The following is the Taotai's judgment in the appeal case recently heard on October the I7th and 20th by the Shanghai Taotai Yoi and Byron Brenan, Esq., C.M.G., H.B.M.'s Consul-General, regarding certain property of the Feng' family, concerning which proceedings were originally instituted in the Mixed Court in the suit Algar c. Cheng Chih-chi."
Judgment—In this ease, Ch'eng Chih-chi, otherwise known as Su'Té-piao, appeals against the judgment of the Mixed Court in a case regarding the purchase of certain property from Feng Huns-shou, which is registered as B.C. Lot 1399, and is situated in the Te Ch'ang Li, having an area of 4 mow, 3 fen, 9 li odd, This appeal was heard on the 24th avd 27th of the intercalary Sth month by myself the Taotai of Shanghai in conjunction with Mr. Byron Brenan, C.ML.G., H.B.M.'s Consul-General, and it was found that the property in question was dealt with as a bequest in the will of Feng Tst-fu, the grandfather of Feng Hung-shou.
To was registered in the name of Messrs. Dowdall, Hanson and MacNeill; and whereas Feng 'Ts¢-fu was estranged from his son Feng Shih-cliting (otherwise named Feng Kang-sheng) and' feared lest the property might be squandered away, he accordingly had a will drawn up by Messrs. Dowdull, Hanson and MacNeill unde: f 18th September, 1897 (Kuang Hsi 23.822) in English and Chinese, by which he devised that the estate should become the property of his grandson Hung-shou when he reached thirty years of age should moreover have certain powers, This will was signed, by Feng T+¢-fu with his own hand, and so nobody could make any private arrangement to transfer this property.
Howerer, Hung-shou, while still under thirty years of age, with the authority of his grandmother Feng Yang-shih and after repeated negotiations sold the property under deed of sale to Ch'eng Chil-chi, Ts. 41,000 being paid as purchase-money.
'Then Mr. Algar claimed to have' leased the same property, prior to the above transaction, and 0' litigation arose over the question of the purchase-money and the control of this property.
Feng Yang-shih had sold the estate to two patties, and so is plainly at fault; and as Hung-shou had not attained thirty years of age when the property was sold, the eonditions of his grandfather's will have been infringed, and whether Mr. slgar's transaction took place before or after Ch'eng Chin-chi's, and in spite of the fact that the latter had paid his purchase-money and holds his deed of sale, they neither of them can have any title to this property.
I therefore huid that the judgment of the lower Cour: in this ease be annulled, and that Mr. Alzar's bargain-money, together with Ch'eng Chili-chi's purchase-money shall be repaid to them by Feng Hung-shou; or that (if he cannot pay) these sums be considered as loans, interest upon which shall be paid out of the rents due to the debtor; and that both parties should arrive at an arrangement regarding this with the aid of an arbitrator, while the deed of sale should be returned to Feng Hung-shou, in order thst the terms of his gcaudfather's will may be strictly observed.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.