To the Editor of the "Norta-Cuina Datny News."
Sir,—In your editorial of Tuesday's date on "Lights and shadows on the Earthquake" you speak of a proposal by the Chinese Government in Peking to impose a Customs surtax for Japanese relief and protest against this proposal on the score that im connexion with the "famine surtax, no accounts of receipts and expenditure of that scandalous imposition have ever been published."
Your readers might easily take this to mean that the Maritime Customs surtax for famine relief was the "famine surtax" to which you refer; and the object of this letter is to make clear that the Maritime Customs surtax was handled by an_ International Finance Commission, on which were representatives from Great Britain, America, France, Japan, Tealy, Holland, Belgium and Den-mar!
From the rules governing this Commission I cull the following:
"This Commission, being an international commission, it is necessary to maintain" international supervision throughout the actual distribution of relief. To this end relief shall be given. to relief societies recognized by the Finance Commission and acting under international "Messrs. Thomson Bros, and Stedman were appointed to act as audi tors for all accounts, Ajl. societies distributing funds must submit to the regulations and supervision of auditors."
Thanking you for the insertion of this explanation. t am, etc., Ws. E. Souter, For the Chinese-FoRign Famine Relief Committee. a
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.