SHANGHAI
105
less than 2,726 jinrickshas, 2,605 passenger wheelbarrows, and 251 horse vehicles ply for hire in the Settlements.
The currency of Shanghai is the tael weight of silver cast into "shoes" of fifty taels, more or less. The foreign banks issue notes of the value of one dollar and upwards for both taels and dollars. Smaller transactions are conducted in clean Mexican dollars and copper cash. There are nine foreign and numerous native banks in the Settlement.
Shanghai is the great emporium for the trade of the Yangtsze and northern ports, and to a considerable extent for Japan and Corea. The export of Tea from 1846 to 1850 averaged sixteen million pounds, and Silk during the same period seventeen thousand bales. The total import and export trade of 1868 was sixty-five million taels. It steadily increased each year until 1881, when it reached Hk. Tls. 141,921,357 but afterwards shewed a great decline, the total for 1884 having been twenty per cent. less than that of 1881. It has since, however, shewn a rapid recovery, the total trade in foreign bottoms, import and export, for the last five years, as given by the Customs Statistical Department, being :-
1887... Hk. Tls. 138,234,600 at Ex. 1.54, Mex. $212,881,284, at Ex. 4s. 10}d., £33,550,069
146,917,846
1888...
""
1889... 1890...
""
145,649,999
145,145,106
1891...
165,543,862
37
1.54,
1.54,
"}
1.54,
"}
"
1.53,
17
"
$226,253,483, $224,300,998, $223,523,463, $253,282,109,
21
4s. 8gd., £34,510,390
"1
4s. 83., £31,440,156
*
5s. 21d., £37,647,012
4s. 11d., £40,696,199
The value of foreign Opium imported in 1891 was only slightly under that of 1890, but Tls. 406,887 less than in the previous year and Tls. 2,013,908 less than in 1888, while for several years previously there had been a falling off, owing to increased production of and demand for native opium, the quality of which is now much superior to what it formerly was and the taxes on which are very much lighter than on the foreign drug. The import in 1881 was 51,522 piculs, which gradually declined to 34,447 piculs in 1800 and 38,783 piculs in 1891. The imports of Cotton Goods and Yarn in 1891 was more than 25 per cent. in value over that of 1890, which exceeded by 25 per cent. that of 1889, while Woollen Goods and Metals showed a slight decline in 1890, but increased, the former by 36 and the latter by nearly 10 per cent. in value in 1891. Kerosine Oil showed an increase of 5,437,815 gallons in 1890 and a further increase of 15,174,290 gallons in 1891. The following table shows the export of Tea and Silk for four years.
Tea-Black Brick Green
Silk
1888......piculs 380,899
345,141
208,753
48,653
1889......
>>
366,757
260,426
189,932
53,803
1890.....
283,819
231,215
196,474
39,699
1891....
""
283,178 289,689
205,914
60,743
Raw Waste Cocoons 7,730 37,601 6,011 9,514 45,470 8,297 12,708 39,639 5,954
8,925 41,186
7,325
The import trade in Foreign Goods for 1891 may be summarised as follows:-
From Great Britain
From Hongkong
From India
From United States...
From Japan
From Continent of Europe
Tls. 29,197,934 From Straits & Australia Tls. 1,091,845
! 16,145,296 From British America
934,947
12,432,913
From other Countries
100,001
7,529,018
From Chinese Ports
201,275
Hk. Tls. 77,336,115
5,096,696 4,606,190
Of the total an amount to the value of Haikwan Tls. 59,407,769 was re-exported, namely to the Yangtsze ports Hk. Tls. 26,824, 132, to the Northern ports Hk. Tls. 23,302,034, to Ningpo and Southern ports Hk. Tls. 6,505,206, to Corea Hk. Tls. 935,196, to Hongkong Hk. Tls. 736,162, to Japan Hk. Tls. 427,923, to Russian Manchuria Hk. Tls. 417,865, to Great Britain Hk. Tls. 205,617, and to other Foreign Countries IIk. Tls. 53,634, leaving a balance for local consumption and stock of Hk. Tls. 17,928,346.
The following were the values of the principal classes of goods imported:- Cotton Goods. Tls. 28,965,521 | Machinery... Tls. 548,434, Clocks & Watches TIs. 202,622 Cotton Yarn
Opium Metals...
Woollen Goods
Kerosine Oil
Coal
Dyes, Aniline...
Sugar
***
Seaweed
...
337,297 Soapand Perfumery, 190,810
10,648,481 Matches 12,395,387 | Timber
547,815 Cardamoms... 546,114 Paper
...
·
200,681 200,529
4,636,721 Biche de Mer
478,525 Isinglass
194,904
3,483,655 Ginseng
3,429,747 Needles
303,174
1,618,295 Birds' Nests
Sharks' Fins 301,987 Window Glass
781,164 Wine and Spirits 637,780 Pepper
297,969 | Sundries
188,190
167,626
***
4,880,509
292,634
582,518 Sandalwood
277.026
Hk. Tls. 77,336,115
Imports to the value of Tls. 1,362,048 were sent to the interior under Transit Passes; Metals, Kerosine, and Coal being the principal articles thus conveyed. The imports in foreign bottoms of native produce not re-exported amounted to Hk. Tls. 7,212,957.