SHANGHAI
185
with water frontage. The land in the British Settlement was assessed in 1899 at Tls. 23,324,176, that of Hongkew in 1900 at Tls. 15,649,930, and of the Western District at Tls. 5,256,832, a total for the whole Settlement including extension of Tls. 44,230,938, equal to six and a quarter million sterling. The market value last year was known to be considerably about that amount. The assessment of the British and Hongkew divisions respectively was in 1880 Tls. 6,118,265 and Tls. 1,945,325, total Tls. 8,063,590; in 1900 Tls. 12,397,810 and Tls. 5,110,145, total Tls. 17,507,955. The totals for 1900 are thus five and a half times those of 1880 and two and a half times those of 1890.
While the value of the land in the British Settlement had quadrupled that in Hongkew had increased to eight times what it was worth twenty years previously. A great rise in values took place during the later months of 1895 and this has continued during the last five years, chiefly caused by the influx of native capital seeking safe investment under foreign protection and by the great increase in population resulting from the establishment of numerous cotton mills, silk filatures, and other industries. The rental assessment in September quarter of 1900 of 515 foreign houses in the British Settlement was Tls. 748,784 in the Western (Bubbling Well residential) district of 261 houses Tls. 277,006 and in Hongkew of 845 houses TIs. 544,039; that of 20,127 native houses in the two former districts Tls. 2,618,559 and of 22,769 in Hongkew, Tls. 1,388,336, a total annual rental assessment of house property of Tis. 5,576,724. In the French Concession the assessed value of land was Tls. 4,664,942 in 1899; the rental assessment of foreign houses Tls. 83,500 and of native houses Tls. 506,250. The British and French Settlements exclusive of the extensions. acquired in 1899 are now all built over, and the vacant spaces in Hongkew are being rapidly covered. Many of the best foreign houses both in the Settlements and outside roads are now occupied by Chinese, retired officials and merchants.
A petition was sent to Peking in 1899 praying for a greatly enlarged boundary for the Settlement and this had the support of the Consular Body and also of the native officials and gentry and after much delay the matter was finally referred to the Viceroy at Nanking for settlement. The extension which was asked for has been granted and the new territory is being actively surveyed by the Municipal Council for the formation of roads, etc. It is already policed. The area within Municipal limits is 8 square miles, or 5,618 acres with a population of 60.61 per acre. The following table shows the area and population of each district, and the population per acre.
District.
Area.
Population.
Popula- tion
per
Mow. Acres. Foreign. Native.
Total.
Acre.
2,806 468,
1,436
611 53,761 54,372 118,105 | 119,541
28.39
255.43
3,009 502) 16,400 2,733
3,727 91,290 95,017
189.27
783 70,789 71,572
26.19
Western District, mostly European residential 11,491 1,915
Central
→
British Concession.......................
Northern Eastern
"
Hongkew
"
mostly new extension...
Total...... 33,706 5,618
6,557 333,945 340,502
Of this area 641 acres, approximately are covered by European buildings, 1,009 by Chinese buildings and 2,720 acres are agricultural land. There are in the whole Settlement 1,575 European houses with an average of 4.16 inhabitants per house, and 48,525 Chinese houses with an average of 6.88 occupants. There are 58 miles of roads and an additional 41, mostly in the extension are planned. The Japanese treaty of 1896 gave that Power the right to a separate Settlement at Shanghai, but no definite claim has yet been made for such an area. Most of the land at Pootung on the opposite bank of the river, is now also rented by foreigners, but natives have recently been considerable purchasers of landed property within the Settlements. Al ground belongs nominally to the Emperor of China, but is rented in perpetuity, a tax of fifteen hundred copper cash, equal to about a dollar and a half per mou, being paid to the Government annually. The Settlement land was bought from the original proprietors at about $50 per mow, which was at least twice its then value. Some lots have since been sold at $10,000 to $16,000 a mow.
About six mow equal one acre.
As a port for foreign trade Shanghai grew but gradually until it gained a great impetus by the opening in 1861 of the Yangtsze and northern ports, secured by the
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