"There is still a growing tendency", the report continues, "to embody features of a foreign-style house in those of Chinese construction, chiefly in the dividing up of the hongs and better class houses into small rooms with open fire places, and the introduction of very ornate wooden panelling and cornice moulds; the old-fashioned interior of a first-class Chinese house is now very rarely met with in those of modern design. If this transitional state develops much further, radical changes will have to made in the Building Rules, to ensure the stability of the ordinary Chinese dwelling-house.""
The present extraordinary activity in the building trade has shown more clearly than ever the great necessity for new Building Rules of s far more stringent character than has hitherto been considered necessary. It is evident, the En-inoer continues, that the standard of workmanship has been very much lowered of late years, and as the Settlement increases it is only reasonable to assume that unless checked it wil sink much lower, particularly if the seemingly popular system of leasing land for a number of years to speculative Chinese builders continues. The mileage of roads under the control of the Council is put down at 118 miles, and the mileage of footways at 99 miles, Parks and Open Spaces.
In the course of a Departmental report by Mr. D. MacGregor on parks and open spaces, it is stated that the purchase of a portion of the Unkaza estate as the nucleus of a decorative park and botanic garden will be recognized as marking a most important step in the history of parks in Shanghai, The year 1914 marks the development from the provision of _playing-grounds, decorative or otherwise, to the embellishment of an area with all the essential features which distinguish a park in the correct sense.
The most necessary rark ndditiva at present called for is ons or more children's playgrounds in the western district. To traverse the Bubbling Well Road and adjacent roads and see dozens and dozens of foreign children squatting on the pave. ments, surrounded by crowds poorly dressed Chine ed to the dust and danger of rapid-convince those interested in providing plenty of safe, healthy retreats for the foreign community that © good deal more has to be done before that ideal is accomplished.
The Tramway Company.
With regard to Tramways, the report states that the tramway service completed five years' running agreement on March 4, 1913. In accordance, therefore, with Article 9 of the Supply of Power Agreement the rates have been under notice from the Company, and after protracted negotiations the following rates, to be enforced for a further quinquennial period, have been agreed upon:—for one year a fixed charge of Tls. 52.69 per kilowatt per annum=TIs. 3,952.05 per month, and a running charge of 0.789 tael cents per unit, The rates for the four subsequent years will be revised, under fixed charges with respect to interest, which will be payable on a capital further reduced by the amount of the annual depreciation, and under both fixed and running charges with respect to the price of coal. Special arrangements will be made for any additional payment over the stipulated maximum of 900 kilowatts, The Public Band, With regard to the Public Band, Professor R. Buck reports that in the second half of the year important changes took place in ite com-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.