To the Editor of the "Norru-Curna Datry News."
Sir,—The importance of the subject is my excuse for again returning to the fray. Your correspondent of to-day when describing the brutal treatment of criminals and another might have added that, but for extraterritoriality, foreigners would come under the Chinese Code of "laws." Isolated and authenticated cases of the sort by eye-witnesses are Do doubt, valuable evidence which should be carefully weighed before the abolition of our rights is even considered. Any reference to this abolition which I make in course of conversation is usually met with the reply that nothing will be done in our day, and therefore why worry? But what are the facts of the case? A commission suggested at the Washington Conference is actually to visit China in. the near future to inquire into the pros and cons of the case. The foreign Governments will no doubt be guided py the findings of this Commission. Of whom will this Commission be composed? Will there be arm-chair gentlemen' coming to the East for the first time or will there be merchants, missionaries or travel-Jers who have resided sufficiently Jong in the country to know anything about China, and the Chinese? A brief visit to the principal treaty ports and perhaps to Peking under the tutelage of advocates of abolition will, not be sufficient. The Commission should ud at least a year in the country and investigate for itself the conditions under which the Chinese
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.