LONDON GOSSIP.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 94, 5 March 1862, Page 4

LONDON GOSSIP.

The following private letter from London has been placed at our disposal for publication. It will be seen that it was addressed to gentleman in Victoria, but as it treats of things in general, it may possibly prove as interesting to readers in Dunedin as in Melbourne, especially as the multi furious subjects with which it deals are regarded [from anything'but a conventional point of "view. We should add that the gentleman to whom the letter is addressed is now resident in Dunedin. London, Nov. ISGI. My Dear Since I wrote last month I have read your colonial papers of 3rd August and 21th August, and am much obliged. They givo. a long ami amusing account of your elections and polities, your politicians and your would-be politicians. Certainly pome of the candidates are faeetbus gentlemen, and I cannot conceive, for one little moment, what would be" thought in this country'of such stump orators, except just expressing my opinion that somp of them would be found anywhere but at the headof thepnll. I observe, too, how very coolly your ex-Attorney-General (Mr. Wood) " owns the soft impeachment of recommending, for the Royal signature, a bill which ha had not oven read, but as I have before ventured to hint, I bono you'll send me a better account of your honorable members and your legislative doings generally. Surely you can get better men than at preseut seem to be eloing their very best to ruin and disgrace their country and their fair fame (1 foul !) . "What's their game? I see much talk about payment of members, and a good plan it is, I should think, in your colony, i.c, let each constituency pay its own members, nnd call on them to resign when they " fail in their truth." Just mention my sentiments iv the proper quarter, and get them attended to. I much regret to read of the strike amongst the Working men. Poor fellows, they have many grievances, no doubt, and I tremble at the thought of a crown a day for skilled labourers in a country like yours. I agree with the Editor's idea that had the contracts been distributed this sad state of things would not have existed, and I hope it's not yet too late for the expression of public opinion, that " the laborer is worthy of bis hire." One of your papers gave an extract from the Buffalo Courier, describing a horrible conflagration in America at some oil mills. Did you read it ? What an awful affair. Surely Brother Jonathan needed not

tbat added to his troubles ; for we are expecting daily } to hear of the beginning of the end of their madcap l civil war. The fight, ascordiug to all accounts, must ' of necessity soon "come off, and it is supposed that, both parties mean business this time. Ilall-a-inilhun j* augry- mm on each side of the Potomac makes up a tidy lump, and as they really mean to go at in earnest j and make use of all the big gnus and modern contri- ' vauoe-3, it will, I suppose, ha quantum xujf. Everybody in America will then have had a dose ot glorious warj and if there's any wisdom left in the country _, they will see the policy of going to their respective j peaceable occupations, paving their debt1.,1'~ (?)'itnd letting , Old England have the cotton which is so much wanted J to employ our industrious Lancashire laborers. Of / course you are aware that the Southern seceders alias j rebels,' will not allow any more cotton to find its way . to England, if they cau possibly help-it, in hopes to r induce the Britishers to take their part, by raising ' the blockade of the Southern ports, so as to let out tbe cotton ships ; but tl)is we shall not do, for how- j ever bally we may want the precious article, we are, (it is determined" by: Russell and Palmerston,) to be J; quite neutral, ancl trust to Providence for the needful j supply. The Times tells mo it will only be a struggle in England for a/ewjraonth.s; a sad struggle certainly, o aud a fearful winter for nearly a million of the •' English people, who live entirely by the cotton supplied by the South ; but we shall get over it somehow or other, and then let the cheeky Americans'look out . for another market or for lower prices. "\\ c shah, according to all accounts, next year have a plentiful i supply from Jamaica, India, and Egypt, and we must expect that this cotton question will not be tlie only incident arising out of the great American civil war. • Much work is cut out for the future historian, ot g whicli, perhaps, both you and I shall read, and t mark, learn, and inwardly digest the same, and, perhaps,, both of in duly, when read, make a note of, a la o the bold Uaptain Cuttle. j ■ You will see by papers that F.mrland, France, and v Spain are sending a joint expedition to Mexico for v redress of grievances, and it's quite time something c was done with the hold Mexican rangers (about whom 0 Captain Maine Reid has told us some curious tales). a England, of course goes iv for the protection of her t sons, and restitution of sundry pilfering* on rather a j large scale, extending over mauy years. France, of ~ course,.goes in to occupy her sons away from home, and to see what's to be made; and Spain, of course, c goes in, hoping once more to take rank amongst „ natious, and with ancient recollections of the famous a Cortez and do. Pizarro. The French quota is 3or 4 a thousand troops. Spain about do., and we are to do j the ornamental assault and battery on Vera Cruz ane! n the Mexican ports, and then move on to Mexico ; and j ( altogether," I dare say, a pretty little "go iu'' it will j, be, but more anon—they deserve it. Russia seems to be having a decent or indecent c flare up in Poland. The unhappy Poles appear to be b provoking and inviting various onslaughts of our dear n Muscovite Cossacks. " Pity," it's said, "is poor h relief," but, for whatever it's worth, Europe generally b is now sympathising with the victims of Russian bar- s barity, and it is expected in some quarters that friend q Alexander 11. is going a lectin too far in his work, si and that if the Poles will but husband their strength 0 till the opportune moment comes when Europe's in o arms, they will have one more chance to fight for y freedom, and even then the odds are great, but you E and I must wish hhu success. ii Of course you know that Elgin has gone to India, a and a better man could scarcely have been selected, b He is always at work, and its only fair that he should f, wind up with something that pays. Canning comes c home, and of course he has made bis leg up. India's c not a bad speck. I think either you or I could stand I that berth for a few years. Shall I see about it ? ' " Your last papers gave a sad acount of the exploits n ofthe arch-fiend "Harry the Black." Let me hope a that long ore this the wretch has met his deserts. In b my opinion blood hounds were sent by a merciful Pro- c vidence to hunt out villains of his mould. Surely you v have found him and killed him. Let's hear no more g of him. We will both join in a prayer for his victims. '|j . I want a better account of Burke and Co. You seem to bo doing all that's possible now, but 1 fear y your authorities were not careful enough in the first j instance. I have a faint recollection of the ill-fated j party starting on the exploring expedition, and, with Franklin's fate vivid in my mem->ry, I liked not the rf start. Am I not correct when I fancy that, they be- 0 gaii quarrelling among one another before they were s well on their way, and that some ofthe party doubted 0 the qualifications of poor Burke to lead in such an s adventure ? If I am right in the premise, let your humbugging administrators be duly held responsible 1 for their gross neglect in such an important affair. f; ' Your papers make a fine fuss about immigration. c I expect it's only a cant party cry. The way in whicli b your leaders do business is not calculated to bring g many thousands to your shores (more t'other), and ' with the sad abuses and bunglings in the Legislature ( \ and the short-comings of yoiir rulers, and the fact of s skilled artisans being rewarded with o hob per diem, y its little wonder to my experienced mind that emigration goes ahead of immi-ditto. I suppose when you settle your " Land Question," , better principles will animate your miners—those de- „ grading onslaughts on foreigners ought to be at once v effectually stopped, for it is established British law c and justice that perfect.freedom is allowed to all in [ their peaceful avocations, and if- British pluck is v allowed to exhibit to the tune of one on the, nose , whenever foreign fellow laborers object to have their ] hard earnings filched, or their families and tents out- ; raged and destroyed, we shall soon lose our proud { titles of " The friend of the suffering, the home of j the free" (Sing that little bit for :ne, you recollect 1 my old song, ""England for ever shall weather the t storm.") When I read of those barbarous " Raids" ( on your pig-tail friends, I blush for my countrymen. < I am quite interested in your Acclimatization , Society, a thing that ought to have arisen much t eirlier, for witliVmr colonists it appears to be not so , much a Zoological Gardens affair as a most valuable . introduction to your country of all animals both oma- " mental and useful. Pray see that this very important { subject is properly attended to. I fear you are begin- , nin" to bully me, and think I am setting you too , many tasks ; but the benefits which must result are, ( like our own Bard of Avon, "for all time," and who- < soever puts his shoulder to the wheel in the good work < has before him Old Bonaparte's consolation, " Posterity shall clo me justice" ! ! , ■ I see your colonists are about to patronise our great , world's fair of 1562. Do the thing handsomely whilst , you are about it, ancl let your contributions be first i class. Is it true, or only a rumour which I hear, that a grand "excursion" scheme is being got up ? The tale runs, that a ship is to be chartered " from Aus- ; tralia to the English Exhibition and back at so many , half-pence per head—passengers to staythreeiiiontlis in ] England.'' If so, perhaps somebody might be oneof . thefexcursionists. As you love me, tell me something ; of this in your very next—on your peril, &c. ; You havo read all about the Curragh, a;ulbow they . made a soldier of our P. of Wales ; and you have now to hear about tlio Middle Temple flare up, and how they made a big wig of the same young gentleman. The Prince, last week, inaugurated the opening of the new Temple Library, a fine building iv the Temple Gardens facing the River Thames. I must leave you to , glean the full" particulars from our papers. I only ' record the facte fas in duty bound), and so now you know that Lady Vie's big boy is an officer and a gen leinan, and also my "learned friend." The bold Tern ; plars made the most of the occasion, and did the thing -well, and the new Q.O. made soma neat little^ speeehea, and gave general" satisfaction. He seems , likely to play his part well on tho world's stage when- j ever*his first appearance shall be announced. He , comes from a good stock, and you and I say God bless , him. j "The Queen v. Vincent Call ucci, on the prosecution of&c." —supposing you to have read this trial, I only I allude to itjust to ask you could it possibly be con- i eeived that there should be two such fools in this enlightened Era —she fool enough to give £2000 for res- •■ toration of love letters, and he such a scoundrel fool ' as to palm off a bundle of old papers, and thereby rem- i der himself amenable to Old Bailey process ? But he | has now 8 years to ruminate on his love match, and j you and I say scarcely punishment enough for such an l asinine lover. . . . . Our old copper coinage is now being called in at the Mint and some industrious speculators here are making a snng thing of it. Donkey carts and Pickford vans daily arrive with loads ofthe old com at the Mint and receive 2 per cent, for their cargoes—the old| stuff being forthwith converted into more useful pur- j poses than base lucre. „.,-., „ • '. You will see how the Nile has been overflowing lately Let us contemplate this dispensation of Providence. This river begins to rise iv June every. year and continues its upward course till September,! thus fertilizing Egypt and Nubia, which, without it,; would be but barren countries. But let it rise some" seven feet or more above the average (as it has clone this year), and see the dreadful results. Help me to realise this by reading for yourself. I know you will, ancl I am thereby spared a recital so.very painful. ; A clever Italian has just invented something he calls a pantelegrapb. It whips the old-fashioned - electric telegraph all to "etarnal smash." It ccmveys a lac-simile copy of a letter, a message, or a picture, at the rate (supposing it's a letter) of twelve words a miuute ; and a corresponding number of lines in the ease of a drawing. Our friend obtained | permission to submit his invention at the Tuilenes, <; and tlie gracious Emperor condc-semded to approve hi"hly of it—in fact actually said it was even ivorthyi of France '! What a cheeky cove is he ! | Napoleon 111. has been again doing the mysterious : -but this time it is a little " go" in Switzerland. It appeal's there is in the Valley oe Dappes a quiet little neutral spot, called "No Man's Land, and thither a furtive Frenchman sought refuge from the Swiss law lie had offended. The French gendarmerie in the

immediate neighbourhood took b;s part, and this has led to a "complication." But tiiis is an "idea" for which Europe don't fee, incline 1 to tight ; and it is expected tlie bold Bonaparte will thus get another slice of terri-to.-y.—he is not particular about a few francs in the matter; and, as he. insists it is properly French ground by ancient treaty, he is allowed to purchase, md so fettle the dispute; and so if ever you go thai vy.iv pay due homage to the glorious Tricolor on Neutral No-Man's-Lancl. Austria has definitively shut up the Hungarian shop at last, and of course, when the struggle comes, her fate is sealed. And, now, let a fake a peep at ' She'Gorman- question. Poor'imbecile-Prussia by Na-. poleoii's help wants to be thk German power Al. The price for this assistance is to be the boundary of . the Rhine. A certainty follows.this arrangement— i.e., Rome and Venice go at once to Victor Emanuel, Mid Hungary is to be a separate kingdom. In the meantime there is a. revolution working up in Russia, | which, as you will see, is consequent on Alexander EIL emancipating the serfs. This will give the opportunity so long waited for, and there will arise mother "kingdom. In the midst of all this the French 1 Emperor reigns supreme. This extraordinary" gen- . sleman seems to do just as he pleases, and, if not out short in ids prime, will effect all those wonderful :hanges—be they for good or for ill. The astonishment to me is, how he does it, for he's awfully hard- • ip just now, —in fact is at this moment abcv.t to introduce M. Fould into his cabinet again, on the express understanding that a large loan is to be negotiated. The new minister will only undertake this . ,ask on the Emperor's promise of retrenchment, &c, , md so it goes forth to the world ; and between them [ dare say these two elerer gentlemen will "fake" it somehow or other, and humble folks like us have only ,o say and to pray, " God help the weak." ' I have often been going to ask, " Do you see all >ur English newspapers V —tell me at your leisure. [f I knew tliat I could cut short many a long story . .vhieh I inflict upon you iv my prosy moments. You will probably wonder at tbe long list of bankrupts in ivery Gazette lately : the average used to be about 18 >r 20, it now reaches nearly 100. This is not to be ( ittributed in any way to the decline of England, but ,o the cheap and expeditious wen-king of Bethell's - \ Tew Bankruptcy Act. I mention this to prevent ilarm — pardoimez-moi. G. V. Brooke has duly appeared. Othello, of s :ourse—in fact, it's " Othello" all over London jnst , low ; but such Othellos—dear! it makes me sigh tnd grunt, as it must any one who recollects the mcients. We have now Fechter, E. Booth, G. V. . 3rooke, old anel young Phelps, C. Kean, and a lot nore rubbish not worth looking at. It ooks as if the Garricks, the Kembles, Edmund Cean, Young and Co., are gone for ever and ever. Nov. 13—Long before this reaches you, our famous ricketers will have bean welcomed by hospitable Mellourne, ami as their time is short you must, make the - iiost of them—theirs is a mysterious journey—the ilea of travelling 30.000 fjr no other earthly purpose nit to play at cricket is rather neat. The world is upposed to bo going round by soi»3 foolish people— I very, would not topsy-turvey be the better expres- ! ion .' Why everybody'is grumbling and complaining 1 f the general all but universal distress nnd poverty if the people, and the exhausted exchequers of the arious Governments be they democratic or autocratic, f ?ree and happy liberalism, or gloomy and de-spond-ng despotism ;—it's all alike, everybody's hard-up, md every country ditto—in fact, all the world's in - lankruptey, and yet thousands of pounds can be brked out at a moment's notice for a friendly game at ric.ket between Old England and her Colonial hiidren. Truly, we are a wonderful people, we Britishers, and you are our wonderful children. 1 ' Grim visaged war " shall be the theme for Conti- c lental gossip, but we, wise in our generation, go .long "Never so gaily oh." We don't mind work, >ut we like a little play, and if we must take up the mdgels when it comes to fisticuffs, we shall do our * lart in that game too. So will both of us sing with a rood bold voice—" God bless Old England and her : jabbies, now anel for ever, amen." While "the Cricket's on the Hearth," I must tell 'ou that the very celebrated player Alfred Mynn, ( lied last week, aged 55, of a complaint termed \ Diabetes. _ a Your old friend Sir James Graham too, has just . leparted from this vale of tearj, aged 66—he was not if much account; now and then be would })iit his boulder to the wheel, but was supposed to be more if a nuisance than a help to his colleagues—sharp and ' :evere in debate, ancl rather an awkward opponent. Another old familiar has died tbis week—the gay . PoinlDuneombe, M.P. He voted for many years in - avor of the people, ancl was very popular—poor as a hurch mouse, as you know. They used to return - litn for Finsbury, free gratis for nothing ; it was no I ;ood any one opposing him there. The King of Portugal has just died (age, 25), but I lon't think you ancl he were very intimate, so I han't make a long speech. Certainly, it's very ( ■ouug to die, and I expect if you and I were kings we 1 ihould not like to hop the twig at 25. John Turner died a short time back. I forget vhether you and he were acquainted ; he kept for- i nerly the Fox public-house, llighgate-hill, and once 1 lpon a time saved the Queen's life by rushing out and 1 Hitching the horses heads while they were going it f ike mad down the hill. The Queen escaped, ancl " .vent into the Fox for refreshment, of course she was.] very grateful, and of course the bold publican was a ' sero and a made man. Business goes queer, tbe Fox.-; is let (loose), and Turner's hard-up—of course he goes ' ;o the Queen, anel of course the flunkeys at the-i palace know him not. Eventually he has to seek) parish relief, ancl then the poor devil did suicide. At the inquest his son gave all these particulars. Thej. coroner said it was a shocking case, and that thei Queen could not have been aware, &c, and so the] affair has ended. But what clo yon and I say about j this? The son swore that his father never received' more than £10 for that little business, and that it cost £20 to put up the Royal Arms at the Fox, so that j poor Turner was actually £10 out of pocket by saving, the Queen's life, ancl was so disgusted at Royal in-1; gratitude, that he was driven to suicide. You know j my ideas on such matters generally, ancl if I had been | on the jury I think I should, in spite of Mr Deputy:l Coroner, have advocated an awkward verdict: —j1 " Manslaughter against Victoria Regina," would have, opened her eyes a bit. But I suppose she knew! nothing of the hero's distress ; it's a pity the miser-1 able wretches who elo "hedge in a king," should have: the power of causing such mischief and ruin, j One tear for poor Jack Turner. I You will see we have had the usual dreadful gales all] round our coast; it's shoekingto read periodically these; heart-rending sea tale.?. Our Government continues I year after year to be lukewarm in this serious matter,! aud it is left principally to private benevolence toi succour our poor mariners in tlieir hour of peril. At, Scarborough, the other day, Lord Beiuclere (of the, St. Alban's family), assisted with other gallant hearts; to rescue, kc, ancl you will grieve to hear that his! Lordship's valuable life was sacrificed to his huma-i nifcy. We will both shed tears over his sad fate, and'^ hope that a fitting monument will be erected to record I his sad, though glorious death. Blondin (after several marvellous escapes) has now] got a holiday for some months. He has been making i heaps of money for himself, anel ditto for the Palace ;! in fact, wherever he goes the people flock to see him | by thousands ; and next year he comes out again at j Sydenham. _ | You will rejoice to hear that Dr. Bakie, the African; traveller, has turned up at last. He has l«ng been j given over as lost, but now we have news of him. andj it is hoped we shall soon hear of his exploits and dis- j cove.ies. Itisto he hojrc 1 he is not in the vicinity of that, dreadful 'King of Dahomey. There's a wretch ! why.! it makes one's blood curdle to think anybody should: be allowed to have the power of committing..such; frightful atrocities. Two thousand victims at one fell i swoop! ls it not awful to contemplate! And what; for! To celebrate a season which should he hailed; surely as a blessing. Yam! ! Food —is providentially' and periodically sent to these ultra-barbarian savages,; and they consecrate it by such wholesale slaughter, j AYhere, my dear , are the Conservators of huma- j nity 1 Let us hope the amiable intentions of this; Butcher King will" be fmstrated this time, and that; liis Majesty will be given to understand very plainly j that neither he, hisheirs, successors, or.-usifn-swillc'ver-be allowed again to wallow in the anticipation of sue hi another luxury. ! There is a fine old King of Bonny, too, close by ;j that "other chap, ancl plenty more black rascals of the] same stamp, —why not exterminate the lot'! but I suppose it will all happen in good time. Perhaps it's best to leave them to their own imairhiings, and theyj may then share the fate of our very old friends," thei immortal Cats of Kilkenny. But ad interim we have to dread the sad fate of enthusiastic Europeans travelling in their neiphborwoocl. You vvill see the French explosion has come off. Fould iij cal lei in, and Napoleon 111. confesses his manifold sins. The Times is daily vC'-y severe, ancl it remains to be proved whether our friend is clever enough to get out of this scrape. You and I have our own opinions, despite "the Thunderer," ancl so that bold Bonaparte can still gammon the people and "lorify the nation, he has little to fear; but it cannot be deiiied that jit's an awful crash. Forty millions sterling is no small sum ; but let ub wait and we shall see what we shall see. j The Great Eastern is to sail again next February 'for New York. Meantime £25,000 is squeezed out of poor shareholders for repairs. What a spec ! i You must sympathise with us Cockneys. We are iin the midst of our November fogs and miseries—a 'month of horrors relieved only by G. Faux, Esq., anel the splendid Lord Mayor's Show. Both these anniversary nuisances are supposed to be doomed. Poor old Guido is, I know, under surveillance; but Ctibitt, like Whittington, is in_ his second glory, and at pre-, [sent too strong for public opinion. I

JOTTINGS ABOUT TIIE'CHINESE. it.i.i;gai. ni)Ui:s of toutuuk on punishment. Ga..lors and magistrates in China have the uu enviable rcput.ui'.jn of frequently resorting t modes of treatment iv tho punishment and th torture of prisoners entirely unauthorised iftid nnro cognised by the laws or' the empire. Gaolors un lawfully torture tho prisoner for the purpose o extorting money, and magistrates unlawlnlly tor turc him for the sake of eliciting confession o guilt, information about his accomplices, &c The kinds of torture are not few. ancl the tormer. caused is often dreadfully excruciating. A brief notice of sonic of tiie illegal method: of punishment and torture, admitted by the Chi nese to be used more or less frequently in China is attempted. Tiie subject, doubtless, is far tron being exhausted. It should not ho supposed tha all, or any of the methods described in this letter are in actual and general use in every part of the cm pire. They arc resorted to with various modifica tions, when gaolors and magistrates are pleased ti »sc them. Not being recognised by the laws, and ii fact contrary to the spirit of the laws, their use i: not fixed. In different provincer, probably, then are in use illegal methods of torture in some re spects different from those described. 1. United to a Bedstead.—This is some times used by gaolers at night. If the prisonei does not promise or furnish money sufficient te satisfy the demands of his keepers, he is liable te be put to bed on a certain kind of wooden bed stead or platform. He is placed on his back, am his body made perfecily or nearly immoveable ii something like the following manner : —Somi hoards or blocks, with holes made in them, an passed up through openings in the bedstead o platform. One is placed over each ankle, ane one over each wrist, and another over the neel ofthe wretched men. They arc then pressei down tightly on the parts of the body ancl fast ened under the bedstead in such a way that, tit man cannot change his position. Besides all thi sometimes tliere is said to he a pole fastened a right angles to a bar of wood placed across hi ankles or feet, the pole extending to his chin am pressing against it so that his head will be throw) backwards or upwards. In this position he i made to pass the night unless the gaolors relenl which is probably seldom the case, or he come to their terms. No one is willing, on any con sideration, to sleep the second night on such bedstead, if he can arrange matters with hi keepers. Rich men are often unmercifully tor tureel by their gaolors, in order to extort fror thorn a large sum of money. 2. Frame oj-' thb Flowery Eye Brovv.Some say this instrument is named after a certai bird which, hoing tied to a frame by a short string is continually bopping about from place to plac .on the frame, or flying away to the length of it string, and then returning to the frame. If sucl is the origin ofthe name, it indicated the inteiis agony which the wretched man suii'er3, no allowing a moment's ease. It consists of an up right post and two cross pieces firmly fastened ti it. The culprit is made to kneel on the lower o the cross pieces, with his hack to the post. Hi arms are.outstretched ancl fastened to the othe cross piece, which is placed several feet highe than the lower one. Across the calves of hi legs, or perhaps somewhat nearer the knees while kneeling on tiie cross piece, is laid a stic! several feet long. To the two ends of this sticl are attached cords wliich pass through holes mad. in the ends of the cross piece on which he kneels By pulling or tightening these cords, the pressun on his legs become dreadful, kneeling of itsel would soon cause intolerable pain. To this i added the pain acuscel by pressing down the pice laid on the upper sides of his legs, while he is ii a kneeling posture. Some say that the wrist or arm;, are pressed at the same time, and in i similar manner, between the upper cross pice and another stick placed on the upper side of tin arms. This form of torturing a prisoner is some times employed by officers in order to extort con fession. 3. Monkey Homhxg a Peach.—The name o this torture is said to bo derived from thefancice resemblance of the victim while enduring it, to i monkey grasping something in. his paw. It is used by mandarins to compel a prisoner to con fess his guilt. It, consists in suspending the mai: by one arm over a horizontal stick several feel from the ground, with tbe other arms passu: down under one or both legs, and the arms oi hands then securely tied together by the thumbs under or near Ihe knees. In ibis way no part ol the body is allowed to touch the floor, and the whole weight comes under the armpit on one arm passed over tlie stick or pole. Simply to bind together the thumbs of a person whose hands are brought in contact under or between the knees, would aiono produce intolerable agony in a short time, even if the victim were permitted to sit or take any position at pleasure. How dreadful then must be the torture, when, besides the agony arising from such a crumped position of the human body, the whole weight of the prisoner is sustained on a small piece of wood passing under one of his arms. 4. Standing ix a Cage.—Tho cage is made of slabs of wood, and high enough to contain the wretch sentenced to stand in it, his head protruding out of the upper end ofthe top ofthe cage. He is obliged to stand on his tiptoes, and the orifice in the top is only made large enough for hineck. In this way the man is made to suffer intense pain. To stand long on tiptoe is impossible. But the victim is obliged to stand partially on his tiptoe or be hung by the neck if he draw up his feet in endeavours to rest himself. Only momentary relief is obtained hy drawing up his legs, for that movement brings his whole weight on his neck. It is said that sometime during the lattar part of the reign of the preceding emperor, a noted robber was compelled to stand in public in such a cage in the suburbs of this city till he died. 5. Gently Beating with a Mallet.—This consists of beating or pounding with a small wooden hammer or mallet, the ancle joints of the prisoner mildly but continuously. This inethoel is sometimes adopted by the ftfandarins, it is said, to produce confession from intractable offenders. It is easy to imagine how dreadful the pain must soon become. 6. Smoking in a Tom:. —A large tube of bamboo, with the natural joint or division in one end still remaining, is put upon the head of the culprit, and extends down a little below the chin. Sometimes a small tub or pail, turned bottom! side upwards on the head, is said to be used, the object being' to incase the head in something air-tight on the top, anil yet open at the bottom. Some incense is lighted, ancl held or placed so that the smoke and odour shall ascend into the tube. As the smoke cannot escape through the top, suffocation soon ensues, unless the instrument is removed, or to say the least, the victim endures indescribable agony. This torture is -•used by magistrates, though, it is said, not very tiliuently. 7. A Shirt hade of Iron Wire.—This kind ot torture, it is affirmed, was formerly used in this part of China, and is now occasionally resorted to at Pekin. A shirt-like garment, made of very fine wire, with interstices something like those ot a fishing net, is put on the prisoner, the i clothing from the upper part of the body having ] been removed. A cord is attached to it in such a way that when pulled the shirt will press down ] closely on the body, and the skin and flesh will i protrude more or less through the interstices. : A knife-like instrument is then passed over the i wire-shirt on the outside, cutting or rasping ou < the protruding skin and flesh. This operation is : repeated at tiie option of the dispenser of jus- : tice. i 8. Hot-water Snake.—A coil, in form resembling a snake, and manufactured out of pewter, or some other malleable metal, is arranged i in Biich a way thnt an arm of the prisoner can be i thrust into it. Each arm is put into such a coil, : or the tube is wound around them, the head of the i metal snake being higher than the other paits. Sometimes a similar tube is coiled around the : body. A quantity of boiling water is then poured i into the mouth of the snake, and as it passes down : the tube burns tbe flesh, nnd causes intense pain to the unhappy victim. It is asserted that this kind of torture is now-a-days seldom or never reiiorted to in the south of China, though it is be- : lieved to bo still occasionally used at the capital . on state prisoners. i 9. Whip of Hooks.—A large number of very i fine hooks are securely fastened to a handful of the ] fibres of Chinese hemp. The whole is then used ] as a whip with which to beat the prisoner in orde ■>

to elicit a confession. When a blow is given with Hiis whip, many of the hooks will stick to the body of ihe victim, and unless a satisfactory confession is forthcoming, the whip is pulled or jerked hack by main force, and another blow given. Tiie operation is repeated according to the dictation oi the presiding officer. This kind of torture is represented to he more and more seldom employed in this purl of the onipiic. 10. Kxf.eling on Chains or Bits or Crockery.—The prisoner is made to kneel down on chains or bits of crockery, with the arms outstretched at right angles to the body. This torture is often resorted to as a means of torture or punishment. If the culprit lowers his hands, he is mercilessly whipped. At either times he is made with his hands tied behind his back, to kneel down on these hard and uneven substances. The pain induced by kneeling ou one's bare knees on a chain or any sharp pointed mineral substance even without any whipping, anel without being obliged to hold outstretched his arms is soon absolutely intolerable. Not [infrequently in the case of stubborn animals aro several hundred blows inflicted with a rattan thong while in the position above elescribed —.so the Chinese say. Tho above outline sketch of some of the ways of torture ancl punishment used by gaolors and mandarins, though declared to be unknoivn and unauthorised by the statutes, are perhaps sufficient to intimate the inhumanity aud injustice which accused as well as convicted persons are liable to experience at the hands of the administrators of tho law in China. No wonder tne people are exceedingly anxious to avoid falling into the clutches ofthe mandarins, especially if wealthy ancl of respectable connections. — Overland China Mail.