ug Yen-suing were brought up on remand, charged with having been conegrned together in wilfully setting fire to the premises No. 43 Hankow ut 3.50 am, June 13, with intent t obtain money, thereby endanger property.
Mr. GH, Wright appeared for the the accused were .T. Morgan Phi For the defence, Mr. Morgan Phillips called Chang Cheng-sun, who stated that he was an assistant in the Zeng Kee-yuen Hong, No. 43 Hankow Road, He remembered the the fire, He went to bed at 11 piv and was awakened bout 4 hearing shouting. When he aw: saw a bed-curtain opposite side of the rox bed. The fire spread raj ther curtains and witness wax afraid and ran out of the room into the parlour, There he saw Tsar You-sun, who was bringing a bucket of water {the fire. Witness ran out id shouted out Const-
1 He heard the alarm bell rang and police whistles sounded, He then went to the house off previous employer, the propriety silk store. Later on he went to the Louza Police Station in company with ar Yen-nun and was detained there.
Cromexamined—He slept in a bed in the south-west corner of the rom. The beds bad the mosque curtains down. When witness awoke he saw the curtain of a bed on the opposite side of the rom on fire. The room quickly became full of fire and witness ran out when the curtain of the next bed to hin caught fire. He saw Tsar carrying a bucket of water from the tap. Witness himself did not try to pnt out the fire. He did not know if there was any-one left in the room when he ran out. When he left the house the fire was spreading to the parlour, Ghang Ching-kwei, an apprentice in the hong, said that he slept in the same room as the last witness. He went to bed at 11 pan. and was awakened by hearing shouting. He saw that the curtain of the next bed to his was on fire and the fire was quickly spreading to the other beds. He was very wuch frightened and ran out of the room and into the court-yard. Afterwards he went out into the street.
Cross-examined—He slept in the bed next to the door on the East side fof the room. Tsar Yen-sun occupied the bed which was on tire when witness awoke. Witness got up iromediately he awoke. Tsar did not poll him out of bed. He did not know who was left in the room when he ran out. He ran out in his night clothes and without shoes. He did not hear Tsar get up to go to the bucket. To get to the bucket Tsar would have to pass witness's bed, There was neither a trank nor a table at the foot of Tsar's bed.
Re-examined—There were several trunks in the room, Sie Chun-chun, another apprentice, gave very similar evidence.
Tenn Teia-tenn, an assistant, naid that he slept in a back room on the West side. He was awakened by the alarm of fire and ran into the parlour fe saw that the West room was all ablaze and heard the proprietor of the hong calling out "Pat out the fire and save the books." Witness ran and got water, but the fire and smoke were too strong for him. He then rau to the accoaptant's room: and saved several of the books. Afterwards he went out into the street and at 11 a.m. he went to the Molice Station.
Cross-examinel—Witness was 4 had not charge of other earployees slept in the same row, He tried to put the fire out with water, but coald not do When he left the acconutaat's room the had reached the parlour, but not to the manager's rom. He saved several of the books uow shown to hin. He had made entries in some of the books Some of the entries in the stock books for the 32nd and 33rd year were make 7 When he rau oat, he left the preuiixes by the front door, Ne See-sun said he wax the son of the proprietor of the hong and on the night of the fire he slept in the same room ax hix father. In the widdle of the night he was awakened and went to the door of the room. He then saw that the employees' room was full of smoke and flames, He ran back and aroused his tath His father ran out of the room and shouted. "Take out the books and pnt out the fire."
Cross-examnined—The door of wit-nea's bedroom faced the West. The box shown to him wax kept in his father's room. Witness himself carried the box out into the street. He got the cord to put ronnd the box from a filature in Hongkew, after the fire.
Zung Moh-sug, accountant, said that he slept room on the top floor above the [roprietor's room, He wax awakened by the shouting and aroused the other two assistants in the same room. He took the key of th safe, which was in his charge, and ran to the top of the staircase. He saw that the lower floor was fall of smoke, so he made his escape by jumping from the verandah of his room on to some sheds and got down to the street through the next house, The other two assistants jumped from the verandah to the groand and were so badly hurt that a constable sent them to hospital. They were now convalescent. He went tothe Police Station shortly after 5 a.m. The firm's business was prosperous, They had done better this year than in the previous year. It was witnest's duty to keep the books. He had not seen the books since the fire. At the time of the fire they had stock worth more than Tls. 30,000. The books would show that this wax the case.
Some of the books were written up by witness and some by other members
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.