A Chinaman Lynched by His Countrymen

The Chinese residents of San Francisco recently became disgusted at the slow process of American justice, and, imitating the summary procedure of Yen, the upright Judge of Hang Yang, in the Province of Hupeh, took the law into their own hands. A Chinaman, who was accused of stealing money, was taken by them and tried for the crime, found guilty, and was deliberately thrown into the bay, the Judge attending to see that his sentence was carried out properly, and to prevent the issuing of any writs of supersedeas.

A boatman cruising in that vicinity rescued the wretched thief, and now the authorities have arrested the thief, Judge, lawyers and witnesses, put them all in prison, and there will be a new trial all round. Barring the severity of the punishment, there was something very cheering in this administration of Chinese justice, and it is to be sincerely hoped that the trial of the Celestials,—whatever result it may have upon them,—will impress the Occidental Court with a sense of the blessings of promptness, enterprise, and energy of Oriental forms of procedure. If Chinamen, with the low notions of morality that pervade their minds, are disgusted at the lameness of our justice, what must be the opinion of Americans? The punishment of the Chinese thief was an outrageous one; but there is a valuable hint, nevertheless, in the action of the Court which tried him.