Mar, 16.
The case of the lawyer, Tsu Zu-ching, becomes historic. It one on which hangs the whole efficiency of administration of the Provisional Court, and the fitness of the Chi judiciary to control a Court in Shanghai, It will be recalled that, on February 23, Tsu intervened in a case that was being heard before Judge Kuh and Mr Van den Berg most improperly, [having no loc standi in the case at all, and tried to stamped the Court into taking proceed-gainst the complainants under trial. The general insolence of Tsu's behaviour and the failure of the Judge to put him down, led to Mr. Van den Berg's ordering him to be removed from court the police. Tsu then went outside the court and, as the complainants in the case were leaving, actually endeavoured to have them kidnapped. For~ tunately the police arrived time to stop the attempt and to Arrest the would-be kil although Tsu himself took to heels and escaped. The: however, no doubt hare in this disge: tempt.
President Ho of the Dra sional Court protested strongly to the Consular Body og: Mr. Van den Berg's exp published Senior C ed that the 3 behaving is the clearly Deputi to enforce order. There is no space here to go into all the discussions which followed. Dr. Ho seems to have realized that he [hada very ba case and it was eventually arranged that Tsu ould be sent for by Judge Kuh ud Mr, Van den Berg, and should apologize to them for his contempt of court on February 23. This was done on Thursday reported by us yesterday. Tsu's manner was, if possible, more insulting than on the first occasion, and a tribute should be paid to Mr. Van den Berg's forbearance and loyalty to the arrangement which had been made between the Deputies and the Judges, that he did not have the man thrown out of court again. A sort of apology was at length extracted from Tsu and Mr. Van den Berg cancelled his suspension order.
There remained, however, the question of Tsu having tried to kidnap persons against whom he had not been able to induce tha Court to take action. After Thursday's proceedings, Mr. Van den Berg accompanied by Mr. Burdett waited on Presiden: to ask what action the latter proposed to take against Ts for this offence. To their amazement the answer was action could be taken. ground that no charge had been proved against Tsu. Further conversation made it abundantly clear that President Ho was not proposing to take any action la the matter at all. One cannot help contrasting with this the treatment of the former Presi dent of the Court, Judge Lo> Hising-yuan, by the Kiangsu Provincial "Government: when the latter decided to drive Judge Too out of the Court because he would not help them to seize the Sheng Kung-pao for tune, it ordered him to hand over his ~2ls immediately to Judge Ziar wud await investigation of his alleged offence, That is to say the Judge has to be suspended before any charge has been framed against him, even before any actual offence is alleged, but a lawyer caught in flagrant delicto in a criminal offence, trying to kidnap innocent citizens, is not to be touched.
In these circumstances, Mr. Van den Berg quite properly suspended Tsu again, this time indefinitely, and no Deputy will allow the man to appear before him. Possibly the Judges may renew their threat to decline to [sit with the Deputies while the latter decline to allow Tsu to appear before them. But such non-ce-operation, which would hold up the whole work of the Court, would be a very risky Jgame to play, and President Ho and the Judges may be strongly \dvised not to attempt it. The fact that Tsu at least was called before the Court and made to apologize for his contempt on February 23. is a significant illustration of the good results ensuing from the firm attitude taken by the Consular Body in this particular matter. It can not be too strongly emphasized that where the rights of a particular case are clear, exertion of force ix necessary, but only firmness and inst:
the facts in order satisfaction. The Depat n the Provisional Court boon made well-nigh intoler-If their functions are riy meaning they must be backed up in their resi the indefensible wow perpetrated ministration of the first ice, President Ho and the diges generally are obviously the thumb of the Sh hai ing to the Assoc lowed, at least in practice in the Court, Furth more, there ix at I strong presumption from thas tually recurred tthe anghai Bar Association's con actions with the Kiangsu Provineial Government no Judge dares to resist second place the Court equally under the thumb of external authority which In this connection we may recall the very strong and carefull: worded protest entered on March 4 by the Deputy, Mr. Ramondino, against the refusal of the Court, under directions of the Chekiang Provincial Government, to senci tence a man named Tisu Kuo-ying convicted, beyond any shadow of doubt, of kidnapping and attempted murder. In his protest Mr, Ramondino wrote: ince the rendition of the Mixed Court and the inception of the 110- visional Court, it has been the eu tom of the extra-Settlement -anthorities, both civil and military, endeavour at_all. costs to gain a Strong hold over this Court, to press charges, to demand illegal orders, and to influence or intimidate the Tulges—in shore to undermine the independence of the Court and 0
Not one word of this grave ensation but could fully Administration of the Provisional Court wold be carefully drawn and_imprensed at the early possible "moment on the noti of the Treaty Governments. The present Rendition Agreement expires at the end of June next, land we have recently been told lof preparations made by Dr, Wang Chung-hui, President of the Legislative Yuan, to subs stitute a purely Chinese Court, in which only Chinese lawyera Will be allowed to practise and in which no foreign Deputies will sit: further, to put the Court prisons under the sole control of Chinese, with, however, the proviso that the' Muni feipai Council shall carry out all the Court's instructions, There is reason to believe that special Chinese delegates are to be sent to Washington and London to press for the complete surrender of the Provisional Court. What steps are being taken to counter their propaganda and to prevent. the British and American Governments from being misled a to the true state of affairs in the Provisional Court, and being cajoled into some fatal surrender? For it is quite certain that if anything like the scheme outlined by Dr. Wang Chung-hui were to xo into force, law and order would cease to exist in the International Settlement,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.