(4) The government gave great weight to the principle of popular control and those spreading ruincurs that the Government _m2ant to confiscate the business would be severely punished. All these declarations were just and proper, but the Directorate ere long proceeded to reconstruc-Yfon and fom reconstruction to control and after control appointed un official Director. Now, suddenly, there is talk of making the China Merchants Company a private business under Government management or a business under the dual control of the merchants and Government. Before the lips were dried the words spoken were eaten. This breach of faith on the part of the Government may be condoned but what about the ruin of the business?
If we read the regulations issued by the Board of Communications for the control of shipping companies, section nine, we see that privately owned companies are permitted and government control is limited to the appointment of a Director, This is quite clear, yet the Government not only enlarges the powers of the Director, but it robs the people of their powers. The order in which this is enjoined is very strictly worded and yet it distinctly con-troverrs the Government's. own regulations for the organization of limited liability concerns. A Republic is founded on strict observance of law; if those in authority do not abide by the constitution, those under them cannot be expected to respect the laws. The Govern ment proclaims to the world that it rules according to law and yet it fails to observe the law: how then can it impress the people with the Justness actions? This is the' second reason why we shareholders dave not hold our peace.
If it in contended that shipping companies should be under government control, then there are other companies, with tonnage com parable to ours, like the Cheng chee company in the north and the Sangeh company in the south and there is no evidence that the Board of Communications has any intention of interfering with their management, Moreover, if we look at auch companies as ours in Europe and America, it will be seen that they are all' privately owned and frequently receive financial nsinstance from the government, Deterioration Under Government Recently President Coolidge said that business put under government control developed many corruptions and our own experience is that ince the board of control took charge our expenditure has increased enormously and our income has fallen to an alarming extent, and the administration has shown Jaxities unknown in former years. This shows that the government's attempt to reform us has ended fu increasing the deterioration of the administration, Their attempt protecting the capital of me yesters has resulted in preventing the expansion of business. Can a pure administration result in such 'a strange condi its? It in for this reason that we, shareholders, refuse to hold our peace.
Acconting to the public declara-ion of the official Director in taking office and the board of examination, (1) the control of a limited ability company rests with the the supreme authority 8 Merchants Company being a purely business organization never issued any shares to. the Government nor received subs from it. In the first year of the Emperor Kuang Hsu we amalgamate fed with the Chee-chanye company: and, because our capital was in sufficient, the Viceroy advanced government funds amounting to more than Tls. 1,900,000, interest to be paid as it fell due. "This was repaid within a few years' time, thus showing that a loan bearing interes is a very different thing from al government subsidy. Our business. then steadily increased and we paid the Government some lakhs of taels annually as may be proved from our! dooks. Now, without any. reason assigned the government proposes to place our business under offic control—surely there is no right in this.
To go a step further—there is abundant precedent for governments giving assistance to shipping companies, The Admiral Line, sri American shipping company," was ied by converting transports; used in the war to mercantile "ur-poses. For a time it had a precarious existence and the government, time and again, came to its assistance. The French shipping.
Tine. Messageries Maritimes, several times decided to cease operations! but the government, considering that this Tine made connection with French possessions in the Far East and would not be in the interest that public "these should. Lo served by a
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.