Defendants, in thei reply, raise the following iexues:—That plaintiffs have neither capacity to be a party nor procedural capacity to take proceedings and That plaintiffs are under obligation to defendants for certain debts, This being the case, defendants ask for the dismissa! of the case by judgment and state that, even if the plaintiffs have procedural capacity to take proceedings, fendants are entitled to make a claim as a set-off in respect thereof, Defendants further state:—
Plaintiffs, although alleged to be limited company, have not any evidence to show that they are a limited or a company of any other nature. Defendants have never had any connection with All Union Textile Syndicate. In a word, plaintiffs are not common com: mercial body corporate, but a State enterprise of U.S.S.R. Government, being the one and tame entity, namely the USSR. Government, In respect of the facts, according to law, the burden of proof rests with plaintiffs: however, in. order to facilitate the proceedings, defendanto will prove as follows:
The Exodus from China On December 14, 1927, on account of the fact that the Consulates and the State enterprises of the US.S.R. within the provinces under the rule of Nationalist Government,. were being used for Red propaganda an) as harbours for Communists, th Nationalist Government of China promulgated an order to the effect that all euch organizations or ente 8 be forced to suspend thole ness, and plaintiffs were one of them as' also admitted by them. Hence there is no doubt that the Plaintiffs are one of such organiza tions, word, according to legal principles as' well as to the exe pressed order, plaintiffs cannot have the capacity to be a party or the procedural capacity and their suit should. be vied, wherefore defondants pray to have plaintiffs' petition dismissed by judgment with costs, By way of off-set, defendants allege as follows:—The USSR, Government, the ame Juristic per son as plaintiffs, are indebted to defendant for two sums xs shown delow:—
1. In 1921, 912 bales of green tea' belonging' to defendants were unlawfully forfeited: the value of which is £0,700, together with six per cent. interest per annum up to December 31, 1927, amounting in all to £10,620.16.2.
2 In 1922, 400 bales of red ton belonging to defendants were unlawfully forfeited, the value of which is Tle, 16,000 together with duty, storage, insurance already paid and the 6 per cent, interest per annum up to December 31, 1927, amounting in all to Ths, 92,551.59.
The Capacity to Sue Dr. Wilhelm stated that plain" tiffs' agent in Shanghai had stored the piece goods with defendants prior to the time that they had to suspend business ae the result of fan order issued by the Nationalist Government in December last. Some 636 bales of piece goods remained in the custody of defendants, who had refused to deliver then under various excuses. Finally defendants, said Dr. Wilhelm, had stated that they had a claim against the Government of the U.S.S.R for Tls. 114,000, When sued by the liquidators, defendants said tis were themselves part of the 'U.SS.R. Government and they had no right to sue because they had capacity to sue on account of th, relations between the Chinese
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.