The validity of the "fang tar produced by two pi establish tHeir ownership to "fangtan"™ land in the Settlement -was contested by Mr. R. T. Bryan, Jr. the Municipal Advocate in the Court of Consias yesterday afternoon during the second hearing of the action brought by four Chinese "fan-tan" landowners against the Shanghai Municipal Council for amages, restoration of light and telephone services nnd costs. Plaintifi, Messrs, Fang Chiad-ho, Hu Tsing: fang, Fang Ven-luck and Tze Zay-Ising, represented by Mr. Francis Liu, are claiming exemption from payment of land tax to the Council.
The nection involving more than $1,000,000 annual land tax collectable by the Council from owners of "fang fan" land in the Settlement was ad-Journed til this afternoon in Council chambers by Me. BAL Long, Secretary of the Consular Body who was appointed special commissioner to. take evidence of witnesses, It is understood that the consuls constitu-{ing the court will hear the arguments counsel at a later stage.
"Mr, Bryan for the Council at yesterday's hearing suggested to two plainti' witnesses who had failed to produce receipts from the Chinese authorities for ground rent, that their inglans" without the receipts were uso and were not good title Plaintiffs retorted that if this was the ense, the Council was not entitled to collect tax from them, Dur= the eross-examination of Mr. Hu Msing-fang, second plainti@ in' the se, Mr. Bryan suggested that witness was "biting the hand that was protecting him: from he Chinese Government and at the same time was refusing to pay the just assessments of the International Settlement."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.