His Lordship said:—On October 28 last the Kiangnan' Dock and Engineering Works issued a writ against the General Forge Products Ca., of China, a British Com-1 for (i) an injunction inthe defendants. from dealing with certain goods in their Possession, (2) return of the goods! or their value and damages. With the writ was issued, as is almost! usual in this Court, an interim in-Junction till the Return Day on an ifidaivit sworn by the legal Practitioner of the plaintiffs. On November 4, 1924, the defendants took out, under Rule 203, an interpleader summons asking for a stay of proceedings in the action pending the decision of a dispute between the plaintiffs and a My. Tkeda, a, Japanese subject, who was also threatening them with proceedings in respect of the same goods. The formalities prescribed by Rule 203 have been duly complied with and the claimant has appeared before me on the hearing of the summons. The matter involves questions of, considerable complexity and diffi culty, especially in an extraterritorial country. Now the plaintiffs fare a Department of the Chinese Governnient, and it- is common Knowledge that the matters which ave rise to these proceedings arose during'the recent war in and around Shanghai. Ie is alleged that General Ho Feng-ling forcibly seized the goods in question, (copper piping), and removed them from the plaintiffs, premises without the consent of the plaintiffs and against the the goods subsequently being ATgcovered upon the defendants pre mises.
General Ho Feng-ling time (at all events) Governor for Shanghi of the leaders around Shangh question were undoubtedly Government property (stores) and may have been of military value (I know not). The claimant's story is that, hho Bought these goods from the plaintiffs the Kiangan Dock for Tls. $6,000, and paid for them, tructing his agents Messrs. L. Taylor & Ca,, to take delivery of them and store them; that they took possession of them on or about October 1 last, and stored them with the defendants company about October 13, receiving two receipts for them: (these receipts have since been returned to the defendants at their request and are admittedly in the defendants possession now). 'The defendants have not given any evidence as to the' circumstances under which the: goods "came into their possession.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.