The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1909-09-11 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

SEITEIKBER: 111 4900.  WITH AN ENGLISH OPERA COMPANY IN THE FAR EAST. A BIRHONIAN AT SHANGHAI.  'U.  Shanghai is quite the "London" of the , East. The offices and buildings generally are strikingly European, and though every other person one meets is a native, with his , sacred pig-tail, the foreigners (including the English people) wear familiar and ' homely-iooking tweed suits. Then again the outskirts of the town are very reminiscent of London suburbia. The sight of a native undergoing punishment is a strange and curiously impressive one to European eyes. Just imagine walking along Grangeroad and seeing two Chinese handcuffed together, tied by their pigtails and their heads sticking through a board upon which is written the dory of their crime; and a policeman standing in close, almost affectionate proximity. We should remember, however, that sights like these are not confined to China, for the streets of our towns are lined with men and women, not criminals (would, that they were, for then the sight would not be so distressing), but the. wounded and half-slain from tha battle of life—the "jetsam" of our worn-out social "system"— 'chaos" is a better word. These unfortunate people, like the Chinese criminals. wear boards round their necks which bear in writing a story of their struggles and failures—a dory which makes the ' thoughtful man wick at heart. When talk- , ing about the spiritual darkness of China let us not forget that we in England have as yet only left the darkness ,for a cold grey dawn. Noontide is still very far off. The Chinaman has no fear of death in al quick form, so that when a man is condemned to death for any serious offence he is usually tortured in a most horrible way. The following is a perfectly true instant* of a frightful sentence meted out to a young Chinese servant girl quite recantlY• After being most shamefully treated by her mistress for a long time, this wretched creature at last threw the mistress downstairs and killed her. The Mandarin sentenced the young Murderees to be buried alive under the following ghastly conditions: Placed in the coffin, the corpse of the murdered woman laid on top of her, and then the ooqn lid to be screwed down. Fortunately the poor creature lost her reason before the eantence could be carried out. On our opening day at Shanghai I received a card bearing the name of W. A. Willis, and immediately remembered that ha was an old member of the Birkenhead Glee and Madrigal Society, who had left England to "occupy his business" at Shanghai. His Birkenhead friends will no doubt be interested to know that he is pcoeperods and happy, and has grown much stouter; but he is still the same genial "Billie Willis." I met a .man in a music shop who had just come from Cape Town, and he told of "Charlie" Eglen's marriage. Old members of the Clifton Amateur Operatic Society will remember Eglan as one of the beet comedians the Society ever possessed. He left Birkenhead some years ago to take up the management of an insurance office at Cape Town. By the way, the Amateur Dramatic Company at Shanghai is in a most flourishing condition. They have produced over 1..50 pieces; "The Yeoman of the Guard" was their last production. Our own little opera company played all sorts of pieces—opera, drama, comedy, farce, and anything else you live! Here is a specimen list:—" H.M.S. Pinafore," "Charley's Aunt," "Sign of the Crook" "Robinson Crueoe," "Havana," "Merry Widow," "The Lady Dandies," and "Rustic Chivalry." t'hen I tell you that two years ago this Company (so I was told) gave a performance of the "Crucifixion" at Rangoon, you will quite understand that for versatility this Company stands alone. There is a great charm in travelling from place to place, in seeing strange faces. and in going with the ever-moving crowd. China is a wonderful and mysterious country. foil of mighty temples built by this ancient race ages and ages back. The western mind will rarer understand the philosophy that underlies the life of the teeming millions that live in the heart of mysterious China. "