THE CHINA MAIL, NOVEMBER 14, 1939 TO-DAY'S STRANGE STORY OF REAL PEOPLE

NO. 84 - THE DISAPPEARANCE OF CHANCELLOR LANSING

BY JOEL C. MATHEWS

legal

he

Going to the Foot of Cortland

Street To Post a Letter

One of our most brilliant minds of more than a century ago was John Lansing of New York. During the Revolution, he was mili- tary secretary to General Philip Schuyler. After serving four terms in the New York Legislature he be- came a member of the Continental Congress and later returned to his State Legislature, where he was elected Speaker. Subsequently, served as Mayor of Albany and, again, as member of the Continental Weeks. Congress.

At this trial, one of most famous

the wrote a letter, Then he left the hotel, Weeks, was represented by both Al- of Cortland Street to post his letter of that generation, stating that he was going to the foot exander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, on board the Albany and was acquitted.

boat, which In 1814 Chancellor Lansing

lay moored at the wharf there. From

next 15 years he was retired by reason of age. During the Whether he

was that time he was never again seen. conspicuous figures

was robbed and mur- one of the dered or accidentally City.

in New

drowned York never been known. On the 12th of

His disappearance was one of the when in his 76th year, he sat down great-grandfathers

1829, great mysteries of the time of our in his hotel in the metropolis and events have thrown no light upon it.

and

After George Washington had com- pleted his defeat of the British and it became necessary to organize our Government, the New York Legisla- ture appointed Lansing with ander Hamilton and Robert Yates as

Alex delegates to the Federal Convention, which was to assemble at Philadel- phia and form a constitution for the United States, but he resigned membership in this body on ground that New York had not dele- gated to him sufficient power to help form a new Government, only au- thority to aid in passing amendments to the old Articles of Confederation. Yates, sharing his view, retired with him, although Alexander

his the

Hamilton,

who remained in the convention, was active in forming the Constitution. Lansing was later a member of the New York State Convention in which body he opposed the ratification the Constitution and was thereafter re-elected Speaker of the New York Assembly.

of

December,

has

subsequent

BOGUS CHARITIES TO BE CRUSHED

collectors of

ONLY ONE BRITISH SHIP LOST

London, To-day.

The success of the British Navy's fight against U-boats is given its best tribute by the fact that only one British

vessel was sunk last week- the Carnarvon, a coastal ves- sel of 961 tons.

Neutral countries to date have lost. over 80,000 tons of shipping.

Heaviest

sels

Nor:

wegian shipowners with nine vessels

losers have been of 20,001 tons; Greece with four ves- of 19,455 tons; Denmark with three Sweden.

ships totalling 12,558 tons; tons; Finland five ships of 8,746 tons; seven mounting to 11,110 Belgium two ships of 8,202 tons; while two Dutch vessels have been lost of a total British Wireless.

tonnage of 8,387.

COLONY'S HEALTH BILL

on

The Medical Department's weekly return shows that in the week ended at midnight But it is known that until recently Colony. There were seventeen typhoid Saturday, fifteen diphtheria cases were reported in the the same body under another name, cases, only one cholera, one smallpox raked in many hundreds for the provision of

of pounds breakfast for

(the first for some

months) three children in London.

meningitis, 40 dysentery and 133 tuberculosis. Although a few breakfasts

Deaths in the period were included two from cholera, one from provided, most of the went into the pockets of collectors, from typhoid,

money smallpox, four from diphtheria, ten paid on a fifty-fifty basis, and into 12, from dysentery and 62 from tuber- two from meningitis, those of the organiser. in

culosis.

Playing

London, Oct. 29. on patriotism, Britain's £2,000,000-a-year charity racketeers are enjoying one last fling before A year following George Washing-

being crushed by New Legislation. ton's first inauguration to the

Knowing that police Pre-

permits for sidency, Lansing became a Justice of

money will be com- the New York Supreme Court. Eight pulsory in the New Year, and that years later he was honoured with the likely, they are exploiting every con- even more stringent regulations are robes of the Chief Justice of that tribunal and in 1801 succeeded Ro-ceivable war-time "good cause" bert R. Livingston as chancellor of

one last clean-up. the Empire State. While holding that high office he was unanimously nominated for Governor by the anti-convalescent Federalists and accepted the nomina- tion, but subsequently changed mind and declined it.

his

Believing the Constitution framed and ratified by the Federal and State Conventions in which

he

a

One "charity" shown up by a well- known Society pretended to run

home for young evacuees, "Our beds are never empty," said a well-written pamphlet.

This claim was true. The Home for children turned out to as

be two rooms with a bed in each!

One society with the word "Na- tional" in its title is sending well- dressed men and women round the London suburbs collecting blankets, clothes and money for the evacuees. Neither the L.C.C. nor any other organisation looking after these folk can trace what happens to the goods collected.

con-

our

had acted as insurgent inadequate, Chancellor Lansing devoted siderable endeavour to having Magna Charter amended, and it was partly as a result of his efforts that important amendments were passed by Congress. He was an able judge. One of the most noted of the trials over which he presided was that of Levi Weeks for the murder of the beautiful Guilelma Sands, whose body had been found in a well in New York City after she had mysterious- ly disappeared on the night when she was to have been married

Traivaška by JLL adpalenta; Inc.1

Dieting Dot' says she can't der cide whether it would be easier to cut down her waistline with less sugar or a new coraat.

to

ROYAL

PARTY VISIT CINEMA

London. To-day.

were

The King and Queen, who acompanied by the Duchess of Kent, visited a West End cinema yesterday afternoon and saw the film "The Lion Has Wings," depicting the ex- ploits of the Royal Air Force.

It was His Majesty's first visit to

a cinema since their Coronation and the first visit to a place of entertain- ment since the outbreak of war. ---- British Wireless.

SCHOOL'S GIFT TO INDIAN WAR FUND

Calcutta, Oct. 19. The youngest boy at St. Joseph's, Darjeeling, at the school sports day handed the Governor of Bengal, Sir John Woodhead, a box, saying: "Your Excellency, please accept this as our share of the War Fund."

to-

The box contained 1,000 rupees, being the whole of the sports prize fund. The prize-winners are receiv ing certificates instead..

When the Charity Society asked to see the balance-sheet Organisation of a benevolent club professing to im- prove the physical fitness of evacuat- ed slum children, it was discovered that of £2,500 collected £1,000 went in collectors' wages and all but £200 of the remainder to the organisers.

Until the Collecting for Charities Act becomes law on January 1 the public are warned to give warily.

NÓIN A

BREWERY

LIMITED

case, three

Yesterday, there was one diphtheria and 18 tuberculosis.

typhoid, five dysentery

on

Mr. "Bill" O'Neil, manager of Reu- ter's office, lost a Kodak camera Wednesday last while travelling be- tween Kai Tak Aerodrome and No. 117, The Peak.

UB BEER

SHANGHAI

Sole Agents:-W. R. LOXLEY & Co., (China) Ltd.

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