ستان
“August 24, 1903.]
Empress about twenty feet away from where our informant was standing.
Confusion for a moment amongst the passengers on the liner was one natural outcome of the collision. but they were quickly reassured that no danger was imminent, and tranquility was restored. The cruiser scraped and slid all the way along the steamer's side, and then managed to get clear. At first sight she appeared to have suffered no material damage beyond the loss of some projecting gear, but presently she ran up distress signals. The Empress had by this time been stopped, but the boats were all the time drifting further apart. | so that it was impossible to tell what was happening on board the Wong Tai; as far as our informant could tell, however, there was no confusion-no noise of any sort that might be expected from men who know they stood in danger of losing their lives. The impression of those on the Empress seemed to be that there was not much wrong with the cruiser, and only one boat was launched to go to her assistance. Then it was seen that the Wong Tai was Battling down by the stern and the order was given to launch all the Empress's boats. This order was carried out without the slightest display of confusion, the crew of the mail steamer carrying themselves as though the saving of life from a sinking steamer was an every-day occurrence with them.
Difficulty was experienced in getting the cruiser's officers off for they were most reluctant to leave the stricken ship, which was rapidly filling and settling down by the stern. The captain, the navigating lieutenant, and the gunnery lientenant refused to stir from the bridge, and wout down with were, however, the cruiser; the two latter saved. Two junks were in the vicinity, and they were standing by when the cruiser, throwing her ram in the air went down like a log. It is supposed that she altered her course to get out of the way of a junk, but the passenger who supplied us with the above details saw no janks except the two mentioned, and they were not in the way,
The Wong Tui, we understand, lies in sixteen fathoms of water; the taps of her masts can be seen at low tide. On the 19th inst, the cargo of the Empress of India which appears to have suffered no damage by the collision save the starting of one or two plates and the scraping of her paint for a considerable length on the starboard side, was removed by the Godown Company; the vessel will probably go into dock to have the necessary repairs attended to and to be surveyed.
THE BARBAROUS OFFICIAL- MURDER AT PEKING.
|
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
the fact of his having stated in a Japanese paper that China had consented to two of the clanses in the Russian demands which he calls the seorat Treaty, but in this he was mistaken apparently, though it is not impossible there
was Russian influence at work.
THE TRIAL.
1
particularly noticed by any one who came in contact with him, on account of his striking appearance. He was about 31 years of age and wore a black moustache. Iu talking he was extremely animated, and his great subject of conversation was the attitude and doings of the officials, of whom he seemed to know their Unhappily for him. however, some petty slightest movements and intentions. Through officials had got hold of the secret f his identity the medium of the Press he exposed many and carried the information direct to the Palace. officials and their doings, especially after the Thereupou a secret Decree was issued for his Boxer outbreak, when he unbesi'atingly pointed arrest and consignment to the Board of Punish-out those who had been in favour of that move. ments. We pass over the irregularity of his ment. The official class naturally feared and arrest, as also of his treatment in prison up to hated him, and we can only suppose that hi his trial and condemuation, as these are common latest coup in the exposure of China's secret incidents of political offences in China. The agreement clauses with Russia has resulted in trial took place on the 29th of last month before his determined doing to death by the Govern- a special Commission nominated by the Empress ment at Peking. Mr. Shen Chien had a great Dowager, and consisted, not in calling evidence or circle of friends, e pecially those connected with even stating by whom or of what he was accused, the native Press, and his death will be deeply but Chinese-like of simple interrogation of felt by all. The outrage has created an intense. the prisoner, with the instruments of torture feeling among foreigners in Peking and has ready to quicken bis memory. The unhappy evoked a strong feeling of opposition against man seems to have made up his mind to his the prisoners in the Supdo care being handed fate from the first, as he confessed, so it is said, freely, and no torture had tb applied. The usual course of Chinese justica in such a case is that the Judges composin r the Court give no verdict and pass no soutence, but simply report to the Throne. So far there was nothing unusual-nothing that is not passing every day in China. His friends fully expected that & Decree would appear next day for his execution; though some faint bopas were enter- tained, that as the ordinary law prescribes that no execution shall take place during the great hoat. the execution might be pos'poned till the autumn and thus give some faint chance of a reprieve.
Peking, 3rd August. A tragedy has just been enacted in Peking which for sheer cold-blooded barbarity must be almost unsurpassed in the annals of criminal justice. Your readers are aware no doubt that 8 Mr. Shên Chin who has been for some time a reporter here for some of the Japanese papers, was arrested on a charge of complicity in the abortive plot at Hankow of some three years ago and has been done to death; but the manner of his death-carried out by direct order of the Empress Dowager is such an outrage on all feelings of humanity that it seems desirable at the present moment that the truth should be known. The writer has been at some pains to get at the facts, and the following is, to the best of his information correct.
THE VICTIM]8 ANTECEDENTS.
The unfortunate Shea was a scholar and gentleman, and mixed freely with the better classes of Peking, among whom he had numerous friends. It seems possible enough that he was mixed up with the Hankow affair of 1900, in which a dozen or so of his countrymen lost their heads; he having indeed, it is said, been a
Secretary in the Viceroy's yamen at Wuchang. He escaped, however, to Japan, it is supposed, and having made there some friends he returned to Peking about a year ago as a newspaper reporter, and there is no suggestion that since his return he has in any way interfered in politics. The worst that can be said against him is that he was very pro-Japanese and consequently anti-Russian, and his telegrams to the Japanese papers were not always well- founded. He himself ascribes his calamity to
THE DEATH OF SLAVES.
over to the Chinesa Governm ›nt
The Pekin and Tientsin Times says that nothing incriminating was found in the search at Peking of the premises of Mr. Shen.
THE CASE OF INSPECTOR
MCEWEN.
With-
of law that he is
Acting on behalf of Inspector R. G. McEwen, Messrs. Wilkinson & Grist, solicitors, applied to the Government to refund their client's expenses in defending himself against the charges recently brought against him, and have received a communication from the Hon. F. H. May, Colonial Secretary, to the effect that H.E. the Governor cannot Now comes the horrible part of the story, it must be told. The Judges having done their
see his way to gr ut the application. This part by reporting adversely, it may be presumed, means that Inspector McEwen will have to the prisoner, it was then for the Throne, that
to meet the expenses of his trial himself as best he can. He is not a rich man is the Empress Dowager, to prescribe the puu- ishment. The Decree was issued, not that the by any manner of means, and the paying of man should be executed, not even that he should such heavy legal costs as he incurred in defend- die by the ling-chih, but that he should being himself against the charges of accepting beaten to death in prison, Strange it is bribes from the poultry guilds of the Central that creatures can be found to carry out
and Western Markets charges that the special such a sentence, but there seems no lack jury which tried him showed by their unani- of them in the Board of Punishments, for
Laous verdict for the prisoner to be falsa-will make a serious call on his resources. no sooner was the Decree received than they proceeded to carry it out. The gruesome
out commenting in any way on the attitude work began at 4 o'clock, and for two mortal the Government has adopted. in the matter, it hours they rained blows with blunt bamboos on surely cannot be argued that Inspector McEwen the limbs and back of the wretched prisoner is being treated fairy. Any Government until the flesh was hanging in shreds and servant, of course, is liable to be charged at any tatters, and still the man would not die. In time with the offences alleged against Inspector McEwan, but is there to be no recompense his agony he implored them in mercy to put an
man when it has been end to it by strangulation, and finally something for the accused of the kind had to be resorted to. The shades proved in a court of evening were falling before the mangled body innocent? Does it mean that, when a man enters the service of the Government of this had ceased to quiver.
Colony, he must be prepared at any moment to expend perhaps the savings of years in refuting accusations that are the outcome simply of animosity on the part, say, of Chinese with whom his work brings him into contact ? The result of the case against Inspector McEwen, although the verdict was altogether in his favour, is a triumph for the poultry guilds and those behind the poultry guilds, for not only have they achieved their purpose and had him removed from the markets, but they have seriously affected him in pocket. It was shown at the trial that Inspector MoEwen carried out the duties of his office rigorously an impartially, and that the condition of the markets was never so clean as when in his care. That surely ought to satisfy the Government, if the verdict of the jury is alone not sufficient to do it, that he is a good, trustworthy servant and worthy of every encouragement as such Inspector McEwen is not the only man whose interests are at stake; there are other civil servants in the Colony who are concerned and who would like to feel that they cannot be made the plaything of spite without some hops of getting their own back. Inspector MoEwen did his duty, and if one's duty is to have nothing but the possibility of social and financial ruin for its reward, then the lot of civil in this Colony of the class of Inspector is not a happy one.
Such is the latest phase of Chinese civilisation as exemplified by the amiable and well-meaning lady who now rules the destinies of the Empire. It is beyond all doubt that the Decree came straight from her band, for it is such a mon strous perversion of even Chinese justice that only she whose word is law would have dared to do it. There is no such punishment prescribed in the Codes, even for high treason. It is only for the eunuchs and slaves of the Palace- unfortunates who have no rights-that the punishment of beating to death is reserved. The pity of it is there should be found instru- ments willing to carry out such brutal orders. If the warden of the prison had replied that he was there to carry out the law, not to commit judicial murder, thought it have cost him his head, there would have been a ray of hope for China. It might have markel a new era, the dawn of a fight for civil freedom--N.-C. D. N.
According to the China Times of the 3rd inst., Shen Ke-wei, the reformer who was executed at Peking on the 31st ult, was beaten to death by the Empress Dowager's special orders. He was beaten with bamboos for two hours con- tinuously, until in many places his bones were exposed, by eight executioners, and as he was still alive, he was then " mercifully strangled." In reference to his execution the China Times says. From a hurried interview we had last evening with a personal friend of Mr. Shen, we gathered a few interesting facts as to the personality of this remarkable correspondent. Shen Chien or Shen Yushi was a man to be
The last of the four escaped convicts was captured at Shanghai on the 11th inst. Họ
was a mulatto namedź Ward. e
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