296                           FOREIGN     RELATIONS.

of throwing stones at the Yuh-hwang temple, they said that there were many
people
named Kiang in that village, and this man, Kiang Kwan-kih, was head man of
it, was
present at the time of the fracas, and could not restrain the people. Two
others named
Kiang Shau-sien and Kiang Hwo-sien, were there, too, and cognizant of the
facts.
These were all the facts which could be proved concerning the two occasions
when
stones were thrown.
   In relation to the charge of Mr. Corbett twice losing things, the convert,
Lin Lung-
 mdi, testified as follows: When Mr. C. returned to Chefoo he left the care
of all his effects
 in my hands and I hired a donkey of one Wang Lih-sien to carry them to Ko
fau. This
 last named says that the villagers, SiU Yen-tsoh and Tu Kwang-tsufen, carried
the whole
 away with them, by force. On cross-questioning these two men they declared
that
 Wang Lih-sien owed Tu Kwang-tsflen, who, seeing him that day going off leading
a
 donkey tried to distrain it and the load as a security for his claim. He
could not tell
 how the things came to be lost, but he never had any idea of stealing them.
However,
 after the trouble taken in this examination, be was quite willing to make
good the loss
 of the things taken at their fair price.
   Two men, Wang Lih-sien and Wang Lih-hai, further gave evidence that in
the after-
 noon of that day the village constable, Wang Shi-kiai, and some thirty others
went to
 Mr. Corbett's hired house, at Ko-fau, broke into it and carried off all
the clothes and-
 furniture and destroyed the doors and windows. I then asked this constable
about it,
 who said that he and Li Fab, Sun Shi-tang, and three others went to Ko-fau;
and
 hearing that Mr. C. had returned to Chefoo they'started off to see his chapel.
They
 urged one Wang Lih-hao to open the doors for them to go in and then went
out after
 looking about them; but half a score of other fellows whom he did not know
r-ashed
 in at the same time. He did not know at all what things werelost, but had
no inten-
 tion of robbing anything, and was willing to compensate for the articles
lost.
   Such being the facts, I judged that as Tu Kwang-tsufen led away-the donkey
under
 the idea of distraining it for debt, and Wang Shi-kiai and the crowd went
into the
 house without any intention of robbing, and both were willing to pay the
value of
 the things lost, itwas needless for us to examine them any further. The
consul alsa
 agreed that this was sufficient. These are the circumstances connnected
with the
 double robbery of Mr. Corbett.
   The eleventh article of the American treaty provides that subjects of
China,
 guilty of any criminal act toward citizens of the United States, shall be
punished by
 the authorities of China according to the laws of China.; and I find that
our statutes-
 lay down eighty blows of the bamboo as the heaviest punishment for doing
wrong
 without previous intention.
   In this case Wang I-chin and Wang Shi-kiai both hold the post of village
consta-
bles. When the row began they could not restrain the crowd, and made no report
of
their violence; the last-named also led people into the house, whereby many
small
things were lost.
  The man Kiang Kwan-kih is a village elder; he was unable to restrain his
sons and
nephews; and having been at the theater himself, he is responsible for what
hap-
pened there. All of these are amenable to the above law, and each of them
is sen-
tenced to receive eighty blows.
  Wang Pao, who threw the first stone, and Kiang Shau-sien, who'was at both
the.
frays, are each sentenced to sixty blows. Kiang Hwo-sien, who participated
in one of
them only, is sentenced to forty blows. Tu Kwan-tsufen. and the others who
carried
off the donkey, pretending that it was for a debt, with Wang Shi-kiai, and
those who
entered the house, whereby many things were lost, have all agreed to repay
their cost.
The latter must, after he has done so, be dismissed from his post as constable;
and
the two with him may receive their pardon. Seventeen others, who were not
proved
to have joined in the riot, were liberated there in open court; while those
sentenced
to be beaten were punished in accordance therewith, and then sent home. Tu
Kwang-
tsfien, and those ordered to pay the 380 taels for the things lost, as the
list handed
in by the consul stated, were detained until the money was paid to Mr. Corbett.
   I have also issued a proclamntion, stating distinctly, that whenever Mr.
Corbett goes,
 to Chimi district to teach religion, and quietly attends to his proper vocation,
he will
 be protected according to the treaty. He is not to be molested in any way.
So there.
 is hope that now all parties will live in peace.
 I now send all the papers connected with the case, the details of the examination
 and the circumstances of the closing, arranged in order for your inspection,
and have
 the honor to request that this affair may be reported to the foreign office
as having-
 been satisfactorily settled.
 On receiving the above, I (the superintendent of the northern ports) having
sepa-
 rated the papers in this case, now send up the clear report which I have
made, and
have the honor to request that the conduct and finishing of this case may
be looked
into.