'The first principle is that of racial equality. We must regard and treat one another as equals. Truly, we are different in many' ways. Our heritage, training, experience, taste, outlook, ete., are not the same. Such differences, however, should not lead us to differentiate and deprecate one another, thereby making life miserable, but they! should be used to enrich life and increase its happiness. Each na race has its special contribution to make to' the world's civilization, and should be accorded an equal place in the world family. The sooner the world recognizes this principle and practises it, the earlier the day will come when, accord-jing to Confucius, "All men within the four seas, shall become brethren,"
The second principle is that of sovereign rights. Each nation, strong or weak, great or small, should enjoy its sovereign rights to the fullest extent. Care should, of course, be taken that in such enjoyment one nation should not encroach upon the sovereign rights of another. It is such encroachments which are so largely responsible for the world's war. We should ineuleate the view-point as well as the conviction that special strength of any description is given a nation or race not as a means of domination and aggrandisement but as an added responsibility for the fuller develop. ment of the world.
The First Necessary Sign At the beginning of an effort to promote international and interracial understanding, friendship and ce-operation in Shanghai, it is most important that we give due recog-_ nition to the two fundamental] principles to which we have just! alluded. If, we do not accept them or if, after accepting them, we fail to put them into effect, we can hardly hope for success. ° On. the other hand, if we not only accept them but also carry them out in actual life—individual, city, national or international—then we can never fail. Are we determined to accord one another equality and fully to respect one another's sovereign rights? An affirmative and definite answer to these questions and the earliest possible action on them will, we are sure, go a long way to clear up misunder. fandings and to cement cordial relations.
We wish to make two more observations. We deem it important to point out that. the outstanding problems in Shanghai are no longer local in character, but. they have assumed a national and even an international importance. It not enough for us merely to try] to patch up things locally. We must give due regard to the fact that our problems in Shanghai are an important part in a nation-wide movement for the abrogation of the unequal Treaties. This, therefore, necessitates a different " treatment from that which a mere local prolem would require. At the same time, locally we must take the mit tive in stating our own convictions in regard to different problems and "start the ball rolling We should not wait-for a settlement to come from outside; nor should we, by waiting, allow things to Urift dangerously as the have been drifting. In brief, it is most important for us, through the combination of local initiative and concerted action on a national and {international scale, to. pro earliest and most sat tlement of our outstanding problems. Further drifting or procrastination will surely plunge us into greater dangers and difficulties.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.