Chinese Merchants' Grievance The, following report has reached us envelope bearing the stamp of the Ningpo Guild. It appears also to have been sent to other papers. We publish it as a matter of interest, but have no means of checking the allegations contained.
Since the fire occured in Pao Yuan godown, Pootung, two months ago, resulting in damages over half a million taels, the local insurance companies have been repeatedly refusing to indemnify the losses, alleging that it is against their regulations to indemmify losses of such a kind. The parties interested in the loss, feeling indignant, held a meeting ju the Ningpo Guild yesterday to digeuss the matter. Among those present, there were Mr. Huang Sushu, of the Cantonese Residents' Association, Mr. Yeh Hung ying of the Chuanchow and Chiangehow Guild, Mr. Yeh Hui-chun of the Grain Dealers' Association, Mr. Chen Liang-chen, of the Sugar Dealers' Association, and Mr. Chen Liang-yn of the Ningpo Guild. Over 80 delegates in all participated in the discussion.
According to Mr. Huang Ssu-shu, there are some 20 parties who suffered the losses most of them being sugar and grain dealers. The total amount of the insurance policies is over Tls. 420,000. Although Jardin, Matheson & Ca. who took the policy on the building, have paid out the indemnity as the agreement stipulated, the rest of the companies which took the policies on goods have so far refused to make their policy good.
"The sole usser of the insurance companies ig their faith to keep their agreements," said Mr. Yeh Hui-chun. "The companies—involved in the present case have utterly disregarded their faith As most of the companies involved are foreign companies, and as the relationship between the Chinese and the foreign merchants has been always on most cordial terms, the persistent refusal to pay on the part of the insurance companies would tend to impair the friendly relations between the Chinese and the foreign circles enjoyed heretofore. Unless the companies will come to their original agreement and pay what the agreements require to pay, not only the financial conditions of the present parties are affected, but also their future business would be endangered. We must take steps to seo the policies fully indemnified."
Mr. Chen Liang-yn_ proposed that all business organizations in Shanghai should be united in this right. At the end of the meeting, a resolution was passed to the effect that if the insurance companies continue to refuse to indemnity the lossses resulting from the fire, then the whole commercial class will refuse to do any further business with the said companies. Letters have been sent to the Insurance Companies Asso-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.