Arrather mysterious occurrence has oe" cupied the attention of the police of both Settlements, as well as excited no little general interest, duringthelast few days. Itappears that about midnight, on Friday, a deaf and dumb native came to the French Police Station, and led the police to understand that a foreigner had been murdered. His description of the affair was that, while walking a little way behind some mandarin soldiers, who were proceeding from the west towards the south gate of the city, he saw foreigner coming in the contrary direction, and that, when this man came up to the soldiers, they, without any apparent reason, attacked him with swords or knives, stabbing him in various parts of the body. The victim staggered forward a few steps and then fell; when the assailants lifted the body and bore it to a spot close under the city walls, where they covered it with rubbish. The mute, who alleged he witnessed this tragedy, and who, it will be at once understood, could hear no sound of altercation, immediately ran back to the French Settlement, and made it known to the police. A sergeant and four men, guided by their informant, proceeded to the place, but could find nothing to justify the alarm. There was no body, nor even trace of blood or disturbance. The search was fruitlessly pursued along the path to beyond the neighbouring village; and the party began to retrace their course. At a point where the road forks—winding among the patches of garden cultivation—and where a high bamboo fence stands, a solitary shot was fired at the constables. One of them immediately ran up and caught the person who had fired it; but, being without an interpreter, they were unable to get a reason for the attack; amd wanton. Astrong party of mandarin soldiers, however, cameoutfrom the West Gate, and also fired several shots at them, while they, though armed, refrained fromusing their weapons, and retired. No one, we are glad to say, was injured. Having communicated with the English police, o party of these joined them, but nothing was discoveredthatnight. On Saturday, the quest was vigorously renewed in the neighbourhood indicated; though enquiry in the Settlement failed to show that any foreigner was missing, The creek and rushes were searched by a large party of police, under their Superintendents,—the deaf and dumb man being with them. In the forenoon, this man, along with a native sergeant of the English force, wenttoatea-shop by the West Gate, to get refreshments, They had been there only a few minutes, when, a number of mandarin soldiers rushed in and led him away, telling the constable that he was wanted by the mandarin, They wished also to submit a silk umbrella to the mandarin; but on the constable's declaring that it was his property, yielded it up to him. The constable returned and reported the seizure. Eventually, nothing being found to substantiate the statement, the search was given up.
To account for the credence lent to the representation of the informant, it must be mentioned that, on a previous occasion, investigation had borne out the man's trustworthiness. The firing on the police is an act which requires further explanation, but we have heard that the firing party had been put on the alert by the conduct of some men, among whom were alleged to be foreigners, who had been at the village with the ostensible object of Duying rice, out were suspected to have a less penceable purpose. Tt is possible that they confused the police with the rowdies, and that, if a murder have occurred at all, one of the latter may be found to be the victim. Here the matter rests. The locality is at no' time much frequented, and rarely if ever does a foreigner pass the road given as the scene of the murder, after nightfall. The police have used all possible diligence, and could
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.