Copy of consuls decision., June 8, 1868.

Copy of consuls decision.

The parties in the case being all present, the judge of the court opened the proceedings by reading over the plaint. Captain Clark of the Manchu, and the defendant, objected to the case going on on the ground of the Prussian vice-consul being unable to give a decision on similar cases being brought before him; and he therefore considered it would be only fair if the vice-consul of the United States did not entertain the present case; American citizens and subjects of the North German Confederation were, under the present system, not on the same footing of equality as to attaining redress and justice.

The judge then stated to the court that he was of the same opinion as Captain Clark, and that he consequently had to inform the parties in the case that he could not entertain the plaint; and that it was his intention not to entertain any plaint against American citizens on the part of North German confederate subjects, till the vice-consul of the North German Confederation at Tientsin was empowered to decide cases. At present the vice-consul of the North German Confederation could only take the depositions and evidence in a case, and could not decide it; the written evidence had, after that, to be sent down to Shanghai to the consul-general, for examination and for the case to be decided.

A case occurred here last year of a North German Confederation vessel, the Japan, running down a junk loaded with a valuable cargo; and the Chinese connected with the lost cargo, after undergoing a preliminary examination here by the vice-consul, and after reference to Shanghai of the evidence in the case, were called upon finally to go to Shanghai, 700 miles from Tientsin, at considerable expense and inconvenience, to be further examined by the consul-general, before the case could be decided. In many cases, plaintiffs would rather prefer suffering the loss of their claims, or not obtaining redress, to proceeding to Shanghai to continue their cases. Justice would not virtually be obtainable under the present vice-consular system of examining and deciding cases.