'The Court of Consuls, composed of 'Mr. ES, Cunningham, Presiding, Sir John Brenan, ind Mr. I. Ishii' (Japanese) specially convened and sat Friday in the U.S. Court for China to hear a petition presented by the International Savings Society, a French company registered at" Shanghai praying that the S.M.C. should be ordered to pay to the petitioners any money due by the Council to Merritt Ltd,, a British registered firm, now in "Liquidation. "Messrs. Andersen, Meyer & Ca, Ltd,, intervened, claim: ing that by reason of an assignment in their favour, given to them by Merritt, Ltd, of the Council's debt the latter firm, the LSS, were estopped from taking any action in regard to It, The SMC, who had ved with an order issues by the Court of Consuls, restraining them from dealing with' any money due from them to Merritt, Ltd., apfared before the Court by counsel, for the dismissal" of such restraining order, Mr, J, Barraud appeared for th 18S; Mr. R. Winter represented the SMC; Mr. 'M, B, Brown appeared for the liquidator, receiver, and manager of Merritt, Ltd; while Mr.
Franklin represented Messrs, Andersen, Meyer & Ca. Lid, The petition of the 18,5. set out that on December 10, 1934, they gained a judoment against eri Ltd, in HM. Supreme Court for $65,840 with costs, owed now, oF would shortly 0 large sum of money to Merrit, for. "various work effected." " Th petitioners asked the court to issue order" on the SACO,, that any money due, or to become due, should
ase, ald tothem and not to anybody 'The SMC. denied that they owed any "money to Mereith Lids at' all but admitted that there were "due fand payable, subject to. satisfactory completion of the work" in. the age regate £520 sterling, GSi160, and S8511,705, 'They offered to' pay into court Whatever sum are due, "when they became due, and. acknowledged the receipt of n'deposlt by Mons, Ld, of COSpI9. performance' of eonteaets, but "con. fended that they were in receipt of notice of assignment, dated duly: 0 tuslgning to Andersen, Meyer' & Cor his sum deposited. to have this action go back to the! [court where it belongs.
The President: "Counsel may be [interested to learn that, shortly after this case was fled, we felt we were being asked to exercise jurisdiction fon some question which it ig not part or the intention of the Land Regulations that we should do." The Court of Consuls have, therefore, passed a resolution and made a rule that, in future, no attachment or garfishment should be issued against the S.M. Council, secured. upon the [judgment of any'national court, unless it is with the consent of such court, which would indicate that the petitioner had exhausted all. the remedies which the court of the rational against which the sult was Drought, had to give it. In other words, until the court of the national certifies that the petitioner has availed himself of all the facilities the national court can give, It 1s not for the Court of Consuls to'take jurisdle~ tion over a case of that kind.
"We feel very much that there are quite few cases which come up on Judgments—some from one court, fand some from another—and, until we are satisfied that all the remedies have been exhausted through the national court, we are of opinion that it was not the desire or the inten-ton of the Land Regulations that we should take jurisdiction. In. future, before one of these cases are brought, wilt be necessary to get the aproyal at least of the court giving the judgment"
After some further argument by counsel for the various parties the reached. president gave the ruling of the court: "From all that has been said, we feel that there will be no parti: cular injustice suffered by anyone if the case is dismissed, and the ment cancelled, and we so order ac- U: cordingly. There will be an order that the court costs be pald, but Jorder in regard to any other costs.
'The last occasion on which the (Court of Consuls sat' to adjudicate upon on a claim against the SM.C., was in March 1091, the occasion {ing an action brought by Mr. Sidney Martin Edwards against the Council for damages for wrongful dismissal from his position as Secretary of the JCouneil. "After long and. patient hearing the plaintiffs case was dismissed, with costs,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.