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rates and land taxes which work out at only 7.50 dollars per capita, compared with an average assessment in Great Britain of over 17 dollars.
"The work of the Council, and especially of the Foreign Members thereof, has been largely political, as well as administrative. Since the development of Nationalism in China, it has had to wage an incessant struggle to maintain, and to prevent encroachments upon, its privileges, especially in such matters as taxation, and interference with the administration of justice and the police. In the last resort, of course, controversial issues have to be adjusted between the Chinese authorities and the Consular Body, and the success of the Council in upholding the status of the Settlement depends upon the support accorded to it by the Foreign Consuls. But unless the Council had taken the initiative and watched very jealously over its privileges, the administration would have taken a very different form from what we see today. It must be considered remarkable, when you come to think of it, that from the early eighteen-sixties a succession of men — mostly merchants with little or no municipal experience, should have administered the Settlement in an honorary capacity, in such a manner as to develop a huge, well-governed, and normally peaceful city out of an area of marshy ground. Although for political reasons the Council has not been popular with Chinese officialdom, the presence within its boundaries today of nearly three million Chinese is evidence of the confidence reposed in it by the ordinary Chinese.
"Anglo-American interests still predominate in the Settlement. Ever since the amalgamation of the American and British areas in 1863 there has been the closest co-operation between the American and British communities. An American has on several occasions been Chairman of the Council. An American citizen has for the past ten years occupied the highest executive post in the Council, that of Secretary-General. Until comparatively recently the Foreign Councillors were invariably Europeans or Americans. In addition to Americans or Britons, Germans, Russians, Scandinavians, and others have at various times served upon the Council. The growth of the Japanese population, which increased from 736 in 1900 to 7169 in 1915, made it only reasonable that there should be a Japanese representative on the Council, and the first Japanese Councillor, Mr. Ishii, took his seat in the latter year. As the Japanese population continued to increase it was well over 20,000, compared with 6,700 British in
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rates and land taxes which work out at only 7.50 dollars per capita. compared with an average assessment in Great Britain of over 17 dollars.
"The work of the Council, and especially of the Foreign Members thereof, has been largely political, as well as administrative. Since the development of Nationalism in China, it has had to wage an incessant struggle to maintain, and to prevent encroachments upon, its privileges, especially in such matters as taxation, and interference with the administration of justice and the police. In the last resort, of course, controversial issues have to be adjusted between the Chinese authorities and the Consular Body, and the success of the Council in upholding the status of the Settlement depends upon the support accorded to it by the Foreign Consuls. But unless the Council had taken the initiative and watched very jealously over its privileges, the administration would have taken a very different form from what we see today. It must be considered remarkable, when you come to think of it, that from the early eighteen-sixties a succession of men — mostly merchants with little or no municipal experience, should have administered the Settlement in an honorary capacity, in such a manner as to develop a huge, well-governed, and normally peaceful city out of an area of marshy ground. Although for political reasons the Council has not been popular with Chinese officialdom, the presence within its boundaries today of nearly three million Chinese is evidence of the confidence reposed in it by the ordinary Chinese.
"Anglo-American interests still predominate in the Settlement. Ever since the amalgamation of the American and British areas in 1863 there has been the closest co-operation between the American and British communities. An American has on several occasions been Chairman of the Council. An American citizen has for the past ten years occupied the highest executive post in the Council, that of Secretary-General. Until comparatively recently the Foreign Councillors were invariably Europeans or Americans. In addition to Americans or Britons, Germans, Russians, Scandinavians, and others have at various times served upon the Council. The growth of the Japanese population, which increased from 736 in 1900 to 7169 in 1915 made it only reasonable that there should be a Japanese representative on the Council, and the first Japanese Councillor, Mr. Ishii, took his seat in the latter year. As the Japanese population continued to increase it was well over 20,000, compared with 6,700 British in
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