Yesterday Mr. Stirling Fessenden, Secretary General of the Shanghai Municipal Council, terminated his connection with that body after a relationship which has lasted nineteen years. It was in 1920 that Mr. Fessenden was elected to the Shanghai Municipal Council, and on the retirement of Mr. H. G. Simms in 1923, was chosen chairman, a swift promotion indeed, but an early recognition of the qualities of the man. He was already an old resident of Shanghai when he sought the suffrages of the ratepayers, and in his work in Shanghai as a lawyer he had gained the confidence of all with whom he came in contact, so that his selection as an American representative on the Municipal Council was not only the appointment of a suitable man for a task which even in those days was of importance, but was in itself recognition of the niche which Mr. Fessenden had already carved for himself in the community. There were very few who realized when he was elevated to the position of chairman that the Council was making a choice which might have a considerable bearing upon the history of the International Settlement. The movement led by Chiang Kai-shek in Canton, and which was ultimately to sweep over the whole of China, was only simmering. War lords held sway in the remainder of the country. Shanghai was on the verge of entering into the most important phase of its history, a phase which has not yet terminated, and one in which the whole future of the place may be decided. Sixteen years is a long time, but probably Mr. Fessenden will find that with all the exciting times with which he has had to deal that it has passed all too quickly. He had been chairman of the Municipal Council something over two years when the May 30 incident, of 1925, occurred, and the first serious crisis of the many with which he had to deal was upon his shoulders. There had been various wars around Shanghai calling for the exercise of the greatest tact and diplomacy, but this was the first internal trouble of major proportions with which he had to deal. That it was handled well must be the verdict of history.
Two years later the Nationalist movement had reached the Yangtze, and its armies had captured Shanghai. The threat to the foreign areas was such that Great Britain sent a division for its protection, while other Powers also supplied /very considerable reinforcement. During this crisis the quiet confidence of tke man at the head of the Municipal Council was in itself an inspiration, for he faced the problems presented with a cool determination, and a ready grasp of the difficulties of the situation. Mr. Fessenden would, naturally, not claim all the credit for the policy of the Council in such a time as that, but there cannot be the slightest doubt that his knowledge of the place, and natural sagacity enabled him to give it advice which is tő be commended for accepting. On the retirement of Major Hilton Johnson, in 1928, Mr. Fessenden took over many of his duties as Commissioner-General, receiving an honorarium for so doing, but it was found that the duties were of so onerous a nature that he had little or no time for his legal business, and he was obliged to inform the Council that he could no longer act for them. In preference to losing his services altogether the Council asked him to accept the position of Director-General, and to devote his whole energy to the carrying out of the intricate and delicate work of that office. It speaks well for the wisdom of the Council that they made their offer attractive enough, for looking back over all that has occurred during the past ten years since he accepted that office, it is difficult to picture another man in the role which Mr. Fessenden has so strikingly played. 1932 saw Shanghai involved in a Sino-Japanese struggle with all the dangers which that meant for the International Settlement and the French Concession, while five years later commenced that China Incident of which the end does not appear to be in sight. It can be said with confidence that there are indeed very few of the people of Shanghai who have any real idea of the many and varied complex problems and the intricate negotiations which such incidents inevitably involve, and it is to a very great extent due to the undoubted ability of the retiring Director-General that up to the present there has been a "happy issue out of all our afflictions."
It is fortunate indeed that Shanghai has captured his affections to such an extent that he remains here again to resume his practice of law. It means, undoubtedly, that the wealth of information concerning this city which he has acquired during his residence here, and the experience he has obtained during the long years in which he has in one way or another assisted in directing its destiny will still be at the disposal of the service which he is leaving. Shanghai recognized the greatness of its debt to him when he was given the freedom of the city. Many years of endeavour have followed that recognition, and it is difficult now to conceive of a distinction which could possibly mark the appreciation which the community must feel for the able and distinguished service which Mr. Fessenden has rendered it.
It will rejoice that he intends to remain in its midst, and probably continue to assist it as far as is consonant with his own interests.
Back in the practice of law the courts will undoubtedly on occasion hear the quiet tones of incisive argument which made his appearance in cases a joy to those who heard him, but it is likely that the office will demand more of his time than actual-pleading in the courts. However that may be, Shanghai will look back upon the last nineteen years during which Mr. Fessenden has served it with gratitude for what he has done, and a realization of its good fortune in having such a man willing to aid it. It is with the knowledge that it is voicing the sentiments of its readers, and indeed the whole of the community, that the "North-China Daily News" voices this admiration and gratitude for all that Mr. Fessenden has done, and expresses the hope that he will be spared many years to enjoy his retirement from municipal life. For Mr. Godfrey Phillips, who succeeds him, there will be the heartiest congratulations on his appointment. He will have a difficult post to fulfil, particularly so because of the stature of his predecessor, but there cannot be the slightest doubt that he will live up to the high traditions that Mr. Fessenden has set.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.