THERE must be something radionlly wrong in the deliberative methods of the Municipal Council when such correspondence as that sent to us by Mr, Drummond is even possible, The Couucil has, and can have, no excuse whats ever for not having gout ona cheque for the amount named by the Court of Consuls the day after the decision was delivered. Whatever may have been the Council's opinion of that decision, it was bound to carry it out at once just as much bound as any individual piender before the Supreme Court would lave been bound under liar circum. stances, To fail in this obvious duty was an aot of disrespect towards the Court, and it was none the less an act of injustice, we might almost sny of apito, towards the man who bad become entitled to it, He has now been kept out of his money fur n fortnight, and in cons sideration of the additional fact Unt might very well have inde arranges ment for the employment of thefauds the day following Une judgmout,—a thing he "had every justification for doing—there can be no doubt that ho is entitled to interest from the 91h instant antu the money is paid. But what ranson, it may fairly be asked, can the Oouncil have had for thus wrongfully detain. ing the funds to which another was entitled That some of the members have been strongly in favour of apponle ing the case to Peking is of cvurso a mat. for of public notoriety. Chat an unofiiciallotter hus been written to the Cuptial upon the subject by one member who is credited with exasperation at the judgment, and who would move heaven and earth, were it possible, to get it overset, la a rumour that we ehall be very happy o contradict if authoritative. ly requested to do 0, ''bnt there is no appeal from the decision of the Court of Consuls must, however, be now clear to everyone who lins paid any attention to the subject, Here we have not only Consuls, but a Court of Cone suls—properly and duly constituted, In Peking there are Ministere, but nu Court of Ministers, and, we do nob imagine that anybody supposes it pos. sible for Messrs. O'Conor, Smithers, and Von Brandt to form themselves into a Court for the occasion, To write wild appeals to Poking for assis" tance, therefore, is as fruitless a task as that undertaken by the Israelites in appealing to the gods of Egypt. There will no answer come, and the decision of the Court of Con. sals is to all intents and purposes irreversible. Why, then, the delay Can it be a fact that the Municipal
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.