The Annual Inspection of the Municipal Police by the Members of the. Watch Committee and the Chairman of the Municipal Council took place yesterday afternoon in the Town Hall. There were 576 officers and men on parade, made up as follows:—12 officers, 54 sergeants and European constables, 107 Sikhs, and 403 patlyes. The men looked very smart Arawn up in long rows across the hall, and the mounted Sikhs with their lances' and red and white pennons gave a touch of colour to the scene. When the Chairman of the Council, Mr. F. Anderson, and Messrs. D. Landale, A. M. Marshall, and ©.W. Wrightson (Watch Committee) came into the hall the order " general salute" was given, and then the men stood at attention while the Chairman and, the Watch Committee passed up and down the es inspecting the men, After all the lines had been inspected the European Police were marched forward in order that the Sikhs might give an exhibition of their drill. The latter were put through various manual exercises with their carbines, by Captain Boisragon, The Europeans than took their places again, and the Chairman of the Council, coming to the front addressed the officers and men as follows Captain Boisragon and Members of the Shanghai Police Foree—On behalf of the Council I have to express satisfaction at the smart appearance and bearing of the Force on parade; we have seen here to-day, evidence of dis line which is very creditable to the Force generally. I am glad to learn from you, Sir, that not only at this parade, but that, throughout the ordinary daily' work of the year, the standard of discipline in the Force as a whole, has been satisfactorily maintained. All of you must know that in a large Force like the Shanghai Police, discipline is absolutely essential if good work is to be done. Your work is'becoming greater and more important as the Settlement grows—every year a greater burden of responsibility is east upon you, and the community rely upon you with confidence to effectively carry out the trust reposed in you. Not only have you to be the guardians of the public peace to maintain law and order amidst a vast population, but, to be entirely successful in the role which you have undertaken, you have to retain the confidence of a large foreign population of many different nationalities, and also of an immense native population who look to you for protection. Such a task involves the exercise of qualities of a high order—integrity, discretion, and tact, amongst others—and every man in the Force has it in his power by his personal conduct, to his share towards cither creating that feeling of confidence, or detracting from it. L would like to impress upon you that it will tend to give confidence to the Chinese, at any rate it may prevent misunderstandings arising, it may enable you to save them trouble and annoyance, Which in some cases may almost amount to practical injustice, if you understand their language; it will be advantageous to you in your future career, it willcertainly count for promotion, and I therefore urge upon you, especially the younger men, to take advantage of the opportunities of acquiring a knowledge of Chinese which have been provided by the Council at considerable expense. None of us can
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.