Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-22

yourself II you will go to the house. II
| was the hinge"
"Ah-ha," said the magistrate. and he
smiled complacently. so 1T was the hinge
that was broken. That In tuse whaL
wanted you to say. Now, how 40 you
| know tt was the hinger
/ Because I saw II.
You said a while ago that you were
/ never In the room.'
II saw It as passed the door"
Yes. but you could not see the hinge as
you passed the door. guess that we have
made pretty good case against you. NOW,
| are you ready to tell the truth Tor you
know as well as I do that you broke the
| hinge of that closet and extracted the
money by means of two pieces Oh wooos
which you used as pinchers?"
| The guess was absolutely correct. for the
man dropped his head IN acquiescerce, ana
a moment later acknowledged his quit.
adding that there was no use in denying 1t
further since the magistrate could look into
J hts heart.
! He received 1000 bamboos and year in
| Jail.
No Lawyers Present.
| Perhaps the most remarkable thing about
| the whole procedure Of the day was the
absence of lawyers. The magistrate told
me, through the interpreter, that 1t was
| rarely. indeed, that lawyer was necessary.
In fact, the average Chinaman did not be-
lieye in them, clubbing them pettifoggers,
with no other purpose than to compHcate
matters and stir up strife. This was AFTER
ward corroborated by several men whom
met In China, although the progressive
merchants avail themselves of legal talent
whenever the occasion warrants It.
And then the court closed, just as 1t had
opened, without any ceremony, and the
first chapter of the day had been completed.
At o'clock l met the interpreter again
to go with him to the court yard and see
the methods employed in Furnishing those
who had been convicted. The scene was
transferred from the court room to an
open court in the rear. There was, how
ever, bench. back of which the MAGISTRATE
sat, and he carefully watched the admins
tration of Justice. listened to the salutatton
of the accused as they stepped forward In
obeisance to receive his punishment. and
later listened to his promises to be good in
the future. after the penalty had been in
fiicted.
Paying the Penalty.
A loud Changing Of a bell in the court
yard invited the public to view the pro-
ceedings. In one corner stood the culprits,
ready to be chastised; while standing be-
fore the judge. with tail conical hats pro-
fusely decorated with red. were the execu-
TONERS, awaiting the signal to begin work
A piece OF carpet was brought out from
the court room and stretched upon the
stone tagging in the court yard in front Of
| the magistrate, and the boy who had been
convicted early in the day for stealing was
| led out by his queue to pay the penalty Of
| his tranSgresSion He saluted the magis-
| trate by falling upon his knees and bowling
| low. where he remained while the sentence
was read to him. Then he was carried to
| the mat and made to kneel upon his all
fours. His loose trousers were pulled down
and his legs pressed close together by an
| attendant who held him securely. Two
men quickly grabbed his arms and he was
forced down upon his abdomen. One of the
eXeeutioners then came forward with q
bamboo in his hand which had been thin
| ned down until 1t resembled elongated
barrel stave. He knelt before the pros
trate form and then rapidly commenced to
thrash the culprit upon his legs. The blows
were not fierce, but there was evidently a
sting in every one of them, for the boy kept
up constant screaming while the tender
flesh blistered. and then after little while
presented the appearance of raw beefSteak
that has been exposed to the sun and
! blackened by the first stages of decomposE
ton. The executioner struck but fifty
blows when he was relieved by the other
so deftly that l do not think the boy knew
that he was suffering at the hands of an
other. And SO on the change was made at
the end of each fifty blows. until the three
hundred were completed. and the boy stag
gered to his feet and Frustrated himself
before the magistrate and assured him that
he would never steal again.
Well Punished.
Then came the man and woman who had
1 must confess to a barbarian instinct in
my anticipation Of seeing the bamboo well
applied. The miserable coward pleaded with
the magistrate that he could not undergo
the awful punishment, for he was very
weak, and begged to be let off.
"WeH we will give you what you can
stand and see the result" said the magis-
trate, and the punishment Of the man be-
gan. He WINGED. and hallooed. and feigned
great exhaustion several times, but the ex-
I ~ 49,.
got the wink to desist. and the brute re-
ceived his fun measure Of punishment while
his wife looked on in abject terror.
At length It was over, and. strange to say.
he thanked the judge for the punishment,
remarking that he deserved 1t all. He was
led away then to the jail to anticipate in
solitary confinement the pleasure Of 500
| more bamboos when the sentence was COM
pleted.
The woman was next brought forward
and stripped to the waist. Upon her back a
rod was applied while she kept the welkin
ringing with her cries. The blows were
laid on obliquely, crossed and recrossed,
until her back was mass Of quivering
flesh. After her dress had been rearran ged
she was turned around and slapped in the
mouth with the sole of a shoe, which was
thickened in three layers and hinged at the
middle. The blows upon the mouth were
not severe, but at the end of fifty her face
was horribly distorted She could not speak
to the judge when the punishment was
concluded
A Novel Punishment.
1t was amusing to watch the "collartng'
OF the uncongenial couple They had been
| looking daggers at each other during the
| execution, and were evidently in a bad
| frame of mind when ordered to step for
ward. Two attendants selected from pile
| of huge wooden collars double yoke,
| made in two pieces with openings in the
| middle. These were put in position about
| the necks, of the pair and fastened together
| by O nail at each end. Then the magis-
| trate, after writing upon two long strips
| of paper, handed them to one of his as
| slstants. who pasted them carefully along
| that part of the collar where 1t was Joined
| together. 1t looked to me as only child s
| play, for one for moment would be-
| lieve that these people would stay confined
| when with very little effort they could re-
| lease themselves. But the judge assured me
| that in his eight years Of service as magis-
| trate he had never had one case presented
| to him where the collar had been removed
until the sentence was entirely executed
| People punished in this manner are given in
| charge of a court runner, who Is RESPONSE
| BILE for Them and he keeps a pretty careful
| eye upon their movements. At the end of
Il