I should now like to refer briefly to various branches of the Cham-her's stiiies, sad of these T will such first upon. rage School. Before doing 20, however, Jit is my sad duty £0 refer to the Very great Joes which the School has sustained in the death of Mir. J.B. Grant, the late principal. Through his efforts and inspiration the school reached a very high standard, as the results of the examinations conducted at the Con sulate-General show, and the tri-utes to his memory' received from Past and present students of the school serve to show how irreparable is this loss.
There is no doubt that as time goes on it will become more and more imperative for business men who wish to gain the confidence of Chinese merchants to learn their saying thatthe School should be regard:
necessity and supported accordingly by members of the Chamber I feel sure that I am voicing the sentiments of Sir Sidney Barton, There was a slight decrease in the arbitrations and surveys conducted by the Chamber, as compared with 1926.
Trade inquiries continue to come in from all parts of the world, and, as in previous years, the Chamber has peep instrumental through this Important branch of its activities in putting merchants in touch with each other.
During the early part of the vent, applications for employment were very numerous, but there was a slight falling off during the later months. Wherever possible, suit lo positions were found for the applicant British Pharmacopaia Translated The translation into Chinese of the British Pharmacopoeia whic was initiated by the Chemicals Sub-Committee, was finally completed and the work was published at end of June 1927. It may be to have justified its. existence by the end of December 200 copies Thad been sold, It is interesting: to know that "amongst the orders received have been some from Chinese Military Hospitals, With reference now to the fine ances, it is a very great satisfaction that the working account, as forecast in the Chairman's speech last year, shows a credit balance of Tales 3,473.67, as against 0 1 satisfactory result has been achiev-fed, and T am convinced it will me with your approval as it has with that of your Committee. I look forward with confidence to a continuance of this improvement in the future.
During the past year your Committee has been able to confer with Miles Lampson, whose periodical its to Shanghai will, we hope, be ued, as these visits are of inestimable benefit to all concernes We have also had the pleasure of conferring with Sir Frederick Whyte, whose views, greatly modified from those expressed by him on his arrival, you have all read.
As usual we have been in close touch with our hardworking Consul General, Sir Sidney Barton, whose untiring efforts on behalf of British interests in China cannot ye too highly appreciated.
The thanks of the Chamber are also duc to Mr. H. J. Brett whose services and advice have at all times been at the disposal of the General Committee and the subcommittees, most of the meetings of which he has attended.
Thanks to Officials The excellent showing of the Chamber's finance is largely due to your Chairman, Brigadier-Geneval Macnaghten who is enjoying a well-earned rest in England. of their time to work on the various sub-committees of the Chamber.
While speaking of sub-committees 1 want to refer to the great loss that has been Chamber and the community by the death of Mr, Norman Smith, who Chairman of the Piece Goods Sub-Committee, did such yeoman service.
Before closing my remarks I want, to express appreciation for the work done by your secretary, Mr. Campbell, and by his energetic staff. During the past year the work has not deen light and at times, particularly during the period preceding the Conference, the work necessitated Tong hours, including Saturday and Sundays, but the staff has worked [cheerfully and efficiently, without murmur.
The adoption of the statement of accounts was proposed by the Chair
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.