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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
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Witness after this affair. thought Cheng made a statement to the Chinese authorities at Ariangzi. Witness was summoned to the yamên and he surrendered the gun there. Cheug and some Tibetans were there. (At this point witness broke down and Mr. Fleming asked for a short adjournment while his client recovered.)
Chinese soldiers acted as his escort, These soldiers from the time they left Youji did not appear to be friends, and quarreled a great deal. On leaving Yenji in the morning one of the soldiers asked witness to carry a sword for protection. The soldiers carried rifles and cartridge belts. The country seemed to be in a state of revolution. A rebellion was in pro- gress, and the country was full of robbers and wild animals. Witness arrived at Laku, a place in the mountains about 1,000 feet, above the sea and composed of five or six little stone hovels, at night. It was either in Tibet or ou the border line. He stayed in a two-storeyed house which, he presumed was a hotel. Cheng accompanied witness. Thuy walked upstairs to the room he was shavi. Witness's baggage was brought up by Clang and a Tibetan man. Li was not present at the time. He always left witness and Cheng on the road. Witness did not think Li was doing his duty. The soldiers were furnished by an official at Yenji. Cheng put his gun up against the Then wall of witness's room, and left it there. Cheng wont downstairs, Li came upstairs about an
hour after witness had arrived at the inn. Li a'so put his gun in the room and went downstairs, Neither soldier asked for his gun. They could have taken them had they wanted to. At dawn next morning witness got up, as he had to make a long stage before nightfall. The baggage vis packed up and witness ate his beaks. L came up while witness was eating his breakfast, and said something about his goa. Witors. asked him if he wished him to carry his
gan him. They found the height very trying. Witness had sometimes been over 20,000 feet above the sea, Li answered in the affirmative and pioked up some of the baggage and took it downstairs. Cheng took his gun and cartridge belt down. Everything was taken down except Li's gun and belt. As witness was the last person to leave the hotel that day he carried them down with him. Witness was half awake and half asleep when he got down, Cheng began to call to someone and then Li came into sight fifteen or twenty yards away beyond the horses. Witness saw he was running away again, and as he was very much afraid of these Tibetans he beckoned to Li to come back. Cheng and Li spoke together, and witness then scolded Li in English. Li laughed at him and witness took the gun and made a demonstration with it. Li got afraid and ran away. Cheng and witness laughed at him. Li ran away straight to the rear, turned to the left, round the horses and corner of the wall, and disappeared. Then Cheng and witness walked down to the corner of the wall. He saw Li at the next corner. Li dodged round the next corner, then stood in full view, then disappeared again. Witness walked back and stood in front of the hotel and loaded the gun. He thought he would try it, to see if he understood its mechanism. Witness desired to fire it so that he could use it if attacked by men or wild animals. He fired off the gun to the right of him, into the air, taking care not to hit the horses or the Tibetan Then he unloaded the gun. He saw Cheng up above him, langhing and nodding his approval. He continued to do so while witness reloaded the gun. Tarning ta the left witness saw a stone wall, some horses and trees. He fired the gun to the left after taking care not to hit the horses. Then he heard someone soream on his left. He thought it was a wo-
man at the corner.
man.
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яд ከሰ the
An
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[December 9, 1907.
it was a passport in English, issued by Mr. Rock hill, permitting him to travel “abroad.” He was advised by some missionaries to obtain a special passport, but was unable to do so. He was informed toat this passport limited his protection to four provinces. Chibli, Shanse, shensi and Szechuan. There was a limitation, he understood, of the Chinese Government's protection. Witness again identified his diary. It was written somewhere in West The entry concerning the episode China. at Laku was written during his trial at Likiangfa. The entry of the preceding day- May 2-was written partly on the same day and partly at Likiangfu. He thought he pur- chasol the notebook at Chêngta. He could not remember when the entry of May 31 was made. He was too badly "broke up after the accident. Some of the eutries in the diary were made on the dates mentioned.
Re-examined-Witness was very much fright- ened when he discovered the body.
By his Honour-Witness did not realise when he left the lama that he was dead. He doubted it to this day. His impression was that he had wounded the man..
On resuming witness stated that the Chinese authorities at Artungza discharged him saying | that he had shot and wounded a Tibetan accidentally but that if he had signed a paper ho would be all..wed to go free shown his diary, witness galed that he wrote the entry | quoted by the District Attorney three or four w-eks after the er.ut. He was too much broken up to do so at the time. He wrote it up merely
I never as a story.
thought at the time th it would I doubted that it was
It was then his intention 10 accident. write
a book. Where the diary differed from bis prosent evidence it Was
bo- cause he had incorporated suggestions made
the Chinese by
accident, Witness slept well the night before the affair and he did not awake sugry with his Chinese soldiers. He did not see a bullet wound in the Tibetau's eye. The entry in the diary was pat down as the material for a story. Witness went from Artungza to Likiangfu, a two weeks' journey, where he was stopped in response to a telegram from the Chungking Consal ordering Pouenil to be found b nad and brought to Chungking. He was tried there by Chinese had prepared notes for publication. These officials, and. as far as he knew, after twenty-notes had been excluded on technical grounds. eight days they were satisfied that it was an There were prepared weeks and months after accident. They said they could not keep their promise to free him because the American Con-ul had ordered them to send him to Chung-through. king. It was a six week's journey to Chung- king from Likiangfu. The travelling was very bad and witness was very weak when he arrived at Chungking. From Chengt to Tatsienlu witness carried foreign food. bad to live on Tibutan food, ragged, nupopulated muntains around Luku.
After that he There were
When he fired witness lad DO intention He of firing at, or intimidating anyone. was merely trying the gun. Cheng abused of sight the for having kept out Li
Witness understood that it previous day. was Cheng's statement at Artuugza that Witness had never before fired cleared him. a gun in his life, He was a city-bred mau. That morting be considered it was necessary to
use the gun.
AL hungking learn how to Consul Mitchell did not examine the Chinese He was not informed of in witness's presence. his right to have an attorney, and any state- ments he male then were made under compulsiou. The Consul was the most contemptible cuaracter wi'uess ever met.
Mr. Bassett then begin to put questions on aconsed's st tements al Chingking (to tue U. S. Corsul).
To these Mr. Fleming objected because the Chinese witnesses were not examined in his client's presence, and because he made these statements under compulsion.
His Honour allowed the questions.
Witness said it did not matter what he said to Mr. Mitchell He contradicted witness and then put it down as witness's own statement, He did not state to Mr. Michell that the He thought he told body he saw was dead. him that the rifle took t-a oartridges, and that he did nut know how many be had put in. He might have stated that he thought the man was sleeping until he got close and found the blood streaming from a wound in his head.. He never told the Consul that the man was de d when he felt his pulse. Mr. Mitchell just wrote down what suited him in th se notes, Witness did not remember scold. ing Li in Chines. He did not know how many people lived in Laka. It was quite possible that Cheng could see more than witness could. Cheng called witness back when he had got to the body. He could not see him motioning to him to come back. Winess just touched the Tibetan's pulse hastily, but did not feel that it was useless to He attend him because it was too late, It was not a fact that witness had been sure the man was dead until he discovered that it would be difficult to prove.
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His Honour said that the testimony of the witness was peculiar, to say the least, He was asking the Court to believe statements that exculpated him, and yet made statements that were highly improbable and lacking in frank.
The whole story indicated that ac ness cas d had killed this man. He stated that he
the affair.
Accused said that he had been very foolish all
His flonour remarked that if sooused had had suy real doubt that he had killed the man he would have communicated it to his counsel, who would have made a good deal of it during
the trial.
Mr. Fleming replied that he had endeavoured throughout to show that the man was not dead.
In reply to Mr. Bassett, accused stated that he could not help admitting the man was dead when the Chinese told him so. He had told the " Mercury," in the notes delivered to them, that if the man were killed it was all an accident, Consul Mitchell had given him the impression that the man was dead,
The acoused was acquitted.
INTERNATIONAL COTTON MANU- FACTURING CO., LTD.
The twelfth annual meeting of the Interns- tional Cotton Manufacturing Co., Ld. was held at Shanghai on November 27th. There were present: Messrs. J. F. Seaman (in the chair), F. Ayscough, A. Hide, Chew Shingohing (Directors), Mr. G. Wailleamier (secretary,) Messrs. H J. Dark, J. N. Jameson, K. W. Campbell, J. M Young, Seng Ming-yue and Chang Yuen-ohieng.
The Chairman said-Gentlemen: Owing to the regrettable detention through illness at Tientsin of the chairman, Mr. Rayner, it falls to my lot to address you to-day in his place. As the report and accounts have been in you? possession for a fortnight, I trust that, with your permission, they may as usual be taken BM read. They do not leave much to be said in elucidation. We much regret that the result of the year's working He unloaded the gun, loaded it again
compares so unfavourably with that of the and was about to shoot, when Cheng signed to
previous two years. In view, however, of the him not to do so. He saw the cattle around
generally depressed condition of the cotton industry during the year, we do not consider him and thought he had better not shont agaiu. He walked to the left, and saw some Kyangs
that the result, which shows a net profit of and a mule grazing, which ran away when it saw
Tis. 55,581.2 and yields nearly nine per cent on the capital stock is, under the circumstances, him. It was misty that morning and somewhat dark. He saw a Tibet in lying upon the ground.
discouraging. As stated in our report, the From where he was standing when he fired he
directors have felt it inexpedient to recommend could not have seen this Tibetan. Neither shot
division of any portion of the earnings in a was fired in anger, and he never struck Cheng.
dividend, bearing in mind the continued dall- ness of trade in yarn and the desirability of When witness saw the body he left the place at
conserving the resources of the Company for its once. Cheng induced him to do so. Witness did
ourrent requirements. As will be observed by not see Li again that day. Witness walked up to the body and remained there a second.
the accounts, our overdraft with our bankers could not see whether he was dead. He thought
stands at the maximum permitted under his bullet might possibly have struck him. 'T'he
our arrangement, and whilst our stocks of yaru, cotton and stɔres, more than cover the over- body was over fifty yards away from where witness stood when he fired. He was completely On resuming, in reply to Mr. Bassett, witness draft, and in fact show a substantial book unnerved at the time. He was suffering from stated that he had a passport in his possession ! surplus, a considerable sum of free working mountain' sioknese at the time. He was com.entitling him to travel in Yunnan and Tibet- capital is required which entails a heavy interVGA
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