Plea of Durees Upheld by Judge in U. S. Court Judgement has been given in the United States Court for China in a case of peculiar interest, turning upon a promissory note 15 years old. The action was brought by Leo Koenigsberger, for whom Mr.
K. Kentwell appeared, the defendant being Alfred Hanert, who represented by Mr. F. J.
Judge Lobingier's decision was The parties to this cause by stipulation have narrowed the issues to one question, viz., the enforcibility of a promissory note for $600 executed by plaintiff in defendant's favour and which plaintiff alleges was executed "under duress and fraud and without in this, the defendant in is possession certain shipping documents, property of the plaintiff, alleging that the plaintiff. owed defendant the sum of $1,000 Mex. some 15 years ago, evidenced by an I.0.U., and unless plaintiff agreed to sigh said promissory (note)
the defendant would withhold said shipping documents."
There is some conflict in the testimony as to the existence of this prior indebtedness bit none as to the fact that the signing of the note was required by defendant before he would surrender the documents. This is twice admifted by the defendant himself and in view of the law as we find it we consider it immaterial whether there was a. prior indebtedness or not. If so it was probably outlawed. And in any case defendant admits that he had lost the evidence of it.
But he held these documents, and the goods which they represented, under an arrangement en-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.