SOCKS!
DISPUTE BETWEEN MANUFACTURER
AND DEALER
yesterday, Willinzo
In the Supreme Court. before the Chief Justice (Hir Breg Dusies, K (.), the Wah Cleng fro of No. 129, Wellington Street. Hong- kong claimed from the Le Man Bling Manufacturing Kwok Weaving aric Chaqany, Led the sum of $695 75 benga difference between $5.300 paid by plain til to defendant and $4306.25 returned
defendant, and i plaintiff be ta damages ($2.2530; for alleged breach of road art to deliver 150 cases of socks.
MT
Eldon Pater, instructed by Mr EA Davids, appeared for the plain tiff, and the Hon Mr E. R. Sharp, K.1. E. L B.Einstructed is Mr. W Shenton, for the defendant,
M
Potter rend from the statement of claim that by a contract, dated January guts. 1918, the defendant agreed to sell to the plaintiffs 30 eases of Tsr Min. brat socks of 100 dozen to the euke 10
eh price
of $1.30 pr dozen, delivery within a week anther agreement. dated February 1st, the defendants agreed to sedi to plaintifs 100 cases of the same socks at the same price. delivery between February 1st and lath. On February 1st the plaintiffs paid the defendants the Bum of $5,000 on account of the purchase money payable by them under the ca
On February 5th, the defendants tenderet delivery of the 150 cases of Boek, but ee of thean, not being of merchantable quality, were rejected by the platff Defendants had failed to tender to the plaintiffs 130 cases of mer chantable socks according to the agree
1racts
zestal
Since the issue of the writ in action the defemlauts had paid back to the plaintiffs the san of 84,100.28 being
THE HONGKONG DAILY PRESS, THURSDAY, MARCH 18mm, 1919.
INTERESTING SHIPPING
ULAIM
ARREST OF TWO SHIPS IN HONG KONG.
His Hunour the Chief Justice (Sir Willian Rees Davies) delivered judg ment in Chambers, in a civil action in which Toong Yue of Shanghai made an
application to set naicke an order granted Rader the following circumstances: A writ was issued against Toong Yue, who is resident in Shanghai. for dainages for breach of a charter party in connec- tim with the .. Castlefield. An a plication was made to the Court by the Attorney-General and the Castlefrld Steamship Company, Lad., to arrest and detain two other ships belonging to the defendant that came into the pori nf Hongkong with the view of obtaining The secarity in respect of the claim. order was granted on the ex parte up plication.
His Lordship a judgment wa as fol lows:--
This is a summons to set aside the warrants for the arrest of two ships, the
5.5.
Tel and the 6.8. Kay Lee, on the ground, inter alit, that section 578 of the Code of Civil Procedure does not
apply to an action brought en personam and that there K UH neither extreme urgency nor other peculiar circumstances to justify the warrants.
il
defondant may have a perfectly good AN defence nud yet the Court is empowered to order the arrest of the ship and her clearance is stopped, presumably accurity is furnished on a claim which may have been largely inflated, and the power, if exercised, is quite general and is available in case of British ships uri ships in fact of any nationality.
It is therefore not surprising that the power is le exercised only when the extreme urgency or other peruling circumstaners of the case appear to the Court to reynire,”
It is le retr
able that the poi the Court to an urd compensation (summarily) in the case of A ship arrested under such circumstances is limited to $1,000, and it is further provided such an award is to bar the ordinary legal remedy for damngea,
The words "extreme argency or other peculiar circuctstances" are disjunctive, and whereas it is easy to construe the first alternative it is more difficult to construe the second. I agree with Mr. Pollock's contention that urgency relates
to time, and I think it can only avail the plaintiff's contention in so far as it may be urgent to secure his only alleged security in respect of a possible future judgment
Well then is the plaintiffs' contention well founded? i am alearly of opinion. firstly, that the magnitudy of the claim should not govern the Court in exercising its discretion under the section. It is nol a peculiar circumstance nor do I think it can be regarded as a link in a chain of peculiar circumstances.
Again, there is no peculiar circumstance the defendant who is resident in Shanghai entering into contracta which were to be performed in Hongkong; or that he has no other personal proports in Hongkong upon which a plaintiff can reap the fruit of
a judgment against him. Further I am not, in my opinion,
I have already given a decision that the language of Section 576 is sufficient. ly general to apply to an action in per- ANUA I is, however, clear that "ex- treme urgency OT
in other special vir- oumstances can only justify the making of the order of arrest under that section
די
and the question which I have now to
deride is whether the facts as alleged in the affidavits justified the ex parte order. The action is brought for damages for
balause of the said rum of $5.000 after bresel of a charter party in respect of justified, in considering in relation to the
deducting certain monies which the de fendants claimed to be due to them by the plaintiffs. The plaintiff, therefore claimed the repayment of the sum of $693.70. being balance due to them, also $2,200. being difference between the con- tract price and the value of similar socks of merchantable quality ap 13 cents per dozen.
Mr. Potter went on to say that thu defendants admitted the reotracts re- ferred to In regard to the sum of $6,000 which the plaintiffs paid on account, the defendants admitted that the amount was on account of parchase money, but
Wats
another vessel, and the grounds relied on by the plaintiff in support of ex trem urgency or other peculiar circum.
be summarised as stances"
fol lows:
(1.) -- What the ships are the only pro- perty in the Colony of a Chinese de-
may
fendant resident in China who has
entered into engagements here under charter parties ou which he denies liability.
(2.). That the ships were leaving the Colony immediately, and that, unlike ships running on a regalar route, there will be no likelihood of their return- ing, and that there would be no pro perty within the jurisdiction to satisfy muy judgment which may be given against the defendant in the action. (3.) The magnitude of the ciuim. (4) Pinintiffs are British and defen. dunt is Chinese. The contract of char- Ler was arranged in Hongkong. The ship under charter was to be operate from herr: the delivery of the vowel and re-delivery at the termination of charter were to be in Hongkong. That breach took place here and that the charter part provides it shall be gov-! erned by Brish law.
als by way of security for the plaintiff performing the contracts, and for damages in the event of their breach, This interjected Mr. Potter, was absurd. He strenuously denied that the $5,000 de- posited was on may account except that ol purchase money. The defendants fur ther stated that they were prepared, at. all material times, to make delivery in accordance with the contacks. On the date mentioned. the plaintiffs requested delivery of the goods, which the defend ants duly tendered with a request for payment, and upon payment being wrong
(5.) The nature of the case is such fully refused by the plaintiffs the de-
that if the ships or the security are fondants took the goods back to the factory. The goods were of a proper released the sole security in so far as merchantable quality, and were then so this Court is concerned will be removed, approved by the plaintiffs. The defond ants denied that the plaintiffs' statement
and the only alternative will be an in regard to the return of the $4,300.26, action in the Mixed Court in Shanghai. correctly represented the transaction re ferred to.
After the plaintiffs' breach of
Certain previous authorities on which the contracte, the defendants gave notice the Court has acted on the section in to the plaintiffs to
delivery to take
of the
the question were also relied on to which goods, stating that they would otherwise sell the goods and hold the plaintiffs shall refer later. liable for any long occasioned by
their default. The
not having paistor plaintiffs
any of them constitute extreme the
money or taken delivery of the goods, the defendants were obliged to sell the urgency or other poculiar circumstances
to
EXCHANGE OF COM-
PLIMENTS.
"A THOROUGHLY BAD CHARACTER."
At the Magistracy, yesterday, Chinese was charged with using threats 19 a woman and demanding 830 from her.
Mr. T. H. King, A.6.P., prosecuted. The defendant, is alleged to have ased threats to the woman prior to the hearing of a case in Court some time ago. Whe- iter ur no defendant intended to pre vent the woman from giving evidence is not clear, but the facts are that a man and a woman were charged, over a month go, before Mr. Lindsell, with being in possession of dangerous weapons, namely, two choppers. The woman Ула dis charged, but the man was sentenced to three months' hard labour. A re-bearing was subsequently applied for, and the man was discharged. The defondant in the present case is alleged to have been an interested party in the previous case.
son.
After the complainant had given evid ence, the following colloquy took place.
Defendant You are a deceitful per- You have brothers living in Siam and tried to kidnap my wife and take her there for the purpose of making her a prostitute? Complainant: Nothing of the sart.
Defendant: You were arrested last year for keeping a house of ill-fame ? t'omplainant: I was arrested because of the silly doings of a little servant girl employed by ine. I wae subsequently re- tesaed.
This, according to Police evidence, was CUT reel.
Defondsat: I was away in the coun try on a holiday, and, on my return, my wife informed me that you had attempted no your wife; she to kidnap ber-Complainant: She is was your sweetheart. 1 did not want to kidnap her. house and scolded you about the matter. You remember that I came to your My wife and you both made oaths, smash. ing several bowls 71 nover did any such thing: I never intended to sell your wife.
Mr King: None of the partier has a goud reputation; they all belong to a bad gang who are dangerous to the peace) of the Colony.
Defendant I was staying with her. She
threw
my wife smashed her goods. I deny using goods into the street. My threats of any sort towards her.
to-
construction of the section, in, the ex treme urgency or other peculiar circum- stage on which the application was based and the order of arrest made, whe ther the non-detention of the ships and the probability of their non-return, they
Mr. Lindsell: I am satisfied that you being tramp ships, would leave the plain-shall require you to find sureties in 200 are a thoroughly bad character, and I
to keep the pesce und behave "well Court in China. Can it be said that it fault, six is a peculiar circumstance for a defenbard labour.
infprisonment without dant resident in one country into contracts in another where he pas sibly has no assets? Is it not incumbent ou the plaintiff before entering into such contracts to protect hitself against such contingencies?
tiff with his only remedy in the Mixed cot, for 18 months; in de-i
to enter
71
of
I ani, however, asked to apply a very drastic provision to a chain of circum stances which I have set out; none which need have been unforeseen, or are
think in their nature peculiar." That the Power vested in the Court ander the section is intended to be exer- cised will caution clear from the fact that the Court may act of its
own motion but only if extreme urgency of other pecu iar diccumstances require. need only add that if the scope of the Ordinance is intended to confer powers based on the geographical position of the Colony it is for the legislature to say The duty of the Court is to place. a reasonable construction on the law as
BO.
it is.
I have not lost sight of the fact that the entire Chapter of the Code relating to attachment contains powers of drastic and perhaps exceptional charac ter, but the provisions in the previous
ctions
are specific and without am. and there is nothing to justify a con biguity. The section in question is not, struction of ambiguity adversely to a defendant, and the more so at the outset of an action when the morits of the parties are not before the Court. onus is on the plaintiff to bring them selves within the section.
The
The question of the form cannot in my opinion properly arise on the construc-
Mr. King: Does it mean keep the peace as regards complainant, or general- some other way. Lyt-He might try to get at complainant Chinese methods are very peculiar.
Mr. Lindsell: Keep the peace gene rally.
TO THE CHILDREN OF HONGKONG.
4 LETTER FROM PINKIE.
Miss Pinkie presents hor compliments to all the children of Hongkong and begs to state that she isn't going to write this in the third person because I can't.
shall be go pleased if you will come to But just wanted to tell you that I my Fairy Party in the Wood.
The Fairy Queen saya it's my very oa Party and I can ask anybody I like; so, of course, I ask you.
books are coming too, so you will moet Some of the nice People out of story
been told that these People all lived lots of old friends. We have always
very happily ever after," but as ané anywhere, I was getting a little anxious. never heard of them or met them about So I know you will be glad to see that they are all right, and what
charming Princess Cinderella makes, and what an attached couple
and the Beast Beauty are (though you remember that nobody really liked the marriage), and what a comfortable
turned out.
The question is whether theso grounds, tion of the section. If uxtreme urgencying Beautying woman The Sleep-
within the morning of the section.
There has not, in so far as I am aware, boen any considered decision
of this Court as to the construction to be placed on three words.
goods at somewhat less than the contract sum of their damages in this price. The sum connection was 8093.75 and defendants deducted this amount from the deposit of $5,000. The plaintiffs, accepted the Bum of $4,300.25.
Mr. Potter to plaintifs informed the February 7th the
Mr. Sharp suggested that the section defendants that they were prepared to was framed to meet the geographical posi take
delivery of the socks, on the follow tion of Hongkong, an isolated British
after inspecting them.
Whon plaintiffs' joki, went to the defendant port bordering on China, and to meet
ing
de
said that on
rm for the inspection, they found that the case of shipowners incurring large
n considerable number of the 150 cases, liabilities hore and removing their ships,
"
meant for the plaintiff, had boon put on
And oh, by-the-bye, the Fairy Queen
or peculiar eircumstances justify the said particularly that, in case you do arrest it should be irrespective of the question of form. To seize defendant's not quite understand the explanation vessels so as to provide an asset on which which she dances to Holly, I am to tell the execution of this Court can issue is you that, in an ordinary way of speak-. I think beyond the contemplation of the ing, it is something like this: Bection.
On the general question of venue I ex- press no opinion at this stage.
As to the to onees which were relied on by plaintiff as procedcat the one was a case of a junk (Action 20/1928) and I made the ez parte order.
The junk and for damages for wrongful de netion was for the delivery up of the tention, and it was alleged in the aft from the anchorage at Honam, and davits (a) that the junk had been stolon brought to Yaumati typhoon shelter and
and leaving a Hongkong merchant with that the defendant may take it ont
no romedy except in a Chinese Court.
The object of the section is necessarily conjecture, but if the construction sought to to put upon it is correct I must observe that it is most unfortunate that the legislature did not express its intention in language which may at any rate give some indication of its moaning,
A lighter, to be conveyed to the Kow. loon wharf. The Jokin examined some of the remaining cases and found no fault with them. They could not naming the cases on the lighter at that time, but did so at the Kowloon wharf, when the lighter arrived. They found so many inferior ocks that they then refused to tako do livery. The fok communicated with both the plaintiff and the defendants, and the defendants' manager who came on the scene proposed to the plaintiffs' The powers conferred by the section forts to take delivery of the sucks that were good, but this tho fakis refused to are admittedly vary drastic. They give, do on their own responsibility. On according to plaintiffs' contention, the February 10th the plaintiff and a
right to atrost a ship, as in the present friend and Capt. Douglas, of Messrs.
Chinesa
}
Habyland and Fairyland
Lio so, neur, so near each other
By the stretching of a liand
Is the gulf between them spanned Baby Sister, Faory Brother, Meet and greet upon the strand,
Trickles down Time's golden sand, Baby hearts grow kuman wholly Close the Gates of Fairyland And the veil is falling slowly We have lost our sprig
of holly And we do not the Colony to dafoat the plaintiff's
understood claim The Court may think hay found there were peculiar circum
Ho, who still would loose the chain, stances nt
of Still, unbar the Gates any rate, it is not analogeus
Faory with the case before me,
Needs must stone and humbly deign- Back the tiny, path with pain
of
In the other caso (Action No. 7 of 1910) the ca parte order was made li effseted to the steamship, the subject of Gompertz J. The action was for repaira the arrest. And it was alleged that ble ship was leaving the Colony before pay for payment had been made, the defen ment for the repairs, and after domand danta having no assets within the jurisdiction other than the ship soil,
That onse again is not analogous with the case before me,
!
Tread the way that dode nok vary
́ ́Back through" Babyland ‹iblios
To the long-foot Paradiso
To the hand of Youth again.
Whether the promones of the Grown Society is question for you to estilo, upa would be any addition to Babyland
but Fairy Queen says that, if they are wanted, that's how they've got to go there. Whether er parté orders which ware
Tommy says you may tako li from hịt this the defendants refused to allow them the writ may only again, as in the pre-
to denido. They wore not challenged at
I don't know what that means, but ha Lo do.
distinguishable from the prosent cane. The hearing wag adjourned until sont cass, have funt inued.
Tho.. Band
The order for arrest is set aside and it...And I remain, Faithfully yours, to-day.
would not have boon saquired into, the the security reload,
PINKIE.
Goddard 'and 'Douglas went to tin de caso, passing in the course of its trade made in those cases wero justified · 1-nith a straight tip.
fondanta abop to inspect the goode, but] through the Colony in ari action on which not called upon time, but they says I'm to carkti; «lown-ed!I've corked.
TENNIS
RACKETS.
TENNIS
COURT
BALLS.
MARKERS.
LAWN
MOWERS,
ETD
EVERYTHING
FOR
TENNIS
CAN BE OBTAINED FROM
LANE CRAWFORD & CO.'S
SPORTS DEPARTMENT
SPECIAL TERMS TO CLUBS.
VICTORIA
TO-NIGHT!
10:
.L
CENTRE
GUIDES.
MARKING
TAPES.
TENNIS NETH
AND POSTS.
RACKET
COVERS,
ETC.
[18
THEATRE.
9.15 p.m.
TO-NIGHT!
FREDONY & VAUDEVILLE CO.
COMPLETE CHANGE OF PROGRAMME !
FREDONY
PRESENTS
The Cosmopolitań Symphony.
Impersonating the World's Greatest Composers.
MISS ASTA ERICKSEN, a soprano with a wonderful voice, MDLLE LEONA, in her dancing creations.
SELECTED PICTURE PROGRAMME CIRCUS
MARY
produced by Lucius Henderson.
Prices $1.50. $1.00 and 70 cents. Matinee-Thursday, March 13th, at 9.15 p.m.
IRIS
From the Play by Sir A. W. Pinero.
BOOKING AT ANDERSON'S.
SHING KEE CO.
BODA MERCHANTS, IMPORTERS AND EXPORTERS OF
Caustic Soda, Soda Ash, Muriate of Ammonia, Silicate of Soda, Refined Bicarbonate of Soda, Mineral Water. and Soda Crystal, Bleaching Powder, Sulphur Acid, Sulphate of Ammonia, etc., etc.
ALWAYS IN STOCK.
No. #, Das Vaux ROAD, War, HONGKONG.
Powell
"Um
TELEPHONE 346
Just arrived
NEW
MILLINERY
Ltd.
Semi-trimmed Straws
and
Panamas.
Mustin Blouses, etc.