Yo the Editor of the "Norra-Comma Datty News."
Sir,—In August last year, the Judge of the U. S. Court for China left for his native land on a "holiday'? on the understanding that he would be back in three months. The latest news to hand is that he is still in Washington waiting' for the Chief Executive's decision before returning to Shanghai. Meanwhile, the cases in the local American Court are piling up sky-high with no immediate prospects for the parties involved.
The present writer is interested in the present situation. In the first week of August last, he had filed a petition in the U. S. Court for a claim exceeding $2,000 against a local firm of some standing and had the case been heard immediately the chances are that he would have to}secured judgement and had. the claim made good. The delay, however, has gone against him.. The firm in question has suffered losses and gone out of business and is now practically bankrupt. Consequently, I had no other alternative but to withdraw my case from the Court and say good-bye to my claim. I am told that this is not an isolate ed case. Several other cases are being affected similarly. And yet Washington is immovable! It is a puzzle to us how a great and civilized power like America can afford to be tardy in her administration of justice.' What effect this will have or is having on the Celestial is not -hard to conjecture! Americans! Wake up!
I am, ete.,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.