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of Hongkong communicated with the police in Manila, and the best detectives here were put on the case.
The murdered woman was well known bere in the under world. E he had been in Manila about a year when she left. She came here from China and became the housekeeper and an inmate of the house at 92 calle Alejandro VI, This house was conducted by Beatrice Booth who also had another establishment at 41 calle Beten.
Gertrude Dayton was far abɔve the middle beight, with brown eyes, and rather faded looking. She possessed a fine voice and had been an actress. Bome weeks ago one of the Booth women's establishments was burned in
the middle of the night and she claimed a heavy loss on jewelry and furnishinge. She was in's bad way financially, as she had bought Smiths's restaurant some time before and lost many
thougands in the business which was managed by Louis Heyman". The latter married a companion of Beatrice Booth. Finally the creditors seised the restaurant.
When the fire occurred Miss Booth transferr: ed the insurance to Gertrud layton to prevent the creditors from getting it. Miss Dayton ocllected about four thousand pesos,
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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PŘESS AND
It was about this time, July 18, that W. H. Ataess appeared on the scene. He was well as- quaintea in Manila having served here as a soldier, nd having mixed in tenderloin society, He took up with the Dayton woman and they resided together at the Hotel de Francia, as also did Josie Marshall, another Sampaloc denizer. Gertrude Dayton was supposed to have at this time from five to ten thousaud pesos in money and jewels. On July 30 she accompanied Atzers on the Eastern, and under the name of Mr. and Mrs. W. H Jones, and with Josie Marshall, sailed for Hongkong.
The details of their trip and of where they went on arrival in Engkong are not known here. They could not have been in a hotel there more than a day before Gertrude Dayton was killed.
Beatrice Booth left here for Japan on the Kumano Maru on August 3, supposedly follow ing the Dayton woman in an effort to get back the insurance which it was said Miss Dayton refused to return. Booth arrived in Hongkong three days after the murder.
Gertrude Dayton, during her short career in these islands made several visits to points ontside of Mainla. She is said to have made a tour of the southern island touch- ing at the principal towns between here and Zamboangs. At the latter port she remained several days and is said to have capti- vated several of the youths of that town with her excellent singing and dancing. Upon her return to Manila she was in possession of several handsome presents which she was proud to exhibit to her scquaintances in this city. Miss Dayton, as a girl, was well brought up, her manners were rather refined, she had a good education, was a brilliant conversationalist and was thoroughly musical and entertaining. She was tall and slender and had a fair complexion. She had been an actress.
Miss Jessie Lesser, proprietress of the house that Gertrude Dayton res ded in while ia Manila claims that the murdered woman is not Miss Dayton, saying that she left Hong-ong on the Shawmut, which sailed from that port before the murder took place.
A well known Manilan says. "I knew the suspect, who was recently stationed at the American Legation in Peking, he being in the service of the Marines. Several months ago he obtained his discharge and went to Shanghai where he was considered a "crooked gambler.
"
After staying in Shanghai several weeks he married a woman of the red light district, and shortly afterwards was compelled to leave the city by Judge Wildey, Hà came to Manila and immediately renewed his acquaintance with the Dayton woman,
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Mr. J. Kortals Altes, General Manager, and Mr. G. van Thiel de Vries, Technical Manager, representing the East Asiatic Dredging Co., Tex Bokkel Huinink, Korthals Altes van Thiel de Vries & Co., contractors for dredging opera- tions in the Huangpu and also for the building of the breakwater, have arrived in Shanghai and operations will start very shortly.
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THE TAXÁTION QUESTION AT
MACAO.
AN INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSES OF THE RECENT AGITATION.
The Chinese at Macao during the past few moutbs have been greatly perturbed over the operations of the reveane department of the Colonial Government. For reason8, whether sound or otherwise we shall presently endeavour to make clear, the Chinese population has been agitated by a belief that new taxes were being imposed; and they have held a number of meetings to discuss the situation. The last meeting was attended by upwards of two thousand persos, which is prima facie evidence of a wide-spread belief that they have a grievance. Our correspondent at Macao, an old resident of the Colony as familiar with the Chinese language as with Portuguese, has in his letters to the Daily Press reflected the views which his own inquiries have led him to adopt, namely, that new and increased taxes are being levied. Official denials of these allegations have been published in our columns and by placards posted in Macae, but curiously enough the letter from the Protector of Chinese which recently appeared in the Daily Press seemed to refute the denial which it was intended to
In make.
view of the perplexing nature of the correspondence and the wide- spread public interest aroused in the question, a representativ of the Dtly Press has visited Macao for the purpose of inquiring into the matter and ascertaining, if possible, how these conflicting views are to be reconciled. result is the following statement of the situation :
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THE ORIGIN OF THE AGITATI N.
The
BD
The officials, from whom I received the fullest assistance in the prosecution of my inquiries, met the statement that attempt had this
year been made to impose
aud DOW
increased "industrial contributions" with an emphatic denial. There are two kinds of industrial taxes levied-a fixed tax or license fee upon industrial establishments of all descriptions in the Colony, and a "variable tax which the Protector of Chinese in his letter to the Daily Press describal as an “industrial tax on annual profits." This, how- ever,
tax. It is a tax on the earnings of pro‘essional seems to be an erroneous description of the men, such as doctors, surgeons, lawyers, teachers, notaries, solicitors, valuers, compositors and other persons exercising similar professions and is chargeable on incomes exceeding $100 p. a. An inquiry as to whether carpenters and masons came in that category, was answered in the negative, though in what respect, for the pur- poses of taxation, a carpenter or an engineer differs from a compositor, I am unable to explain. I mentioned the case of a runner in the service of one of the hotels who told me that his wages board and lodging), and he is taxed on that were $15 a month (in a dit on, I suppose, to his income twelve dollars and some odd cents per sanum, It was explained to me that such a man would rank in the professions as a "br. ker" and was therefore properly liable to taxation.
The tax on these " industrial incomes” is siz
per cent, plus a surcharge of 40 per cent, for municipal and other purposes. A menial, though he earns more than $100 per annum, is exempt from taxation. So also is a "workman."
These taxes have been on the statute books of the Colony for more than fifty years, and I was informed by the officials that they have always been levied. I can only coneinde from my further inquiries that in the past the tax-gatherer has performed his duties in a most indulgent the Chinese this year as something new. In his manner, for these taxes have undoubtedly struck recent letter to the Daily Press. the Protector
of
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hinese reportel Mr. Lu Cau, one of the principal Chinese magnates of the Colony, as saying that this tax on/ industrial incomes had erroneously been regarded as a poll taz." And Mr. La Cau pointed out that this tax, far from being a source of revenue to the Exche- quer would be a hindrance to the development of Macao." Why should one of the leading Chinese merchants speak in terms like these if the tax did not appear to the Chinese as a new tax? When I put this question to a prominent official he suggested that an erroneous impres sion was created by the sentence owing to the
(August 19, 1907. writer's imperfect saqu sintance with the English language. "What was meant was not only that the tax would be a hindrance to the development of Macao, but that it has boen, is and over will be so.
If that is the case, why have the people suddenly awoke to the fact P
The explanation of the whole matter won'd- seem to be that there is a new broom in the
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revenue department which has been making a clean sweep. The Chiet of the Fazenda čás found that it is the law of the Colony that there taxes shall be paid and he has accordingly aniled for the necessary information to enable him to assess the tax which each individual liable to pay taxes ought properly to contribute to the Ereb quer. Moreover, he has printed sad published the tables of oo tributions payable by the industrial establishments in the Colony and it would also appear that he has in some cases revised the assessments, that is to say, some establishments which previously were ranked in the first class have been placed in a y higher case, and the proprietors socordingly called upon to pay higher licences. I was officially informed, however, that this could only apply to very few cases and that the great majority of the establishments paid at the minimum rates. Whoever is aggrieved has the right to appeal against the assessment,
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These industrial taxes on shops cannot be described as burdensome, but the six per cent plus the surcharge of forty per cent, on annual incomes must be an onerous tax on the wages of ́- a large number of people who, according to the law, are liable to pay it. By the latest Esti mates published—those for the year ending June 1907 - it appears that out of a total revenue of about $1,400,000 only a paltry 833,"00 is derived from the shop taxes and the industrial income tax combined. It seems incredible that there taxer, if exactly levied and rigorously enforced, would not yield a larger revenue that this in a city of 90,000 people, and prima facie the smallness of the revenue supports the view that in the past there has been an indulgent execution of the law. The Government has contented itself with what the assessment bas happened to produce, and it is simply, in fact, the appearance of an intention to be leas indulgent that has raised the kornets' nest;
་
The
WHY NOT ABANDON THESE TAXES ? The Chinese suggestion aiming at the abolition of these taxes is not as unreasonable as at first sight it might appear. Estimates for 1906 7 show an expected surplus of revenue over expenditure amounting to about half a million dollars, all of which I understand would go to Lisbon for imperial purposes. The dropping of such troublesome and vexations taxes 88 those they do a revenue of only $33,000 and costing which have excited the agitation, yielding a3
to collect, I veatur, to think, more than the whole of the rest of the total revenue, would entail no hardship or inconvenience to the
his best for the Colony, is, I understand, government of the Colony. .. the Governor, who certainly manifests every desire to do engaged at the present time in drawing up regulations with regard to these industrial tax-s with a view to restoring confidence and contentment among the Chinese. But the conclusion is irresistible that any tax in the nature of a capitation tas--call it by what name you will—is arbitrary, uncertain, teamble- some and vexatious. The state of a man's fortune varies from month to month “and ^ yes: to year, and the annual inquisition of the revenue department is more intolerable than the tax itself. In whatever country suck tales have been levied they" have "always generated a quarrelsome, discontented attitude on the part of the people, whether the ter was light or heavy. It would be to the advantage of the Macao Government in many ways to entirely abolish these taxes. They are not necessary to the support of the administration and must in their v ry nature be, as Lu Cầu bàs said, a hindrance to the development of trade. Even if there were no taxes either on shops or income, the G'overn- met of Macso would still have a revenue from the gambling monopolies and the opium farm which would leave a handsome surplus over the expenditure, notwithstand ng the last that Macao relatively bears a for larg proportion of imperial expenditure than dou the Colony of Hongkong,
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