Shipping Company May Lose the Kin Lee Yuan Wharf as Result of Decision Granted in French jixed Court Nanking, Aug. 1.
Widespread indignation has been wroused in Chinese shipping and commercial circles by the decision ently rendered by the Mixed Court in the French Concession granting a petition of the Sociéts fes Missions Etrangéres to cancel the contract of lease for the Kia Bee Yuan Wharf held by Merchants Steam Navigation and to evict the latter from occu-
Political Section of the French Municipality, a translation of which follows; "The facts related in the press, on the subject of the difference which has arisen between the Chi Merchants and the Societe des Mi ins Etrangéres regarding the lease of the Kin Lee Yuan Wharf are not entirely correct, in the following de-
Ube article, it seems to stand out that the fault of the Chi Mer-of chants S. N. Ca, French Consul-General at Shanghai be immediately requested to prevent the execution of this judgment, in fulfillment of the assurances 1 peatedly given by the French Consular Authorities in the past.
The contract of lease, according'to the petition, was first signed in 1890, and, ripon the expiration of its term in 1916, was renewed for another twenty-five years. The decision of the Cocrt is based on the pretext that a delay in the payment of the rental has occurred.
The petition recalls that by n claiming the foreshore for a period of nine years, from the ith year to the 16th year (1881-1890) of the reign of Emperor Kuang Hsu, and incurring thereby an outlay of over $600,000. the China Merchants S. N. Ca, had acquired the title to the Jand anid a special certificate was fésued to it by the then Chinese 'Authorities. Following the Sino-Ftench War, the Chinese Authorities, under force majeure from the French, compelled the Company to surrender its proprietary rights ordered the cancellation of the ce' tifteate, The French diplomatic and lar Authorities gave, however, vances that the pr of the Company to, lease the wharf would in no circumstances be impaired or interfered with, In conclusion, the Company urges that in view of the repeated assurances of the French Consular Author be taken to prevent the execution of the judement.—Kuo Min, Terms of 1917 Agreement The last agreement to be signed is dated January 9, 1917, and by the terms of this the rental has it Merchants is only in respect of a delay of four days in the payment! of their rent. In reality, since tHe month of April, 1927, the payments made by the company have always been irregular. Numerous delays have been solicited by them, and granted by the Missions.
On October 1, 1929, the Company owed, including back' interest, Tis 18,355.08, Summoned on October 17 to'pay up this amount fully before} October 24, the Company only paid Tis, 6,000' by that date. Nevertheless the Missions Society was willing to authorize a further delay. until October 31. On October 31 the Company only paid Tis, 2,000, and the Society declared the contract cancelled in accordance with the conditions of th 2, This, affair, as in the case of all disputes between a French concern and a Chinese concern, _was taken before the Mixed Court of the French Concession. The judgment rendered on January 7, 1930, referred the case to arbitrators as provided for in Article 11 of the contract, and, the Company having made a1 appeal, the judgment was confirmed purely and simply on May Since that date the arbitrator of the China Merchants, Mr. Yuan, has. never met the arbitrator of the! Society. At the hearing on July 22, Mr. Yuan renounced the function of arbitrator, and no other has been appointed in his place. The arbitator of the Society presented his report on July 30.
Still, despite the evident bad faith of the China Merchants, and as a special favour, the Court has twice adjourned the affair. A forther delay was requested by the China Merchants on August 11,-and at the heaving of Tuesday next the Court! will render its decision regarding' this request. based on assessment value, this lat-China Merchants. Mai esta ter not. to exceel Tis, 360,000 or zo lower than Tis, 240,000, The ac-'An appeal to the people to tual value of the property is now support the China Merchants is made by the union of the believed to be much higher than Tls. 600,000, employees of the company in a manifesto, a version of which has According to article 10 of the been circulated by the Kuo Min agreement rent has to be paid News Agency, quarterly in advance, The officials of the company stated on August 14 on After recounting how under one occasion last year rent was paid duress from the French following four days late, on November 4, and the Sino-French war, the company was compelled to surrender its title this was the reason for the action to the land in dispute, and how in taken by the Mission Society. The disregard of the repeated assuranarticle continues to state that, in ces given by the French Consular the event of the demand for rent authori not being met after a formal de-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.