April 30, 1906.}
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
to an agent here to land the goods and re-ship the possession of a person when it was found; them to Shanghai. This sort of business he it was in the possession of the godown understood had been carried on for a consider-keeper, so how can it be asserted by the able time, and his client in Shanghai used to other side that it was apparently not in the pay the bill of exchange to the bank, get the possession of any person. Surely it will be bill of lading and forward it here for his agent conceded that the position of a bailee, which to take delivery of the goods and re-ship them the Godown Co. were, is equivalent to the to Shanghai. His claim was not put in within position of owner. It was perfectly clear the week mentioned by the Ordinance because that the possession of the Godown Co. the owner was in Shanghai and only came down W品 in law the possession of the owner, since the seizure was made. As the claimant The section of the Ordinance with regard had no knowledge of bis goods being seized he to possession surely does not refer to goods could not have made his claim before, and the in the course of business in the custody of the man he rent instructions to was unaware that godown keeper. Supposing anybody had tried the goods were received
to take this morphine out of the possession of the Godown Co. except the police under powers of law the company would not have allowed | them, they would say we hold for the owner. The notice of the seizure of the goods is bad, because what is the use of putting up the notice without the marks when we have thousands of cases of morphine in the Colony? His Worship-You contend first that the original arrest" was bad on the ground that it was compound of opium
His Worship-Or that they had arrived ? Mr. Hastings He was told to expect some, but did not know they had arrived and were saised, one reason being that the notices put up at the Magistracy and the place where the opium was found did not identify the goods by their marks.
His Worship-At any rate your client did not know and could not have known about these goods?
Mr. Hastings He could not have known, as he was not here. We intend to submit various points to your Worship why in the first place this section under which proceedings are taken does not apply. The first is the point I took the other day I understand these goods were seized under a warrant.
His Worship---I think not.
Mr. Hastings-If there was no warrant then I will pass on to section 32, which gives power to seize without a warrant. I submit that sections 32 and 39 refer to opium only and not to compounds of opium. With regard to that point I wish to refer very shortly to the judgment your Worship gave the other day. From what your Worship stated in that judgment I am not quite sure that you olearly understood the rgaments I addressed to you. For this reason, you s'ated it as my con- tention that the Prepared Opium Ordinance did not refer to compounds at all. I did not contend that, for it does as amended undoubtedly refer to compounds of opium. My contention was that these particular sections did not.
His Worship My decision was that every section referred to compound of opiam. It meant that I included sections 32 and 39. I said the whole Ordinance.
Mr. Hastings-Yss; the original seizure we say is bad because section 32 does not apply to compounds of opium. I have only one other point, that is with regard to possession. I say that the bills of lading being with the bank the possession was with the bank as mortgages.
Mr. Bailey-The facts of my case are that on the evening of the 11th April Messrs. McEwen, Frickle and o. received a telegram from Shang- hai informing them that four cases of morphine would arrive by the Deva ha and that the bill of lading would follow. This was after the seizure. Mr. Duncan of the s-id firm personally attended at the C.S.0. and applied for a permit to tranship this morphine. As far back as December Messrs MeEwen, Frickle & Co. applied for a licence to deal and ship compounds of opiam, and received a reply from the Colonial Secretary that the matter was having considera- tion, and pending a reply permission would be granted.
|
His Worship-What is MoEwen, Frickle's position? Are they agents for the owner?
Mr. Bailey-Yes. The firm had no notice of the seizure, and only learned about it when they went to the godowns. They applied to the Opium Farmer for the release of the goods, but he replied that he could not see his way to release them.
Mr. Bailey then dealt with his points of law, which were similar to Mr. Hastings. He said that having regard to the firm's licence the
His Worship On that point you might be able to see the Opium Farmer and arrange with him.
As all parties were agreeable, his Worship decided to take both cases together, and adjourned the hearing until Saturday.
COOLIE'S BIG JUMP.
FATAL Result of a GAMBLING RAID.
Mr. Hastings-It is perfectly clear that it does refer to compounds of opium, because by virtue of the amended Ordinance, No. 10 of 1904, we have got to read in the Prepared Opium Ordinance certain sections referring to oom- pounds of opium, and what I asked your Worships izure was invalid. on a former occasion, and ask you again is to read those in as intended, and then to take the Ordinance as a whole. Doing this, my conten- tion is that if the Legislature intended the Ordinance to refer to compounds of opium they would have said so. They might have put a | section in the principal Ordinance to say that opium in all cases should include compounds of opium. The Court has no power to add any words to any section of the Ordinance which is not expressed in clear terms I would refer your Worship to Maxwell on the interpreta- tion of Blafutes. The words in the section which I quoted are material to the case, because 1 submit we must go by the words the Legislature used: the Court is not competent to extend them, even though it were an excel lent thing that they were extended. Opium is a well-known article, it is an extract of the juice of the poppy, whereas mariats de morphine is a different article altogether. Opium no doubt is used in its manufacture, and it is, I believe, called an alkaloid of opium: 1 submit whatever it is that the material does not come within the definition of opium, and, therefore it cannot be included under this section wh oh refers to opiam only. The second point I shall take is that the order of forfeiture is bad for this reason: the section says that when any opium is found without being apparently in the possession of any person it shall be confiscated. I believe I am right in stating that before this order was munde no evidence was given that this opium was not apparently in the possession of any person, c
His Worship—That is so. Mr. Hastings-If that fact is not proved before your Worship the order must be bad. I will go further and say that this opium was in
His Worship Did you hurt yourself !- sprained my foot.
His Worship I may explain to you, gentle- men, that the distance he jumped was 49 feet.
P.8. Leo said that when he entered the the Chinese were panic-stricken, and one of the constables reported that in attempting to i a man had fallen down the air shaft. Proceed to the bottom, he discovered the dood shockingly injured, and at once ment for the ambulance and for medical assistance. On the 6th instant he attended at the mortuary and identified the body. Witness had had charge of the execution of about 20 similar warrants in that district, and it was the practice before leaving the Police Station to give the bon- stables" instructions to guard the doors and windows with the object of preventing the gamblers from injuring themselves.
After hearing other police and medical evidence, the jury returned à verdiot of death | from misadventare.
An inquiry was conducted at Hongkong on the 20th April by Mr. F. A. Hazeland into the circumstances of the death of Ng Taun, who succumbed to injuries received on 4th April by attempting to escape during a gambling raid by the police on the house at 27, Queen's Road East by jumping from the parapet into the back-yard. The following jury were empanelled: Messrs. A. Moulder, A. A. H. Milroy and L. Desjardins,
A riosha coolie, residing at,27, Queen's Road East, stated that on the night in question the inmates were gambling when the police made a raid on the premises. The people scattered and some attempted to escape by the verandab, bat were stopped by the police. The deceased, who was a ricsha coolie and was about 25 years of age, was one of the gamblers. Witness sAW him run into the cook-house and when he went downstairs he found deceased lying on the ground. He did not see him fall.
Ng Ok, hawker, who had been present on the occasion in question, said he heard someone call out that the police were coming. He ran because he saw somebody else running. He went into the kitchen and seeing someone jump down he jumped into the backyard also,
CANTON.
[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.]
April 18th.
CANTON-HANKOW BAILWAY FUNDS. On the 14th instant the Chamber of Commerce bere received a telegram from the Cantonese merchants at Shanghai stating that a mum of over $2,000.000 had been subscribed in Shanghai and that they had collected the first instalment of $400,000, or 20 per cent of the amount subsoribed. They state that they will send the money down as soon as an Imperial ediot sanctioning the control of the railway by the merchants shall be published.* They suggest that Tong Shin-yu, alias Tong shiu- obeun, who was lately sent to India as special envoy, shall be elected to the post of chief director of the railway, as a high official must be elected for that post,
Up to the 8th inst., $2,216,484, representing 20 per cent of the amount subscribed in Kwangtung, has been collected.
THE "POLICE COURT CLOCK" `AGAIN. The watchman of the Nam-Hoi Magistracy has been lately in the habit of falling asleep during duty hours and many articles have been found missing. On the 11th instant the mosquito net from the Magistrate's bed disappeared. The watchman was sum. moned to appear before the Nam-Hol, who severely reprimanded him for his carelessness and told him that should anything I more disappear in the future he will be severely dealt with.
|
April 21st.
THE BAILWAY ENQUIRY. It is reported that Taotai Yuen Shi-fan, who was sent here to investigate the railway trouble between the Viceroy and the gentry and mer- obants, has decided to leave here to-day. He will proceed directly to see Viceroy Chow Fuh, to whom he will hand a report of the result of his investigations, after which he will proceed to take up his new post at Shun-Tin.
CHINYSE WARNED TO AVOID PANAMA. The Chamber of Commerce here has received a letter from abroad advising the Board not to encourage emigration to Panama, where coolice are wanted for the canal works. The letter states that the climate is very bad and the heat excessive, and that Chinese labourers would not be able to withstand the conditions of living in that country and would soon fall ill and die.
RECKLESS O- SH COINAGE.. Millions of one cash coins have been coined at the Mint here. A few days ago these coins were sent to the Sin-Hau-Kak, This Board wishes to give to these coins the value of sight mage per thousand in order to cover the loss incurred through the depreciation of the ten cash coins which are not in demand at present, and whose value drops every day....
STORMS AND DAMAGE. Houses have collapsed, and lives been lost, during the recent bad weather.
FIFTY PLAGUE GASES A DAY. Plague is se ripe as ever, and with the kind of weather prevailing is likely, to increase. The cofin shops are all very busy, as the epidemie is said to claim about fifty to sixty victims daily. In some of the affected streets almost every home was visited by this terrible scourg