New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-10-09
CHINESE HIGHBINDERS.
ESTABLISHING A REIGN OF TERROR IN THE
MALAYSIAN COLONIES.
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CRIMINAL oRGANIzA'
TONS TO WHICH THE NETWORK AND SAN

Singapore, Aug. ga veritable reign OF terror
prevails in this quarter OF the world, especially
among European residents account OF inc IT,
newed activity of the Chinese secret socicucs
There really seems to be danger OF rhc"ai
Of the troubous times OF generauoh "so
Here and at Penang, at Sarawak, and lndeeu
throughout all the Malaysian countries anu
colonies, these noxious societies nave III
the last few years greatly increased IN power
and numbers, while in China they almost thre"Ven
the Imperial Government itself. The laws asains'
them have not relaxed their severity one VIM
In China il is a capital offence TO belong 10 o'i0
Of thee socie ties. In all Of the adjacent coun'
whether under native or European rule' 10 20
serious penal offence. But Chlnamhh 'o'"'
these societies as naturally Us he takes 10 eaV'ns
rice with chopsticks, and Is deferred 'hoiei,ON
by no laws that can be enacted Inc n'
ship Of these societies in China itself IS recho"O
by many millions. In the colonies u lS' Propv,
tionatcly TO the entire population, Larger o~H
Here in Singapore there are known 10 o' Ni -
than 70, 900 Cinnamon enrolled IN them' anu !"
Penang there are more than 1OO,OOo. ihc'0 M
are all outlawed, or would be II their CUM" -
with the societies could be legally proven. As
countcrblast TO their own outlawry the soo''','N
have decreed the outlawry of all Cinnamon WIN
age Celestial prefers to incur the wrath Oh Uno
civil government rather than that Of the HIGH
binders and unquestionably his choice Is pru-
dent one h
In China it is not an uncommon thing TOT Supn
. sooiotv nc the Ghee Hin, the Triad or 'he
Golden Rose to create considerable lnsurrecVoh'
T. will sack a whole city or throw an eh,fe
nrovnce into anarchy. Such outbreaks h"''
lately increased in frequency. They are sup
messed OF course with unsparing severity an
Of the participators who are taken being pun "
death the rinrlcaders with torture added. pu'
such an end of one revolt does not seem III NV
least tn deter others Scarcely week P"n''
without some more or less serious outDreah' anu ~
many p1ovinces society and business nave oeoi
in n panicly condition for a year vi wv F
In the various colonies and protected ot''c' '"1
societies are equally troublesome 10 puohc oi
Only the presence of a considerable Douy vi pi'''
troops and "A number of ships-of-war mas saNeu
Singapore itself from being sacKed py INC ~ ~
Hin. In the city of Bangkok, the capltai Oh oi"n'
a few weeks ago, pitched Dattle ol WV -
dura+ioo WAS fought with the members OF thiS
society. and no less than 700 of them were saih'
together nearly 200 of the Government troops
Another most serious revolt has just been sup
pressed in Sarawak. The Higholnders III 'n''
colony have never forgotten nor forgiven 'ie
manner in which their compecrs were suouueu'
or. rather. extcrminated, by RaJah BROOKE, more
than thirty years ago. That episode was coii-
parable to the Sepoy Mutny in character IL ho'
in magnitude The Highbindcrs,' in great
force came suddenly one night upon the towh' WIN
tho avoEed purpose of destroying every European
ON that part OF the island. The town was burned
70 the last building and the inhabitants slaugh-
cei1n1
himself narrowly escaped with his life. The next
dav he wrote: Yesterday l was a sovereign; to-
dav am a homeless beggar." lie displayed, how
ever the same indomtable spirit as that OF Jan
Lawrence and IIavelock in India. lshave duty
10 perform he wrote " from which l may not
shrink l have long known with an aching but
steadfast heart that this duty entails trials ana
struggles 10 the end. What, then. is the yelling
of these Chinese for my life? The Dyaks ana
Malays stood by him bravely however, have
lost all all, but the hearts of my people" he
wrote So he rallied the Dyalts, the most furious
fighters of the Malaysian world, and turned them
loose upon the rebel. In short time not one
Chinaman remained alive in Sarawak. 1t was
terrible retribution, but it was necessary, and 1t
was amply justified by the years of peace that
followed.
OF late, however, many Cinnamon have settled
there, and they nearly all belonged to the same
Chez Hin society. For years they have cherished
the purpose of avenging the destruction of their
fellows in S57 by a massacre Of the present RaJah
and all the Eur, peans in the colony. month ago
their conspiracy came TO a head 1t might nave
been successful but for the fact that they first tried
to enlarge their force by compelling some other
Cinnamon in Sarawak to join them. The latter
appealed TO the present RaJah Brooke for pro-
oil III Tho
details of the plot, and his wrath fell quickly and
heavily upon the cOnspirators. All the leaders
were captured and taken before court, of which
the Rajah himself was presiding officer. and from
the sentences of which there was no appeal. Six
of them were condemned to death, and were i'm
mediately shot, and their bodies thrown into the
river dozen others were logged, branded and
imprisoned All the rest were exiled, under pain
Of hogging and imprisonment.
The news of these doings will be regarded with
interest in America, because probably one half of
all the Cinnamon who have settled there belong
to some Of these societies. The notorious Ghee
Hin is the most numerousy represented. Nearly
all OF the San Francisco Hghbinders' belong to
the Che Hin, a body that numbers hundreds Of
thousands OF members in China and the Malay
countries and whose history reeks with crime and
outrage. OStcnsibly these organizations have
religious political character, or are formed Tor
purposes Of mutual benefit. Actually they are
formed for nothing Use than the sake of lawlesS-
ness and their members are Extensively and de-
fenslvely allied for criminal pursuits. TLcy are
all oath-bound to secrecy often in the most fan
tastic or rcpusivc manner. In American and
European courts, I'm taking the oaths Of Cinnamon,
such practices as cutting Oft fowls head or burn
ing a bit of paper, have sometimes been allowed
in lieu Of kissing the Bible. Some hove supposed
that these were the regular forms Of judicial oahS
employed in the Chinese courts Of law. Such, how
ever Is not the case. They are merely some of the
milder and less loathsOmc forms Of swearing en-
ploycd by the secret societies. In the White Lily
Society a tooth is drawn from the members jaw at
the moment Of taking the oath of initiation, and
others prescribe still NOR, abominable physical mn-
tilatiOns. The fate Of member who bctrays his
fellows is terrible in the extreme. In the Ghee
Hin he is starved TO death, his agonles being in
tensfcd by his being forced to drink blood drawn
from his own veins, and eat flesh cut from his
own limbs.
A considerable chapter in the annual reports Of