To the Editor of the Sim,—"Mr. Medhurst said the Taotai could not see grounds for the $100 pen-"alty "—such is your report of the action brought by the agents of the Shaftesbury against the Chinese charterer who threw up his contract immediately he found the profit on it was not what he anticipated.
Lwish to draw your readers' attention to this case, as it appears to me that the decision given affects very seriously the sition of shipowners here in their dealings with the Chinese, and that it places foreign merchants at a decided disadvantage vis-d-vis their native rivals. The present case stands thus.
'A Foochow merchant, finding that by chartering an outside steamer he can get his cargo carried at a lower rate than that charged by the steamers already on the line, enters into a contract with a British firm to hire him a steamer. Upon this becoming known, the agents of the regular steamers lower their rate of freight below that at which our Chinese friend's charter was effected. Hereupon he throws up. his charter, ships his freight by the regular line at' a reduced rate, and thus concludes a, to him, very satisfactory operation, and according to the Court before which he is sued for his breach of contract, gives "no grounds for a penalty."
In criticizing these Mixed Court eases, it must always be borne in mind that a Chinaman incurs no loss of standing, as far as his own countrymen are concerned, for breach of faith to a foreigner such as, made towards a native, would damn him for ever, Ho does not, consequently lio under the restraint which would deter fa foreign merchant, were he inclined to act as Mr. Che-chee did towards Morris, Lewis & Ca., and if he can put the opera tion through neatly, he has all to gain and nothing to lose.
Phe fact of an Englishman being amenable to the Supreme Cour! in any. claims Chinese may make upon him, while he himself, when defrauded by the Chinaman, has to put up with Mixed Court justice, opens up another subject which I shall not now discuss, Tam,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.