A valued correspondent with an undoubted sense of humour refers to the current rumours on the question of retaliation being resorted to by the various nations, and suggests that after all, without going to the lengths of more formal means of impressing upon the Japanese the [error of their ways, adoption of the tactics they employ in Tsingtao might serve all purposes. Thus, he suggests, Japanese vessels in ports of those countries might be denied wharfage accommodation, passengers arriving by Japanese steamers might, as those arriving by foreign vessels.in Tsingtao, be forced to have their baggage thoroughly examined on a vacant lot, instead of in the comparative comfort of the Customs sheds, their disembarkation might very inconveniently be held up for five or six untiecessary hours, obstacles could be put in the way of discharging cargo, while it could leven be dumped on the beach and left there for the consignee to take delivery, It would not be necessary to go to the lengths of Inventing tortuous methods of dealing with do-cements and all that sort of thing, but on reflection it really does seem that one of the most effective means of impressing upon the Japanese the necessity for stopping this dis ferimination in Tsingtao would be the application of similar practices elsewhere against the Japanese themselves. Indeed the history of the past few months of Japanese behaviour in Tsingtao could be classed as completely GUl-bertin, and it would seem to be wholly fitting if in this matter a foreign Roland could be returned for the Japanese Oliver, It would require no weighty official announcements, or Tegislation to put such a procedure into, prac+ tice, and If protests were registered the classical reply which is given with unvarying monotony need only to be slightly changed to one of "unmilitary necessity," to make the position quite clear, together with an assurance that Japanese interests were not being intentionally interfered with. There are other strangely comic features about the situation in Tsingtao, not the least of which concerns the currency question, Officially national Chinese dollar notes fare of shortly will be placed at a 160 per cent, discount as compared with the notes of the Federal Reserve Bank, whereas the open market they are actually ut a sub stantial premium.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.