We, the undersigned, pray the Council not to increase the tax on Opium-shape, We have opened shops, and carried on our bu yeas under the control of the Council, and we have always regularly paid the monthly tax, Now we are told that the Council have ordered the tax to be raised, so we called together all the Keepers of Opium-shops, and laid the matter before them at a general meeting.
Tt seems to us sll thet our business at present is ea bad, that we cannot pay the inereaced tax, hut it is not only the Opium. shops which are doing badly, ut all o trades are had also, If this were not the we could close some other us a good deal for aiters now we must continue our former business,
have spent in fitting up our sho} Even if the tax is not increased it seems to us that we shall hardly be able to pay the old tax, but we will not disobey the orders of the Council by refusing to pay the increased tax, we only represent that it will be very difficult for us to do so.
We therefore pray the Council to grant our request, and not to increase the tax, 80 much, at present. If they must increase it, we beg them to wait until our business becomes better, and this will be a great boon to your petitioners, Kano Tuxo-rar, Pax Yur-uNe, Toxe Yor.
Pooxe Tat.
And 30 others, Decided to reply that as the Ratepayers have ordered the Council to raise the tax, their request cannot be complied with.
Boundaries of Settlement.—The following letter is ordered to be published Shanghai, lst Feb., 1880.
DEAR Sin,—The Committee appointed to revise the Laud Regulations have deputed us to redraft Art. T, which defines the boundaries of the Settlement, The instructions first given to us were, "to find out what exactly were the boundaries of the Settlement and to define them clearly, On investigation it turned out that the matter was somewhat difficult. In the exist ing Land Regulations two pieces of laud are described. Though there la we clear proof ax to the exact boundaries agreed to by Captain Balfour, we are entitled to ai sum from the assent, alike of Chine foreigners, that the piece of Jand first ed ix that commonly called the Settlen bounded by the Soochow Creek, the Defence Creek, the Yaugking-pang, and the River, With regard to the second piece the bound: given in th regulations are, x8 a matter of fact, the ettled between Mr. Seward and Hwang, Intendant of Circuit, on 25th June, 1863, and subsequently accepted at a Meeting of Rat payers held towards the close of that year, The northern boundary, although not defined ina very good manner, is yet defined in such 8 way that it is impossible to make any tuke about Las you are probably aware the width of lan between the Soochow Or and the boundary, near the Hospital is only about 250 yards,' After some time it appea to have been discovered that an improper boundary had been agreed to, and on the 2nd September, 1873, Mr. Seward, Mr. Purdon, Dr. Yates, and Mr. Clark, with two Chinese officials inspected the land in hongkew, and anew boundary was fixed upon and a ston erected to mark it near the Rifle Butts, ipal Council appear to have exerci I control out to this new boundary, ver received any official sanction, We are, therefore, in this position, The boundaries of Hongkew, as officially savationed, sre 80 intrinsically' bad that we cannot think of asking that they should confirmed. The new boundaries settled 1873 are no doubt much better, and hat they ever been oficinily sanctioned we might have considered it politic to adhere to them, but thut they have never been agreed to Chines asking for them be coutir for new hound: question forcibly brought he foe us whether we might nut ask for something better still, At Yang-tze-poo, the Settlement according to the official boundaries, is a mile in depth ured from the river.' It is clear that this of land will not be required for many while it is absolutely essential that we Jd have land in the neighbourhood of the Rifle Butts, moreover, m question whether we might not ask for a certain amount along. the Bubbling Well Road. We have 10 believe that the Chinese local autenties would favour the surrender of a certain portion in that neighbourhood.
We feel, however, that such a proposal though perhaps not' beyond our powers, certainly going further than the Council or the Ratepayers expected we would do, and the Committee think it would be wise before proceeding with the matter to ask you if the Connell would Jock with favour scheme for extending the Loundaries of the Settlement
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.