December 9, 1896.j
never submitted to the Director of Public Works. When the head of our building depart- ment is in a difficulty he sometimes consults the Director of Public Works, who gives him advice. And I must say something in favour of our head man. He is a man of considerable experience in all parts of the world and he knows pretty well about buildings in any place and he fooks thoroughly into the question of cost. He correctly designs his buildings, reckons up the average price, and if he does not know how much, why he can enquire from Mr. Belilios, (Laughter.)
Hon. E. R. BELILIOS-I am sure they do their best, but what I maintain is that they cannot work so economically as the staff of the Public Works Department.
The CHAIRMAN The Director of Public Works must be gratified to hear an unofficial member saying that the Department is an economical one. praise.
We do not often hear such
Hon. T. H. WHITEHEAD-I am opposed to this item. At the last meeting of the Council the hon. Colonial Secretary informed the Coun. oil that certain members of the community to whom he had spoken had expressed the view that the community were desirous of paying 17 per cent. as military contribution. I think we ought to know who said so. I have not heard any such views expressed either in public or in secret. I think it would be well for members to bear in mind that the Government in 1894 consulted certain members of the community and obtained their views in connection with the proposed reconstruction of the Sanitary Board, which views were not allowed to see the light of day until spring of this year. The views then expressed, with the single exception of those contained in the very able memorandum of the Hon. Dr. Ho Kai of 3rd November, 1894, in which I cordially concur, were not the views of the vast majority of the community, as was most emphatically demonstrated by the ballot which was held in the City Hall in May last..
The ACTING COLONIAL TREASURER-This has nothing to do with the present question.
Hon. T. H. WHITEHEAD-Their views were emphatically expressed-
The ACTING COLONIAL TREASURER-I rise to order.
Hon. T. H. WHITEHEAD-If a plebiscitum of Hongkong was taken regarding the decision of the Imperial Goverument to appropriate seventeen and a half per cent. of Hongkong's Municipal revenue, the ma jority against such inequitable and unjust impost would not be ten or eleven to one, as was the case in the proposed reconstruction of the Sanitary Board, but it would be, I predict with- out fear of contradiction, not less than ninety-five to one. I must record my vote against this item
The CHAIRMAN_-We do not take votes at this Committee; it is simply a matter of recom- mendation. It must be very interesting to the Committee to hear the remarks of the hon. member, although they are in a similar strain to what we have already heard. What I said in Council the other day I repeat now. I said that the leading members of the community with whom I had consulted told me most em- phatically that this colony can perfectly well afford to pay the military contribution
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
- THE MOUNT KELLET ROAD. The CAPTAIN SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE objected to the item "Road from Victoria Gap to Mount Kellet Road, $10,000," and in doing so said-It appears to me that there are other more important works which ought to have procedence over this item, and the work I especially have in view is the improvement of the quarters of the men serving under my com- mand. I have already reported to the Govern- ment on this subject. The quarters are in many respects very bad and I consider it my duty to mention here in Council that I consider that the question of suitable quarters for the Police is of more importance than the provision of a new road in the hill district, which is already well supplied.
f
The CHAIRMAN-It is unnecessary for me to say that a very influentially signed petition was presented to the Government for the construction of this road. If I am not mistaken that petition had the signature of every member of this Council, and in deference to the views expressed in that petition the Governor has decided to have that road cop. structed. The petition stated that the road was very much desired and that it would be a public boon.
451
Cheung Kam-tin contends that at law under the circumstances, wen armed with absolute authority to husband's credit for necessaries and n only; that at law she was not her agent to make him liable for money advar her for the purpose of procuring necessari actually applied to such a purpose; that only in equity could the husband be made accountable to his wife's creditor for money lent to the wil and expended on necessaries; that the summar jurisdiction in equity of the Supreme Court this Colony is limited by ordinance to certain matters and that amongst such matters is not included the alleged equitable liability of a hus band to his deserted wife's creditor for money supplied to her and expended in nec and that consequently the Supreme Court in the exercise of its summary jurisdiction could not entertain the present claim. The cases relied on by the defendant were Deare. Soutten, L.R. 9 Eq. 151; James v. Morris, Drew and Sm. 220; Knox v. Bushell, C.B. n.s. 334. For the plaintiff it was replied that the present suit was not one regarding married woman, but an action in debt at com- mon law; that the wife was under the circum. stances the husband's agent, and that the scope of such agency made the husband liable as much for money advanced to the wife and laid out by her in necessaries as for the price of necessaries supplied on credit; that there existed no de cision by a Court of Common Law that refused o deal with an advance expended on necessaries as if it were a claim for the price of necessaries supplied; that because such claims as the pre- sent have for convenience been brought in The CHAIRMAN-The hon. member has al-equity, that is no reason-in the absence of a ready conveyed his views to the Governor on
contrary judgment at law on the point why the subject:"
such claims could not be entertained by a Court of Law; and that even if the present claim was one cognisable only in equity, the Supreme Court of this Colony, in the execise of its sum- mary jurisdiction in equity, had power to enter- tain the claim which constituted a charge within the meaning of subsection 3 of section 19 of Ordinance XIV. of 1873. Now, the cordition of marriage does not of itself constitute the wife the agent of the husband: the agency when it arises is either express or implied: the agency implied by the law occurs in respect of ne- cessaries and of necessaries alone, whether the parties are cohabiting or are living apart by
The item was recommended.
GARDENER'S COTTAGES.
The CAPTAIN SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE also objected to the item "Gardeners Cottages, $10,000" on the same grounds and he said-It is more important to house in a sanitary manner the European and Indian Police Force than to house a number of gardeners who are well acclimatised.
Hon. T. H. WHITEHEAD---I understand that $5,000 will have been expended on this item at the end of the month.
Hon, C. P. CHATER-We have not seen any plans, nor are we 'acquainted officially amongst ourselves of the fact of certain money being already expended on the building.
The CHAIRMAN-The matter was considered some time ago. The contention was that the houses were absolutely necessary and His Excellency con- sidered that the work should be carried on with out delay. It was found that the Public Works Department had not any time to carry out the work and so the plans were drawn up by a private firm in this colony and were seen by the Director of Public Works, who considered the estimate fair and reasonable.
The item was recommended and the list was completed.
ADJOURNMENT.
The Committee then adjourned.
ས་ཡ
SUPREME COURT.
3rd December.
IN SUMMARY JURISDICTION.
BEFORE ME. T. SERCOMBE SMITH (ACTING PUISNE JUDGE.)
CHIU CHU-SHI V. CHEUNG KAM-TIN. Plaintiff claimed $550, money lent by her to the wife of the defendant, who is compradore to Messrs. Meyer and Co. Mr. J. J. Francis,
the fault of the husband. But there is this difference between the states of cohabitation and separation due to the husband's misconduct, that, whereas in the former state the implied authority of the wife may be rebutted, in the latter state the implied authority of the wife is irrebuttable and the husband is abso- lutely bound by his deserted wife's contracts for necessaries. In the case of husband and wife living together the presumption is that the husband is liable for necessaries this is a pre- sumptio juris; but where the parties are living apart and separate from each other there is no such presumption, and it lies upon the creditor seeking to charge the husband to prove that the wife, from the circumstances of the separation or the conduct of the husband, has an implied. authority to bind her husband by her contracts for necessaries; if, however, the creditor shows that the separation is by the husband's fault, the wife, unless she has an adequate allowance for maintenance paid her, goes forth to the world with full authority to bind her husband for:
which it is called upon to pay. I think the Q.C. (instructed by Mr. K. W. Mounsey), necessaries, an authority of which the husband
hon. member would have been told the same thing if he had consulted, whether secretly or openly, the leading members of the community. If he did consult them, all I can say is that those leading members hold one set of views when they speak to me and another set of views when they speak to him; but I do not think such is the case. I am inclined to think they are not the same gentlemen. However, that does not affect what I have stated, that the leading members of this community—
Hou, T. H. WHITEHEAD-How many The CHAIRMAN-That the leading members of the community state that the colony is well able to afford the amount of the military con- tribution we are called upon to pay.
Hon. T. H. WHITEHEAD-I say they do not represent the leading members of the com- munity
*
The item was then recommended,
appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. J. Hastings defended.
The action was tried on the 26th November. Owing to the importance and novelty of the His Lordship, in delivering judgment, said point raised by Mr. Hastings for the defence I have considered it necessary to write my judg- ment and to go into the subject rather fully. A widow Chiu Chu-shi having lent $550 to Cheung Chin-shi, wife of Cheung Kam-tin, now seeks to recover this sum from such last named husband. Assuming it to be proved that the money was lent as alleged; that Cheung Chiu- shi was at the date of the loan living apart from Cheung Kam-tin by reason of the latter's mis- conduct; that Cheung Kam-tin has since separation made his wife a monthly allowance of $40; that this allowance is inadequate and that Cheung Chiu-shi has spent the $550 which she borrowed upon necessaries, the defendant,
cannot deprive his wife; this is a presumptio juris et de jure. Authority being implied by the law only in the matter of necessaries, it follows
liable for the engagements entered into by that to render the husband under any conditions wife in respect of other matters, the wife mil be constituted his agent either impliedly conduct or expressly, whether originally ratification. The function of an agent is privity of contract between two oth If therefore a wife deserted by exceeds her irrebüttable implied pledge his credit for necessaries by money or by purchasing on or necessary articles, she primá fa her husband by such engagement. expressly or impliedly by conduct constitu agent to make these o contracte. Does ther law treat advances made to the wife and pended in necessaries as equivalent to