The difficulty between Mr.
Kingsmill and the Municipal Council in regard to certain land required for the making of a road is no new matter. It came forward again on Monday, when the Council were prepared to bring evidence in support of the circumstances set forth in the following circular, which they prepared 1.—The land included in this title deed. or a large of it, was formerly a public creek called Sccku'pang, Six years ago this creek was st represented by ditch, but in the recollection of many persons it was a sual drainage creek.
—The Deed No. $28 was issued in October, 1898, upon anativedocument called a yinyu. Every yin- ly so-called represents a formerly existing langton for the same land. a 3.—Creeks and the accreted land bordering on them prima facie belong to the Emperor of Ching subject, however, to the established right of adjacent landowners t" have accretions measured into their title deeds. In no case are such creeks or accretions privately heldvwnder fang-tan. Thoissue of the yin-this case was therefore on the face of it irregular both as, in effect,- untruly alleging exi-tence of a previous fang-tan, an [contravening the established rights of riparian owners.
In January, 1900, the Municipal Council projected 'a row to connect the Sinza Road with the Avenue Road. This rosd was designed to traverse gand wi appeared to be unoccupied. On' process to mark out the course of the propose' real the Municipal Council were informed by Mr.
W. Kingsmill (a British subject) th the whole of the land ed by U.S, Deed No. 828, regis in his name, and that compensation must be paid to him if his land was required by {the Municipal Council.
5.—After negotiations as to the amount of compensation to be paid t" Mr. Kingsmill the matt-r was brought before the Land: ommissioners who awarded a sum of Tls. 3,250 upon the footing that Mr. Kingsmill had a good title to the land registered in his name and certified by him to be the land included in a plan produced tothe Commissioners.
—The Municipal Council was prepared to pay the sum awarded on receiving surrender of the land, but when Mr. Kingsmill (at the request of the Municipal Council) attempted toldefine the area of hie land by bound stones, it appeared that his inconsistent with the rights of adjace holders, and in particular with the the registered owners of B.C. Lot 3: these circumstances the registered 0 B.C. Lot 3221 applied through th sulate for remeasurement of their land and the land was accordingly remeasured, when Mr. Kingsmill, being present, admitted that ite could not maintain his title toa part of the land claimed by him as included in his Deed, such part being included in 1.C. Lot 3
The Municipal Council have also received notice of a claim on the part of the registered owners of B.C. Lot 496 with reference to part of the land included in Mr. Kingamill's certified plan. The Title Deed for the last-mentioned lot bears date 1th October, 1897.
8, ~Thero remain the rights, whatever they he, of the native owners of laud on the side of the Creek (Sz-ka-pang) and of foreign and native, on the east these rights Mr: Kingsmill's 10 conflict. jew of the facts stated above and other facts tending to show that Me, Kingsmill is unable to establish his title to the land in respect of which he has claimed compensation, the Municipal Council apply to Consul-general for the caneallation tle Deed No. 828, or such other definition of Mr. Kingsmill's rights as may enable them to proceed with their negotia tions for the acquisition of land for the proposed road.
The matter came up in the Court of the U. 8. Consulate-General, but was regular Court case nor a matter adjudicated on by the Court of Ir. D. MeNeill (Messrs Dowdall, McNeill), was present for the Council, accompanied by the Assistant Surveyor (Mr. C. H. Godire; Morrison, and hearing was fixed for ten o'clock, but not until haitan hour later did Mr.
Holcomb, representing the other par put in an appearance. Mr. Kingsmill was not present.
Mr. John Goodnow, U. 8. Consul-General, who was to hear the matter, opened by defining his position. He was not hearing the case asa Court, he said, nor was he passing on the Taotai's title deed. _Nothing had been more plainly settled in Shanghai than that foreign Courts do not go behind the Taotai's title deed, unless there be evidence of fraud on the part of a foreigner. Therefore all he expected to do was to hear informally, as Land Officer, any facts which might be brought before him which might act as reasons why he would not_care to have that deed on his register. Thus he was not passing on Mr. Eingsmill's title to, the land.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.