July 18, As some confusion is said to exist it is well to recall the statements made on behalf of the Shanghai Municipal Council that body's present attitude toward: the proposals made by the City Government of Shanghai for the registration of addicts in the International Settlement. To some extent this uneasiness is justified, for the general assertion that the Council had agreed "in principle" to the proposals has suggested commitments which, in the light of the known conditions of the opium traffic in Shanghai as a whole, nouncement declared it to be the Intention that the Council shall establish an once for the registration of opium users and that the names of smokers shall (transmitted. to the Shanghai. City' Government, which will Issue the actual Ticenees and collect the Hicence fees. The Settlement is to be reimbursed for expenses in operating the registration offic. The latter is to function as a sort of clearing house for the licences, which will be sent to it by the: City Government for. distribution fo the registered amokers. 'There' are positively to be Mo opium bhangs in the Settlement. A further provision of the scheme 1s to ar-Yange for the Settlement's convict-fed-opium smokers to serve their terms in Chinese prisons instead 24.88 at resent In the Ward Rood Obviously this outline of intentions governed by the decision to appoint a special committee to report on the whole subject to the Council, Moreover the Council's decision will not be finally made until there has been consultation with: the. Consular Body. It may be argued, that as the Council proposed to have the matter investigated by the Special Committee before formulating {ts proposals, the deciara~ tion that it had agreed in principle: to the City Government's sugges. tions and had tentatively arrived a certain possible lines of action was too sweeping. The argument is dificult to resist, especially as the survey of the position which this Journal has been able to present to. its readers conclusively shows that fas the proposed scheme stands it has not the slightest chance of being accepted by public opinion, for' reasons already made crystal clear.
The Special Commiltee—com-of the Secretary-General (Ghr, Stirling Fessenden), the Commissioner of Police (Major F. W. Gerrard, for whom Major Kenneth Bourne is now acting) and the Municipal Advocate (Mr. R. TT. Bryan, jr.)—will, in fact, have to review the whole position and, in~ formed as it now must be of the intensity of public feeling, it will have drastically to tighten up whatever machinery the Council proposes to adopt in furtherance of Its desire to ce-operate with the City Government "on principle" The City Government's _formai' despatch to the Council has. not been made. publie—an omission which this journal considers to be unfortunate—but it is understood to have been received toward the end of May and to have been before the Council on June 30, Noone who knows the record of the Council's senior officials can believe that the Council was without, suitable data on the important Issues involved. Indeed it is understood that the decision to appoint a special committee—made on June 30 before any public reference had appeared in the Press—was largely influenced by formation independently obtained and circulated to members. criticism of official action has to be made it is inspired by the ai fallure'to recognize the desi of taking the public at once into confidence so that no opportunity, could be given for apprehensions to be moved by unauthorized dis- posed. closures. Everyone knows thut the admirable spirit of ce-operation existing between, the City Govern ment and the Council has to be cultivated by informal conversa tions which it may be undesirable fo expose to precipitate publicity. The Council's officers "rightly realized that the issue of opium was of international import and. that at stake was, not only the Council's reputation for ce-operative sympathy with the City Govern but the Settlement's good-name in world opinion, Consequently seems to have been all the more necessary to proceed from the start full daylight and thus to give no ground for the impression that the Council's decision would be -prejudiced by conversations of which however "harmless—the public could not be concurrently aware, The frankness with which the Counei's spokesmen have met the inquiries raised from comments in this journal and. elsewhere has largely corrected - possibilities misunderstanding. It should therefore be stated in the most categorical manner that there ground for impugning the good faith of any member of the Couneit or of any officer in its service, Suggestions to the contrary deserve firm condemnation, If error there has been, it has subsisted mainly the diffidence of the Councit's approach to the question of publicity. On one point the Council requires assurance, There should be not the slightest fear of a failure to fake the League of: Nations understand the Settlement's post tion. The diplomatic representa tives of the Powers responsible for the Settlement would be unfit for their high offices if they were not able to see that the League was made fully aware of the peculiar conditions which must govern the Councit's. ultimate decision. Me deed the League should have nothing. but praise for the Council if fas the result of this inguiry the furl facts of the opium traffic in Shanghai are made, available for the study of the Advisory Com= mittee at Geneva, For it is-unthinkable that, in the Tight of those facts, the special committee can advise the Council to come to any decision which will associate the Settlement with the vile gangsterdam of the opium. traffickers who have such sinister influence elsewhere.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.