Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1895-05-02

1
propriety Of what was done? Senator
Davis speaks Of the fright of asylum"
and declares that the "presence (of the
two Japanese) at the American Legation
was not ouly rightful," but that sit had
been invited by the arrangement for the
protection by this government of
japanese residents, to which China had
asscnted." In these statements, how
ever, the distinguished Senator is ia
error. The men were not in the Ameri.
can Legation, which is at Poking, butt
the consuate.general az Shanghai, which
is not diplomatic post; nor had there
been any arrangement" by which per-
sons charged with offences, and least of
all with military offences, were invited
TO seek asylum either in the legation or
in the consulates. 1t appears that the
understanding of all parties to the ar
rangement was just the reverse. The
consul-geueral had no right to grant
asylum, or act upon the theory, which
Senator Davis suggests, that the case
was to be treated as one of eXtradition.
Had the case been SO treated, there was
evidence on which to justify surrender
But the men were not in the United
States. They were IN China, and, as
the Japanese government has itself de-
clared, We're subject to the action of the
Chinese authorities.
Senator Davis also says that the De-
partment of State should have refused
TO deliver these men, upon the ground
that they were not spies under any
detiuition outside China;" that they
were not spies under any definition,
even II their pockets had been found
stuffed with military information;" and
he quotes two definitions to the effect
that spy is person who collects in
formation within the lines OF an
enemy" or "within the lines of one of
| the hostile armies" Our own statutes,
| however, provide (Act of March Sd,
| 1868, chapter 70, section 3S) that all
| persons who i'll time of war "shall be
found lurking or acting as spies in or
about any of the fortitications, posts,
| quarters or encampments of any Of the
armies OF the United States, or else.
where" shall be triable by military
commission, and shall, upon conviction,
suffer death; and by section So of the
| instructions for the Government of
Armies Of the United States in the
Field" spy is defined as "a person
who secretly in disguise, or under false
pretence, seeks information with the
intention of communicating it TO the
enemy" 1t has been seen not only that
the two Japanese, who pretended to be
simply students, were, when arrested,
disguised in Chinese clothing, but that
"plans were found upon them" and
Mr.. Jernigan, in one of his dispatches,
says that some of the papers found in
/ tmn 81
the state Of war now existing, create
suspicion of "A character tending to sup
port the alleged charge" The Chinese
government states that, besides these
evidences of guilt, the prisoners adj
mitted, without torture, that they had
been employed as spies in obtaining
and transmitting to their government
by telegraph and otherwise, Information
useful in conducting military operations
against China.
In regard to this case I have only one
more observation to make. No sooner
had the men been delivered up than
there began to appear in the public
| prints a succession of reports, whose
! evidently unauthentic and sensational
character gave warning that the incident
would not be permitted to perish for
lack of dramatic treatment. 1t was at
first announced that the prisoners were
beheaded, apparently without trial, I'M
mediately after their surrender. When
this was shown to he untrue, rumors of
cruelty began to take place of reports OF
| decapltation; and, toward the close of
November, Mr.. Julian Ralph, popular
writer for the press, publish in Hafper's
| Weekly story of torture which sur
passed in horror all prior reports, and
which WAS SO minute in its details that
it even specified the various methods
| and the duration of the torture and gave
! the last words of the victims. A few
| days afterward, however, when interro-
gated as to his authority for these state
ments, Mr.. Ralph, as reported in the
press, could only say: "fhe truth as TO
whether the men were horribly tor
tured or not rests with God and
the Chinese. Everybody believed the
stories when was in China" 1t
appears, therefore, that the story SO
dramatically told had precisely the
same basis--that Of common rumor-as
previous reports in respect of which
Mr.. Jernigan, in one Of his dispatches,
declared that many of them were $50
should also be noticed that Mr.. Ralph,
when asked whether it was certain"
that the men "were not Spies" frankly
admitted that "there was great reason to
believe that they were" He said that
Japan had been covering China with
spies, and that when the men were ar
rested an inculpatory paper, containing
military information, was found in the
ls,., Is ,Nf az
dispatch of November Cd Mr.. Jerrigan
reported that "their cases were under
investigation for nearly six weeks and
that he was assured that there was no
unfairness practiced against them dur
ing the Investigation" In dispatch of
the Goth of the same month, written in
Shanghai almost at the moment when
MIR. talph's article appeared in New
York, Mr.. Jernigan further says; "A
letter from an intelligent foreigner re-
siding at Nankin, where the twu Japan
ese spies were executed, discrcdits the
report of their torture. Other letters
from the same gentleman have proved
SO accurate, that J. am disposed To uc-
cept the reported torture as without sub.
stantial proof.
Having reviewed the grounds on
which the conduct of our foreign rela-
tons during the last two years has been
condemned, deem ii proper to refer to
certain important incidents not mem
toned by Senator Davis. When the
present administration came into power,
our relations with China had fallen
into condition which nigh. with
moderation have been described as dis.
creditable. Without seeking to impute
blame to any one for that fact, it is per-
missible to say, that the present ad-