K'wei-chun, formerly Taotni at Amoy and now Judicial Comniissioner of Fukien, having received permission to visit Peking for audience, his place has been temporarily taken by Lien-hsing, the Taotai of the Ting Chang Lung Circuit, who entered upon the duties of the acting post on the 14th of March, The Acting Chief Justice was formerly Secretary in the Board of Civil Office and has been Taotai at Chang Chow for the last eight years. His successor in the latter post is Hu Jih-chi.
27th April.
REHEARING OF A MURDER CASE IN KIANGST.
The Governor of Kiangsi reports the reheating of a murder case in consequence of an appeal made to Peking. The affair itself took place as long ago as the autumn of the year 1882. Ina country village in the District of Icing Chou there lived tw: peasant, farmers who were distant cons Pheir fields lay close together with a stream running alongside, Tu this stream each had placed a water-wheel, which turned a small mill for husking tice and crushing vil-seeds. The younger cousin, whose wheel was higher up stream, found that it worked badly because the water course had silted up. He therefore moved it to another place close by and dug a new channel, by which he diverted some of the water to serve it, This called forth angry protestations on the part of the elder cousin who considered that the division of the water was injurious to his wheel; but the younger would not yield, and they separated in bad temper with each other. A few days after this the younger cousin and three brothers were going to their field to work, when they met the elder cousin with his three sons returning home. The latter recommenced the dispute. From words they came to blows. The younger cousin tried to assault the other with a hoe. But the latter, who was armed with a sharp-pointed spud, got the best of the struggle and left his antagonist almost lifeless on the ground, Turning to flee, he was attacked by one of the other party. But one of his sons came to the rescue, and gradually the others joined in. A number of single combats took place, which ended in two of the younger cousin's brothers being mortally wounded, and the third less severely. The affair was essed by two bystanders, who tried in vain to stop the combatants, and one of whom afterwards went to carry the news to the mother of the dying men. These were the true facts of the case, and they were properly elicited at the trial which was held in due course. But in order to obtain more signal vengeance, the ing, one of one thousand, one of two thousand; and finally one of one thousand suits, coats and trousers together. According to custom each article is taken to be of the value of one tael.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.