Nearly 2,000 persons representing yo fewer than 200 local organiza-tious, crowded into the hall of the Chinese General Chamber of Com. merce on Saturday afternoon to express their feelings against the 21 Demands and Japan's failure to restore Dairen and Port Arther to China. Mr. 'l'sao Mu-kuan, head master of the Ching Chang Middle School, presided over the gathering.
Mr. ''sao, in opening the meeting, reviewed the history of the 21 Demands, saying that they were forced upon China who could do nothing else but accept them in 1915. Japan, he said, could not, according to the principles of international law, enforce the treaty. The speaker went on to describe how Japan acquired Dairen and Port Arther and said that she should, on both legal and moral grounds, return the two ts to China on March 26. fe then asked those present to give their views on the question and to make suggestions of plans to hasten the cancellation of the treaty forced on China in 1915.
Several other addresses were delivered. and various resolutions were carried, namely, that a telegram should be sent to the foreign nations which are friendly to China, asking them to see that China gets fair play and justice; that Japanese people be urged to awaken fo the situation and insist on their Government acceding to China's demands; that local Chinese newspapers to-day be asked to give part of their paper to calling attention to the 21 Demands and the fact that Dairen and Port Arthur should te returned to China to-day; that landlords be asked not to rent their premises to Japanese; that newspapers be urged not to insert Japanese advertisements; that a boycott of Japanese goods should take place and economic relations he cut off with the Japanese; that no more rice be exported to Japan and that Japanese bank notes be The meeting rejected two other resolutions, #.e., that a strike should be declared on Monday upon the expiration of the lease; and that the Chinese Government be urged to despatch an ultimatum to the Japanese Government and at the same time prepare for war. - All present were urged, however. to carry on the boycott and not to allow it to be a "five minute" affair as the Japanese made statements to the effect that the boycott would not be a long one. Japamese mor-chants. it was pointed out, were already losing heavily as a result of the Chinese boycotting them for the past week.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.