To the Editor of the "Nogta-Curxa Day Ne Sin—Would some British or American lawyer answer the iollowing questions for the benefit of those who are in doubt on the following points.
1.—Has the Council any legal authority to collect taxes without the mandate of some superior body?
2—The Council's mandate from the Ratepayers' Meeting having expired on the December 31, 1919, has it now any authority from anybody to collect taxes?
3—By what legal sanctions can the Council legally collect any taxes between January 1, 1920, and the ensuing Landrenters' Meeting in March next?
4.—If answers to the foregoing questions show the Council can only collect taxes before March on sufferance and compel the payment of taxes in the interim, what is the nature of their responsibility for consequences of forced collection and how far will they commit the comniunity to the same?
T am, ete, Epwarp Litre. Shanghai, Jan. 10.
There ought tobe no doubt inthe minds of any except those who appear to be trying deliberate. ly to incite the Chinese against the Council. At last year's Ratepayers' Meeting, the Budget was voted to be in force until next (i.e. the 1990) Ratepayers' Meeting—with certain reservations which do not affect the point Mr. Little wishes to make. The Council's action in collecting rates for the January-March quarter, 1990, is therefore, perfectly legal, having been authorized by the ratepayers.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.