed to have done the ground eleven some good. Lee got the ball, which he and Brown succeeded in carrying completely clear of Hutcheson and Jackson. There was now no one to prevent the equa- liser but Rose. He placed himself in posi- as the left wing ́ mən came on, tion and saved beautifully a low, swift, ball from Lee. Rose pitched out, but Noble captured and also tried to equalise for his side. R.A. backs, when Lee and Brown evaded them, seeing the clear field before the latter, seemed to regard the affair as hopeless, and had made Rose's splendid no further attempt at defence. saving, however, caused them quickly to realise that it was not yet too late, and they made haste to repair their dilatoriness-not, however, before their custodian had been called upon to defend his goal no fewer than four times in rapid succession, all four shots being delivered at a distance of a few yards only. The tussle ended abortively for the home men by Tregear's sending the ball past. It was certainly very hard luck for Low's forwards. They tried hard, but reckoned without their Rose. This incident seemed to infuse new life into both teams, and as a result the game acquired quite a new interest for the spectators-the majority of the military persuasion-who encouraged their favourites by shouts of Buck up, Jacko;
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Go it, Jimmy,” and other expressions familiar to the football field. Jacko did "buck up and Jimmy did “go it," but the more determined and prolonged the assault, the more solid and impreg. nable grow the defence, Russell and Low being, if selections could at all be made, especially conspicuous. The game throughout was the best by far that the season has yet seen, and their opponents of yesterday the most for- midable that the Hongkong Club have yet faced. There was an entire absence of the shouting and rough play that have gone to spoil former matches, and the victory the R. A.'s gained was a well-deserved one because of its having been worked for. Such contests will go far towards making the Happy Valley men a cool, consistent, and irresistible body of players.
The game ended in a win for the visitors by one goal to nil.
The Berliner Neueste Nachrichten last month referring to the complaints rife in England be- cause British troops had no share in the management of the railways from Tientsin to Peking and to Shanhaikwan, observed "this The R.A's won the toss, and Pettigrew sensitiveness is explicable because the railways in question have been built by British com. kicked off with the wind. Overcoming all op. position, the forwards made a combined rush panies; but there is no ground for transferring that carried the leather well up to Howard's to the politicial sphere the dissatisfaction felt on It will be remembered that some charge. Russell tackled, and a corner resulted, this score. which was finked. From a shy Tregear captur-time ago differences of opinion with regard to ed, and passed to Low, who sprinted for goal. the management of the railways arose among Leach contested successfully, and centred, the Admirals. Admiral Seymour desired that and the forwards gave Howard another look they should be handed over to the British troops. in, but shot wide. Howard had been twice It was, nevertheless, determined that the lines visited in as many minutes, and only twice in should be entrusted to the Russian forces. No- five minutes were the ground team successful thing is known in Berlin of the reasons for this decision; perhaps the presence of a larger in getting the ball into their opponents' half.
number of Russian engineers and Russian Even then it was quickly sent back. Low pre- sently looked like putting a different face on troops who were qualified to repair and manage matters, but the attempt proved abortive, the railways may have helped to determine the did also B long shot from Noble. selection. In any case, it is certain that the de- Griffiths saved, and Pettigrew dribbling cision was solely due to militaryconsiderations.
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