By the courtesy of Mr, H.H, Fox, M.'s Vice-Consul, we are enabled to give the notes of the evidence and the finding in the Board of Trade enquiry into the circumstances attending the death of R. 't, Denny, a passenger on the C. M. 8. chi, on the 16th inst. They are as follows Paul Klopfer, master, having been duly sworn, deposed—I am the master of the str, Hsinchi, On the morning of the 16th October, while on a voyage from Chefoo to Shanghai, at 6.17 a.m., I heard a rush up ho ladder leading to the upper bridge. This seemed to me a very unusual thing, so Lat once got out of bed and went to the door, where I met the chief officer and a saloon boy coming down from the bridge. The chief officer said "that man" (meaning Denny) was overboard. I at once went on to the bridge, put the helm hard-a-starboard and reduced the speed. I ordered the chief officer to lower a boat, which was immediately done, fully manned. The shi had then turned completely round ani proceeded in her own wake, cruising wckwards and forwents. We coul see no trace of anyone, The sea was perfectly smooth and had anything been floating we must have seen it, After cruising round for over an hour, Tresumed my course at 7.20 oan, Denny baird at Chefoo and occupied a the first-class saloon. He had luggage with him and was well-dressed. I had several conversations with him, from which T gathered that he had been in Weihaiwei for 13 months, had arrived in Chefoo the day before the ship left, and that he was on his way to Australia. He was not strange in appearance or manner, and while on board*was perfectly sober. He admitted to me on one occasion that he had been drinking heavily two weeks previously, and that people on shore had been i sulting him in consequence. The last time Tsaw Denny alive was between 9 and'9.20 p.m, on Tuesday evening. He was then in my cabin, talked perfectly rationally, and was absolutely sober.
George Ingram, chief officer of the Hsinchi, having been duly sworn, deposed—I was'on watch on the bridge from 4 till 8 a.m, on the morning of the 16th October, At 6.17 the saloon boy rushed up tothe Court on sini the bridge and told me that the passenger in No 8 stateroom had jumped over the port side of the ship. "I at once went down to call the captain and met him at his door. I reported the matter to him, saying "that man" (meaning Denny) had jumped overboard. The captain under-Stood whom I meant, as we had already spoken about him. When he first came on board at Chefoo, I noticed that his hand trembled when he took out his ticket, and struck me that he must have been drink-heavily. The afternoon we left, about 2.30, Denny came to me and said that two foreigners were accusing him of stealing he asked me to put them off the ship. I went to find them on the main deck, but could find no trace of any foreigner. There were two foreigners in the Chinese saloon, but he did not mean them. I bad a conversation with him later in the afternoon, when he mentioned that he was going to Australia by the Japanese mail. He did not seem to me strange in any way and he talked very sensibly. The last I saw of him was leaving the captain's cabin shortly after nine that evening, with some papers in his hand which the captain ad given him. As I thought Denny had been drinking, I told the steward not to give him more than one drink at dinner; as it turned out, he took nothing at all.
Chih Yip-song, saloon boy on the Hsinchi deposed—On the morning of the 16th October, about 6 o'clock, I was cleaning the crockery in the pantry, which is just inside the saloon, on the right hand side, or the port side of the vessel. A gentleman, dressed, came out of his cabin, and I asked him if he wanted tea or coffee. He said he did not want any. I noticed nothing strange about him. had not talked about him to the other boys before. He went out of the saloon and I'saw him lean over the side opposite the saloon door,"
ined in that position 2 or 3. minutes, when I passed him and went aft. I was away about two minutes and as T walked toward the saloon, coming back, I saw him standing on the bulwark, holding his hand against the upper deck; one hand remail ed at his side. I then saw him dive into the water, arms stretched out and head bent. I did not look over the side but at once ran to tell the captain. Before the occurrence no-one was about that part of the deck and no-one else saw it. Mr. Denny drank water at dinner the evening before. He had nothing to drink after dinner; there was no wine in b There three saloon boys who attend to passengers.
The following finding was returned I, Harry Halton Fox, British Vice-Consulat Shanghai, hereby certify that I have held an enquiry into the circumstances attending the disappearance at sea of R. J. Denny, a passenger on the steamer Hsinchi, on the morning of the 16th October while that vessel was on a voyage from Chefoo to Shanghai, and I find that he jumped overboard and was drowned while in a state of temporary insanity.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.