CO129-379 - Governor Sir Lugard - 1911 [8-9] — Page 336

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trivial offences. My feeling was that it is disingenuous to

have a treaty with China, to which a local Ordinance purports

to give effect, but which is in practice nullified to a great

extent by allowing Solicitors to charge the Chinese Government

prohibitive costs. If the Treaty and consequential Ordinance

do in fact grant a more extensive extradition than is warrant-

-ed in the circumstances, it would seem to be better to find

some other way of rendering it in part inoperative. The Treaty

was made in 1858 and if it was at that date a justifiable

Treaty it is somewhat late to condem it half a century after-

-wards at a time when the spirit of reform is manifest in

China.

11.

I am informed that the trial accorded

to an accused person in a Chinese Court is a fair one, and I

fail to realize that the British Government incurs any share

of responsibility by relegating to the trial of its own Courts

subjects of China accused of crimes committed in China. There

is little fear of the Provincial Authorities incurring even

reduced expenditure for the extradition of persons accused of

"trifling offences", and I may add that though the conversa-

-tions I have reported with Wei Han took place some 6 months

ago no application for extradition for other than a capital

case