Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1890-10-08
SOME STRANGE CASES.
How a Chinaman Took an Oath in a New
Ork Police Court.

9
How Chinaman Took an Oath in a New
ork Police Court.
The police. courts Of this city furnish
more amusement in one day, than the
average theater does in week. A day
spent at the Tombs, the principal police
court in this city, where one can sit and
watch the curious throng that continu
ally moves in and out of the room, and
listen to the many interesting dialogues
spoken in languages rich with accent,
amply repays person for his time 1t
will give you lots and lots of opportu
nifty to see the ups and downs of life and
furnish your brain sufficient matter to
feed upon for months. Strange sights,
although sometimes sickening ones, are
seen daily, and they tend to instruct q
person in the vagaries of human life.
The mode Of swearing of the different
prisoners and witnesses who are brought
before the magistrate are sometimes
very amusing. NisAe ty-nine out of a
hundred witnesses and prisoners in a
police court are satisfied with taking
the usual oath, holding up the right
hand while the justice repeats the oath
and then pressing the lips against the
cover of the well-worn Bible, but once
in while an objector against this mode
of oathtaking will turn up. Recently
a case, involving an assault on China
man by gang of Mulberry street hood
lums, was brought before Justice Smith
in the Tombs. Several witnesses, in
eluding the assaulted Chinaman, and an
Italian bootblack, who had seen the
assault, were sworn in the usual man
ner, when a witness was encountered
that proved rather obstinate. He was
Chinaman, with a fair knowledge Of
English, and dressed in very rich APP
parel. He was somewhat above the
ordinary New York celestial, both
in appearance and manners, and
when he took his seat in the
Enclosure set aside for witnesses, every
eye in the court room was upon him.
The clerk handed him the Bible, but the
Chinaman took it not. He knocked the
clerk silly by requesting to be sworn in
accordance with the ancient custom of
his country by the ceremony of lighting
a fire, placing it on saucer, and then
breaking the saucer to pieces; but the
difficulty was that the requisite article
was not at hand. The clerk told the
Chinaman that such thing could not
be done. The Chinaman persisted and
the clerk expostulated. Finally Justice
Smith thought that he would settle both
the Chinaman and the question by re-
marking, Let him take the usual oath"
Very we'll, answered the Chinaman,
give me your book; or ask me ques-
tions and trust me-" Neither of the al
ternatives was accepted; but the witness
persisted that it was no business of his
to provide saucer though he suggested
that a saucer could be obtained from a
nearby crockery store, and, diving his
hand down into the inside pocket of his
silken blouse, he brought out we'll
filled pOcketbook, selected dime, and
by permission of the court, sent police
man out to procure the required article.
The policeman, no doubt anxious to see
the fun, was not long in obtaining the
saucer, and when he brought it into the
court room, and placed it on the desk
before the justice, every neck in the
court room was craned toward the desk.
Several sheets of paper were placed on
the saucer, lighted match applied, the
burning paper reduced to ashes, the
saucer broken into fragments, and the
following oath administered by another
Chinaman: duly, in the reign of
Quong Sue, in the sixteenth year, second
month and seventh day. arrived in this
court to be sworn to tell the truth, and
to tell every word of it. If tell false
hood my soul will be extinguished like
this incense" Thus the testimony was
obtained. Once a Week