864
SHANGHAI
the outskirts of the Settlements. Cases of this sort have of late become rather numerous, many cases of murder, of gouging out of eyes, and of mutilation having oc- curred in the immediate suburbs; and so complete is the terrorism that in few cases have the actual culprits been successfully traced, the country people not daring to give evidence. Under these circumstances, at the annual ratepayers' meeting in 1906, the Municipal Council were ordered to increase the force of Sikh Police to a thousand men. In a few cases where the perpetrators of these outrages have been arrested and brought before the Mixed Court, every possible means have been brought to bear to defeat the ends of justice by inadequate sentences, or by procuring that the accused should, under one pretext or other, be sent to the City Court for judgment; the almost invariable re- sult in the latter event being that in a month or so the prisoner has been permitted to escape to renew his depredations.
It was to these disturbers of the law that, in December 1905, as mentioned in a previous page, the provincial officials made their appeal at what they alleged to be attempts to interfere with the dignity of the Lord of the Soil. As a fact, of course, the Municipality had shown itself all through more regardful of the Imperial interests than the Provincial authorities. It is only necessary to refer to the pages of the Peking Gazette within the last few years to understand the dangerous state of disorder existing in the lower Province. Unfortunately, the headquarters of the Smuggling Association are in the im- mediate vicinity of the Foreign Settlements, and though the Municipality would prefer not being in any way forced into contact with any of the political parties of the State, with which it has no concern, the case becomes different when the lives and properties of the residents with which it is charged are endangered.
FINANCES
The Revenue for 1912 was the highest on record. The growth of the Settlement is shown by the rise during the past twenty-two years in the chief sources of Municipal Revenue, namely, Land Tax Tls. 54,645 to Tls. 671,540, Foreign House rate Tls. 44,477 to Tls. 541,851, Native House rate Tis. 104,740 to Tls. 716,846, Wharfage dues Tls. 64,322 to Tls. 204,782, and Licence fees Tls. 109,559 to Tls. 494,608.
The Ordinary Revenue of the "Anglo-American" Settlement for 1912 amounted to Tls. 2,734,245 and was derived from the following sources:-
Land Tax, six-tenths of 1 per cent. less 15 per cent. ... General Municipal Rates, Foreign Houses, 12 per cent....
Do.
dlo. on houses beyond Settlement limits, G per cent. General Municipal Rates, Native Houses, 12 per cent....
Do.
do. on houses beyond Settlement limits, 6 per cent. Licences, principally vehicles, and opium shops Dues on Merchandise ...
·
...
...
Rent of Municipal Properties, Markets, etc. Contribution from Gas, Telephone, and Tramway Companies...
Tls. 671,539.87
528,376.04
13,475.43
712,402.63
4,443.24
494,608.18
204,78..49
65,138.72
39,478,78
Tls. 2,734,245.38
The Ordinary Expenditure for the same year was Tls. 2,372,766, and was divided among the different departments as under :--
Police Force
Volunteers ...
Fire Brigade
Health Dept. General
•
•
Do. Hospitals, Cemeteries, etc.
Public Works Dept. General ..
...
...
D
•
Tls. 854,250.70
43,028.29
53,987.01
206,896.64
46,729.61
Tls. 109,508.17 97,388.49
Tls. 149,258.29
Do.
Building
Do.
Creeks and River
37,981.02
Do.
Drainage
Cr.
4,369,05
Do.
Roads
236,430.98
Do.
Lighting
...
Do.
Parks, etc.
...
87,748.15 34,561.27
Carried forward
588,340.27
Tls. 1,746,512.01