During the last year, as a result of the raising of the price of silver by the United States, foreign bankers in Shanghai have followed one another in exporting silver. They have refused to accept mortgage of real estate or to grant extension of time on exist ing mortgages, This has brought, about a sudden increase In the number Of properties offered for mortgage oF for sale and in consequence the value of land has sadly declined. As a greater part of the land in Shanghai owned by our countrymen, our loss is thus very great. The fail in the Value of land is originally due to the tightening of credit and the blow thus dealt to this most important form property tends in turn to oggra~ vote the market situation. Thus the fall in the value of land and. the Lightening of the money market have constituted a vicious circle. 'The way out of this difeulty must lo in the encouragement of the realty mortgage business, The relief thus to be afforded {0 realty owners is only a small matter, but the benefit to the whole credit' system will be very great, the realty mortgage business, the Government must first see that the loans advanced by mortgages should be easily recoverable on the expiry of the mortgage term. This in turn depends fon the. speediness and effectiveness with which the rights under mortgage may be exercised. Both the British Law of Equity and the majority of the laws of the American States recognize the right of the mortgagee to Obtain by agreement with the m gagor the power to sell the mortgaged property by auction upon default. of payment on maturity. "The Civil Codes of Germany and Switzerland provide that the mortgagee upon de fault of payment on. maturity. may apply for disposal of the mortgaged Property according to the Rules. of Execution, Though the British and American "laws differ with the German and Swiss codes in this respect, they agree in the point that the mortgagee does not have to bring an faction at Coury and to wait ntl Judgment has become final for the Fight to dispose of, the mortgaged property.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.