Federal Commissioner Censured for Illegal Deportation
After ignoring proper legal channels to deport a Chinese woman, a local commissioner escapes termination with a stern judicial warning.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The investigation of the charges against United States Commissioner J. W. Spriggs regarding his exceeding of authority in the case of Tue Gam, a Chinese woman, terminated yesterday in a mild censure. Tue Gam was arrested in Portland by Deputy Marshal D. W. West without a warrant from that district. Spriggs, with knowledge of the facts, assumed jurisdiction and ordered her deported. United States Circuit Judge Gilbert and District Judge Hanford reviewed the case and concluded not to demand Spriggs' resignation, stating they saw no evidence of corrupt motive, but warned that his procedure was erroneous and punishable. They clarified that federal law mandates warrants be issued by judges in the district where the accused is found, and that Spriggs' disregard for these jurisdictional boundaries was a serious error.
“We regard your proceeding in said case as erroneous, ab initio, and punishable.”
This 1893 reprimand highlights the era's severe legal and social persecution of Chinese immigrants. The tension between local judicial overreach and federal district law remains a recurring theme in Seattle's long history of civic friction over immigration enforcement.
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