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380 at Stonecutters' Island was equally unsatisfactory. Things went on well enough so long as a gunboat and a military guard were provided to guard the hulk, but when these were withdrawn, frequent attempts at rescue were made by outside associates of the prisoners. A sad accident also occurred by the upsetting of a boat, when 38 prisoners were drowned (July 23, 1863). Later on (April 21, 1864) a body of about 100 prisoners made good their escape in junks, after disabling their guards. The working of Victoria Gaol, however, appeared to improve, after the dismissal of the expert, when a new superintendent (F. Douglas) was appointed (December 12, 1863). The gaol was thenceforth popularly referred to as 'Douglas Hotel.'

The criminal history of this period presents some novel features. In January, 1860, one of the most popular compradors, Tam Achoy, distinguished himself by collecting in Hongkong an armed corps of Puntis, officered by some foreign seamen, whom he dispatched by the S.S. Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy to the San-ning District, S.W. of Macao, with a considerable supply of arms and ammunition. On arrival at San-ning, this corps of Hongkong freebooters took an active part in the internecine war going on at that time between the Punti and Hakka clans of that District. When the Hongkong Police learned that two of the foreign leaders of this buccaneering expedition had been killed in battle, Tam Achoy was arrested and charged with murder. It appeared, however, that, before sending off that expedition, Tam Achoy had given formal notice to a Government officer of his intentions and received no warning of the illegality of his proceedings. The indictment having broken down for want of evidence, Tam Achoy was advised to plead guilty of misdemeanour and was discharged with a reprimand. The peninsula of Kowloon presented for several days in August, 1862, the novel aspect of an animated battle field, as the Punti inhabitants of the neighbouring villages were engaged in a bloody warfare with the Hakka settlers at Tsimshatsui. But the most renowned crime of this period was the so-called