The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-06-01

nouncing The sentence and impugning
the evidence by which it was sup
ported. In consequence of this inter
position, the literary chancellor of the
province of %Che-heang was ordered to
rehear the case. The report Of this
Official confirmed the findings Of the
courts below. But still the censor
persisted, and such was his Importantly
that the governor OF the province was
directed to forward the prisoners. the
witnesses and the corpse to Peking,
that an appeal might be heard by the
board of punishments. As a prelimin-
airy measure two expert corOners were
appointed to hold a fresh in
quest in the presence of all con-
cerned, including the coroner who had
made the first examination. On open
ing the coffin the body was found to
be in such a condition that the coro-
ners could concern themselves only
with The bones, which they took out
and subjected to the tests prescribed
in the "Coroner's Manual The re-
suit was this report 10 the board: In
the remains of Koh there is no reddish
exfoliation on the surface of the skull;
the upper and lower bones of the
mouth, the teeth, iawbones, hands,
feet, fingers, toes. nails, joints, are all
of a yellowish white color; it is only
in the neighborhood of the sternum
that a darkish yellow is seen, which is
due to in%fltratitn Of the hlo ID; and
throughout the remainder of the body
the bones of all sizes are # yellow
ish white, showing no signs of the eff
feet of posion. And our verdict is,
therefore, that death in this case was
caused by disease, and not by poison"
1t now appeared that in the earlier
inquiries injustice must have been
done and the board of punishments
therefore memor;alized tho throne,
recommending that the magistrate of
Yu-hang should be stripped of his
rank, in order that he might be put
upon bis trial for maladministration of
justice, and that a searching investiga-
ton should be held into the circum-
stances of the confessions made by the
widow and Yang, etc. As soon as
this new trial was concluded, the
censor, Wang Hin, again anne forward
and demanded that punishment should
be inflicted on all the authorities
through whose hands the earlier pro-
cecdings had passed-from the governor
of the province down TO the magistrates
who were concerned in getting up
the evidence. This memorial met
with the emperor's approval. He
forthwith commanded that the magis-
trate of Yu-hang should be transported
to the Amoor under the severer regu-
lations imposed by law; that the pre-
fects of Hang-chow and Ningpo
should be stripped of their rank for not
having elected the true facts of the
case; that the same penalty should be
inflicted on the district magistrate of
Kea-hing and two expectant magis-
trates employed in the trial for having
failed to make a thorough investigation
of the facts, as well as on the governor
and literary chancellor of the province
for their general stiffness, disregard
for truth, and inability to distinguish
fact from falsehood.
Thus ended this celebrated trial, after
having dragged its slow length along
several years. AS to what became Of
the widow and Yang the Gazette says
nothing, and the coroner appears to be
too Insignificant a parsonage to be
mentioned, even.