Coxswerixa the great value of the Chinese property within the Settlements, and the high rates charged by the insurance offices in order to secure themselves from loss, itscoms surprising that no attempt has as yet been made to improve the character of the Chinese houses within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Council. "More even that at first sight appears, depends on the pro~ sout style of these erections. Not only are they dangerous to life from. the rapidity with which fire, unless checked at the very beginning, traverses their frail wooden frames, but their construction is likewise faulty from a structural as well as sanitary point of view. All other cities of equal size in the civilised world possess building laws and ordinances, intended to arrest the spread of conflagrations; and Shanghai probably pays dearly for its ox-emption, The amounts paid in the way of extra insurance would go far towards the cost of effecting substantial improvement; while the saving in the expense of repairs, and the increased durability of the houses, would in time amply repay the owner. Now that land within the Settlement is to be had at a comparatively reasonable rate, seems a good time to bring such a matter forward. Were it taken up by the Municipal Council in connection with the proposed widening and straightening of the thoroughfares, a few years would see a great change in the aspect ofthe place. The difficulties of effecting this as well as other needful reforms, it should always be remembered, increase with the value of the ground. To the Inst land mania, Shanghai owes the greater part of its mischievous customs with regard to crowded dwellings and narrow streets; and should land again ever touch the nominal Value at which it was then rated, we shall certainly incur other nuisances, as objectionable as those we are now seeking to get rid of, unless provision is made against' them. Compared with Hongkong, where building ordinances have been put in force, the Chinese quarters of Shanghai have a dingy and dilapidated as-"ect. Except in the principal streets, here the amount of traffic disposes the shopkeepers to expend a small sum Brad awd of money in gilt and gingerbread, the native houses are general inferior and seedy looking.
This is not as it ought to be, nor do we be-hove it is as it would be profitable t be. The ordinary Chinaman is possibly as careless about his domestic surroundings as any human being on the of the earth, yet even in him there is possibly some'senso of decency remaining to be engendered. At least, a stranger may notice, on walking through the Chinese quarters of the Settlements, that wherever he has been, by the making of decent roads, afforded 2 means of obtaining light and air, he has insensibly improved the internal and external appearance his dwelling. The Chinese in this respect resemble other men, and evince as distinct, though not so marked, a preference for wide streets and fresh as do their fellows elsewhere. It quite true that, left to himself, such ideas would never strike the ordinary Chinese; a clean fire-proof house, abutting on a wide and light street woald be the last thing he would think of erecting. Yet it cannot be denied that rent rolls may be taken as a fair standard of the relative likings or dislikings of the native population; and that these, ceteris paribus, aro_ pretty much in proportion to the width and cleanliness of the thoroughfares. Economy which disregards the health or safety of the inhabitants is sure, in the long van, to prove false. An enlightened self-interest has often been pointed out as the best course of conduct for the benefit of all; it would be better for the Settlement if a little more expenditure on the part of a few of the landrenters could be induced, to render the Chinese quarters less inflammable and, at the same time, improve their external aspect.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.