Od Berore the Flowery World" disaster becomes a more or less vague memory, there are one.or two observations which it must suggest. When eight hundred or more people, mad with terror, are lighting their way down a single staircase, death and injury are inevitable and we may well congratulate ourselves that the casualty list was no worse. It is observed that the lowery World " panic is the t of the kind in Shanghai. But with the recent enormous increase of places of public entertainment, especially in-the form that they tend to take among the Chin we have no right to expect that such accidents will never occur again, or to hope for a miracle when they do.
The success of the sort of white cities that have been built by the old Loongfei bridge and in Avenue Edward VIT is bound to lead to imitations, of which the Flowery World" was a minor form. Given an accident in one department of these vast caravanserais of amusement and panic easily spreads to the others. Even in places like the two first mentioned, which are built about open courtyards, the danger for all is then great. In the case of a_mere series of flats like the Flowery World," with shops, hotel, sing-song hall, cinema theatre and roof garden all piled one on top of the other—it is estimated that there were 3,000 people in the building at the time of the alarm—one shudders to think of what might happen, especially if the fire, instead of being at once put out as happened on this. occasion, gained serious hold.
New conditions in the licensing of places of entertainment appear to be imperative. Generally speaking, we are informed, thea tres in Shanghai compare favourably with those in London as regards exists. But there are conditions here which London never knew: crowds are greater and women at Home are not made incapable of movement by bound feet. In any case, we doubt if London allows cinema theatres up several flights of stairs, sand-wished in among other' establish-men' The most obvious requisite is that no hall should be licensed for cinema shows above the ground floor and that emergency doors should be provided all round, opening straight into the air. But as cinemas are not the only form of recreation, another most important rule should be enforced, namely, that houses licensed for entertainments should have been built for that purpose and for nothing else. As matters are, the same building may be a godown to-day, a skating rink to-morrow and something else next week. This is reform that Chief Officer Pett has often urged and the ''Flowery World" accident emphasizes its importance.
A Reuter Peking telegram says that the President is summoning a meeting at the Palace of prominent statesmen, politicians, members of the Government and others, it long Chi-chiao and to discuss the new Consortium. The prospects of composing it are evidently serious.
Rererexce is made in the Hongkong Chamber of Commerce fortnightly report to the unrest in the neighbouring provinces. We-are told that the trouble is likely to have 'a very serious effect, for unless it ends very soon the winter having season will have passed without any piece goods sales having been effected: The worst aspect of the matter is that armed bandits are taking advantage of the unrest, as they always do.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.