492
Mr. Slade said if the rice was up to sample the defendants were bound to pay; but if it was not, they were not. He suggested that the discussion should be postponed until the end of the case, when all the facts were ascertained.
Mr. Potter objected. This was rather an important point.
Mr. Slade-It is not an important point at all, unless it is of advantage to my friend.
Mr. Potter-Can your Lordship with respect hold that it is premature to give judgment when my claim is admitted ?
Mr. Slade The claim is not admitted. His Lordship What better position would you be in if you got judgment now?
Mr. Potter-I claim it because I am entitled to it.
His Lordship said he was not satisfied that he should give judgment on the claim at this stage of the proceedings.
Mr. Slade then opened. He said this was a claim for $4,274 made by the plaintiffs against Messrs. Loxley and Co. for rice shipped under several contracts to South Africa. There were no less than 18 shipments, and in respect of sixteen of these, the rice was not up to sample; in fact, it was not the rice the defendants had ordered. They ordered, both by,description and sample, No. 1 Siam rice, and in pretended performance of that contract the plaintiffs shipped rice which was bad No. 2 Siam rice. Counsel then outlined the course of dealings between the parties, and gave a short narrative of the events which happened in con- nection with the first contract, the other contracts being fulfilled on similar conditions.
The hearing was adjourned.
ALLEGED FORGERY OF A WILL.
BAIL REFUSED.
An unusual case was mentioned before Mr. E. R. Hallifax at the Magistracy* on the 1st inst. when a Chinese gentleman named Wong Yuk Shi was arraigned on charges of forging a will, uttering a forged will and making
a false declaration.
Mr. F. B. L. Bowley, Crown Solicitor, pro- secuted, and Mr. F. X. d'Almada e Castro (of Messrs. Almada and Smith) appeared for the
defendant.
Mr. Bowley said he understood the defendant was charged with forging a will, uttering a forged will, and making a false declaration,
His Worship That is so, but the charges want recasting, and that will be done later.
Mr. Bowley-On the two former charges the defendant is liable to an extremely heavy penalty. I understand that by means of this forged will he obtained a sum amounting to over $100,000.
Mr. Almada-That is not so.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
Mr. Almada-$100,000 is absurd and prohibi- tive. The estate is not worth that much.
His Worship (to Mr. Bowley)-Your $100,000 amounts to no bail at all. It is prohibitive.
Mr. Almada —I cannot ́find it. His Worship said, the 10th instant was the first available day he had.
Mr. Almada I must ask your Worship to take into consideration the question of bail My olient will have to make up his accounts.
His Worship-What is his interest in the Colony? What does he do P
Mr. Almada-Nothing. He is simply waiting to receive all the monies in the estate to which he is entitled.
His Worship-He has no business in the Colony ?
•
Mr. Almada No. He is a gentleman. His Worship-I think I must refuse bail. Mr. Almada-Refuse bail just because he has no business here. He has as much interest in the estate as the prosecutor,
[December 6, 1909.
As the time approached for considering the resolutions of the United States' delegates, and we were not aware of the form they would as- sume, we decided to submit certain proposals on behalf of our own commission. These were circulated in due course, and were before the full commission when the United States' resolu- tions were introduced. It became manifest that the majority of the delegations were not pre- pared to adopt the major portion of those resolutions, and at the suggestion of the senior French delegate an informal conference was held between the British and United States' delegates with a view to the preparation of such resolutions as would meet with the general approval of the commission as a whole.
This conference was held, and, I am glad to be able to add, with very satisfactory results. The commission ultimately adopted all the resolutions on which we were agreed, together with the two other resolutions which at the last moment were brought forward by Chins on the His Worship formally remanded the case subject of the closing of the opium diyans in until the 9th instant.
¡
THE OPIUM COMMISSION.
PUBLICATION OF CORRESPONDENCE,
Some correspondence national Opium Commissi has just been printed
to the Inter- Shanghai, 1909, amentary paper. We need only quot the following letter written to Sir Edward Gregaby Clementi Smith on his return to London
London, April 8, 1909. SIR,-I have the honour to submit some observations on the proceedings of the In- ternational Opium Commission Shanghai and its results.
The following countries sent delegations: The United States of America, Austria, China, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Persia, and Siam. The proceedings were carried on in the English language, with occasional interpreta- tion into French.
After the commission had settled the rules and orders under which the business was to be conducted, each delegation presented a report on the cultivation of poppy, the production of opium and its preparation for use, the extent to which it was used, and the control exercised by Governmeat over its manufacture and sale. These reports were read, generally with explan atory comments, by the chief of each delegation, and discussion thereon was then invited.
or
It is almost needless to say that the report which was awaited with the greatest interest was that which was presented by China. It was read by the second Chinese commissioner, He His Worship-I understand you object to and was of a disappointing character. bail, Mr. Bowley?
admitted, with the utmost frankness, that the statistics and statements regarding the extent to which poppy cultivation and the smoking of opium had been reduced were "guesswork
patchwork," but at the same time he was able to show with considerable satisfaction that in certain of the provinces of China steady progress had been made towards carrying out what he aptly described the gigantic task that the Chinese Government had taken in hand. The report was later on sympathetically criticised in a very able memorandum drawn up by Sir Alexander Hosie, and his criticisms remained to a great extent unanswered, and, indeed, were unanswerable.
Mr. Bowley-Yes. Mr. Almada-My friend's statement that the defendant obtained a sum of over $100,000 is not correct. There was a sum of $1 0,000 odd paid, but after deducting a large sum for soli- citors' costs, there was a balance left of about $80,000 for division. The estate was to be divided into four parts, and supposing the share of the defendant amounted to fourth part of $80,000-
His Worship-Whatever the size of the share, I don't think it has any effect on the
case.
Mr. Almada-It must have. Your Worship
must also take into consideration that the defendant is interested in large sums of money in Hongkong, and that the estate was not finally divided.
His Worship-Just now I know nothing of the details.
Mr. Almada-I am putting these facts before your Worship, and they will be proved.
His Worship-The charge is uttering a forged will, for which the maximum penalty is life. I cannot accept bail at this stage of the proceedings.
Mr. Bowley then stated that he would not be prepared to go on until Friday week.
Mr. Almada-The man will be remanded from Friday till Friday week, and the prosecution objects to bail entirely.
Mr. Bowley-I don't object to bail in the sum of $100,000.
So soon as all the reports (except one from Russia) had been received and discussed, the commission proceeded to consider the resolutions brought forward by the different delegations. In the first instance the United States' delegates alone had attended the commission with resolu- tions that had been already prepared. As you are aware, the British delegates were not furnished with any formal proposals to lay before the commission, and, so I could learn, their attitude was
the concessions and settlements in China, and the prohibition of the sale in the same places of anti-opium remedies containing opium or its derivatives.
The resolutions thus passed, after recognizing the sincerity of the Government of China in its endeavours to suppress the production and con- sumption of opium in China, dealt with the following subjects:-
(a.) The gradual suppression of opium smoking;
(b) The methods for preventing the abuse of the use of opium, which each country is invited to re-examine ;
(c.) The duty of adopting reasonable measures to prevent smuggling of opium;
(d.) The grave importance of controlling the manufacture, sale, and distribution of morphine; (e.) The advisability of investigating from a scientific point of view anti-opium remedies, and the properties and effects of opium and its products; and
(f) The application of the pharmacy laws to the subjects of each Government in the consular districts, concessions, and settlements in China.
I have the honour to transmit herewith the printed proceedings of the commission, with reports, minutes, &o.*
On behalf of the British commission I beg to request that our great appreciation of the valuable services rendered to us by Mr. W. D. Barnes, of the Straits Settlements service, and of Mr. C. Clementi, of the Hongkong service, may be specially brought under the notice. of the Secretary of State for the Colonies.-I have, &c.,
CECIL CHEMENTI SMITH, *Copies of the minutes, &c., have been placed in the Libraries in both Houses of Parliament.
LORD KITCHENER AND HIS STAFF
IN JAPAN.
The Emperor of Japan was pleased to confer high Orders on Field-Marshal Lord Kitchener and the members of his staff. The Field-Marshal received the First Class of the Rising Sun and Paulownial; Major-General Rawlinson, the Second Class of the Rising Sun; Lt Colonel Lambton, the Third Class of the Rising Sun; Major Lord Brooks, the Fourth Class of the Rising Sun; and Capt. Fitz-Gerald, the Fifth Class.
The Field-Marshal had a busy time in Tokyo with entertainments of all kinds. After the Garden Party at the British Embassy on the 12th inst., his Lordship dined with the Prime Minister, and on the following day he attended a reception given by the Minister of War at the Mitsui Club.. He lunched with the Emperor on the 15th and he attended a dinner à la Japonaise given by the British Society of Tokyo on the 14th. He left Tokyo on the 16th inst.
similar to that of all A line of cargo that interests a shipping the other representatives, with the excep-reporter, says a Singapore contemporary, is the United States. to see the bales and bales of old newspapers tion of those from I should add that at a somewhat late stage the that are sent out from Home to end their Chinese delegates brought forward certain glorious careers in the Chinese fish-shops, opium resolutions, some of which were not, however, dens, etc. If the writer had been familiar with pressed, one of them dealing with the agree. China he would know that Chinese fish shops ment between India and China being ruled by have no use for paper. Old newspapers are the commission as not within its scope.
used for packing sugar.
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