Th "Shunpao" gives the following report of the final steps leading to the meeting at which it was resolved to call off the projected strike.
The representatives of the Honan Road Association called on Mr. Yang, Special Envoy of Foreign Intercourse, reporting what had taken place (at the Mixed Court and after) and asking him to" uphold their rights. Mr. Yang at once appointed Mr. 8. K. Chen to see the Belgian Consul-General and inform him of the forcible collo> tion of taxes by the S. M. ©. The Senior Consul telephoned the Council on the subject and the latter admitted having been to collect the Municipal Tax. Then, the Senior Consul and Mr. Chen came to the following understanding:—
(1) The 19 shops which have refused to pay.the.tax at once should be ordered.to hand the tax to the Bureau of Foreign Intercourse, and the Bureau should forward the money.to the Mixed Court.
(2) The forcible collection of the by the S. M. C. should ye dealt with as a separate and dis tinct question.
(3) The Shanghai Municipal Council should be ordered to stop collecting the tax. (Sic!)
Mr. Chen returned to the Bureau and, in the presence of the representatives, made his report to Mr. Yang. He.warned them, however, to respect. order and not to step beyond bounds. The representatives expressed their thanks and were about to leave. Just at that moment, the Fokien Road Association sent a report to the Bureau, stating that, as a result of the S. M. ©. using force in collecting the tax and in breaking open shops' safes and taking
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.