Colleagues Give Party for Mr. and Mrs. Parsons At a gathering of representatives of foreign and Chinese insurance companies and agents, held at the residence of Mr. G. G, Franklin, who Kindly places his spacious garden at their disposal, on Thursday evening, 'Mr, and Mrs.'E. E. Parsons were the recipients of a handsome presentation blackwood tray, suitably' inscribed, from the business colleagues of Mr. Parsons on the occasion of his retirement. Upwards of two hundred Dusiness associates and their wives assembled for cocktails on the beaullful lawn in front of Mr. Franklin's house and the gathering included practically all nationalities repre-ted in the Shanghat "insurance Mr. A. D. Bell, an old friend of the Persons family and himself interested in the insurance business for many years said:—
"In & sense it is a party of tare-well. After a long and distinguished career in his profession Mr. Parsons has ceased from granting cover to clients and from causing admiring and. affectionate envy to competi tors. "He has left behind him a restation for wisdom and honour and general soundness of which all connected with him and with the North British & Mercantile may well be proud.
"But a delightful feature of our party lig that it does not mark the fend of Mr. and Mrs. Parson's career in Shanghai, but simply the start of a new phase of it.
"Throughout their married life Mr. and Mrs. Parsons have been, for all their modesty, very real servants of the public. Now that he has no longer the weight of an important office on his shoulders we rely on him and on her to do alt sorts of new things for the community. We congratulate ourselves that they are staying with us and hope that Shanghai may long groat by their help, their advice, and their good example."
The toast was drunk with musical honours and Mr. Parsons in respond-Ing expressed the very great honour he felt at being invited, with his wife, to the reception. He also thanked Mr. Bell for the kind ex-sessions of regard which he had spoken on behalf of the assembly and appreciated very highly the cordial manner in which his friends had responded to the toast of the healths of Mrs. Parsons and him-
Among those present were:—
Messrs. A, D. Bell, K. Ttoh, J. Aoki, Sung Han-chang (representing Chines Insurance interests), L. E. Canning. A. Brock Park. J.B. Lofan, L. J. ie A. Kien, D. L. Ralph, £2 A. Chollot, V. 7 G.. Petersen. G." G. Franklin, BE. Miuromtsefl, C. of. Ban. J. Breen, A. 1.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.