ascertain the girls' state of mind as to a sense of liberty, and demand to know the official's state of mind,--whether he is ready to _prove_ the freedom of the slave by hounding the slave dealers out of the community. There was recently a war of secret societies in Oakland's Chinatown. One of the "tongs" quarreled with another, and three or four Chinese men were shot on the streets of Oakland,--one fatally, named Lee Bock Dong, in his own house. Lee Bock Dong had a slave girl who saw the shooting, so she was taken into custody by police officers. But the Chinese got her out of jail by means of the usual writ of habeas corpus, and she was sent to Sacramento to another person, who had disputed her ownership with Lee Bock Dong. It seems, Lee Bock Dong had been holding the slave girl for a debt owed to him by her real owner in Sacramento, of $2,000. The Oakland _Enquirer, of_ Feb. 20th, 1907, informed its readers a few days after the affray as follows: "This girl's possession was one of the points in dispute between the two tongs, and it was this that was settled at yesterday's conference." It is interesting to note that other newspapers gave the information that police officials attended the conference of these tongs, to help settle the dispute. The report continues: "Lee Bock Dong's widow demands the return of the girl as security for the money, or the payment of the $2,000. This the Bing Gongs (one of the tongs) finally agreed to, and it was for them to determine the course they would pursue. The police say that this step is only preliminary to a settlement of the whole affair ... that peace will be declared, the complaint against the alleged murderers withdrawn, and the case dismissed ... it is now expected that within a few days the extra police force, which has been maintained in Chinatown ever since the night of the shooting affray, will be withdrawn and peace reign once more." This article is headed: "Warring Tongs Hold a Conference, and it is Agreed Chinese Maiden is to be Returned, or Equivalent in Cash." The _Enquirer_ of March 9th reported that the "Chinese tong men have been dismissed." "Equivalent in cash" for a Chinese maiden! Can it be possible that this is the United States of America, and the twentieth century! One actual murder, and two murderous assaults on the public streets, all dismissed by an understanding entered into with the police that they could now withdraw their extra force, since the Chinese girl had been passed over as security for a debt, until the "equivalent in cash" is paid! Have we spent hundreds of millions of dollars, and shed the blood of thousands of young men, and widowed and orphaned tens of of thousands besides, in a civil war to put down African slavery, introduced from the Atlantic Coast, merely to turn about and welcome Chinese slavery from the Pacific Coast?