Aug. 1.
If there ever had been any doubt as to the correctness of this journal's account of the incident on Friday last on Garden Bridge involving Mrs. Lintilhac, a British woman, and a British sergeant of the Municipal Police, it should be laid to rest by the letter written by the former to the correspondence columns, and appearing in today's issue. It substantiates the version published on Saturday and emphasizes the tri which may cause friction between ordinary, reasonable members of the foreign community, doing things they have every right to do' in this International Settlement, and the comparatively ignorant Japanese sentry unduly swollen with sense of his own importance. Mrs. Lintithac was walking from north to south across Garden Bridge, and, being obliged to walk in the roadway, chose the western side of the bridge so that she would be walking against the trac on the bridge, and, consequently, best in a posltion to see with what she had to deal. It is common foreign practice to move against the traffic when obliged to leave the pavements, and is dictated by counsels of unden lable prudence, for especially on the Garden Bridge, which' carries a considerable congestion of traffic, it is the height of foolishness to endeavour' to walk with the trame, the very simple reason being that it is impossible to see what is overtaking the pedestrian from behind. With the erratic driving of Japanese: chauffeurs, military and otherwise, it is positively dangerous to follow any other method, land it is only by the greatest good luck that there has not yet been a serious accident on the bridge. When she had reached a spot opposite the sentry on duty the latter motioned Mrs. Lintiihac to cross to the other side and seizing her by the arm sought forcibly make her comply. Mrs. Lintilhac complains that more force was employed than was: necessary, and it is possible that she was saved from further pain by the intervention Jot "the Municipal Police officer who was promptly assaulted for his trouble.
Since the case of the wholly unwarrantable attack upon Mr, E, S. Wilkinson, Shanghai has been free from these incidents, and it was hoped that the day of such occurrences had passed, but this latest case gives rise to the very unhappy impression that depend~ ing entirely upon the vagaries of individual members of the Japanese forces is the question of when the next unpleasantness is likely arise. It must be remembered that only a few months ago foreign women walking in Hongkew were ikely to incur embarrassing Jand unpleasant attentions from the Japanese troops, and the explanation then given wa that because of the-presence in that area of a number of foreign white unfortunates it was dificult for the Japanese to differentiate between the different classes of foreign women, was at the best a cynical explanation and fat the worst may possibly have contained the suggestion of an implied insult. In any event there has been altogether too much man-/nandling of foreign women, by Japanese troops whether in the alleged execution of their duty or not, and it contrasts very strangely. with the fact that Japanese women, dressed in their picturesque, but nevertheless completely unmistakable national garments are able to move about the International Settlement, unaccompanied by male escorts, without in any way being interfered with. Others less conspicuous foreign-style clothing do] the same thing and this journal has yet to Jearn of a complaint that they have been the victims of any unpleasantness. There is} 'a vast contrast between this state of affairs ind the completely unnecessary manhandling fof a foreign woman, who even if she did happen to be committing a breach of a manifestly unwise Japanese regulation, was doing nothing which required that use of force, The contrast is all in favour of the behaviour the foreign and Chinese communities south fof the Soochow Creek. This is all the more important in view of the Emperor Meiji's rescript to the army and navy, in which he Jemphasized the necessity of setting gentleness Grst and winning the love and esteem of others.
The instructions contained in that noble instrument are very wise, and, if instead of present arrogance, more of the spirit it} sought to inculcate were displayed, incidents such as. the one under notice could not possibly arise. This journal does not attach much importance to the version of the affair as given by the Japanese spokesman on Saturday. That is, in all probability, the story which the sentry and his companions devised to cover up his offence, and there no reason why, in the absence of contrary information the man's officials should not have accepted his story. Now, on the face lof the evidence—for Japanese sentries have no monopoly of truth—the man did behave the manner alleged against him. During the past week a contemporary has published stories of other instances of misbehaviour by Japanese sentries on bridges not so freely used by foreigners, the victims of official brutality being defenceless Chinese. 'Those instances appear to have been just as amply' corroborated as Mrs. Lintilhac claims the story of the assault-on her has been. Tt probably idle to ask in the circumstances that the men responsible shall be disciplined for their outrageous conduct, but surely the time has come, when there appears to be a general betterment in the local situation, that the individuals of the Japanese forces should be constrained to contribute their share towards improvement, by adopting] that courteousness which comes to the Japanese as a sort of second nature. Nothing is more likely to embitter relationships than unnecessary, or merely officious interference with a people's womenfolk, and when there is imported into it a degree of violence, no] matter how small it may be, matters become all the worse. It is necessary to point out! that third party foreigners have undoubted rights north of the Soochow Creek, and the most elementary of them is that of free passage. They have assented, whether per-fore or otherwise, to the imposition of all manner of vexatious restrictions, and reciprobity demands that where minor breaches may occur courtesy rather than violence should be availed of to achieve the best results all round.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.