January 25.
Wrra the election brought to a satisfactory conclusion, the moment may be opportune to take stock of the general position in Municipal affairs and to endeavour to profit by the lesson taught by the events the. last tow days. On broad lines the verdict of the poll indicates that the community prefers to entrust the administration of its affairs to a homogeneous body of tried men ruther than at this juncture to indulge in well-meant experiments based on popaler j catchwords wholly inapplicable to the peculiar circumstances obtaining in Shanghai. Our raison d'étre as 2 community is primarily commerce and the general interest is likely to be served best in the long run by men who not only have personal stake in the Settlement, but are directly concerned in handing on to others who come after them a heritage showing improvement under their own regime. On the other hand the government should be popular in act as well as in form, and should bear in mind that small grievances allowed to germinate unheeded often produce wide expressions of dissatisfaction. Among the nine councillors elected it should be possible to secure instinct tive representation of all interests in the commanity; but rather than that some should be overlooked, it would be well to make a definite division of these amongst the members of the Council. Roads and lighting, tramway service and police are municipal matters that loom large in everyday life, and the feeling that one section of the Settlement is worse off than another may lead to the raising of far graver issues at election time. "We believe and hope that the keenness shown in this election will bear fruit in a sustained interest in Municipal affairs and in a marked consciousness of permanent closeness of touch as between councillors and community. If this be attained the' excitement of the past few days has not been in vain. Despite all attempts to misrepresent motives and words, those who care to read and consider know that the element has been rigorous ly excluded from these columns. Even a rhetorical "Tammany" would have passed unnoted, confine od to its original restricted reference to methods not men, had not the advocates of 2 lost cause been in need of a rallying cry.
H.-C. herald and S. C. & C. Gazette.
237
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.