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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND | and the profit on cattle raised on uncultivated lands is only what all people have, and is not a very considerable item even in their own eyes. Now to land and agriculture. The average rent of land in the United Kingdom, France and Germany is £1 per acre, or, say, 3 per cent. on the value in those countries. In Shantung the average rent of land is 18s. 4d. per acre, or, say, 8 per cent. to 9 per cent, on the value. Money raised in England on land costs 4 per cent. to 5 per cent. per annum interest on loan. Money raised in Shantung on land costs about 22 per cent. interest on loan per snuum. Average land in England yields twenty-eight | bushels of wheat per acre. Average land in Shantung in the best years yield 134 bushels per inhabitant. In ordinary years only ten bushels per acre.
(To be continued.)
SUPREME COURT.
15th January.
IN ORIGINAL JURISDICTION.
BEFORE HIS HONOR W. MEIGH GOODMAN (Acting Chief Justice).
ADMITTED AS A BARRISTER.
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(January 20, 1900.
vegetables are represented in the corn area
Mr. Mounsey read the petition and answer. This is a long list of personal indispensables for
The petition said the plaintiff was a drom so poor a people: but there is more to add to
opinion dealer residing at No. 17, Irving Street, this, for although the Shantung man can almost
and the defendant was the dross opinion farmer dispense with coal, wood and bricks, and al-
residing at No 46, Queen's Road West. In or though he needs no pasture land for meat, milk
about the month of December, 1897, the defen- butter and cheese beyond that afforded by the
dant addressed a certain document in the nature mountain slopes and river beds, still the land
of a circular note or letter to certain of the dross has to provide for these and other general ex-
opium dealers and opium divan keepers in the penses such as beasts that aid in the cultivation
colony, inviting them to tender for the right to and do the haulage or carrying of the country
doal in dross opium at the various villages in both as to fodder and corn. The pigs which
the colony, and in consequence of such circular furnish the pork have to get their share, like
note or letter the plaintiff was induced to, and, wise there must be a provision for paying Im-
in fact, did, tender for the right to deal in dross perial taxes and local imposts, as well as for
opium in the villages of Tung Lung Chan and road, bridge and temple repairs, for marriages
Quarry Bay. At the time of making his said and burials (destructively large items), and if
tenders the plaintiff deposited with the defen- anything is done at it, for education. Rent I have
dant a sum of $20 in respect of such tenders for not mentioned, for when ground is rented it
each of the said villages. The amount of the generally takes all the profit. Seed corn has
plaintiff's tender in respect of Tung Lung Chan to be thought of, and forms a charge of from one to three per cent. To provide for all
was $136 per Chinese month and that for the village of Quarry Bay was $43 per Chinese these things I estimate that the produce of one-fifth of the cultivated ares (20 per cent.)
month. The plaintiff having submitted the highest tenders for the villages in question, such must go at the very least. The natives con- tend strongly that it takes more than 20
tenders were accepted by the defendant for a term of three years, and the plaintiff, after paying per cent. of their produce to exchange for
to the defendant the sum of $139, being the other necessaries but I resist this contention
balance due on the said tenders for rent for the on the ground that were such the case there would
first month of the sail term, commenced the not be enought left to support life in the
business of a dross opium dealer at Tang Lung province. Other stations spend about 37) to 43,
Chau and Quarry Bay. On or about the 15th per cent, on things outside their food, but I do not The Hon. H. E. Pollock said he begged leare day of October, 1899, the defendant, contrary think that the Shantung people do, for if they to apply under the provisions of section 5, to all usage and custom, and in violation of the did it would only leave them 87 bushels of Ordinance 3, of 1871, that Charles James rights of the plaintiff under such license, opened grain per inhabitant, on which they could not Naylor might be approved, admitted, and en. a dross opium shop at Tung Lung Chau and exist for 365 days, and then one-third of that rolled as a barrister in that honourable court. commenced to carry on the business of a drosa would have to be coarse red millet. We see His Lordship would see that this application opiuma dealer in opposition to the plaintiff, where then that after this moderate estimate the was supported by two affidarits, one by Mr. by the plaintiff suffered considerable loss and available area for breadstuffs proper has to be Naylor himself and the other by Mr. McTenna. damage in his business of a dross opium dealer. reduced 12 millions of large mow, leaving Those affidavits showed that Mr. Naylor was The plaintiff therefore prayed (1) that the Court a net area of somewhat under 51 millions of admitted to the honourable society of the Inner would order and decree that the plaintiff had an large mow, being one and one-fifth English Temple on the 12th Jan., 1888. He was called exclusive right for the term of three years from acres per inhabitant. The deduction of one to the bar shortly afterwards, and since then the 1st March, 1898,.to deal in dross opium fourth from the produce of the whole area as he had been abroad to various places. In the at the villages of Tung Lung Chau and an allowance for auproductive ground, and the year 1892 he was admitted to practice in Bom- Quarry Bay; (2) that the defendant should pay deduction of a still further one-fifth from the bay aud- he practised there until 1894, when he to the plaintiff the sum of $500 by way of remainder to provide for necessaries outside was admitted to practice in the Consular Court damages, (3) and that the defendant do pay to breadstuffs consumed, reduces the actual | at Bangkok, and he had continued to practice the defendant his costs of suit and such other amonut of grain of all sorts available for consum- there until recently. His Lordship would find and further relief as the nature of the case pation down to Il bushels per head per year. annexed to the affidavit by Mr. Naylor the might require. The answer stated that the That is less than two-thirds of what an English-usual certificate saying that he was called to defendant denied paragraph 1 of the peti man consumes in addition to all his meat and the Inner Temple, and there was an affhlavit by|tion except that the defendaut admitted that cheese, milk, butter and eggs, &c. It is about Mr. McTeana saying that he knew Mr. Naylor he was the dross opium farmer. The defendant two, thirds of what a Frenchman uses and hardly and that he knew he had been practicing as a denied that the plaintiff ever tendered or wAS half of what the Russian peasaut gets. Of this barrister-at-law in Bangkok
induced to tender for the right to deal in dross 11. bushels four-uinths must be coarse red
opium, or that any person was ever accepted for millet, of the retaining five-ninths half must be
any place, but admitted the rest of paragraph 2. beans. These Shantung people breath each
The defendant devied paragraphů 3, 4, 5, 6, day, just as we du 30 ozs, of oxygen, and they
and 7 of the petition. require 24 or 8 lbs. of bread to carbonise it as we do, but they only get lå to 2 lbs. Such is the case with the average nau; but what of those who in life's struggle get much less than this small share, which goes to make the abun. dance and wealth of the more fortunate? The foregoing figures show that the average cost of a Shantung man's bread is little over 20,4m smoll cash. If you add the cost of his clothing and other needs it comes to abont 26,00€ small cash, which in 1895 amounted to Taels 6f and 8 respectively. If the entire produce of the cultivated area were converted into cash, divided between landholders of ten large mow each their yearly family expenses in cash extimated. the total of these expenses found and sub- tracted from the value of the grain, mach the same result would be arrived at, only it would leave still less corn for them to eat and is, therefore, inadmissable a
- 88 8 method of estimating except as proving the line I have laid down to be fairly correct. Speaking in terms of grain, the inhabitants of England, France, Germany and Russia have approximately twenty bushels of corn to eat. The Shantung man has only 114 at the very outside. The people of England, France and Ger. many have two and one-sixth acres to cultivate. The Shantung man has only one and one-fifth to cultivate. Little I fear exists to modify all this. There are exports and imports, but the silk does not more than pay for the calico, nor the beancakes more than pay for the corn, and
I question whether the strawbraid, dates and vermicelli more than pay for the cloth, paper, ́opiam and sundries they use from the outside. Their coal only suffices for themselves, like- wise their iron. Their export of crockery and glass to other provinces cannot be very large
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His Lordship said the preliminary conditious seemed to have been complied withi, and there- fore he had pleasure in approving, admitting and allowing Mr. Naylor to be eurolled as a barrister of the Supreme Court of this Colony
Mr. Naylor-Thank you my Lo
KWONG WO SENG V. CHENG SHOON LEE
This was a claim for goods bought as com- mission agents, etc,
The Hon. H. E. Pollock (instructed by Messrs. Dennys and owley) said he appeared for the plaintiffs and be had obtained leave from the Court to proceed ex parte His Lordship would
see from the writ of summons that this was a claim by the plaintiffs against the defendant, who was formerly a partner in the Nam >boou Hong, carrying on business at Tamsui, For- mosa, for a sum of $11,470,94 and interest, that sum being the balance due and owing by the defendant to the plaintiffs for goods bought ou commission by the direction of the defendant when he was a partner in the Nam Shoon Houg.
Formal evidence having been given, His Lordship gave judgment for plaintiffs for the amount claimed, with interest at the rate of 8 per cent. from July 18th, 1397.
17th January.
IN SUMMARY JURISDICTION.
BEFORE HIS HONOUR A. G. WISE (PUISNE JUDGE),
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THE CHONG KI V. LEUNG WING KAI, This #as a claim for $500, as damages for
the infringement of the plaintiff's exclusive right to keep dross opium sho; s at Tung Lung Chau and Quarry Bay.
Mr. Mounsey (Messrs. Mounsey and Brutton) appeared for the plaintiff and Mr. Ewens for the defendant.
The plaintiff, baving given evidence, was cross-examined by Mr. Ewens: He said he had taken out several monthly licenses. The last license he took out was taken out after the writ in this snit was issued and had expired. He had not read the license.
Mr. Ewens read from the license a paragraph which stated that the license was for one month only and could be withdrawn at any time.
The plaintiff said he got his privilege by tender, and was to, pay for his license monthly. The license was only good for a month, when he had to renew it. He had not renewed the last one. He admitted that the opium farmer bad the right to issue as many licenses as he pleased in the city, bat in the villages the number was limited.
His Lordship said it appeared from the liceuse that the witness had only a license to sell dross opinm. The only man who could sell exclusively was the opium farmer.
Mr. Mounsey said the defendant invited ten- ders for permission to open shops in certain places. Several tenders were sent in to him and he accepted the highest. The defendant's idea was to let out these tenders for the different villages in order to save himself trouble for the whole of the three years which he derived from the Go. vernment. The defendant took the highest tender and said, “Very well, I will accept you for three years, but I can only grant you license for a month at a time. So long as you
go on paying me this monthly tender I shall regew your license.” The tender had not been renewed this month, but the term had only just expired.
His Lordship pointed out that there was nothing in the license to prevent the de fendant granting a license for another shop,
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