At the Chamber of Commerce meeting on Tuesday, the Chairman, R. I. Fearon, Esq., in expressing the satisfaction of members with the action of H. B, M. Mi-ulster in the settlement of the Formosan Aifficulty, took occasion to notice an article in one of the local papers which he thought was calculated to give a wrong impression of the general state of feeling among the mercantile community regarding that affair, We are probably right in assuming that we were the journal he referred to, audit is ting that we should offer some explanation of the circumstances under which we were led to put forward what we are not sorry to find was the view of a minority. When the terms of the convention were made known, we hastened to give public expression to the approval with which we believed the settlement would be universally received, and more especially to congratulate Mr: Wade on having accom-a difficult task -in a manner apparently #0 satisfactory to both countries. "Br, Wade," we wrote, "as repre-Great Britain, could have had no in setting the two countries by and every reason, in the interests of legitimate trade, to reconcile them if possible." But the subject was one regarding which there was much divergence of opinion at the time, and we felt constrained to give a place to the consideration of it from a different point of view. great many," we said, "seemed to think that more benefit was likely to redound to foreigners and foreign commerce generally, out of a prolongation of the misunderstanding, than out of its summary removal; an impression which is to be attributed, not at all to any sanguinary desire to see two nations engaged in mortal combat, but, we verily believe, to a painful sense which pervades the minds of all classes of foreigners in China that we foreigners stand politically in a false position, and that any change, no matter at what cost, would be an enviable one." And: our article generally was the éx-pression of what we understood to be 'a prevalent sentiment, that some new and positive advantage to foreign interests should follow from the essential service which Mr. Wade had been able to render to China, At the same time we were careful to remark: Nothing has as has not fully availed himself of the favourable opportunity afforded him, to secure some positive advantage to his country and its trade." And we concluded: "But should it not have occurred to him to have used the occasion to good purpose, it is much to be feared that the existing di content with the state of our relations will be seriously intensified, and that China will only too soon forget the lasting service which has been rendered her in her time of need." On a subsequent occasion, without losing sight of the considerations of ultimate advantage to foreigners advanced the article we have quoted from, we Fe-affirmed distinctly our frst view, that Mr. Wade had done well to procure a settlement of the dispute. We hope, therefore, we may claim to have endea-youred gololy to present in an impartial manner the various aspects under which the settlement appeared to us to be regarded by cur fellow-residents; and if the divergent opinions which certainly did exist have become consolidated into one of " unqualified satisfaction," we can only say that it now gives us much pleasure to record the fact on the excellent authority of the popular and courteous Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.