Manifesto by Meeting of Chinese Merchants Alleging that local foreign merchants, particularly the Japanese, in making the free city plan for hanghai, aim at destroying Chinese authority' so as to secure foreign domination, a lengthy declaration was issued' by a general meeting of the Greater" Shanghai Chinese Chamber of Commerce on June 18
plan. urging' the Chinese to oppose the"
The general meeting of the Chamer, which was the third held this year, was presided over by Mr. chairman of the 400. persons representing the 156 trade. guilds which are members of the Chamber.
'Another declaration issued was to the effect that they would set selves two for' the ensuing year, namely, the prevention of £ur~ ther' civil war and: the promotion of native products. The state of chaos now prevailing in the country, the Jieclaration states, has been brought, about largely by recurrent civil wai, so it is of urgent necessity that the Ination, especially the commercial community, should be united in a movement fo puta permanent end te 'The' declaration emphasises the importance of promoting the use of native products, saying that accord-ting to statistics compiled by the [Customs authorities, China's imports. exceeded her exports last year, by the amount of $500,000,000, "The majority of. Chinese merchants, strictly speaking, are not merchants, they being only brokers for the sale lof foreign goods, the declaration states, Many resolutions were passed by the meeting. One of them calls for the despatch, by local Chinese merchants, of a joint telegram to the Central Government, requesting full Jeompensation from' the Japanese [Government for the ge done to the Chinese during the recent fight= jing meat Shanghai, it being stated that "the Japanese "navy. and -army Jare solely responsible for the out break' of recent hostilities in Shang nother resolution is to the effect that the Central Government should be" petitioned for the immediate abolition of the "vexatious" business tax, the collection of which has been enforced in a number of pro= vinces. The National Associated Chambers of Commerce have been lasked to present a similar demand to Nanking in this regard,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.