MEETINGS, To the Editor of the "Norra-Cuina Dairy News."
Sin,—As the question of public interest in the Shanghai Municipal Council has been raised in your correspondence columns quite properly and timely also, I have to express my opinion that apathy on the part of the public Shanghaj for Municipal fairs is due to the fact that the Council meetings are held in private onstead of being open to the Press of Shanghai and thus to the general public, There never has been any real or justified reason and there Jess reason to-day why the Council meetings should not be open to ithe "Press of Shanghai" whereby general public may know exactly what is doing from day to day, besides enabling them to judge the merits of each "couneillor instead of the present "status -of affairs" when it is taken for granted one representative is as good as another. This is part the public apathy.
There never has been any serious attempt or great desire by any "body of Councillors, that I am aware of, to endeavour to enlighten the general public through the medium of the press of their stewardship at any time, and while time was ripe, even say 25 years ago, for the Council meetings to be so opened to the eyes of the public, it is really necessary to-day that matters be taken in hand and placed on a somewhat clear and straightforward By opening the meeting to the Press a feeling of confidence will be created and maintained amongst foreign and native residents alike.
It is 20 years now since I was invited and refused to take the place of a retiring Councillor on "the Shanghai Municipal Council, the question of the "closed doors" method being enough for me. I am, ete., A. J. Rrcwarpsoy.
Shanghai, Feb. 19.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.