Now that communication with the North is temporarily suspended, Shanghai may be said to be thrown on its own resoprees. The cattle epidemic which prevailed in the neighbourhood has fortunately turned out to be of less moment than at one time seemed likely, though the loss in one dairy of imported cattle has caused a serious loss to the proprietor, The fuct, however, that was present has drawn public attention to the arrangements of the Municipal Councils, for both are interested in this question, with regard to the slaughtering of cattle, and the supply of meat to the Settlements. The confusion which seems to have prevailed in certain quarters as to "grease shops," knackers' yards, and meat for the supply of the Chinese and foreign portions of the community, is not reassuring as to the amount of supervision actually exercised; nor is this feeling strengthened when we are informed that the Inspector to the French Council having gone to these yards one day, discovered there some 2,000 lbs. of meat unfit for consumption. Now that the matter has been brought forward, the public would like to know what is the distinction made by the Councils in the use of the terms "slaughter houses, grease shops, and knackers' yards," and also whether, og seems to be implied from the reports presented to both Councils, it is customary to permit dead or diseased meat to be sold to Chinese within the limita, while @ pretence of protecting foreign consumers is kept up. The condition of the alanghter houses about Pa-sion-jaw has long been standing disgrace to the place, and though the chief blame here is not attachable to the Councils, the houses being without Manicipal limits, more apparently might have been done to prevent their becoming a nuisance, if not a source of danger to the health of the community. It seems strange that while the Councils have been busying themselves in matters lying beyond their natural fancy tions, these ordinary sanitary precautions should have been permitted to fall into a state of comparative neglect. Indeed, in a greater or less manner sanitary matters in their proper acceptation have scarcely experienced at the bands of successive Councils that attention which they deserve. True, the streets have been fairly drained, but on the other hand, no attention has been paid to ventilation, and with a g tide the upper levels of the sewers give forth most unsavory odours. Again, the large powers conferred on the Council in the present Regulations for the abatement of nuisances on private properties are for the most part a dend letter, and certain well known quarters of the Settlement continue from year to year to remain an aunoyance if not a source of danger to neighbouring localities. The By-laws as at present existing are certainly defective in many particul as all By-laws made in a hurry without the power of gradual amendment are bound to be. We should like to see them made more explicit, and to enter more into detail, but there ure points which at present can only be gained by a roundabout series of references, so prolonged that practically no good ever comes of the attempt to amend. One of these days possibly a better system ill be organised, and the power of making By-laws on the spot, within certain limits will be conferred, but till this is dove there seems no reason why more stringent execution of the present By-laws should not be insisted 1. As we have before pointed out, by the accident of circumstances we in Shanghai are placed in specially simple conditions in the carrying out of sanitary regulations. The fact that, practically, our drains are not made the receptacles of such a mass of decaying matter as is the general custom in Europe, adds much to our facilities for sanitary improvement. We hare found solved for us the great question now agitating the larger communities of England, the disposal of the worst constituents of ordinary recase. Yet in the face of this we have not advanced a step to take advantage of those favourable conditions, For aught the Council have done, there is nothing to prevent the public drains being made the receptacle of matters as offensive as those that have rendered the sewers in Europe hot-beds of disease. These are matters which may and should be taken into consideration by the Council, and with regard to which, their powers, if not perfect, are yet sufficiently ample to permit of mach good being effected.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.