Elsewhere in this issue will be found an account of the steps taken by the Shanghai Municipal Council to recover the land tax from proprietors of property who have been showing more than a little reluctance to meet their obligations. Since the end of March, when the Municipal Advocate was instructed to commence legal proceedings in nine cases in which beneficial owners of land within the Settlement were in default, no fewer than nine cases were begun. Three of the nine defaulters paid their land tax before proceedings were started, a fourth paid before judgment was rendered, while five others thought fit to wait until summonses "were issued against them. Two, of these last neither appeared in court nor were represented, and judgment was given against them with costs, while the remaining three decided to fight, but despite the arguments of counsel, lost the day and were ordered to pay the sums claimed together with interest and costs, Incidentally it may be pointed out that in the two cases in which the defendants did not appear, the default complained of covered periods between January 1, 1925 and June 30, 1938, and July 1, 1935, and June 30, 1938 respectively.
From this it will be seen that the defaults did not arise from the outbreak of hostilities locally, but extended, over three years. It is apparent that the Council ex-excised a deal of patience in the matter, and that the defendants have no ground for complaining that they were unduly rushed, or that the Council had been at all precipitate in the matter. It is to be hoped that this long delay in bringing matters to a head has not resulted in an accumulation of such cases, though it is clear that, so long as some proprietors: were allowed to "get, away with it," there was a direct incentive fo others to embark upon exactly the same course. Patience is a most admirable virtue, but ried to the extreme to which the Council appears to have taken it, it becomes something in the nature of a vice. It is to be hoped that, now the Council has secured judgment establishing the justice of their claim, it will proceed with greater celerity against whatever other defaulters there may happen to be.
The judgment in the District Court in one of the three cases where it was sought to set up a defence is an interesting one. It was argued for the defendant that, because he had leased his property, he was not responsible for the tax, and that it should be collected from the lessee. The Court relying upon Article 9 of the Land regulations ruled that the Council can assess the value of the land in the International Settlement and levy a tax thereon, The article in question empowers the ratepayers in meeting assembled to "declare an assessment in the form of a rate" on land or buildings, and, this having been done, it is the duty of the Council to see that the same is duly collected. The article fails to state who shall pay the tax on land, or for that matter on buildings, but the very old practice of expecting the owners- to pay the land tax, has now been-reinforced by the judgment of the District Court, and if there were any doubt about the matter in the past, it has now been removed by thi§ latest decision. Landowners have to pay the land tax, and, if nothing more has been achieved by bringing these cases, that important point has been settled once and for all. There may be, it is true still some chance for the defendants to appeal, but to what court in the present circumstances it is a little difficult io see. The dilatory tactics which Chinese defendants have followed in the past, e: pecially vis-à-vis of landlords on the subj of ren y possibly still be followed, and the question now before Council ís whether or not to proceed to the execution of the judgments by means which, though they may be somewhat extra-legal in nature, are nevertheless available. The likelihood of such a course being followed is adumbrated in the statement issued by the Council, and, if they do find themselves driven to such extreme methods, they will undoubtedly receive the support of those who realize the importance of vindicating the authority of the ratepayers in this matter as delegated to the Council at each annual meeting.
Direct measures such as depriving. defaulters of the use of municipal roads, and of all the services normally rendered to the ratepayers, adopted after obtaining judgment in the appropriate Court will probably be more effective than waiting for the slow processes of legal procedure to reach an ultimate conclusion. Such a judgment would, reinforce the Council's hands in whatever course they might then decide to follow, and ch defaulters, in the event of their being deprived of those ordinary amenities, for which after all they have to pay, would have only one remedy against the Council in the shape of an action brought in the Court of Consuls. It is to be believed that any defaulter, ill-advised enough to bring such an action, would have a very thin chance of succeeding. The Council's defence would be the simple one that the man was claiming services for which' he refused to pay. It is impossible to believe that any Court would, in such circumstances, find it in his favour, The Council may, however, prefer to take direct action without any recourse to the Courts. Should they decide to do so they will be well within their rights, for the sooner it is brought home to these recalcitrant landlords that they will have to bear their share in the cost of the maintenance of this International Settlement, the better will it be for everyone all round. There is very little that can be said in favour of a class of landlord, investing money in property in the Settlement because of the security which is afforded, and then refusing to pay the just dues towards the costa? the maintenance of those amenities which adds so considerably to the value of the holding. If, therefore, the Council decides to deal firmly with such people, using all the means that the peculiar conditions prevailing in Shanghai render available, they will receive the support of those other ratepayers who loyally fulfil their obligations. The Council is to be congratulated on the steps it has already taken, and the hope is expressed that they will continue with the good work until these defaulters are made to see the error of their ways.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.