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$58
in a market in the ordinary course of business of such market, the buyer acquires a good title. I propose to examine shortly the principles of the doctrine "Market Overt." There is no doubt that in England the rules of market overt apply only to a limited class of retail trans- actions. The law is summarised in the note to Section 22 of Chalmer's Sale of Goods A ct, 3rd edition, as follows:-" All shops in the city of London are market overt for the purposes of their own trade, but a wharf in the city is not market overt, and a sale by sample is not within the custom because the whole transaction must take place in the open market and not merely the formation of the contract, So, too, a sale of jewellery to a tradesman in his showroom is not within the custom. Outside the city of London-markets with the custom of market overt may exist either by grant or prescrip- tion-but it seems that the custom does not apply to a market established by a local Act." Now, the rules of market overt are based upon the custom of England; they do not apply in Scotland, nor in the United States of America. They have been adopted in some of the States of the Australian Commonwealth, but have never apparently been recognized in New South Wales. In this Colony they have been expressly enacted by Section 24 (1) of the Sale of Goods Ordinance, 1896. The words of the sub-section are fuller than those of the corresponding section of the English Act and, so far as material, are as follows "Where goods are openly Bold in A shop or market in
this Colony in the ordinary course of the hu iness of such shop or market the bayer acquires a good title to the goods, "Now it seems to me that the effect of the section is to extend the rules of market overt in the widest sense to the whole Colony. It cannot be maintained for example, that the word "markets" is to be construed in the limited sense of Section 71 of the Public Health and Building Ordinance: on the contrary, the word must be given a broad general sense. I prefer to suppose that the Legislature, re- cognizing the position of the Colony as a great trading mart, intended to give absolute security to a purchaser in good faith without notice, sub- ject only in the case of s olen goods to the reverting to the owner of the property or the goods on conviction of the offender. I have next to inquire:-First-Do the provisions of the section apply to a junk ? Secondly-Was this sale a sale in open market? On the first point, it is true. as Mr. Bowley maintains, that there is no market overt for ships; but the reasons for that doctrine clearly appar in the case by which it is established-Hooper r. The case of a Gumm, 2 Chancery Appeals 282. junk is not parallel to that of a ship, for there is no statutory provision limiting the transfer of property in junks, and I am of opinion that a junk falls within the definition of goods- "Chattels personal other than things in action and money"-given in Section 2 of the Sale of Goods Ordinance. As to the second point, I have no doubt that Shaukiwan is an open market for the sale of junks, and it seems clear that the junk was openly sold according to the custom of that market. I am certainly bound to find upon the evidence that the defendant bought in good faith and without notice of any defect or want of title on the part of the sellers. I, therefore, give judgment for the defendant who will get his costs of the action,
Thursday, November 28th.
IN BANKRUPTCY.
BEFORE MR. A. G. WISE (ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE).
FAILURE OF AN AGENT.
Mr. M. J. D. Stephens applied for a receiving order in the estate of J. C. Logan, who carried on business as an agent on the harbour. The assets, according to the affidavit filed were: — steam launch, 86.00, stock in trade, 83,000, furniture $300, and debts due $5,200, a total of $14,500; while the liabilities amounted to $15,5′0, or thereabouts. Mr. Stephens anker that a manager to the estate be appointed unde. the direction of the Official Receiver. The debtor's business was a harbour one and was still running. Unless a manager was appointed, hat might be gained would be lost to the
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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
[November 30, 1907
down the_mizle,
+
creditors. He suggested that Mr. Hurley, who married couple walked
· that · breathed "The bymns know the business and had kept the debtor's the
o'er Eden and "Ob, Perfect Love," were accounts for some years, might be appointed. His Lordship-What, the washing man?
sung, and Mendelssohn's (wedding- mkroh «wAI Mr. Stephens-Mr. Hurley, Your Lordship.
played. At the church! entrance the brother His Lordship-I think you had better inter-
offlcers of the bridegroom had congregated, and view the Official Receiver on that point. drawing their swords, formed an arch of glisten. Mr. Kemp-I have not heard of this applios- ing steel under which 'the bridal party pamməd tion before.
while the "joyous wedding bells” werb pealing.
His Lordship (to Mr. Stephens)-You had better see Mr. Kemp and then make your application.
The receiving order was granted.
PUBLIC EXAMINATION.
The adjourned examination of Tam Pak. lenog, the debtor, was continued by Mr. Kemp. According to the assessment debtor's property was valued at $24 009 but it was put down in the bankruptcy as $15,000. Witness agreed to pay debtor $3,000 in respect of eight houses in High Street. Lam-Pak-leung owed him $15,000 at
that time.
And you paid him $3000, why?-To buy him out of the Hop Yick.
If you
had not paid the $3000 into Court the recieving order would not have been made ?-I don't know anything about that.
The firm alan had two pile driving machines valued at $4000; did you agree to pay him one- fifth share in them ?They were entered in the shop book.
So were the houses-There were land deeds for the shops with signatures.
The houses were in your name ?—They were in the Hop Yick's name.
-
His Lordship Did you pay anything for the pile drivers? He drew money from the shop.
Mr. Kemp Your brother drew $15,000 from the shop'; did you repay that -No.
Why did you say you did. In the affidavit you state he owed von $10 000 which you had repaid to the Hop Yick P-I had to acknowledge the debts of the Hop Yick.
The further bearing was adjourned.
WEDDING.
An interesting wedding took place at St. John's Cathedral on November 28th when Lieutenant John rmson Hope Royal Garrison Artillery, son of Major-General J. E. Hope, Royal Artillery, of Henley-on-Thames, England, was married to Miss Christine Jessie Shelton Hooper, elder daughter of Mr. A. Shelton Hooper of "Rougemont," Hongkong, The ceremony was performed by the Rev. F. T. Johnson, who was assisted by the Rev. G. Searle, chaplain to the forces. The bride, who looked charming in a gown of ivory white sa- tin, embroidered in pearls, with sleeves of point lace, and a Brussels net veil over a wreath of orange blossom, was given away by her father, The bridesmaids were Miss D. -helton Hooper and Miss K. Clarke. Their dresses were of
taff-ta pale blue
with sleeves of ruched Valenciennes lace; they wore large Leghorn hats trimmed with La France roses and carried bouquets of pink roses. The bride's mother wore a dress of black and white pin spot silk with touches of pale blue, and a flowered red toque. She also carried a bunch of red roses and heliotrope tied with heliotrope ribbon. Lieut. R. S. Lucy, R.G.A., was best man.
On the conclusion of the ceremony the guests adjourned to "Kingsolers", which was lent by Mrs. Saabse for the reception. And the commodious and prettily decorated ball in this well known boarding hɔuso was an ideal place for the holding of such a function. When the guests had all assembled and tendered their congratulations to the happy couple, and the bride had cut the wedding cake with her husband's sword;
The Hon. Mr. F. H. May proposed the toast of the bride and bridegroot. In doing so he said he fancied he owed that privilège to varied sir. cumstances. In the first place his old friend Mr. Shelton-Hooper was an old civil servant and Hongkong oivil servante stuck together "like wet turf "-as they said In Ireland- through thick and thin; through right and some said through wrong but civil servants did not admit that (laughter). Then again the wedding they had just witnessed linked to ether in an interesting manner the present and the past, for the grandfather of the bridegroom was one of the old time merchants in Canton, and the bridegroom's mother was born là the neigh. Now they all kn-w bouring colony of Macao. that the growth, expansion and exigencies of the trade of Canton led to the foundation of this Colony of Hongkong, and it thus happened that the descendant of one of the pioneers of trade in Canton found a bride in this pros perous Colony which sprung from the ashes of the old hong system in the neighbouring empire (cheers.) All present would claim the bride
88
a daughter of Hongkong, for though she was not born here she came bore at a very tender age-bafore she was'a year old. They would agree too that one of the principal features of this island was it« great natural beauty, and agree also that the-bril» in growing up in its air daily, had taken on aot a little of the beauty of her surroundings (chers). A wise Irishman had said that when you go into the matrimonial market bauty was not the only thing to seek for, for "the most beautiful woman might have the divil's tongan the divil s temper, and the divil's behaviour alloat" need hardly assure the bridegroom that the bride possessed none of those failings.· H, (Mr. May) claimed to have a little discrimination in these
for when he was in the
matters,
H
matrimonial market himself he looked into a good many pairs of eyes before he found what he wanted-(laughter)—and what he was looking for was what midshipmen called " jolly good sort." He left it to those present to judge whether his quest was successful or'not (obser«). If they looked into the eyes of the bride-he did not think he would advise them to do so just then when that belted warrior was at: her side, with a dangerous looking⋅ sword—(lsaghter)——bat if they had looked last week, or last month, they would have found looking out of the windows of her soul, brightness, unselfishness_and joyousness that was a credit to her youth. That would be about enough to make most man happy. Those qualities would be for Mr. Hope to make the most of in the future. M~, Hop+ had shown There was a large and representative gather.discrimination. It was to be exposted that as ing at the Cathedral to witness the ceremony. His Excellency the Governor and Lady Lagard were in attendance, and among others were Admiral Sir Arthur Moore, Commodore A. G. Stokes, Sir Henry Berk-ley, Hoo. Mr. F. H. May and Mrs. May, Hoo. Mr. H. Keswick, Colonel Kent, most of the officers of the R.G.A., the Staff Sergeant and Bergeants of the Artillery and the men of No. 1 section, 87th Company, R.G.A.
The bridegroom's gift to the bride was a pendant of amethyst and pearls, and to the bridesmaids, gold chain bracelets.
who
an officer of the Royal Regiment of Artillery he should by a man of mental ompacity, and nothing would bore him'so much after a little time as to have a stupid wif. But there were
the Philharmonic Society those in would miss the bride's nimble fingers; the Amateur Dramatic Society would niso mi-s her. And those thoughts of her, nimble memory and her nimble fingers angured no mean intellect for the bride. If they looked aguia into ber The Cathedral was prettily decorated with eyes they would see shising out that bright ferns and greenery. Pot plants lined the aisle, intelligence which would quite untidy Mr. while the arones under which the wedding party Hope. He would remind the bridegroom that walked were dressed with green leaves, and the he was taking the bride from a happy hom, and made the more brilliant by the happy surroundings, and,” while his first duty attendance of many army officers in uniform. was to his King and country, his second wu to A large and interested crowd was in attendanos | make his wife as happy in the future as ska had when the bride, leaning on the arm of her been in the past (cheers). Mr. Hope could take father, entered the church, and the service was ❘ it from an old stager that the royal road to that proceeded with. On its conclusion, as the newly object was to continue that chivalroud courteny
scene WAS