IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
Vol. VIII. No. 96. 
332 [December, 1902.] 
Rhodesia. — Tenders are invited, until the 28th February, 
for the Establishment and Working of an Electric 
Tramway System for the Municipality of Bulawayo. 
Particulars may be obtained from Messrs. Davis and Soper, 
54, St. Mary Axe, London, E.C. 
Victoria. — Tenders are invited until the 30th inst. for the 
Supply of Coir Yarn to the Penal Establishment, Pentridge 
(Victoria). Particulars may be obtained from the office of the 
secretary to the Tender Board, Treasury, Melbourne. 
INDIA, 
East India Railway.— Tenders are invited, until the 
10th inst., for the Supply and Delivery of Goods Engines 
and Tenders. Particulars (_£i. is.) may be obtained from 
C. W. Young, Nicholas-lane, London, E.C. 
FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 
Egypt. — Tenders are invited until the 5th inst. for the 
Supply of 204 metric tons of Coloured Cotton Waste. 
Particulars (2s.) may be obtained from Lieut.-Col. Western, 
R.E., C. M.G., Broadway-ehambers, Westminster, S.W. Ten- 
ders are also invited until the 15th inst. for the Supply of 
Ironmongery for doors and windows during the year 1903. 
Particulars (2s. ) may be obtained from the same office. 
The Khedivial Agricultural Society is prepared to receive 
offers for the Supply of Mineral Superphosphate during 
the months of December, January, February and March next. 
Each delivery is not to be less than 300 tons. The manure must 
be guaranteed to contain from 16 to 18 per cent, of phosphoric 
acid (soluble), and the price quoted must be f.o.b. Alexandria 
in single sacks. Offers should be addressed to Mr. G. P. Foaden, 
Khedivial Agricultural Society, Cairo, from whom further in- 
formation may be obtained. 
Boumania. — Tenders are invited until the 20th inst. for the 
Supply of Medicines and Drugs necessary for the Central 
Pharmacy during a period of two years. Particulars may be 
obtained from the Curatelle Saint Spiridon, Jassy, Roumania. 
Spain. — Tenders are invited until the 16th inst. for the 
Construction of the new Casa Consistorial in Corunna. 
Particulars may be obtained from the Direccion de Adminis- 
tracion, Madrid.' — Tenders are also invited until the 10th inst. 
for Building a shelter and outfitting Dock at and extending 
the Port of Alicante, Particulars may be obtained from the 
Office of the Ministry of Public Works, Madrid. — Tenders 
are also invited until the 10th inst. for carrying out the interior 
Improvement Works of the Port of Llanes, province of 
Oviedo. Particulars may be obtained from the Office of the 
Ministry of Public Works, Madrid. 
«» - 
COMMERCIAL LAW INTELLIGENCE. 
The Sale of Wheaten Meal. — At the Middlesex Sessions, 
before Sir R. D. M. Littler, K.C. , and other justices, Messrs. 
Hood and Moore (Limited), flour merchants, appealed 
against a conviction by the Brentford justices for having sold 
wheaten Hour containing bran. An inspector under the Food 
and Drugs Act visited defendants' shop at Chiswick, and asked 
for a half-quartern bag of wheaten flour, for which he paid 2f|d. 
Wheaten flour was well understood, and he had often purchased 
it. After the sale was completed he saw the words "Wheat 
meal " on the bag. The sample was sent to the analyst, who 
certified it contained 88 per cent, wheaten flour and 12 per cent, 
bran. Mr. Edward Bevan, official analyst to the county of 
Middlesex, said that flour should be the fine portion of wheat, 
free from the husk. He described the article sold by defendants 
as whole meal, though he would not say it was inferior to wheat 
meal. Mr. C. B. Braden, of the London Corn Exchange, 
stated that flour and meal were not synonymous terms in relation 
to any particular grain. Wheaten flour was an antiquated 
term, confusing to the trade, and he only knew it to be used in 
the Book of Exodus. For the appellant it was urged there was 
neither adulteration nor admixture, and the article was sold in 
the state that nature made it. The fact was that the term 
wheaten flour was so obsolete that the assistant confused it with 
*' wheat meal,” and that was how the mistake arose. On the 
suggestion of the chairman, the legal gentlemen conferred 
together, and it was agreed that the appeal should be allowed, 
on the defendants undertaking that they would not sell the 
material as wheat flour. If it was sold as whole meal there 
could be no possible objection. The chairman, in assent- 
ing to these terms, said that no doubt there was a sale to the 
prejudice of the purchaser, and assistants should be very careful 
in listening to what they were asked for. 
Right of Sale. — In the Commercial Court, beforeMr. Justice 
Kennedy, an action was brought by the plaintiff, Mr. James 
Ryan, against the defendants, Messrs. W. H. Ridley and Co,, 
to recover ,£1:14 6s. 7d. for breach of contract. The case 
involved a short point of some interest with regard to a clause 
which is not uncommon in commercial contracts — viz., whether 
where by a contract for the sale of perishable articles payment 
is to be made "by cash ... in exchange for” shipping 
documents, the buyer is under an obligation to pay within a 
reasonable time after the shipping documents are tendered to 
him, and whether, if he does not do this, the seller is entitled to 
sell the goods against him and to claim the losjs which he has 
suffered. On October 15, 1901, the plaintiff sold 1 to the defend- 
ants the cargo of Newfoundland codfish, "about 2,500 quintals 
as shipped, per bill of lading, per Margaret , at Bonavista, sailed 
on October 9 to Lisbon for orders to be delivered at Bari at the 
price of 22s. per quintal, including cost, freight, and insurance, 
payment to be made by cash in London in exchange for bill of 
lading and policy of insurance less ij per cent, discount.” The 
Margaret arrived at Lisbon on October 24, 1901, and shortly 
afterwards the plaintiff tendered the shipping documents and 
requested payment in exchange. The payment not having been 
made by the defendants on November 1, 1901, the cargo was 
sold a day or two later by the plaintiff, who now sought to 
recover from the defendants the loss which he suffered by the 
sale. Mr. Justice Kennedy, in giving judgment, said that the 
defendants refused to pay in exchange for the bill of lading and 
policy of insurance, In his opinion, the defendants had no legal 
right to do this. They took up the position that they would pay 
within a week, and insisted on the Margaret going on although 
they had not paid. The words in the clause must be given 
their natural meaning, and "cash against documents" meant 
that when the documents were tendered the cash must be ready. 
But a practical meaning must be given to the words, and they 
did not mean that if the seller walked into the buyer’s office 
and offered the documents, the buyer would have committed a 
breach of contract because he did not at once tender a cheque. 
That would not be business. The clause meant that the pay- 
ment against the documents must be made within a reasonable 
time — e.g,, if the buyer said, "You shall have a cheque to- 
morrow morning,” that would be sufficient, or even a greater 
delay would not be unreasonable if it would not affect the rights 
of the parties. If ever there was a case in which the nature 
of the cargo demanded promptitude, that of the cargo in the 
present case did. In his opinion, the plaiutiff was entitled to 
succeed, because the defendants had refused to comply with a 
term of the contract which, in this case, was essential. In his 
opinion, the term was not merely one with regard to the time 
of payment. No property passed to the defendants till the 
condition named in the clause was performed — namely, until the 
defendants received the bill of lading and policy of insurance. 
To those documents the defendants were not entitled until pay- 
ment. The plaintiff had exercised his right of sale without being 
unreasonable in any way, and there must be judgment for him 
for the amount claimed with costs. Judgment accordingly. 
Stockbroker and Client. — A question of considerable 
importance to the public in relation to Stock Exchange trans- 
actions recently came before Mr. Justice Kennedy, in the case 
of Gill v. Shepherd and Co, Mr. Gill employed the defend- 
ants, Messrs. Shepherd and Co., who are brokers on the London 
Stock Exchange, to sell certain mining shares for him. The 
defendants sent a sold note to the plaintiff for special settlement, 
and subject to the rules of the Stock Exchange, the price of the 
shares in the sold note being ,£6 a share. The jobber’s name 
was not disclosed upon the sold note. The jobber failed to comply 
with his bargains with the defendants, and the Committee of the 
Stock Exchange fixed the " hammering” price of the shares at 
£2 a share. Mr. Gill thereupon sued the brokers for the £6 a 
share, his case being that by the rules and custom of the London 
Stock Exchange, the}q by not disclosing the name of the jobber 
or purchaser of the shares, became principals in the transaction, 
as between themselves and the plaintiff, and liable to him for the 
purchase price of the shares. He called Mr. Richardson, the 
official assignee of the Stock Exchange; Mr. Venables, a 
member of the Committee ; and a Mr. Blunt, member of the 
firm of Messrs. Scrimgeour, stockbrokers, but they all said 
that there was no such custom, and judgment was given for the 
defendants. Until the evidence given in the case is displaced 
(it is difficult to see how better evidence can be given) it must 
be taken that, howevet respectable and substantial may be the 
stockbrokers a member of the public employs to sell shares, he 
has no security in the shape of any personal liability on the 
part of the brokers if the jobber to whom they have sold the 
shares fails to complete his bargains with them, even though 
the client knows nothing of the jobber to whom the brokers 
have sold his stock, nor of what bargains, in addition to his 
own, may have been made by his brokers with the jobber. 
Life Insurance Case. — In the Court of Appeal the case of 
Stuart v. Freeman was heard on appeal from the judgment 
of Mr. Justice Ridley. The plaintiff, Mr. Stuart, was the 
assignee of a policy of insurance effected on the life of the 
Hon. Francis Charles Lawley for ,£2,500 granted by the General 
Life Assurance Company in November, 1889. By the terms of 
the policy the premiums were payable quarterly, and in the event 
of any premium being in arrear more than 30 days the policy 
was to become void. On September 17, 1901, one quarter's 
premium, due on August 18, had been in arrear 30 days. On 
September 18 the plaintiff paid and the defendant gave a receipt 
for the premium, then overdue. At the time of the payment 
the !Hon. F. C. Lawley had died, namely at two o'clock on 
September 18, though the fact of his death was unknown to both 
the plaintiff and defendant, the manager of the Company. The 
defendant, for whom judgment was given in the Court below, 
refused to pay, substantially on the ground that the acceptance 
and receipt on the premium for the insurance of the life of a 
person who was then dead could not possibly extend the policy, 
which, by reason of arrear of payment, had temporarily lapsed. 
At the trial the plaintiff pleaded that the policy had not lapsed. 
It was a policy for a year, the premiums for each such period 
being payable in four equal instalments for convenience only. 
Evidence was given that on a previous occasion, when the 
premium was tendered after the days of grace had expired, a clerk 
said the manager had said the premium would be accepted if 
paid a day or so after. Mr. Justice Ridley only left to the jury 
the question whether the conversation alleged by the plaintiff 
to have taken place between his clerk and the clerk to the 
insurance company had in fact taken place, and they answei*ed 
in favour of the plaintiff. His Lordship, however, entered 
judgment for the defendant, holding as a matter of law that 
there was no liability on the Company to pay on the policy, 
which, by reason of the condition as to payment of the premiums 
within thirty days of their becoming due, had become void. At 
the conclusion of counsel's arguments the Court of Appeal held 
that under the circumstances the plaintiff was entitled to succeed, 
and they entered judgment for him with costs for the amouut of 
the policy and ^xoo, the agreed interest. 

BRITISH CONSULAR REPORTS. 
China. — In the report on the trade of China for the year 
1901 by the British Commercial Attach^ at Peking, it is stated, 
with regard to silk, that it is difficult to arrive at an estimate of 
its annual production in China, but competent authorities are 
inclined to place it at 350,000 to 400,000 piculs. Two-thirds of 
the production of Central China are said to be retained for home 
consumption, and 50 per cent, of that of Southern China to go 
abroad. The volume of the export trade does not show any 
material increase, and the percentage it constitutes of the value 
of China's total exports remains the same in 1901 as in 1892, 
namely, 37 per cent, of the whole. ... In the matter of 
disease among the worms the Chinese grower is apathetic in the 
extreme. Time and time again have attempts been made to 
induce him to adopt the Pasteur system. Pamphlets in Chinese, 
pointing out the advantages thereof, have beeen distributed 
throughout the silk districts, and enlightened officials have 
established schools of sericulture, demonstrating practically the 
difference between the new and the old methods. It is, there- 
fore, matter of great regret that so little attention should be paid 
by tlie country people to these well-meant efforts to improve the 
silk industry and benefit themselves. 
While the aggregate export of silk and its products has not 
varied greatly, a considerable falling-off has to be recorded in 
the export of white native reeled silk, which in 1892 amounted to 
75,722 piculs. Its place has been taken by the output of the 
steam filatures, which of recent years have been widely introduced 
in the Canton and Shanghai districts. Prior to their establish- 
ment China was the only country in the world producing high- 
class, hand-spun, coarse-sized silk reeled from the live cocoon. 
This imparted to the thread an elasticity of fibre which was not 
obtainable in silk reeled from the dead cocoon, and the silk thus 
prepared occupied a unique position in foreign markets in spite 
of its coarseness and occasional unevenness. Fears have been 
expressed that, by adopting the steam filature process, China is 
virtually abandoning her monopoly, and by entering into com- 
petition with the fine -sized silks of the rest of the world 
jeopardising her trade. Figures would not, however, seem to 
justify such apprehension. The export of steam filatures has 
gone on steadily increasing, and in the course of the last two 
years has exceeded that of white silk. The tendency of the 
manufacturers of Europe is to demand a fine-sized evenly-reeled 
silk, and enquiries for hand-reeled silk are consequently not 
sustained. 
Attempts to reel yellow and wild silks in steam filatures have 
not proved very successful, Western China and Shantung are 
the principal sources of supply of the former, and a filature was 
started at Hankow for reeling it, but only small quantities of the 
output are offered for sale to Europeans. Yellow silk is 
occasionally sent down from Shantung, and, very occasionally, 
from the Yangtzu to Canton, to be re-reeled. No attempts to 
re-reel in Shanghai have apparently been made. Wild silk is 
produced from worms fed on leaves of oaks grown on the 
southern faces of the hill-slopes in the Manchurian province of 
F6ngt’ien, A certain proportion is spun locally, but the major 
quantity of the wild cocoons are exported to Shantung, where 
they are spun in so-called steam filatures, and produce a much 
higher class silk. The former, known as ordinary tussah, fetches 
200 taels per picul, whereas the value of Chefoo tussah filatures 
is 260 to 310 taels per picul. It will be noted that the export of 
silk piece-goods does not advance, and considering the fine 
quality of the Chinese stuff this seems remarkable. Competition 
on the part of Japan, which displays a greater readiness to meet 
European taste, and unevenness in weaving, are said to be the 
principal causes of this stagnation. 
Cuba. — A report on the trade of Cuba states that the 
vitality shown by Cuba in the rapid rehabilitation of its sugar 
industry during 1899-1900, with practically no financial assist- 
ance from abroad, has been still more strikingly exemplified by 
the remarkable progress which has been made, in spite of the 
continued steady fall in the value of sugar and the discouraging 
prospects of the market. The crop of 1900-01, which proved to 
amount to 635,856 tons, realised very fair prices on the whole, 
averaging a little over 10s. per cwt. ; but the fall which 
commenced in January became far more accentuated in 
September, and the known existence of unusually large stocks 
of beet as well as cane sugar in the principal markets excited 
the gravest apprehensions among the planters. Meetings were 
held, and appeals, which received the active support of the 
Military Governor, were made to the United States Government 
to grant a reduction in the duties on Cuban sugar, in which it 
was positively stated that, if the existing crisis continued, a large 
proportion of the factories would be shut down, thousands of 
people would be thrown out of employment, commerce would 
be paralysed, the revenues of the Government would fall off, 
and widespread misery culminating probably in public disorders 
would be the result. 
After months of agitation in the Press of the United States 
as well as of Cuba, the American Congress adjourned without 
having done anything in the matter, and in the meanwhile by 
far the largest crop taken in since 1895, amounting to over 
800.000 tons, was successfully harvested and has eventually 
been sold at prices which have averaged a trifle over 6s. 7d. per 
cwt. In spite of the very low price obtained, none of the evils 
which were so confidently predicted have come to pass. Not a 
single factory failed to work to its fullest extent ; the demand 
for labour, in view of the magnitude of the crop, was greater if 
anything than in previous years ; and the low price at which the 
sugar was sold being compensated by the much larger output, 
imports, and consequently also the Customs receipts, have shown 
no falling-off at all — rather the contrary. Moreover, to the 
surprise of everybody, the threatened severe losses to individual 
planters have been proved to be wholly imaginary and, while 
the profits have not, of course, been sufficient to meet heavy 
mortgage charges, there were no well-appointed estates on 
which the working expenses were not amply covered, besides 
leaving in many cases a small margin of profit. 
The crisis then, far from being disastrous, has really been 
of immense service to the island, in forcing the planters to be 
economical in the management of their plantations and in 
teaching them what can be done in that direction, with the 
result that, whereas three years ago it was thought impossible 
that sugar could be made profitably for 8s. 6d. per cwt. , there 
are not wanting now planters who hope to bring the cost of its 
production down to as low as 1 c. per lb. Under the present 
conditions Cuba has little or nothing to fear from the competi- 
tion of other countries in the production of sugar, whether cane 
or beet, and there is every reason to expect that, when the 
bounties on beet sugar are abolished she will regain the 
dominant position she formerly occupied in the world's markets, 
which she will have fairly won, thanks to the energy and 
tenacity of her planters.’ 
^ 
FOREIGN CONSULAR REPORTS. 
The German Government and German Trade.— Two 
reports recently sent out from the office of the United States 
Consul-General at Frankfurt set forth in some detail the efforts 
made by Germany, both by its diplomatic officials and its 
Consuls and commercial attaches, to promote trade with foreign 
countries. In the first it is narrated' that the Minister of 
Commerce notified the various chambers of commerce through- 
out the Empire about the middle of 1901 that the German 
Legation in Morocco had asked the principal German firms in 
Tangier to prepare a collection of samples for the information 
of German manufacturers. It is explained that the Moorish 
demands for cottons had previously been supplied almost ex- 
clusively by England. These amounted, in 1899, to a value of 
11.625.000 marks. The Minister was, therefore, convinced that 
it might be worth while for German manufacturers to try to 
compete with their English rivals. This collection of samples, 
when made, accompanied by a full explanatory report, was 
forwarded first to the Munich-Gladbach Chamber of Commerce 
for inspection by K any manufacturers interested. Instructions 
were given that it was to remain upon exhibition there three 
weeks, after which it was forwarded to another chamber of 
commerce. Notice was given in each subsequent case in the 
newspapers that for a period of two weeks this collection of 
samples could be examined by interested persons residing within 
the district. The. result was that a large number of representa- 
tives of different branches of the textile industry had an 
opportunity to make a careful inspection of the samples. 
Another experiment made by the German Government has 
been that of establishing a corps of commercial experts, whose 
members are detailed for duty at the consulates. Everything 
that has been gathered in a consular office as to trade methods 
is at once utilized by the expert, who, moreover, is not restricted 
in his movements by office duties. When his mission is com- 
pleted, he returns to Germany for the purpose of meeting the 
interested exporters and giving them in detail individual 
instruction and information. This system is illustrated by a 
practical case. Dr. Quandt, the commercial expert attached to 
the consular office in Constantinople, undertook, during the 
year 1901 what is called an information journey through those 
German industrial districts interested in the export trade. Dr. 
Quandt was able to furnish much interesting information about 
the trade with Turkey, dealing especially with the reasons why 
it was difficult largely to increase Germany’s trade relations, 
warning his hearers to be cautious in selling goods on credit, 
and recommending sources of information which might be 
deemed trustworthy. 
Peat Development in Ontario. — Hundreds and thousands 
of dollars have been expended during the past few years in 
experiments by the different companies in the province for the 
perfection of machinery to turn out a fuel that will compete 
with coal. The Ellice Beat Company, successors to the Stratford 
