11th March.
Tue meeting of British residents at the Supreme Court yesterday morning passed off as quietly as could be wished. It could Maral be called large or representative, but it was doubtless as large and as representative as the inconvenient hour for which it was called would allow. The British Consul-General began the proceedings by reading Tong explanation ofthe course he had far adopted, and it is needless to say that it was in excellent taste, and was received by the meeting with serious attention; and we are very glad that that the duke and Duchess of Connaught Mr. Hughes, having at last ascertained
[are coming, is throwing himself so heartily into the preparations for their royal highnesses' reception. He concluded by reading the programme that his committee had drawn up; a programme which practically proposes that our visitors shall be the guests of the British residents up to the end of tiffin, and during the remainder of the day program The Gbairman of the Municipal Council the guests of the whole community.
moved the adoption of the programme, and the Vice-Chairman seconded it, and the unanimity with which it was passed was a good indication of the feeling of the meeting that it was necessary under the circumstances to sacrifice individual feelings to the attainment of general harmony. The Crown Advocate in a laboured address of considerable diffuseness then moved the election of a Committee to ce-operate with the Consul-General in the execution of the programme that had just been carried. He {was unfortunately hampered by the assumed necessity of finding places on the permanent committee for all the gentlemen who had served on the provisional body; and if some of his reasons will not bear examination this would no doubt be his excuse, while nothing could be more charming than the modesty with which he waived his own claims as leader of the Bar to a seat on the Committee, in favour of our leading solicitor. That of the twenty-four members of whom the Committee consists, only four are Englishmen born, does but shew how much the settlement owes to the energy of the natives of the sister kingdoms. A little closer acquaintance with fucts—which we are more apt to expect in a member of the legal profession—would have prevented his proposing as the representative of the Press of Shanghai a gentleman who disclaims the honour formally in a letter which appears in another column or as the Head of the Mih-ho-loong a gentleman who has never been a Mib-ho-loong, except in as far as the volunteer company of which he is the justly popular commander, still bears the name ' Mih-ho-loong' as a part of its title. Mr. Campbell and Mr. Dudgeon are both gentlemen who require no reason or excuse for being put on such a committee; and the matter is of interest, because there ought to be on the committee a representative of the Mih-ho-loong Fire Company, who are united with the infantry company in giving the ball which it is hoped-our royal visitors will honour with their presence. Of the gentlemen ce-opted to the provisional committee one was still omitted, but this omission will no doubt be rectified immediately. Mr. Wilkinson's list was adopted en bloc by the meeting; it would be too much to say that the unanimity with which the business was transacted was much more than superficial.
This being understood, it now only remains for us all to ce-operate heartily with Mr. Hughes and the reception committee and the Municipal Council in making Easter Monday another red-letter day in the annals of Shanghai, remembering that we in this first Tal century of Shanghai's existence are building up the history to which pos-tenty will look back with affectionate reverence. There is indeed nothing very startling proposed so far in the me read by Mr. Hughes, but the Chairman of the Council, Mr, Macgregor, told us that he has something in his bag, which we have no doubt will be worthy of the community as a whole. We do not know whether the committee will avail themselves of Mr. Bredon's proffer of his services in the way of interesting the Chinese in the forthcoming celebration; but we do not see why Hongkong should be the only place to produce a gold and a silver dragon in their royal highnesses' honour. Some use might well be made of the river as a portion of the spectacle when our guests arrive, and here the Chinese could give the most valuable assistance, as well as in avy illuminations that it may be contemplated to have at night. Whatever the details fixed on, the Duke and Duchess may be assured that their welcome here will be hearty and unanimous, and that we thoroughly appreciate the honour they do us in spontaneously including Shang hai in the programme of their homeward tour.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.