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towards the prosecutrix. In my opinion your allegation that the was a bad woman is not true, for her mother-in-law who lived next door to her gives her a good character and Chinese
pchers-in-law are not usually too partial judges | in favour of their sons' widows, and no witness had a word to say against the prosecutrix, but I shall not treat this as a case of robbery by men who are regularly employed in such trans- gotions.......... I will assume there was some family quarrel though yon all three alleged you were on good terms with her, an allegation quite incon- sistent with your attempt to blacken her moral charsoter and your attack upon her. The sent ense upon you, the first and second prisoners, in that you be respectively imprisoned with hard labour for two years and that you each within the diet wook of your imprisonment receive 20 strokes with a birph. As regards you, the third prisoner, you appear to have used no visiónce towards the woman, and I think eight- son months' imprisonment with hard labour will be anfioient punishment. This sentence is passed upon the first count, and I am willing to treat the larceny of the bull as closely con meeted with although perhaps not strictly part of thé mme, transaction, and therefore the mix months imprisonment with hard labour, which | I must pass on you, the first and second prisoners who were convicted on the second count, will be comomrrent with the other sentence, and will not really increase it. --
ŠGRÉE-TRADE MARK CABE,—JUDGMENT.
BALI SYML-US
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND Canton. His accountant told him that on the 21st August a travelling trader came to the shop and bought ten cases of condensed milk marked with the cow brand, The price agreed upon was $1.75 per dozen, and this man paid 310 as earnest money. A little after one o'clock the man came back with a bundle of labels and asked his accountant to put these labels on the tins which he had bought, but his accountant said he had no time.
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His Lordship Why did not your account. ant say he was an honest man and could not do such a dirty trick. The man asked him to commit a crime-that was what he asked him | to do.
The defendant, continuing, said that when his accountant told the man he was busy, the man said he would give some money to his foki to put the labels on, and the foki agreed to do thin.
His Lordship said that this story of the travelling trader was a plausible defence, but he was not bound to beliers it. Where was the man and who was he?
The defendant said his accountant told him his name, but he did not know where he lived.
His Lordship-My opinion is that this is an ingenious lie.
On the accountant being placed in the witness box Mr. Robinson said he should hardly be discharging his datý as a counsel if he did not | advise this man not to answer any questions as to the trader. He was on the horns of a dilem. ma, but he thought it would be more fair for him not to answer any questions under the oir- cumstances.
Sergeant Collett gave evidence as to the number of true and the number of false labels he found in the defendant's shop when he visited
Li Pak alias Li Cheung, came up for sentence. The indictment charged him with (1) falsely applying to goods a mark so nearly re sembling a trade mark as to be calculated to deceive; (2) applying a false trade description to, goods,, (3) selling certain goods to which sit, mark so nearly resembling a trade mark as to ba, palculated to deceive had been feloniously applied; (5) having in his possession certain goods to which a mark so nearly resembling a trade mark as to be calculated to deceive had
en falsely applied.
His Lordship Mr. Robinson, I have had difficulty in this case from the fact that is is all very well to set out that he was not there, but there was no proof given of it at the Magistrace
His Lordship said he had decided to send this man te prison, and read his judgment as follows:-
Li Pak, yon, soting with the advice of your counsel, pleaded guilty to three of the five counts of the indictment against you, and the Acting Attorney General has accepted that plea and not proceeded with the other two counts. You have pleaded guilty to having (1) unlawfully falsely applied a mark so nearly resembling the Gail Borden Eagle brand trade -Mr. Bobinson—He was telegraphed for.
mark to certain tins of condensed milk as to be His Lordship.–Is it admitted on the part of calculated to deceive, the said milk not being
prosecution that he was not there? Mr. Robinson I can call him. His Lordship-It is all very well to recall him now. Why was he not called at the Police Court?
Mr. Robinson-The defence was reserved
there.
His Lordship-It is all very well for a man to plead guilty and for his counsel to say he is sorry." I believe he was there myself.
Mr. Robinson — You will see that none of the witnesses have identified him. Not one of said that the defendant was there Moy visited the shop. We can produce' lenty of evidence that he was not there.
Hin Lordship-It is no possible use examin- ra man after he has pleaded guilty.
IT. RobinsonThe law allows the prisoner to give evidence if your Lordship. chooses to hear him.
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His Lordship-None of this defence was set ap at the Magistracy.
Mr. RobinsonThe man was the defendant, and at the discretion of his solicitor the matter
reserved. His Lordship-I do not think it was a very good discretion.
Rebinson—I am instructed that the line a-examination showed what the defence
His Lordship said everybody knew that the anda had been going on for a long time.
Mr. Robinson said that if his client had not leaded guilty they could have brought forward
evidence.
1
*His Lordship said the defendant could be Li Pak said that on the 23rd August when his shop was visited by the police he was at He went there on the 4th August and nd there until the 25th Augurt, when he to Hongkong in consequence of a received from his foki. There none of these tins of milk with the Eagle his shop when he went to
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Eagle brand milk; (2) practically the same as (1) only the mark is described, under the Or- dinance, as a “false trade description," and (3) unlawfully having in your possession for sale such false marked tins. It seems that you and Ss To Yuk traded together under the firm name of the Lat Wo shop at No. 255, Queen's Road Central, at Victoria in this solony, and there can be no doubt that, at your establishment, a number of forged and fraudulent Eagle brand labels have been affixed to tins containing a cheaper and inferior quality of milk, and indeed a larger quantity of such false labels ready for affixing were found by the police at
your establishment. The Eagle brand milk of the New York Condensed Milk Com- pany has a duly registered trade mark in this colony, and that mark is entitled to protection. By affixing forged labels to inferior milk, and thus enabling rogues to sell inferior stuff at a cheaper rate than the real Eagle brand milk, not only is the chance of selling the real Eagle brand diminished to the loss of honest mer chants, but the inferior stuff palmed off as Eagle brand milk injures the reputation of the Eagle brand milk itself, and tends to give it a bad name in the market. There can be little doubt that frauds on trade marks aro largely perpetrated in this colony, and the reason more, people have not been prosecuted is the diffionity of bringing home the guilt to the real offenders. Plausible excuses are always forthcoming. I was told in this case by your counsel that you were absent from your shop and were at Canton when these frauds were perpetrated, and you state that what your counsel ys is true; such defence was not put forward or proved at the Police Court, and no less than 180 tins of Farm brand milk, with false Eagle brand labels on, were found at your establishment at 255, Queen's Road, as wall is 12 dosen more in a store room at the back. The case of Coppen v. Mors, Law Raporta (1898), 2 Queen Bench Diri- gion, p. 300, is instructive, and shows that the
[September 23, 1899 master of the establishment, even if not present, can be held criminally responsible for trade mark frauds committed by assistants in his ab”- sonoo. But, in this case, I by no means believe you knew nothing about these frauds by which your pocket would be gainer, nor am I satisfied » as to the truth of your account of the transe. tion. Your ocansel has elected not to call the accountant to prove it, as in doing so he (the accountant) would doubtless criminate bimself. The sentence is that you be imprisoned for six months with hard labour, and pay the costs of this prosecution. I also order, under the Mer- chandize Marks Ordinance 1890, that "all chat- tela, articles, instruments, or things by means of or in relation to which the offence has been committed be forfeited to Her Majesty,” and that all the forged labels be destroyed.
HONGKONG GENERAL CHAMBER.
OF COMMERCE.
At the Monthly Meeting of the General, Committee of the Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce, held at 3.30 p.m. on Tuesday, the 12th September, 1899,-Present: Messrs. R. M. Gray (Chairman), A. MoConachie (Vice. Chairman), A. Haupt, Sir Thomas Jackson, Hon. J. J. Keswick, Messrs. W. Poate, H. B.. Ritchie, N. A. Siebs, Hon. T. H. Whitehead, and Mr. R. C. Wilcox (Secretary),
MINUTES,
The Minutes of the last Monthly Meeting (held 10th August) were read and confirmed.
NEW MEMBERS.
The following had been elected to Member- ship since the last meeting:-Mr. L. A. Leyy,-- Messrs. U. Nervegna & Co.
PERFERENTIAL DUTIES ON JUNK-BORNE...
GOODS.
Read despatch from H.B.M.'s Chargé d'Af faires at Peking, dated 7th August, in reply to Chamber's letter of the 18th July, in which, while admitting that the Chamber's proposal to abolish the Native Customs went to the root of the evil, Mr. Bax-Ironside said it involved such wide-spreading consequences that he felt it his duty to submit the matter for the con sideration of H.M.'s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,
It was decided that, for the present, nothing more could be done in the matter. THE COMPLAINT AGAINST THE POST OFFICE · FROM FOOCHOW.
A letter acknowledging receipt of the letter from the Foochow Chamber was despatched op the 14th August, enclosing copy of the Post- master-General's reply to the Chamber's letter of inquiry.
Read reply from the Foochow Chamber, received 5th Sept., enclosing copy of the Post- master General's reply to the representations of the Foochow Chamber.
CABLE RATES BETWEEN THE EAST AND - KUROPE.
The Secretary reported that on the 14th August a letter was addressed to the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in reply to their letter. of the 21st June, and transmiting a copy of the resolution passed at the last meeting of the committee, that on the same date copies were forwarded, with covering letter, to the Colonial Secretary asking that H. E. the Governor would transmit same to the Secretary of State for the Colonies; that on the 19th August the resolutions, with oircular covering letter, were likewise addressed to the Madras, Bombay, Bengal, Rangoon, Penang, Singapore, Canton, Amoy, Foochow, Shanghai, Chinkiang, Han- kow, Tientsin, Kobe, Yokohama, Liverpool, London, Birmingham,Manchester, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dublin. Cardiff, Syduey, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and, Dundee Chambers of Commerce. To these replies from the Celonial Secretary dated 31st August, the, Yokohama Foreign Chamber of Commerce 24th August, the Amoy Chamber of Commence 31st August, the Singapore Chamber of Com-, merce had been received and were laid on table.
The Chairman read letter from the Shanghai Chamber of Commence in reply to Chamber's letter and resolutions dated 6th September stating that they were in entire sympathy with the resslutions, and asking how it was proposed to carry them into effect.
It was decided to reply to the effect that the, olations, which had been widely, cir