Appeal from circuit court. 47 Fed. Rep. 578.

Petition by Lau Ow Bew for habeas corpus. The petitioner is a Chinese merchant, who came to the United States under the treaty entered into between the United States and China on the 28th day of July, 1868, which treaty is commonly known as the “Burlingame Treaty,” and he established his domicile therein, and continued to reside in the United States until the 80th day of September, A. D. 1890, when he departed for China on a temporary visit to his relatives, with the intention of returning to this country as soon as possible, and did in fact return hereto on the 11th day of August, A. D. 1891. For 17 years prior to his departure to China he had been a resident of the city of Portland, in the state of Oregon, and had carried on a wholesale and importing mercantile business therein, under the firm and style of Hop Chung & Co. This firm is worth the sum of $40,000 over and above its debts and liabilities, and the petitioner has a one-fourth interest therein, in addition to other properties. The firm does a business annually of $100,000, and pays annually to the United States government large sums of money, amounting to many thousands of dollars, as duties on imports. At the time of petitioner’s departure for China he procured satisfactory evidence of his status in this country as a merchant, and on his return hereto he presented said evidence to the collector of the port of San Francisco, but said collector, while acknowledging the sufficiency of said proofs, and admitting that the petitioner was a merchant domiciled in this country, refused to permit him to land, on the solo ground that he failed and neglected to present to the collector the certificate of the Chinese government, mentioned in section 6 of the act entitled “An act to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to Chinese,” approved May 6, 1882, as amended by the act of July 5, 1884. The sixth section of the act of May 6,1882, (22 St. p. 58, c. 126,) provides that, for the faithful execution of the treaty of November 17, 1880, every Chinese person, other than a laborer, who may be entitled by it and by that act to come within the United States, and who is about to come, “shall be identified as so entitled by the Chinese government in each case, such identity to be evidenced by a certificate issued under the authority of said government, which certificate shall be in the English language, or (if not in the English language) accompanied by a translation into English, stating such right to come, and which certificate shall state the name, title, or official rank, if any, the age, height, and all physical peculiarities, former and present occupation or profession, and place of residence in China, of the person to whom the certificate is issued, and that such person is entitled, conformably to the treaty in this act mentioned, to come within the United States. Such certificate shall be prima facie evidence of the fact set forth therein, and shall be produced to the collector of customs, or his deputy, of the port in the district in the United States at which the person named therein shall arrive.” The reason ascribed by the petitioner for his failure to procure the said certificate was that the Chinese government could not issue the certificate, because it could not ascertain, as required by law, the nature and character of the business carried on by the petitioner, where, and how long carried on, and the estimated value thereof; nor could the United States consul, resident at the port of departure, rise said certificate as required by law, because he could not ascertain the truth of th.e facts which should be set forth therein. After the refusal of the collector, as hereinbefore set forth, to permit the petitioner to land in the United States, the latter sued out a writ of habeas corpus before the circuit court of the United States in and for the ninth circuit, northern district of California, and, upon a hearing, he was, by the judgment of that court, remanded 'to the custody of the master of the steam-ship from which he was taken. From this judgment he has appealed to this "court.