Sentences on the Accused that Excite Comment: No Compensation Yet Paid for any Death Frost Our Own Tokio, April 27.
Further proof of the farcical trials that have been conducted in connexion with the murders of Koreans and Chinese during the species of mob law that prevailed in several parts of the regions affected by the earthquake of last September and supporting the cri ticlem, expressed even in Japan's own Diet on more than one occasion, that implicit trust and confidence cannot be reposed in Japan's judicial machinery, is afforded by a judgment pronounced a couple of days ago by the Yokohama Dis. trict Court in the case of eight Japanese who killed several Chines labourers in the Ashigara district, near Odawara, some 40 mites from Tokio, disaster, the accused would not have een driven to the point of atta ing and killing Chinese nationals. He wound up by asking the fud to deal lightly with the accused.
It is true that wild rumours had excited the populace and that these canards made a blood-thirsty mob of otherwise unoffending country folks, but it is just as true that the authorities themselves were responsible for the dissemination of these canards, some of so absurd a nature as that the Chinese and Koreans, in conjunction, had thrown bombs about the city, had set the petroleum tanks of the Standard Oil Company and the Rising Sun Company on fire, and had thereby encompassed the destruction of the city.
Fours of the accused were sontenced to two years' imprisonment. with hard Inbour each, while two others were sentenced to 18 months' rigorous imprisonment each, the other two being released on the ground that the evidence against them was not conclusi As though these absurdly light sentences for murder were not farical enough in themselves, the court further announced that those found guilty and on whom sentence had been pronounced shall be given two years' grace before-they serve their sentences, which is tantamount, in practice, to all the offend dors being released scot free.
The public procurator, corres: ponding to the Crown prosecuter in countries where English law prevails and to the District Attorney in lands administered according to American principles, generally the terror of the individual unfortunate enough to be in the dock, pleaded in fact on behalf of the accused, declaring that "if wild rumours had not been circulated immediately after the September None the less the Chinese and Koreans had to pay for the canards with their lives. The accused are found guilty and are practically set at liberty, the sentence of the court, with the proviso that a period of two years' grace will be allowed making of such a sacred thing like the administration of the law nothing else than a solemn farce.
No proper compensation has as yet been made for the families of, the Chinese and Koreans murdered, nor has there been forthcoming any official regrets at the gruesome deeds done, some under the cloak of official protection. ust at the present time there is much talk in the Japanese press of how the Chinese are ready to fall into the arms of the Japanese rmaking common cause with this country over America's exclusion Japanese, on the ground that this is a mortification for the Chinese too. What effect other than disgust and distrust can be the reaction the absurdly droll sentences just meted out on convicted murderers by the Yokohama District Court?
AcconpING to the "Shunpao, German Minister has instructed the German Consul-General at Shanghai to investigate into reports that, a local German firm is selling arms and ammunition to Gen. Lu Yung-hsiang, of Chekiang.
A new English daily has male its appearance in Canton. It is reported that a group of Americans, British, Chinese and Japanese are interested in the paper, of which Mr. Hin Wong is the chief promoter, editor and manager.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.