Apr. 3.
Amid the excitement that has been caused by the tenders for the Electricity Department, there is some danger of another certainly not less important question being forgotten, 'That is the Municipal Economy Committee's report. 'The ratepayers' meeting this year is likely to be a busy one. There is the Provisional Court, for instance. We do not yet know of any resolution to be moved on this ques tion, But we have no hesitation in saying that it far exceeds in importance to the welfare of the International Settlement any other matter now or likely to be before the public. The Rendition agreement expires at the end of this year and if there is any surrender to Chinese clamour in the matter of the Court's future control, the Council may og well give up trying to govern anghai at once. But unless ly and drastically in the question, there is grave danger that diplomacy will sell the fort; and it is most necessary, therefore, that ratepayers should seize the opportunity of their "annual parliament" to give the Council strong mandate for the part it must play in respect of revision of the Rendition Agrecment and protection of the Court. As for the Electri Department, we are wholly of the opinion that the very advantageous offer now before thy community must not be let slip; and we believe that that is the opinion of the majority. Thece opposition party, however, which will certainly make itself heard. So as we said, there should be a busy meeting on the Writing on the Economy Committee's report early in February we said that all would agree on one point, namely that this report must not be permitted to share the usual fate of findings of special commissions. That conviction holds good whether we sell the electricity undertaking, relieve ourselves of existing debentures and have a handsome balance in hand, or not. Rich men are commonly more on guard against wastefulness than any others: perhaps that is why they are rich: and wastefulness in municipal adtion there undoubtedly is. To recall but a few examples, jereases in salaries are found during the past nine years for which the Committee profess themselves unable to find any valid reason; special privileges to municipal employees, stich a3 exemption from licence fees for vehicles, free telephones, doctor: ing, hospitals, medicine and wssages Home cost over five lakhs; the educational department causes a heavy and needless drain, one school alone showing a' nett annual loss to the Council of Tls. 388 on every pupil; and how much is wasted stationery can apparently only be guessed. Nobody can be held directly to blame. Th: growth of all the Council's work has outgrown the capacity of the system which served well enough The Com-the Finance Department does its best to keep check or expenditure, but that its recommendations often overruled by the Council concert with other departments. The sub-committees have not power enough to exercise control ud in some cases are me dummies.
What we would specially re-LI is that the Economy Com: mittee emphasized that their port was imperfect, They had "neither the time nor were they given the liberty, owing to representations made to them of the danger to discipline if they began to question subordinate officials, to delve into details. Furthermore, while they could point to certain abuses, they could not give an exact idea of how these should be overcome, though they said frankly that with the means at present avai able they did not believe the Council could overcome them.
Any action taken under existing conditions is quite likely to do more harm than good. For instance, we believe there is no doubt but that the Council's staff of nurses has been cut down to a dangerously low point, and that it would be utterly unable to cope with any serious outbreak of sickness, Yet nurses? salaries are among the lowest that the Council pays. if economies are to be introduced fairly, effectively and with due consideration for all concerned, the only feasible course is that advocated by the Committee, namely, that they or another body like them should be esta! lished permanently, to explo avenues to which the Committ were only able to point a ting to investigate expenditure and us, to balance the claims of viduals and the requirements of the whole administration, In fact, the work of the Evononiy Committee is incomplete without a further pronouncement by the Council.—What the municipal administration needs is a small body of economy experts and: may it be added?—an unde aking that their advice shall not fall to the ground.—Whac ratepayers expect a fortnight hence is a clear statement by the Council of the steps it means to take, in order to give sub: stance to the recommendation of the most valuable Committe? that Shanghai has seen,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.