Jerome K. Jerome The America's Cup The English world of letters suf fers a great 4 s in the passing of the author of ale Thoughts of an Tile Fellow,"
Sketches in Laven. der, Bh and Green," and "Three Men in a'Bont," to name but three out of 36 noteworthy. contributions to our literature.
Like the majotity of those who achieve a reputation with the pen, Mr. Jerome had been a journalist.' "He had been, in addition, a clerk, an actor, and. schoolmaster, vocations which, com. bined with journalism, are well cal-Jeulated to give one that insight into human character which he so admirably portrayed, Initially tracting wide-spread attention by. his "Three Men in a Boat, to Say Nothing of the Dog," his other works amply sustain' his claim to the prominence he thereby gained, Essentially a humourist, albeit of the typical Into-Victorian school, he possessed that rare faculty of all true humourist, the power to sound 'a melancholy note, to limn the sor-" did and the grave'in life i 'a manner apparently denied him who possesses no vestige of humour, His character delineations are their best in "Sketches in Lavender, Blue, and Green." In these seen the true jornalist's touch, the rare appraisement of his fellow-men, and the recording of this with con. summate artistry. Had Jerome K. Jerome done nothing else, he had won an caviable niche "Passing of the Third Floor Back." Attempts to transfer the spirit of this quaint conceit to the stage and thence to the are woefully lacking comparison with the simple tale itself which permits of the wides! atitade of the reader's imagination and hence the most—satisfacto interpretation. Posterity may fail to respond to his humour: that is the fate of all humourist, ¥ sine styles in fanning change #0 requ ly and so radically, Posteri however, cannot fail to accord his work the respect which its very high literary quality commands.
Society's First Duty The account which we published yesterday of the virtual destitution] of the children of the local Russian School, and the hardshipe endured by those who have put forth every. fort to save these young ones from the life of the streets, is calculated to move the uteriiest heart. one is at times at a loss to know] how best to devote the meagre sum which the jerage can allot to the relief of suffering.
But so nobly! has Shanghai responded to every, worthy appeal, that we cannot but feel that ere long the conditions which we have described—the hunger of little children, with all 7 that this implies of stunted physical and mental grow(h, the discomfort lof their elders which must perforce preclude the maximum effort for the redemption of these children and pointing them in the way they should go—will be an unpleasant} memory. Their title to relief is the greater in that they are the children of unfortunates driven from their native land because of utter lack of sympathy and even actual opposition to the menace which still rears hideous head. But even were ise, were they the children of the very' madmen who vould destroy all that we hold most dear, all the more would it be our bounden duty to snatch these small brands from the burning. Where, as in this instance, our sympathy walks hand in hand with our duty, the task—which is tantamount to self-preservation—becomes far less onerous. Too many of us, unfortunately, are feeling the pinch to such extent as to preclude our wonted. Tiber dollar contributed, however, is an|they were by troops, investment in our future safety. shat would certainly Society's first duty is to the chil to train it to conserve all that is Auch interest attaches to the announcement that Sir Thomas Lipton, that indefatigable yachtsman and true sportsman, will next year: again compete for the America's Cup—that trophy wrested by the yacht America from British yacht-jing circles so many decades ago, and ever since held by the New York Yacht Club. Not only are the challenges of Sir Thomas, who has won the unqualified admiration of Joh by his demeanour in the face of [successive defeats, most welcome to those who hold the trophy, but: there is a distinct under-current of hope among them that the efforts of the challenger may at long last be crowned with success, and that future contests for the cup shall take place in waters where the America first captured it, All these years, the challengers ha boon defeated with a monotonous regularity which has more and more detracted from interest in the races. It is realized that build~ ing a yacht which must sail across the Atlantic before entering Into the competition is quite a dif ferent matter to building one that is, immediately to navigate home waters; and, in the knowledge of this handicap under which the chal-longer inevitably Inbours, the satisfaction in the retention of the cup fby the challenged has necessarily suffered. On the other hand, and because of this handicap, if Sir Thomas succeeds next time, it-will be: all the greater tribute' to. the skill of British designers, builders, and sailors. Everyone is agreed upon the desirability of the trophy. going back and forth between both. shores of the Atlantic, as making for far better sport; and it is fair to assume that, if it doos go back to Britain after all these years, it will remain there for quite some for the very reason the fact and his. sportsmanship rained for him a permanent high place in the regard of Amer-yachtsmen, none of whom but would be pleased to see him success Barbed Wire The attitude of the authori upon the question of the removal of barbed wire is and about the Settlement as shown in to-day's Municipal Gazette will, it may be hoped, be appreciated by our Chinese friends, So soon as it is pointed out that certain small shop-Keepers in the northern district fave suffering inconvenience, what ever steps possible are taken to alleviate the position, but it would ye running an unjustifiable risk were all such obstacles to be removed in districts of especial Jdarger while the position as outlined by Mr, Fessenden continues. Incidentally, it may be mentioned, fon the boundenes certain Chines> fave doing their bit for the removal of the wire, for only a few days ago after a military patrol had passed a particular point, they managed to make off with'an en= tanglement. This, of course, had to be replaced, but the incident helps to indierte how much thee fences have done in preventing the incursion of bad and dangerous chaveeters into the Settlement. And while there have been unavoidable cases of hardship owing to these necessary measures, we believe that jour Chinese business friends fully realize how much such barricades have contributed to their safety, no less than to that of the foreign population. Since the arrival of the Defence Forces tense moments Ihave been experienced at cer~ tain points along the perimeter of the defended zone, and the pre-A single monthly|senee of the barricades, marine! as prevented have been: very. serious incursion of soldiery which would have been as disastrous est in our institutions.
Moreover, it would be ins mental in regaining Britain's prestige, restore 1 the waning confidence of her subjects, and [would exert a beneficent ence on the situation for the preservation of her trade interests land integrity against aggression. to Chinese men and shopkeepers as to any foreign interests here, and probably a great deal more so.
'THe commission in charge of the special 23 per cent, customs surtax reports that Tis, €82,690.44 was collected during the month of May, and Tis, 434, 240.99 in the first half month of June, making a total of Fis, 1,117,081.43.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.