An important Ingredient in Shang-at's prosperity, ig the liquidity of Jand—hence the term "mud flat" has fan abstract as well as a concrete Interpretation. The other day various influential bodies of Chinese citizens petitioned the Central Government for an alteration in the procedure in the District Courts. which would allow of the more expeditious handling of claims involving the aisposal of land given as security for monies advanced. In the present depression which weighs so heavily upon this City, and consequently upon the country, a marked loss of faith in mortgages, and the reluctance of financiers to' advance any further' sums of money with land as security have been increasingly noted. This tightening of the purse strings, this reluctance to lend money upon Security at one time considered gilt-edged, has had its repercussions upon all other values in this City, with consequences all too obvious to need repetition.
These Chinese commercial bodies have put their finger upon an important factor contributing. to such Toss of confidence. That factor is delay involved in proceedings in the Chinese Courts of Law to give effect to agreements upon which money has been advanced by one financier to a borrower requiring money for carrying on of business.
While fore-closure sults are comparatively rare, that delay has put {ts Impress upon the nature of the security, with the consequent mark-Ing down of the value of the security put up in a thousand and one urgent transactions.
The layman may-not understand why the procedure of the Chinese Courts should affect the marketability of land, since by for the greater portion of valuable land is in the Settlements and held in the registered ownership of British Subjects hold~ Ing Consular Title Deeds registered various Consulates. It will be well, therefore, to consider how the Position stands) with regard to Cor sular Title Deeds. The duty rests upon the foreign community, in this ease, particularly the British community, to lend its help to, the mo ment {hitiated by their Chinese bustness confreres for reinstating the pres-cently essential ingredient in the well being of this City, liquidity, or ready transferability of' land, and in this way to correct the main factor in the depression seething here—the drop in and values.
Early Foreign Rights may be trite to observe that the carly Settlements were set aside exclusively for residence of foreigners. This exehusiveness was, of course, not the desire of the British merchant, Dut of that of the Mandarins of the time, Tt is not generally known that rly Consular Deeds given in the Settlement Imposed severe penalties, such as the surrender of a lot, if the houses. built upon the land were occupied by Chinese. It may be said that the frst. two hundred Title Deeds imposed that penalty. Chinese merchants, however, soon evinced a desire to live in closer proximity to tte merchants with whom they wera trading, and with the assistance of the lawyers this was soon achieved means of Declarations of Trust, the and being registered in the name the lawyer, what time the bene ficial interest' of the property was vested in the Chinese provider of the purchase-money.
"The phenomenal growth of Shang-hal has been largely based on the Security of Yond" tenure, and. the facilities 10 transfer, which together have helped to convert Shanghai into the financial centre of China. Land {in the Settlement is much more valuable than land. outside, not merely Decause of physical security, Dut because of preference of Chinese for Consular issued Title Deeds. In turn, the preference of Chinese for those Constilar Title Deeds created aclive, steady and consistent market for sch land. Land in the Settlement held thus was saleable at a minute's notice, and in time that again allowed of the Chinese obtaining great. deal of foreign capital for the development of the Industries of this country. Foreign capital. is till essential to. the modernization of China. Such foreign capital {25 has been raised in money markets (mainly the English money market) for the development of railways, has, unfortunately, not a happy history. But the development of Chinese industry in. Shanghai and its environs has only been possible by the Tendings of British capital locally. on the to another, has been the corner stone of Shanghai finance, and Shanghai finance is still China finance. readibility of transfer has been ar much availed of by Chinese as by. foreigners. Since the revolution of 1911, interior security has been such that capital fled. Indeed it would Wye gone into foreign countries or Jain fallow in foreign banks, but in its ight it was arrested and remain-fed essentially Chinese in the form of and in the Settlement held by readily transferable Consular Title Deeds. True the Shanghai merchant profited, Dut the profit to the Chinese, particu: larly the educational profit in the development of Shanghai, was with: Out exaggeration, many-fold.
'A New Doctsin Yet the tendency has recently arisen to say that it is wrong that a British Subject should be the registered owner of land beneficially held for a Chinese.
However ultimately correct is the desire that one day all Consular Title Deeds should be abolished, the matter presently must ko dealt with ex-Dediently. Granted the premise that British Consular Title "Deeds have been an inestimable boon in assisting In the development of Chinese industry and in the prevention of absolute flight of Chinese capital in Past years, three questions pose themselves:
(1) Has the time come for its aboll= tion?
(2) Is such abolition to be gradual fand so "timed vas" to" provide ftgninst too great a creaking of the. machinery?
(2) Is due protection to be given to such interests as because of ite existence have ventured capital here?
Chinese with a stake in this City have been thoroughly satisfied with the procedure in force until lately.
'The change in procedure which has had the effect of reducing the market ability of land has been initiated within recent times. Formerly, land Jcould be transferred from one person to another at the Consulate' upon Jcomplying with the procedure, which Involved but a few minutes." Since the change, all Title Deeds in respect of land registered at the various Consulates, must be sent to the, [Chinese Land OMce for verification before completion of tra 1 the. Chinese Land Office would confine its work to endorsement in Chincte on the Title Deed of the change of ownership, there would not be much objection; but what should merely have been a matter of routine has. been otherwise interpreted by the Chinese Land Office, which on occasion refused to transfer a lot which it had been agreed should be transferred by the Consular Land OMce. 'A purchaser of a lot of land the transfer of which has been agreed to by a Consular Authority, may find that he is unable to obtain possession of the Title Deed for a period of three weeks and more, and during: that period it is by no means certain that he will obtain the return of the Deed from the Chinese Land Oflce with its due endorsement until a very much longer period of time has elapsed.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.