Small Property Which Occasions Considerable Much Litigation in Mixed Court of a civil action Yang Yang took place on Monday before Mr. Whitamore and Magistrate Loh in the Mixed Court. This ease is a dispute concerning a small-piece of land situated between Jessfield Road and the Soochow Creek which the plaintiffs, Messrs. Atkinson & Dall: allege was originally a public jetty and for which defendant has proper title deed. Defendant re. ently built a house upo: land and the plaintiffs in the interest of the owner of a plot of land on the other aide of the road, registered in the Ttalian Consulate, claim that he had no right to do so as the particular land in question was she-ko land, Mr. Lewis, who appeared on behalf of the' plaintiffs, called upon Mr. Seatchard, land surveyor of the Public Works Department of the: Shanghai Municipal Council, who was questioned by the the customary procedu to land in Shanghai said that with regard to she-ko lund the owner of adjacent land had 'a certain right to this land and could not lose it unless he stated that he did not want it. He went on to say that all land transactions in Shanghai were carried out through the tipao, who was the proper authority and collected the taxes on land.
Mr. Rodger, who appeared on behalf of the defendant, said that the fille deed held by the defendant was issued by the Minister of Finance und had been duly chopped, Mr. Lewis—It was issued by the Finance Bureau of Kiangsu.
Mr. Rodger went on to say that according to Chinese law the Gov-"lornment had the right to sell all waste land. The land belonged to the Chinese Government. It was the place of the plaintiff to prove that he had a better title. The plot over which the case had arisen was 16-ft. by 39-ft, and nobody had claimed it until' the value of land rose in Shanghai, Further the land was not in the Municipal Settlement but was abutting on a_municip road. Until the new owner had claimed the land the other people had recognized their land as ending the boundary, The plainti called it a public jetty, but the Court knew that this was not a part of the Settlement but belonged to the Chinese Government.
There was also the humane side to the question. The old gentle man, the defendant, was 62 years age. The Iand had never been claimed and defendant had applied to the Land Office to sell it to him.
After they had done so, someone mad' come from the other side of the road and tried to she the land. Since receiving the the owners of the Italian Jot in money. In the eave of defendant it was all that he had. This was not a piece she-ko land and was not held by title dee ed by Govern.
izive this ease in favour plaintiffs, the Court must say that the Chinese Government had no right to sell land outside the Settlement. The deed bore the chop of the highest Government official, Me. Lewis suid that the former owner made no claim to she-ko hi cause this was Council's land. This piece of land was foreshore land and he submitted to the Court that it was an obvious accretion as was shown by the Council's plans. The Soochow Creek was rapidly: silting jong this bank, The land had not nly been used as a public road but had also been used as a landing faxge which the Council themselves had bunded up. The right of she-ko rested upon the adjoining, owner, As to defendant's. states ment of it being government Tandy 1 land in China originally belonged to the Emperor and was now the property of the Government. The defendant's action was a type of fraud practised in Shanghai in the only correct title deed and for every in land the tipao's chop essential. Counsel alleged that this was a fictitious document of title similar to others with which the Court had had to deal in the past. He made reference to previous eases pointing out that float: ing she-ko deeds had been obtained. In this case the local tipao had come to the court and had absolutely refused to put his chop to the title that it was a false Lewis also wished to a charge of contempt of court against the defendant. Injunetions aul_been granted when' only a bamboo fenes and a- small amount bbvick work had been started.
Defendant must have rushed the premises up. He asked the Court For fon behalf of his clients, They had been deprived of access to foreshore for a year and a half, and there was also the convenience which had been caused public by the blocking of a ublic landing stage, Not only had defendant obstructed the highway nut he had built into the creek.
Counsel also asked for legal costs on a very substantial basis, There had been nine hearings and he and his clients had been put to very considerable. trouble. He asked that defendant should pay Tis, 700
Jat least, Judgment was reserved,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.