To the Editor of the "Nozrs-Onma Dany News."
Sir,—In the arbitration before Mr. A. R. Vincent, between myself and the Municipal Council, the arbitration found that the pony in the water cart which ran over my wife was vicious; that it ought never to have been used for the the Council had knowledge, in law, that purposes to which it was put; and that
this was so. My wife was awarded Tis, 375 damages, the Council to pay the arbitrator's fees and my coste, assessed at Tls. 150. not for me to anathematize the Shanghai Mur Council or to indulge in wordy polemics, but I feel that I should be failing in my duties towards the Public were I to neglect to bring: before them certain significant facts which have some bearing on the case, and to call their attention to the attitude adopted by the Shanghai To the Editor of the Municipal Council in the whole matter.
"Nonra Cama Dany Ne Briefly, the case was an al Sin,—Considering la! I have not my that an accident whereby my Sates knocked down and ran over that ye mont, aod alo connidriog on your columns for more by a municipal water-cart was attributable to negligence on the part of that there is a kind of relationship the Shanghai Municipal Council in between your correspondent " Outdriving in the water-cart a pony spoken" and myself, I trust you will totally unfit for work on the public grant mea little apace in your valued highways of Shanghai, a fact which paper for a few remarks to my distant known to the Shanghai Municipal relative in connexion with his inju Council: these allegations were held cious observations on the above subje by our esteemed and learned Assistant in your issue of the 3rd instant, whicl Judge to be well founded and my case only reached me half-an-hour It was proved right up to the hilt, Impartial," "2nd Class. Passeager, The Shanghai Municipal Council is "Chop Chop Fare all a little too bard virtually a Mutual Ca-operative Societ; on my relative. When " man has so in which Ratepayers have a share: the little sense as " Outspoken " one should representatives of this Body. ai let him down easy. To illustrate what elected by the ratepayers and in 1 mean, I msy mention that nearly them is vested the obligation of safe every morning at 8 o'clock, when I guarding the interests of the com-return to town from my morning ride, munity; with great respect, I put it I prefer to make use of the tram instead to the ratepayers and the public of my Brighton coach-and-four, and generally thst the Shanghai Mani being then soaked with perspiration, Council have failed most signally in duo to the impetuosity of my horse, I their duties for the following reasons have the appearance of looking what I 1, Every obstruction was pat in my am, to wit: a disreputable person. In way by the Shanghai Municipal Council that capacity I have too much considera-to prevent the true circumstances at~ tion for my fellow-beings, who travel tending the accident from coming to my second-class, to inflict my disreputable knowledge, and that before ever I looking person on them, and I there-elected to urge a case against this Body fore pay my ten cents, from the Race and was directing all my energies in Club to my barber, so that I may ride endeavouring to ascertain the truth, the in solitude without offending the finer of the Council advised' my feelings of sny " Outspoken" man. legal advisers that they refused to give Bat I have never yet come seress Mr. me any assistance.
Outspoken" in. the first-class com-Tt would be interesting to learn partment, although I should so dearly whether the Members of the Shanghai like to meet him; for he is evidently a Municipal Council had knowledge of person well worth knowing, and would this; if did—Well, I ask the serve as a welcome addition as a new public and the ratepayers to pose and strange specimen for my menagerie.
"Judgement: if not, then bow is it that the Secretary invests himself with the authority to make " statement of this nature As a result of the efforts of the Shanghai Municipal Council, I was put to very needless and great expense to ascertain the trath, which I, asa member of the community, had a right to learn.
2.—That had the Shanghai Municipal Council chosen to make inquiries from the proper quarters, they would immediately have ascertained the trath, namely, that under the circumstances they cou/d not in the interests of the public deny liability and that the only question st ne was that of damages: by their attitude of denying liability they have needlessly drawn themselves into litigation to the detriment of the public funds and the well-being of two members of the community.
3.—That the whole attitude of the Shanghai Municipal Council in the matter is worthy of great censure by their attempting to prevent the public, through me, learning the true circumstances attending the case, Throwing aside all thought of my position as vindicator of the wrong: and injuries done my wife and mysell through the matter, I venture to suggest that it must be a matter of great satisfaction to every right-thinking and public-spirited member of the community that I have successfully, and against all endeavours of the Shanghai Municipal Council to thwart me, exposed to the public the fact that for many weeks the Shanghai Municipal Council were working to the common danger a pony attached to a water-cart which (in Inw) was known to them to be an animal absolutely unfit for use on the public highways: and at what cost to wy wife and myself? At the cost to my wife of coming within an ace of losing her life, at the cost of excruciating suffering, of being confined to the house for two months unable to walk, and even now three months after the accident, being able to walk only very short distances, to say nothing of the severe shock to her nervous system, which may be of life-long deration. That she was not killed outright is no thanks to the Shanghai Municipal Council, britis due tocome fortuitous circumstances over which Providence alone bad control—probably, I might say, t the clothing peculiar toa woman and to the fact that she was wearing heavy brass buckle which distributed the "enormous weight over a broader surface than the 24 inches, the breadth of the cart wheel. Surely an insigniéi-cant factor to determine the question of life or death. And to myself at the cost of having proved without a shadow of doubt the liability of the Shanghai Municipal Council, and yet having to face a severe monetary loss for the privilege (?) of having my wife all bat killed, of having her rendered an invalid for three months with no guarantee from the medical authorities that she is out of the wood even yet at the cost of considerable personal anxiety and worry, this is the pill which the Shanghai Municipal Council as istodians of the interests of the public swallow
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.