When a Russian officer named Col. Tirbah was brought before Magistrate Li and Mr, Ivanoff at the Mixed Court last Friday, on a, charge of extorting from Mr. P. Maltz various sums of money, a remarkable telegram, received from_ General Ataman Simionov, alleging that the complainant, while in the sent vice of the Far Eastern Army, had absconded with $193,000 of the Army funds, was produced by the police.
The telegram further stated that "Col." Maltz had been detained by the Japanese gendarmes in Tsingtao. The sum of $107,000 had been recovered.
Colonels Torchinoff and Romanoff (whose names were mentioned in connexion with the charge brought against Col. Tirbah) were, the wire continued, " under orders to arrest Maltz. Maltz by means of blackmail, makes claim upon the house taken over by the Army." According to Russian law, Maltz was a "capital criminal' and was; to ba brought to trial. General Tirbah (the defendant) had abso-lately no connexion with the case, and the attempt of Maltz with regard to him was blackmail.
Mr. J. E. Lemiere, who appeared for the complainant Maltz, said he had received instructions to drop the prosecution for his client, who alleged that defendant had extorted from him sums amounting to $110,317.59, deposited at the Hongkong & Shanghai. Bank, the! International and Russo-Asiatic!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.