About 300 guests sat down to the banquet given at the Astor House on Tuesday night in honour of the Italian airmen who are on their flight from Rome to Tokio, Lieut. Ferrarin and Lieut. Masiero. The last named airman, who was unfortunate enough to crash his plane against a tree in Canton last week, arrived in Shanghai on Tuesday "morning by the str. Suwa Maru.
Mr, Y. C. Tong, vice-president of the Aero Club of China, rising to welcome the guests in place of the president, Mr. Brodie Clarke, who was indisposed, said that, several centuries ago, there existed a very cordial and intimate relationship between Italy and China through the remarkable personage of Marco Polo. At that time, he said, the Aero Club of Shanghai was probably not in existence and the science of aeronautics had not yet been discovered. We do not know, he continued, how Marco Polo succeeded in scaling the Hiinalavas and in braving and overcoming the dangers of the then unknown seas and ocean on his way to China. We do know, however, that he reached China and_ rendered some memorable service, finally returned to his own country in safety and had the honour of being practically the first man who intelligently started to introduce and help to interpret the brilliant civilization of Cathay to the people of Europe.
Their honoured guests to-night had come in an even more wonderful way than their great predecessor. "This earth of ours used to be a vast planet but somehow through the wonderful invention of steam and electrical appliances its size has dwindled considerably. Ladies and gentlemen, believe me, this contracting process is still going on. With the advance of aeronautics this earth is going to be much smaller than we dare conceive at present.
"In the not distant future we shall call-neighbours not those who live next door to us in Shanghai but those who live in Rome, in Paris, in London, and in Washington. It is the sincerest hope and wish of the Chinese people—I am sure 1 am voicing their sentiments—that this close proximity of people and nations will be a mutual blessing. In order to bring this about, permit me_to quote once again our sage, Confucius, who says, 'It is virtuous manners which constitute the excellency of a neighbourhood.'
"May I ask you then to rise and drink to 'Virtuous Manners and International Brotherhood.'
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.