Authorities Tientsin, Aug. 12.
Due to its failure to euch agreement with the legal Tax Bureat regarding the new 50 per cent, tobacco tax, the British Cigarette Co.'s factories here are. feompletely closing down on Thursday, thus throwing 4,000 Chines hands out of employment.
Both the Chinese ard foreign papers severely, censure the authori fies for their repudiation of the existing tax agreements and particularly the local director of taxes, who recently summarily arrested ard heavily fined a number Chinese tobacco merchants, whom he is alleged to have falsely accus-of irregularities under the new law.
Meanwhile local merchants are. strongly protesting to the higher authorities at Peking,—stressing "the increasing burden of exorbit~ ant and unreasonable taxation" which, they declare, is completely stifling business and destroying the livelihood of the public, who are already living under very severe conditions.
Tientsin, Aug. 13, Mr, Soo Msiang-shien, the Secretary of the Chibli Tax Bureau, upon the closing down ish Cigarette Co.'s fac tory here and the resultant unemployment of 4,000 Chinese workers, said: "We can do nothing in the matter. We are merely following General Yen Hsi-shan's instrue-
Questicned regarding the repudiation of the existing tax agreoments, Mr, Soo stated that agreements concluded with Nanking could territory. not be considered valid in Northern
Tt is estimated that the stoppage of the tobacco trade will cause the Northern Authorities a loss of more than $500,000 monttly in revenue from taxes.—Reuter,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.