The criticism that the Shanghai Municipal Council is not as active jin acquainting the public with its intentions and beneficences as it might be still finds expression on ceeasions. There is ground for sug-[gesting that, in the last few months, its validity has been weakened. The promise to circulate the Council's 3 minutes to the Press has been faith-ally kept and.the public perhaps do not realise that much of the infor-Imation now published regarding the [Council's decision is actually elicited from those minutes. For technical reasons the newspapers cannot constantly refer explicity to the documents whick are so obligingly conveyed to them. Indeed the modesty of the Council would femur to so damnable an iteration Tt should fnoreover, be added that the Council's members will be fortunate enough to descry in China that tum of the tide which is so essential for the development of hi rélations remains to be seen. They are not likely to overlook the significance of the present exchange - position. They have too a very shrewd idea of the factors militating against fan early recovery, Yet che mark of the good trade ambassador is a cheerful determination to unearth whatever business leads there are to be detected. That gift the visitors "no doubt possess, in addition to their obvious intention to charm and to be charmed by China.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.