The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-03-27 00:00:00

TEE STOUBIBRIDGE OBSERVERS

- THE MURDER OF MR. DENT AT
• SINGAPORE.
The grails Times of February 15 contains a long
acconnt of the mutiny of Chinese convicts at Singa-
Porenn the 13th of Febrnary, in the suppression of
which Mr. Digby Dent, the superintendent of prisons,
received injuries which proved fatal, and several of
the prison warders were severely wounded. The out-
break occurred while the prisoners were taking their
evening meal, after having finished work.
Mr. Digby Dent was walking up and down the roadway as
seual at this time, and the warden were all at their stations,
each watching the prisoners under his care, when suddenly, and
without warning, two of the middle-grade Chinese prisoners
sprang from the ground behind one of the warden, Mr.
William B. Sandford. One stabbed him in the back with a
small chisel or similar pointed instrument, while another
aimed a blow at his head with a Chinese hatchet which he
had secreted below his waistband, but fortunately missed
his aim. Mr. Dent rushed in under the shed at once to
rescue Sandford from them, when they turned upon him,
one stabbing him repeatedly in the back and about the body,
while the other made a blow with the hatchet.; at the
same moment these two men- shouted "zi "ivoid of signal,
and in a moment fifty or. sixty of the- worst cha-
racters in the -gaol—pirates, robbers and murderers—
sprang to their feet and rushed upon their keepers with
knives, chisels, hatchets, pointed pieces of iron, and such
other weapons as they had secreted about their persons.
Mr. Dent and the warders had no weapons save stout walk-
ing-sticks, of which, however, they made good use, while
the native sub-warders, who were mostly old Indian convicts,
fought bravely to rescue the Europeans, and is endeavour-
ing to do so they were nearly all wounded, two very severely.
Mr. Dent, in addition to his other terrible wounds, was
finally felled to the ground by a blow over the head with a
chopper. Sandford received fresh wounds, ward era Burton,
Clarke, Savage, and Reading received cuts and bruises, and
others were beaten with carrying sticks used by the prisoners
In bringing water into the gaol. All this occurred within
two or three minutes; and as soon as the superintendent
and warders had been overpowered the mutineers rushed
for the gate leading to the workyard. This gate was
guarded on the inside only by a native peon, who was
knocked down, and this avenue of escape thus thrown open to
them. They came in pell-mell, and running to the tool-chest,
broke it open, those who were unarmed here providing them-
selves with weapons. The door leading from the workyard
to the engineer's effaces; which could be fastened on the out-
side, was well served by the convict peons, who secured
and backed up the wicket gate with all their strength, and
being baulked in this avenue of escape, some of the prisoners
seized ladders and poles, which they placed against the ,1
outer wall on either side, and clambering up, still retaining
their axes and weapons, leaped from the top at the risk of
fracturing their limbs ; but the main body of them rushed
back into the yard whence they had come, as though, elated
with their success so far, they thought to get possession of
the entire gaol. The European prisoners, mostly soldiers and
sailors, begged hard to be let loose to assist the gaol authori-
ties in putting down the uprising, and their gate was opened
by Mr. Lamb, the gaoler. The alarm had also been
communicated to the European guard, three of whom
camein with their rifles. A soldier named Felton, who is
undergoing imprisonment fer killing a police peon- with his
belt, we are told seized a rifle from one of the guard, and,
with another soldier named Headley, who followed his ex-
ample, was enabled to save the life of gaoler Lamb, who had
been borne down by two Chinese, who, with axes uplifted,
would in another second have hurled him into eternity, had
not these two soldiers providentally shot them dead on the
instant. The European prisoners were armed with muskets
,and ammunition, and then the work of slaughter began.
The mutineers, desperate savages though they were, found
the European prisoners a terrible enemy to deal with; a
few attempted to make a stand, but the muskets did deadly
execution among them, and they were either mercilessly shot
down or bayoneted by the Europeans, whom the sight of
blood seemed to infuriate even more than it had the Chinese.
These were driven back, and took refuge in the work-yard,
and while some, still armed, sought to avail of a last chance
of escape by climbing the ladders, others hid themselves in
the buildings, some beneath the furnace of the boiler, some in
the drains, some among the rubbish scattered about the place.
The fighting inside the gaol lasted some time ; from the
various accounts it appears that nearly half an hour elapsed
from the outbreak before the mutineers were fully overcome.
Mr. Dent died of his wounds on the following evening.
The wounded European warders were, when the mail
left, recovering. Fourteen of the native subwarders
were wounded, two of them seriously. Fifteen of the
prisoners were killed and twenty-four wounded. On
~the 15th of February a Government Gazette Extra.
ordinary was issued, containing the following notifica-
tion :

His Excellency the Administrator announces with deep
regret that Mr. Digby Henry Dent, late of the. Royal Marine
Light Infantry, superintendent of Prisons for the Straits
Settlffnents, expired on the 14th inst. from the effect of
wow-Ms inflicted upon him while in discharge of his duty in
the criminal prison of Singapore. The Government and the
public have to deplore the loss of an able and energetic
officer. The remains of Mr. Dent will be interred in tne
English cemetery this day at half-past five o'clock, the
funeral procession leaving the principal entrance of the
prison at a quarter to live. His Excellency requests
that all members of the Civil Service will attend, and invites
the community of Singapore to be present on the occasion.