To the Editor of the NorrH-Cuma Datty News."
'$ig—"Keep on sayin' nuffen," Jand facing the matter as it stands, Jone can hardly not look back, and. Jequally impossible that one should fuct look forward..We pride ourselves upon the work that the. local defence forces had accom. plished during the war round, Shanghai, I- mean the Shanghai Volunteer Corps.and the Special Constables, who were not paid to do the work, Tt was not until the black war cloud broke near us that we really japprecinted the Shanghai Volunteers at their full worth. They} were seen in all the pestilential streets anil lanes of the boundary, keeping the thin lines of partition intact, as they were always. on the. front.' In that front what scenes: were met? There were swamps which bred miasma and death, the Jopen plain with guns in front and }guns in flank; the houses afire, the dead roasted' in the flames, "the wounded dragging their mangled limbs through the boundaries, ete, ete. As sure as I live, this is no unfair representation of how it was with the S.V.C.—There they lived, there they guarded with the most: daring courage, with the most obstinate endurance and the most self-sacrifice, always ready and proud of the privilege of defending the Settlement, against. overwhelming foes, all desperadoes. And when the final victory was sounded, and success perched upon the banners of the Kiangsu armi the demobilization of the S.V.C. was marvellous. They disappeared, not the Chinese armies, leaving' jeourse; but rather, as you well said, leaving' the boundaries intact, the peace and order undisturbed, and the properties of the Settlement: untouched. And I know that all property owners feel safer now, that, all residents of the Settlement [breathe freer. But what do the Volunteers get in return? The ungratefal public keep on saying nothing.
During the events of the past two months, every thinking man. and }woman' must have been impressed by the gravity of the'problems with /which our' present Councillors have been foreed. to grapple; problems that have demanded of them many fof the great qualities, such as, a steady adherence to what was right, firmness before the contending parties at war, buoyance and strength before friends, and humility before the Creator who dis. poses of all things. These are elements of character with which they distinguished themselves, in voluntary services to all law-abiding residents of this International Settlement. And what do they get in return? The ungrateful public keep on saying nothing. They Mould also be recipients of many congratulatory expressions of thanks, a mere formality, 1 know, fand so far, not a word has yet been heard,' They were also under arms in body much of the time, in all the time." Nothing can be truer than to say that, And yet, people keep on saying nothing.
Unfortunately, in this Model Settlement, only those who are paid to do the work believe they deserve more, and others, who voluntarily' give their services for the benefit of all, and of those who fare paid, are only entitled to a mere formality, an appreciation of invaluable public services. I say invaluable' and you think so, but the: majority, say, they are worth We had' no European enemy to dread, it, is true, But we must Week" straight in the face' the fact that we had near us, at our doors, thousands of Chinese soldiers, who might have done more looting and burning here than in any other place in China. Were it not for the presence.of Volunteers all over the boundaries, this Settlement. would have been' reduced to cinders and many of the foreign population, if not all, would have been massacred.
'The mission of the S: V.C, did not end there, at that time, it has not ended yet. When reports reach us that' Gen, Kung Paun-doh is in Shanghai with approximately 20,000 men near us, and that Chang Tso-lin has in his' big army, 1,500 Russians, we must convince our selves that the trouble is not over, and when it comes again, we should not wait for aid from the crews of our wat vessels, as We cannot Wok for succour to' the army gar visons of Hongkong and other distant foreign ports. In the near fature perils, you will find again the S.V.C. an impregnable bulwark of defence against any power that may arise against us. Then, perhaps, they will again Keep on saying nothing.
Tam, ete,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.