Ar the recent meeting of the Culty Dairy Company one of the shareholders, Mr. V. J. S. Rumble, asked a question which bears very closely on the welfare of the Shanghai community. Owing to the length of the proceedings and the normal or tather abnormal pressure on our space we were unfortunately obliged to omit this part of the report, but no apology certainly is needed for reverting to it. Mr. Rumble, after referring to the vital importance of a pure milk supply and the difficulty of guaranteeing it to all in view of the extraordinary growth of the foreign population, asked when ther the directors are in favour of more stringent municipal licence regulations for dairies situated in or supplying milk within the Settlement and of higher milk standards than those obtaining at present.'
It is a matter of general knowledge (he said) that much milk comes into the Settlement from dairies outside the limits of the Settlement, where the control of the municipal authority cannot be exercised. But I suggest much more can be done to control such milk upon entry, and to control dairies receiving milk from_outside suppliers. Fines for milk ad-alteration, etc., are cheerfully paid and the culprits continue to carry on their abominable but lucrative game. The fines should be made heavier and after two or three convictions such dairies should be closed up. I think it will generally be admitted, also, that the present municipal milk standards are too lenient compared with those of other great centres of population in Europe and America.
The directors' answer to this was, that they were strongly in favour of more stringent regula*'ons and a greater measure of control,'' and an allusion to the efforts taken by the Culty Dairy Ca. to maintain the high quality of its produce—efforts which the success of the Company shows that the community tightly appreciates.
But we would ask, Is. the matter to stop here? Mr. Rumble's question was a distinct invitation to the directors of the company in which he is interested to take a definite step, in which there is no doubt thet they would have the active cooperation of the few other dairies ander adequate foreign: control. In this connexion it may, we think safely be said that the de-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.