893.05/179
The Consul General at Shanghai (Cunningham) to the Minister in China (MacMurray)91
Sir: I have the honor to enclose herewith, for the Legation’s information, a copy of a self-explanatory letter dated September 24, 1929, together with a copy of the Chinese text, which was sent by this office to the Commissioner of Foreign Affairs for Kiangsu,92 in connection with the delay in the hearing of American civil cases in the Appeal Court of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs.
On February 22, 1929, there occurred in this Appeal Court a dispute between Consul Stevens and Judge Sheng, the nature of which is described in the communication to the Commissioner above referred to. Since that date, or for almost seven months, not a single one of the ten American civil cases pending in the Appeal Court of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs has been set for hearing. While the Commissioner of Foreign Affairs has apparently attempted to stress an alleged insult to Judge Sheng as the cause of delaying these cases, the real reason, in the opinion of this office, is the refusal of the Commissioner to accord the American consular representative his proper place on the bench.
In accordance with Article 5 of the Mixed Court Rendition Agreement, these cases might be returned to the Provisional Court for re-trial and a request for such return was made in the last paragraph of this Consul General’s letter to the Commissioner above mentioned. The Commissioner stated orally that he would discuss this entire matter with the appeal court judges and inform me at a later date of his decision. Upon receipt of further information, therefore, the Legation will be informed.
I have [etc.]