Soong, Minister, issued a Regulation in Hankow from "the People's Tribune," for reasons he states:—"In view of the necessity of solidating Government finance and preventing possible profiteering by unscrupulous merchants and bank. ers. resulting in the dissipating Government cash reserve and d turbances to the money marke The Regulations were, in effect, that all payments had to be made in the notes of three banks at Hankow— the Central Bank, Bank of China, and Bank of Conimunicatious. There were penalties for not accepting these notes. These notes come practically worthless in answer to a question 1 put to one of the defendants' Chinese witnesses, in the endeavour to ascertain their present value, he said if 1 offered him one of the notes he! would not take it.
The defence to this action is that the insurance company tendered the sum of Tle. 4,006.16.in the de-precited currency, namely, tie notes of the Bank' of China and Central Bank, Hankow, the banks! named in the Regulation, and the plaintiff would not accept them, and they say that these dept notes ure legal tender and they ha a Might to payin the legal tender of Hankow. They also argue that the premium was paid in depreciated currency (which the plaintiff denies) and therefore the plainti? must accept payment in this currency.
The defendants rely on the cases Manners v. Pearson (1898) 1. Eh. 581; British Bank v. Russian Imperial Bank, 38 T. L. R. 65 Chester-man's Trust (1923).2 Eh. 473; Anderson v. Equitable Insurance Ca, 134 T. LR. 967. Some of these eases refer to life policies, bhut none of them to fire policies.
Defined jon of a life policy "Life insurance may be defined as a contract by which the insurer agrees upon the death of the party whose life is insured to pay a given sum in consideration the payment by or on behalf of the assured during the continuance of the life of certain sums called pre-miurus. The contract differs from other contracts of insurance in thi important respect, that it is not a contract of indemnity." (Halsbury, Vol. 17 See. 1085).
On the other. hand, the definition! of a fire insurance' is:—"A contract of fire insurance isa contract
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.