1
March 6, 1905.]
CHARGES AGAINST CONSUL- GENERAL GOODNOW.
A LONG INDICTMENT,
Representative Hughes of New Jersey in- troduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives on the 25th alt. directing the Committee on Judiciary "to inquire and report whether the action of this House is requisite concerning the official misconduct of John Goodnow, Judge of the United States Consular Court at Shanghai, China, and say whether the said Judge has been guilty of corruptive conduct in office, and whether the conduct of his office has resulted in injury and wrongs to litigants in his Court."
The resolution is accompanied by seventeen specifications. The first charges Mr. Goodnow with the embezzlement of 8946 on various dates during the fiscal year ended June 30th, 1903; the second charges that he mailed false accounts to the Secretary of State as to moneys received and expended for alleged Court expenses; the third charges that he pre- sented a false claim against the United States to the Secretary of the Treasury; the fourth charges embezzlement on November 19th 1903, of $643, paid into Court by the firm of Andrews sad George, commission merchants, to the house of Nes Chaug Mow & Co.; the fifth charges the appointment of George A. Derby as expert accoun'ant in the case between the firms mentioned in the preceding charge, the appointee being asserted to be wholly incom petent, and that the Judge thereafter received & perjured account from his appointee.
The sixth specification charges conspiracy between John Goodnow, Judge; George A Derby, marshal, clerk, and orier to the Court; Stephen P. Barchet, inte preter of the Court, and messenger to the Chinese Mixed Court; and one R. L. Hazleton, to defraud Maxmilian Francis Dzienk, a subject of Germany, of nineteen and one-half mows of land, in value.
B
872,450. The seventh charges that on March 23rd, 1903, Mr. Goodnow appointed biassed and prejudiced assessor in the case of I. E. Giller & Co. versus the American Trading Company. The eighth charges that on September 20th, 1902, he unlawfully deprived J. B. Burke, an American citizen and attorney of record of Minneapolis, of his liberty, and appropriated Burke's property to his own use and disbarred Burke.
The ninth charges oppression and tyranny by means of intimidation and threats of criminal prosecution, through which there was extorted from J. B. Burke $11,374, being a one-third vested interest in the Chinese in. demnity claim awarded George Warren; the. tenth charges oppressive and tyrannical extor- tion of 250 taels from Thomas R. Jernigan, and that Goodnow sought to persuade one Rosenthal to instigate criminal prosecution against Jernigan in order to injure the latter's good name; the eleventh charges that on June 19th, 1903, Goodnow did "unlawfully aid and abet the destruction of public documents, being
documents in the case of G. F. Curtis versus C. Rolker," in consequence of which the sum of $300 was extorted from the said Curtis and paid to said Goodnow.
The twelfth charge is that Goodnow has rendered false and fraudulent accounts as to the rent paid for the United States Consular Jail for the support of United States prisoners, and that said Goodnow has knowingly forward- ed to the Secretary of State false and fraudulent returns of George A. Derby, Marshal of the United States Consular Court. The thirteenth charges that on August 15th, 1900, Goodnow falsely and knowingly certified that property belonging to foreigners was property belonging to a citizen of the United States in order, it is alleged, solely to give said property the protection of the American flag The property is defined as the Chinese-owned steamship "Kiangse." and it is charged that Goodnow extorted the sum of $325 for record- ing a fictitious bill of sile in the transaction and the further sum of $101 for alleged ship- ping of a Chinese crew for the ship.
The fourteenth charge is a duplicate of the preceding, save that it refers to five other Chinese-owned ships which flew the American flag during the Boxer uprising, and then were turned re to their former owners, "for which
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
157
unlawful service," it adds, "the said Goodnow | cannot overlook the grave fact that, in oiroula. extorted money from the Chinese firm.”
ting the report and statement of accounts during the excitement and pre-occupation of the Race Holidays, only three days before the General Meeting, the General Managers have acted with extreme unfairness to those shareholders who would have liked to study the accounts and comment upon them,—Yours faith- fully,
The fifteenth charges & conspiracy to "manufacture alieus into citizens of the U.S. in consideration of large sams of money, the plan being to issue bogus identifica- tion papers to be presented by other parties to the conspiracy to Minister Conger, who issued the proper passports. Four Russian aliens, one Turk, and one German are named as receiving such passports. Two aliens, a British subject and a German, were registered at the United States Consulate, it is alleged, as citizens of the United States.
The sixteenth charges Judge Goodnow with appropriating to his own use fees collected in settling the estates of American citizens who died in Shanghai and making false returns thereof. The seventeenth charges that Judge Goodnow did unlawfully and knowingly take jurisdiction in the case of George A. Derby and one R. P. Plant, the case being triable only before the United States Ministerial Court at Peking, the result being that Plant was sen- tenced to a long term in prison, and it is believed he is serving the same in a California jail.
The resolution charges that said Judge Goodnow is incompetent to hold the office of Federal Judge; that he has never been admitt. ed to practise law before any Court in the United States or elsewhere, and that he is not a lawyer.
A protest against the retention of Judge Goodnow, signed by twenty American residents of China, is made part of the resolution.
THE TSAR AND HONGKONG MEDICOS.
HANDSOME GIFTS.
The wounded officer and meu of the Russian warship Faryag, which was sunk by the Japan- ese at Chemulpo in the first stages of the war had the benefit subsequently of the professional care and attention of Dr. Atkinson, P. C. M. O. and Dr. J. Bell, superintendent of the Govern ment Civil Hospital.
The services of these two gentlemen have just been recognised by H. I. M. the Tsar of Russia, who sent for each a cigarette ease of olid gold, with the Imperial coat of arms set in diamonds. These handsome souvenirs were
handed to the recipients at Gorernment House on Friday, by His Excellency the Governor.
CORRESPONDENCE.
A CANTON COMPLAINT,
'DAILY PRESS." Canton, 23rd February. SIR,The frequency with which newspapers and circulars disappear, and never reach their destination, suggests to the mind the idea that sufficient importance is not attached to them by the postal authorities.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE
In calling your attention publicly to this fact, have had occasion to miss their mail papers, or I hope I am doing a service to all those who
who have been disappointed in not getting circulars and price-lists anxiously awaited for.-- Yours truly,
"LOST OR STOLEN."
GREEN ISLAND CEMENT CO., LD.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY PRESS.
come
Hongkong, 27th February, SIR-At the general meeting of the Green Island Cement Co., held on Saturday last, Mr. Hewett said that he thought the meagre atten- dance was due to the fact that the shareholders were so very much satisfied with the manage- ment of the Company that they did not care to take the trouble to
to the meeting to express their satisfaction! It is a pity that Mr. Hewett himself did not stay away for the same reason, because then he would have spared me, one of the several absent shareholders, the trouble of writing to your paper to contradict the assurance he expressed that he had us all at his back in his eulogy of the General Managers' management and methods. We do not belong to a Mutual Admiration Society and therefore
|
SHAREHOLDER.
MISCELLANEOUS.
Quoting a paragraph from our "Jottings” welcoming the Colonial Secretary's announce. ment that the Government is contemplating legislation to deal with the beachcomber ques tion, the Japan Chronicle remarks:-The action taken by the Government of Hongkong in this matter will be watched with close interest by every port in the Far East. It is fairly certain that if beachcombers' are to be driven from Hongkong they will overflow to the other Far Eastern ports, most of which are already pretty severely taxed in this respect.
#1
Writing about native theatres in Shanghai, our contemporary says:—Salaries of "star actors have risen phenomenally during the past four years, the best getting as much as from $2,400 to $3.000 per month, while a monthly wage of $600 to $800 a month, among the actors of the above average class," as they are designated, is by no means infrequent in Shanghai. Before 1900, a five hundred dollar monthly salary was about the acme of a star's ambition. Competition between the local natire theatres has been the cause of this abnormal rise in salaries.
The Chief Justice's recent interpretation of the Ordinance relating to the examination of bankrupts is likely to be called in question. The reference to o oss-examination by cre- creditor's solicitor should ditor," instead of
not be sufficient to bar`cross-examinatios of bankrupts by those best fitted to do so, because no ordinances include the word solicitor' in that way. As it is important in the publis interest that bankrupts should undergo the most rigorous examination, it is hoped His Lordship will reconsider his view of the
Ordinance, which, it is held, does not forbid the
practice of creditors bing legally represented
at such examinations.
The N.-C. Daily News says it is reported in native paper that at the special audience on Chinese New Year's Day given by the Empress Dowager to all the princes of the Imperial House and their sons, the ten-year old son of a certain prince of the 4th Order particularly strack the fancy of the Dowager, who at once commanded the boy to reside in the Palace and study under the same number of tutors as had taught the deposed ex-Heir Apparent P'u Chan, son of the notorious Boxer, Prince Tuan, It is therefore rumoured that the Emperor possibly may be "persuaded" to adopt the child of the Empress Dowager's selection to be his Majesty's son and heir to the Dragon Throne.
L'Indo-China Republicaine remarks that among the numerous lessons which Europe may derive from the war between Russia and Japan the danger to the Continental Powers from the English monopoly of telegraphic com- munications.
Thanks to our benevolent indifference," says our French contemporary, "this nation (England) can assure herself, in a hort time, of the almost exclusive monopoly of the land and marine cables, The thing would appear astonishing if it were not true, and we may well ask by what incomprehensible laxity Europe has allowed itself to be enmeshed in this immense network of cables sur. reptitiously and indefatigably woven by the common enemy, England, who has thus acquired over her rivals an incontestible strategical diplomatic and commercial sup- eriority." Our contemporary goes on to say that this English telegraphio monopoly is almost exclusively the property of one great company, (the Easteru Telegraph Co.) and it proceeds to enumerate all the cables in the world, showing the ownership of each, and promises in a future article to discuss the projects presented to the Chamber for a French telegraphic system which would relieve the nation from this dangerous dependence, upon England, particularly with reference to the telegraphic communication with Indo-China.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.