Annual General Meeting: Review of the Year: Important Questions of Policy The eighth annual general meeting of the British Chamber of Commerce took place on, Monday at the Shanghai Club. The meeting was well attended and was opened at 5.15 p.m. by the Chairman, Mr. A. W. Burkill, whose address appears below. The Chamber's Hon-ovary President, Mr. Sidney Barton, c.m.c., H. M, Consul-General, was present, and at the Committee table also were Messrs. A. W. Burkill, H. E. Arnhold, H. J. Brett, W. H. Trenchard Davis, L. W. Hutton, C. G. Humphrys, H. W. Lester, E. F. Mackay, C. G. S. Mackie, F. R. Scott, G. H. Stitt, the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary.
After the financial report and statement of accounts had been adopted the Chairman said Our eighth annual general meeting follows so closely upon the meeting of the Associated Cham bers, such a very full report of which appears in this month's issue of our Journal, that I feel you expect my address to-day to be brief. I will try not to disappoint you, though there is much to say. Some of it I can summarize, because it was dealt with a month ago, but there are a number of points that were not touched on then, and one or two questions of general policy which must also be dealt with.
I ought, I think, to preface my remarks by expressing our appreciation of the very great assistance which we have received during the past year from our Associated Chambers, in particular Peking, Tientsin and Hankow, and of the very great help we have had from His Majesty's Legation. As Mr. Mackay said last year, this Chamber is very much stronger for being associated with the Chambers of the other Treaty Ports and of Hongkong, while the backing and help that we have received from His Majesty's representatives have proved invaluable. In our Honorary President, Mr. Sidney Barton, whorly I welcome to our meeting to-day, we feel we have that greatest of assets, a strong man who will help us when he believes us to be right, and will tell us frankly when he believes us to be wrong. We have not amongst us to-day Mr. Fox, who, as you know, has left us for the Olympian heights of Peking, but we know that from that point of vantage he Jocks down upon us with benefit cence and readiness to extend a helping hand. In his place here we have Mr. Brett, to whose assistance we already owe so much The subjects with which I think I need hardly deal, because they were discussed a month ago, are those off internal taxation, which owing to the present state of disorder in China is more than ever at sixes and sevens; the question of having a Customs House at Pukow; that of the mail service to China; the absurdities of the Merchant Shipping Acts, which preclude vessels owned by China Companies from enjoying some of the benefits which vessels recognized as British enjoy; extraterritcri al rights in China and the necessity of our being prepared with evidence of the present state of judicial administration to place before the coming International Commission Currency questions; Rule I of the Customs Tariff; arbitration awards issued by the London [Produce Brokers Association; trade marks and copyright and the Boxer Indemnity. On these subjects I shall be very glad to answer questions which you may have to raise and if there are any points on which I can throw additional light I will try my best to do so.
Before leaving this group of snbjects I feel sure I may say that the incoming. Committee will do their utmost to see that your interests in regard to all of them are closely watched and energetically pushed.
PIECE GOODS CONTRACTS, Of the next group of subjects perhaps the most important is'that of the proposed Standard Piece Goods Contract.
The proposed contract, upon which the Piece Goods Sub-Committee, under the able ¢hairmanship of Mr. Beytagh, has spent so much time, has now reached a stage beyond which, greatly to our disappointment, it appears at the moment impossible to carry it. Everything at the Manchester and Tradford end has gone well and when we last communicated with them on the subject we had every reason to think that all the points agreed upon between us would also be agreed upon between us and the Chinese. Practically all of them have been, but unfortunately there
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.