Claim on C,¥. R, by Insurance Ca, Begun Three Years Ago Still Unfinished In view of the recent arrival in [China of the delegates to the Commission for considering the abolition lof extraterritoriality a case now being heard in the Harbin Courts fs of particular interest, says the "Harbin Daily News." The case is tone in which a well-known Insurance Company is fighting an action against the Chinese Eastern, Railway for recovery of the value lof cargo covered against loss by fire under the terms of the Railway Company's waybill and which cargo was destroyed while under the Railway Company's care.
The, action was started, in the Chinese Court at Harbin November, 1922, and for more than three years it has dragged on through a most distressing veries of delays. Between November 1922 and December 1924 there were only' 18 hearings, while the Judge who was hearing the case was changed five times and at each change the! whole of the earlier evidence had to be recapitulated in the Court, After the third change of judge the authority of the Insurance Company's representatives to act was questioned by the Railway, and the objection being upheld by' the Court, fresh translations of the power of attorney, attested by special Consular certifientes, had be produced, although this question had been thoroughly investigated fat the first hearing.
Delays multiplied as the case went on and on several occasions the days fixed for hearings proved to be Court holidays, or postponements were made for other reasons. Hearings rarely exceeded one hour duration, with several weeks interval between each hearing.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.