22nd Dec.
Ow Thursday fast we drew attention in these columns to a gross violation by certain native soldiers, in uniform, of the. autonomy of the Settlements, and the matter was referred to in a letter from the Chairman of the Municipal Council to the Senior Consul, published in the minutes yesterday morning. M. Wagner, in the Yangtsepoo bunding case, certainly did not as Senior Consul rise to' the height of the situation, and we hope that Mr. Leonard will do better. He is doubly interested, as American Consul-General, whose settlement has been violated, and as Doyen of the consular body, and we trust that he, supported by his colleagues, will make the Taotai definitely understand that such outrages will not be itted in the Foreign Settlements. e think it is rather a pity that the Police are not instructed, without regard to consequences, to treat rowdies in the uniforms of native soldiers as they would any other rowdies, and suppress them op the spot, as they could fairly argue that they could not believe that they were really soldiers, or that awy servant of the Chinese government would allow his men to commit the ut and illegal outrages of which the Council has had more than once to complain. It does not admit of question that the scene of this last outrage is within our boundary, and that the Chinese residing there would far rather be under our jurisdiction than that of the Chinese authorities. There is an immense amount of capital, mostly British, invested in the locality on the faith of the late US. Consul-General's assurance that it is included in municipal limits, and look to Mr. Leonard to take a firm stand on the question, and back up the Council in making their policing of the district a reality and not a farce. The Chinese authorities will accept their defeat with a perfectly good grace if it is administered to them boldly; but if the Senior Consul and his colleagues are weak-kneed in the matter, as Wagner was, encroachments on the liberties of the settlements will continue. Firmuess is necessary, and there should be no vacillation where our cause is good, as it is in this case. We are certain, at any rate, that if the Police act resolutely the next time a similar outrage is attempted, the community will back them up, and we have no doubt the Consols will too. The autonomy, gud the Chinese, of the foreign settlements is not to be eaten away by side attacks like these.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.