Owing to the fact that during the war period everything hadbeen retarded， there naturally followed， when peace was restored， atime of feverish activity. Old buildings on The Bund gave place tohandsome modern ones whose cost ran into millions. In some cases thefunds were derived from excess profits made during the war. Cottonmills were started， on account of the cotton boom， and blocks of newforeign and Chinese houses went up， to supply the demand for livingaccommodation. The plans passed by the Public Works Departmentin 1921 were for buildings of an estimated cost of Tls. 21，000，000， inwhich was included the new Hongkong and Shanghai Bank， the costof which was between five and six millions. In 1922 there was still anendeavour to make up for lost time， but the new buildings projectedthat year were not as numerous， and the total cost was probablynot more than fifteen millions. Especially was this true of Chinesehouse property， which was less than that of the two preceding years，indicating that this demand had nearly been satisfied.
Office accommodation had been well supplied， being greatlyincreased by the large buildings erected on The Bund and elsewhere.
The cotton industry failed to be the successful enterprise it hadbeen during the War period， and many of the mills， unable to carry on，were sold.
Among the new buildings under contemplation were the newCustom House， and a new community Church for the Americancommunity.
It appeared as if some of the development was due to too greatoptimism in regard to the future of trade， and the slowing up wasprobably an indication of a spirit of greater discretion.
Municipal Affairs
Nothing extraordinary transpired in the year 1923 in regard toMunicipal affairs. The increase in expenditure began to cause anxiety，and aroused discussion as to the way in which reductions might bemade. For the first time the growing cost of the Municipal Orchestrawas adversely criticized.
The Council pushed forward the matter of road extension，especially that of the Great Western Road， and in spite of protest andopposition on the part of the Chinese authorities， this work was carriedto completion. The Chairman of the Council， Mr. H. G. Simms， inthe correspondence on the subject made the interesting statement“that excluding the Great Western Road Extension， the Council atThe community Church was the outgrowth of the American Song Serviceinaugurated in Shanghai during the Great War.
present owned 19? miles of roads in the Western Districts beyond theSettlement boundary acquired and laid out under the powers grantedby Land RegulationVI.“Municipal Council"s War MemorialOn Thursday， March 22nd， the War Memorial to the MunicipalCouncil"s employees was unveiled. It was placed at the top of the stairsin the main entrance hall of the new Administration Building. It isa handsome tablet upon which are inscribed the names of the dead，twenty in all. The ceremony of unveiling was conducted by Mr. Simms.
Charges of Torture Against the Municipal PoliceSerious charges were brought against two members of theMunicipal police force by a man named Loh Tse-hwa， who claimedhe had been subjected to severe torture in one of the police stations.
The case was tried before Judge Skinner Turner in H. B. M"s SupremeCourt for China. Although the jury brought in a verdict of “notguilty“ in regard to the two men who were accused， yet they added thesignificant rider that they were convinced that “Loh Tse-hwa receivedhis injuries whilst he was in the hands of the police.“ The case broughtto light the unjustifiable practice sometimes resorted to of extortingconfessions from men who were arrested， and resulted in steps beingtaken to do away with this evil.