Dispute Between Marquis Li and Government Controller:
Subsidiary Property of an snnouncemeiy by the China Merchants Steam Navigation C Ltd., concerning the dismissal Marquis Li from his posts as acting chairman of the Boned of Directors of the company and manager of the Chih Vu Real Estate Ca, a rings to the fore the deplors state of affairs of what was once China's premier shipping company.
'The announcement, after mention. ing the duties of: the acting Special Commissioner, Mr. Chao 'Tiehchino, deals with the affairs of who Chih' Vu Con a subsidiary of the China Merchants S. N. 'Ca. It will be recalled that, on' Deesmber 24 last, details of a wordy quarrel Which arose between Mr. Cho and Marquis Li regarding the control of the Chih Vu Ca, appeared in these columns, Mr. Chao, basing his contention on the regulations governing his office which provided that "The responsible reorganizing Special Commissioner. is solely
anil directing the affairs of the Company together with all its subsidiary companies," maintaine] that he had'the right'to control the affairs of this concern, He alleged that the Marquis had failed Tentler a proper statement of accounts: and that he (Marquis Li) is bold enough to defy the order '(of the National Government) and issued a circular denouncing the acts of the Special Commissioner as illegal." Accordingly Marquis Li was dismissed from office on December 18 last and Mr. Ju-chen Pu, the sub-manager, was appointed t9 receed him, Marquis Li, on the other bane, protested strongly againat his. dis: charge and claimed that Mr, Chas had exceeded his authority. He shad, he said, been appointed to the post by the majority of share. holders of the China Merchants, of which Mr. Chao dig not possess a olitory share. This being the nse, Marguly Li said "he would continue to serve until he was unseated by those who had selected! him, the Company in Issue Mr. Chao's words in an interview with the "North-China Daily News" in September 1928) at the request of shareholders who appealed to the Government to come to the reseus and save the Company from bank-ripley, Mr. Chao first started by forming six dei the three that ed. The position was only to be temporary one, he said, Things worked smoothly for a while until it was learned that the Company had decided to enforce a 10 per cent, reduction of salaries. Formal protests were lodged by the China Coast Officers Guild, the Marine Engineers Guild and the -Chineso Seamen's. Union. Protests were, unavailing and the position, wel Lelieve, is the same now as before in spite of Mr. Chao's assurances! that all claims would be settled in due course.
Officers "have been summarily dismissed for affairs beyond. their control, men' of long service degraded\and junior men placed in responsible positions whilst foreign officers were superseded by Chinese. Pensions, due to foreign officers whi had been incapacitated after long and faithful years of service, were left unpaid and they are, Wwe are informed, still outstanding. On these matters alone, much aiceady has appeared in the press and much more could probably "be written. Suffice, however, to say that the Pensions alone which ave till un-aid amount to nearly Tls. 60,000.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.