In view of the prevailing depres: sion, the financial) statement of the Shanghai Municipal Council for the first six months of the year is encouraging. The revenue collections have maintained a welcome vigour and. expenditure has been kept within the estimated requirements and, indeed, thanks to close deparimental vigilance and to the benefit ent influence of exchange is likely to ease the situation. These comments must not be taken to arouse extrava~ Gant hopes for obviously the Council Still has'a difficult time ahead. Yet in normal. conditions the income for the next six months, for accountancy and other reasons, is greater than that for the first part of the year. So when the budgeted income for the whole of 1935 is put at $24,843,240 and the actual gute for the first six months Is $12,449,68050, it must be regarded as a healthy sign on the purely-mathematical basis of calcula fion. In the account of extraordinary Income and expenditure the baneful influence of the fall in land values ig perceived for whereas the estimat ted proceeds from the sale of surplus Jand were put at $2% million, the actual figure for the six months is only $15,895. It is possible, of course, that this' may be improved during the remaining half of the year but such signs cannot be too confidently deteeted. Further examination of these figures may be more effectively attempted when the early autumn computations of collections enable some Kind of a forecast of the final budge! Agures to be put on record,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.