Seattle's Legal Elite Debate the 'Chinese Question'
A resolution passed by the King County Bar Association sparks a sharp public dispute regarding the legitimacy of martial law and the anti-Chinese expulsion period.
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 King County Bar Association met on the evening of February 26th to discuss the 'Chinese Question.' A number of prominent local attorneys, including John Leary, G.H. Preston, and C.H. Hanford, drafted a resolution regarding the tumultuous events of the past year. The resolution addresses the intense period of conflict, which saw the military enforced, and questions the actions taken by Governor Squire and Judge Green. Debate continues among the leadership as to whether these measures were necessary for public order or an overreach of authority, with some lawyers standing by their loyalty to the territorial administration's harsh measures.
“The intention of martial law was justifiable, necessary and wise.”
This reflects the volatile era of 1885-86, when Seattle's legal and civic community was deeply fractured by the anti-Chinese expulsion movement. The struggle between maintaining order and the morality of those state-sanctioned expulsions remains a foundational trauma of the city's history.
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