Tam probate case of the will of the late Smith and the numerous side issues involved afford a remarkable instance of the complicated nature of the relations existing between the law courts of the various nationalities represented at Shanghai, In any part of the world the case would become an interesting one from the amount of property involved, but from the peculiar nature of the conditions prevailing at Shanghai, it has an enhanced interest from the apparent conflict of jurisdic. tions which it has raised, Edwin Maurice Smith was an American citizen who came to Shanghai many years ago. In the early days of the Settlements, seeing the need of a go-between between the merchants in the rising port and the one or two banks which bad opened branches here, he started as a bill and bullion broker, and as the patriarch of bill brokers in Shanghai was for many years familiarly known as " Bill" Smith, With a firm conviction of the ultimate importance of the port, he invested his savings in purchasing properties and erecting Chinese houses, About the years 1860-62 the presence of the Taiping rebels in the adjoining districts and the inability of the Imperial forces to cope with them made the foreign Settlements a city of refuge for the surrounding provinces. Those natives who were fortunate enough to escape the marauding bands of the rebels made their way to the one spot which afforded a safe refuge, and those who were able to save anything from the wreck of their fortunes conveyed it to Shanghai, where it would be at Toast safe from open plunder. The strain thas placed on the capabilities of the Settlements naturally enhanced enormously the rentals of Louses, native and foreign, and, as there seemed no reason why this forced prosperity should not continue, the more adventurous spirits invested heavily in landed property. The possession of a few mow of ground within the Settlements was in fact considered as a good provision for a life-time, and prices were paid which in more sober moments would have seemed to border ov lunacy, It was" under these circumstances that it was determined to remove the old Race Course from its position within the Defence Creek and to offer the land for sale, Mr. Smith, whose former speculations had been eminently successful, and who was Jooked up to as an oracle on all questions of land investment, was the largest purchaser; and, influenced by his example and advice, many of his more immediate friends followed his example, and invested all the money they could contrive to lay their hands on in a similar manner. One or two Chinese speculators, following in the wake, were prepared to take on lease at enormous rentals the property so acquired, and Mr. Smith, in order to enable them to raise the req) site funds for covering the properties with native houses, became security for large advances from foreign banks. Those were the days when the Times newspaper made the discovery that El Dorado was at last found, and that its locality was Shanghai. A general flush of excitement was felt through the community; each one considered himself a millionaire in posse if not in esse; and it is difficult to foresee what might have been the result had affairs gone on as they were going for another twelve months. The sudden inflation, however, had a rude check. On the 4th December, 1863, Soochow, the last stronghold of the rebels in the lower province, surrendered to the Impenalists, and it soon became evident that the golden dreams of the speculators had vanished. The refugees bad no desire, or no ability to remain in the Settlements, where they had no occupation nor means of earning a livelihood. The exhaustion of the country at large, it was found, had inflicted a severe blow on the local trade of the place, and the commerce and industries of the port were not as yet equal to the support of s0 numerous a population as had taken refago in its neighbourhood. House. building came to a standstill, and for many years unfinished skeletons with gaunt ungainly timbers marked the oofying portions of the Settlements, That Mr. Smith should have suffered along with the rest was but natural. His income was scarcely sufficient to pay the interest on the advances for which he bad become responsible and he had apparently to begin life again. The advances made were 60 large that the institutions principally concerned in them dreaded the effect of foreclosing, and it was determined to take matters energetically iv hand and make the best out of circumstances.
Mr. Smith had always been a reserved man, He had never married; it was known that though be had distant relations, the sore of some old slight rankled in his mind. In Shanghai he lived for many years alone; his ideas naturally went back to the time when his opinion was taken on all questions of moment, and his isolation did not tend to make more genial a naturally shy and retiring disposition. His creditors induced him at this time to retire to Europe, where he spent a few years, and where ho made the will which has become the source of so much contention in the local court.
During this time, however, the condition of affairs at Shanghai had been slowly improving. The port in fact was progressing all the while, but the local accommodation bad, in the inflam tion of the rebel times, been pushed forward in advance of the actual needs of the place. Mr. Smith returned to China, and with indefatigable energy set himself to rebuild a great portion of the property, which had fallen into disrepair or had been erected in an unsuitable manner. Nor was this ell; with as firm a belief as ever in the essential growth of the place, he invested largely in other properties, raising money for the purpose on fresh mortgages. His, in fact, was a mind incapable of standing still. The fact that his first mortgages were rapidly approaching extinction, and that in a few years he would be clear owner of an enormous property, while it afforded him internal satisfaction, still seemed to compel him to lay out schemes for the future, What sums of money came in after repaying his instalments he devoted to improvements on the properties, and hence with the command of an enormous income ho was at times hard pressed for cash for his own. immediate requirements. A. life spent amidst so much excitement seemed to veed some relaxation, and his bodily health showed some signs of breaking up. His friends and advisors urged on him the expediency of a trip to Europe, the idea of which fell within his own feelings. Still, like many mon who have laid out a scheme for their life, he did not like to leave his plans in the lands of others to carry out, and he never could make up his mind to take the final step of leaving the place with whose growth he bad been so intimately connected, The approach of illness and the warnings of his physician led him at last to ponder on the condition of affairs. He had lived a long time in Shanghai; be bad few friends, because he studiously avoided making them; he lad done little good to his fellows, notwithstanding the oppor. tunities he had bad in life, These things weighed on his mind, avd he endeavoured in a quiet mauner to assist those whom he thought deserving. Ho thought be had made few happy in his life, and that by a final coup ho would make a community his debtor. His properties were nearly all clear of mortgages, his rent-rolls were satisfactory, his relations bad in his time of need tarned their backs on him. None besides were so intimately related that he felt they had any special claim on bim, Ho prepared, therefore, a great surprise and purchased costly gifts which be distributed at Christmas, 1877, to the ladies and children in the community. The amount expended left him in debt, but with a rent-roll of some thousands of taels per mensem over and above the interest on mortgages and the instalments to be provided for repayment, this he said did not much matter, and a few months would square off all his indebtedness, His disease, however, advanced more rapidly than he bad anticipated, and finding that he might be carried off before his debts were discharged, he made over by way of security to his new creditors various portions of property. Before the time came for redeeming these new charges he had, however, died, and a new com. plication of affairs had arisen, For some reason or other, during his life-time,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.