INTIMATION
A. S.
THE HONGKONG DAILY PRESS, MONDAY, MAY 26rn, 1915.
s passable instrument if it could be! honestly worked; China's Commercial Code is non-existent. That this should be su is not surprising when we consider bow commercial laws of other countries bavo Instead of being come into boing. collections of hard and fast statutory enactments, they consist, as a rulo, of estab- |lished mercnutile customs, which may vary in different trades, and even in differest pates in the same trade. These custome, af first binding on the particular trede and enforced through the agency of its guild, CIGAR MERCHANTS hago, in process of time, bardened into laws
. WATSON & CO., LTD.,
ESTABLISHED 76 YEARS.
AND TOBACCONISTS
HIGH-CLASS CIGARS.
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binding on all having dealings of the jar- tcular class to which they refer. These rules bare in some cases heen fortitied or
amplified by statute, but this does not vary the general principle that they are their validity to, long-oxisting practice, and have been established as part of the commercial laws of the land in the course of repeated judicial proceedings. It is bere that China fails: the commercial customs are in oxist ence, but up to the present nothing her bien done to give them the force of law delicate owing to the unfortunato fact that China
has no caso law. Every case is decided o
An exquisite smoke made from the finest Manila leaf. Mild flavour and aroma... Per Box of 50. $4.75
own merits or at the whim of the pro siding official, without any reference to previous cases of the same nature, nor is there any publication of the principle de cided upon to serve as a guide in future the cases.
No doubt the guild rules and com- Estate.mercial usages have boon cited in the Chinese courts on occasion, while it is $1.5 equally certain that some of these rules and usages have been necepted by the courte on so many ocrusions that they have practically acquired the force of law, save for this one circumstance-in the absence of any authoritative compilation of these decsions there is nothing to prevent an official, on the nest occasion that one of these customs is quoted before him, from throwing over the dicta of all his predecessors and intro ducing, some perfectly now standard of his on. This unsatisfactory state of affairs Per Box of 50 $3.75 was made the subject of representations to
the Foreign Office by the Shanghai Cham
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ESTRELLAS
The English mail of the 26th April was TELEGRAMS. TELEGRAMS. TELEGRAMS.
delivered in London on the 23rd May,
The Cherniavaky trio of talented in- strumentaliste ars announced to give another concert at the City Hall on Mon- day next.
DAILY PRESS' EXCLUSIVE SERVICE]
THE KOREAN CONSPIRACY
CHARGE.
The Dallas Comedy Company open a short season in the Colony on Wednesday, JUDGMENT REVERSED AND RE-TRIAL 28th inst. with Sir George Alexander's "The Thief." As already announced, the Theatre Royal is not available oving
to structural alterations to the stage, and the Company are showing in the Victorin
Theatre.
ONTIERED
TOKYO, May 25th. The Seoul Supreme Court reversed The grand procession of the Corpushe judgment agant Baron Yun Christi took place yesterday evening in and five others, in connection wi h the compound of the Roman Catholic Cathedral. The principal feature was the well-known Korcar conspiracy the Pallium borne by the Confrères of the charges, and or lured o re-trial at 1 he Blessed Sacrament, under which the Holy Host, in a beatiful monstrance, was Taiku Court of Appeal. hold by His Lordship Bishop Pozzoni. During the transit of the procession. about a dozen boys dressed in red-with- white surplices, each holding a backdt of flowers, bestrew flowers bofore the Pallinm.
There were several beautifu banners richly embroidered, representing
various congregations and confrater- nities, and the procession was indeed very imposing.
THE JAPANESE EMPEROR.
CONDITION STEADILY IMPROVING.
TURY, May 25th. The condition of the Emperor
THROUGH REUTER'S AGENCY.]
At the rear of the Blessed shows steady improvement and no Sacrament, the Vice-President of the farther anxiety iv felt. Confraternity was seen holding a golden baton, followed by chevaliers of the
ter and St. Thiage, with a guard of Orders of Christ, St. Gregory, Bt. Silver- honour in two ranks beside the Pallium, and the Band of the Philarmonica. After the procession the Rev. Fr. Tour delivered a very eloquent sermon on the Holy Eucharist, the feast concluding with the benediction of the Blessed Sacrament,
LOCAL SPORT.
LAWN BOWLS.
The Lawn Bowls League Season was opened on Saturday.
KOWLOON TAIKOU.
This match took place at Kowloon on Saturday and resulted in an unexpected win for the visitors by two points, Kow-
THE CHINA LOAN
OVER-SUBSCRIBED IN BERLIN.
LONDON, May 24th. The Chinese Loan has been covered mors than five-fold in Berlin.
n
DISSATISFACTION IN MONGOLIA
LONDON, May 25th.
A telegram from Mukden received
St. Petersburg says that the Princes of Inner Mongolia, while pro claiming their loyalty to the Republic, protested against the intention of the Chinese Government to transform Mon-
Other brands in stock. All inber of Commerce thirteen er fourteen years loon having led throughout until the last golia into a Province, and demanded
fae condition and matured.
two heads. Scores:-
KOWLOON. Hall
ago, but the state of China prevented anything being done in the matter at the time, nor has more been affected since. The chaos in Chinese commercial law. Alexander.
WATSON & CO consequently continues to the present day, W. Crawford.
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CIVIL SERVICE 2. POLICE.
22
555
autonomy and the right to raise their own troops.
EMPIRE DAY.
3KBBAGE FROM THE NAWSON EXPEDITION.
LONDON, May 28th. Empire Day was observed on a growing scale Everywhere there was a goodly display of Union Jacke. Bells were rang merrily, and guns in garrison towns
fired salutes. The National Anthem wes
The Civil Service were at home to the
to Police on Saturday, the latter winning
The scores were
as fol- by 19. points. lowe
CIVIL SERVICE
POLACE....
W. Gerrard, J.J.Watt J. Grant.
W. Woolley. B. Kelly, W. E. Bishop. C. Bond. (skip)... 16 A. McHardy (skip)
W. Cooper. w. Higby.
R. Fenton.
29
though, if China is aspiring to the abolition of extraterritoriality, there is far more need for reform here than in her criminal law. The average foreigner in China is not a criminal, but a merchant; his disputes with Chinese involve, as a rule, the commercial rather than the criminal law; it is in com mercial matters, too, that the conflict of laws is most coveraly folt It not infre quently happens, for instance, that a con- tract that is perfectly in order and binding undor, say, English law is invalid under Chinese, owing to the omission of some trival formality that is unnecessary and useless from our point of view, but in all important to the Chinese, and when these formalities vary in different provinces and different trades, the chances of disputes and of mutual charges of breach of faith are. Wheal. great. It is, accordingly, perfectly plain that no reform of the Chinese legal system that does not extend to the commercial law an be satisfactory, nor should such reforia present insuperable difficulty. The differ ent trade guilds throughout the Republic should be required to submit copies of HONGRONG, MAY 6, 1913.
their rules to the Blinistry of Justice, where Consequent on the Commercial Treaties they would be examined by a commission. of 1902 and 1902, with their provisional of experts, who would, after expurgating promise of the abolition of extra-terri-ny rules that were platoly unreasonable or toriality if and when China's legal system inconsistent, publish the whole nompilation shall have been reformed in accordance as the commercial law of China. This with Westeru id as, the Peking Board of would probably be added to from time to Laws under the late dynasty and the time by duly recorded judicial decisions Ministry of Jus hve of the present day have mbodying further established customs, or shown great activity in devising new Law by statutory enactments, but, apart from Courts, in drwing up rules of legal pro-thin the essential of a fixed and easily ac 110 Pile lost to Mobler and
Orders for extra copies of DAILY PRESS should be sent before 11 am, on day of publication. After that hour the supply is limited. Only supply for Cash. HONGKONG OFFICE: 10, Des VEDI ROAD ( LONDON OFFICE: 131; FLEET STRET, E.O
The Daily Press.
cossible standard would have been fulfilled. Draw up, as the guild rules are, with a view to the general interest of the trade. it is not likely that there would be much in them that would be objectionable even from the foreign merchant's standpoint, while it would be of infinite service to him to know authoritatively in advance what were the requirements of Chinese law in respect of any contract or agreement into which he was entering.
Faster:
W. Fincher (skip) 6, Smith:
K. McLennan.
20 W. Cameron (skip) 13
Fisher. A. Irving. R. Duncan (skip) 16
52
A. Clarke,
G. Watt
T. Glendenning. T. Pitt (skip)...
LAWN TENNIS.
and
sung in the schools and the children paraded in the parks to salute the flas. listen to discourses on the Empire, and
displays witnesa firework
illuminations,
Messages from the Colonies tell of lavish expenditure on the celebration ae a public holiday, of impressivo cere monies and festivitica
(THROTON ASUTER'S AGENOT.]
THE BALKAN SITUATION.
THE GRECO-BULGARIAN QUARREL
TROUGH KELTER'S AGENCY.j
DISSATISFACTION IN FRENCH
MILITARY CIRCLES.
RENEWED DISTURBANCEB.
LONDON, May 24th. According to the Bulgarian version of
Le Matin states that the Government the fighting on the part of Grocks and
is certain that the adoption of the three Valtaista Bulgarians between
and Kotsaki, the Greeks fired on the Bulgarian posts, which held their ground. firing was brief and there were Bulgarian losses,
The
no
A message from Athene state that King Constantine has gone to Salonika in order
to arrange an extensive neutral sone with a view to preventing fresh conflicta between Greek and Bulgarian troops in futuro..
message from Balonika states that the fighting at Valtaista ceased on the 22nd inst, but on the afternoon of the 23rd two companies of Bulgarians at tacked a company of Greeks at Semaltan, but were repulsed. Bince then tran quillity has prevailed.
yours service is not the cause of, but provides a long awaited opportunity for, a well-prepared political wovement. It bases this view on « volumisous roport by the Prefect of Police which drafted in December.
Was
There were grave disturbances at Roduz on Friday, A Colonel knocked down a bugler who was sounding the "assembly in the barrack square, for the purpose of holding a demonstration; and he also knocked down a man who rushed to the bugler's assistance with the butt of his rifle. A general molée ensued lasting for three-quarters of a hour.
A later message states that it has been ascertained that the instigators of the outbreak at Rodez included an a-convict
The Greeks have lost 250 killed and and several members of the Confederation wounded in the recent fights..
PEACE PROSPECTS BRIGHTER.
A more hopeful feoling existed among the Balkan Delegates in London on Friday owing to the indications that the Turkish modifications of the Peace Treaty will not be so far reaching as was expected.
of Labour. Their plan was to join the other regiments in breaking into the magazines, but this was foiled by the arrival of the Colonel and the officers. When the men in response to the bugle call trooped into the barrack square in full marching order a major snatched
a rifle from 'n soldier and shouted, "The The first to advance is a dead man.” A Peace Delegate interviewed effect was electrical in checking the Renter expressed the hope that pesce demonstrators. would be signed early next week.
THE ITALIAN REVERSE AT
TRIPOLI,
The action of the Government in pro- hibiting the annual celebration of the Commune at Perc-la-Chaise led to noisy ecenes in the Chamber of Deputies, the LONDON, May 25th,
Socialists declaring that the introduction“ The Under-Secretary of War, replying of the three years' service meant civil to a question in the Italian Cham- war and accusing M. Barthon (Minister
of confidence in the Government by 381 votes to 188.
A telegram from Nancy states that the 184th Regiment, returning from a field day, sang the "Marseillaise" and cheered for the Three Years Servico
bor with regard to the recent reverse for War) of inaugurating a régime of
The Chamber passed 4 of the Italian troops near Tripoli, re-action. admitted the loss of four guas, but
they were said
rendered useless before they were abandoned. He pointed Fat that in modern tactics it was eon sidered preferable, despite ancient pre- judices, to abandon a few guns rather than sacrifice human life. It was in advisable to say at present whether indivi dual responsibility was spart from the unforeseen regrettable incidents always occurring in a war.
BRITISH MINISTERS ON TOUR.
MALTESE ASK FOR AUTONOMY,
LONDON, May 25th. Mr. Asquith and Mr. Churchill have concluded a tour in the Mediterranean by an inspection of the defences of Malta and flest exercises, and by witnessing a naval and military review.
A deputation of Maltese nresented to Mr. Asquith a Memorandum urging the grant of autonomy to Malta.
Members of the Mawson Antarctic Ex pedition sent & wireless message to the Scoretary of State for the Colonies aa follows: King Georgelanders wish to convey Empire Day greetings.”
The Australian Premier, Mr. Fisher, sent the following telegram to the Times The imposition of more bind- ing ties on several parts of the Empire
Mr. Asquith made a speech in which would be a poor substitute for the strong.he dwelt upon the peculiar position of yet flexible and unfolt ties of love and Malts, owing to its strategical value to Green and Hunter beat Ho Wing Kin and Ho Wing Yuen 11-0, McPherson and duty, which call us into the broach in the the Empire, and promised to give Un Few Fan 7-4, and Mohler and Wang time of danger. If the annual Imperial bis
Abraham and Mackenzie
beat Conferences were held not always in Memorandum. McPherson and Un How Fan 92, lost London we would hear loss of Empire to Mohler and Wong Po Keung 5-6, and
Yuen dangers." beat Ho Wing Kin and Ho Wing.
The League Tennis match between Kowloon v. Chinese Y.M.C.A, played on Saturday at King's Park resulted ne follows;
Po Koung 8-3.100
Wood, and
Wong Po Keang 47, beat Ho Wing Kin and Ho Wing Yuen 11.0, and beat McPherson and Un Hew Fan 7-4.
Kowloon, 73 games; Chinese Y.M.C.A.,
20,
THE ASSAYE.
The Asage, which was delayed at Singapore awing to a fire on board,
THE DERBY.
∙May sath." The intest quotations on the Derby are:-9 to 4 against Craganour; 6 to 1 against Shogun; 25 to 1 against Day Comet, Prue and Radiant.
careful
consideration
HOME CRICKET.
the
LONDON, May 24th. Hent beat Leicestershire at Leicester by nino wickets.
Oxford beat M.C.C. at Oxford by au innings and 41 rane.
Hampshire best M.C.C. at Lord's by
908 Fans.
cedure, and is revising the Penal Code China's Feal Code has existed from time immemorial, and Ina been described, in the Ianguage of exaggeration, as all that such a Code should be, if only it could be pu into effect in a proper way. Time te the established practice that a new dynasty should remodel the Penal Code of its prede. COBBOT the Republican Government, in May of last year, issued its own revised edition. which, it appears, is provisional only, and is to be succeeded in due course by the
The Wen. Archdeacon Barnett will complete emdiment of the Republic's ideas on the subject of criminal legislation, speak at the meeting of the Hongkong It is curious, then, that while all these Christian Union at St. Paul's Colle air), and the flames were kept under fair the erection of a statue of Queen Victoria wicketa reforms are bolag effected in the hope to day at 5.30 pan.
THE PEACE CENTENARY.
STATUER FOR DRITAIN AND AMERICA,
LONDON, May 26th.
reached. Hongkong yesterday morning. The report stated that fire was discovered at 3.40 on the 16th May, in No. 6 'tween deck. The fire hose were at once con A message from New York states that nected and water pumped on the fire the Committee in charge of the celebration through the hatchways and ventilators of the Peace Centenary will arrange for (all securely closed to prevent ingress of
ly well until the arrival of the vessel at nt Washington and the presentation to of falling the condition laid down in The Gazette notites that H. the Singapore at 12.30 p.m. the same day, the British people of a statue of Abraham Article XII of the MacKay Treaty, the Governor-in-Council has been pleased to other half of the legal system should be left direct that the name of Mr. A. S. Mac untouched. While these great efforts are Kichan be added to the list of authorised being made to reform the exinitial law and architects procedure, the commercial law, for all the
CONSPIRACY IN PORTUGAL:
when the Town and Tanjong Fire Bri- Lincoln. gades were in readiness and started with about a dozen ho pouring water into No. 5 hatch and through the ventilators. There was much smoke and heat when the The Government Gazette intimates that hatch was opened The fire was extin
LONDON, May 25th,
Dorbyshire beat Warwickshire at Derby by seven wickets
Northants beat Lancashire by four wicketan
Notts defeated Sussex by 35 runs Yorkshire beat Worcestershire by six
BOXING IN CANADA.
TRAGEDY.
LONDON, May 26th.
A New York message states that at a
scheme,
AMERICAN MILITARY DISASTER.
LONDON, May 24th.
The breech block of a gun blew out at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, killing a captain and two privates, and seriously wounding nine others.
AMERICAN POLITICIAN CON- VICTED OF BRIBERY.
LONDON, May 2th.
Mr. Stilwell, Chairman of the Codes. Committee of the New York State Senate, has been convicted of bribery in connec
Exchange
reform tion with Stock legislation.
FATAL EXPLOSION IN SOUTH AMERICA.
LONDON, May 95th. An explosion occurred at the gaswork attached to the hydraulic works in the Harbour of Ruenoa Ayres. Twelve pers sops were killed and twenty injured.
NATIONAL SERVICE..
LORD ROBERTS AND COLONEL SBELY TO, DEBATE QUESTION.
LONDON, May 25th. Colonel Seely and Lord Roberts have agreed to debate the question of National Service at the Eighty Club on the 28th
June..
THE LICENSING BOARD.
The following list of members of the Licensing Board as consititated ander Section 9 of the. Liquors Consolidation Ordinance, 1911. is published in, the Gazette for general information
道
The Hon. Mr. Claud Bevern, Chair man; the Hon. Mr. A. M. Thomson, Vice. Chairman; the Hon. Mr. A. G. M. Fletcher (temporary), officia! members:
A message from Lisbon reports that a boxing contest at Calgary, Alberta, Mr. D. W. Craddock and Mr. B. W. attention it is receiving, would seem to have H. E. the Governor has been pleased to guished at 5 p.m. No. 5 hold had to be court-martial found guilty of conspiracy Arthur Pelkey, of Calgary, knocked out Bird, urfofficial members appointed by been overlooked altogether, yet the need appoint the Hon. Mr. David Landale to discharged entirely and some cotton from
8. Hooper, elected by the Justices of the hers is far more empienous that in the be a member of the Authorised Architects No 4, an operation which caused the ship sixteen Royalists, including Major Montes Luthor McCarthy, "the American white the Governor. The Hon. Mr. E. A. Hewett,
to be delayed till Tuesday 20th. The
Peace.
Code, as it exists now, might be found
case of the Penal Code. China's Penal Committee, vice Mr Edward Osborne, fire originated in cotton balbe stowed on and Captain Pimentel, and acquitted hope," in the first round. McCarthy fall C.M.G., Mr. C. G. Alabaster and Mr. A.
resigned.
the 'tween decks...
twenty-five.
and died in a few minutes.