_The only way to improve the situation is by promoting the industries, Our merchants are busily engaged in the development of our natural resources and improvement of ow transportation facilities. The natural consequences of such efforts will be the supply to foreign\countries with the surplus of our resources and the Increase of our buying power, or in other words the increase of our foreign trade.
I am not conveying to you my personal ideas on this point but the thoughts of the merchant body of the whole nation. At the present, when our industry and commerce are just in rapid growth, we expect you to-make use of every chance to render assistance to our commercial and industrial enterprises, aS, it will be understood, this is not a matter of support but an intelligent action of mutual benefit, I believe you will fully agree with our point of view.
I want to say again that we are very glad to have the honour of your company, the representative men of the countries represented in Shanghai, and have the opportunity of expressing the thoughts and wishes of the Chinese merchants. We shall invite all such advice as you may like to give, to make us wiser and better able to meet the demand of present-day business and better prepared for the cooperation with the exchanges in your own countries. We drink to your health and to the growth of your trade in our country.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.