The following, which is vouched for as" fact, comes from Veking:—The Empress Dowager who has been reading the native papers and learned from them the agita. the Maritime and is tion that has been Rize on throughout the alleed treatment United States, showed her Imperial sympathy by ox. pressing the following sentiments one day, igh Ministers assembled The people of this Empire, whether at home or abroad, are all our children and we cannot bear to allow them to suffer ill-treatment in the The fact that many of our subjects have gone abroad to seek " living as labpurers already shows that we have failed to nourish and to take parental care of them, and to think that these unfortunates have to suffer cruel and harsh treatment at the hands of aliens and outsiders makes it still more unbearable to us. We are therefore impelled to command you to lose no time in bringing about the cancellation of a treaty containing such objectionable and harsh clauses for the treatment of our children, and we furthermore command you to tel to our representative in the United States to uso his best endeavours in affording protection to those of our subjects in that country, and supplement our most earnest wishes for the welfare of our people engaged in trade and commerce." These sentiments of the real rom Addressed. produced for $200 payable in monthly 7 instalments of $20. The defendant denies that he received $200 on that day, but says that this document was given to cover the debt then outstanding, and he claims that the rate of interest is exordi tent. As this document is an acknowledgment of the debt on the 14th December 1901—three and a-half years ago—I shall not be called upon to decide which story is correct. I do not consider the rate of interest, 28} per cent, an exorbitant interest having regard to the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.