Several encounters between the Police and armed robbers took place during the month, in the course of which one Constable was killed and three others were wounded by bul-ets. In addition, four Chinese pedestrians were wounded, three passing motor cars were hit, and several foreigners narrowly escaped with their lives. Other cases of serious crime included the shooting lof one foreigner by another on June 18, the shooting of a Chinese by another on June 19 and the death of hawker on June 28 following me Juries received in a fight. On June 26 a Chinese who had shot a Policeman in Chapei fled into the Settlement, commandeered a passing motor car and so made good his escape. Two armed robbers were killed by the Police and 10 others were captured, In all 12 cases of armed robbery were reported. Twelve Chinese were executed forearmed robbery 1d murder"committed in the Settlement. As regards serious crime Joceurring outside Settlement limits, 4 murders and 12 cases of armed robbery were reported in adjoining Chinese territory; 8 men arr ted $4, by the Municipal Police for armed robbery committed elsewhere were handed over to the Chinese Authorities and two men were executed. As usual a number of arties. Smaller captures are not infrequently made in the Settlement by the Municipal Police. But as the Manicipal Police do' not function either on the river or on any of the, private wharves they can_actually little to' stop the into the Settlement {from the direction whence most of them come. The Municipal Police, therefore, have to accept the exis: tence of armed desperadoes in the immediate vicinity of their jurisdiction [as a ready-made and unpreventable condition of affairs: that is, they are fin the unsatisfactory position of Ihaving to deal with the advanced stages of a malady which ought to checked at its source, The measures used include searches, raids, round—ups, domiciliary visits fand $0 on. Pursued unremittingly, fas they are, these activities are bound to bring she Police into conflict with those against whom they specially operate, When this happens firearms are used on both sides and members of the public are quite likely to get shot. This is a risk inseparable from the presen fof armed crimindls—which in itself, be it noted, is dependent chiefly upon the influx of weapons smuggled by foreigners in foreign ships from foreign countries. Evidence shows the illicit arms traffic in Shanghai to a thriving business conducted on large scale, Thats many foreigners engage in it is chiefly lowing, no doubt, to the insignificant, allies involved in. case. detection. In one Consular Court, the maximum penalty is three months' imprisonment. In another it appears to be 29 days. In another, Jan arms runner recently caught in the act of selling arms to a Chinese was let off scot free on purely domestic grounds. In face of sen-vances of this kind it Is not surprising that so mauve forei engage in a trade from which large profits are obtainable. But until (among other things) "the puni ments inflicted on foreign" arms smugglers are made really deterrent, shooting affrays continue to joceur in the streets and the lives and imps of the public will continue to be endangered, notwithstanding the very thorough training which policemen undergo in the'handling and use fof their weapons and the constant. efforts made to impress on them that. leven whom engaged in conflict. with armed criminals the safety of the Dublic is a prime consideration, During the month 62 opium and gambling raids were carrie out by the Police from which a sum of over 300 accrued to the Council from fig and confiscations, A plot to cause disaffection among local Chinese troops was month. rests for being in possession of arms in the Settlement were made. For the half year ending June 30, 74 reports of armed robbery were received, in connexion with which 63 [persons were arrested. During June '362 reports of stolen property were made to the Police. These included 18 cases of burglary, 4 of housebreaking, 5 of godown-breaking and 6 of shop and office-breaking. These figures are 70 less than in the previous month and 60 less than in June last year. In 147 of these cases vestigation was made with suc ce: fol results. Three Chinese wer rested and sentenced for makit {false reports of armed robbery. Five foreign and 9 Chinese were caught jin the Settlement and charged with {trafficking in firearms, and 27 an matic pistols and some 2,000 rounds of ammunition were seized. Large seizures of arms and ammunition were also made by the Customs on board foreign ships in harbour.
In regard to the question of armed robbery generally the following remarks may not be out of place. An armed robber is the combination of lawless man and /men are turned out in ties at the public expense as s0- called soldiers all over the country. Disbanded in this neighbourhood {as some thousands recently been) they naturally drift to Shanghai. No Authority -can prevent them from doing so. Pistols reach 'Shanghai, also in large quantities, in foreign ship's from foreign countries. Under the complex scheme of local' administration these weapons can be landed and distributed without much difficulty. Considerable seizures of arms and ammunition are often made on board ships in harbour by the Customs Authori-resolutions passed by merchants' organizati The Pao-han District Association joined the anti-road-making movement by the Gouneit outside Settlement limits on the score that the construction of extra Settlement roads infringes China's sovereign rights. The fact. that these so-called sovereign rights imply. the exercise of seven possibilities is a point that is com: monly and conveniently ignored. An isolated copy of a poster appealing to the public to join the 1. W. AY. was found in the Settlement on June 8. Eighty Russian refugees were re-inf patrioted by the Relief Advisory Committee during June. About 7,000 still remain in Shanghai. Over 600 soldiers are still either on board the three ships in the river or in camp near Woosung. The efforts of a few nondescript foreigners and foreign }born Chinese to establish a local Kut Klux Klan came to a sudden end on June 26 when the Chapel Police raided the headquarters of the organization and arrested seven persons connected with the move ment. A new gambling establishment, run by foreigners who were formerly connected with "The Wheel" in North Honan Road Extension and other notorious resorts, was opened at Minghong, twenty miles by road from Shanghai, apparently under the protection of a high Chinese military official, The local cigarette tax trouble is by no means over. A number of dealers have been arrested by the authorities and many others have suspended sales as a protest. Eleven. strikes involving 14,000 working people occurred during June. The price of rice averaged $11.80 per picul as against $10.80 in May and $12.50 in June last year,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.