crime-and-government-at-hong-kong-a-lett — Page 5

varieties of the same charge, many imperfectly stated, some mere in
ferences from the presumed establishment of the rest, and others never
made at all, or, if made, expressly alleged to be merely probable or
doubtful, or otherwise qualified .
i . Of the first are " charges" 2,2 5,5 14, 15, and 17 ; 3, 4, 6, 12,
and 16 ; and 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 , and 12.
2. Of the second are " charges " 2, 6, 7, 8, 11 , 12, 13, 14, 16,
and 17 .
 103

3. Of the third are " charges " 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8 .
2 >

66
4. Of the fourth are charges " 6, 7, 12, 13, and 14 .
For reasons already suggested, I must not offer any advice to H. E. ,
touching the mode of supplying the deficiencies or correcting the ex
cesses of the “ List," with respect to the statements in Council or the
letter to Lord Stanley .
But I have no hesitation in saying, that the whole of my correspon
dence with you, including the appendices, ought to be laid before the
Commission, together with this my very respectful remonstrance.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your very obedient servant,
( Signed ) T. C. ANSTEY .
The Hon . W. T. Bridges, Esq., D.C.L. , A.CS.

I likewise subjoin that “ List of Charges," as printed
by Dr. Bridges, in the Hong Kong Government Gazette,
and also at the head of the “ Report.”
LIST OF CHARGES

PREFERRED BY THE ATTORNEY -GENERAL TO THE GOVERNMENT AGAINST
THE REGISTRAR -GENERAL .

1. With being unfit to be a Justice of the Peace [an inference ).
2. With having a scandalous connection with a Brothel licensed
by himself, namely, Brothel No. 48.
3. With having passed a portion of his life among Chinese out
laws and pirates [involved in No. 6, 7, 9, and 13].
>


4. With an alliance with some of the worst Chinese in this
colony through his wife a Chinese girl from a Brothel.
5. With being a speculator in Brothels and Brothel Licenses ( in
volved in No. 27.
6. With being long and intimately connected with Mah -Chow
Wong ; and that that connection is still subsisting ; and that the
principal link in that connection is the bond of affinity by adoption,
according to Chinese law .
7. With being in the habit, on Mah - Chow Wong's unsupported
information , of arresting and discharging persons, and of confiscating
or restoring property .
8. That the Chinese dare not now complain of the connivances
 104

and procurements of Mr. Caldwell, the patron of the outlaw Mah .
Chow Wong ( an inference ).
9. With having procured bail for Mah - Chow Wong : such bail
being a servant of his own (Mr. Caldwell's ), who had been but a
month before in prison for debt.
10. With audaciously denying that the books and papers of the
Pirate's Hong contain any evidence of Mah- Chow Wong's guilt;
with having deceived the Executive Council in the enquiry had
relative to Mah - Chow Wong ; and with being convicted of falsehood
by Mr. May.
11. With being partner with Mah - Chow Wong in a lorcha ; and
that there were entries in Mah - Chow Wong's books, and made by
him, of moneys paid to Mr. Caldwell on account or out of the pro
duće of plunder made at sea .
12. With harbouring Mah - Chow Wong's wife after his conviction .
13. With inducing the Attorney - General, at the beginning of
1857, to order the release of a great number of men who Mr. May
knows to have been pirates, and who Mr. Caldwell ought to have
known at the time were pirates.
14. With buying land in the colony since December last, when
he became Licenser of Brothels.
15. With having once owned three unlicensed Hong Kong Bro
thels at a time.
16. With having a Chinese sister-in - law by blood or usage, who
in 1856-57 was keeping Brothels.
. 17. With receiving the monthly rack - rentals of houses, and in
particular of a Brothel standing on 11 Crown Lots , down to the
present month of May .* *


18. With having informed Mr. May , that he, Mr. Caldwell, was
a member of a Secret Society.
19. With having informied Mr. May, that although he would not
himself take bribes, he would not object to his wife doing so .

Lastly, I subjoin the “ Report ” itself. For it con
tains the account-meagre and unsatisfactory though
* The real charge, and one which was fully proved upon them ,
is entirely omitted ! It was, that , for months after his acceptance of
the Licensership, he continued to be the registered and ostensible .
owner and manager , even to the payment of Crown rent for the
property , on which the Brothel stood .
 105


it be -- which the Commissioners have given of their
own proceedings and notions.
But I must first premise that, even with that dis
honestly prepared “ List ” to hamper them, their
findings would have been far more unfavourable
to Mr. Caldwell, but for some unhappy mistakes into
which, as stated on oath by their Chairman, in the
Queen v. Tarrant, they were led by their assessor,
Mr. Day, of the local bar.
* For, under his advice, they accepted Mr. Caldwell's
verbal statement, in every instance, as evidence, for
or against, himself, as he chose to give it ; treating it,
in the first case,, as " satisfactory explanation,” and in
the second instance, as “ admission .”
And, under the same advice, they rejected as
“ hearsay, ” all evidence of “ reputation ," whether asto
pedigree or character ;—thereby voluntarily depriving
themselves of at least twenty witnesses in attendance,
and of a hundred who might have been summoned .
And, lastly, they held themselves to be so bound,
by the wording of the “ List,” as to have no other
muddle term , between finding for and against the
charge ” as laid, except passing it by, sub silentio ;
a proceeding of which I have already furnished many
instances.
And yet, with all this, their “ Report ” was a mere
compromise, effected in a couple of hours, for the sake
of peace , if not to save the mail.
Three of them — a majority -- were Legislative
-




Councillors .
These remarked that there stood among the notices
for the next day, a motion of mine, for omitting, from
the estimates, the post of Registrar-General and
Protector of Chinese, as useless and mischievous.
 106

They further observed that , “ as they were going
" to vote for it, and it was sure to be carried, Mr.
" Caldwell would be got rid of in that way most
* effectually. Why put a stigma on him now , which
66
might prevent him from gaining some employment,
“ of a lower grade than his present office .”
So they all agreed to sign the Report ; trusting to
the morrow to cure the mischief they were doing.
For some
Unhappily, that morrow never came.
how the compromise got wind .
The Legislative Council was immediately prorogued
sine die, and did not meet again for more than two
months ;-by which time, my suspension had caused
that notice of motion to drop !
With this explanation of their Report, I now
proceed to set it forth in extenso .
REPORT.

Council Chamber , Saturday, 17th July, 1858.
Sir,-We, the Members of a Commission appointed by Your
Excellency, on the 20th day of May, 1858, to inquire into and
report upon certain charges brought against Mr. Caldwell, the
Registrar -General, having inquired into the same, do now report,
That we commenced our public proceedings on the 27th of May
last, and have had Twenty -five Sittings, extending over a period of
Seven Weeks; that we have examined upwards of Fifty Witnesses,
and a vast mass of Documents; and have extended our inquiries
into a number of matters, some of which, irrelevant as they may
now appear, were so woven into and combined with the immediate
subject of inquiry, that it was not considered safe to leave them
unexamined. We allowed ourselves great latitude as to the kind of
evidence we admitted, and were obliged to do so particularly in the
matter of hearsay evidence, though not to the extent which the
Attorney -General (who sent in a protest on the subject) considered
justifiable or even necessary. We may observe here, that the same
gentleman also forwarded a protest against the manner of taking
 107

Chinese evidence, as being, in his opinion, palpably favourable to
Mr. Caldwell. But we now repeat, what the Chairman stated at the
time of the reception of the protest, that we consider the Attorney
General's complaint totally unfounded .
We have experienced great difficulty in our labours : First, from
the nature, arrangement, and wording of the charges - some of
which it appeared unnecessary, as it certainly was most distasteful
to us to inquire into ; Secondly, from the reluctance of witnesses to
give evidence ; and Thirdly, and especially from the refusal of the
Attorney -General to act as accuser, or to recognise the charges as
his charges. Under these circumstances, we considered it advisable
to engage the services of Mr. Day to act as examiner, parties in
terested being informed that he would receive at his Chambers any
information which it was intended to bring before the Commission .
On the subject of our inquiry we report :
That charge 2, has been satisfactorily met and explained by Mr.
Caldwell, * though there existed strong prima facie grounds for
bringing it.
That charge 4 is not proved ; but that there were grounds for
bringing it.
That no proof whatever has been brought forward in support of
charge 5 .
That charge 14 is not proved as regards Mr. Caldwell himself,
though it appears that Mrs. Caldwell has had transactions in land
and houses for her sister since December last, when Mr. Caldwell
became Licenser of Brothels ; but that there is no evidence that Mr.
Caldwell had any knowledge of such transactions.
That charge 15 has not been proved .
That no proof has been given in support of charge 16, but that
there were grounds for bringing it.
That there is no proof whatever of charge 17, and that there were
2


no sufficient grounds for bringing it.
That there were no grounds whatever for bringing charges 18
and 19.
That there were no grounds whatever for bringing charge 3.
That with regard to charge 6 , a long and intimate connection
* By a simple denial of interest, although the agency or nominal
ownership was not denied, but admitted , both by himself and his
alleged vendée, the Chinese quack, Lum Ateem, “ his family phy
sician" (pp. 11 , 12).
 108

between Mr. Caldwell and Mah -Chow Wong has been proved , but
that there is no proof of any connection by affinity, according to
>

Chinese law or custom .
That with regard to charge 7, it is proved that Mr. Caldwell has
been in the habit, on Mah - Chow Wong's unsupported information ,
of arresting persons; but that there is no evidence as to his confis
cating or restoring property.
That as regards charge 8, there is no evidence of any connivances
or procurements of Mr. Caldwell; but that it is manifest that the
Chinese are very averse to give evidence against him.
That as to charge 9, it has been proved, that Mr. Caldwell aided
in the acceptance of Sze -kai, his former servant, as Bail for Ma- 3
Chow Wong; and that Sze -kai had been imprisoned for debt, for a
few days, a short time previously.
That we think it unnecessary to make any other observation
regarding charge 10, than that there is no evidence of Mr. Caldwell
>

having deceived the Executive Council.
That with reference to charge 11, a partnership with Mah -Chow
Wong in aa lorcha is proved, and in fact admitted by Mr. Caldwell;
but that there is no evidence as to payments to Mr. Caldwell out of
the produce of plunder made at sea .
That as to charge 12, there is no evidence whatever.
That of the fact stated in charge 13, of the release of the men
upon Mr. Caldwell's representation as to their character, there is no
doubt whatever; and that it appears incomprehensible how any
person , with Mr. Caldwell's knowledge of the Chinese language, and
holding the appointment he did, could have been ignorant of the
boats in which the men were seized, and that one at least of these
men was a notorious pirate, particularly as it is in evidence that
Mah - Chow Wong was connected with the boats.
:
That with regard to charge 1 , it being only a matter of inference,
we find in support of such inference that a sum of money was
offered by a Chinaman as a mark of gratitude to Mr. Caldwell, for
being instrumental in the release of a lorcha seized by pirates, in
which the man's father was ; but that this money was refused by
Mr. Caldwell, and on such refusal that it was offered to Mrs. Cald
well as a present to the children . A majority, however, of the
Commission do not feel satisfied that Mrs. Caldwell accepted this
* But see pp. 50 and 56 ; where Mr. May distinctly gives evidence
to that effect.
 109

money. It has also been proved that a Chinese female , named
Shaplock, who had been in frequent communication with Mr. Cald .
well (and is reported , but not proved , to be a sister by Chinese
usage of Mrs. Caldwell), received from the Foo T'ai pawn-shop
the sum of 400 dollars, because the sentence on a pawnbroker
belonging to the said shop had been mitigated , as was supposed,
through her influence, and that she received a further sum of 50
dollars for her personal trouble in the matter . Further, since the
commencement of this inquiry, Mr. Caldwell has, solely upon the
information conveyed in an anonymous letter that certain property
had been stolen , personally and without the assistance of the police,
searched a room in the occupation of Assow, the Police Court
Interpreter, whom Mr. Caldwell knew to be about to give evidence
before the Commission. Mr. Caldwell, in the opinion of the Com
mission, acted in this matter injudiciously, to say the least of it.
Notwithstanding these facts, coupled with the circumstance of
Mr. Caldwell's connection with so notorious a character as Mah
Chow Wong, it appears to a majority of the Commission , that,
although Mr. Caldwell's original appointment as a Justice of the
Peace may have been injudicious, they do not necessitate so strong a
measure as his removal from that office.
Finally, we would state that in the course of the inquiry it has
come to our knowledge, that previous to the appointment of the
Commission, certain papers connected with Mah - Chow Wong's trial,
and which might have been of service to the Commission, have
been destroyed; but it has been clearly proved that their destruction
was ordered , solely because they encumbered the Chinese Secretary's
Office, while it appeared that they were then of no value, and could
not be further required.
We have the honour to be,
Your Excellency's
Most obedient humble Servants,
CHS. ST. GEO. CLEVERLY, Chairman.
H. TUDOR DAVIES.
GEORGE LYALL.
A. FLETCHER.
JOHN SCARTH.
To His Excellency
SIR JOHN BOWRING, Kr., LL.D,
GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG,
ETC. , ETC. , ETC.
 110


Surely enough, and more than enough, was found,
even by this wretched “ Report,” to disqualify Mr.
Caldwell for all employment under the Crown ;-if
not to set the police authorities upon his track.
Yet Dr. Bridges and Sir John Bowring affected to
regard the “Report,” as tantamount to a finding,
" that none of my charges had been substantially
6
proved ," and, the decision of the Commissioners in no
other light than as an exculpation of him .” I was
therefore notified of their intention, to summon an
Executive Council for the purpose of suspending me
from my office. *
In my reply, I demanded a hearing for myself and
ту witnesses before the Executive Council ; and ,-no
other attention being paid to my demand, beyond in
forming me that the Council had condemned me
already, and a renewal of the intimation, that Sir
John Bowring was about to submit to that body the
propriety of my suspension, - I lodged my protest
against its jurisdiction to proceed, in so flagrant a
violation ofthe law of the land and the Queen's regu
lations, already noticed .
In the face of my protest, they met on the 7th
August last, and, without taking any notice of it, or
communicating with me in any way, pronounced the
sentence of suspension from that date, and published
it in their Government Gazette of the following week.
This was done in terrorem to the other European
witnesses ;—none of whom, however, have as yet been
suspended, albeit threatened with suspension . But
the Chinese Interpreter, Assow , in the very face of
their own Commission's Report, was dismissed at

* Letter of Dr. Bridges, A.C.S. (No. 433 ), 23rd July, 1858.
 111


the same time for giving his evidence against the
Caldwells.
The Assessor to the Commission, Mr. Day, was
gratified with my place. His death , in the following
month, opened the way to the present occupant,
Mr. Green, a gentleman of honour and courage, and
one who has openly expressed his disgust at the
manner of my suspension, and the pretences alleged
for it.
And now I find, from the newspaper reports of
parliamentary proceedings, that Sir John Bowring,
driven from the ground taken by him on the 24th
July, is engaged in an attempt to divert attention from
his disaster, and to arrest it upon a counter charge
against myself.
Sir E. Lytton has informed the House, that Sir J.
Bowring imputes to me a breach of special confidence,
in giving the evidence I did give before the Com
missioners.
A few words will show the absurdity and untruth
fulness of that imputation .
You will have seen, that I not only took no part in
the promotion of that method of inquiry, but, on the
very ground, that thereby the official confidence of the
Imperial Government would of necessity be violated,
protested against it. It was the spontaneous act of
Sir John Bowring's Government.
By the terms of their warrant of Commission, as
printed by authority,* the Commissioners were directed
to call for whatsoever evidence they thought fit, and
more especially such as, without a plenary absolution
*
Report and Minutes, Pref. p. i.
 112

of the servants of Government from all official confi.
dence or secresy, was not attainable.
And not only were all servants of Government so
absolved from that obligation, but they were even
commanded to hold it as nought, after the following
fashion, by His Excellency himself.
“ * And I do hereby empower you (the Commission)
“ to demand and obtain access at all times to all and
“all manner of papers, records, and documents, relat
" ing to the subject matter of the said Commission,
“ and in the custody or under the control of the
“ several public departments within this colony, and,
“ from time to time, to call before you and examine
“all persons superintending or employed in or under
"any of the said departments, AND I DO HEREBY
CHARGE ALL PERSONS IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE TO BE
66
AIDING AND ASSISTING UNTO YOU HEREIN .”
Nor was this clause in their warrant suffered by
the Commissioners to become a dead letter.
One of them compelled Dr. Bridges to give evidence
as to the connection of his protégé, Caldwell, with
the Chinese spy system .†
In like manner, the Marine Magistrate, Mr. Inglis,I
was most reluctantly induced to furnish them , with
reminiscences of the early habits and connections of
the Chinese wife of the same “ Protector of Chinese." .
On each occasion, the unwilling witness was re
minded of the above-cited passage of the warrant,
and of his peculiar liability to censure, as a Govern
ment servant, in the event of disobedience to the
tenor thereof.

* Report and Minutes, Pref. p . 11 .
† Minutes of Evidence, etc. , 28th June, 1858 .
# Ibid , 11th and 16th June, 1858.
 113


In no other capacity than as a witness, summoned
under the hand of the Chairman, did I ever offer
myself to the notiee of the Cornmission ; and , even
then , I never missed an opportunity, from the first
*
day of the inquiry to the end,* of “disclaiming the
charges as made out on the charge list.”
Nay, my steadfastness in the course I had marked
out to myself, of taking no part in the inquiry but as
a summoned witness, is made the subject of animad
version, if not of complaint, by the Commissioners
themselves.
In their Report,f they say that they “ had expe
“rienced great difficulty in their labours : First,
“ from the NATURE, ARRANGEMENT, and WORDING of
" the charges ; some of which it appeared unnecessary,
as it certainly was most distasteful to them to
inquire into ; Secondly, from the reluctance of wit
66

66
nesses to give evidence ; and Thirdly, and ESPE
CIALLY, from THE REFUSAL OF THE ATTORNEY
- GENERAL TO ACT AS ACCUSER, OR TO RECOGNISE THE
66
CHARGES AS HIS CHARGES.
There was, therefore, no “ breach of confidence "
upon my part ; but, on the contrary, the strictest
obedience to the Governor's own warrant.
Further evidence has been since then obtained
against Mr. Caldwell — both as to his past acts, and
as to his continued malpractices.
In one case, I a verdict has established the credit
of witnesses, whose testimony, if good for any pur
* Minutes, etc. , pp. 1-3, 30, etc. etc.
| Report, p. 1 .
Cheong -shew -Shek v. Endicott ; tried at Hong Kong, before
the Chief Justice and a special jury, 1 & 2 Dec. , 1858. Compare
the Caldwell Commission Minutes , pp. 31 , 3.
I
 114

pose at all, made out, against Mah - Chow Wong and
his gang, one of the cases of extortion narrated by
Mr. May, J.P. , and myself, before the Caldwell Com
mission , and against Mrs. Caldwell a participation in
the same-and it cast upon Mr. Caldwell (who gave
his evidence most unsatisfactorily ) a very strong suspi
cion of having been engaged, so lately as the autumn
of 1857, in an attempt to defraud.
In other cases, yet more recent — for which I must
refer to the correspondence asked for by Mr. James—
his conduct in obstructing the due administration of
justice, has led to results, which have received public
animadversion, both from the Supreme Court and from
the Magistracy.
And still he remains the Chinese Registrar -General,
Protector, and Brothels' Licenser, and one of Her
Majesty's Justices of the Peace for Hong Kong.
I left that colony, upon sick certificate, on the
30th January last ; exactly three years, to an hour,
from my first arrival on its shores.
On my return hither, I find myself no longer
Attorney -General;—my suspension having been con
firmed, on grounds not yet stated, but which, I am
happy to learn, are not those alleged by Sir John
Bowring — whatever those may be, for I have not seen
his despatches — nor such as are not reconcileable with
personal appreciation and respect.
Once, during my Parliamentary career, it fell to
my lot to vindicate a public servant who had, in like
manner, deserved the anger and hatred of a corrupt
East Indian Proconsulate : -- and I did it unsolicited,
and without consulting him , and yet with entire
success .

The absence of imputation makes it unnecessary
 115


for me to attempt, for my own character, a similar
vindication :—and I gladly forbear.
But the good cause, for which I have suffered, I
leave to the public spirit of Englishmen, their con
sciences, their love of constitutional liberty, and their
knowledge of law and right.
The rest I resign to fortune.
I am, Sir,
Your very obedient servant,
T. CHISHOLM ANSTEY ,
Late Her Majesty's Attorney -General
for Hong Kong.




LONDON ,
16th April, 1859 .
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