The Chief Officer's report shows that the Fire Brigade, expanding with the growing needs of the Settle. ment, is now a very finely equipped organization. The statistical record of the year ix sufficient evidence of its value. The total loss on buildings and their contents in the Settlement during the year amounted to is, 602,905, of which Tls. 508,110 war Foreign and Tls. 94,605 Chin-tse, an increase of Tls. $49,202 on the previous your. Of this total, cover" Ts. 450,000" is accounted fo the fires at the office of the "Shanghai Times" ind at the Honignberg garage. The Chinese lost was the lowest recorded in a decade, being Tls. 20,000 below the record for 1014, the next lowest—this in spite of the fuet that the {quantity und value of stocks, even {nthe smallest shops, has ineceased, while the number of shops has very. Targely increased. Commenting on the condition of affairs at Headquarters, Chief Officer Pett observes:
The necessity for new headquarters hus already been emphasized.
Congestion is bad in the extreme, and the department rippled in every direction by an unsatisfactory building. By the settlement the adjoining building and vibration from heavy motor machines the building is rapidly be: oming unsafe. Moreover, the new Street Fire Alarm system is held in abeyance pending the new Headquarters building."
In connexion with the fire alarm aystem, it is noted that all Stations will shortly be in wireless telephonic communication, and also the fire float and one or two special machines. As an instance of the 1910, and the police were enabled Joy this means to identify 4,759 persons as having one or more previous leonvictions against them. - The re-[fort shows an enormous amount of work at the Mixed Court, where, incidentally, of 377 unrecognized {fcreigners whose names appeared on the charge sheets, 304 were Russians, the principal offences being Irunkenness,—shop-lifting and vagrancy. A note on Russian re-Hfogees states that 1,600 emigrated JGuring the year, while 1,000 arriv-Jed. The number of Russians un-uplayed at the end of the year who were dependent entirely on charity was 1,350, while 2,000 more were being partially supported by [charitable institutions.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.