Fe. the Editor of the "Nowrn-Cunxa Datty News."
Sin—I have often wondered why the Municipal Council have never; ried to raise money by issuing premium bonds. That is, bonds similar those lusted by the French Govminent; fully paid up, of denominations of, say, $50 or $100 and bearing a small' interest of say, three per cent, with monthly" drawings providing' monthly prizes. In the case of bonis such as issued by the 18.8. and similar companies, payments have to be continued for 14 years before there is any return uns one is lucky. If payments are discontinued, the bonds are either or have' to be surrendered at a tion of the amount already invested in it, With the bonds suggest, you can stop when you like andi your bond continues to pay you interest and take part in the drawings. There are, it is said, two great, objections to the Council's adopting this method of raising the! wind. First, it is contrary to the Jaw of certain countries largely' interested in the polities of the Settlement; and second, it would be infra dig. for a high ady like the Shanghai Council to raise money in this manner, of gambling is allowed to tun viet, In_a community where every form
it is rather amusing to find there 4 legal objection to premium bonds.
rather like straining at a gua and swallowing a camel "With re-most of the large cities of the United States and Europ certain that a service such as we are getting would not be tolerated shareholder since the company started, T have seen it grow, and find that we never had, in all thes yours, a less inefficient service than we are having at the present time The company has been growing very fast and perhaps it grew 39 st the management could not keep with the expansion. In the eon-tract the subscriber signs with the company, the latter undertakes to keep the tines and instruments in ood condition and to furnish suf ficient operators to give messages prompt despateh. Nothing is. said about an efficient staff or efficient service, but the company must have an agreement with the Council to maintain the best possible There is only one thing for the Jong suffering: public to do, and that to wake up and got together ard petition the Councit to enforce the efficiency clause, if there is any, if not, the—shareholder-subseribe: s must get together, call an extraordinary meeting and mend matters.
my ojfinion the whole fault with the operators and therefore the only solution would be that the company engage an efficient and educated staff of opera pay them well, T feel sur shareholder-subscriber waive one or two necessary, 'a scoad anid ich as any other city has.
Tam, ete, Eaton.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.