Morning journal and courier., 1882-05-15
The Recalled Chinese Students.
Their Heads Probably Still Connected
 with Their Rodfes

with Their Bodies.
 HoNG KoNG, China, April 8, 1882 To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 About the first of February last a report in the New Haven papers that young Chin Chan, one of the Yale students who had been recalled to China by the home government, had been beheaded at Hong Kong on account of his supposed engage msnt to an American lady residing in New Haven. He had many friends during his stay in College, and universal sympathy was excited by what seemed to be very sad fate. At the time that the notice of his death appeared however, there were some who were disposed to question the truth of the report, prominent among whom was Prof. s. Wells Williams of Yale One of the circumstances that led to this was the fact that reports of 8 similar character had come to New Haven before, and afterwards turned out to be totally without foundation. It will be remembered that Tai Sun of the class of 80 was sent home by the commission in 1878 and was likewise said to have been ex- ecuted. After some months another report
  terpreter to the imperial court at Picking. This was also doubtful. At the present time he is an instructor in the ''Torpedo Schoop of the Chinese navy near the port of Peking. Since my arrival here some ten days ago I have made diligent inquiry to see if I could find out the truth with regard to Chin Chan. regret that have not as yet been able to ascertain defnitely what has become of him, but have received the following information, which will be of interest to many of his friends in New Haven, as it gives strong hopes that he is still alive.
 1st. It is impossible that any Chinese stu dent could have been beheaded in Hong Kong. This is on English possession and it could no more have happened here than in London or New York. If it took place at all it must have been on Chinese soil and in the capital of one of the provinces.
 2d It is highly improbable-some say impossible-that such thing could have happened and none of the foreign residents have heard of it. The number of Chinese students sent to America was not large and most of them were known to the foreigners here.
 Sd. None of the foreign residents in China, so far as is known, put any faith in the story, the only announcement of which was in 6 Hong Kong paper as quoted from an Ameri- can daily.
 make these statements on the authority of such gentlemen as Rev. Dr. Hopper, the head of the Presbyterian mission in Canton, Dr. Kerr, surgeon-in-chief to the American hospital, Gideon Nye, Esq, member of the Geographical Society, and others who have spent the larger portion of their lives in China and whose opinion in question of this kind must have great weight. These gentle men seem to think that Chin Chan is very probably in the government employ some- where in the vicinity of Shanghai, but it may be difficult to find him, because the names by which these students are known at home are sometimes different from those by which they are known in America.
 l. I leave in 8 day or two for Foo Choo and Shanghai and shall make further inquiry at those places. s. c. PARTRIDGE. P. S.-Since writing the above I have met Mir. F. E. Woodruff, Yale '64, the imperial l commissioner of customs. He pronounces the whole thing a ca'aard, and states quite positively that there is not particle of truth in it. He says that Chin Chan is probably instructing in one of the schools of the north ern provinces Mr. Woodruff has been sev- enteen years in the employ of the Chinese government, is an official of very high stand ing, and consequently knows whereof he speaks s. 0. P.