June 24, 1899.]
some bedding the women stamp used for stamp ing the Bank Manager's name on the notes, also about 50 of the notes hidden in the roof of the garret. He arrested the occupant. 118 notes ready for circulation and 200 in different stages of production were shown to the Court, as was also the machinery. Four of the notes are still in ciroulation. After examination of the pri-
the parse had been passed. was discharged for want of sufficent proof of complicity. The other two admitted their guilt and were each sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment.
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
ignorsut how any other law will dispose of it, and he argued that the intention of the owner of property who died iutestate will be best carried out if we apply the leg domicilii. This may be so, and it may be more consonant with justice that the lex domicilii should be ap- plied, but I think that for me to determine in such a soners by the Magistrate, the prisoner to whom domicilit applies would breast that the lez making and not in- terpreting the law. What has been the practice hers in Shanghai where land has been owned by British subjects for more than 5 years? For a long period it was treated as personalty, The Assessor highly complimented Detective and at first it is probable that this way of look Inspector Armstrong and Detective J; Gilfillaning at the land owned by British subjects here upon the excellent manner in which they had was correct; for most, if not all the land which effected the arrest, and requested Deputy Cap. was first leased was leased by merchants and tain Superinteudout Mackenzie to bring the formed part of the partnership property. So fact to the notice of Captain Pattisson.
long as it formed part of the partnership pro- Three Ningpo men and a Ningpo woman were party it was properly treated as personalty. charged, with others not in custody, with ooicing As years went on partners in the firms went same in circulation, thereby defranding the and land on which their business had been con- a number of 10 and 20-cent pieces and putting home but left some of their money in the houses public, also with being in possession of dies for dacted, and let to the continuing partners the the purpose of manufacturing the said coius. land and houses which belonged to them; but The discovery of these smashers" was made it did not occur to them or to anybody else at by Constable Lynch, who, while in the perform the time that this turned the land from ance of the special duty of tax collecting, called personalty, as may be conleaded that at No. 37, Broadway on the 14th inst., and had been before, to realty as it became after failing to obtain admission, forced the door open-wards. The law officers of the Crown have now and there found a quantity of coins on the floor determined that for probate duty purposes the and the dies for their production The woman land here is realty not personalty but dur. and one of the men were discharged for wanting the whole of this time sales, leases and of evidence against them, but the other two mortgages of land have taken place and have were each sentenced to five years' imprisonment. been carried out in accordance with the law of ---N. C. Daily News.
England as modified by the orders in. Council. If the law of the domicile of the owner is to govern in the case of succession to land here it must also govern the mode of transfer of land. Now British subjects in Shanghai come from all parts of the Empire some of them from Cau- ada some from Australia; some from Scotland some from Ireland and some from Her Ma- jesty's Indian Empire. Many of these do and all of them may own land in Shang. hai, According to Tootal's Trusts the British subject does not lose his domicile of origin by residing in China; the result of this is that in the transfer of land here in Shanghai, if we hold that the law of the domicile is to govern, we shall have to enquire on every occa sion what the method of land transfer in the country of the domicile of the owner is; so that no piece of land could be safely transferred from a British subject without first enquiring what that British subject's domicile was, and next what the law of transfer is in,-it may be the French provinces of Canada, it may be Scotland, Ireland, or some other part of Her Majesty's dominions. This does not seem to me to be reasonable, and whether it is reason-
SAD DROWNING ACCIDENT.
A sad drowning accident, resulting in the death of a young apprentice of the British sail- ing ship Semantha, occurred on 15th June outside Tungsha lightship. The vessel, out- ward bound, was in tow of the tug-boat Fuhle at the time. While taking in the accommoda- tion ladder one of the apprentices named Dekyckere fell overboard. The tug was im- mediately stopped, a tow line cast off and rounded to the rescue, while the people on
the Semantha threw two life-buoys from each quarter of the vessel. The unfortunate lad rose to surface between the two buoys, but five or six feet away from either, and though he tried hard to reach one or the other, he failed and sank finally before the tug could reach him: The Fuhle circled round the spot, where the lad disappeared for about half an hour, but he never rose again and the body has not
been recovered.
We understand that the lad was a very well connected young Belgian his father being the head dockmaster at Autwerp. He was a great favourite with the Captian and all on board. His family has been pursued by a remarkable fatality,
The deceased was one of four brothers all of whom were drowned while serving their appren- ticeship to the sea-China Gazette.
THE LAW G VERNING DEVOLU. TION OF LAND, AT SHANGHAI,
In the Supreme Court at Shanghai, on the 8th May, the Chief Justice, Sir Nicholas J. Hannen, gave an interesting judgment in a case in which the question raised was whether the devolution of a certain piece of land at Shang- hai belonging to the estate of an intestate who was domiciled in Scotland should he governed by Scotch or English law.
Having shown that the law of China could not apply his Lordship went on to say :-But al though I hold that the Chinese law does not apply in such a case as the
yet as the subject matter is undoubtedly immovable the lex loci according to the common law of Eng- must be app ied to it, we have therefore to ascertain what the lex loci is Mr. Wilkinson on behalf of the defendant, Thomas Graham Watson, has contended that the law of China being put aside the law of the domicile of the owner should be the law to govern in this case. He alleged many resse
ressons which have pressed me very much for applying the lex domicilii, He pointed out that man probably knows how the law of his domicile will dispose of his im- movable property if he does not direct by will how it shall be distributed, but he may be quite
able or not it is certain that it has not been the practice here. I cannot be quite sure, but I think I am right in saying that in no case has the law of the domicile of the owner of land been considered when dealing with it.
But suppose it is held that the Chinese law applies. There is no such thing as a law re- gulating the devolution or dealing with land throughout China. The land is subject to the local customs and the custom of the family owning it. If we were to ask any Chinese magistrate what was the law relating to such land as that in question in this case, he would want to know what the custom was with regard to it, and it would never occar to him to disregard what had been the custom in dealing with it ever since this kind of tenure had come into existence. I think therefore that whatever way we look at it we come back to the same result, namely, that for my present pur- pose the lex loci in Shanghai is, in fact, that law which has been followed ever since land here has been owned by British subjects, i.e., the law of England. I therefore hold that the property in question in the present case is of the nature of immobilia, that it is subject to the lex loci, that the lex loci is the law of England applicable to immovables in England as modi. fled (if it has been modified) by Orders in Council
The form of administration is reserved; costs of the parties to come out of the estate.
Mr. Wilkinson said that he understood his Lordship to say that there was no instance of other than English law having bean applied in that Consulate in the distribution of a British
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subject's property. Some time ago, to his owa knowledge, Scotch law was applied to some pro- porty over ut Pootung, and was agreed to by all the parties.
His Lordship replied that there was do of any such thing in the Consulate, the parties might agree to treat the cording to the law of Otabit), but there be no record of that having been done Consular records. At an rate his and researoles had revealed nothing of th kind.
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TIENTSIN.
statement seems
[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT ]temente
Tientsin, 5th June 2 expected promotion of Chang Yil from the
The news of the week is the sudden and second chair in the Railway directorate to a ser
foreign Legations in Peking. It is generally, in the Tsungli Yamen. The state to be authentic, having reached as vi understood that the honour is by no mean welcome to the recipient, whose forte hitherto has been Chinese finance and not foreign diplo macy. Speculators here do not hesitate to credit the change to the powerful initiative of *** Mr. Bax-Ironside, our Chargé d'Affaires ir Peking, but on what grounds I do not know It is at least a curious coincidence that Chang'a vacation of the Railway Office follows so swiftly on the philippics of the Times against him. It tion lies in the fact that His Excellency har is just possible, however, that the real explane- discovered that the Railway is not the happy hunting ground he imagined for financial game. *** Thanks to the Cerberus-like influence of the In Hongkong and Shanghai Bank and Chang's numerous enemies and rivals, its accounts are
·
carefully watched, and then, too, under the ** powers now held by the Engineer-in-chief, kage of fund, either in construction or mainten ance, is very difficult.
The nomination of a man like Chang's, humble..."ă antecedents and lack of scholarship, to the Tsung *** li yamen is notable, A few years ago he was indiy Seventh Prince, Considering how scholars us-***** a position all but menial in the household of the ally despise the illiterate in China, I fear be will not have a happy time in his new office. Chang bas always been written down as anti-ri British, but no real evidence has ever been adiera duced on the point. After all that has been written against him in the English press, I fear
his influence, however, small will not be on thể kịp side of the angels in the yamen, died anecd Heyking has been the other event of the *** The departure of Baron and Baroness Von ***
week.
Our German neighbours spontaneously resolved to show their sense of their Minister services by a complimentary banquet, and did a Hall was taken and finely festooned with flowers 80 in a thoroughly handsome manner. Gordon 4 and embroidery. Covers were laid for eighty- five, inclading fourteen ladies; and after the more formal proceedings of speech-making and ve the banquet, a pleasant social evening was spent in dancing. Herr Schroeter, of Messrais Telge, presided, and eloquently expressed the sentiments of all present. He warmly eulogized the consummate ability and strength displayed in Peking by their guest during the greatestun crisis in modern Chinese history, and especially referred to their guest's action re Kisochau, lie said that in Von Heyking's term of office the ** Fatherland's position and prestige in the Farsle
East had risen indefinitely a dio un ju Mane.
The Baron made a modest reply, be entirely omitted all reference to Kisochau (probably) exclusively the policy of the Emperor William and dwelt on the success of his en orte din tas securing the Chinkiang Railways He wasɔ* grateful not only for this splendid teet of the sentiments of the German commu Tientsin, but for the staunch support and pathy extended to him from ke up and down the Littoral daring his office. If he had been able to be them it was only in the bare e and in the reaction of gratitude
The proceedings lasted till ).3 day the distinguished visitor the German marino guard wilthe winter, were seen off by community. They emb Kaiserin Augusta for Shanghai.
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