Storms at the Opening Meeting; A Manifesto Which Started a Lot of Trouble Rowdy scenes accompanied thd opening of Parliament at the Hupeh Guild, Pont Ste. Catherine, on Saturday afternoon. The meeting was of a very formal nature, having been called to find out exactly how many P's were in Shanghai and to draw up a statement of their attitude.at the present juncture.
Over the entrance to the Guildi was a sort of pailou, made up of bamboos and evergreens on which' were four characters, represent~ ing The Defenders of the Con stitution and Liberty." Troops and police, detailed especially for the purpose by Gen. Ho Feng-ling, Military Governor of Shanghai and Sungkiang, and Gen. Hsu Kuo-liang, Director of the Native Constabulary, were posted inside and outside of the guild. Notices were posted forbidding people:—(1) To take water pipes inside the building (2) To eat, drink, smoke or spit; <2) To speak or to make any kind of noise; (4) To enter the section of the hall allotted to the Members of Parliament. On the platform was the chairman's table, the secretary's desk and the reporters' tables. Near the platform were seats allotted to other journalists. In the gallery' were about 150 visitors, including a number of women.
Mr. Ling Hung-siu, of Yangchow, who is the oldest Member of Parliament (being 72 years of age) presided pro tem, and the programme was as follows:—(1) The taking, by. members of Parliament, of the seats allotted to them; (2) Music by Gen. Ho Feng-ling's military band; (3) Three bows to the national flag; (4) The national anthem; (5) Congratulations by the chairman (6) Music; and (7) Adjournment.
On behalf of the chairman, the secretary was asked, before the close of the meeting, to read two manifestoes of Parliament's stand in connexion with the present! situation. These gave a history of Parliament and the '"persecutions" suffered by the members. They gave the reasons why Parliament had been moved to Shanghai, and the aims and aspirations of the members.
One member rose and said that one of the manifestoes was not in order, but he was interrupted by the call for adjournment. This was the sign for an uproar. A dozen members jumped up toge ther and tried to speak at once. There were all kinds of noises, especially handclapping and swearing.
After order had been called, a member stated that the obnoxious
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.