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Art. 39. All decisions of the assembly of delegates shall be reported by the municipal council within one week to the manager of the Chinese Eastern Railway.
Art. 40. Decisions of the assembly of delegates relating to matters mentioned in article 38 (a), (e), (f), (g), (J), (0), (q), (r) of these regulations must be confirmed by the general administration of the company. Subject to confirmation by the said administration, are also decisions regarding loans and guarantees (article 38 (i)). This does not apply, however, to guarantees and small loans for the running expenses of the town if their total sum, together with all similar loans and engagements previously concluded, does not exceed one-half of the total of the town revenues for the past All such decisions shall be considered as confirmed by the general administra- tion and shall become effective if no notice of objection to them is received within two months from the date of their receipt by the manager of the railway.
year.
Art. 41. The decisions of the assembly of delegates on matters enumerated in article 38 (c) of the present regulations shall become effective if no protest is raised by the manager of the railway within two weeks from the date of their receipt by him.
The Municipal Council,
Art. 42. The municipal council shall consist of a chairman and five members, of which three shall be elected members and two selected by the manager of the Chinese Eastern Railway from employés of the said railway company, or from persons whose names are on the final electoral lists.
Art. 43. The chairman and the elected members shall hold office for three years, and shall be elected from amongst the delegates.
The chairman must be a Russian subject. If it should he impossible for the chairman to be present at a meeting of the council or of the assembly, he shall be replaced by one of the elected members of the council, a Russian subject, chosen by the council. Should a vacancy occur in the membership of the council caused by the retirement, dismissal, illness, or death of one of its elected members, the assembly of delegates shall elect a substitute to take his place during the remainder of the current three years' term.
Art. 44. The chairman and members of the municipal council shall be elected by closed ballot, with ballot balls, from amongst the candidates proposed at the meeting. The persons deemed to be qualified to assuine office shall be those who have received the required proportion of votes (ie., the "ayes" of one-half of the delegates present plus one) and shall take precedence according to the number of votes which they respectively receive.
Art. 45. Complaints as to irregularities committed at the elections may be addressed to the manager of the railway within seven days from the date of the elections. If the manager of the railway shall find these complaints justified he may demand that a special meeting of the assembly of delegates be called to investigate the matter. Such a meeting shall have the right either to confirm the elections or to order that they be held anew, either wholly or in part, according as they may see fit.
Art. 46. The amount of remuneration to be paid from the funds of the municipal administration to the chairman and other members of the municipal council for their services shall be fixed prior to the elections by the assembly of delegates.
Art. 47. The municipal council shall be entrusted with the executive part of the municipal administration, together with:-
(a.) The execution of the decisions of the assembly of delegates.
(b.) The preparation of reports and estimates to be presented to assembly of delegates concerning matters of which the council has charge.
(c.) The appointment, transfer, and dismissal of the employés of the municipal administration and the determination of their salaries within the limits provided by the budget adopted by the assembly of delegates.
(4.) The preparation and confirmation of instructions and rules for the executive officers of the municipal council as well as rules for the use of town properties. (e.) The preparation of budgets and municipal reports and accounts.
(f) The investigation of complaints regarding the actions and orders of the officers of the municipal administration.
(9.) The approval of plans and façades of private buildings and the issue of permits for reconstruction and extensive repairs.
(h.) The authority to sue and to be sued before the courts on questions concerning the town's property.
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Art. 48. A quorum of the municipal council shall consist of not less than four members including the chairman or the member replacing him. All questions brought before a meeting of the municipal council shall be decided by a majority vote of those present. If the votes be even, the chairman shall have a casting vote.
Art. 49. Copies of all minutes of the meetings of the municipal council shall be transmitted to the manager of the Chinese Eastern Railway. Decisions of the council adopted unanimously by all the members present may be put into effect at once. All other decisions shall become effective if no objections to them are raised by the manager of the railway within a week after the receipt by him of the minutes relating thereto. If
any objections are forthcoming on the part of the manager of the railway, the matter shall be reconsidered by the municipal council, and if the council cannot agree with the manager of the railway, the matter shall be referred to the assembly of delegates for decision.
Art. 50. All written and verbal transactions, as well as debates at the meetings of the assembly of delegates and of the municipal council, shall be conducted in the Russian language.
Art. 51. All dealings of the municipal administration with the Chinese authorities and the foreign consuls must have the approval of the railway administration.
Art. 52. All rules introduced by the municipal administration in accordance with the stipulations of the present regulations shall apply to all inhabitants and institu- tions in the municipality of Harbin.
Art. 53. Should any land belonging to the municipal administration be leased to foreigners, a written undertaking shall be required from them to conform to all municipal and police regulations and directions, whether of a temporary or permanent character, already existing or to be established. Such undertakings shall be accom- panied by a certificate containing the approval and consent of the resident consuls of the countries of the foreigners concerned, or of the consuls of friendly Powers under whose protection such foreigners are.
Art. 54. All disputes between the municipal administration and the railway administration shall be decided by the general administration of the company.
Art. 55. A plan of the territory surrendered to the municipal administration, as approved by the general administration of the company, is attached to the present regulations.
(No. 11.)
Sir,
Enclosure 3 in No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Acting Consul Sly.
Peking, May 22, 1911. I HAVE to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch No. 16 of the 30th April, furnishing your observations on the various points which it is desirable to bear in mind in connection with the proposed arrangement with the Russian Government for the levy of municipal taxes from British subjects residing in the Chinese Eastern Railway areas in Manchuria, and requesting my instructions to enable you to approach the Russian consul-general with definite suggestions.
In order that you may do this it will not be necessary for me at this stage to refer to more than four of the seven points enumerated in your despatch, namely, Nos. 1, 2, 5, and 6. (1.) Your suggestion with regard to guaranteeing the expendi ture of municipal taxes levied from British subjects appears to me to be a little too vague, and might be made more definite if we could specify the taxes as the Americans seem to have done. (2.) I see no objection to either of the alternatives for the present method of levying taxes on factories and commercial undertakings, namely, that they should be replaced either by a business tax assessed on an examination of the firm's books, or by a transport tax levied on all goods entering or leaving the town, the produce to be applied to the maintenance of the roads. It would be well to ascertain if possible which form of levy would be preferred by British subjects. (5.) As regards the guarantee to be obtained from the Russian authorities that British subjects shall not be required on the expiration of the railway company's lease to evacuate their property without due compensation, I doubt whether His Majesty's Government would be prepared to give the counter-assurance suggested by you, and undertake to uphold Russian claims to the railway area as interpreted by Russia. If this point should present the difficulties you anticipate, they might be met by a stipulation that British subjects should, in regard to security of tenure, receive as favourable treatment
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