Forbes

The parties, by stipulation in writing, have agreed upon and admitted the principal facts, and I shall therefore not refer to them except so far as it may be necessary to explain my conclusion upon some of the points raised upon the argument.

Upon the 11th day of March, 1855, the mercantile house of Eye Brothers & Co., doing business at Canton, China, became insolvent, and Gideon Eye, Jr., the only member of the firm then in Canton, for himself and his firm, before the U. S. Consul at that place, made and executed a written assignment of his personal, and also the partnership property, to the plaintiffs, residents of the same place, “ in trust and for the benefit of all the creditors of said Gideon Eye, Jr., and the said commercial house of Eye Brothers & Co.”

The assignees accepted the trust, entered upon the duties of- their office, and with the acquiescence and co-operation of the creditors reading in China, took the possession and control of the insolvents property, and proceeded to convert it into money.

This action is brought by plaintiffs, as assignees, against the defendant, Sheriff of this County, to recover the value (admitted to be $50,000) of a quantity of teas…