This was an action instituted on behalf of the creditors of the estate of the late firm of rd, Schaurveker and Ca., of Shanghai, against Yang Tai-kee, a Chinese banker, to recover the sum of Tls. 35,000.
The case had provioualy been before the Court in a different form, and was referred to the now-sitting Magistrates for final settlement. The claim was based on Chinese promissory note couched in terms to the following effect Pay to order the sum of Tls. 35,000; 30th day, 11th moon, of the Ist year of Tung-chih, and stamped with a chop said to be that used by the defendant, The note was represented to have been given by defendant as an acknowledgment of indebtedness to the amount of Tls. 35,000, for arms and ammunition supplied in 1963 by Messrs, Fajard, Schauryoker and Company, to the Imperial Army, defendant being the authorised Com: missioner who obtained the st the army. In 1866 the amounting to about arrangement of their offal the statement of assets nothing was said about the bill which was the basis of the present action, Mr. E, Fajard was the—representative of the frm in Shanghai, and being a native of Strasburg, in Al had the option, under the treaty made after the Francu-German war, of becoming ther " Ge-man or French' subject. At the end of 1873, while the affairs of the fiom were till' i French Consul, Me. of German nationality; cons settlement of the affairs of his transferred from the French to the German Consulate. It was only a few months ago th: the bill for the Ts. 35,000 first came into public notice, and proceeilings under it wereinatituted against Yang Taickoe in the Mixed Court, and thee ase was two or three times before Eh the Eh eve magistrate, and Mr. Mollendorf, the Garn Assessor. Daring there proceed ings Scbaurveker and Ca, were still indebted ts it transpired that the firm of Fajard,
French creditors in a greater amount than the Tls. 35,000 sought to be recovered from Yang Tai-kee, and as these debts were incurred. anterior to Mr. Fajard becoming a Ger subject, the bill was handed over by the German-Consul to the French Consul for it to be realised in the interest of the French creditors, The validity of the bill had to be tested in the Mixed Court, and the case came on for hearing. today. Mr. J. de Bielke sat in the interest of the French creditors, Mr. Mollendorf in the interests of Mr. Fajard, as s German subject, while Chen, the Chi of the Court, was allowed i, the magistrate of the in the French Concession.
It was said that the defendant, Yang Tai-kee, was now dead, and he was represented by his sou and two partners in business. Mr. Millet, asthe agent of the late firm of Messrs. Holtz and Deveze, who still have a claim of something like Tls. 29,000 againat the estate of Messrs. Fajard, Schaurveker and Ca., was present on. behalf of the creditors. Mr. Fajard, it was said, had been told the case was to be heard to-day, but he was not in attendance. The proceedings were conducted in French and Chinese.
On behalf of the defendant it was urged that the chop on the bill was not the one used by him; his was an oblong chop, and the one on the bill was a square one,' It was also pointed out that the bill was dated on a day that did not exist in the Chinese calendar. Tt was dated the 30th day of the 11th moon of the Ist year of Tung-chih, whereas in reality there were only 29 days in that pa cular month; and Yang Tai-kee, it was contended, would never make a mistake of that kind on such an important document. It was also explained that the 30th day of the 11th moon could not have been mistaken for the Ist day of the 12th moon, as the Ist day of each moon in war times was set apart for religious ceremonies. Defendant's books wore also tame produced and examined, and they con.
no entry to correspond with the Bill; and it "was also explained that of a transaction involving the expenditure 'Tls. 35,000 for arms and ammunition th would be some record of it at the Taotai' yamen; and if the hill was a true one they thought it would have been presented for payment. long before it was Mr. Mrttor explained that at the time at the failure of Messrs. Fajard, Schaurveker and Ca., no mention was masse of the bill, and interests of his principals and the rs generally, he thought it only right that its value should be determined by the Court, and especially so as Mr. Fajard wan expected to lave shortly for home, and m tell his creditors there that he had left a bill in Shanghai for Tls. 35,000.
The Covur decided that the evidence was in favour of the defendant, and that there were no grounds on which the creditors could sustain the claim against him.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.