To the Editor of the "Noara-Cnrxa Dany News, Srr,—Comments and letters having successively appeared in daily papers, in which the good faith of Chinese merchants and guilds in regard to the present plague question has been called into question, it becomes necessary for some' guild to say a word of reply: and the present letter you will kindly insert in your paper. And I want to limit my Answer to your correspondents "Anxious" and "On Face," and for the Pisce Goods Guild, in partioalar, Why the piece goods auctions on Wednesday were not attended, and whether that event was consistent with the pledge of the merchants and guilds is © question which can only be explained, if one remembers the limitation of haman powers, that no individaal—aod no body corporate—is omnipotent enough to carry out 1 ite wishes at once, with the speed of thought—snd at a time when the inhabitants of the town had been so upset by the terrible old system of search and the atill more terrible ramours thereof, and wore hastily leaving or about to leave the town, for fear of riot—and teoondly, that where the fact happened through men haviog no connexion with the gaild, whatever good offices, or doe performance of one's contractual obligation (if you like) the guild can render, must twice time for its exeoation. Boaring theee two points in mind—especially when you have to approach men not belonging to the guild, men who might not reflect very mach on the seriousness of the engagements entered into by others—you will see that the good faith of the guild cannot really and reasonably be called into question any more than the salema engagements of the Muncipal Council, Next, I must point out that of the hole body of men attending at piece goods auctions, the guild members re non-members and agents:
other ports. If the latter did or refrained from doing anything, guild without haviog fully prepared elf for tha emergency would be unable efficiently to cope with the situation, It was the latter who were largely responsible for the failure of those auctions: they might, for aught I know, have refrained out of pradeotiel considerations of one sort or another, and very possibly out of considera tions for the business sitastion of the ports whence they came, which mast have been affected by the by threatening state of affairs in Shanghai, Bot I mast strongly repudiate for the gaild that there had been taken any such underhand means, to which, it is alleged, the guild resorted, as the post- promi ing of a notice instigating boycott, There never was any such notice posted at all on its own premises, or on the premises of the leading members of the guild. The guild declines to accept responsibility on the part of others, And I mast further strongly protest sgaiost the insinva'ing of apy such motive as that of aiming at making fresh and more advantegeons terms, or "'eattiog down the price," as your correspondent "On Face" hints, a motive not worthy of respectable people of any nation and equally unworthy of the merchants whose words are better than the bonds of otbere, In conclusion, and to avoid all word-contention, I may declare here that the Piece Goods Guild (and other similar guilds and associations, so far as I know) ave ever since been doing their best to prevent any sash irregularity in fatare on this ecore§ so long, of course, as the foreign community and the Manicipal Council are doing their duty and endes our to keep peace by pacificatory sares; and what I say hero and now will be amply attested by real events afterwards and soon.
Tam, ete., Chairman of the Piece Goods Quild.
Shanghai, November 19.
We are glad to have Mr. Shao Gin-tow's denial of the existence of the boycott poster. statement that reached os was most circamstsntial and we were given by " member of the gaild what purported to be a copy of the poster, which was ssid to have remained up till Fr To the Editor of the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.