The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-04-03 00:00:00

THE "BLACK HOLE OF HONG:-KONG."'

. We yesterday morning were witness to a scene,
such as our readers will haVe difficulty in, crediting
—one we can scarcely believe would be perpetrated
under the most Savage and 'tyrannical-government,
aad' such as no one , coif.d ever have dreamt of
seeing in ta. British colony . We allude' to forty-
two Chinese crammed:into a cell -sixteen feet long rvy fif
' teen broad, furnished, with only one small aperture
for ventilation, and confined there for twenty dayi;
with the bare -and damp ground for a 'bed ;
and in this 'space they' had to pnforni all the
requirements of nature.. Covering' they required
none, foil,' inay easily' be supposed, the den, Was
in a' perfect stew, the air hole being only eleven
inchei high, by six feet long, and, placed in the ex•
treme upper corner of the room. We. assure 'our
readers this is a fact; and will it be believed, too,
that the,miserable.wretches subjected to this brutal
treatment, are not condemned felons—no, for
them the best of treatment' is reserved ; 'men,
under no • charge—against whom the 'most
active enquiries of our most active Attorney' Gene-'
ral, enlisted heart and soul in the Cause, hive been
unable to ferret out even a• breathnf sUspicion—
.some of them old men tottering to their , graves,.
some merefoys.yet in theii.teens., It-is true. they.
unfortunately happened •to be in -the employ
of the ~Esing, firm .at the time of the
late diabolical attempt- to poison the 'com-
tnunity. But •we have not done yet; nor'is-the
measure. of this crying' iniquity exposed ; for a
reference to the books, we are told, will shew,•that
the -wretched prisoners have not been supplied..
with toed by the police since the; 20th of
and must therefore, we ;presume, haVe depended
for the means of .existence on their friends, ori on
charitable neighboUrs. And if such be the truth;
the danifiiiig fact
,will stand recorded, that in. a
British, possession, forty-two..of our fellow-men •
might,, for. all ,the authoritieS seem to care, ,have
'been starved to.death, while in charge,' and under
'custody, of their police. We have but 'little more
to add,-except tolsay, that 'we visited the cell above
:Mentioned in °company with a 'medical gentlernan ;
and he declared, that all the range of his
long' 'experience; he never witnessed such .a_
sight. The noisome exhalatipns were such, that
no European stomach coulplf ear them,for any. length:
of time.; and even the few seconds weremained.
within the doer of the dungeon, produced a'sensa.-'
tier) 'of nausea in both ourselves, and friend, that'
did not. leave ..us for several. hours -We spoke to'
the police , constable, who, more 'tender 'hearted.
than his superiors, 'had twice'- reported' the cir-
cumstances at the • Central Station, begging that
even the door' might be thrown wide open ; buti
,without 'avail. We then called *Upon; a Justice
of the Peace, and . reqUested.. him •to .accem-
panY 'us to the • spelt. Ie did so, and
instantly -addressed_ an urgent . remonstrance.
to the Chie(litagistrate, describing the ,hole in
which the.prispners were confined, :and t 'stating it
as his opinion thatthe place was -far too small for
So many to remain in even for a 'few hours—thae
the men were looking very haggard—that if not at
once:removed, the more than probability was, that
sickness' would ensue; bu t 'before we'could 'deliver
the letter into the hands •of the Magistrate,
we discOvered that, the Police Superintendenthad 'taken alarm at the warning given him
by the medical friend above referred..to, and. was
having' the prisoners removed to the gaol. But it
will be astonishing-indeed if two-thirds of them
are not seized within a day or two with' typhus or
gaol Jever—,and, in case of death, will coroner's-
inquests be held ' upon-upon the bodies ?
and what are likely to be • the verdicts.?
We cannot suppose that Sir John Bow-
ring and his Council will "permit so.
iirburnan'act •to unquestioned ; • but,
the matter, it is to -be hoped,, be thoroughly
sifted'; .and.if•the,*faete be found ,as we have. stated.
them, then that the. severest punishment will be:
inflicted, on the guilty -party or parties—dismissal
from the public. service, whatever 'the position of
the offenders,. being the very least penalty
imposed.—China Mail, 'Feb. 5.
. .

ATTEMPT TO. BURN AN ENGLISH.
MAN-OF-WAR

,The Overland Friend of China furnishes the

following account of an attempt to burn the
Comue :—" On Monday night the 26th January,

- -
(the first night of the China New Year, and the
favoured period for their desperate' but futile
efforts) an attempt was made by the Chinese to
burn HM.S. Comus by means of fire rafts.. A sharp.
look out had been kept on board every ship in the
river, in anticipation of some,such attack, but the
extreme darkness of the night prevented any
thing that approached being. seen . until
within forty or fifty yards distance, About
midnight, two large junks, which had been
Well prepared, crammed with fern, faggots, and all
kinds of inflammable materials, well saturated with
oil .and besprinkled with gunpowder,' were sailed
up Elliot Passage towards the Fatshan Creek, a
strong breeze and flood tide in their favour. The
CoMus was here moored head and stern in the main
branch of the river, one broadside commanding
. Elliot Passage, the other Fatshan Creek. The
guard boat, which had just left the ship, observed
them, ' and immediately hailed ;. finding. no
answer, the guard boat • opened fire, which *as
quickly followed by the ship; and this warning
caused the. Chinese to fire their junks iriStabttly
and escape; in a few minutes they were in a blaze.
and; retaining their weigh, came up heavily on the
Comus, one taking her astern, the other on the
bow. The sternmost quo fortunately carried away
the spanker-boom, which accident took, her clear
of the ship 'without giving further annoyance; and
the other; which by, this time, was in a furious
blaze, was kept some little distance off the ship by
her ,fire-booro, yet heavily pressed by the strong
flood tide, So soon as .the, stern raft was borne
clear, the chain cable for Ward was slipped, enabling
the ship to swing round to the flood, and avoid
firO.raft a-head, which they succeeded in anghor-
ing.-., j• hear the Comus's fore 1155 been
damaged, anci her fore yard and bows slightly
burnt. Notwithstanding the, junks were perforated
with shot hetes, even under water, this did not sink
them, or' prevent
,the several explosions taking
place. The Coromandel was very pronipt in her
assistance, having run dawn from Macao. Fort to
tow the. Coruna out of, danger if necessary. The
officers and men ,of the Comus behaved Manfully.
The following day the Chineae fleet shifted its
mporings well up. the Fat shan Creek, haOng been
annoyed by the Niger's shot, which' took a mast
clean out of one'of the junks ;• and since then the.
Coromandel and 'ForbeS were sent ,down and
destroyed the village in Elliott Passage off which
the fleet of war, junks,had been anchored,"