Directory_and_Chronicle_1914 — Page 894

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SHANGHAI

floor consists of the European market, 156 feet by 80 feet, and an arcade, 156 feet by 45 fect, 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 brick- work with stone dressings, the steps being of concrete with stone handrails and ballus- ters, 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 tiebeams 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 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 incandes- cent 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 superinten- dence of Mr C. Mayne, C.E., the Municipal Engineer, and Mr. F. M. Gratton, F.R.I.B.A., of the firm of Morrison & 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 is, 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. A bronze statue by Mr. Henry Pegram, A.R A., of Sir Robert Hart, late Inspector General of Chinese Maritime Customs, subscribed for by the community, was erected on the Bund near the Customs House in 1913. The statue is nine feet in height and stands on a granite pedestal eight feet high. The principal

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. An efficient tram service is maintained in both Settlements.

INSTITUTIONS

Among the institutions of the place may be mentioned the Volunteer Defence Force, composed of members of all nationalities, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel A. A. S. Barnes (Wiltshire Regiment), with Major T. E. Trueman as second in command. It consists of Staff 9, Light Horse 37, Artillery 41, Maxim Company 38, Engineer Company 33,"A" Company Mounted Rifles 25, "A" Company 105, "B" Company 58, German Company 75, Customs Company 53, Japanese Company 67, American Company 67, Portuguese Company 80, Chinese Company 4, Unit Reserve 51, Buglers 20, Re- serve Company 120, German Reserve 32, 12-Bore Company 36, Light Horse Reserve 30, Portuguese Company Sportsmen's Section 36, total 47 officers and 704 non-commissioned officers and men on the active list and 10 Officers and 295 rank and file reserve, a grand total of 1,116, and fourteen retired officers. 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 a 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 Boxer crisis, the membership of 300 was more than trebled and included a Naval Company, since disbanded. The annual inspection was made on 19th April, 1913, by Major General Anderson, C.B., Commandant of the Hongkong Garrison, and the Corps was awarded high praise. 43 officers and 640 men were present on parade. The infantry is armed with the Lee-Metford and the new short rifles. A separate Company of Volunteers, under the order of the French Consul-General, was formed in May, 1897. The Fire Brigade consists of 67 For ign volunteers with a paid departmental engineer, and a staff of native assistants, and is composed of three Fire Engine and one Hook and Ladder Companies, a spare fire engine and fire float and 12,225 feet of hose. It attended 115 fires in 1912, at one of which 71 houses were destroyed and 5 damaged. It is pronounced to be one of the most efficient volunteer brigades in the world. Owing