The Shanghai rice supply is now considerably depleted and few shipments.are coming in. The small stocks at the disposal of the rice merchants are causing them great] anxiety and attracting much attention from the community.
Needless to say, if the stocks run out, the ones who will be the hardest hit' will be the poor, who depend] upon this as their main food. The authorities, are taking the matter] vp with vigour and have been conferring with the local rice merchants, At_a conference of members of] the Shanghai Rice Guild and the} Shanghai Grain Merchants' Associ tion on Monday, several important resolutions dealing with the supply were passed. The meeting was heid at the Shanghai Dis Magistrate's yarhen,—Magistrate Chang occupying the' chair. Representatives of Gen. Yen Chun-yang, Commissioner of the Shanghai and Woostng Martial Law Forces and Constabulary, and Mr. Fu Chiang, the Shanghai Taoyin, were al present.
'The resolutions, which were discussed at length were as follows:—1, That telegrams should be sent] to the rice dealers at Wusih, Changchow, Kashing, Sungkiang and Ta chow' urging them to hurry their rice shipments to Shanghai in order to meet the present emergency:
2. That the price limit for rice should be set at $12 so that the poorer people will not suffer hardship through having to pay exorbitant sums.
3. That there shall be no hoarding, smuggling for export or holding] stocks for higher prices:
4. That any merchant found committing breaches of the preceding]
shall be severely punished stocks confiscated:
That cheap rice sales bureaux 6. That the railways should be requested to place more vats at the disposal of the rice merchants in order to bring the grain to Shanghai.
After the meeting, Magistrate! Chang announced that he was prepared personally to make special] arrangements for the opening of couple of cloop sales shops.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.