CO129-353 - Public Offices - 1908 — Page 104

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the extension of 1899, what is known as the northern district of the Settlement bas developed to an extent which it was impossible at the time to anticipate. So great has been the congestion that not only have extensive suburbs sprung up beyond the boundary, but large numbers even of the foreign residents have been compelled to leave the district and buy land and build houses for themselves outside the limits of the Settlement. It is to meet the wants of these foreigners in the matter of sanitation, police protection, and other conveniences, as well as in the general interest of all residents in the International Settlement to whose health and security the conditions in these suburbs are a perpetual menace, that a further extension of the area under municipal control is urgently desirable.

As your Excellency is no doubt aware, the Settlement was last extended in 1899, The necessity of the extension then applied for was admitted by your predecessor, his Excellency Liu Kun Yi, who recognized that the conditions of foreign residence had It was only greatly changed since 1845, when the original boundaries were laid down. to the small portion of the proposed extension which formed part of the Paoshau district that he objected, on the ground, first of all, that foreigners were not permitted to own land in the Paosban district, and, secondly, that it contained within its limits the railway station, and that, if the station were included within the Settlement, it might serve as a pretext for foreign interference with the administration of the railway. The reasons were not very cogent ones, but rather than prolong the negotiations any longer the Consular Body reluctantly agreed to the exclusion of the district in question. At the same time it was explained to the Viceroy that, in view of the growing importance of the locality which had been struck out, the Consular Body could not plodge themselves to accept this compromise as a final settlement of the question, and if, in the near future, the necessity of securing municipal control over the suburbs in this locality should force itself on the foreign community, the Consular Body would again take up the matter.

Since that date the development of the whole Settlement, bat particularly, as I have shown, of its northern district, has been marvellously rapid. Its population has risen from 350,000 in 1900 to over 550,000 this year, and now, in proportion to its area, it is one of the most densely populated localities in the world. It is not surprising therefore that, in the opinion of all those interested in the welfare of this community, the area of the Settlement is no longer sufficient for the needs of its inhabitants, and in the interests, above all, of the public health, an extension in the direction in which the overcrowding is greatest has become a matter of immediate necessity. With this view the Consular Body is in entire agreement. The urgent need of an immediate extension of the northern boundary principally has been obvious to my colleagues and myself for many months past. The time, in our opinion, has now come when the question can no jonger be deferred. We have the less hesitation in bringing this application for au extension to your notice in view of the fact that the reasons given by his Excellency Liu Kun Yi in 1899 for refusing to allow any portion of the Paoshan district to be included within the area of the Settlement no longer hold good. Since that date permission has been given to foreigners to lease land in this district, and already practically the whole of the land lying between the northern district of the Settlement and the railway line is registered in foreign Consulates.

The extension in that direction will not include within its limits the railway station or any portion of the railway line, which is, in fact, the extreme boundary suggested for the proposed addition in that direction to the Settlement. The apprehensions, therefore, felt by his Excellency Liu Kun Yi regarding the possible effect of the inclusion within Settlement limits of the railway station need not be shared by your Excellency,

For the reasons given above we are convinced that the extension in the northern direction (Paoshan) proposed will meet with no opposition in principle from your Excellency. In case, however, it should be urged by you that the area which it is desired to bring under municipal jurisdiction is already under the control of a Chinese municipality, I am instructed by my colleagues to state that the administration of this municipality has not given satisfaction to the residents therein, and seeing that the conditions in the district in which it functions continue to be a menace to the health and good order of the adjoining Settlement, they are unable to admit that its establishment has proved, or is ever likely to prove, an efficient substitute for foreign municipal government.

Any alteration in the boundaries of the Settlement will involve an amendment of Article 1 of the Regulations, and, as under Article 28, any such amendment must be consulted upon and settled by the foreign Consuls and the local Chinese authorities before being finally submitted to the foreign Representatives and the Supreme Chinese Government at Peking for confirmation, I have the honour, on behalf of my colleagues,

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to request your Excellency to be so good as to instruct the Shanghae Taotai, or any other officer whom it may seem good to you to appoint, to enter into negotiations on the subject with the Consular Body, so that an understanding on the subject may be reached at the earliest possible date.

(Translation.)

Sir,

I have, &c. (Signed)

Inclosure 2 in No. 1.

Tuan Fang to Mr. Siffert.

D. SIFFERT, Senior Consul,

Nanking, July 29, 1908. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge receipt of your despatch of the 3rd instant, applying for an extension of the International Settlement at Shanghae.

[Despatch quoted at length.]

In reply, I have the honour to point out that the sole object with which Settlements have been marked out at Treaty ports is that foreigners of all nationalities should reside and trade therein. Shangliae was one of the earliest Treaty ports to be opened, and, as its trade from the first was a thriving one, the area originally marked off for foreign Settlement was one of very large dimensions. Furthermore, in the twenty-fifth year of Kwanghsu (1899) the late Viceroy of Nanking, Liu, sanctioned an extension by the Chinese Government of the original area, so as to make it amply suffice in extent for the trade of all nationalities. The additional area granted on this occasion was no less than 21,500 odd mou, which was more than twice the extent of the original Settle- ment. The Viceroy's object in granting this huge extension was to settle the question of the area of the Settlement once and for all by removing any pretext for a further demand for extension. Yet now, though but a few years have since elapsed, and though, within the Settlement area, there are still large tracts of unused land, a further extension is again asked for, a demand which directly conflicts with the excellent object his Excellency Liu had in view in granting the last extension.

As you are no doubt aware, the combined area of the original Settlement and the extension of 1899 is 32,100 odd mon. To maintain that this enormous area is insufficient for the needs of the foreign population of Shanghae, however quickly its numbers may increase, is manifestly absurd. It may, of course, be urged that there is also a large Chinese population living within the Settlement who monopolize the greater part of it. But it should also be remembered that the area is one set apart for foreign residence, and that, if foreigners choose to pay the cost, they may lease every single portion

of it.

In your despatch the area which you propose should be included in the extension is that lying between the Settlement and railway. It was, as you say, to the inclusion of this locality within the Settlement that Viceroy Liu so strongly objected, and, according to your despatch, he was informed at the time that, if in the future the necessity of securing municipal control in this suburb should force itself on the foreign community, the Consular Body would again take up the matter. On this point I have caused inquiry to be made, but can find in my archives no confirmation of this state- But even if the Consuls did, as you say, intimate this to him, in my opinion, by the fact that, when granting so large an extension of the Settlement, he refused to include within its limits this small section, the late Viceroy clearly showed that he would have repudiated the right of the Consular Body to claim its inclusion at a later date.

ment.

The locality in question is situated within the Paoshan district, which district has not yet been made a Treaty port. Foreign merchants have only been allowed to lease land here as a special privilege, and they have no right to make the favour once accorded them a pretext for demanding an extension of the Settlement. The Paoshan district, I may mention, also comprises within its limits the port of Woosung, which was opened as a commercial mart by China herself. If any foreign merchant, therefore, is anxious to reside or do business in Paoshau, he is at liberty to select and lease for his purpose any land within the area marked out as the commercial mart of Woosung.

Business at Shanghae is daily becoming more and more prosperous, and as it If the Settlement increases, so will the number of Chinese settlers at the port increase.