Shanghai, 23rd August, 1900.
Su,—A meeting of Hongkew Ca. Ne TD. was held last night" when the 1 hers present unanimously passed the following resolution and remarks Phot we beg to pro der which has been issued, namely in the event of a riot anda fire acc the same time, the Firemen who are Volun-tears will be relieved from duty We would point out that tore are only about a hundred Firemen, nearly a thousand Volunteers and over two thousand regular troops to do the fighting. If the Volunteers in the ranks of the Firemen are withdrawn, an efficient Brigade cannot be maintained, whereas the same number of men withdrawn from the ranks of the Volunteers will not make much difference. In at last one case, were the order complied with, the company in question would have only two or three men to work We have our constitution and bye-laws which provide for the election of members, consequently nobody has any right to thrust Ino oh yanks people who have not been duly elected as members.
We trust that our protest will be heeded and the order rescinded, and the members allowed to please themselves whether they turn out as Volunteers or as Firemen.
""'Thave the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, Wrist R. Kater, Foreman No. 2 Ca. S.F-D. L. Moone, Exq., Chief Engineer, S.F-D.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.