It is to be hoped that the adjourned special meeting of ratepayers which will be resumed tomorrow at the Race Course will be fully attended, despite the reported intention of the Japanese not to be present. A full attendance of ratepayers of other nationalities will serve as a demonstration of solidarity and give full authority to the decisions which have still to be made, and it is for precisely that reason that it is, urged upon all rate~ payers to make a special point of being present. The decision of the Japanese to stay. away is to be greatly regretted for a large number of reasons not the least being that it is highly desirable that in an international ity such as Shangha{ all communities should take their part in its administration. What is wholly undesirable is that the business of the International Settlement should be obstructed by displays of narrow nationalism, and it is an unhappy fact that such a trend is being manifested, and emphasized by this decision of the Japanese community. When the harmonious manner in which the various foreign communities in Shanghai have lived together, in times of stress as in times of peace, is remembered the tendency to make national issues of purely municipal affairs cannot but be deplored. The history of the International Settlement has shown in the past that while there have been disputes over municipal affairs it has always been possible fo avert open differences between the various nationalities living here. Given goodwill there is no reason why that happy practice should not continue. It can continue provided all realize that cooperation must be mutual, und that to consideration of municipal problems must be brought a determination to deliberate upon what is best for the Settle ment as a whole in as dispassionate a manner possible. The present position of the wunleipality is wholly unprecedented, and this is no time for any one community to seck to impose what it conceives to be the only remedy over the wishes of the majority.
The issue was placed fairly and squarely before the ratepayers by Mr. W. J. Keswick in his reply to Mr. Hayashi's speech, in which he asked for rejection of the Japanese contention to the effect that the municipal deficit should be met temporarily by a loan and that the obligation' be liquidated at a later date by a fair distribution of the load under the revised equitable taxation system." Mr. Keswick's remarks on that point were very apt:—
"No one here is, I suppose, 40 foolish as to imagine that the Council has not of Economy Commitiee specifically devoted to studying sources of revenue has already pre= sented an interim report and is still sitting. Should that Committee bring before th nes, such suggestions will, of course, be studied and the Council will' not only. sider their soundness but take legal advice '89 to whether they can be enforced. It necessary for me to point out to you how dangerous it would be for the Council to base its budget on sources of revenue which might prove to be legally unenforceable. Of course, ow sources of revenue would be welcome fo your Council, and of course new sources of {axation could be made available by a re~ vision of the Land Regulations. No intelligent ratepayer hero will need to have explal im the political diMeulties of securing a re-of the Land Regulations at this present time.
"No one regrets more than your Couneit the necessity of asking you to increase the burden of General Municipal Rate and Land Tax at this time when all your financial burdens are being increased. Let me, however, ask you to examine the position fairly and squarely with ko yourselves the question whe= Municipal taxation is one of those burdens which weigh most heavily upon you. In my pellet the answer of the great majority of you will be "No." If you delay paying the bill now, there will be a far heavier bill to pay when you meet again. Already exchange has again fallen. We can one of us forecast with any certainty the future.
The outstanding point is that if there is delay in paying the bill now it will become far heavier in the future, and to endeavour to buy off trouble by temporary loans. is no proper method of endeavouring to solve the Parenthetically it may be remarked that it {is diieult to see how such loans could be raised without that additional revenue upon which they would have to be secured, and from that point of view the Japanese amendment puts the cart before the horse. But it is not necessary here to review all the arguments which have been put forward by either side. It is, however, desired to emphasize that at the adjourned meeting the Japanese present, with the exception of a small rowdy clement, took no part in the demonstration, and gave every appearance of accepting the decision of the meeting in a, dignified and sportsman-Uke attitude. It is to that clement in the Japanese community that the rest of Shanghai must look for that cooperation which is, 50 imperatively necessary if the good government of the Settlement is to continue. The
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.