Tr is to be hoped that some attention will be paid to the letteret Mr. Hall, published elsewhere. The statements made by our Correspondent are of too serious a tore to be allowed to pass without the promptest and strictest investigation, for the condition of affairs, accord. ing to his account, is nothing less' than horrible, Mr, Hall has so far. bad the courage of his opinions as to append his name to his communication, and we understand that he is in a position to prove all the charges that he has advanced. We do not wish for a moment to throw any doubt upon the perfect integrity and conscientiousness of Mr, Howes as an Inspector of Markets. Bat the fact remains that while he has been reporting "all the cattle healthy and free from disease," sickness is said to have been very prevalent, and prevalent to a degree of which no one here seems to have had the most remote Tt is unnecessary for us to sum. manse the disgusting details respecting the slaughter-houses and knackers'- shops so remorselessly set down by Mr. Hall. It is however our duty to point out that Mr, Hall's letter contains, by implication, a very serious charge against the trustworthiness of the reports furnished by our pro-sent Inspector of Markets, If what our Correspondent avers is trac—and it is difficult to shut our eyes to the probability, at least, of its being so—it follows that Mr. Howes must have been systematically im: posed upon by the native dairymen and butchers, and that his reports to the Municipal Council are therefore unreliable. It remains to be seen, of course, whether Mr. Hall's allegations will be proved; but we submit that id ion affecting so intimately the wing of every resident in the Settlement the fullest weight should be given to his statements, and the fullest investigations instituted. We have been told that we are surrounded in Shanghai, on every side, by the worst dangers. The air we breathe is unhealthy and impure; the water we drink requites a multiplicity of processes before it can be considered absolutely free from poison; our clothes are washed in stagnant and fetid pools, and our milk is a frequent vehicle for the conveyance into our systems of fever-germs. Woe have at least a right to expect that the Municipal Council will protect us from feeding on the flesh of animals which have either been exposed to the infection of the native slaughter-houses or killed while suffering from disease; As far as I can understand," says Mr. Hall, referring to a conversation between himself and the Inspector of Markets, "he simply puts his questions to butchers and knackers as to how many [cattle] they have killed, snd whatever their answer is he books it as correct, without any attempt at- verifying their statements; and the same takes place in his dairy-reports." We' have not the slightest doubt that koackers and dairymen use every means' of deceiving and hoodwinking the: In-pooter; at the same time the Inspéotot"
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.