More or less intimately the decline of forensic eloquence is associated with a lessened ability for public life; and in the present generally apathetic condition of Shanghai, we notice a marked retrogression in both respects from the standard formerly prevailing. Compared with the animation exhibited some or fifteen years ago, the present style of conducting a public meeting exhibits an unwholesome retrogression, which certainly does not speak much for the intellectual energy of the community, and which we fear betokens lasa knowledge or less interest in the objects sought to be attained. Possibly, the most noteworthy instance of the decline of the public life of Shanghai was to be noticed in the last annual mecting of Ratepayers, which discussed, to ite own satisfaction apparently, all that affected the interests and management of the Settlements for an entire twelve mouths in a short sitting of two hours, during which scarcely one single matter of moment excited the slightest comment from an assemblage seemingly anxious only to hurry over @ distasteful matter of daty before the sounding of the breakfast gong. But we find the like apathy extending in other directions. The meetings of local mercantile companies are as devoid of intelligent interest as that of the Ratepayers; and the annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, before which business of importance to the mercantile interests of the place should especially come, wascharacterised by the same want of energy. If we look farther into the social undertakings of the Settlements, we may notice a like departure from the wholesome precedents of former days. The Amateur Dramatic Corps cannot supply with recruits the losses which year by year ita ranks sustain, The Debating Society is a thing of the past; and even at the local branch of the Asiatic Soviety the task of carrying ona discussion as to the merits of, or opinions pressed in, the various papers, is left the hands of one or two members. It is somewhat difficult to comprehend the reason of all this. We are all aware that a certain class of directors and councillors look with disfavour on too mach questioning or expression of opinion ata public meeting. Bot this is rather @ consequence than a cause of the apathy of the community. Representative men take their tone from those whom they represent, and were the community in earnest its representatives would be of different stamp. As it is, with a loss of vigour 0 lent. vigour in notion, na dio out, nothin, brought forward to fill their place, and the avenue for distinction is yearly becom more and more confined. Doubtloss external circumstances have had much general decay in ity, but we cannot attribute it altogether to this cause, The present community might at least stir itself up, and though the ight not be very brilliant, it would at lerist be better than the pres. out state of seeming indifference to all beyond the dull routine of ordinary daily life.
Nor is the present position of affairs conducive to private prosperity. The man who confines himself to a single idea, and who permit his mind to run in ® groove, does not in the long run prove himself the suecessfal mau of business. If it were so, Shang. hai would at the present time be fall of millionaires, while we know only too well that the contrary is the case. The Labit of confining all one's thoughts to one object, and that a very restricted one, is raully at the bottom of our grief, Fow of our men of business study anything beyond their own immediate dopartmout. They have been silk-men or tea-men, and silk and ten-men they are to the end of their career. The prejudices imbibed dar. ing their early career are strength. ened with age, and when called on to conduct anything out of their ancient groove they prove themselves unequal to the occasion. When we remember that it is from these classes our public men are drawn, we may be the less surprised at the result; but if the idea that the surest rond to prosperity con. sisted in a capability of taking general grasp of affeirs rather than in a narrow adherence to detail, we should find our community lifted a little above ite present level.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.