The plaintiff in the above action is the Council for the Foreign Community of Shanghai North of the Yang-king-pang. The defendant is the German firm of Ed. Schellbass_& Ca. resident in the Concession Frangaise in Shanghai, The plaintiff asserts that the defendant is the owner or consignee of certain goods which at various times in the course of the current year have been landed within the bounds of the Communal District North of the Yang. Municipal dues leviable on these goods whi king-pang, and that they refuse to pay the amount to Shanghai Tis, 163.80. 3 therefore, sought to compel the aforesaid firm to pay the dues in arrear. The defendants reply that as inhabitants of the French Concession they are not subject to the tax tions of the Municipality Yoxarto and A. DE La Cav (Spaniard)
Charge of being absent without leave, Defendants were seamen of the ship Lady Bowen, and were charged with being absent without leave since Saturday, the 13th instant, Deighton acted as interpreter for the defendants, who li sid that. engaged by the complainant in Nagaiakl for een only, they agreeing to find themselves in food out of the wages to be paid them, They had been in the vessel a month and two days, and wished to get out of her. The Malay Peter added that he had been two days without food, and when he asked the Captain for money to procure some, he refused to give him any.
Complainant said that some of his crew fell sick at Nagasaki, and he was obliged to ship the defendants on their own terms of $19 per month, which amount they drew as an advance to buy food, &c., for the voyage. He considered the defendants shipped in the usual woy for two years, though he did not say anything to them about the Articles, With' reference to their leaving the ship without permission, he was obliged to lay an information against them for doing so, at the Shipping Office.
His Wonsutr asked of what value were the defendants' services on beant?
Complainant replied that they were of very Jittle use—he did not want them to go in the ship. They had taken everything belonging to them on shore, North of the Yang-king-pang, and that they did not Iand the goods in' question in the territory of the aforesaid Municipality, but in the French Concession, They, therefore, pray that the plaintiff may be non-suited.
Judgment, as above, was given on the following ground:
1,—The Municipal Regulations for the international concession in Shanghai which have been promulgated with the concurrence of the German Government and have been notified in due course by this Consulate here and have the "force of law" for all subjects of the Empire, declare in Art. 9 that the Annual General Meeting of the Ratepayers has, amon; others, the right "to impose other rates and taxes in the form of dues on all goods passed through the Chinese Custom House by any Petten oF persons resident within the said units, or landed, shipped, or transhipped, at any place within the said limits, provided the said rates or taxes levied in the form of dues shall inno case exceed the amount of one tenth of one per cent on the value of the goods #0 passed, landed, shipped, or tran: shipped." By virtue of this article, theMunicipality having been duly called into existence, in the year 1870 the dues here mentioned were noted for the first time and in the following terms:—That the Council for the Foreign Community of Shanghai, North of the Yang-king-pang, be hereby em: Pomered "to collect from Foreigners and Thinese residing within the limits above-named daes on all goods passed through the Custom House or landed, shipped, or transhipped by persons resident within the aforesaid Uimits. This construction was held-unchanged throughout six years in the General Meet. ings in which the budget was fixed, and it shews quite clearly that the right of the Council to levy these dues on goods was con fined" to such goods as were imported or exported by members of the community within the boundaries of the Municipal Territory. The tax was a personal one destined to fall upon the merchants living in the settlement North of the Yang-king-pang according to the extent of their business, and for this purpose took as a standard the value of the goods imported and exported under their names. In the year 1876 it was sought to change the character of the tax with the object, as stated, of preventing the numerous evasions of the tax which were effected owing to certain merchants in the international concession being in the habit of landing and shipping their goods through the agency of merctante residing on the French side, reason the Council obtained power for the year 1876, to collect from foreigners and Chinese residing within the limite above-named... dues on all goods passed through the Chinese Custom House by any person or persons residing within the said limits, This construction, which tallies with the wording of the regulations was, as appears from the explanation of the Chairman, a' from the opinion" given by the legal adviser to the municipality (see Daily News 2ad March, 1876,) understood to give the right to exact dues on goods whether the owners or consignees belonged to the muni or not, giving power irrespective of and giving power to get at the goods even if owners reside without the limits. But still the Coun li it increased all goods raunicipality, because these words stood in landed or shipped within the limits of the
the way, viz.: that all dues and were from Foreigners and El ug within the limits above-named, difficulty, at the General Meoting of the Ratepayers held this year, together with the introduction of the budget, a resolue tion was brought forward and carried by the meeting by which the Council was empowered. to levy, collect and recover, from all persons liable to pay the same the' following taxes, amongst which the Wharfage Dues are set down in the terms already adopted in 187 It may be assumed for the purpose of this action, that the correct interpretation and that intended by the Lawgiver is the one regarding dues on goods first published last year, which states that the Wharfage Dues shall be also collected from goods, with which the merchants in the settlement North of the Yang-king-pang have no concern. In this way the tax would be simply an additional Export or Import duty, which would fall upon all merchandise aa' an addition to that stipulated in the treaties with the Chinese Goverament, and would thus bear the character of an indirect tax. The Attorney of the plaintiff has adduced' many weighty reasons for this construction wit! reference to the history of the origin of the ninth Article, and if there is, nevertheless, a doubt on the subject this is in the prime instance the fault of the Council themselves, who, in the constant practice of six years, have steadily relied on the personal bearing of this tax, inasmuch as they have expressly limited its application to those goods which were imported or exported within its limits by residents of the settlement situated North. of the Yang-king-pang. Still, as above stated, it is not necessary that in the present me stance this question be decided by the Court for, even it the Court should. accept the actual interpretation of the plaintiff as to the extension of the Wharfage Dues, the Council can never possess the right to enter personal action for recovery of arrears of these dues against merchants who reside beyond the limits of the taxable territory, as do the defendants. If dues are to be levied upon the goods independently of their ownership, then the lien can only be upon such goods as are found within the taxable limits, and not upon the persons who are outside of them, Hence the Council has possibly the right to stop such goods as.have not yet paid the import and
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.