CO129-477 - Public Offices - 1922 — Page 344

1

343

Within a few days of this Resolution a case occurred in

•

the Mixed Court in which the Chinese defendant, after being served with the summons, obtained a certificate of protection from the Spanish consul. The Court (Magistrate Kwan and Mr. Tenney, American Assessor) directed the Registrar to ask the Spanish consul if he was willing that the case should be taken by the Mixed Court. The Spanish consul replied that the case would have to be brought before his Consular Court.

Almost at the same time (November 14th, 1921) a warrant on a criminal charge was issued against one Chuen Wai sung. On being arrested and brought before Magistrate Li and myself he produced a certificate of Spanish protection dated November 10th, 1921. At that time the Court refused to take jurisdiction, but ordered that the accused be held in custody until proceedings had been instituted against him in the Spanish Court. At the same time we directed that the circumstances should be brought to the attention of the Consular Body, as had been done by Magistrate Kwan and Mr. Tenney in the before mentioned case. During these proceedings I said, in reply to a protest from the accused's lawyer that he was not responsible if foreign consulates were willing to register and protect

Chinese:

"I do not blame you. I blame the Spanish consul. soon as these people know that a complainant is after them, they go round to a foreign consulate and get

It is an absolute scandal." protection.

AB

The Spanish consul protested officially to H.M.Consul- General against my language, and, being anxious that the real

I issue should not be lost in personalities of this nature, withdrew in open Court my remarks in so far as they contained a personal reference to the Spanish consul, though I added:

Fron