Directory_and_Chronicle_1908 — Page 855

740

SHANGHAI

admit the north light only. A four-way staircase connects the two floors and is sur- mounted by an octagonal dome 40 feet diameter. The front building is of red brick with stone dressings. The lower floor consists of the European market 156 feet by 80 feet, and an arcade 156 feet by 45 feet employed for the same purpose. A special and striking feature of the building is the handsome staircase entered from Nanking Road and leading to the Town Hall on the first floor. The walls and arches of this staircase are finished in clean red brickwork with stone dressings, the steps being of concrete- with stone handrails and ballusters, and encaustic tile floors to halls and landings. The Town Hall is also used by the Shanghai Volunteers for Drill purposes. It presents an imposing appearance, being 156 feet long, 80 wide, and 26 feet high, to the tie- beamus of the roof, a massively timbered gallery crossing one end. The floor is. of teak laid on steel joists and concrete. The windows are of cathedral glass and the joinery and dado in this room are of polished teak. It is heated by large stoves, and special attention has been given to

has been given to the ventilation. Adjoining this Hall are other large rooms used for public meetings, a Volunteers' Club and other purposes. The buildings are lighted throughout by incandescent electric lights, the Town Hall having six 300 candle power incandescent lamps. besides the numerous side lights. The whole of the buildings form an effective group, although the narrowness of the streets on the East and West sides considerably detracts from the possibility of obtaining a good view of the block. They took about eighteen months to erect and were built from the designs and under the superintendence of Mr. C. Mayne, c.E., the Municipal Engineer, and Mr. F. M.. Gratton, F.K.I.B.A., of the firm of Morrison and Gratton of Shanghai, as joint architects. and engineers. A New Mixed Court was completed in 1899. A monument. to the memory of Mr. A. R. Margary, of the British Consular service, who was murdered by Chinese in Yunnan, was unveiled in June, 1880, and a statue of the late Sir Harry Parkes, British Minister to Peking, was erected in 1890. A bronze monument. in memory of the heroic death of the crew of the German gunboat Iltis, lost in a typhoon off the coast of Shantung on 25th July, 1896, was erected on the Bund, at the end of the Peking road, in November, 1898. The principal buildings on the French Concession are the Municipal Hall and the Consulate. A bronze statue of Admiral Protet, who was killed when directing an attack on Nan-yao on 17th May, 1862, stands in front of the Municipal Hall. The Public Markets of the French Concession are large and well built and are perfect as regards sanitary arrangements.

The Council of the French Settlements voted in 1902 the amount of 90,000 Taels for the building of a street tramway-line from the Place de l'Est via the- French Bund and the Rue de Consulat to the French Camp,' but not a rail has yet been laid. The tramway scheme in the International Settlement is now in. a more advanced state. A contract was entered into with a British firm early in 1903, but owing to general financial depression the firm asked for an extension of time which the Council refused to grant and the company thereupon abandoned the conces- sion. A contract having been entered into with another British firm, the permanent way is now completed and it is expected that the line will be open for traffic early this year.

INSTITUTIONS

Among the institutions of the place may be mentioned the Volunteer Defence Force, under the command of Lt. Col. W. M. Watson (West Riding Regiment) with Major- Brodie A. Clarke as second in command. It consists of Staff 10, Light Horse 53, Mounted. Infantry 25, Artillery 60, Maxim Company 68, "A" Company 124, "B" Company 60,, German Company 56, Customs Company 78, Japanese Company 50, American Company 60, Portuguese Company 76, Ambulance Corps 14, Signallers Company 20, Reserve Company 101, German Reserve 51, Mounted Scouts 29, 12-Bore Company 36, and retired officers 8, total 57 officers and 935 non-commissioned officers and men. These numbers are exclusive of the Medical Staff and the Band. Originally formed in 1861 the Volunteer Force gradually went to decay, until the fear of attack after the Massacre at Tientsin in 1870 caused its revival with considerable vigour. It again dwindled in numbers, but the last re-organisation under the late Major Holliday proved successful and in 1900, during the China crisis, the membership of 300 was more than trebled and included an American. and Naval Companies, since disbanded. The annual inspection was made in 1906 by Major-General Broadwood, C.B., Commander of the Hongkong Garrison, and the Corps was awarded high praise. The infantry is armed with the Lec-Metford rifle. A separate Company of Volunteers, under the order of the French Consul-General, was formed in: May, 1897. The Fire Brigade consists of 55 Foreign volunteers with a paid departmenta.

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