THERE were circumstances connected with the reception which the complaint made by Mr. S.J. Morris againat his house boy met with from the Polise authorities that seem to us to require notice. Mr, Morris having taken the Cantonese to the Station and preferred his charge of assault against him was informed by the officer representing Ube Police that tic complaint could not be ed by him, It was only one man's Mr, Morris's.: rd against another's, corrobore:'ve-evidence bein wanting. That view was, we are formed, also taken in another fi quarter to which Mr. Morris applied, and we are therefore led to tie ovaclusion that, to use a vernacularism, there may have been something in the position assumed by the Police Inspector. However, on second thoughts, Her Majesty's Consal-General saw ft to intervene and such steps were taken as prevented the escape of the Cantonese. The result was that the mau was brought up at the Mixed Court on Friday and sentenced to three months in the chain gave. So far, good. But if the Police Inepeotor originally acted in accordance with his instructions, it seems to us that these need amend ting to this officer all the d training necessary to his position, it appears dangerous that he should have been left arbiter of a complaint of so serious a character, or indeed of any charge of a similar kind, whether preferred by a foreigner against a native or by a native against a fore eigner. When a foreigner has such a charge to make against a native, and the Police refuse to receive it, he lias means of taking further steps to secure justice which may be wanting to a Chinese complainant, Foreigners are generally somewhat acquainted with the means to be used to bring such to trial as that of Mr. Morris against his house boy. On the other band, Chinese, at least the majority of them, are averse to appealing to their own officials, and lind the positions of foreigner and Chinese been reversed in this case there would probably have been a failure to obtain justice, unless the Chinese had had the good fortune to fall into the hands of a foreign lawyer. The ordinary Chinese may be excused if ho still disses the foreign officials and foreign Courts of justice the same as those of his own count: and keeps clear of them, with a lively ug woree the further he goes j We refer to this to show that, as every one will see, the refusal of our Police to take such charges as that one which Mr, Morris preferred to them might bring serious discredit on our justice, and, done go, we think it will be apparent that the possibility of such a line of conduct being again followed at the Police Station should be effectually guarded against. The assault committed by the Cantonese house boy came within the category of Serious Crimes, in the Rules and Regulations for the Guidauce and Iustruction of the Shanghai Municipal Police Force, which were framed, or at all events issued, in 1884, one of these being "assault to the danger of life" which Mr. Morris charged hie servant with having committed, A constable is authorised and required to seize committers of these serious crimes, on information laid at the Police Station, There was in this case more than the complainant's word to support the charge he made, there were wounds and injuries, a black eye and several biles on the band, things, which even a Police Ivepeotor might have taken for granted bad not been self-inflicted for the purpose of supporting a falco accusation, Unless there are positive instructions to the Police that evidence sufficient to satisfy a jary must be produced by a come plainant who requires their interpose" could have been which led the Iuepector to refuse this charge. If there are instructions in existence which support him, no time should be Jost in amending them. It may be that the Captain-Superintendent rectified, what
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.