If the letters sent to the Mu cipal Council! by the Chines Ratepayers Association and the Chinese Bankers Association' (published in another column) were not so sinister a piece of more or Jess official propaganda against the administration of the International Settlement they, would be a most amusing example of ignorance of the history' of crime in this locality, On the text that four abduction recently took place within week the Chinese Ratepayers Aas sociation speaks of the amazing total of Tls, 4,700,000 spent om the Police Force, seriously, doubts the Council's ability to maintain peace within its bore ders and winds up with the assers tion "that the lives and prow perty of the ratepayers have ab present been denied of adequate protection is an undeniable fact." After which they desire to be convinced in some form ce other of the council's potency of vindicating law and order in the Settlement,—a desire which ig obviously impossible of fulfills ment in view of the attitude taken by the writers of thi astonishing communication, Th suggestion that an inordinate: amount of money is being spon! on the local police force may, best be met by a reference to the sum spent of the Metropolitan Police District of London, fog the latest period available-< 1928-29 with a population of 7,231,701 the district in ques" tion spends on its police and the metropolitan courts the sum of $8,139,089 or a little oves a head of the population, equivalent at normal rates of exchange to Tls. 8 per capita, or at prevailing rates somewhere in the neighbourhood of Tls. 14. The International Settlement spends, on the Chinese Rates payers Association's figure, Tls, 4.70 per head of population, hardly an astonishing figure under. comparison especially, when factors which prevail berg and do not in London are also, taken into consideration.
The more serious suggestion is that the recent four kidnappings indicate foreign inability, to maintain law and order.
That is the grossest distortion of fact imaginable. Taking. the last Aix years'. figures in connection with armed abduce tion the following interesting information may be extracted from the annual reports of tha Municipal Council:—
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.