33
This contrasts with the situation in Hong Kong, for instance, where Chinese were tried by colonial judges principally according to English law, and also with Singapore where a similar situation obtained.
Land Regulations: the Constitution of the International Settlement
Earlier I have made mention of the Land Regulations without clearly explaining what these were. As these Land Regulations formed the Constitution of the Settlement on which nearly the entire structure of government was built it seems proper to give some more details about them,
In the course of the Settlement's history (1845-1943) three sets of Land Regulations were issued: in 1845, 1854 and 1869. They all dealt in various degrees with the delimitation of the settlement's boundaries, the mode of renting land, the way in which foreign land-renters or ratepayers could elect a Municipal Council, the organisation of the Municipal Council and other administrative details. The way in which these sets of Land Regulations originated differed from each other.
The 1845 Land Regulations
The first set was issued by the taotai Kung Mu-chiu, on November 29, 1845. According to the preface these had been drafted by the Chinese and British authorities, meaning Kung and consul Balfour, "in communication together". This first Constitution had a distinctly Chinese flavour, as was to be expected. The basic principles of Chinese rulers were: first, paternalism, which held that a great number of detailed rules had to be laid down in writing and that one of the main tasks of administrators was to prevent the cropping up of unrest among the population, second, the so-called Ai-min principle (literally "love the people") which said that the feelings of the people should be respected, and third, the principle of mutual responsibility through the pao-chia system. In one form or another all these foundations of the Chinese state were represented in the 23 articles of the Land Regulations (the number of articles alone already indicates the Chinese obsession with detailed rules): e.g. paternalistic attitudes were to be found in articles IV, VI, IX, X, XI and others; the Ai-min rule in articles II, V, VII and IX; and the
33
This contrasts with the situation in Hong Kong, for instance, where Chinese were tried by colonial judges principally according to English law, and also with Singapore where a similar situation obtained.
Land Regulations: the Constitution of the International Settlement
Earlier I have made mention of the Land Regulations without clearly explaining what these were. As these Land Regulations formed the Constitution of the Settlement on which nearly the entire structure of government was built it seems proper to give some more details about them,
In the course of the Settlement's history (1845-1943) three sets of Land Regulations were issued: in 1845, 1854 and 1869. They all dealt in various degrees with the delimination of the settlement's boundaries, the mode of renting land, the way in which foreign land-renters or ratepayers could elect a Municipal Council, the organisation of the Municipal Council and other administrative details. The way in which these sets of Land Regulations originated differed from each other.
The 1845 Land Regulations
The first set was issued by the taotai Kung Mu-chiu, on November 29 1845. According to the preface these had been drafted by the Chinese and British authorities, meaning Kung and consul Balfour, "in communication together". This first Constitution had a distinctly Chinese flavour, as was to be expected. The basic principles of Chinese rulers were: first, paternalism, which held that a great number of detailed rules had to be laid down in writing and that one of the main tasks of administrators was to prevent the cropping up of unrest among the population, second, the so called Ai-min AR (literally "love the people") principle which said that the feelings of the people should be respected, and third, the principle of mutual responsibility through the pao-chia system. In one form or another all these foundations of the Chinese state were represented in the 23 articles of the Land Regulations (the number of articles alone already indicates the Chinese obsession with detailed rules): e.g. paternalistic attitudes were to be found in articles IV, VI, IX, X, XI and others; the Ai-min rule in articles II, V, VII and IX; and the
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