The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-03-07 00:00:00

EXECUTIONS IN CHINA

ted that when Keying demanded
the execution of four persons for the murder of the six
Englishmen near Canton. that the men who were executed
offered to suffer, provided certain honours were conferred
on their families. In Europe this may appear incredible,
but in China, where life is held cheap and the laws are
loose, substitutes are found. It was but lately that on
sentence of death being passed on a murderer in Hong
Kong, he inquired whether he would be allowed to pro-
vide a substitute. The following account of :he execution
is given by one who was present :

It is confidently si

The first, .....nnals who was brought out
seemed to be about 25 years of are, decently dressed, tall
for a Chinaman, and strongly made. He had good fea-
tures, but, was ghastly pale, he was gagged, and had his
hands tied together behind his back, and his feet were
fettered in the Chinese manner. He had a piece of wood,
about two feet in length, with a slip of paper at the head
of it, sticking down between his clothes and back. This
piece of wood is called Cha-peaou, and the criminal's
name, with a description of his crime, &c., is written on
the paper attached to it. He passed from the boat to the
shore along some planking, over which he was supported

ioliceman behind him pushing him roughly forwards.
The eyes of this criminal were rolling about in a fearful
manner, as he turned them from the foreign soldiers to
the seamen between whom he passed from the boat to the
field. He was run out about twenty yards from the river,
into the square, till about ten yards from the spot where
I was standing, with a clear space between, so that I was
able to see vtry plainly the whole of the proceedings.
When the policemen had led him to that distance, they
threw him down on the ground, and in consequence of
his hinds being secured behind his back he fell quite for-
ward on his face. The executioner, who, on his being
hrowsht oub, caw,. s....ixas I.coarn whom the Intsizaas ;Us
were stationed, with his naked sword in his hand and his
sleeves tucked up to his elbows, was by this time at him.

vu.L.re. tie then took hold of Philip Cody. was standing in front of the drop, when all
the criminal's tail, wlii li had been previously rolled up of a sudden Henry Cody, although pinioned, made a rush
into r knot, with the 1 hand, and by the help of this at the hangman, caught him, and actually had him half,
hold by pressing the right foot on the criminal's hands, or way over the railing, when the Rev. Mr. Power caught
on the small of his back, brought his head and neck into Cody, and prevented him throwing him down, otherwise
the requisite position, sticking almost straight out and the finisher of the law would have been killed. Philip

norizuwu' 111)111 LUG LI Ulla, uui sogntiv oent down. He
then, retaining his hold of the tail with his left hand
brought his sword down in the right hand, so as almost to
touch the criminal's neck, which I suppose he did in order,
as it were, to mark the exact place at which to strike, and
then raised the sword quickly up, and at one blow severed
the head from the body, only leaving it attached by a small
piece of skin, which he afterwards separated by a tug.
The policeman now took the trunk and put it into a
Chinese coffin, which some of the other policemen had
brought forward while the beheading was going on.
" The second and third criminals who were brought
out close behind the first man seemed to be about fifty
years of " am
-

Cody,.who, as before stated, had the rope adjusted and
the cap over his face, on hearing the noise tore the cap off
his face and actually got the rope off his neck, and was
going to help his brother- On the hangman coming out
again, Henry Cody made two desperate kicks at him, and
hurt him much. Father Power got them at length into a
quieter state, and in a short time they ceased to live.
Loss OF THE CALYPSO.—The splendid iron vessel, the
Calypso, Capt. Savery, was driven on shore near Arklow,
in the storm on Saturday night. She left Dublin on
Saturday night, bound for Rio de Janeiro, with a large
and valuable cargo, wind from the N, but had not pro-
ceeded farther than the coast of Wicklow, when the wind
suddenly shifted to S.E., S. and S.W., blowing a most
terrific gale that carried away her topmast. Becoming,
in a degree, encumbered, and the sea breaking fearfully
over the bulwarks, fore and aft, she was driven on shore.
The crew, about 16 in number, we are happy to state.

agt. meagre-looking people. They were
gagged and fastened in every way like the first man, and
were as roughly handled. The executioners, however,
cut their heads completely off at one blow. They were
then put into the coffins, first the trunks and afterwards
the I-- ' fourth was f-- " boat

.aeao s. _ carried out from the . were all saved. The captain (J. Savery) writes as follows
into the square, by means of a piece of matting slung —" The rollers making a breach fore and aft, washing
between two poles. He sat huddled together, with his everything before them, bulwarks, stanchions, spars,
head resting on his breast; and being tumbled out of the boats, and all on deck, we drove on shore at 3 p.m., and
conveyance in such a manner that when the execu- in this miserable condition we remained till 9 a.m., cling-
tioner raised him up the man's back was turned towards ing to the mizen rigging, the sea breaking over us enough
me. I did not see his face, so as to judge of his age. I to smother the men, till Lieut. Lyons, and some of his
remarked, however, that he was dressed in very ragged men, accompanied by some of the humane inhabitants of
clothes. The executioner had a good deal of trouble to Mizen Head, rendered us every assistance in' rescuing us
get this man's head in the proper position, and seemed, from our awful situation, by hauling each of us from the
in consequence of having to handle him so much, to be ship to the shore with a hauling line. During my nay
rather unnerved, for in taking his aim with the sword, in on the wreck, endeavouring to see my crew safe on shore,
the manner described above, I saw that his hand trembled I could not but admire the daring and intrepid courage of
very much; notwithstanding this, however, he severed one of Lieut.' Lyon's men, James Dillon, often nearly
the bead from the body at one blow. forfeiting his own life to rescue others. As for myself,
" The circumstance of the executioner being punishable should, I think, have died with the cold, only for his hu-
if he strike more than one blow may account in part for manity in sharing with me part of his own clothes. I
his anxiety and nervousness. When all the four criminals have not saved a single article. The vessel's bottom keeps
were beheaded, and the trunks and heads put into the well together, and if the weather moderates, I should
coffins, the Chinese policemen carried them Auto a small hope- some-of-the -cargo -might' be tiVed.” We under
-
boat, stand the vessel is insured.—Cork Examiner.