Tegal practitioner employed with Messrs, Teesdale, Newman & Me-Donald, proved a' number of trans-Intions' and in eross-examination, said that he hardly could say when 4 Chinese would hold to show his title to land, because the praetivo varied so much. It was different in almost every place, In Shanghai a Chinese held a fan-tan, which simply. stated that the holder' was the legal, owner of a certain area of land, Te did not state how the Iand was acquired. It was issued from thr Gistriet yamen. When land passed from a Chinese to a foreigner the Chinese gave a perpetual lease. transaction between Chinese there was 2 Dill of sale, The plainti€ identified six leases signed by his ancestors and Boyd Ca,, which were given to him by hhis futher's cousin five years ago, together with some rent-books, These leases referred to Boyd's.
Producing a photograph, My, man askod:——"What this on which viand Mfr. Gol ing ig stand-
Witness-—It"is the grave of one of my very old ancestors in the compound of the mess, The Judge—He is standing by the grave, not on it, I hope?
Bir! Newman—No, Iam afraid he fs on it, He seems to have com mitted a breach of the lease by stepping violently" on the gra Witness "said he carried ancestral worship annually at the grave and was not interfered witn, He had received compensation fron Beyd & Ca, for the Junior Mess and with that" money "ho commenced Proceedings to recover the Senior Mess. He could not do anything before because he had not any money. Ve never had received any rent, nor any notification that the Teasos were cancelled. The Junior, Mess lea go was similar to the others. The Senior Mess land now wa occupied by a Japanese college.
Me knew the names of every! member of the family owning land jin Rulangsu. He never had heard of Huang Yen-ching. None of thy other Huangs disputed _witness's ownership of the Senior Mess. deeds to the land, did not know of any original -ti Witness. made a. reference "Crazy Boyd" and after endeavouring to get an explanation from the interpreter, the Judge said:—"I suppose it is much the same as when other foreigners call us mad Englishmen."
Mr. "Harris—I don't think Me, Boyd would regard it as anything but a compliment.
1e8s said he did not know until informed by Mr. Goldring in 1925 that the property had been sold to a third party, Cross-examined—His family for! generations had been employed by Boyd & Ca. It was settled ip grandfather's time that the head the branch now represented by his father's cousin should be head stevedore. A lot of his cousins owned land in Kulangsu, His father owed them a lot of money and witness therefore could not ask them to assist him financially to recover! what he considered his property.
Witness denied that anyone cise had any financial interest in his claim.
Re-examined—His consent to the lo of the Junior Mess was not asked and he was not notified of its lo. He only heard of its sale.
only-heard of the sale after the defendants refused to pay the rent.
Answering the Judge, witness said that, since the sale of the Junior Mess, he had signed a receipt for $5,200 from the defen-ants in settlement and another receipt for his ancestors' bones. After this he returned the lease and rent-book to the British Consulate.
Newman here read the do-of Huang Yue-tch, said that Huang Tien-* tif''s futher, inherited Senior Mess land' from his father. Just before Tien-shan died, in 1911, the defendants refused to pay th out he had been receiving and he started an action in the Britich Consulate at Amoy, but nothing was done, Before' he died he handed witness the leases and rert~ books and, in consequence of what ho then said, witness transferred them to the plaintiff when the latter attained his 21st year. Witness had, not seen any notices regarding the Senior Mess Ind posted at the yamen about or within 25 years ago. Ho did not know Huang Yen-there was not oven a distant. re of that name Witness had not deedl" for the proper! not have them when Land disputes} it was found that people were not the proper owners of Iand and then they "got AMI the buildings or, the land were put up by Boyd & Ca Woo Hsing-yun, formerly an_interpreter to the Kulangsu Municipal Council, said he remembered pi it's father, about 1910 or 1911, complaining to the Council that the] defendants had refused to pay rent.) Muy people who inherited land did! not have title deeds. In the case of a sale or perpetual lease to a foreigner, a bill of sale as made} out, witnessed by a middle man ant ivan to the buyer, who then took it to the Consulate. A deed of sale! was a white deed and after it had been chopped by the yamen it bered deed. They were entire.
Chinese doccments and had thing to do with Consulates. Tt was, Jeustomary when land changed bande the purchaser to receive all the deeds in previous transactions.
Mr, Warris—I shall be giving an' example of that, T have got sone going back to 1700. Where there fare no deeds, of course nothing asses over.
Tic Judge—Perhaps the witness, Tandcrstend will not come here has got the deeds in this case, Me. Harris—That is just what we all suspect.
Ling Ok-huai, a "sworn brother" fof Flaintif's father, and another former Municipal interpreter, gave a white deed, or bill of sale, was!
a Consulate, the Consol ted it one Consular title deed then chopped the! two documents where they joined janet it became.a red deed.
Looking at a bill of tale dated 1902, witness said_ thet one signatory died in 1886, two others ko never had heard of, and the fourth. alco had Before that date.
The hearing again was adjourned.
Thursday's Hearing Mr. Ling Ok-huai, formerly terpreter to the Kulangsu Municipal Council, recalled for:
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.