Many things combined to make the year 1898 an importantone for the International Settlement. Among others， there was theestablishment of an efficient Health Department under Dr. ArthurStanley， who did much for the improvement of health conditions inthe International Settlement， and introduced the Pasteur treatment.
A railway line， built by the Chinese between Shanghai and Woosung，was opened to traffic， and thus an enterprise which had ended sodisastrously in 1877 was now successfully achieved.
The most important event， however， was the extension of theSettlement.
There was real need for enlarging its boundaries. The Chinesepopulation， attracted by the advantages of living within this area，was steadily growing， and the number of mills， filatures， and otherindustrial enterprises was rapidly multiplying. It became evident that ifShanghai was to become the great city which it capable of becoming，further room for expansion must be secured.
The Council， according to the Land Regulations， could notapproach the Chinese authorities directly on the matter， but must actthrough the Consular Body. A letter therefore was addressed to thisBody on January 3rd， 1896， requesting its assistance in securing suchan extension of the settlement area as would provide ample room forfuture development. While official negotiations were in progress theCouncil sounded the local Chinese officials and gentry and soughttheir co-operation. Much to its satisfaction， it was able to clear theatmosphere of distrust. The local officials and gentry ceased to opposethe scheme， and the native landowners as a class became favourablydisposed towards it.
Encouraged by the attitude of the local Chinese authorities， theCouncil revised the original proposal of 1896， and asked for a largerextension， taking in a considerable portion of land adjoining JessfieldRoad in the western district， the Paoshan hsien， and Pootung， sectionswhere foreigners had already purchased large tracts of land and wheremills had been erected.
It so happened that at the same time， the French were seeking forthe extension of their Concession towards Siccawei.
In connection with the enlargement of the Concession， thequestion of putting a road through the Ningpo cemetery was revived.
In 1898， in spite of the agreement arrived at in 1874， the compulsorysurrender of this cemetery was decided upon by the Taotai and theFrench Consul-General， who offered to pay the owners of the landits duly assessed value. Before proceeding to carry out their plan theFrench took strong precautionary measures and landed some menfrom one of the men-of-war in harbour. On July 16th， the walls ofthe cemetery were demolished. This resulted on the following day in ariot， which was sternly quelled， with twelve fatal casualties among therioters.
Although great indignation was aroused among the Chineseresidents by this high-handed action， the French authorities continuedto press for the extension of their Concession. They demanded not onlyan extension in the direction of Siccawei， but also land on the rightbank of the Whangpoo， and the Pootung frontage opposite the FrenchBund， where large tracts of land were owned by British and Americanshipping firms. The owners vigorously protested and objected to beingdeprived of the jurisdiction of their own courts by being included inthe French Concession. The British and American Ministers upheldthese protests in Peking， and the matter was referred to the HomeGovernments.
On the other hand， the French Minister protested againstthe extension of the International Settlement on the ground thatit included land already earmarked for the French Concession.
This friction between the International Settlement and the FrenchConcession brought about a deadlock.
As far as the Chinese Government was concerned， since it wasopposed to the extension of both the French Concession and theInternational Settlement， any excuse for procrastination was welcome.
The Chinese authorities were unwilling to have any land in thePaoshan hsien included in the International Settlement， as it was verythickly populated， and was a separate administrative district from theShanghai hsien. Furthermore the inclusion of land in the Paoshan hsienwas objectionable as it would put the Shanghai railway station of theShanghai-Woosung line within the limits of the foreign Municipality.
A special General Meeting of the Chamber of commerce of theInternational Settlement was held on July 17th， 1898， at which itwas unanimously decided to bring the matter to the attention of theforeign Ministers at Peking， individually. Mr. J. S. Fearon， Chairmanof the Shanghai Municipal Council， paid a visit to the Capital for thispurpose. His representations were favourably received， but the conflictbetween British and French interests still prevented any active measuresbeing taken.
After some time， the dispute between these two countrieswas settled by their respective governments， and then theirrepresentatives， with the American and German Ministers， joinedin addressing identical notes to the Tsung-li Yamen， Pressing theChinese Government to instruct the Viceroy-at Nanking to grant theextensions.
On April 13th， 1899， the Ministers of the Tsung-1i Yameninformed the foreign Legations verbally that the Viceroy Nanking hadbeen instructed to act in accordance with the request of the Ministers.
The yielding of the Chinese Government was due in no smallmeasure to the fact that after the disastrous war with Japan， it was tooweak to risk giving offence to the foreign Powers.
To expedite matters the Council asked Mr. （now Dr.） J. C.
Ferguson， former President of Nanyang College， to interview theViceroy at Nanking. This visit resulted in the Viceroy"s appointing Mr.