Section fifteen of said act is hereby amended so as to read as follows: "SEC. 15. That the provisions of this act shall apply to all subjects of China and Chinese, whether subjects of China or any other foreign power; and the words Chinese laborers, wherever used in this act shall be construed to mean both skilled and unskilled laborers and Chinese employed in mining." SEC. 16. That any violation of any of the provisions of this act, or of the act of which this is amendatory, the punishment of which is not otherwise herein provided for, shall be deemed a misdemeanor, and shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both such fine and imprisonment. SEC. 17. That nothing contained in this act shall be construed to affect any prosecution or other proceeding, criminal or civil, begun under the act of which this is amendatory; but such prosecution or other proceeding, criminal or civil, shall proceed as if this act had not been passed. Approved, July 5, 1884. AN ACT a supplement to an act entitled "An act to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to Chinese," approved the sixth day of May, eighteen hundred and eighty-two. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the passage of this act, it shall be unlaw ful for any Chinese laborer who shall at any time heretofore have been, or who may now or hereafter be, a resident within the United States, and who shall have departed, or shall depart therefrom, and shall not have returned before the passage of this act, to return to, or remain in, the United States. SEC. 2. That no certificates of identity provided for in the fourth and fifth sections of the act to which this is a supplement shall hereafter be issued; and every certificate heretofore issued in pursuance thereof is hereby declared void and of no effect, and the Chinese laborer claiming admission by virtue thereof shall not be permitted to enter the United States. SEC. 3. That all the duties prescribed, liabilities, penalties, and forfeitures imposed, and the powers conferred by the second, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth sections of the act to which this is a supplement are hereby extended and made applicable to the provisions of this act. SEC. 4. That all such part or parts of the act to which this is a supplement as are inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. Approved, October 1, 1888. No. 1534.] Mr. Denby to Mr. Blaine. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Peking, May 18, 1892. (Received June 28.) SIR: I have the honor to inclose herewith a copy of a dispatch sent by me to Consul-General Leonard, on the subject of his jurisdiction to try an American citizen, James A. Frame, on a charge of murder, for a homicide committed at Shanghai. The facts and conclusions of law are fully set out in the inclosure. As there may be some delay in the action of the consul-general, I would be glad to know whether the Department agrees with my opinion. I have, etc., CHARLES DENBY. No. 241.] [Inclosure in No. 1534.] Mr. Denby to Mr. Leonard. LEGATION OF THE THE UNITED STATES, SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your dispatch No. 106 of May 10, 1892. You therein inform me that James A. Frame, an American citizen, did, on the 1st instant, at Shanghai, shoot and kill George Lemon, an American citizen. At the time of the killing Frame was the jailor of the American consulate, and was acting as deputy marshal. You set out the verdict of the jury at the inquest held on the body of the deceased. You proceed to state that doubts have arisen in your mind whether the case is triable by the minister or the consul-general. You quote section 4109, 2 R. S. U. S., 2d ed., 1878, which provides: "That in cases where a consular officer is interested, either as party or witness, such minister shall have original jurisdiction." You express the opinion that the words "consular officer" are applicable to Mr. Frame, and define his status, and are to be held as ousting you of jurisdiction and conferring it on the minister. You further state that the deceased is said to have applied vile epithets to the officers of the consulate-general, and that these utterances will probably be brought out in evidence. You suggest that you might be "biased” by such language, and that you are disqualified to try the case as judge. I have uniformly refused to give any opinion on the merits of any case which might be tried before me on appeal in advance of the submission of such case to me after the trial thereby and in due course of procedure. If there were, in my view of the questions presented by you, any possibility that the accused could suffer any injury by my giving to you advice on the technicalities suggested should such advice prove to be erroneous, I would, undoubtedly, withhold any advice whatever, and leave you acting judicially to decide on questions as they arise in the case without the shadow of any interference by me, as is your undoubted right so to do. But it is difficult to to see how Frame can be injured by your retaining jurisdiction. If he is convicted of a capital crime the law (sec. 4102, R. S. U. S., 2d ed., 1878) requires that the minister shall approve the conviction. I should certainly not approve a conviction in a case in which I thought a trial court had no jurisdiction. If he is convicted of a less offense and sentenced to imprisonment only he has his remedy by habeas corpus, if there were no jurisdiction. Nor can he be injured by the proof of the language uttered by the deceased embodying abuse of the officers of the consulate. Such utterances might injure the prosecution, but certainly would not injure the defense. Having undertaken to show that no possible harm can befall Mr. Frame by my advising you that you have jurisdiction, I now proceed to state the grounds of my opinion on the facts stated by you, that you alone can try the accused. I give such opinion from a sense of duty, because as nobody else can legally hear and determine the cause, if you decline to do so there may be a failure of justice. If on the trial proof were made of the occupation of the defendant and such proof cansed you to decide that you had no jurisdiction and that you discharged him, he would go forever acquit if your decision were erroneous, because he would have been once in jeopardy. The plain and simple answer to your doubts as to jurisdiction is that the words "consular officer" used in section 4109, above quoted, mean a consul, and not the employés or subordinate officials of the consulate. Webster's definition of the word "consular" is "pertaining to consul, as consular power, consular dignity, or privileges." A jailor or marshal can not be said to pertain to a consul. The offices of jailor and marshal are distinct and separate from the office of consul. The holders of them do not pertain to the consul any more than the interpreter or the Chinese writer do. The consul is charged by law with the duty of hearing and determining all cases. He is relieved from this duty only when he is a party to the action or an interested witness in the cause. As a man ought not to be allowed to decide cases in which he is personally interested, ex necessitate, some other official must hear such cases. This is the reason of the law. There is no reason why a consul should not hear causes in which his subordinates are interested. It is to be noticed that in the United States practice there is no change of judges allowed on account of bias. In the State courts there is. The Government can never object to bias of the judge even in the State courts. It does not at all matter in considering the question of jurisdiction how much a judge is biased against the Government. The defendant is not hurt by such bias. He can not, therefore, complain of it, and the Government has no remedy against its effects, whatever they may be. As I look at sections 4102 and 4106, R. S. U. S., 1878, 2d ed., it seems to me that capital punishment can not be inflicted on an American in China unless six men concur in the judgment. Four citizens are to sit on the trial with the consul, who shall himself render the judgment, the assessors concurring. Then the minister must approve the sentence. I have thus given you my opinion in the interest of justice, but without prejudico to the accused. Should you become convinced that you have no jurisdiction, care should be taken that such decision be announced before the impaneling of the assessors, who act in China as jurors. The accused should be kept in jail or released on bond, as you may decide, until some arrangement can be made for his trial. I am thoroughly satisfied that I have no jurisdiction to try him, but I am not infallible. It may be that discussion of the question, with the aid of legal opinions from Wash ington, may change my views. Please understand that while I give you my opinion I do not expect you to act upon it unless it, upon reflection, satisfies your mind that you have jurisdiction. You are charged with the responsibility of life and death, the heaviest that ever rests on any judge. A serious doubt as to jurisdiction should certainly prevent any judge from awarding capital punishment. You can throw the ultimate responsibility on me, but if the serious doubt remains in your mind subsequent regret and possibly self-reproach will not be prevented by my decision. Entertaining such a view the case should be continued and should be referred to the State Department. While the Department has no right to control you when acting judicially, still it is likely that its carefully prepared argument would settle the point one way or the other and relieve you from all doubt. I am, etc., CHARLES DENBY. No. 1535.] Mr. Denby to Mr. Blaine. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Peking, May 23, 1892. (Received June 28.) SIR: I have the honor to inclose herewith a translation of a decree which was issued by the Emperor the 21st instant. This decree may be taken in some sense as an answer to my late request that strenuous action be taken with regard to the "Hu-Nan publications," a copy whereof was inclosed in my dispatch No. 1514 of April 12. It will be seen that the Taotai Chou Han who was supposed to be chief circulator of the "Hu-Nan publications" has been degraded. He is to be sent to his native place and kept under surveillance. I have, etc., CHARLES DENBY. [Inclosure in No. 1535.-Translation.] Imperial decree of May 21, 1892. Sometime since Chang Chih Tung and others memorialized the throne that they had investigated the case of the Hu-Nan publications and the counterfeiting of ofcial documents. At the time we instructed the yamên of foreign affairs to consider the matter and report to us. The yamên has now requested us to take action in accordance with the suggestion of the memorialists. In this case, although the Taotai Chon Han did not publish and circulate the placards or counterfeit official documents, still he is an officer, and his words were false and exaggerated like those of an insane person, and rowdies used his name as an excuse to circulate stories that were calculated to excite the feelings of the people. He is decidedly guilty of an offense that can not be overlooked. Let Chou Han, an expectant taotai of the province of Shensi be at once degraded. He is to be sent to his native place and the local officials are to keep him under surveillance and not allow him to go away and cause trouble. Regarding other matters presented in the memorial, let action be taken as decided on by the memorialist. Let the proper board take note. No. 1537.] Mr. Denby to Mr. Blaine. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Peking, May 28, 1892. (Received July 14.) SIR: I have the honor to inclose a clipping from the North China News, of the 21st instant, giving an account of two antiforeign riots, which have lately occurred in the province of Fukien. I have not received official notice of the occurrence of these riots and forbear comment thereon until such notice shall reach me. I have, etc., CHARLES DENBY. [Inclosure in No. 1537.] The troubles in Fukien. [From the North China News.] The following account of these outrages is taken from an extra published by the Foochow Daily Echo on Monday last: On Wednesday, April 27, the house occupied by the missionaries of the Church of England Zenana Society in Chingho City was attacked by a mob, assembled by the leading literary man in the place. After having been exposed to the insults of the mob for three hours, the ladies, Miss Johnson and Miss B. Newcombe, were rescued by the mandarin and taken in chairs to the yamên. The house was not a quarter of a mile from the yamên and the mandarin had to be summoned three times before he took any notice of the matter, and finally only came after a cry had been raised that one of the ladies had been killed by the mob. The Emperor's proclamation, which was hanging in front of the house, was broken to pieces and burned by the mob, who subsequently wrecked the house. The mandarin at first promised the ladies protection until they could communicate with their friends, but on the following day so fierce a crowd gathered in front of the yamên that he insisted on the ladies leaving the town as quickly as possible. Evidence is not wanting that points to the complicity of the mandarin in the riot. The ladies almost miraculously escaped without serious bodily harm. Had it not been for the bravery and devotion of the teacher, Mr. Siek, who repeatedly summoned the mandarin and exerted himself to the utmost to protect them, they might have fared much worse. On May 11 the little mission hospital and dispensary in a suburb of Kienning City was attacked and completely wrecked by a mob of hired ruffians in the pay of the leading literary man of that city, Chio Chie-puoi. Dr. Rigg, who was on the premmises, narrowly escaped a horrible death. The patients, students, and others in the building escaped by the back door, Dr. Rigg being the last to leave, remaining until he was dragged out by one of the four soldiers sent by the local mandarin to protect the place. Escaping through the garden, the doctor was compelled to climb two fences amid a shower of bricks, stones, and heavy lumps of wood. In the road the mob seized him, threw him down repeatedly, and struck him with their fists, and on reaching some large vats for liquid manure, attempted to throw their victim into one. Happily, the doctor's grasp of one of his assailants was so firm that they found it impossible to throw him in alone, and desisted for a moment, when by a desperate struggle he got up on his feet and regained the road. The cowards still pursued him, taking his watch and chain, and tearing his clothes off his back in the hope of finding money. One brave native Christian from Kucheng, who throughout the whole struggle stood by the doctor and attempted to shield him, was severely beaten and actually thrown into one of the manure pits. Dr. Rigg made his escape to Nangwa, meeting on the road a former patient, who, seeing that he had no hat or umbrella, lent him his own, and finding on inquiry that he had no money gave him 50 cash to get his breakfast, an act eloquent of the true feeling of the poor natives, among whom Dr. Rigg has worked so patiently for the last three years. After wrecking the hospital the mob partially destroyed the houses of four other men connected in various ways with the hospital, and stole the clothes and tools of seventeen workmen who were engaged in building a new hospital. The Emperor's proclamation had been for months on view in the hospital, and the mandarins were well aware of the approaching riot, but are powerless to oppose the literati. It is high time that something was done to let these gentry feel the strength of the arm of the law, and we have no doubt the vigorous measures already undertaken by Her Majesty's consul in Foochow will have the desired effect. At the time of writing Dr. Rigg, although severely bruised and shaken, is slowly recovering from the effects of the treatment received from the mob, and is able to go about his work as asual. Great admiration is expressed by all who know the circumstances, for the pluck and coolness with which he faced the crowd, and for his calmness throughout, for he never once lost his presence of mind during the long assault. All the native students, etc., have also come into Nangwa unhurt, though with the loss of everything they possessed. Some had hairbreadth escapes from the mob. Dr. Rigg rejoices in having been able to draw off the mob from the Christians, who would otherwise have been very severely dealt with. The teacher Siek, whose bravery saved the two ladies at Chingho, is in immediate danger; not long ago he professed Christianity very boldly and openly, and now he and all others who have been teaching foreigners the language have been summoned to Kienning City to stand their trial before the other literary men. If treaty rights afford protection to those who are in the employ of foreigners, we hope every effort will be made to save his life, and that of the only other Christian among them. It is now known that before undertaking the riot at Chingho, the headman of the literati traveled to Kienning, and asked the advice of Chio Chie-puoi as to whether he should raise a riot, and received assurance of support and a promise that the destruction of the house in Chingho should be followed by the pulling down of the hospital at Kienning. Mere compensation in money is not enough to make such a man as Chio Chie-puoi feel the results of his action. The only thing which would be really effectual would be to deprive him of his degree. Such a course can only be taken, we hear, by the Peking authorities, as he is a third-degree man, and as such beyond the control of local officials. Will the Chinese authorities wait (or be allowed to wait) until another missionary is killed before carrying out the treaty provisions and practically enforcing them on those who rebel against them? No. 1539.] Mr. Denby to Mr. Blaine, LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Peking, June 4, 1892. (Received July 14.) SIR: I have the honor to inform you that on the 26th day of May, last, I received from the tsung-li yamên a very long report relating to the case of Chou Han, who was accused of publishing antiforeign pamphlets and placards in Hunan. The imperial decree touching this case appeared in the Peking Gazette, the 21st ultimo, and a translation thereof was forwarded to you inclosed in my dispatch No. 1535 of May 23. The following is an abstract of the report above mentioned: The prince and minister received from the grand council, on the 11th ultimo, a copy of the report from the Viceroy Chang Chi Tung of the investigation of commissioners into the question of the publication of placards in Hunan, and the counterfeiting of public dispatches. The inquiry developed the fact that Chou Han suffered from a disease of the mind akin to madness. The testimony before the commission showed that Chou Han had been an expectant taotai; that he had distinguished himself in the wars and was promoted to be a taotai, and was employed in Shensi, which province he left and went to Hunan. He has lately suffered from a brain disorder which causes him to have hallucinations, and in the paroxysms of his illness his utterances have been those of a madman. He did not publish any placards nor circulate any. Full testimony on this point was had. Stringent search was made for the blocks on which the placards were printed, and twenty-five boards for thirty-one pictures and placards were seized. These had already been defaced. Two publishers were arrested, but they refused to confess, though torture was applied to them. Chou Han is still insane. He believes in spirits, and practices divination. Nevertheless some punishment should be meted out to him. The two publishers should be punished with eighty blows of the bamboo, and made to wer the cangue, or wooden collar, for the period of three months. The printing establishment has been closed. Stringent instructions have been given to arrest and punish all persons who spread false rumors or circulate placards calculated to excite the minds of the people. Chou Han should be stripped of his rank and be kept under surveillance at his native place. If his hallucinations increase and he still causes trouble, he should be exemplarily punished. The imperial decree above referred to has executed the recommendations of the commissioners. I have to remark that the treatment of Chou Han, as viewed by foreigners, is lenient. Much faith is not put |