Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1860-02-28
STAUNTON, VIRGINIA, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY %, 1860
From the Correspondence of the Neaoark Aercury.l
Interesting from China---Prison Tortures-.
A Chinese Court.

From the Correspondence of the NeaOark Aercury.l
Interesting from China...PrisOn TOrtures-.-
A Chinese Court.
From letter received by Mr.. /. NJ Andruss
of this city, from his nephew in Hong Kong
China, we are permitted to make the following
interesting extracts. The letter bears date Of
November 18th, 1852
II lave recently returned from trip to Can
ton, where gathered many items of intelligence
which will be interesting We were 30 fortu.
nate, shortly after our arrival, as to secure the
services of Rev. Mr.. Gray, stationed there as
chaplain, who, being well versed in China af-
fairs, played the cacerone greatly to our advan-
tage. We commenced our explorations by Wis
iting the prisons, happening to hit very fortu-
first persons ever taken by our guide into Chi
nese court. The magistrate, "a very high Man
darin,' knew Mr.. Gray, and upon our entering,
stopped the court. We were introduced and in
vited to take seats, which, after great deal of
bowling and salaaming, we did.
"The Mandarin and ourselves were the only
persons seated in the court-the magistrates as
sistants always standing during hours. There
were several interpreters present to question the
prisoners on trial, and to answer the Mandarin.
That functionary never demeans himself by
speaking any other dialect than that strictly
Mandarin dialect. There was quite number
of prisoners, all with manacles upon their limbs
and necks, awaiting their turn for trial. One of
them was fastened npon an instrument of torture
called the rack used to extort confessions, true,
or false, from their victims This rack resem.
bes carpenters saw bench. The victim is
made to kneel, the rack is then placed upon its
end, against his back. His cue or tail is passed
through hole in the end of the rack, and tied
fast to the upper feet, which strains the cords Of
his neck horribly.
"a bandage is then placed across his forehead
moose is put upon each thumb, by which his
arms are drawn behind him and upwards, and
also made fast to the upper feet. A slip.no
is also put upon each big toe, which is drawn
upwards and made fast at the same point, and
are drawn so that the victims knees are about
one inch clear of the foor-thus leaving the
whole weight of the body suspended by the toes
and thumbs. The victim was kept upon the
rack about half an hour, and when cast loose
fell upon the foor-having for the time being
lost all control of his limbs. He was left lying
as he fell, until his blood resumed its circulation,
when chain Was put about his neck and he
was led away to the dungeon. He was no
doubt convicted of the crime with which he
was charged, as he was desirous of kneeling be-
fore the Mandarin and pleading for mercy, but
was not permitted so to do.
''We followed the prisoner and saw him thrust
into room with some thirty others, all of whom
were condemed to death. The cell was very
it was, to US, unendurable. The cell had not
single article of furniture in it, and all the occu-
pants were entirely nude. They greeted us with
Chin Chin Tapan,' and 'Cunshaw Taipan,'
which was, How do you do Give US q present.
1--WE saw also, on our visit, several convicted
felons, undergoing the punishment of the Can
que,' which consists of square board with hole
in the centre, and goes together with hinges
1t is put upon the victims shoulders, with his
head through the hole. The 'Canques' are of
different sizes and weights, according to the age
and the degree of crime. Offenders are fire.
quently compelled to wear them from four to
six months, during which time it is impossible
for them to lie down, and they are compelled to
sitiand sleep upon their haunches. Several of
them had eaten and slept so long in one posture
that their skin was chafed through, and they
were almost covered with raw sores.
"Among others whom we saw confined was
the mother of Tai Ping Wan, the great rebel
chief, of whom the Mandarins or Imperialists,
stand in great fear. They have never been able
to defeat him, and have offered large rewards
for his capture, without success. The Imperial
lists have arrested his mother and all his rela-
tives, as far as they have been able to trace
them. His mother is a woman of small stature
and nearly seventy years of age, with hair as
white as snow. She had heavy chains upon her
ankles, and chain also around her neck, with
a stone fastened to the end, which trailed upon
the ground. The other relatives of the rebel
chief were all in chains. The females were en-
broidering and the males were knitting under
shirts, using small linen twine. We likewise
saw many rebels in chains, with their ears cut
off, and others who had been hamstrung, who
were unable to rise upon their feet, but dragged
themselves along with their hands,
''We next visited the Mohammedan Mosque,
where we saw charts of the pictorial language.
The Mohammedan pagoda is an immese brick
structure, supposed to have been built 70 years
B. @. Its immense weight had sunk it into the
ground, SO that we could just see the arch of the
door. A tree of quite large dimensions was
growing upon the top the roots of which en-
crusted it on the outside. We also visited a
temple where they worship Confucius. 1t con-
tains an image of the object worshipped, and is
the only one of the kind in the empire. 1t was
erected few years sicce at the suggestion OF
Gov. Yeh. The base ofthe image was shattered
by ball from an English frigate while shelling
the city In 1886. We visited also the 'FlOWery
Pagoda,' which is said to be 1900 years DID,
There is a tradition connected with this pagoda
to the effect that its founder stated, upon its
completion, that if the top should ever fall there
would be trouble in Canton. 1t so happened
that the top of it fell in September, 1866, and,
the English shelled the city in October of the
same year. The portion which fell, struck the
roof of joss-house, passed entirely through,
struck priest who was worshipping and killed
him."
THE W1TTY OoNsoRIPT.-Two countrymen
were to draw lots to serve in the militia. The
president of the ballot had been earnestly solic-
ted to save the youngest, and had promised to do
SO. In order to keep his word, without any ap-
parent partiality, he put two black tickets into
the box, and said to the men:
"He WHO draws the black ticket is to serve.-
You draw first" said be to the man he wished
n nn