WUHU
This port was opened to foreign trade, by the Chefoo Convention, on the 1st April, 1877. It is situated on the river Yangtsze, in the province of An-hwei, and is a half-way port between Chinkiang and Kiukiang, though nearer to the former. It has the appearance of a thriving and busy town, and is admirably located for trade. This is mainly owing to the excellence of its water communication with the interior. A large canal, with a depth of five to six feet of water in the winter and ten to twelve feet in the summer, connects the port with the important city of Ning-kuoh-fu, in southern An-hwei, fifty miles distant. Another canal runs inland for over eight miles in a south-westerly direction to Taiping-hsien, an extensive tea district. This canal, which is only navigable in the summer, passes through Nan-ling and King-hsien, where the cultivation of silk is carried on, and may some day be of importance. The silk districts of Nan-ling and King-hsien are situated within fifty miles of Wuhu. Besides the canals leading to Ning-kuoh-fu and Taiping-hsien, there are two others communicating with Su-an and Tung-pó.
It will be seen, from the above enumeration of the facilities for water carriage from Wuhu, that it is calculated to prove an emporium for commerce. The net value of the foreign imports for the year 1890 was Tls. 2,922,253, compared with Tls. 2,693,183 in 1889. 2,567 piculs of Opium were imported in 1890, as compared with 2,493 piculs in 1889. Coal may some day become a considerable article of export from Wuhu, the mines at Chihchou, near Ta-tung, being worked with Western appliances and machinery. The export in 1890 was 14,365 tons as against 9,276 tons in 1889. There is a large trade in Timber in Wuhu, but that, like all other trade, is in the hands of the Chinese. The total value of the trade of the port for 1890 was Tls. 7,629,197 as against Tls. 7,354,468 in 1889.
The town is fairly well built, with rather broader streets than most Chinese cities possess, and is tolerably paved. The tract of land selected for the British Settlement, though admirably suited for the purpose, with good deep water frontage, has not yet been availed of, and there are few foreign houses in the place. The population of Wuhu is estimated at 80,000 inhabitants. This city was the scene of formidable anti- missionary riots in June, 1891.
BUTTERFIELD & SWIRE, Merchants
T. Weatherston, agent
Agencies
DIRECTORY
China Navigation Co., Hulk "Le-Tai "
Union Insurance Society of Canton
CHIH CHOU COAL MINES
Reid, superintendent
局商招
CHINA MERCHANTS STEAM NAVIGATION CO.,
Hulk "Bombay'
C. C. Lee, agent
**** Ta Ying ling-sx-f00
CONSULATES
GREAT BRITAIN
also
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
Consul-Colin M. Ford Constable-G. Perkins
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Consul-General A. C. Jones resid-
ing at Chinkiang
關新湖藥 Wu-hu hein-kroam
CUSTOMS-Imperial MarITIME
Commissioner-F. E. Woodruff
Assistant-R. A. Currie
do. -R. H. Cox
do.
-W. R. McD. Parr
Medical Officer-R. H. Cox
Acting Tidesurveyor and Harbour
Master-J. Dalton
Acting Boat Officer-R. H. Strangman Chief Examiner-J. F. Dubois Assistant Examiners-F. Bartenstein,
H. C. Russell, E. E. Smith, C. E Meyer, F. J. Allshorn
Tidewaiters-E. V. H. Viez, F. Bijno, J. Holliday, J. C. Braga, H.” M. Thompson, T. J. Olsen
JARDINE, MATHESON & Co., Merchants
A. Knight Gregson, agent
邊麥
Ma-pin
MCBAIN, GEO., Merchant, Receiving ship
"Spirit of the Age,'
Wm. Brumfield, agent
Page 585Page 586