The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-12-09


about the center Of the yamen and cc-
cupies twice as much space as the
court room Another room, which is the
private office of the magistrate, opens
from the court room.
A CHINESE COURT.
Now if the reader wants picture of
the court in session, he must imag-ne
this twenty-foot room open at both ends
from about knee-high to the ceiling,
which is at least twenty feet from tire
floor The open spaces were origina ~
filled with glass, but that was all shot
away by the, Chinese or by the allies
when the place was captured after the
escape of the VicerOy. Next he must
divide the room about in the middle
with railing about waist high. Inside
the railing to- the left of the entrance
there are two desks. Directly in front
of the entrance is another small SIX.
On the right OF the entrance are three
chairs and between these chairs is
small square table. The furniture is
all of Chinese make and of Chinese style.
The desk in the middle of the enclosure
is Uttered with papers and behind it sits
the magistrate. He is of middle age,
smooth shaver and rather severe looking.
Behind the desks on the left Of the
entrance sit two young Cinnamon Of the
better class. They wear full Chinese
costumes and long silken pigtails. Their
coats are of silk. Each has a yellow
paper book in front of him, the leaves
of which are nearly filled with Chinese
characters and each holds a brush pen
in his hand and is busy making more
Chinese characters. They are called
writer's and are the clerks of the court.
One OF them is a Chinese sten9grapher.
At least he writes some kind Of Chinese
shorthand and he is supposed to keep
complete record of the doings of the
court and the attaches.
Just outside the rail stands a Chinese
policeman. He is a tall man with q
smiling face that bellies his occupation,
for in regular Chinese court he would
be known as the eXecutioner. He wears
dark clothes of native cut. His blouse
is made of overall stuff and in the mid
die both back and front is a white patch.
circular in shape on which are printed
in black lot OF Chinese characters and
the words in English Police No 245."
Off bay the door opening on the court is
another native policeman. Directly in
the doorway is a little Jap infantryman
in full uniform holding a rife. There
you have the stage setting the court
room itself.
THE PRISONERS
Outside in the court yard are in the
neighbOrlood of twenty miserable-look
ing Cinnamon who have been picked up
They stand in a row or rather a double
row backed up against the building.
Each man has q string around his neck
and hanging from it is a little square
! block of wood. On one side of this block
is number in English figures and on
the other the same number in Chinese
| characters and the name of the man
/ who wears it. The number is put on
as soon as a prisoner IS arrested and is
never taken off until he is released. 1t
| is his Identification mark. These men
are made to stand just as described and
! in front of them less than two PAGES
| away are three soldiers of three different
nationalities On this particular day
! there were a British marine, a Jap in
| fantryman and a Russian Cosssck The
I guards never left their places for an
| instant unless there were men of their
own nationality to relieve them. If a
| prisoner got out of line little, three
bayonets were pointed at him and he
was back in place again quicker than
it takes to tell it.
This was the scene when the court was
ready TO begin business and one of the
Chinese policemen sang out something in
! Chinese. Il was a hail for the court
| interpreter, for while the magistrate can
| speak the language he prefers to have
| an interpreter present and to let the
| prisoners think that he, cannot ALWAYS
guarded in their talk and very often
they say things that they do not intend
| should be heard by any but Chinese
ears. The interpreter responded to the
hail and a moment later entered the
room in gorgeous gown of purple silk
1t was not an official robe in any way
but was in every way finer than anv
The Wearer bowed low to the Magis-
| trate and then pulled a Wad Of paper
from his pocket.
'fWell, what have we got this morn
ing?" asked the Magistrate.
mos. 100, 121 and 49," replied the inter
prefer, and he laid on the desk a formal
complaint that had been made against
three of the prisoners who were standing
out in the yard.
ACCUSED ON THEIR KNEES
Their accuser- was a Jap soldier wl1c
said in bis complaint that about 10 o,cIocs
on the night before two men had come to
hlru and had told him that Chinese
policeman No. lS7 was lying around the
corner unconscious and that three men
had been beating him. The Jan said
that he had gone around the corner ond
had found the policeman badly cut nm The
head and that he had arrested the three
men who had been pointed out to him.
He had learned, he said, that the men
had assaulted the policeman without
cause and so he had taken them in and
had then sent the policeman to the hos
pital, where he was at present confined
by the injuries he had received
The magistrate looked over the papers
and then said to the nearest policeman:
Bring in these men, The poIicenan
without moving from his place called 10
the soldiers outside and the next mo-
ment the three Cinnamon shambled in.
The moment they were inside the room
they fell upon their knees and began to
bump their heads on the floor. They
were in easy reach of the policeman
nearest the door and he reached with
his foot and gently booted the nearest
man. The three took that as a signal
to come closer and they hupched their
way to the front, still on their knees. and
never raising their eyes from the floor
In few lunches they were almost to
the rail-. From their dress it was plain