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JAPAN BY THE JAPANESE

Formosa so far as civil cases are concerned, except in questions relating to landed property, when the usages which have hitherto prevailed in Formosa apply. In matters relating to civil or commercial questions concerning the Formosans and the Chinese alone, as well as matters relating to criminal acts committed by the Formosans or Chinese, the last-named usages also apply. Although the above exceptions are harmful to the unity of the application of the law, they are parts of an unavoidable transitory stage. The Government has established a committee of inquiry into the usages of Formosa in order to codify them more clearly.