Aprit 18. decision of the ratepayers the next move establishing a temporary new municipal government for Shanghai will be to approach the representatives of the Powers concerned agree to the constitution of a Provisional Council to carry on the business of the In~ ternational Settiementuin place of the present Municipal Council. There seems little doubt that the Powers will give their consent for the matter has been tinder negotiation for some time past. With the establishment of a new administrative body municipal elec tions and meetings of ratepayers will at any rate for the time being disappear. To those who will criticize the suspension of the democratic institution of the ballot box, it should be pointed out that constitutional provisions are quite frequently suspended in limes of emergency, and there can be no gainsaying the fact that Shanghai faces one the present time, and that of considerable gravity. With regard to the passing of the Fatepayers' meetings it is fo be hoped that they have gone once, and for all. They were designed for the International Seltiement, 'aL a time when the foreign community consisted of only a few hundred persons, whereas nowadays it embraces tens of thousand of people, while the number of ratepayers. how sich that there is no hall in Shanghol big enough to accommodate them.
But the ratepayers will probably xequive something in the nature of a quid pro quo {in the shape of much more information on municipal affairs than has been. vouchsafed the present, and the sticcoss of this now experiment. depends to avery great extent upon the degree in which public opinion can be formed and assessed by those who will control the destinies of the Settlement." Tt Is necessary that this should be borne in mind, for the Provisional Couneit will be empowered to make decisions which Up to, the present have, been made by the Yatepasrers themselves. They will doubles watch the manner in which these power Which have been delegated to the new Council, will be used, though there is considerable promise in the proposed constitution of the how body that it will conduct Its business having the best interests of Shanghai continually at heart, "The absence of amendments (o the various resolutions which were proposed yesterday afternoon means that the Municipal Orchestra has at least another year's existence before i. Tels astonishing, considering all the agitation that has raged over that organization, that some stalwart did not make an attempt to finish with it once and for all. But after alt the flurry' of controversy has died down, it is apparent that the cost of maintaining the Orchestra is minute compared with the vast sums now required to carry on the adminstration of this city. Those ratepayers. who might have led opposition to retention of the Orchestra in all probability felt that having to swallow a very big camel in the shape of the new Budget to strain at the orchestral nat would be a somewhat ridiculous proceeding.
Tt is with regret that the old Council system is now seen to pass away. It has served its purpose for many years, though Taterly it has' been lear that it was not the best-adapted to the changing. conditions. It will be part of the duties of the Provi sional Couneit to give consideration to some new scheme likely to provide a more satisfactory system of government than is possible under' existing conditions and the provisions fof the Eand Hegulations. What shape it wilt fake remains to be seen, and those who will be charged with evolving stich a scheme are not to be envied their job. Their main aificulty will be fo devise a system best caleulated to meet the desires of so many different peoples, in this international community, who Ihave such widely-differing municipal concepts. That will not be easy, but, if the taste is approached with good will all round, there appears to be no reason why this dificult problem should not be solved.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.