Sept. 21.
On July 11, 1854, a public meeting of foreign renters was held in the Foreign Settlement of Shanghai under the presidency of the British Consul, Mr. Rutherford Alcock, and in the presence of the American and French Con. guls to approve the revision of the Land Regulations 1845, Mr. Vustice Feetham points out that this meeting marked the real starting point of developments in Shanghai, was not until September 21, 1863, when the American Settle iment wes amalgamated with the British Settlement and a single municipal government establish ed for the two areas combined, that the creation of the International Settlement may be said to have been achieved. The Ameri can Settlement, which had start: ed to grow up from 1853 in informal fashion, had, as a matter fact, come into official exist ence only a few weeks before the amalgamation, so it is often forgotten that there ever was that one departure from American policy in respect of the holding of territory in China. Seventy years ago to-day, therefore, the International Settlement had its origin, The founders of the Shanghai of that day close to the City which had just gone through such terrible experiences at the bunds of the Taiping Rebels, were concerned only to estab li an enclave in which foreigners jeould live in comparative quiet tude and exercise an administration practically designed to cope with the then newly-arisen prob-let of the influx of Chinese re-Tugees. They could not be expected to foresee the rise of their Settlement to a place among the world-cities of the 20th Century. The first official census taken in 1865 showed a population of 92,884. To-day the figure is Jover 1,000,000 and, inextricably the three areas are entwined, the term Shanghani may connote three administrations but it also covers ic}a population of something like 3,000,000 souls. 'The infant 'Settlement of 1863 was chiefly concerned—judging from the columns of, this journal's forerunner, the "North-China Herald'—for the preservation of order and the maintenance of decent roads. Part of this ambition was prudently derived from the fresh recollection of the Taipings' attack on the Settlement. And the whole may be said in no unworthy degree to sum up the' essential of local governmen'.
Actually Shanghai's Interriational Settlement maintained. its family party character almost to within the beginning of the present. century. Many Shanghailanders will be inclined to put the change at an even later date. What they can note with pride is that, during these seventy years, the actual machinery of administration, however expanded it may Ihave become, has been directed by the same voluntary effort of business men giving their spare time to the service of the community. The burden of 1863 cannot possibly be compared with that of 1983. The Council has had to create a great public service of permanent officials to dis. charge the ever-increasing complexity of municipal government. 'The first Secretary to the Council, Mr. Pickwoad, was succeeded in'1862 by Mr. R. F. Gould who was complacently described by the naive chronicler of the day as possessing "trained experience' and several assistants. Hig successor in 1865 was Mr. A. G Johnston who reigned for many years and had "an' able staff of foreign and native assist-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.