British Indemnity Commission, was guest of honour at a luncheon party given by the Directors of, the General Chamber of Commerce of Shanghai, at the Chamber Building last Friday at which, Mr. Vu Ya-ching, Chairman of the Chamber, presided. Among the foreign guests were Mr. R. F. Johnston, Secretary. to the Commission, Mr. 'S. Barton, British -Consul-General, Mr. J. F. /Brenan, British Consul and Mr. H. W. Lester, Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Vu Ya-ching, in welcoming Lord Willingdon and his colleagues, delivered the following address:—On behalf of this Chamber it gives me great pleasure to welcome our distinguished guest of honour, Lord Willingdon, who is now in our midst in connexion with a mission which is calculated to serve new milestone in the history of Sino-British relations, Great Britain and China have been in contact for no less then a century, and their intercourse constitutes' the first chapter of the annals of Chinese relations with the outside world, Absolute cordiality and integrity have always marked the relations between these two nations, Lord Willingdon, let us firmly hope that through the persistent application of the Justice and reciprocity, principles Which are very near and dear your heart, all outstanding prob-toms between these two great countries will be satisfactorily With regard to the work of the Briitsh Indemnity Commission, it is the earnest hope of this Chamber may add that I feel confident Tam voicing the sentiments of the Chinese people whole—that the remission of this fund will be effected along such practical lines 3 are abundantly conducive to the cultural and social welfare of our people.
The Guest's Reply Lord Willingdon made a suitable reply, expressing his pleasure and! the honour he felt in being pre-Tt impressed him -profoundly 50 cordial a welcome and, in return it was his hope to be able to devi way of bring and Great Britain to a higher degree of mutual understanding and f}iend-ship. For the present he could hardly say anything in detail, As regards the British share of the Boxer Indemnity, he had no perjsenal_ prejudice. first investigate, after which he would be in a position to decide on definite methods for the promotion of friendly relations 'between /Chiria and Great Britain. In conclusion, Lord Willingdon mentioned two points. Although he had been in India, he had never been in China before. He took this chanco, therefore, to make a careful examination of China's customs and civilization. In the second place, he and his mission would take' the present opportunity of their visit as fundamental basis for their decision '4s to the best way of applying the returned funds. He would leave for} the north in a few days to commence his investigations and for! that purpose, he hoped to learn' the Chinese Tanguage.
Dr. Hu Shih, one of the Chinese members invited to join the Commission, was also present, Among the other Chinese guests at the function were H. E. Hsu Yuan, Special Commissioner of Foreign Affairs, Taoyin Fu, Mr. Chang, District Magistrate of Shanghai, Mr. N. T. Yang, chief secretary to the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, Dr. David Z, T. Yui, Mr. Yao Tzu-yueh, chairman of the City Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Lo Pak-hung, managing' director of the Chinese Tramway Ca. Mr. S. K. Shen, managing director of the Shanghai Nanking Railway, and others.
To Peking with Sir Francis Aglen Lord Willingdon, Chairman of the delegation to advise the Statutory Committee with regurd to the JGisposition of the British Boxer Indemnity funds, left on Sunday morning about 11 o'clock by, the Haishing Lord Willingdon was accompanied by Sir Francis Aglen, Inspector-General of Cus-ud "by Mr. R. F. Johns-secretary of the delega-Tt is expected. that they will return about the middle of March to meet the other members of the Aelegation, Dame Adelaide Anderson end Professor Soothill, who are arriving by different routes. Whether the delegation will make Shang. hai or Peking the main base for its deliberations is undecided, but it is probable that it will at least open its sittings here.
When seen by a representative of the "North-China Daily News," on Sunday Lord Willingdon express-fed great satisfaction with the results his visit in Shanghai, "Whil three days is a short time on which to base an opinion, and while my activities here have been entirely social and not official," said he, "1 Jeannot help feeling that the spirit of Kindliness. and ce-operation everywhere manifested is avery, happy augury, "I have been privie leged to meet a great many. prominent Chinese gentlemen and per: sonally T have not hi ver any of that anti ing which has been so widely advertised.
"The Chairman of the Chamber Jot Commerce very graciously gave 'a luncheon for me, the Chinese Com missioner of Foreign "Affairs gave us a dinner party, I had tea with Mr. Tong Shao-yi and also with Lord! Li Ching-mei. At the Consulate-General Mr. Barton-has given lunch-cons and dinner parties at which T have had an opportunity to meet many of the Chinese and T have had interviews with four or five of prominent leaders. The feeling} T have in all these instances is that T have formed contacts with people who are anxious to assist the delegation in making its inquiries and who will be willing to. place all their sources of information at its service. Besides all this," the added, "I attended the saw for the first time that famous institution, the China pony. Really, this has hoon a remarkably: pleasant} three days."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.