Aug. 30.
To-day and to-morrow the: highly-esteemed community Dutch residents in Shanghai will be celebrating the birthday of Queen Wilhelmina and the contribution mad> by Her Majesty tothe progress of the great nation of which she is the head and to the cause of European peace. With great traditions hind them, the people of the Netherlands have set an example to the rest of the world in their gift of reconciling a strong sense of nationalism and patriotism with observance of the best rules of conduct in international relationships. It is not for mere geographical convenience that the focus of international efforts in the past has been found at The Hague, The achievement which enabled the Netherlands to preserve during the Great War neutrality honourable to itself and, in the long run, beneficial to all parties, must be held to donnd greatly to the credit of its Government and the people. Of the vigour of Dutch administration at home and abroad there can be no doubt. A big colonial empire has been built up across the seas: on the basis of that maritime spirit which alone can succeed in inspiring such an endeavour.
Closely associated as the British and the Dutch are by historical ties and~ by lon: commercial relationships, it is fitting that the British commu! ity should take an opportunity of recognizing td-morrows anniversary. Old rivalries at sea, rivalries in the prosecution of which, both nations won renown, and the memory that at a time of great dynastic and national crisis it was to the Netherlands that England turned for the occupants of her throne, are in themselves always sufficient to point a moral of friendship. T>- day in the East the descendants of the British and the Dutch East India Companies, those corporations which built up empires, are carrying on the work begun some 400 years ago, and it would be there were not! much sympathy engendered by the creation through these enterprises of similar problems and Sir Cecil Clementi's visit to Java: supplies a timely reminder of this asso-
To turn to the present, the policy of the Netherlands has been marked by a firm and reasonable adherence to consideration of the interests of its people. When the rest of the world seems to be busily engaged in building ever higher tariff walls, the steadfastness of Dutch alle-glance to free trade must b gravely provoked, but it may suspected that there will be no policy which has proved of inestimable benefit Molland in the past and may conceivable be better calculated to carry her through the present economic depression of the world flirtation with the highly volatile tariff will-o'-the-wisp. The practical mind of the Dutch people has long been the envy: of other nations.
'Just now the colossal scheme for draining the Zuyder Zee, where new polder-land is to' be created by the engineers, affords a vivid illustration of the national characteristic, But the gift of Dutch genius to civilization is not limited to this World culture owes much to the eminence of Dutch and philosophers, but, duced Rembrandt and Hobbema to gratitude of civilization.
For these and many other reasons congratulations will be due tomorrow to the Netherlands and to the gracious lady who, of her sex, occupies one of the great thrones of the world.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.