to Death 'Our attention has been called to a ease which came before the Chinese District Court in Mukden recently, when Mr. E. Scherer, a German employed by General Chang 'Tso-lin at the Mukden Arsenal, was. sentenced to seven years' hard labour for, an offence described by the "Manchuria Daily News" as "beating a Chinese child to death.'
We are informed that this description of the offence is a gross exaggeration and that a grave injustice has been done.
The "Manchuria Daily News" report reads as follows:—District Court, Mukden, Jed. down engineer in the servi a judgment "upon the Chinese Afsenal, who had Chinese chita to death.
Sentenced the prisoner to seven Yeats" imprisonment, with hard. Isbour:
fukden foreign rs criticize the sentence as rather heavy.
Japane an, Who attended the Cah, of the manner tu which "ite" yeas" conducted. He that noone in. the audience ffeems to have had occasion for fault-
Mrs Scherer was formerly employ ed with the South Manchuris Railway at Dairen, where he was respected resident, He was well-Anown to Dr, P, Wilhelm, at present stopping at the Kalee Hotel, Shanghai (where he intends taking Jogal practice) and lived with him for some three years. Dr. Withelm's count of what happened at Mukden 4s us follows Mr. E, Scherer has a rather unusual appearance and wears a peculiar hat. Chinese children were wont to run after him calling out with the impudence common to all children, In his annoyance one day the unfortunate German turned round and struck out with his stick, but without hitting any of his persecutors. One little girl, how= ever, fell down and cut her leg. Apparently slip went back to her Parents, and asa result of their taking no notice of the wound she contracted blood-poisoning. The parents asked Scherer for money, he did not consider himself: responsible in any way for the injury and looked upon the demands of the Parents as an attempt at fraud. After 10 days the child died and Scherer was subsequently arrested, with the result already described.
This is Dr. Wilhelm's explanation as retailed to him by the accused oan, corroborated also by a letter circumstances should be made by the authorities, Dr. Wilhelm, who lived with Scherer for three years at Newchwang, says that he is a particularly kind man who 0 far from maltreating children would often give them little presents of fruit and sweets, DROUGHT AND ROBBERS,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.