252
F
unnecessary severity. They then searched various boxes and articles of furniture, and in turning out a box of clothing one of them spoiled some articles of clothing with wax from a candle that he carried. Meantime plaintiff had asked the constable wliether he had a war- rant. The constable replied, “What do you think ?" Plaintiff asked to see it, and the constable replied, "You will see it fast enough," and declined to show it The Chinese had never at any time shown their mandate, as required by Section 6 of the Ordinance. It was no question of demand. Section 6 said, "Every excise officer shall be supplied with a badge bearing such sign or mark of office as may be directed by the Governor. and when acting against any porson under this Ordinance every such excise officer shall declare his office, and produce to the person against whom he acts his said badge." Section said, Every police officer when acting under this Ordinance, if not in uniform, shall declare his office and produce to the person against whom he acts such badge as the Captain Superintendent of Police may direct police officers to carry when on secret or special service." The excis officers and the constable did not how their badges, and be submitted their acts, under 1 Ordinance, w... legal acts. When they concluded the search of 175, two of the Chinese excise officers went into 17. Plaintiff asked them if they had a warrant for 173, but they made no answer at any rate no material answer-and went on searching. Plaintiff then went to the constale and asked him if he had a warrant for 17 as well as for 175, and the constable said "No," and very proporly told the searching party to come away. Just as the constable was going out of the door the constable pulled a piece of folded paper out of his pocket and said, "Her is the warrant.", It might have been anything. His Lordship would quite see that there was no serious damage pone, and indeed the plaintiff had no desire to make money out of the action, and he had brought it chiefly as a matter of principle in order that he might secure as far as possible that the Opium Farmers in exercising their peculiarly odious duties should by his excise officers strictly obey the law and treat the people of the house being searched with as much consideration as possible. His Lordship would see readily how importgut it was that the law should be obeyed. Because unless excise officers showed their badges or warrant when they entered any promises there was no security for the Chinese residents against the entry of robbers under the guise of excise officers. If they were immediately to show their badges there would be no doubt in the minds of the residents that these people were excise officers and were entitled to go in. If they did not show their badges all sorts of trouble might arise, and they might be taken to be robbers in the guise
of excise officers.
His Lordship-There is no doubt about that. I have decided that years ago.
any
Evidence was led for the plaintiff. Mr. Looker, in opening the case for the defence, said that although the defendants admitted по liability whatever for damages in this case. they did not want any man's goods to be damaged at all, and were quite willing to pay the value of the damaged clothing As a matter of law, he submitted that the clothing having been damaged in 175, for which they had a warrant, there was no liability on them to pay at all.
His Lordship-The point, to my mind, is the alleged illegal entry into 173.
Mr. Looker said that apart from that they submitted that, having warrant for 175, no question of general damages could come in. As regards 173, it seemed quite apart from any point of law, that the plaintiff said he suffered the Lalance of his damages because the policeman went to his house at night with the excise officers and searched his premises and a crowd collected outside, thinking be had done wrong and that he had lost his character and was discredited. Even although they did go into 175 they could not have done any damage to his character by going for a minute into 173. If they were right, as they were right, in_ going into 175, plaintiff could get no damages for the searching of that property, because they had a right to search; and possibly, although the defence denied it, they might have gone for a little while into 173.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
|
His Lordship-If they went into 173 without a warrant the plaintiff is entitled to damages. In numerous cases at home damages have been given for searching a man's premises without a warrant.
a
warrant
custable,
[October 5, 1903. solicitors, appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. O. D. Thomson, solicitor, for the defendant.
Mr. Thomson put forward as a preliminary objection that no notice of the action was given, whereas it should have been given under Section 93 of the Larceny Ordinance.
His Lordship held that the objection was not good and ordered pleadings.
The Court adjourned.
REVIEW.
Sand-buried Ruins of Khotan. By M. A. STÉIN.
London: T. Fisher Unwin,
་
We do not remember having within recent years met with so interesting a book of travel in any part of the world as this Sand-buried Ruins of Khotan by Dr. Aurel Stein, of the Indian Educational Service. The journey which he describes took place in 1900 and 1901, and was aided to no small extent by the generosity of the Indian Government, which sets an example to many other sections of the British Empire by the way in which it treats genuine researchers. Dr. Stein has already published, in 1901,
Mr. Looker said they disputed the entry into 173. He went on to argue that damages of this particular nature must be against the actual people who made the entry and not against the master. Assuming that there was an entry into 173, and it was a wrongful entry, it was not within the scope of the servants' duty and there must be damages against the servants and not against the muster. Assuming that plaintiff was entitled to damages, the Opium Farmers were not liab'. Having quoted a case to support his arguseat that a master is not liable for the wilful trespass of his servants, Mr. Looker went on to say that the remedy, if the plaintiff had a remedy, was against the excise officers. They had
to search 175. A accompanied by the excise officers, want up to search the house. He went first and the excise officers followed. When he got up there he found the plaintiff, and the plaintiff asked him to give him the warrant Very properly the preliminary report of his archæological and constable refused to give him the warrant and topographical exploration of Chinese Turkestan, offered to read it, but the plaintiff was not and he is about to publish in fall his scientific satisfied with that. While this was going report on the Khotan rains. The latter work, on the offic-rs had begun the search, and it was
however, will probably be beyond the purchas- noticed that a box was taken from No. 175 tong power of the ordinary reader, so that the No. 173 and was put on the table there; and book now before us constitutes his account of after a little interval plaintiff went into 173 bis travels as designed for the general public. The box was on the table and the excise officers The author has spared no trouble, as he very naturally wanted to go into 173 to search justifiably clains in his introduction, to render it, but the constable would not let them because this account accurate in its details and yet they had no warrant and neither they nor the thoroughly intelligible to the non-Orientalist. constable went in. As a matter of fact there was some illicit opium there, and the plaintiff took advantage of the conversation over the warrant
taken get it
from the house for which there was a warrant into the house for which they had no warrant, Next day the plaintiff made a report to and admitted that the Inspector Collett
to
into officers wanted
173 go
excise
મ
to
once
casa
He desires to attract the latter's interest to a
fascinating chapter of ancient history, which once seemed almost entirely lost, that of the interchange between the civilisations of India, We cannot China, and the Classical West. think that Dr. Stein's hope will not be realised, for he must be si-galarly lacking in apprecia tion of the world's progress who will not find in the present volume much that he did not know, At the same time but that the constable would not let them, and and is glad now to learn.
those who are in sympathy with the adventurous he said there was no entry into 173.
traveller can but follow his story with vivid Evidence was given for the defence. His Lordship in delivering judgment said interest, Dr. Steiu started with long experience of marching and camping on Indian ground. might decide at on the point of
He speaks a great number of languages and law; if there was any claim at all it should be:
dialects familiar in the Punjab and the Northern hade against the master and not against the
Indian frontiers, and thus, though ignorant of servants. It seemed to him that thy
Chinese, he was well equipped otherwise for limited itself to one thing-Was there an
intercourse with the inhabitants of the Indo- entry into 173 They had the evidence for
Chinese regions. The Survey of India Depart- the plaintiff, and against that the only evidence was the constable's. His Lordship thoroughly acknowledges his gratitude to the Indian Govern- ment gave him liberal assistance, and be repeatedly believed the plaintiff's evidence that there was
mont,inspired by the Viceroy's personal interest in an entry, and he considered that it was corro-
the history and antiquities of the East. He found by Iuspector Plaintiff did not complain of the police, but the Chinese officials courteous and helpful to of the excise officers wanting to search and being tribution to the knowledge of Central Asian stopped by the police. There was other évidence besides to show that there was an entry. On history during a period about which the modern world has hitherto been almost entirely in the the whole he believed the plaintiff's evidence.
dark. With regard to the amount, of course there was not much damage done. Still, the plaintiff was a man in a responsible position, and it was very annoying for him to hare his premises а warrant. He entered illegally without thought the whole thing would be met by judgment for $100 and costs.
borated
Collett's
evidence.
Mr. Looker submitted that in view of the amount of damages awarded and the circums tances of the case fees for the retention of counsel should not be allowed.
His Lordship said be considered it was proper to have counsel, Plaintiff's character was at
stake. He had to clear it, and his Lordship thought he had cleared it, so far as that case was concerned.
him. The result has been a remarkable con-
of a short review to give any adequate idea of It would be extremely difficult in the course Dr. Stein's discoveries and contributions to scientific, sociological, religious and philological knowledge. We shall not therefore attempt the task. What stands out in the book is the Buddhist teaching from early spread of India into Central Asia and China, "probably the most remarkable contribution made by India The to the general development of mankind.” origin and history of the culture that once flourished in Buddhist Khotan, says the author, are faithfully reflected in the remarkable series of sculptures and paintings which the ancient shrines and dwelling-places, after long centuries of burial beneath the sands, have yielded up. And it was Dr, Stein's privilege and fortune to discover these secrets. An even more fascinat- ing find perhaps to the majority of Western readers is that of a series of classical seals, bearing well-modelled figures of Greek deities, which were apparently in frequent use among officials of Khotan at one period.
"The re- markable diversity of the cultural influences which met and mingled at Khotan during the third century A.D," says the author, "is forcibly brought home to us by these A case was called in which Su Kin Sheung, broker, 20), Queen's Road Central, sued Cheung records from a remote Central Asian settle- ment, inscribed on wooden tablets in sa Wan Chau, 178, Reclamation Street, for $1,000 Indian language and writing, and issued by damages for malicious prosecution. C. E. H. Beavis, of Messrs. Wilkinson & Grist,' officials with strangely un-Indian titles, whose
The Court adjourned.
Thursday, 1st October.
IN SUMMARY JURISDICTION.
BEFORE HIS HONOUR A. G. WISE (PUISNE JUDGE).
ACTION FOR MALICIOUS PROSECUTION.
Mr.
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