The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-02-29 00:00:00

THE MURDERS AT CANTON,

On Sunday, the sth of December, after being at church,
Messrs. W. Rutter, Small, Bellamy, Brown, Balkwill,
and M'Carte, embarked at Canton in a boat, about two
o'clock in the afternoon, with the intention of sailing a
few miles up the river, landing for a walk, and returning
to dinner. They had no guns with them, and only two of
them had pistols. They landed at the village of Hwang-
chu-kee, and directed the boatman to await their return.
From the evidence of Chinese witnesses, it appears that
the villagers attacked the Englishmen. A few of the
working people shouted " Fankwei," (foreign devil,) and
threw mud at them, of which they took no notice. From
mud the people proceeded to tt row stones. T.leir num-
ber increasing, hoes and farming implements were next
used. At last one of the Englishmen fired, and one of
the Chinese fell. The gong was then struck, with the
view of summoning the villagers. A lerge multitude soon
assembled, fought furiously with the Englishmen, and
overpowering two of them, continued to strike them after
they were down. The other four, after endeavouring to
appease the people by the offer of dollars, fled, covered
with wounds inflicted by pikes, poles, knives, and stones.
They were followed as far as the village of Hang Keaon,
where they were captured and brought back to 'twang-
chu-kee the same night. It is stated that they were then
confined for two days c.nd two nights, during which time
they were without food, beaten repeatedly, and then
cruelly butchered. Marks of the cane, as well as of the
cords by which they had been tied up were visible upon
four of the bodies, and it was the opinion of Dr. Majori-
banks that inflammation having supervened, they could
not have been put to death for twelve hours, at least, after
being flogged. From the marks of cords on the arms, one
had been tied up on three several occasions, and the rat-
tans had been applied to the sides of the face as well as the
back. When it was ascertained that the unfortunate gen-
tlemen were missing, early on Monday Mr. Consul Mac-
gregor applied to the district magistrates for the release
of the party supposed to be hP' I captive in the villages

el, _
At noon, two boats, with about thirty Englishmen, left the
factories in search of their friends. They explored seve-
ral creeks in the neighbourhood of Hwang-chu-kee, but
without gaining any information.
In the mean time her Majesty's steam-ship Vulcan ar-
rived at Whampoa from Hong Kong, and Captain
M'Dougall, with about one hundred seamen and marines,
landed at the factories on Wednesday morning. In the
afternoon of Wednesday, it was intimated that one body
had been recovered by dragging, and that it would be sent
down in the evening. The Chinese authorities, by chop
dated the 7th, (Tuesday,) cffered 2400 dollars for the
party, if alive, and 200 dollars for each body, if dead.
On Wednesday, they were aware of the murders ; an edict
of the Chief Criminal Judge called upon the well-disposed
to give up the guilty, and point out where the bodies were
hid. The body of Mr. M'Carte was sent in on Thursday
morning. Decomposition had not commenced. The
wounds were in all 44-36 incised, and 8 contusions.
Many of them would have caused death, the skull being
broken in several places. In the forenoon, the bodies of
Messrs. Balkwill, Small, and Brown were also brought in.
There were numerous wounds on each of them, the first
two having marks of the rattan on the back. Mr. Brown
appeared to have a gunshot wound, and, from their being
only one wound in his back, and a spear thrust in the ab-

domen, it is thought he was one of the two who fell at
the beginning of the affray. On Friday, the bodies of
Messrs. Bellamy and Rutter were brought down. Like
the other, there were deep wounds on the head and chest,
and the marks of ropes on the arms. Decomposition had
commenced, though blood continu7d to flow from one

On the evening of the 20th, it was intimated to the
community that four of the murderers would be executed,
the following morning, at the village of Hwang-chu-kee.

On the morning of the 21st the Hon. Company's steamer
Pluto carried up the Hon. Mr. Johnson, Mr. Vice-Con-
sul Elmslie, and Mr. Meadows, interpreter to the Con-
sulate, to witness the execution. They were accompanied
with a guard of three officers and thirty men of her Ma-
testy's9sth Regiment. Four men were decapitated, but
_ .

'ruin tile Tact 01 their being gagged, and the bodies buried
in the strangers' burying ground, it was surmised that they
were not villagers at all. It is understood that steamers
have been sent for from Singapore, and men of war or-
dered down to the coast to be prepared, should any coer-
cive measure be necessary.

ter has not been bestowed upon a Roman Cat—,
e days of James I. until the Whigs gave the vacant
and to the Duke of Norfolk.
.AORDINARY COINCIDENCE.—
Sunday, the 13th instant, it was flit,
e morning service of the church was the a
out as it was on that day. The last time that th
Lnday after the Epiphany fell on the 13th of Fe
vas in the year 1791, the year in w)
ce and his family fled from Paris;
of the heavens," which had rer

t is a strange fact

y-seven year

rich the King

f Frar

has the
It

began to be so terribly shaken. tiinin-in"--13:18,
King been compelled to fly from his country.
also remarkable, that each part of the service (in-
ng the lessons, &c.), relates more or less to one

subject, viz., the grat series of events referreci-io.inth;
Gospel of the day.