When the author first undertook to write this brief history of theInternational Settlement of Shanghai， he failed to realize thedifficulty of the task. Messrs. George Lanning and Samuel Coulinggathered a large amount of material concerning the early days， but noone continued what they began， and therefore a good deal of spadework became necessary.
Many books have been consulted. a list of which is published atthe end of the volume， and the columns of the North-China Heraldhave proved invaluable.
Another difficulty presented itself in regard to the public forwhich he was writing. He tried to bear in mind that it was for a largerpublic than for the residents of Shanghai. Many incidents might be ofinterest to those who live in the Settlement but would not be of muchimportance to the public at large. By some， probably， the criticism willbe raised that the book lacks local colour， while others will perhapsobject that too much reference has been made to matters that are of noconcern to the rest of the world. It was hard to please the tastes of bothclasses.
As the book developed several things became apparent. It wasevident that the history of Shanghai was difficult to condense， and thatthere was room for a bigger volume than this. There are so many detailsthat it would have been easier to have depicted it on a larger canvas.
One also realized that in order to understand what has happenedin Shanghai， considerable reference to Chinese contemporary historywas necessary， and there was always a temptation to wander away fromwhat was strictly the history of Shanghai to that of China.
It is hardly possible that the book is entirely free from inaccuracies，especially as much of it is derived from second-hand sources， and theauthor will consider it a favour to have mistakes pointed out.
He wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to a large numberof friends， both foreign and Chinese， for their assistance， especiallyMr. Isaac Mason， （who read the manuscript and made many valuablesuggestions）， Lady Annie de Sausmarez， Mr. J. C. Shengle， Dr. C. NoelDavis， Dr. H. Chatley， Mr. C. Harpur， Mr. O. M. Green， Mr. R. Y. F.
Sun， Mr. A. F. Ollerdessen， Mr. E. T. Byrne， and to his Secretary， Mr.
K. L. Dzung， who supplied him with interesting information fromChinese sources， otherwise difficult to obtain.
Appreciating the large amount of work done by previous writers.
he is content if the book is useful in carrying the story a stage further，and proves of some value to future historians as well as to the generalpublic.
F. L. H. P.
St. John"s University，Shanghai， December， 1928.