Shanghai, June 4 counsel then delivered PT? the Chairman and Committee, Chinese General Chamber of Commerce.
Dear Sirs, As a member of the Chamber, it behoves me to make my observations upon the recent disturbance in which ovr Chamber has taken such prominent part, At the outset, I may briefly refer to the circumstances leading to the declaration of a general strike, On May 90 last the Nanking Road incident occurred in which a number of students were killed. A meet ing of the Chinese Ratepayers Associetion was called on the following day, when the request of the students was acceded to and a general strike called with the Chamber's approval, the object of which was, of course, to give expression to the pu-Duc protest. In doing s0, the Chamber was undoubtedly placed in difficult circumstances with which we would not, for a_moment, hesitate to sympathize. But in launching any claim or protest, especially one of a diplomatic nature, it is always, essential that the successive steps to be taken in obtaining satistaction of the claim should be carefully planned out before any action is taken. Past history boars ample evidence to the importance of such 8 condition precedent to a measure of this nature being adopted, but on. the present occasion it seems that this elementary principle of diplomacy has been lost sight
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.