A CHINESE COURT CASE.

in ' THE CHONG OHING TONO SOCIETY. DEPUTE OVER FUNDS. , A somewhat unusual case was investigated at the Supremo Court yesterday, when Ah Long and others, representing the trustees of a Greymouth Chinese .Society called the "Chong Ching Tong," an organisation whose main object is the raising of funds for the collection and exportation of deceased Chinamen, claimed from Ah Ohong the sum of £349, which it was alleged the latter had wrongfully paid over to the Dunedin Society, instead of to the •Greyniouth Society. Mr A. R. Guinness, of Greymouth, with him Mr Stringer, appeared for the plaintiffs, and Mr J. McGregor, of Dunedin, with him Mr M. Hannan, of Greymouth, appeared for tho defendant. Mr Guinness, in opening, said that in 1878 a society bad been formed in Dunedin called the Chong Ching Tong Society, which had for its object the rawing of fubscriptinns from the Chinese residents in New Zealand for the purpose of disinterring deceased Chinamen and sending tho remains to China. That Society had its head office in Dunedin, and it appointed two collectors to go to tho West Coast for tho purpose of raising eubscriptioos there. Tho objects of the Society were carried out in 1882, and there remained in hand something over £3000, whicli sum had been sent by the managers of the Society at Dunedin to China. The Chinese on tho West Coast who had subscribed to the fund were dissatisfied with that action, ami in 1888 or 1889, they held a largo meeting in Greymouth, and resolved to form a Wo*t Coast Society. The Society was formed, and tho trustees started to collect subscriptions. About two yean afterwards a similar Society was started at Dunedin, and delegates from the West Coast Society attended a meeting held at Dunedin, when it was agreed to enter into one 'joint contract for the disinterment of the bodies through New Zealand. After tiie cost of tho undertaking had been settled there regained a balance of £349 from what had been paid by the West Coast Society, and that balance had been paid by tho defendant, who was ono of the delegate.", to the Dunedin Society. Mr.(McGregor remarked that the defendant claimed that Iho Society was one with branches in different places, the head office being at Dunedin. Mr Guinncfs replied that tho Societies wcro separate and independent, and the Dunedin Society had no right to get hold of tho funds of the Greymouth Society. Evidence was then called. Chow Fong stated that about twentyfour years ago a society called the Chong Ching T6ng was formed in Dunedin. and two representatives went over to the Coast to collect subscriptions. The money was sent to Dunedin, and the bodies were raised and shipped. There was a balance left, of £3000, which was sent to China, where the head branch of tho society existed. About, seven years afterwards a meeting of Chinnmcn was called at Greymouth, and it was resolved to form a society for the West Coast. That society was quite independent of tho Dunedin Society. Joe Waw, boardini»-houso keeper at Greymouth, gave evidence relative to the purposes for which the money had been I subscribed on the Coast. He nlso affirmed that the West Coast, society was entirely indep?ndent of the Dunedin society, anil tho latter society had no right to the balance wrongfully sent them by tho defendant. Evidence was also given by Ah Long, storekeecer. Hawera, -en King, miner, Greymouth. You Bun, miner, Lyell Chow Sing, storekeeper, Christchurch, Ah Gin, Ah Chew, and Leo Far, and tho case for the plaintiff closed. Mr McGregor, in opening for the. defence, said that he would satisfy tho CoiiTt that the Society was one, and Greymouth and Wellington were simply branches, with local trustees appointed by the local subscribers. The meeting that had been held on the Coast was for the purpose of appointing local directors. Tho Society had existed as ono and the same from its first constitution twenty-five years, ago. There had been no breach in its continuity, for it was dormant between the completion of ono disinterment and the beginning of tho second. The roceipt forms used on the Coast came from the Dunedin office,' and Ah Chong throughout had actod as if he wero simply representing the Greymouth branch. .- Cum Poy Sew Hoy, of Dunedin, merchant, stated that he was the president of the Chong China; Tong Society l of New Zealand. The Society was first formed in 1885, and .his father, Sew, Hoy, was the .first president. There weiro over 1000 members in the Dunedin and Canterbury districts, over 1000 in the Westland dis-. trict, and between 300 and 400 in the Wellington district. ' The rules produced were those of the Society, and each district appointed its own Board of Trustees. The head office bold the funds until there was sufficient to pay fsr the of disinterment and shipping of the.bodies to China. If one district had not sufficient to pay for the cost of its own disinterI ments, tho difference was niaiio up by the other districts. Tho first disinterment took ■place in' 1885, and the second was commenced in 1899. The movement for the second disinterment was commenced in .Greymouth. At this stage the Court was adjourned till ten o'clock this morning.