On one occasion it happened that a certain Consul stood out against all the others who wished to close a gambling s£oofl owned by one of his nationals. At the time it was currently reported that there was only one of his own countrymen in the town, but so complicated is the legal procedure in this inter- national settlement that the greatest difficulty was experienced in effecting the arrest of this single representative of a South American Republic, whose property lay just outside the boundary on Chinese territory; the difficulty being that his own Consul refused to issue a warrant, and no other Coxisul was competent to do so.

In the present Gilbertian state of the kw here, any one-horse Republic can send a Consul and one subject to take up his abode in the settle- ment-or just out of it. If that Consul, from reasons of policy or-well, let us say any reasons at all-chooses to "protect" that subject, and refuses to issue a warrant for his arrest in a case of gambling or pimping, or any other crooked practice which may be tolerated in his own benighted country, none of the other Consuls are empowered to inter- fere.

In the case under discussion, however, the Council decided to risk it, but so determined was the resistance that the gambler referred to armed his Indian watchmen and actually fired on the police when they arrived. The police rough-handled an rndian watchman, and one of the constables, although obeying orders, was summoned for assault.

During the fracas the watchman bit a policeman in the arm, and a local paper reported the incident as follows:-" The Indian watchman who bit a constable in the arm last Thursday at the Aihambra is not expected to recover."

The report did not say whether he was summoned for failing to keep the piece, but it would appear to be a somewhat excessive punish- ment to put a man in hospital who is already tired of feeding on "slops."

The gambling den was closed, however, in this instance, and there were no international complications.

Not only does the Municipal Council have to consider the view of its actions that will be taken by fourteen Consuls of different nation- alities, but it is obliged to take into account the Chinese authorities also, whose policy is invariably one of obstruction.

Otir settlement abuts upon some of the poorest most dilapidated and insanitary pro- peity imaginable, inhabited by beggars and thieves, a perfect hotbed for bubonic plague and other diseases, and a dumping-ground for ever-accumulating filth.

In conseqtience we are continu£ly trying to obtain an extension of the settlement to form a belt around our land, over the salutary and police adininistration of which we shall have some control. Every move in this direction, however, is met with a most determined resis- tance, and the question is perpetually a bone of contention.

I note your query as to the meaning of the term "abacus," and will try to explain it to the best of my knowledge and belief, An abacus, then, is an ancient form of rosary used by the Chinese in the exercise of their religion. and consists of a shallow box, across the open top of which stout wires are stretched, having a number of movable knobs of wood threaded upon them. The instrument is employed by the Chinese principally as a means of working out the exchange of taels into dollars by double entry-one entry for you, and one for themselves.

Again it becomes necessary to explain that payment in dollars is cusfomary-generally speaking-only in the retail trades, large amounts being calculated in taels. The clearest con- ception of the idea you could get would be to compare it with your custom of paying in guineas and being forced to use an "exchange rate" that varies daily.

In modern times (that is, since foreigners came to China and improved upon these anti- quated methods by the introduction of double- entry bookkeeping and balance-sheets) the abacus is used to find out where the accountant's mistake occurred.

The Municipal Council has inaugurated a mosquito campaign, so that the girls can wear openwork in the approaching summer without getting punctured. Their method of exter- mination is to pour crude petroleum into the ditches that contain stagnant water. I under- stand that there is nothing a mosquito dislikes so cordially as crude petr&eum . Probably those Shanghailanders who live near the ditches treated in this manner will soon be able to understand why. I got a whiff of some myself the other day, and must confess I seldom smelt a more crude smell.

Mosquitoes bite most frequently round the ankles, and it is for this reason that the youth of the town use strawberry coloured socks, bespattered with bright yellow spots, which either drive the pests away or stupefy them should they attempt to light upon the wearer's foot.

I saw a man yesterday with a pair of astigmatic pattern hose that in ade me feel quite giddy, and I am much bigger than a mosquito.

Before I close this letter, I must acquaint you with a really smart piece of work for which I presume our Health Officer is responsible. To whomsoever is responsible, I take off my hat, make my best bow, and with my hand on my heart say "Thank you." I refer to the discovery of plague-infected rats in the settlement, and the energetic means employed in their destruction.

The man who is responsible for their discovery certainly does not suffer from "Maskeeitis, and whatever his salary, his brains are worth more to the community than ever the community could pay, wherefore we are still in his debt.

Your affectionate son,
JIM

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