Owing to the number of accidents to shipping at the entrance tothe Whangpoo， the necessity of telegraphic communication betweenShanghai and Woosung became pressing. The Taotai， however，remained unconvinced and in his reply to the joint despatch fromthe Consuls pointed out that there was no provision whatever in thetreaties in regard to the introduction of telegraphs. He said it was“entirely without precedent，” and that the wooden poles undoubtedlyaffected the “fengshui” and would thus do harm to the agriculturalinterests. He could see no reason for a telegraph line in China.
In 1870 when a cable was laid between Shanghai and Hongkong，according to agreement， the cable at the Shanghai end was not to belanded on shore but on vessels anchored outside the limits. No part ofthe line went overland; and at each port where the company had anoffice， the telegraph service was conducted on hulks.
The line to Shanghai at first had its end moored at sea 25 milessouth of Videa Island in the Chusan group， and was thence carried viaGutzlaff Island to Woosung. From Woosung a small cable came upriver and was brought ashore in Hongkew. The cable at Woosung wasbrought ashore secretly. Afterwards， when this was discovered by theChinese authorities， there was a protest， and it was insisted that thecable must end on a vessel anchored outside.
The opposition to telegraphs yielded sooner than that to railways，and in 1878 the Chinese authorities permitted the construction of anoverland line along Woosung Road， the poles being erected on foreignowned land.
The Chinese were thoroughly converted to the use of the telegraphduring the trouble with Russia over the territory in Central Asia， and in1880 and 1881 the Chinese authorities employed the Great NorthernTelegraph company （Danish） to construct a line connecting Shanghaiand Peking at a cost of Tls. 140，000.
The Jinricsha
A new form of conveyance came into Shanghai in 1874 ，which proved in some ways to be a nuisance and in others， a greatconvenience. This was the Jinricsha—“the man power carriage.” Itwas imported from Japan. At first the ricshas were not very popular，but they soon proved their usefulness and became more and morenumerous.
The Burlingame MissionMr. Anson Burlingame， the American Minister in Peking， wascommissioned by the Chinese Emperor in 1867 as AmbassadorExtraordinary to all the Courts of the world. The purpose of hisappointment， as expressed in the words of Mr. Robert Hart， was “tocultivate and conserve friendly relations by explaining to each of theTreaty Powers the many difficulties that China cannot fail to experiencein attempting to change existing conditions and to introduce novelties;to bespeak forbearance and prevent， in as far as possible， any resortto hostile pressure to wring from China concessions for which thegovernment did not as yet feel itself ready.“Mr. Burlingame had the oratorical temperament， and in hisaddresses in the United States and other countries gave an exaggeratedstatement of Chinese readiness to enter upon the path of progress. Forinstance， he asserted that China was prepared to invite the missionariesto “plant the shining cross on every hill and in every valley，” and toengage Western engineers to open mines and build railways and tomodernize her ancient civilization.
The Burlingame Mission did not arouse as much enthusiasm inEngland as in the United States. Lord Clarendon， head of the ForeignOffice， declared that “the policy to be adopted by his governmentand its agents was that an unfriendly pressure shall not be applied，inconsistent with the independence and safety of China， and that theBritish Government desires to deal directly with the central governmentrather than with the local authorities. China was expected to observethe treaties she had entered into， and the British Government reservedthe right to use force to protect life and property immediatelyexposed.“From London， the Mission Proceeded to Paris， Berlin andSt. Petersburg. In the last named city， Mr. Burlingame， unable towithstand the severity of a Russian winter， succumbed to an attack ofpneumonia and died on February 11th， 1870.
The residents of Shanghai were somewhat skeptical in regard tothe promises made by this Ambassador in his tour around the world，owing to the opposition they encountered in the attempts to introducethe railway and telegraphs， and the unwillingness of the Chineseauthorities to dredge the Woosung Bar， and improve the harbour ofShanghai.
The Margary MemorialThe Indian Government in 1874 ， acting under instructionsfrom the British Home Government， despatched an expedition underColonel Browne to proceed into Yunnan by way of Bhamo， in order toopen up a trade route between Burmah and China. It was arranged thatat the same time Mr. A. R. Margary， of H. B. M."s Consular Service，should travel overland through China， to meet the expedition atBhamo， and， acting as interpreter， should conduct it through Yunnanand then overland to Hankow.
At Manwyne， on the border between China and Burmah，Margary was assassinated under circumstances which were nevercleared up. Out of this incident came the Chefoo Convention betweenGreat Britain and China.
A memorial monument to Mr. Margary was erected bysubscription in Shanghai in 188 0， and placed at the division of TheBund into Soochow Road and the Garden Bridge approach. In 1907
the monument was removed to the north end of the Public Gardens，
where it now stands.