JAPAN.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 2, Issue 99, 23 November 1868, Page 281

JAPAN.

ANOTHER HORRIBLE EPISODE OF THE MACAO COOLIE TRADE.

(From the Japan Times, 6th September.). On the the night of- the 25th ult. arrived the Sunrise from Hakodate, with news of the occurrence .there of .a singular and somewhat mysterious circumstances. On the 19th inst.; a foreign-built barque, with a full poop, : and from 350 to 400 tons, came into that harbor from Nambu, whence she had been brought by Japanese pilots. She was an old ship and in a very dilapidated condition, top gallant masts gone, and all rigging in disorder and disrepair. She had only two boats. No name, ship’s papers nor any other means of identification were discoverable. Off the quarter the name had been torn, and from the boats remaining it had also been erased. On one of the bells was the name Berthy, but this, under the circumstance of the evident intention to conceal her identity, can hardly be regarded as the name of the barque, though it may«afford a clue to her recognition could the sale of such a bell be traced. On board were forty .two Chinamen, common coolies, not sailors, all professing ignorance of the English language. Through a Cantonese interpreter, the account of. the men. was made out to be that the vessel was Chinese owned, that she left Macao about 70 days previously for Foochow, with a European captain and officers, to the number of five, aud with fifty Chinese sailors, of whom they were the remainder, eight having The Europeans, they said, had abandoned the ship during a gale of wind; taking with-them two boatß the davits for which stood empty,. (From. another source of information wo are told that they reported themselves as having' leftMaeao for Lima in February or. March.) It is hardly necessary to say that this statement was received with incredulity. A (borough examination of ship and crew, was proceding when the Sunrise left Hakodate on the 22nd instant, and the following are the discoveries which had then been-made.. /Seventeen of the men had coolie, contracts, numbered irregularly, the highest number being 299. They were written in Spanish and were made out for the Italian barque Providenza. Their dates-were from May to July, 1867. Many articles of European make were found; a trunk, nearly new, with canvass cover marked Lima, Peru, such as might belong to a supercargo j some children’s boots, a cafpeti.stained with blood, and a quantity European clothing'of good‘ quality, shirts, guernseys, trousers, &c.

The Chinamen were using European cooking utensils and knives and forks, while of ordinary Chinese coolies’ cooking pots very few were found. In the hold was a quantity, of’hoop-iron, some gunny bags, and a little flour. There was no evidence whatever of the presence on board of any Chinamen above the lowest class- no China fittings in cabin, such as ® Chinese captain,' owner, or supercargo, .would have, nor any Chinese clothes of value. The floorof the cabin bad evidently been lately scraped. During the examination it was-acciden-tally discovered-that, among the forty two men were a couple of interpreters, though when, the vessel was first boarded, all pretended to be quite ignorant of any language but their own, except, one who spoke a little pidgin English. These two were remarked to be laughing together at some observations made in English- in their presence and on being taxed with the fact that they understood what was said, acknowledged that they were intepreters, and when the Sunrise left, were • assisting in the examination, under check of the Cantonese'originally acting for the authori : ties. We shall receive before we write again, no doubt, further information which may clear up the 1 mystery from this affair. Forty-two men will hardly keep a secret, if there be one whioh would hang any of them,for men haste to betray when they fear to be betrayed, and if the case be properly conducted there should be little difficulty-in getting,the evidence of some against the rest. Of course the hypobheis ; is that a dreadful crime, or perhaps an act of that rude justice which is called revenge, has been .com mitted. I hese men may be the survivors of pome frightful struggle like those of which too many Macao coolie ships have been the. scene. ; Their, own _ statement-of the European crew deserting them must be of.. course rejected-at once. Five,men would not take away two boats, nor, would European sailors abandon a ship in. a gale of wind which had Buffered as little as this. Then the Chinamen are not sailors.. They helplessly drifted to the coast'near Nambu, and were taken - up. to Hakodate by- Japauese pilots. . The vessel and-.her. rigging was in such a. state as no Bailor , would have alio wed .them, to go to, and altogether .•bo t ha4. t of, ,lel't far at sea in charge of. an ignorant set of landsmen, and..which had by accidents-of.currents and windß drifted : to a shore. ;_The presence of a quantity of; European clothes and; other articles 'Unaccounted for, and f¥?*ta|nJy.-;.nq,i, s M^ly : .' tOuJbq- on.- board a Chinese-owned ship, aiso makes against the crews'.story, and as do also the coolie

jfiphtraot papers. Spine? seamen’s accounts have., also been fonnd made out in Italian; pud the supposition respectin g the vessel that vflh®- Providenza, that she left in'Hakpdatp—a'nat.ujaloneenough—-is Macao:for.some port on the. west coast; of America Boxhe time about July, 1867, with at least three hundred coolies oa board.

/•The Atjstbiait Army. —We find the following in a late exchange :-t-Ifris reported that .the Austrian artillery has become the best, of any in Europe. The whole Austrian army is how furnished with needleguns. The field pieces are all rifled (royes); andthe cannon cartridges are made up with covers, which are more exactly fitted to the groves inside the guns, and cause the piecesto carry the shot to a much greater distance. The Emperor Francis. Joseph and'Arch-Duke Albert are burning with a desire to take revenge for Sadowa. . They are convinced that they will be able to keep the Russian army in check, if France-makes a joint cause with, them. But the situation is not yet dearly-* brought out, and they have to wait for the signal from the Cabinet of the Tuilleries.

The JttbyList. —What in England, in America, and the whole of the British colonies including New Zealand, has hitherto been the duty of the sheriff, has in this colony, now been transferred to the police department, under the Jury Act passed during, the last session of the General Assembly. Referring to. the above the Wellington Independent has the following:— “We should like to know the reasons which actuated the Government in making this radical alteration in tbe usual practice. It is ho part of the duties of the police department to make out the jury list, aud we are surprised to find that such dutieasliould now for the first time be imposed upon it.” ' „ Payment to Jurymen. —By the act passed in the last session of the General Assembly to consolidate and amend the law relating to . juries in New. Zealand, every man who Bhall be summoned, and who Bhall have attended at the Supreme Court to try. civil issues or assess damages, and shall have;actually served as a juror upon a jury£ shall be entitled to receive, if the jury be" a special jury, the sum' of 20s, if a common jury 10s, and every talesman who shall have been added to any panel to try civil issues or assess damages, and shall have served upon any jury, shall be entitled to receive the same sum. for" such attendance as if he had been originally written on the said panel.* The following is a list of exemptions from service as jurymen :—Members of the Executive Council, members of both Houses of the General Assembly, members of Provincial Councils during the time that such Councils shall be in session ; Judges of the : Supreme, District, and Native Court, and Resident Magistrates, clergymen in holy orders, and all persons who shall not follow any secular occupation except .that of a schoolmaster ; all schoolmasters and inspectors of schools, all barristers-at-law and solicitors, duly admitted and actually practising; all persons holding any salaried or paid office By appointment of the Governor, all coroners, gaolers, police officers, and constables, all’ 6 licensed pilots and masters of vessels actually employed in the service of the Government, whether by the appointment of the Government, or by virtue of any contract with the Government; all persons in her Majesty’s array and navy on fuM pay, every commissioned officer of the militia or of the volunteer force, whether on aetual service or not, and every other member of any corps of Volunteers, while on actual service in the field, and every militiaman when called oat and on actual service, and every volunteer holding a certificate of efficiency granted under and in accordance with the provisions of the Volunteer Act, 1865, and any rules or regulations made thereunder for the time being in force. It must be understood* that members of Provincial Councils are exempt only when the Councils are in session, And that the names of volunteers and militiamen can" also, be inserted in the jury list only when they are on actual service- The Act will come into operation on the ;lst day of January, 1869. Two Boys Carried to by a Balloon. —ln New Bedford, Mass., on tue 4th of July, as a balloon' started to go up, the guy by which it was held caught and displaced the grapnel, which fell from the car. In its descent, it struck upon the) head of a 1 ttle boy named. William Mottrom, belonging to Taunton, fracturing his skull. The rope having beeh cut, the grapnel was dragged along and caught one ii tie bi y, named John Bono under one arm and tue o in, and another named Chardie Jones,, on the hip, and both were lifted into airFor a moment the agony of the spectatorawas intense. The balloon was ascending in a direct line, when-the aeronaut hear-, ing the ory, and seeing the boys suspended,, cut the rope with a knife, thus giving the little fellows their only chance of escape. They-had reached an altitude of forty feat, and fortunately fell into a tree,.: which, greatly broke their, fall, and thus saved not only their lives but their limbs. Both, suffered' from the , concussion. They remained insensible . for a .time but will recover.,

Brief Military : Career.-— Amongst the casualties at the recent reverse of the colonial troops at the battle of Okatuku, will.b’e found the.names of fourteen!'of .the Constabulary force who had just',arrived at the scene of war, from Auckland This, we believe, was the'first engagement itlie poor fellows’ had taken part in. Truly , their military career .was. a short; arid ;un« fortunate, one, though we. are glad to learn that; they fought W® regret to say that; four 61 thetn were missing, at the date of last adviohs j better-that*: they should! have .been killed/inbattlethanfall/! alive into the hands of tlie remorseless ;and ~ inhuman foe.—New Zealand Herald, November, \ : -*■>'■•'.