CO129-343 - Public Offices & Foreign Office - 1907 — Page 24

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a judgment, it provides a mode for enforcing just

claims on Chinese debtors whether there is a judgment

or not, who have property in Cina and who have run

away from Hongkong to avoid payment. No one knows

better than Fir P. Piggott that the judgments of

Foreign Tourts are not necessarily enforced without

enquiry y the Courts of another country, and, to

d'spose of his demand I need only draw attention to

a case very much in point, viz. that the British Courts

in China will not and cannot execute a decree of the

Fongkong Court until an action has been brought in one

of them to enforce that decree, and in such action the

defendant can raise certain defences. I agree therefore

with every word in paragraph (b) of Fr. Carnegie's

despatch.

The Thief Justicethinks that theold system of

requesing assistance through the executive will die out

if his system is aco, ted. I doubt it, for not only are

judgments not absolutely conclusive as I have already pointed out, but British subjects have Consular assist-

ance in any case. oreover, as he himself says, a

creditor is equally entitled to recover his debt where

the defendant resides as where the debt was contracted.

Chinese and foreigners might avail themselves of his

system, but it is just in such cases that care. is

required before caling on the British Consul to inter-

Judhment would probably be obtained ex parte,

and the Court would therefore not necessarily be seised

of the whole facts.

vene.

In this connection I must refer to two points on

which the Chief Justice asks that instructions should te

iven. viz. that the Consul should not enquire whether it is a bona fide case of absconding, and that he should receive the papers from a solicitor and not from the

Hongkong

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