One of the chief drawbacks. to the Institute has always been that it has had no dining room of its own, where a decen* meal, decently cooked and served, could be obtained. It} was felt that if this arrangement could be made, the Institute would immediately become more popular and more successful, Since the end the war, overhead and other expenses connected with the Institute have gone up tremendously, with no corresponding increase in membership; and the opening of the new dining room is one of the measures! decided on by the present Commisteo to help to put matters on a more satisfactory basis, In other respects, the Institute has undergone a remarkable transformation during the last few weeks. Spring cleaning thas been undertaken with a vengeance, and every nook and corner of the very commioious premises come under the hands of the painter lid decorator; while many other} improvements have been introduced: fo render the Tnatitate more attract. ive.
For many yenrs a large proportion of the membership of the Institute has consisted of men who, while undoubtedly connected with the engineering profession, are not. marine engineers, and it was decided that, much as the loss of the old title was to be deplored, a new title, more accurately descriptive of there the Institute eaters for, should be found. After much discussion, it was decided that "The Shanghai Chub" was the only and that is the name by which the old Marine Engineers' Institute of Shanghai, the fame of which has spread, during the last half-century, to every shipbuilding yard in Seot-Tana, is in future to be called. The members of the Committee are all touched on the many discussions that had taken place and difficulties that had been overcome before the dining room venture was brought to fruit tion. He had no doubt as to its continued success, and neither, it seem-fed, had any of those present. Mr. W. S. Campbell, who is really part land parcel of the Club, and who naively confessed that asa member Jof the Committee he had been opposed to the dining room proposition, admitted that he had changed his opinion and, like everyone else elt, confident of the success of the: ming room and of the Club. The lonly part of his speech that is open eriticism—and Mr. Campbell of all people ought really 20 know better }—was his dogmatic statement that not only was the club taking on a new lease of life, but the Engineers' Football Club were too, and that they were going to win the League next season.
Other speakers followed, Mr. Fraser Ferrier, after a thoughtful review of past years, making a strong appeal for members to bring in young men as new members; Mr. John Tweedlie dwelling on the strong position that could be attained by. the club with more support; and Mr. Braid, the treasurer, speaking optimistically of the finan "The Men Who Di In a second speech, the president paid tribute to the work of Messrs, John Watson ang W. T. Bissett. Mr. Watson had worked day and night to put the club on a more satisfactory basis, and it was largely due to his efforts and those of Mry Bisset that the dining room promised to be such a success.
Among the late arrivals was Mr. Alec Leslie. Mr. Leslie is never allowed to depart from any formal [dinner without a speech, ang Satur-Jday night was no exception. As one who had used the old Institute for many years, he congratulated the; present Committee on the new! departure, which would inevitably be a success; and he painted a stirring word "picture of a winter Saturday night had played "ang won (or possibly lost), with players and others conigregating in the Institute discussing how it could have been done and should have been done, and then [mourning to the dining room to carry on the discussion, which, if necessary, could be completed after dinner.
Vocal items were rendered by some those present, and the whole evening was voted a great success. One suggestion made was that before the club arrangements could be Jconsiderea complete, tenders. should called for for the construction of chair specially to accommodate the person of the oldest and heaviest member!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.