As no satisfaction could be gained from the Council， a specialRatepayers‘ meeting was called on April 21st， at which the Council wassubjected to the severest criticism. The Chairman， Mr. E. A. Probst，not only justified what the Council had done， but claimed that avictory had been won. It appeared that the Consular Body had deputedthe Senior Consul to confer with the Taotai on the situation， and thatthe latter had promised to see that the increased 1icence fee would bepaid by the wheelbarrow coolies， if the date imposing the new tax waspostponed for a short time.
Mr. Probst claimed that by this arrangement the Taotaiacknowledged the right of the Council to increase taxes， and that itprevented the occurrence of similar trouble in the future.
This explanation not being satisfactory to the Rate-payers， aresolution was passed expressing “the most profound regret that theCouncil should have so far disregarded the interests and dignity of thecommunity as to agree to the compromise which had been effected.“The mover and seconder of the resolution declared that the Councilshould resign， as they had no right to make an agreement in oppositionto a vote of the Ratepayers. This scathing vote of censure was passedunanimously， with the result that the whole Council retired. TheChinese are past masters at compromise but it is difficult to persuadethe Westerner to adopt that method， and unwillingness to compromisehas been a constant source of friction between the Oriental andEuropean.
Queen Victoria"s Diamond JubileeThe Queen"s Jubilee of 1887 was observed in Shanghai withoutany great display of enthusiasm， but it was quite otherwise with theDiamond Jubilee of 1897. The fountain in the Public Gardens wasbuilt as a memorial of the first Jubilee， and the Victoria Nursing Homewas presented to the Municipality as a gift at the Diamond Jubilee.
Shanghai being a cosmopolitan Settlement， it was impossiblefor the Council to take an official part in the Diamond Jubilee， andtherefore the celebration was carried out under the auspices of theBritish Consular authorities and the British residents. The people of allnations， however， co-operated in making the day memorable， and therejoicings were truly international. The Settlement was decorated， therewas a great service in the English Cathedral， there was speech makingand a reception， and at night there were illuminations and a torchlightprocession. It was a recognition not only of a great and good Queen，but a tribute to the prestige of the British nation throughout the world，as a pioneer in international commerce and the upholder of law andorder.
Anti-Footbinding MovementA great deal has been written about the evils of footbinding. Thecredit for starting a movement against the practice belongs to the lateMrs. Archibald Little， who， in the year 1895， started the Tien TsuRecently there has been considerable discussion in regard to the future of theVictoria Nursing Home. On the ground that since the erection of the CountryHospital， it is not needed as much as before， it is proposed to dispose of it， and toerect a Nurses‘ Training Home in connection with the Country Hospital.
Hui or Natural Foot Society. Much was done in the way of rousingpublic opinion and the reform was eventually taken up by the Chinesethemselves. Nothing is more convincing of the new China than thediscontinuance of the barbarous practice of foot-binding. In a city likeShanghai， the modern young Chinese lady has complete freedom ofmovement. She now takes part in athletics and is as fond of dancing asthe Western girl.