Ir seemed paradoxical, though really containing more' than a modicum of trath, that on a recent occasion a speaker, seeking for signs of the future prosperity of Shanghai, placed in his entegory the fact that people nowadays resided for longer periods, married wives and founded families, Formerly, when Shanghai was supposed to be prosperous, Europeans came out for a few years, made a pile of money, retired, and in fow years lost it again in some rash speculation or other. Sometimes they turned up again in Shanghi to try and recover what they had lost, but in fow instances did this second visit result in an improvement in their finances. For the most part they disappeared, were buried in the old cemetery, were assisted out of the Settlements by their friends, or retired with what remnants they had left lamenting the degeneracy of the place, which would not afford them a second chance of fortune, It is very evident that this happy-go-lucky way has ceased to exist in Shanghai. There are times, as last year, when the chief staples of trade show a proportion of profit quite up to the old standard, but these profits are exceptional, and are only such as occur in the oldest markets of the world. The purchaser of tea from day to day knew its price at the moment on the London market, and his profit arose from circumstances in which the local interest of Shanghai was of the least account, Few cities in history lave attained to greatness except by the persistent efforts of residents. The devotion of a man's life Lo the place of his new abode, and the foundation of a family to inherit his acquired wealth and carry on his policy are the safest pledges of growth, When we compare the steady growth of cities like New York, Melbourne or Sydney, with the flickering corrascations of Shanghai, we seo the effects of settled as opposed to nomadic life. At one period of its existence San Francisco indeed went through a similar experience to Shanghai, It was a place to go to, to become suddenly enriched, and then to depart, kicking off the dust of its sandy streets, The effects of this condition of affairs still survive socially and politically, and San Fran. cisco enjoys the reputation of being the most fickle and unsettled of the great cities of the United States. Meanwhile Shanghai has continued to grow, but to grow as a neglected and disowned child. The faults of its early settlement still survive, and its inhabitants still look upon it as a place of pilgrimage to be left behind at the earliest moment possible. It is difficult under these circumstances to keep alive any enthusiasm or pride of place amongst the motley crowd who flock to the Settlements, and who bring with them the prejudices and antipathios of their former homes. No one in the world hails from Shanghai, as men hail from New York or Liverpool, and as the desire of all those who have left it is to be clear of it for ever after, 50 the aim of those within it is to carry on affairs as if they did not belong to it. Yet there is in Shanghai the potentiality of a great city, one of the greatest in fact in the world. Close by, it has the third river
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.