Ferguson as one of the two deputies to negotiate in regard to settlementextension. At the same time the deputies were instructed not to includeany land in the Paoshan hsien in the new area. The actual delimitationof the boundaries was carried out by the Public Works Department ofthe Municipal Council， in conjunction with the Shanghai Magistrateand Messrs. J. C. Ferguson and Yü， and was accomplished in anamicable manner.
A special meeting of the Ratepayers was held June 29th， 1899， atwhich a motion adopting the new boundaries was carried unanimouslyand forwarded to the Senior Consul， who in turn transmitted it forratification to the Diplomatic Body and the Chinese Government.
In July， 1899， the Council was informed that the extension had beensanctioned.
In the meantime the Taotai issued a proclamation， which wasposted in the new territory， giving the Council authority to collecttaxes and to exercise municipal control.
The boundaries of the International Settlement after the extensionwere as follows：1.—Upon the North： —The Soochow Creek from the HsiaoFerry to a point a bout seventy yards west of the entrance thereinto ofthe Defence Creek， thence in a northerly direction to the Shanghai-
Paoshan boundary， thence following this boundary to the point whereit meets the Hongkew Creek and thence in an easterly direction to themouth of the Kukapang.
2.—Upon the East： —The Whangpoo River from the mouth ofthe Kukapang to the mouth of the Yangkingpang.
3. —Upon the South： —The Yangkingpang from its mouth to theentrance thereinto of the Defence Creek， thence in a westerly directionfollowing the line of the northern branch of the Great Western Road，and thereafter along that road to the Temple of Agriculture in the rearof the Bubbling Well village.
4.—Upon the West： —From the Temple of Agriculture in anortherly direction to the Hsiao Sha Ferry on the Soochow Creek.
The following table indicates how much the Settlement wasenlarged by the extension：Before After extension1899. 1899.
Area in square miles 2. 75 8 .35
Area in English acres 1，768 5 ，584
Area in Chinese mow 10，606 33 ，503
Greatest length in miles 3 .75 7 .50
Greatest breadth in miles 1.30 2.27
Length of boundary line in miles （on land） 6 .43 11.13
Length of boundary line in mileson Soochow Creek and Whangpoo River 3 .50 9.76
Simultaneously the French Concession was largely increased， butdid not include the British or American owned land， which had beenin dispute.
In spite of the considerable increase in the area of the Settlement，the British authorities were not entirely satisfied. In a telegram datedMay 12th， 1899， the Marquis of Salisbury， H. B. M."s Secretary ofState for Foreign Affairs， stated that H. B. M."s Minister at Peking“may agree to the proposed arrangement， but should take care thatnothing is said which would in any way pledge us to refrain frommaking further demands for extension in the direction of Paoshan orelsewhere in the future.“Owing to the large amount of capital invested in China by Britishsubjects and to the growing importance of Shanghai as a centre fortheir trade， it was natural that the British Government should begreatly interested in future developments.
Considerable difficulty was encountered by the Council whenit undertook to develop roads across the newly included territory.
Opposition was made to the removal of graves， and to the filling-inof creeks， and it took time to adjust things satisfactorily. A MunicipalCadastral Office was established in 1900 for keeping a complete recordof land owned in the Settlement and vicinity， so that its value mightbe assessed from time to time， as a basis for levying a 1and tax for themunicipal revenue.
Establishment of the Chinese Post OfficeAn important event belonging to this period is the establishmentof the Imperial Post in 1896， at first under the supervision of theMaritime Customs.
Hitherto mails for foreign ports had been handled by six nationalpost offices， British， German， Russian， Japanese and American.
The Shanghai Municipal Council conducted a Local Post Officefor domestic mails as far back as 1866 ， although there was somequestion as to whether such a procedure was sanctioned by the LandRegulations. The Local Post handled mails for places in the Settlementsand in other Treaty Ports， and issued its own set of stamps.