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other Powers, such as Japan, France and the United
States of American, continue to enjoy them.
le now turn to an examination, clause by clause,
of the proposals made by His Majesty's Government,
on the 27th January, 1927.
1. "His Majesty's Government are prepared to
recognize the modern Chinese Law courts as the con-
petent courts for cases brou,ht by British plaintiffs
or complainants and to waive the right of attendance
of a British representative at the hearing of such
cases,
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It must be remembered that justice will depend
very largely on the individuality of the judge on
his resistance to bribery, on the salary he is paid and
on his independence of the executive and public
opinion. We have little hope of satisfaction on these
points in the present state of China. The majority
of disputes between British merchants and Chinese
are of a commercial character and so far as possible
have always been dealt with out of court. When
taken into court, however, the presence of an assessor has been a very great safeguard. In the
agreement recently arrived at for the rendition of the mixed court at Shanghai this safeguard is speci- fically retained, and we recommend that this safe-
guard be not lightly given up until such a stage of legal and judical development has been reached in China as will justify full reliance on the integrity of the Chinese courts.
2.
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