Daily national Democrat., 1858-10-29
Chinese Case-Jas. p. Spcer VS.. The See
Yum Company.

Chinese Case-.Jas. p. spcer VS.. The See
Yup Company.
This case was tried in the Fourth District
Court, San Francisco, Tuesday The investi-
CATION revealed some interesting facts rela.
tive to Chinese customs 1t appears that in
1854 and 1866, the See Yup Company gave
five promissory notes to Man An Ton, for the
sum, in the aggregate, of about SS,10O. We
extract from report of the trial in the S.
F. Herald:
The money it is alleged was borrowed
from Zip Wing Kan, and one of the oblga-
tions read in the following words: This
Company has borrowed from Man On Tong
the sum of 5000, bearing thirty-six dollars
interest per month, payable on Demand
Ham Fung, 4th year, 7th month, and Sd day.
See Yup Companys note (Seal) See Yup
Company's SEAL The other notes are in
like terms The complaint alleges that the
said Man On Tong re presents none other than
Zip Wing Kan, and being the name, firms
name or place of business of said Zip Wing
Kan, and due to none other than him before
the transfer to plaintiff.
The answer contains general denial of all
the allegations of the complaint The de-
fendant alleges that the See Yup Company
was originally formed and created in the
year 1851 by persons coming to the State of
California from the district of San Oi, Yam
Ping, lloi Ping and Hook Shan, which are in
the Provinces Of Canton, in the Empire of
China that said persons associated them
selves together under the name of the See
Yup Company, which being interpreted
means -Four Districts, solely with the view
of erecting and maintaining an asylum or
hospital for such of them and of such of their
fellow countrymen as might hereafter arrive
in this State from said districts as might be.
come inlirm, sick, or unable from any cause
to earn living, as also for the purpose of
sending back to China such of their said
countrymen from said districts as might be.
come disabled or otherwise unable to sup
port themselves. That lin connection with
said asylum or hospital, and one of the objects
with which it was erected, was to use por-
ton of the same as place of religious wor-
ship and moral instruction for the members
of said Association that the sad Association
was formed for no other or different purpos-
es whatever than as above stated that said
Association has been supported by voluntary
contributions from the members thereof; that
it has engagedin no kind of business whatev
er other than that for which it formed, and
that it has at no time had occasion nor has it
ever borrowed money from any person that
under the rules and regulations of said Asso-
citation, adopted by it when organized, and
which rules and regulations have continued
and now continue in full force, the said de-
fendant could not transact or engage in any
business foreign to the purposes for which it
was organized, which fact defendant believes
and AYERS was well known to the plaintiff -
That the affairs and management of the said
Association have been conducted by Direct
ors chosen from among the members. and
that no person other than said Directors had
any power to represent the defendant. That
said Directors had not nor had either of them
any authority or right to borrow money for
or on behalf of the defendant, their power
being limited and confined by the rules and
regulations of the Company to taking care of
the sick, disabled, and infrm and to transact
such other matters as were Immediately con-
nected with the objects of the Association
That occasionally the defendant has loaned
small sums of money to members of the Com
pany who were without means, and who
were about to leave the hospital after being
restored to health to enable them to reach
the mining districts, or to commence some
kind Of business, that such loans would be
made 10y way of charity, hut upon the prom
Use of the persons TO whom they were made
to repay such loans if ever they were able
so to do, and that no loans of a different
character have ever been made by the de-
fencaut.
On the trial the plaintiff proved that the
See Yup Company was an association of
Cinnamon numbering some fourteen thousand
persons; that its object was to extend relief
to members who became sick diabled or des-.
titute, who are required to pay $50 as an in
itiation fee, and afterwards they had nothing
more to do with the association unless an as
sessment was made, or they required assist
ance. The notes in eOntrov ersy~were intro
duced and submitted for examination to
Charles Cavalho Chinese Interpreter, who
was witness for the plautiH lie could not
say whether the seal on the notes was the
seal OF the Company or not, although the
characters on it read "See Yup Company"
The plaintiff called another witness, but he
was unable to identify the seal. 1t appeared
that the notes had been transferred to plain
tiff by Zip Wing KAN a few days before the
action was commenced Plaintiff, he said.
had paid him 1920 for them, and promised
to pay him $4,000 or $4,000 more The wit
ness said that the name "Man On Tong sig
niied "IIall of ten thousand tranquilties,"
and was usually adopted by apothecaries as
sign, as also 10y restaurant keepers 1t ap-
peared that Speer did not understand Chi
nese nor Zip Wing Kan a word of English
Counsel tor plaintiff offered Zip Wing Kan
as witness TO which the defendant objected
on the ground that the statute under the in
excluded Chinese testimony in any action
,sl a M, a
Judge lIager sustained the objection, and
intimated that it would be well to bring the
question again before the Supreme Court to
apply to cases similar to the one at bar where
the notes sued on were made to Chinaman,
ard the plaintiff derived title through hi'd.
The plaintiff here rested his case, upon
which the defendant moved for a nonsuit,
upon the ground that the seal to the notes
had not been shown to be the seal Of the
Company. Thatif it was the Companys seal,
that there was no evidence that it had been
affixed by an agent or member cf the Com
pany, nor had any authority to any person
to atiiX the seal been shown.
The Court granted the application, and a
nonsuit was accordingly entered
Messrs. E. ID. Sawyer and V. E. Howard
for plaintiff; Messrs Stanley and Hayes and
Sam. Platt for defendant.
NARROW EscAPE-Mr NJ H. Kelly, residing
in ODonnells Building, corner of Vallejo and
Dupont streets, had a narrow escape from
death yesterday morning from sutfocation, by
the escape of gas, either through the negli-
gence Of some persons residing in the build
ing, or from defect in the pipes. The gas
had been turned off from the building in the
morning. which was unknown to the oeeu