Jan. 20.
As announced in yesterday's issue an inaugural meeting in connexion with the opening of the British Chamber of Commerce Language School is to take place this evening at 6 p.m. at the Powhattan Club, 11 Yuen Ming Yuen Road. Sir Everard Fraser, K.c.M.¢., H. M. Consul-General, will be in the chair and amongst the speakers will be Mr. E. 8. Little, chairman of the Language School—sub-committee; Mr. Archibald Rose, c.1.8., H. M. Commercial Attache, and Dr. W. Hopkyn Rees, principal of the School. All interested in the promotion of the study of Chinese and kindred subjects are cordially invited to attend and we propose to put forward a few reasons for hoping that the invitation will be widely accepted. It is not long age since the subject of Chinese study was dealt with in these columns and on that occasion we Chinese through their servants-and compradores, take on a certain freedom and largeness of view, become accustomed to way of life peculiar to the Europeanized East and spend freely during their holidays at home in an atmosphere composed partly of curiosity, partly of envy, partly" of vague wonder on the part of their relatives and friends. We urged then, and would urge again to-day, that the time has come when the narrow and complacent meaning of the team should' be extended to include something more specialized, for which reason the choice of the: Powhattan Club as the premises. of the Schodl is highly appropriate. For the British American Tobacco Company owes the success which it has won for itself in China very largely to the fact that some of its employees are-really specialists in the country where their work lies, They travel and come into real touch: with their markets: they speak Chinese and in some cases read it sufficiently well to check their servants and conduct business. with officials: they can move about the country with ease and familiarity. How many piece goods men can do as much? How many piece goods men could take a bale from here to Chengtu ''off their own bat'? How many could strike straight across central China accompanied by no more than cook and a "boy" and find' out what the country wants to buy? Not two per cent, at the outside.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.