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is probably not more than 25 or so. However, we took our courage in both hands, and this was justified in the result. We had as official guests the leading men of the port, Consular, Legal and commercial and also invited the Presidents of the other national societies. Altogether some 100 persons sat at the festive board and a good deal of Welsh was spoken. I wonder how many Societies outside the confines of the old country could produce real Welsh speakers. Some of the reports I have recently read of the celebrations last March would not indicate a profusion of the national speech in the proceedings We are now reaping the reward of our special effort, as several who were but luke-warm previously are joining our little society, and we are having a decided accretion of new members. You may have heard that our small Society is presenting the bardic chair to the Swansea National Eisteddfod next year, and we are now busy preparing to collect designs, and have prac- tically decided on one that will be a very fine work of art indeed, worthy in every respect of the National festival, the successful poet and our little society. Each member is taking a keen interest in the matter and all are wonderfully en- thusiastic about it. I am not permitted to give details of the chair, as we want the gift to be rather in the nature of a surprise, but I assure you it will be a very fine specimen of the best Chinese craftsmanship, and in my opinion, far superior to anything ever rreviously presented. Our gift creates a precedent which may be happily followed by other overseas societies from time to time. Our society has during the last few months re- ceived additional impetus and strength through the coming among us of several young Welshmen, who are patriotic to the core. There has been quite an influx of Welsh lawyers, altogether four, and these are all very enthusiastically supporting the society. One in particular has added enor- mously to our strength by his keen interest and hard work on behalf of the society. He is Major J R. Jones, M.A., a barrister-at-law, whose home I believe is Llanfyllin. There are several Welshmen holding important positions out here and these are increasing continually. The head of the Public Works Department of the local Municipal Council is a Welshman. We have a Welsh Vice-Consul by the name of Hughes, while our last year's president was a highly placed police official, by the name of Vaughan, who is now at his home in Dolgelly. So you see we are becoming a more aggressive race than for- merly. Frankly we Welsh people have a habit of under estimating ourselves, and it is time that we shewed a little more forcefulness in affairs. In Shanghai we do not intend to hide our light under a bushel anvway and our little society is going to have an influence much greater than its limited membership implies. Whatever we may think of Llwyd Sior as a politician, we Welsh must admit that he has brought our little nation prominently before the world, and we have now a perfect right to demand the respect of other nationals that we deserve. Unfortunately, too many Welshmen suffer from 'snobbery'; it is almost pathetic to think that there are some who wish to disclaim any connection with the land of their birth. "Cas gwr na garo gwlad eu maco," but we have them even in China. So many that we approach to join our Society consider it an affront, and make all sorts of pretences as to their qualifications for membership. Needless to say we ignore them and are quite willing that they should go over to either of the other Societies; we are better without them. Would this not be an appropriate subject for an article in your magazine? There is nothing so contemptible as a Welsh 'snob' and I would like to see every young Welshman who comes abroad having a broader conception of his nationality and a fine natural pride in his race. You never meet a Scotsman who is afraid to own his nationality. No, he delights in accentuating his "brogue" or accent, while so many Welshmen try to forget theirs. I have acquired a working knowledge of the Chinese language in spare time and I am proud to say that I have not forgotten my Welsh, though I should probably find it difficult to de- liver a set speech before an audience in my native tongue. I have had very little opportunity of using my native speech, but I was fortunate in having a Welshwoman as my wife and so we have been able to practice it more or less all the years we have been out here. But what keeps it in memory more than anything else is singing the grand old hymns of Wales. I take my "Canied- vdd Cynylleudfaol" with me everywhere, and we have sung (the wife and I) those glorious hymns in all parts of China. At Chungking we lived on the brink of the great Yangtze river, while down below us the junkmen would be singing their chanties as they rowed down or up-strearn, and the mingling of melodies was not so incongruous as would seem from the bare statement of the fact. We have sung in Pekin, Tientsin and away in the interior of China, in Honan overlooking the Yellow River-China's Sorrow-and I am not so sure but what the tears did not flow down our cheeks as we sang Aberystwyth, Crugybar, Rhei- dol and other great tunes as we sat on our verandah thinking of evening services in churches great and small in the Hen Wlad. No, I do not think anv Welshman has the slightest excuse for forgetting his language while he has the wonder- ful heritage of a Welsh Bible and Hymnal. MIDLAND BANK LIMITED. The Directors of the Midland Bank Limited announce an interim dividend for the half-year ended June 30th last at the rate of 18 per cent. per annum less income tax, payable on July 15th. The dividend for the corresponding period of 1924 was at the same rate.