Yesterday was observed as a general holiday by the Italian community of Shanghai, the occasion being the thirty-fourth birthday of Crown Prince Humberto. All foreign warships on the river and many public buildings flew Italian flags and the occasion was marked by a parade of the Savoy Grenadiers, which regiment also celebrated the first anniversary of its arrival in Shanghai The parade which was held at the Regiment's Headquarters on Kiaochow Road was attended by the Italian Ambassador to China, Mr. H. E. Giuliano Cora, and_was under the command of Col E. Andreini, commanding officer of the regiment. The ceremonies commenced with the saluting of the flag, after which Col. Andreini made a short speech in which he referred to the popularity of the Savoy Grenadiers after one year's residence in the city. The regiment, he said, had earned the admiration of all Italians and other foreigners during the short time it had been here. Three cheers were then given for Prince Humberto.
The next part of the ceremony consisted of the distribution of vari ous awards to members of the regiment, these being made by the Ambassador and Mr. S. Young, Deputy Commissioner of the Shanghai Municipal Police, who presented Corporal M. Caiazzo with a suitably inscribed ver watch in recognition of his E ice: long with three other members of the regiment, in apprehending a thief who had snatched a foreign lady's handbag in Kiaochow Road.
Gaspare Allessandri, a member of the regiment and lightweight boxing champion of Chita, was officially presented with his champion's belt, while the Savoy football team received cups and medals signifying their success on the local "soccer" fields.
An informal reception was then held at the home of Col. Andreini at which the health of the royal prince was toasted.
The year 1983 marked a farewell to the tael and China's silver currency. At that time Mr. T. V. Soong was Minister of Finance, and he decided that the tael would have to go, its passing causing no regret to the speaker. At that time there were 150 different taels in China, all of different weight, and all created by separate enterprises, making it impossible to retain such a clumsy currency. Since its abolition he had not heard a single word of criticism from anyone, and the unified dollar which had replaced it, had certainly done excellent service.
The silver standard had been recognized as absolutely unnecessary by many countries and its abolition in China was not only a necessity but a master stroke. The highest praise had to be applied to those parties connected with its abolition and contrary to general belief, all those parties were Chinese. It wa: a mistake to believe that foreigner: carried out the change.
Mr. Kann estimated that the Chinese Government had expended at least thirty million pounds sterling on the war and, considering this, it had done miracles in upholding the currency, but the question cropped up "How long could they hold out?" This depended on the existing reserves of the Government and no
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.