SHANGHAI
105
EC
that given to Great Britain, has caused a delay of thirteen years. The Ministers at Peking have suggested some radical alterations, but these are so opposed to the necessities of the city that the residents for their own preservation are bound to offer a strenuous resistance, and from that cause and owing to the changes which have taken place since 1881 it is probable that the Regulations will have to be again revised and will not come into force for some time. At the time of the Taiping rebellion it was proposed by the Defence Committee, with the almost unanimous consent of the landrenters and residents, to make the Settlements and City with the district around a free city, under the pro- tection of the Treaty Powers. Had this proposal, which was thoroughly justifiable owing to the Imperial Government having lost all power in the provinces, been carried out, Shanghai would have become the chief city in China, and it is safe to say would have acted as a leaven, to the ultimate immense benefit of the whole Empire. A separate Council for the French Concession was appointed in 1862, and now works under the Réglement d'Organisation Municipale de la Concession Française," passed in 1868. It consists of four French and four foreign members, elected for two years, half of whom retire annually. Their resolutions are inoperative until sanctioned by the Consul- General. They are elected by all owners of land on the Concession, or occupants paying a rental of a thousand francs per annum, or residents with an annual income of four thousand francs. This, it will be noticed, approaches much more nearly to "universal suffrage" than the franchise of the other Settlements, which, however, will be considerably reduced should the new Regulations ever become law. The qualification for councillors north of the Yang-king-pang is the payment of rates to the amount of fifty taels annually, or being a householder paying rates on an assessed rental of twelve hundred taels. For the French Concession the requirement is a monetary one of about the same amount. Several efforts have been made to amalgamate the French with the other Settlements, but hitherto without success. A revision of the Réglements for the French Concession has for some time been under consideration. Mectings of ratepayers are held in February of each year, at which the budgets are voted and the new Councils instructed as to the policy they are to pursue. No important measure is undertaken without being referred to a special meeting of ratepayers. The Council divides itself into Defence, Finance, Watch, and Works Committee. This cosmopolitan system of government has for many years worked so well and so cheaply that Shanghai hias fairly earned for itself the name of "The Model Settlement.
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The Revenue of the "Anglo-American" Settlement for 1893 amounted to Tls. 517,791.11, and was derived as follows:
...
...Tls. 67,716.13
Land Tax, four-tenths of 1 per cent.... General Municipal Rates, Foreign Houses, 8 per cent. General Municipal Rates, Native Houses, 10 per cent. Wharfage Dues, including Contribution from Taotai Licences, principally opium shops and jinrickshas Local Post Office Tls. 22,467.52; Sale of Stores Tls. 6,971.05 Night Soil, Tls. 2,961.43, Miscellaneous, Tls. 2,932.33 Sinking Fund and Interest Tls. 18,073.90, Outstanding Tls. 6,066.59 Loan...
...
47,572.10
121,037.25
55,987.91
121,004.90
29,438.57
5,893.76
24,140.49
45,000.00
Tls. 517,791.11
the
The Expenditure for the same year was Tls. 504,533.60, and was divided among different departments as under :-
Police Department
+
Sanitary Department, including Hospitals
Lighting Tls. 28,548.43, Water Supply Tls. 13,669.58 ...
...
Public Works & Survey, incldg. Garden, Cemeteries, and outside roads Stud (chiefly for Sanitary and Public Works Departments) Land and Buildings...
Secretariat, Legal, and General
+
...
..Tls. 99,788.50
40,147.43
42,218.01
102,160.62
...
...
14,087.51
18,132.59
41,708.21
29,861.98
26,229.33
10,603.76
33,205.18
31,390.48
15,000.00
Tls. 504,533.60
Interest Tls. 14,738.40, and Sinking Fund Tls. 15,123.58 Volunteers Tls. 10,677.78, Fire Dept. Tls. 8,399.87, Band Tls. 7,151.68 Education Tls. 9,003.76, Museum Tls. 1,000, Library Tls. 600... Local Post Office Tls. 9,740.99, Stores and Sundries Tls. 23,464.19 Jubilee Celebration Tls. 8,051.09, Deficit 1892 Tls. 23,339.39 Loan of 1883, repayment of balance
...
The Municipal Revenue and Expenditure for 1894 was estimated at Tls. 463,718.00.
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