The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1893-04-27
MAKING WILLS IN CHINA.
Property Must De Left In Accordan
with the Dictates of Natural Affection

Property Must BE Left In Accordance
with the Dictates of Natural Affection.
The Perak government gazette pub
fishes memorandum by Mr.. Waters,
British consul at Canton, from which
it appears that the Chinese statute
book does not take any notice of wills.
There is no law as to the formalities of
making a will or to the extent to which
man may deal with his property by
it. Nevertheless, the owners of prop
erty among the Chinese constantly re-
sort to this mode of distributing it.
The courts also take notice of all tesla
mentary dispositions in cases of dis
puted succession or division of property.
will may be either oral or written.
For the former man has only to state
in the presence of a witness how his
property is to be dealt with after his
death. A written will may have wit
nesses, but their presence is not neces-
sary. AS matter of fact the testator
generally writes out his will privately
and then intrusts it to his wife or hides
it away in some safe place. AS rule
the contents of the will are not known
to more than one or two until after the
testator's death In theory a man in
China may dispose of his property as he
pleases, but this is based on the as
sumption that he will not do anything
contrary to the dictates of reason and
natural affection. Thus a man may
will away his property from his sons,
but the court may set the will aside un-
less sufficient reason is shown. The
most common reason given is unflial
conduct But as to this the unsup-
ported statement of the father or even
of both parents is not proof II, how
ever, brother of the mother testfies
to the unfilial conduct of a son or sons,
the testator's action in disinheriting
them is sanctioned.
A man may also name in his will the
male relative who is to represent him
at the ancestral worship and other
great family affairs. This is a very inn
portant power, the representative gen.
orally gets a double share of the in
heritance and has very great influence
in family matters. If a man has no
sons he must appoint as his representa-
tive a son of brother, and, if there
are no nephews, then some more re-
mote descendant of the ancestor. II
there is no one of the family he may
elect a stranger, one with different
surname. If this person is properly
adopted into the family he shares the
property with the others, and he must
dispose of it according to the fathers or
testator's expressed commands.
Chinese wills do not know anything
of executors or administrators. II
there are several sons, each with GER
tain funds, or shares. or lands assigned
to him, copy OF the will is made for
each if desired But the original, which
is retained by the legal representative,
is often sufficient. He, with the assist
ance of senior relatives and the elders
of the district, carries out the provis-
ions of the will In the Interpretation
of a will and in the carrying out of the
arrangements. when there is any doubt
or difficulty, it is the universal custom
to consult with the elders of the place.
The final appeal, however, is to the
local authority. The mandarin, as a
rule, gives force to the desires of the
testator, and orders the will to be
obeyed, unless there is something in it's
provisions contrary to law or good
morals.-Chicapo Herald