社会福利、群体偏好与市政管理:20世纪20年代初上海公共租界工部局如何应对米市危机

Social Welfare,Group Preferences and Municipal Administration:How Shanghai Municipal Council Dealt with Rice Crisis in the Early 1920s

1919年江苏省重申米禁,严查私运以保障食米供给。然而受多种因素影响,上海米价仍在波动中上涨,上海县公署采取开办平粜、限止米价等措施以抑制米价涨势。1920年6月米价比1919年同期高出3/4强,民间组织要求公共租界工部局与中国政府一同行动,工部局发布了禁止以食米牟取暴利公告。不过《上海洋泾浜北首租界章程》并未授予工部局此类权力,工部局在相关案件审判中败诉后,对租界米店实行执照管理,这遭到民间组织强烈反对。在前一阶段,工部局被视为有效干预了米市,在后一阶段,工部局被视为无端干涉米店营业。面对民间组织的诉求,工部局的态度和行动体现出其对自身角色的认识,表现出经过在舆情与“职权”之间权衡而对米市并未进行实际干预的特点。

In March 1919 in case of food shortages the governor of Jiangsu Province issued a prohibitory edict that banned illicit export of local rice and transporting local rice without a licence out of the province.However,the price of rice went up substantially in Shanghai.The magistrate of Shanghai took steps to lower the price,such as selling rice at below market prices and setting maximum prices.As the price of rice was up more than 75 per cent in June in 1920 from a year earlier,nongovernmental organizations petitioned Shanghai Municipal Council for market control and the Council issued the notification,which claims any persons profiteering in rice are liable to prosecution.Nevertheless,under the Shanghai Land Regulations the Council had no powers to intervene in markets.After losing the court case the Council was going to license rice shops,which was protested strongly against by nongovernmental organizations.Had the Council held down rice prices by suppressing profiteering in rice as the organizations thought,or would licensing rice shops impede commerce?We analyze what the Council should or could do discussed by the parties of interest and what the Council had done and conclude that under the Land Regulations the Council did not actually intervene in the market.