Shanghai, 20th Oct., 1897.
Messrs. Dyce & Ca., Agents Sin Chang Filature Ca., Shanghai, Dear Sins,—I beg to acknowledge receipt of your favour of 13th inst, which was taken into consideration by my Eu mittee at a Special Meeting held yesterday, and Lam instructed to inform you in reply that, whilst your application for a refund of a portion of the premium you have paid for the last two years cannot be acceded to, the Committee will go further into the question of the future rate for your Filature, and will advise you of their decision in due course.
Lam, Dear Sirs, Yours faithfully, (Signed) Geo. D. Scorr, Shanghai, 21st Oct., 1897.
To the Secretary of the Fire Insurance Association of Shanghai.
Dear Sir,—We are duly in receipt of yours of 20th instant, from which we note that your Committee cannot accede to our application of 13th inst. for a refund of the premium we have paid for the Inst two seasons, ju excess of the ordinary Shanghai rate, though they will Look into the question of a reduction of the rate in the future.
Under these circumstances there is only: one course open to us to obtain redress for the unfair manner in which we have been treated, and that course we now intend to yt We therefore sive your Committee notice, through you, that unless we receive before Thursday next (the 28th inst), it more satisfactory reply from you on or
our intention to send copies of this correspondence and a full statement of the facts to the Chief Manager of every British Office represented on your Committee, as we are convinced that they will object to their names being brought into disrepute by being coupled with such Chinese tactics as have been practised on us.
Furthermore, we intend to publish the whole of this correspondence in the local newspapers as a warning to others who may have risks, a little out of the ordinary, to insure, that, in dealing with the Fire Insurance Association of Shanghai, they must. be prepared to haggle about rates as if they were dealing with natives, and not with an Association consisting of the representatives of respectable Foreign firms.
Kindly circulate this among your Committee at once and oblige.
Yours faithfully, (Signed) The Six Cuoxc Fitatune Ca., Dyce & Ca., Agents.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.