Oct. 17.
The forthcoming quinquennial census of the International Settle ment affords an opportunity for recalling the growth of what in 1845
}was a small area of 830 mow (138 factes) to the present 33,503 mow (5,884 acres or 8.5 square miles). In 1845 the western boundary was Barrier (now Honan) Road. The first extension was made in 1848 to 2,820 mow (470 acres) and the. western limit was then Defer 'Creek (now Thibet Road). In 1863 the inclusion of what was called' the American Settlement, situated jon the northern side of ' Soochow Creek and cast of the British Settlement on the Whangpoo, gave a total area of 10,676 mow (1,779 acres). The final extension, westward to Jessfield Road and northward to a line level with Ying Hsiang Kong village, was made in 1899, giving the area of 33,503 mow already noted. Originally the Settle~ ment was reserved to the use Jot foreigners and British control was recognized in that all land transactions had to be registered at the British Consulate. Other nationals could not acquire land without the previous permission of the British Consul. This system. was changed as other nationalities established their own consulates and each foreign consul, in addition exercising jurisdiction over his own nationals, took part in the Jgenezal supervision of Settlement affairs. At the beginning of 1853 there were only 500 Chinese resi~ dents in the Settlement. The disturbed conditions arising out of the Taiping Rebellion and the capture of the Chinese City in [September 1853, led to an enormous influx of refugees into the Settlement. During the ten years which followed incessant fighting and disorder made the Settlement increasingly attractive to Chinese for residential and trading purposes. Large numbers: of the refugees departed when better conditions were restored outside—in 1862 their estimated total in the Settlement was put at 500,000—but by 1876 the Chinese population was record-led at -95,662 and it steadily rose thenceforward to the present figure which is probably over the 1,000,000 mark.
During the troubles of the Taiping Rebellion the International Settlement was effectively protected by the British, American and French naval forces and also by the Shanghai Volunteer Corps which was organized as the result of a meeting held on April 12, 1853, when the whole foreign community was as-/sembled and the Consuls and Naval Officers of Great Britain, France jand the United States of America Jwere present. The policing of the Settlement was first performed by
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.