bench, have secured for him, in a short time, the respect and esteem of all
upright men. Nor are these legal attributes and attainments his only title to
admiration. With a liberality the most unusual, the Chief Justice has
placed a most valuable law library in the Court-House, for the use of prac-
titioners and suitors."
His suspension , therefore, was rightly looked upon by the His
entire community-with the exception of a few who dreaded suspension
a public
his impartial administration of justice -as a public calamity. calamity.
And this was the more evident when it was seen later on how Sir John
the business of the Supreme Court was conducted by the young Davis'
nominee to
person who was nominated acting Attorney- General by Sir
John Davis during the absence on leave of Mr. Sterling, and Attorney.
Generalship
whom he now appointed to act for Mr. Hulme after his suspen- as Mr.
sion. Hulme's
temporary
The following was the address presented by the community successor.
of Hongkong, which obtained one hundred and sixteen signa-
tures :-
Hongkong, 30th November, 1847.
Sir, The address
of the
Impelled by a sense of duty, we the undersigned your countrymen and community.
fellow-subjects in China, of various professious and pursuits, cannot refrain
from expressing our feelings with regard to the extraordinary position in
which we see you placed.
* The same address was circulated at Canton, where it received one hundred and
fourteen signatures.
162 HISTORY OF THE LAWS, ETC. , OF HONGKONG.
Ch. VIII § I. Our opinion of the charges brought against you is best shown is the
1847. esteem and regard , which your private character has won for you from a
large circle of friends and acquaintances, and in the respect and coufidence,
which the able and punctual and faithful discharge of your public duties,
have ever commanded for you from the entire community.
Whatever may be the final issue of these proceedings, be assured , Sir, that
your administration of justice in the Supreme Court of Hongkong has earned
for you the gratitude of your fellow-countrymen in China, and that you bear
with you the respect and reverence due to an upright judge, performing the
duties of his high office without fear or favour, faithfully executing justice
and maintaining truth.
With the deepest sympathy and respect, allow us to subscribe ourselves,
Sir, your most obedient and humble servants,
[Here followed the signatures.]
To The Honourable
JOHN WALTER HULME, ESQ .,
Chief Justice, Hongkong.
The reply.
To this, the following answer was returned : -
Gentlemen,
I thank you for this expression of your sympathy and respect.
words, not heart, adequately to convey to you my due appreciation of the
kindly spirit, the noble, honourable, generous feeling, which has dictated the
present address . However innocent a man may be, he can ill bear up under
charges such as those which have been preferred against me, if he have not
the sympathy and support of his fellow-men . It has been my good fortune
to meet with the most universal kindness, in the trying position in which I
have been placed . I am but too happy to be told that my private character
has gained me the esteem and regard of my friends, and that my public
character has won me the respect and confidence of the community. I trust
I may never forfeit either of these valuable acquisitions.
Gentlemen, I will not detain you by taking a review of the proceedings
instituted against me, indeed I am anxious to say as little as possible concern-
ing the charges, which have been under investigation, until Her Majesty's
pleasure as to the course pursued is known, but this much I feel myself at
liberty to express, that not only have the charges not been proved but that
they have been most positively disproved . That what I state to you is the
fact will clearly appear when the evidence is made public , and I hope that
not only the evidence may be published , but also the despatches relative to
the charges, to which I have been subjected . It would be no difficult task to
trace these charges to their true origin, but I forbear doing so for the reason
I have already assigned . The matter is now in the hands of Her Majesty's
Government, and it only remains for that Government to pronounce its
opinion upon the evidence, as to the truth or falsehood of the charges.
Gentlemen, although I have suffered much from the independent discharge
of my judicial duties, rest assured , that so long as I have the honour to hold
Her Majesty's Commission no amount of suffering or misery shall ever induce
me to depart from the course I have hitherto pursued -a course to which I
am bound, as well by virtue of my oath, as by common honesty, and that I
shall continue when restored to the office of Chief Justice, to base my judicial
opinions upon the facts brought before the Court without fear or favour.
Gentlemen, again I thank you.
ADDRESS OF SPECIAL JURORS TO THE CHIEF JUSTICE. 163
The address presented by the Members of the Special Jury Ch. VIII § 1.
was as follows : 1847.
Victoria, Hongkong, 2nd December, 1847 . The address
of the Special
To the Honourable Jury.
JOHN WALTER HULME, Esq.,
ChiefJustice, etc., etc.,
Hongkong.
Sir,
We, the undersigned Members of the Special Jury of this Colony, have
learnt with regret your suspension from office, and consequent retirement
from amongst us.
As jurors, who have most of us served under your administration, from
your first taking your seat on the Bench of the Supreme Court in China, till
the present time, we beg, with every respect, to offer you the humble tribute
of our praise for the upright and impartial manner in which you have
conducted the duties of your high office ; we thank you for the untiring
patience with which you have investigated the various causes which have
been brought before you for your decision ; and we congratulate you on the
more than common success (not a single appeal having been made against
your decision ) which has attended your administration of the law, during the
entire period of your sojourn amongst us.
In taking leave of you, we may be allowed to indulge the hope that your
absence will be brief, but should it be decided otherwise, we wish you a
sincere farewell, and with the assurance of our warmest sympathies, we
remain, Sir, your most obedient humble servants.
The reply of the Chief Justice was as follows :- The reply.
Gentlemen of the Special Jury,
I feel truly grateful for your kind address . Coming as it does from a class
of gentlemen whose duties in the Supreme Court have afforded them such
ample opportunities of judging of my conduct when on the Bench, it is
rendered doubly valuable.
I am proud to think that the manner in which I have discharged my
judicial duties has met your approbation, and I rejoice to know that the
present mark of respect to my public character at once affords an answer to
the charges which have been levelled against my private character.
Gentlemen, it is with the deepest regret I separate myself from you, but I
trust the separation will be temporary only, and that I shall return to you
amply repaid for the troubles I have undergone, and be allowed the oppor-
tunity of proving myself worthy of the respect and sympathy you have so
kindly shown me . -Gentlemen , farewell.
The Attorneys of the Court, hearing that the Chief Justice. The
had decided to proceed to England , waited till Christmas Day , Attorneys
when they presented their address to him, accompanied with a Court
handsome gold snuff- box . The address expressed the enduring their address
respect they entertained for him, and was as follows :-- with a
handsome
Victoria, Hongkong, 25th December, 1847 . gift.
To the Honourable
JOHN WALTER HULME,
ChiefJustice of the Supreme Court of Hongkong.
We, the undersigned , deeply regretting the unfounded charges that have
brought about your intended departure from this Colony, which we with great
164 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG.
Ch. VIII § I. sincerity trust will be but temporary, venture to express our esteem and
admiration of your upright, able, and truly impartial discharge of the high
1847.
trust reposed in you as Chief Justice of this Colony since the establishment
of its Court of Judicature.
The manifold benefits conferred by you whilst on the Bench in the speedy
and effective administration of Justice --your unbiassed feeling, perfect
equanimity, and great courtesy manifested towards suitors and their advocates,
has at once endeared you to us, and has won for you the unqualified respect
and affection of the community.
Great would be our desire had the limits of an address permitted to dilate
upon the unvarying kindness exhibited by you towards us, and still greater
would be our desire to be allowed an opportunity of joining our fellow-colonists
in giving public expression to the enduring respect entertained for you , but
as this is not agreeable to your wishes, we beg to proffer you the accom-
panying token, to wish you all happiness during your sojourn at Home, and
to indulge in the pleasing hope of seeing you again presiding over us as a
judge, triumphant over the attacks of enmity, whether levelled at your
professional fame, or at the purity of your private and moral character.
NORCOTT D'E. PARKER,
RICHARD COLEY,
WILLIAM GASKELL, Solicitors.
P. C. McSwYNEY,
E. FARNCOMB,
The Chief The reply of the Chief Justice was as follows : -
Justice's
reply to the Saturday, 25th December, 1847.
address of
the Attorneys Gentlemen,
of the Court. No words can sufficiently express my gratitude for your very handsome
and flattering address -an address which I am perfectly satisfied would never
have found its way up here, had there been the slightest foundation for the
gross charges, which have been brought against me .
I have had the honour of presiding over Her Majesty's Supreme Court at
Hongkong as Chief Justice for upwards of three years, and it affords me the
highest gratification to find that my conduct has been such as to win your
esteem and admiration. During this period you have at all times, whether
in Court or at Chambers , shown me the utmost respect. Believe me, Gentle-
men, this respect has been mutual, for depend upon it, to be respected, you
must learn to respect others.
It also gives me the greatest pleasure to think that, as Judge, I have
secured the respect and good wishes of the suitors and of the community at
large.
I join most cordially in the wish , so kindly expressed, that I may soon
return and again preside over the Supreme Court ; but, be assured , Gentle-
men, that whether I have the honour of holding Her Majesty's Commission
in Hongkong or elsewhere, the remembrance of your address will never be
obliterated .
You have not stopped here ; I see before me the splendid token of your
respect. Valuable as this token is intrinsically, it possesses a value far more
than its intrinsic worth. It will be treasured by me as an heirloom and
handed down to my children ; and if, when my earthly career is terminated ,
any kind friend should cast the foul charges which have been preferred
against me in their teeth, they can point to that token in refutation of the
charges. But, much as I admire the token itself, the feeling which wrought
the precious metal into its present handsome form demands my still higher
admiration.
CHINESE MARK OF RESPECT FOR THE CHIEF JUSTICE . 165
Gentlemen, whether our separation be long or short, I sincerely wish you all Ch. VIII § I.
health, happiness, and prosperity, and beg you not to judge my feelings by
1847.
the brevity of my address.
The principal Chinese residents of the Colony were not to be The principal
outdone by their fellow-residents of other nationalities in show- Chinese
residents
ing sympathy with the Chief Justice. They also, on hearing of also show
his treatment, spontaneously drew up and presented him with sympathy.
an address in Chinese, containing upwards of one hundred
signatures. The translation of the address is not here repro-
duced in full, but in it appeared the following paragraph :
" ...... We always had good ideas of Judge Hulme since the opening of
the Honourable Court until this day. So we ought to make a large and
valuable present for His Honour on his return Home as a mark of our respect,
for virtue has always a good reward . We know well, however, Your Honour
will not accept it, so we can only send this valuable paper and its contents
to Your Honour for your uprightness , cleverness , and pureness which will be
established through all the world and go to the ear of everyone and also before
your Queen in her palace, that she may know Your Honour's upright, clear,
and pure heart......"
The following was the Chief Justice's reply to the Chinese the The Chief
reply of
traders . It will be seen that the administration of English Laws Justice to
is touched upon by Mr. Hulme, leaving therefore no doubt the Chinese.
whatever as to the applicability of those laws in the Colony
upon the promulgation of the Charter, -a subject animadverted English law.
upon before in the earlier portion of this work . * The Chief
Justice said :-
" Chinese Inhabitants of Hongkong,
This mark of respect to my public character affords me peculiar gratifica-
tion. As Judge of the Supreme Court of Hongkong, it has ever been my
study to administer the laws of Hongkong fairly and impartially, totally
regardless of the parties by whom redress from those laws may have been
sought, whether Chinese or English. As inhabitants of a British Colony,
one of the greatest privileges you enjoy is the right to a due and even-handed
administration of the English laws, and I am satisfied that the more you
become acquainted with these laws, the more you will learn to love and
respect them . Be assured that no present you could have made me would
have given me half the pleasure that your expression of gratitude and respect
has afforded me. Farewell."
These addresses could not but have gratified the respected Gratifying
addresses.
Judge himself ; and to his wife and family they doubtless were Chief
doubly precious as denouncing and disproving a foul slander . Justice's
The handsome gold snuff- box presented by the Attorneys of wife and
family.
the Supreme Court bore the appropriate motto- " Indignante Motto on the
invidia florebitjustus," and inside the lid, the words : — gold snuff
box.
"Presented by the Attorneys of the Supreme Court to the Honourable
John Walter Hulme, Chief Justice of the island of Hongkong, as an humble
tribute of their admiration of his unblemished integrity and upright demea-
nour on the bench, and in testimony of their regard for his private and public
character, which has gained him alike the confidence of the community, and
the high esteem of the profession . "
* See Introduction , antè p. 23.
166 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG.
Ch. VIII § I. Bitter, indeed, must have been the feelings of the honourable
1847. gentleman's slanderers when they perused the addresses . A
General very general sympathy towards the Chief Justice was excited
sympathy
with the by these painful proceedings. Altogether a more disgraceful
Chief
Justice. affair than this had perhaps never occurred in modern times.
Adisgraceful Here was a Governor of a Colony taking a dislike to a Judge
affair.
and privately slandering him ; endeavouring to wriggle out of
the difficulty when he found the secret calumny converted into
open accusation ; and finally trying the accused party by a
Conduct of tribunal of which he was himself President, and the members
Governor
Davis of which were permitted to give evidence against the functionary
commented whose conduct was under inquiry. With what feelings of
upon.
dismay the Chief Justice must have seen his accuser and the
witnesses against him arrayed at once as Judges and Jurors ,
and how profound the admiration with which the European
and native inhabitants of the Colony must have regarded such
Chief an exhibition of British justice ! There was but one feeling
Justice
Hulme a on the occasion, which was that Chief Justice Hulme had been
victim of
persecuted in a most disgraceful manner, and that he had passed
persecution.
most honourably through the fiery ordeal of an investigation
into his private life. Malice and hatred had followed him to
the table of his friends, but malignity itself had only charged
him with being excited by wine twice in two years , and the
The
Compton charges had been refuted by many witnesses. The publica-
papers. tion of the Compton papers must have satisfied the people that
even on more delicate points, Sir John Davis was by no means
scrupulous or governed by nice feelings of honour. On the
other hand, however, it was considered that if the charges against
the Chief Justice were upheld , the immediate removal of that
official would of necessity follow. No Judge discovered to be
an "habitual drunkard " could for a moment be permitted to
retain his seat upon the bench, so also, should the accusation
The recall fall to the ground, there was nothing to prevent the recall of Sir
of Governor
Davis a John Davis. In whatever light it was viewed, and in whatever
probability. way it terminated , the accusation could not fail but to attach
scandal to the Colony. A Governor capable of bringing a false
charge of drunkenness against the highest judicial officer in the
Colony, was obviously altogether unfitted for his post.
Departure of Before taking his departure from Hongkong " Chief Justice
Chief
Justice Hulme begged through the press publicly to express his grate-
Hulme.
ful acknowledgments to those gentlemen who had so kindly left
their cards at his residence after the investigation into the
charges preferred against him," and on Thursday, the 30th
December, he, with Mrs. Hulme, embarked for England in the
P. & O. Co.'s Steamer Pekin. It will be recollected that he had
arrived in the Colony on the 7th May, 1844, and that he had been
THE CONDUCT OF SIR JOHN DAVIS. 167
a fellow-passenger of Sir John Davis, the Governor. No further Ch. VIII § I.
opinion of the oppression of which he had been made the victim , 1847.
or of the high estimation he was held in by the community
was now necessary. It was fervently hoped that at no
distant period he would return to the Bench, the integrity and
independence of which he had so nobly sustained , and for doing
which he had now paid such a heavy penalty. The public had The ovation
marked the conduct of his oppressors and had ceased to recog- given him by
Europeans
nize them as gentlemen . At Pedder's Wharf His Honour was and natives.
attended by the British community and the leading natives. display flags
and fire
The Chinese displayed flags and discharged a quantity of crackers.
crackers. Altogether the departure of the Chief Justice was A champagne
that of a triumphant rather than a suspended functionary. On tiffin
board.on
board the Pekin many of his friends accompanied him , where a
champagne tiffin was spread on the occasion .
The conduct of Sir John Davis towards Mr. Hulme had na- The conduct
of Governor
turally attracted attention outside the Colony, and soon became Davis as
a matter of notoriety in the British Colonies . The press of India viewed
outside the
notably, without exception , denounced him, -for the last but Colony.
most prominent item of intelligence which had reached India India.
The Press of
about the state and progress of affairs in the Celestial Empire,
had been the somewhat startling announcement that the Chief
Justice of Hongkong had been tried and suspended for drunken-
ness ! The career of the Governor had been closely watched The career of
the Governor.
in India whose commercial relations with this part of the
world had now become so intimate, and the Compton Case The Compton
and the opinion expressed by Sir John Davis as to the English Case.
in Canton was not unknown there, and the hope was now fer-
vently expressed that this was the " last outrage of the despicable Governor
Davis as the
man who, as Governor of the Colony , had for the last few years despicable
been hurrying on a promising Colony to ruin and exposing his man.
country and countrymen to the contempt of the " haughty and
cunning Chinese."
On the 30th November, appeared a Government Notifica- Government
Notification
tion that " His Excellency the Governor had been pleased announcing
to appoint the Honourable Charles Molloy Campbell, Esquire, of
appointment
Mr. C. M.
to officiate as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in lieu Campbell as
of the Honourable John Walter Hulme, Esquire, who was Justice.
acting Chief
suspended in accordance with instructions from the Right
Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, until ,”
added the Notification, " the pleasure of Her Majesty be known. " Universal
Rightly worded , as will be seen hereafter, was the conclud- sympathy
ing portion of this notification , for deep and universal had been with Chief
Justice
the sympathy manifested towards the Chief Justice who had Hulme.
endeared himself to the community by his unflinching integri- in
Mr.priva
Hulme
te
ty on the Bench . In private life he had been esteemed and life.
168 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG.
Ch. VIII § I. respected for those virtues which sweeten existence, and the
1847. very nature of his prosecution, not to say persecution , had only
marked more prominently his good qualities as a Judge and as
a member of society, and the one who had directed the prosecu
Mr. Campbell
had directed tion, strange to say, upon which the Chief Justice had been
the suspended , now succeeded him upon the bench, and, taken in
prosecution
again st Mr. connexion with Mr. Campbell's " silent advice " as the result of
Hulme. the inquiry, no wonder he was now elevated to the bench
How Mr. in the place of Mr. Hulme. * That he did no credit either
Campbell to the Bench or himself will hereafter be seen. On the
conducted
himself on
the Bench. elevation of Mr. Campbell to the Bench, Mr. N. D'E . Parker
Mr. N. D'E. resumed his former position of Crown Prosecutor under Ordi-
Parker,
Crown nance No. 6 of 1846 , being gazetted on the same day as
Prosecutor. Mr. Campbell. With the exception of the Government having
Ordinance
No. 6 of 1846. again no legal adviser, the Supreme Court was now practi-
Chief cally fully constituted . An extraordinary fact in connexion
Justice
Hulme with the changes noted above was, that Mr. Hulme did not
only left leave the Colony till the 30th December, exactly one month
the Colony
one month from the time that he had been superseded by Mr. Campbell,
after his but it may be that in those days direct communication was
suspension . only monthly with the mother country, and that therefore
Probable Mr. Hulme had had no other opportunity of leaving the
reason.
Colony. There is no ground upon which to form any other
conclusion .
The At the time of the suspension of the Chief Justice , the estab-
Establish-
ment of the lishment of the Supreme Court consisted of the following : -Mr.
Supreme R. D. Cay, Registrar ; F. Smith , Deputy Registrar ; Lieutenant
the T. Wade, Chinese Interpreter ; João de Jesus, Malay Interpreter ;
Courtofathis
time
suspension. William Hastings Alexander , Clerk of Court ; G. A. Trotter,
Clerk to the Chief Justice , and John Brooksbank, Usher.
Rumoured It had been understood for some time past that Sir John Davis
resignation
of Sir John had tendered his resignation , requesting that he might be relieved
Davis. before the commencement of another hot season , and information
now reached Hongkong that such was the case , though, of course,
the outside public knew nothing positively upon the subject.
But a reference to the different Commissions of his successor,
Mr. S. G. Mr. Samuel George Bonham, shows that the news that had
Bonham as
his successor. reached the Colony was not mere idle rumour, and that in
reality Sir John Davis, at this moment at least , was no longer
Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary and Chief Superintendent of
Trade in China , for Mr. Bonham's Commission , as such , though
not as Governor of Hongkong, was dated the 27th November,
* "There was a half-caste barrister here at the time named Molloy Campbell, who
had engaged to do the needful for Sir John." The Friend of China, November 23, 1861,
p. 720.
LIEUTENANT SARGENT'S ASSAULT UPON MR . CAIRNS . 169
1847. Assuming, said a local paper, the truth of Sir John Ch. VIII § I.
Davis' resignation to be correct, " was it not reasonable to 1847.
conclude that he was influenced in his desire to retire by the Press
conviction that he had got himself into what the Americans call conclusions,
a ' fix, ' and that it would be better to walk quietly downstairs than
to make his exit under a certain rough species of compulsion ?
Not a very flattering remark, it will be admitted , but suggestive
of the feeling entertained for Sir John Davis in Hongkong.
The case of Cairns v. Sargent, which had afforded some talk The case of
Cairns v.
for a time, came on for hearing on the 6th December. It Lieutenant
was an action for damages for an assault and battery com- Sargent
the 95thof
mitted by the defendant, a lieutenant in the 95th Royal Irish Regiment.
Regiment, upon the plaintiff, the editor of a local paper, The Hong- Action for
damages for
kong Register. On the morning of the 26th August, the defend- assault and
ant taking offence at a paragraph in the plaintiff's paper con- battery.
The cause.
taining the report of a case in the Police Court in which, it was
said, the defendant " an officer of the 95th had assumed the part
of an informer by laying a complaint that a lamp hanging in
front of a shop in Queen's Road was not burning "-a contraven-
tion, it may be noted , against a local enactment mentioned in this
work under the date of January last , *-and that the Magistrate
had dismissed the case, " but declared he believed the charge to
be true and would do so until a witness was produced equally
respectable as the informer, " -proceeded to plaintiff's residence
and, after charging him with having called him ( the defendant )
an informer ' twice, struck him several blows upon the head
with his fist and umbrella.
The Jury awarded the plaintiff $ 1,000 damages . The Verdict.
plaintiff was represented as a very inoffensive man and one who, Plaintiff,
as an editor, seldom had come to extremes or suffered " gall to editor of
Hongkong
mingle with his ink," and it was difficult to perceive that Register,
Lieutenant Sargent should have considered himself so much an inoffensive
man.
aggrieved that the only remedy left him was the infliction of
serious bodily injury under the circumstances . A superior
officer had tendered an apology on the part of Mr. Sargent, Had refused
apology.
which, however, Mr. Cairns had, after taking advice, refused to
accept. On Wednesday, the 8th December, evidently after he Governor
Davis goes
had got rid of his Home despatches, including that concerning to Canton.
Chief Justice Hulme, Sir John Davis set sail for Canton in
H.M.S. Daedalus, Captain McQuha, but, being becalmed , did not
reach that place till Sunday, the 12th, when he on his arrival
at once issued a circular through the Consul intimating to Her
Majesty's subjects that he " would be happy to receive from
them any communication they may have to make to him . "
Major-
During the Governor's absence, Major-General D'Aguilar as General
* Antè p. 123.
170 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG.
Ch. VIII § I. usual assumed the administration of the Government. On the 15th
1847. December, Mr. Campbell presided over the Criminal Sessions of
D'Aguilar the Supreme Court. The calendar was a short one and none of
acts.
December the cases were of importance, but a noteworthy incident was the
Criminal
Sessions. abandonment at this Sessions of the case against Mr. Tarrant
Major Caine charged with conspiring to injure the character of Major Caine
and his
compradore. mentioned in October last. * The Crown Prosecutor , Mr. Parker,
Abandon- stated that "there was no case against Mr. Tarrant," and he
ment of
case against was discharged under proclamation. In consequence of this
Mr. Tarrant. Mr. Tarrant now laid his case before Earl Grey, the Secretary of
Mr. Parker's
reasons. State † It may be noted here that the Governor, Sir John
Mr. Tarrant Davis, gave, as his reason for abandoning the prosecution against
lays his
case before Mr. Tarrant, that, as Mr. Campbell had advised the Government
Earl Grey. But this
Governor in the matter, he could not now sit upon the case !
Davis' was, to say the least , an error . Mr. Campbell, it was said, had
reasons for
abandoning no such delicacy : at the very Sessions mentioned above, he had
the charge. presided as Judge over more than one trial in which he had pre-
Mr.
Campbell. viously appeared as Attorney- General ; at the Nisi Prius sittings
held some time before, he gave judgment in two cases in which
he had been retained for the defence shortly before going to
Alleged trial ! The abandonment of Mr. Tarrant's prosecution there-
sqeamish-
ness. fore was ascribed to other causes than squeamishness on the
part of the acting Judge.
Mr. Tarrant Availing himself of the Chief Justice's departure for England,
asked Chief
Justice Mr. Tarrant, on the 20th December, addressed a long letter to
Hulme to his treatment by the Government
intercede for Mr. Hulme , setting forth
him with consequent upon the disclosures he had felt bound to make
Earl Grey. regarding Major Caine's compradore. Mr. Tarrant informed
the Chief Justice that "in anticipation that the unpleasant
business which called him to England would be speedily
disposed of, emboldened him to solicit Mr. Hulme's valuable
intercession and kind interest in his behalf with Lord Grey, in
order to avert from him a portion of that injury which he had
sustained through the performance of what he deemed an act of
imperative duty."" But the Chief Justice, quite apart from his
own disgraceful treatment, was not likely, with his own affairs in
Governor hand, to have interested himself on Mr. Tarrant's behalf. Sir
Davis
returns from John Davis, having terminated his visit to Canton, returned hither
Canton. on the 24th December, when he proceeded to fill up the other
appointments which had become available consequent upon his
suspension of the Chief Justice. On the 30th, the day Mr.
He appoints Hulme left the Colony, he appointed Mr. Mercer, his nephew, who
nephew,a had come out with him as his Private Secretary and who had
his Mercer,
Mr.
member of now become Colonial Treasurer, to be a member of the Legisla-
the Legislative Council in the room of Mr. Hulme, Mr. Campbell for some
reason not being given that honour. Mr. G. A. Trotter, having
* Antè p. 150. † See Chap. XI., infrà.
THE JUDICIAL AFFAIRS OF 1847 . 171
resigned his position of Clerk to the Chief Justice on the suspen- Ch. VIII § I.
sion of the latter, the Governor on the 31st December, on 1817.
the recommendation of the acting Chief Justice, Mr. Campbell, tive
Council in
appointed Mr. Edward Hutchinson Pollard to succeed him, Mr. the place
D. R. Caldwell , on the same date, being also gazetted as Inter- of Chief
Justice
preter and Assistant Superintendent of Police. Hulme.
Mr. Trotter,
At the December Criminal Sessions another important prosecu- clerk to the
tion was abandoned. It was that against Mr. Shortrede , the editor Justice,
Chief
of The China Mail , for not conforming with the provisions of Ordi- resigns.
nance No. 2 of 1844, by having removed his printing establish . Mr. Campbell
recommends
ment two years before from one place to another without com- Mr. E. H.
municating the fact to the authorities . It was understood that Follard as
successor.
something lay at the bottom of this prosecution , as Mr. Shortrede Mr. D. R.
Caldwell,
had made himself rather conspicuous some time before in the Interpreter
matter of some revelations concerning the Police. Mr. Parker, and Assistant
Superin-
the Crown Prosecutor , refusing to lend himself to such vexatious tement of
proceedings , decided to withdraw the prosecution , although the Police.
Prosecution
defence regretted " that the prosecution had not been suffered to of Mr.
take its course so as to have had an opportunity of exposing its Shortrede
Editor of the
whole history." The information had been filed by Mr. Camp- China Mail,
bell as acting Attorney- General, and was to have been tried for contra
vening
before him as acting Chief Justice , the latter, it was said, " like Ordinance
No. 2 of
a second Bottom, having undertaken the parts of both Pyramus 14 1844 two
and Thisbe." years
previously.
The judicial affairs of 1847, as may be gathered from the contraven-
Press
foregoing, were not without considerable interest to the Colony tion.
or causing occasional sensational alarm or feeling of distrust in Prosecution
is withdrawn.
those placed in authority. The appointment early in the year Information
of a Select Committee of the House of Commons to inquire into had
filedbeen
by Mr.
the condition of our commercial relations with China, the ex- Campbell
pedition to Canton, the condition of the European Police, the who
havewas
triedto
appointments of Major Caine as Colonial Secretary, and of Mr. the case.
Judicial
Hillier as Chief Magistrate in opposition to the wishes and affairs
airs of
greatly to the astonishment of those residents who apparently resumé.
1847 ;
had the best interests of the Colony at heart , and last, though
not least, the disgraceful and most humiliating suspension from
duty of Chief Justice Hulme by the Governor through petty
spite and after having used every means in his power to lower
and degrade him in the eyes of the public however unsuccessfully,
and only to be shortly afterwards reinstated into office again
by the Home authorities, as will be seen hereafter, † are all im-
portant eras in the judicial annals of the Colony never to be
obliterated. Irrespective of this , several other causes had com-
bined to depress the condition of affairs in the Colony.
The records show Mr. Trotter as a clerk in the Colonial Secretary's Office in 1844,
and in 1846 mention is made of him as an assistant in the Office of Mr. N. D'E. Parker.
† See Chap. X, infrà.
172 HISTORY OF THE LAWS, ETC. , OF HONGKONG .
Ch. VIII § I. The Chinese Committee during the year carefully investigated
-
1847. some of them . From the report upon which they agreed after a
The Report long and patient examination of the most competent witnesses
of the
Committec upon the subject, it resulted that the causes of disappointment had
on our been threefold , -first, they enumerated certain considerations
commercial
relations drawn from the geographical situation of the island, and the
with China. method in which the development of its resources had been
shackled by the stipulations of treaties previous to its occupa-
tion ; secondly, and in addition to these inevitable or natural
disadvantages, there had been causes arising from internal ad-
ministration or mal-administration rather of the affairs of the Co-
The dual
lony ; and , lastly, there were others consequent upon the depen-
position of
the Governor. dence of the Governor on two departments of administration at
Home. As Governor of a Colony he was, of course, immediately
dependent upon the Colonial Office . As representative, in a man-
ner, of Great Britain at a foreign Court, and Superintendent of
Trade, he was amenable to the authority of the Secretary of State
The evils for Foreign Affairs. The evils of this divisum imperium , seen so
of the
divisum vividly to his own astonishment by Sir John Davis in his treat-
imperium. ment of Mr. Hulme, had been aggravated by this additional cir-
cumstance, that these two departments of State, although pulling
in different directions , in other respects had combined in their
efforts to enforce upon the Governor a line of policy which, so
at all events it was alleged , had been disagreeable to the incli-
nations and hurtful to the interests of the Colonists . Under
such circumstances, then, the task of Sir John Davis may not
have been an easy one, and, if he had failed to reconcile so many
incompatibilities, it may probably have been more the fault of
circumstances than of the man . The registration system by
which every Chinaman , twenty- four hours after he had landed in
the island, was compelled to furnish himself with a registration
ticket, stating his age, name, family, height, former residence,
and occupation, had turned out extremely offensive to the Chi-
nese. The effect of it had been to keep away respectable
Chinese from the Colony, and invite only men of bad character,
Ordinar ce though it was hoped that Ordinance No. 7 of 1846 , promulgated
No. 7 of 1846. early in the year, would work an improvement over previous
similar measures . Nor were the Police punishments less offen-
sive to the prejudices of the Chinese . The point may have
appeared ludicrous , but from an answer to Dr. Bowring's ques-
tion, as may have been seen , in addition to blows with a rattan
the Police were in the habit of cutting off the tails of the Chi-
nese. When they found they could splice on a tail, the Police ended
by shaving off entirely the original appendage. All this may have
seemed extremely ridiculous at first sight, but when it was con-
sidered that the effect of the punishment was to drive the man
on whom it was inflicted to desperation and to expel him from
SIR JOHN DAVIS AFTER THE HULME EPISODE. 173
the society of respectable Chinese, it might perhaps have been Ch. VIII
- § 1.
condemned for wantonness and impolicy. Undoubtedly no 1847.
respectable Chinaman would enter a Colony and submit himself
to the laws of a people of which he understood nothing, when
the consequence of their infraction was a punishment that de-
graded him in his own eyes as well as those of his fellow-coun-
trymen. During the year, Sir John Davis had several times
absented himself from the Colony in connexion with various
missions , accounting, no doubt, for the few legislative measures
enacted during the year. Only six Ordinances were passed
during the year.
Ch. VIII § II.
----
The year 1848 opened with a proclamation announcing that Disallowance
Ordinances No. 10 of 1845 , relating to the Naturalization of of
No.Ordinance
10 of
Aliens within the Colony, and No. 3 of 1847 , for the Prevention 1845.
of Piracy, had been disallowed by the Home Government. On Naturaliza-
tion of
the other hand, the Rule of Court of Hilary Term dated the 1st Aliens.
January of this year, which passed the Legislative Council on AndOrdinance
the 20th of the month , relative to the execution of writs of capias No. 3 of 1847 .
on persons out of the Colony but within the jurisdiction of the Prev Piracy.
Supreme Court, was approved of and confirmed by the Secretary Order Approval
of of
of State for the Colonies and duly notified on the 15th July. Court
On the recommendation of the acting Chief Justice, on the 5th the
relative to
execution
January, the Governor appointed Mr. Cay, the Registrar, to be of writs of
Master in Equity, and Mr. Pollard , the acting Chief Justice's capias.
Mr. Cay ,
Clerk, who had succeeded Mr. Trotter, to be Keeper of Records Registrar,
and Muniments, and on the 11th, Mr. F. Smith , the Deputy appointed
Master in
Registrar, was appointed a Surrogate of the Vice- Admiralty Equity.
Mr. Pollard,
Court for the purpose of taking affidavits. Keeper of
Records and
The rumour mentioned at the latter end of last year that Sir John Muniments.
Davis had resigned proved to be correct , and official intimation was Mr. F.
Smith,
now received that Mr. Samuel George Bonham, whom rumour Surrogate of
had pointed out as the Governor's successor, was really the nomi- the Vice-
Admiralty
nee.
He had previously been Governor of the Settlements of Court.
Singapore, Penang, and Malacca ; and it was announced that he Mr. S. G.
Bonham
was leaving England on the 20th January, and would arrive appointed
Governor,
in the Colony by the end of March. vice Davis.
His previous
carcer.
Sir John Davis had in the meantime taken his passage
homewards for about the same time. His life at this time must
have been anything but happy. Since his return from Canton
on the 24th December last, and indeed ever since the Hulme
episode, he was said to have led a retired life. He is reported
to have been cut by every one of any standing in the island. Sir John
Davis' life in
He had not made his appearance in public from the time he Hongkong
returned from Canton, probably not liking to pass without the after the
Hulme
least recognition . He gave $ 200 for a Plenipotentiary's cup episode.
174 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG .
Ch. VIII § II. at the ensuing races, but no horses entered for the prize, and so
1848. many demonstrations of his unpopularity must have annoyed
Public him considerably. But the appointment of Mr. Bonham , who
opinion of
Mr. Bonham. was known to several of the residents , gave satisfaction, as they
were unqualified in expressing admiration of his character.
When Governor of Singapore he was universally esteemed ; his
affability had gained him the good - will of those who did not
regard politics, while his liberal sentiments and close applica-
tion to business were appreciated by others . He had had much
experience in legislating for a commercial settlement, and it
was therefore hoped that his career would not detract from his
well- earned reputation .
Sitting ofthe A Sessions of the Vice - Admiralty Court was held on the
Vice-
Admiralty 24th January under the acting Chief Justice, Mr. Camp-
Court under bell, the senior naval officer in command, and Mr. Hillier,
Mr. Camp-
bell. the Chief Magistrate . There were several cases of piracy ,
in one of which thirteen men were arraigned on a charge
of piracy on the 18th December last. In this case one of the
men turned Queen's evidence. The Jury found the twelve others
guilty and they were sentenced to death. Three of the other
cases were of individuals charged with being engaged in the
The Chimmo noted piracy on the Caroline and Omega in Chimmo Bay,
Bay piracy. reported in April last . * The evidence in all these cases was
not only the same in substance, but obtained in the same way,
from an accessory now an informer, so that the only evidence
Too Apo , the was that of the infamous Too Apo , a miscreant who , having con-
' informer.
fessed his participation in this very crime, had been allowed at
the first trial in connexion with these cases to turn Queen's
evidence, pardoned, and then taken into the service of the Police
as an informer ! His testimony as to the guilt of the pri-
soners, tainted in its very source and totally unsupported by
other proof, as moreover was pointed
pointed out by the presiding
The Jury Judge, was yet considered sufficient by the Jury who returned
return a
verdict of a verdict ofguilty in each case. Strong comments were naturally
guilty on his
evidence. passed in consequence, and the hope was expressed that the
Governor Governor would not sanction the continuance of a system which
Bonham
afterwards probably was made use of for the purpose of extorting blood
pardoned the money. As will be seen hereafter, three of the prisoners con-
prisoners. victed at this Sessions and sentenced to transportation, two for
life and one for three years with hard labour, received a free
Major- pardon from Governor Bonham in July of this year.
General
Staveley Major - General William Staveley, C.B., who had previously
succceds served in Mauritius , in a similar capacity, and whose ex-
Major-
General pected arrival had been spoken of in succession to Major-
D'Aguilar. General D'Aguilar as Commander of the land forces in China,
* Antè p. 139.
† Id.
THE DEPARTURE OF MAJOR- GENERAL D'AGUILAR . 175
arrived by the P. and O. Co.'s Steamer Braganza in the morning Ch. VIII § II.
-
of the 26th January with his family. He landed at about half 1848 .
past ten o'clock at Pedder's Wharf, where he was received by
Major- General D'Aguilar and staff, with the military honours
due to his rank. On the 27th he was gazetted as Lieutenant- Heisgazetted
Lieutenant-
Governor of Hongkong, and took the oaths and his seat as a Governor of
Hongkong.
member of the Executive Council on the same day.
It was now announced that Mr. W. H. Goddard , the solicitor, Goddard.
Death of Mr.
had died in Singapore on the 27th January.
On Friday morning , the 4th February, four of the twelve Execution of
pirate con-
pirates condemned to death at the recent Vice- Admiralty victs.
Sessions were hanged at the usual place in the presence
of a large number of Chinese, the others having had their
sentences commuted to transportation for life. Mercy is com-
mendable, but in the present instance it was said not to be very
politic . Piracy would never be put down until some fearful and Piratical acts
the
examples were made, and the lower bazaar clique completely position of
those who
broken up . Of the four men hanged, one had been a compra- committed
dore in Canton for three years, and since then had kept a shop them.
in the lower bazaar in Hongkong ; another had for years been a
Not the mere
a licensed pilot in the Colony. It was not therefore the mere dregs of
dregs of society who committed these atrocities, but men who society.
lived in Hongkong and kept up an appearance of respectability.
It was a matter for regret, however, that in this case the convic-
Too Apo , the
tion had been obtained on the unsupported testimony of the informer.
approver Too Apo, of whom more anon.
The London Gazette of the 11th February announced the Major-
appointment of Major- General George Charles D'Aguilar, C.B. , General
D'Aguilar
as Colonel of the 58th Foot, vice General Maitland , deceased . appointed
Major - General Staveley assumed command ofthe troops in the Colonel
58thof
succession to Major- General D'Aguilar on the 16th, drawing his Foot.
allowances, however, from the 26th January, the date of his
arrival in the Colony. General D'Aguilar returned to England Departure of
by the P. & 0. Co.'s Steamer Lady M. Wood on the 28th Major- General
February. He had been upwards of four years in China, having D'Aguilar.
arrived in the Colony on the 27th December, 1843. A party of
his friends testified their respect by giving him a dinner at the A
hisdinner in
honour.
Club on Thursday , the 24th, the heads of all the branches of
the naval and military services being invited , but invitations
were not extended to any of the civil establishment. Several ad- Addresses.
dresses were also presented to him before his departure , and al-
though he had sanctioned some of Sir John Davis' worst acts, and
to some extent had endorsed the misrepresentations ofthe latter
made to the Home Government regarding his countrymen in Can- His magna.
ton , the people of the place were inclined to forget all his faults on nimous
account of his magnanimous conduct towards Mr. Hulme, the conduct
176 HISTORY OF THE LAWS , ETC. , OF HONGKONG .
Ch. VIII § II. Chief Justice, on the occasion of the persecution of the latter by
1848. Sir John Davis , who contrived to bring amongst his charges of
towards inebriety, one of Mr. Hulme having been drunk at the General's
Chief
Hulme.Justice house at a dinner party given by him. Notwithstanding his stre-
nuous protests against this charge being gone into, and above all
that a letter which he had written to the Governor upon the sub-
ject, marked ' private and confidential ,' and which the latter had
kept, being made use of, the matter was gone into . It was no
wonder that the General was indignant under the circumstances ,
By this single and that by this single act of his he should have gained in
act Major-
General the estimation of the public to the extent of his faults and eccen-
D'Aguilar's
faults and tricities being almost forgotten at his hour of departure from
eccentricities the island . In his capacity of Lieutenant- Governor, General
overlooked.
His career as D'Aguilar had had few opportunities of action, but during the
Lieutenant occasional absence of the Governor he had manifested the same
Governor of solicitude for the interests of the community , not forgetting the
Hongkong
reviewed. military aid he afforded the Police when most wanted, in
putting down robberies, as in promoting the welfare, com-
fort, and efficiency of the troops. Of this he left behind him
lasting proofs by the new military barracks and hospitals which
he caused to be built, thus redeeming Hongkong from a reputa-
Mr. Compton tion for mortality which had become proverbial.
his fellow- Curiously
passenger to enough , amongst his fellow-passengers Home, was Mr. Compton,
England. the gentleman from Canton who had given so much trouble all
round, and whose case has been already so often referred to. If
they ever spoke on board, Mr. Compton must have often alluded
to poor Chief Justice Hulme and to the trouble he had brought
upon him.
The Dublin
Before concluding with Major- General D'Aguilar, it may not
University
Magazine. be inappropriate to reproduce here the following amusing skit
Skit on
in reference to him , and which so fully shows up the General
Major-
General in some ofthose eccentricities for which he had acquired so much
D'Aguilar.
notoriety here. It is also taken from The Dublin University
Magazine of July, 1847 , before referred to. The reference to
The Bamboo the Bamboo Act," alluded to herein in August, 1844, and
Act.' The
Cackling the " Cackling Geese, " now a new subject, will afford some
Geese.' merriment :-
" THE BAMBOO ACT."
" An Ordinance of the same year formed the subject of much bitter feeling,
and no small amusement to many, for a long period . Robberies and house-
breaking being of frequent occurrence, it became necessary for merchants and
private individuals to employ watchmen, who, according to custom , struck
together two hollow pieces of bamboo, to show they were on the alert, as
they walked round the premises. During the temporary absence of the
Governor, who went to visit the ports, the Major-General assumed the reins
of Government as Lieutenant-Governor, and caused an Ordinance to be
passed and promulgated, prohibiting under certain pains and penalties the
striking of these hollow pieces of bamboo between the hours of eight o'clock
LAND. 177
in the evening and five o'clock in the morning. This gallant officer was the Ch. VIII § II.
only person who complained of this usage ; he alone declared that his health
1848.
was sacrificed -his slumbers disturbed-and he alone had no occasion for a
watchman, having a military guard. His edict was universally complained of,
as those who employed watchmen had a right to require an audible proof of
their vigilance. It was considered too good a joke, that because an old
soldier who ought to have been accustomed to war's alarms could not sleep,
merchants and private individuals were to be suddenly deprived of the protec-
tion for which they paid, without the substitution of a better. In spite of
much squabbling, the grumbling of the Major- General, and his personal
visits, attended by the Police, the watchmen of the merchants continued to
beat the bamboo ; and many a laugh was raised by this ' bamboo question'
during the progress of the strife. The slumbers of the Major- General, it
must be owned , were very easily disturbed. He could not sleep if a goose
cackled ; an American trader who lived opposite to him was therefore
requested to kill or remove all his geese, as their cackling caused the Major-
General to awake at too early an hour in the morning !!! "*
Major- General D'Aguilar died in London , on the 21st May, Death of
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