The morning call., 1895-01-16
Makes His Case as Strong as He Can
Possibly.
WAS NOT ADVISED As TO TORTURE.
American COnsuls in China Had No Power
to Protect Men Engaged in
Hostile Acts.

| in the case of the two japanese spies, to-
gether with a letter from the Secretary of
State, in which it is stated that American
Consuls had no authority to protect Japan
csc in China except as far as using their
good Offices when the occasion demanded.
1t was stated to Minister DENLY by Min
lister of Foreign Affairs Mutsu that during
the progress of the war Chinese subjects in
Japan were to be under the direct jurisdic-
ton OF the Japanese courts and the mill
tary authorities and the treaty provisions
to the contrary were necessarily abrogated
by the war situation. This, of course, car
ried with it the status of the japanese sub
jects in China. The letter further states
there is scarcely any doubt. that the sup
posed students were spies.
Secretary Gresham in his letter first
quotes the Senate resolution requesting
the President, if not incompatible with the
public interest, to transmit to the Senate
all correspondence or other papers relat-
ing to the delivery by the United States
Consul at Shanghai of two Japanese
citizens to the Chinese authorities and
their subsequent death by torture. He
then shows the changed status brought
about by the war and continues as follows:
"Before war was declared, but in antici-
patton of it and at the solicitation of Japan,
our agents in China were instructed to
exercise their unofficial good offices in
behalf of japanese subjects in China on
all proper occasions and to the full extent
allowed by international law and upon
similar request from China our agents in
Japan were instructed to afford protection
to Chinese subjects in Japan in like
manner. This comprises the extent of the
understanding relative to the protection
of Japanese in China.
"On the 18th of August the Chinese Min
lister at this capital complained to the
undersigned that the United States Consul
at Shanghai was protecting two Japanese
spies who had been arrested in that city,
and whose surrender was demanded by the
Chinese authorities in order that they
might be dealt with in due course. After
proper inquiry into the circumstances of
the case the demand was recognized as
lawful and the men were ordered to be
given up. This was not done, however,
without proper measures being taken to
prevent precipitate or summary action by
! the Chinese authorities. The undersigned
at the same time requested (there was no
authority to demand it) that the accused
men might not be tried until the return of
Minister DENLY to Peking,i it being supposed
that this would afford opportunity for in
vestigation and deliberation. The Chinese
Minister at once promised compliance and
subsequently informed the undersigned
that his Government had acceded to the
request.
without questioning the lawfulness of
the sentence under the laws of war, the
undersigned regrets to say that the men
were executed about six weeds after their
surrender but before the return of Minister
DENLY to China. Special attention is invited
to the correspondence on this subject. That
the prisoners were not boys, but men and
spies in the service of Japan, there is small
if any room for doubt. Mr.. Jornigan, our
Consul General at Shanghai, says that
when the men were arrested plans were
found on them, and that the executing
papers are safe. And speaking on the
same subject in later report, Mr.. Jorni-
gan says:
"'Some papers in their possession nat
urally, in a state of war, created sus-
picion tending to support the charge
"The Chinese Minister claims that be-
sides the evidence of guilt found in their
possession when arrested they had been
employed by their Government to OBJ
tain and forward by telegraph and other
wise information useful in conducting mill
tary operations against China, and that
they had been engaged in that business.
1t will not be said by any one after reading
the accompanying correspondence that
Mr.. Jornigan is biased in the slightest de-
gree in favor of the Chinese authorities.
In report dated November he says:
"'The two alleged spies were not exc
cuted as soon as handed over, but their
cases were under investigation for nearly
six weeks, and am now assured that there
was no unfairness practiced against them
during the investigation
'In still later report he states that "a
letter from an intelligent foreign resident
at Marking, where the two japanese were
executed, discredit the reports of their tor
ture. Other letters from the same gentle
man have proved SO accurate that am
disposed to accept the reported torture as
without substantial proofs
''The Chinese Government denies that
the men were put to death after being tor
tured, and the department is not advised
that they were tortured. OF the decision
that the prisoners were not subject to the
jurisdiction of the Consul-General of the
United States at Shanghai, and that he
could not give them an asylum, the
japanese Government made no complaint
Spying in time of war is military offense
not recognizable by civil tribunal, and to
have held the accused against the demand
of the Chinese Government, either for trial
by our Consul-General or before mixed
tribunal of foreign and Chinese officials,
would have been inconsistent with our as
sumed attitude of impartial neutrality
Our agents in China were not substituted
for the withdrawn agents of Japan, and
this Government could not invest Japanese
in China with an xtra-territoriality which
they did not possess as subjects of their
own sovereign.
sFrom the letter addressed to Mr.. DENLY
Jr., August q, by Mr.. Fowler, our Consul
at Ningpoo, it appears that Japanese was
arrested i'll the dress of Chinese priest at
Chin Hal, twenty miles from the Ningpoo
foreign settlement. In his report to Mr..
DENLY, Mr.. Fowler says: we wrote for
the facts. Taotai replied, giving the cir