Establishment of the United States CourtOn December 15th， 1906， the United States， following theexample of Great Britain in founding a Supreme Court， establishedin Shanghai the United States Court for China. L. R. Wilfley wasappointed as the first Judge， and as soon as he assumed office， adetermined effort was made to close up the houses of prostitutionon Kiangse Road， conducted by American women. The existence ofthese houses， carrying on business contrary to the laws of the UnitedStates， had injured the reputation of Americans in the Far East， andhad become a matter of national reproach. Judge Wilfley"s vigorouscrusade against these houses， and his programme of moral reform， wasof course unpopular with certain vested interests， and consequently hebecame the mark for severe criticism. Others were alienated by the factthat he acted more as a prosecuting attorney than as a judge， and wereof the opinion that he might have produced the desired results in a lesssensational manner.
He became so unpopular that libellous articles were printed abouthis personal character in one of the Shanghai dailies， the ShanghaiGazette. This 1ed to a suit for libel， and Shanghai had the novelty ofseeing the Judge of the United States Court bringing a Charge againstthe editor of the Shanghai Gazette before the Judge of H. B. M."sSupreme Court. Although he won his suit， it was felt by Americancitizens that the prestige of the United States Court had for the timebeen somewhat lowered.
Chinese company of the S. V. C.
In 1906， two new companies， the Portuguese and the American，were added to the Volunteer Corps， and the following year a ChineseVolunteers was incorporated. This last named company has won anexcellent name for efficiency in marksmanship， and under difficultcircumstances has proved loyal to the interests of the Settlement. Itis an example of successful co-operation between the foreigners andChinese， and it is to be regretted that experiments of this characterhave not been tried more frequently.
Centenary Conference of MissionsAn event of importance to the missionary community occurringin 1907， was the holding of a large Conference in Shanghai. It wasknown as the Centenary Conference in recognition of the fact thatone hundred years had elapsed since Dr. Robert Morrison arrived inCanton， as the pioneer of Protestant Missions in China.
Threat of Bubonic PlagueShanghai in the year 1910 was threatened with the spread of thebubonic plague which was carried to Shanghai by rats from the ships.
If it had obtained a footing in some of the congested districts in whichthe Chinese dwelt， the consequences would have been disastrous. Strictprecautionary measures were taken by the Municipal Council， but atfirst it was difficult to get the Chinese to co-operate. They objectedto the house-to-house inspection carried on by the health authorities，and to the introduction of means to make the native houses rat-proof.
When the Council wished to put in force strict regulations in regardto embers of the family not being allowed to conduct the usual funeralceremonies， in cases where the deceased had died of plague， it cameinto conflict with the strongest religious sentiment of the Chinesepeople， and was obliged to modify its ruling. The Chinese， however，became aware， after an educational propaganda， of the seriousness ofthe danger， and their obstructive attitude to a large extent disappeared.
In June， 1911， a Chinese Isolation Hospital was opened in Chapeiunder the auspices of the Chinese gentry， the chief reason for itsestablishment being to care for cases of bubonic plague.
Famine Relief
The residents of Shanghai have always been noted for theirgenerosity in times of distress， and in the years 1910 and 1911 we findthem responding liberally to appeals put out by the Central ChinaFamine Relief committee for funds to meet the dire need caused bythe famine in North Kiangsu and North Anhwei. China is a country ofperiodic famines， due to frequent floods or droughts.
Opening of the Shanghai Club， and Municipal DevelopmentThe early part of the year 1911 was marked by the opening ofthe new Shanghai Club on January 6th by Sir Pelham Warren. Thedifficulties encountered in the early days， to which we have referred，had long been surmounted， and the Club had become one of thestrongest institutions in Shanghai. The new building was one of thefinest erected on The Bund up to that time. Its total cost was about Tls.
450， 000. The erection of this heavy structure was rendered possible bythe introduction of a new feature in construction， the use for the firsttime of a concrete raft for the foundation.
The soil of Shanghai is of delta formation， and water is metat the depth of about eight feet. On this account， in the early days，foundations were laid on wooden piles driven into the ground. Andfor a long time it was considered impracticable to erect high and heavybuildings. The new method of using concrete rafts has made it possibleto put up buildings approaching in appearance the sky-scrapers inWestern lands.
In the same year a new fire station was opened at Sinza by theCouncil， and land was purchased on the corner of Foochow andKiangse Roads in anticipation of the erection of a new MunicipalBuilding and Headquarters for the Volunteers.
The Rubber “Boom”
In the years 1909-1910 Shanghai passed through what is knownas the “rubber boom.” During the six or seven months the boomlasted， some thirty-five local rubber companies， absorbing capital ofsome twenty million taels， were added to the list of the Shanghai StockExchange， and a further large amount was paid locally for shares inLondon companies. It was a period of wild speculation. The crash camewith the June settlement of 1910， and some of the leading Chinesebanks in Shanghai and other centres were forced to close their doors.
There was also considerable speculation in opium， owing to therestriction of the amount imported into Shanghai， and the consequentenhanced value of the drug.
Trade Statistics
Notwithstanding the disasters owing to over-speculation， we findthat the imports and exports of China in 1910 reached a higher figurethan in 1901， which up to that time had been the highest recorded.
Imports… Hk. Tls. 462， 964， 894
Exports… 38 0， 833， 328
Total… Hk. Tls. 843， 798， 222
The higher values of opium and cotton help to account for thisincrease， in which Shanghai had， of course， a large share.