The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1907-12-24

at is manifest to the casual obser-
ver," said Judge L H. Wiley of the
United States Court for China, who Is
a passenger on the Manchuria, that
China is waking up and is resolved to
take on Western life. There are four
facts which go to demonstrate this:
First, the abolition of the old examina-
tons in classical learning as the basis
of entrance to, and promotion in, the
public service; second. the universal
desire for western learning; third, the
growth of the spirit Of nationality;
fourth, the marked improvement in the
position that women now occupy in
the empire,
THE possibilities of American trade
with China are great and will improve
with the development Of the people.
China is a rich country lying prin-
cipally in the temperate zone and in
habited by from three to four hundred
million of industrious people, and it
is yet undeveloped.
"Our position in China in reference
to foreign trade is second or third,
Great Britain taking the lead. By
reason of our traditions and our geo.
graphical and historical relations we
are certainly entitled to a prominent
place in the foreign trade of the coun-
try. Our trade relations with China
have been strained of late years. for
a variety of reasons which I will not
go into. But happily this state Of
~, -, -aJ Txx-n the
reception of Secretary Taft in Canton
was anything but cordial. In October
last he visited Shanghai and he was
given the greatest ovation ever receiv-
ed by a foreigner at the hands of the
Chinese people. Thirty-two of the
great merchant guilds of China COM
bined to give him a reception, and this
fact is generally interpreted by all for
eigners in China as silent apology
for the boycott
Judge Whitley is tall, straight, rather
striking in appearance, with a face
open and frank, with lines of pleas
antry in it, but also the indications Of
firmness and tenacity. He is on his
way to Washington by. the Manchuria
after "a years service as judge of the
United States Court for China, court
created by act of Congress of June 80,
1905, and which he organized. 1t was
in the organization Of this court and
in the conduct of its proceedings that
Judge Wiley did a number of things
which were widely heralded as high
handed" "un-American," and other
wise labeled with epithets. What
Judge Wiley did in Shanghai was
bruited around the world. It attracted
unusual interest in Hawaii, perhaps,
because some Of the things he did af-
fected men who had been well known
here. There can be no doubt that
Judge Wiley was engaged. at least
a part of the year he has been in
Shanghai, in making history. For a
good many years the Far East has
been the dumping ground for the rifr-
ran of the whole world. Since the
Spanish war and the Boxer troubles,
America has contributed rather more
than her quota to these colonies in the
Far East. When regular administers
ton Of law became operative in the
Philippines, a good many expelled from
there went to the treaty ports in
China. They were mainly Of three
classes: Prostitutes, sharks and sharp
ers, and shady lawyers. The three
stood in with one another, and they all
Haunted the claim that they were
Americans. The sharpers were in some
ing road houses which were gambling
houses and the resorts OF the prostit-
utes. Some Of the sharpers f1eeced the
Chinese by fraudulent means, some In
a small way and some in a large way.
The prostitutes Haunted the claim that
they were Americans, putting the
American flag on their cards, and float
ing it from brothels, until everywhere,
especially in North China the Amer
lean flag displayed. became the recog-
nized signal Of a bawdy house, and
American girl" and prostitute" be-
came synonymous in colloquial speech.
The consular courts were unable to
cope with this state of affairs; partly
because the consuls were not lawyers,
the body of law applicable within their
jurisdictions was vague and incom-
plete; they had other duties to perform,
and the lawyers were able to confuse
and bluff and mislead them, and
thwart the ends of justice by sharp
practise. Besides this, not all of the
consuls in China in the past, accord
ing to Secretary Taft's speech before |
the American Association of China in |
October, were credit to their country |
This was the state of things which |
had impressed Taft, as being the man |
high in administrative circles most |
familiar with conditions. 1t was this |
state of things which Congress, on |
the recommendation of the President, |
sought to remedy and change when 1t
passed. the act creating the United |
States Court in China. And it was
into this state of things that Judge /
Whitley came when he went to Shang-
hal year ago to organize the court
After year in which a vigflant
United States District Attorney has
all Americans guilty of
any crimes or misdemeanors against
whom evidence could be secured,
things are changed. There is not in
all China-for the jurisdiction of the
A. 1