SWATOW
925
The first foreign trading depôt in this locality was inaugurated at Namoa, where the opium vessels used to anchor, but it was subsequently removed to Double Island, which is situated just inside the river and is four miles from Swatow. Foreigners here made themselves notorious in the early years of the settlement by the kidnapping of coolies, and so strong was the feeling shown against them by the natives that no foreigners was safe far from Double Island, while they were strictly forbidden to enter Swatow, and it was not until 1861 that they could do so. In the country round Swatow the antipathy to foreigners was of much longer duration. The British Consul was held technically to reside at Cha'o-chow-fu, and subsequent to 1861 several ineffectual attempts were made to pass through its gates. In 1866 a visit was made under more favourable circumstances, but it is only within very recent years that the population has refrained from annoyance and insult to foreigners within its walls. In 1862 the lease of a piece of land was applied for and granted to the British Government on the north bank of the river about a mile from Swatow, but so strong were the demonstra- tions of the populace against it that the matter fell through. Foreign residences, however, commenced to spring up here and there, and many of them are consequently somewhat scattered, though the majority are in or near the town of Swatow. yearly increasing traffic of the port has led to much over-crowding on the narrow strip of land on which it is built, and since February, 1877, no less than 21 acres have been reclaimed from the sea, the greater part of which is now covered with shops and houses. The climate of Swatow is reputed to be very salubrious. The town occupies, however, an unenviable position as regards typhoons, on account of being opposite the lower mouth of the Formosa Channel, and it has on many occasions been subjected to all the violence of these terrible storms, which almost every year sweep across the lower coast of China. The population of Swatow is estimated at 35,000.
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A Chinese syndicate with a capital of two million dollars obtained the necessary sanction for the construction of a railway from Swatow to Ch'ao-chou-fu, and work was commenced on the line in 1904. The line which is 24 miles in length was opened to traffic on November 25th, 1906. The contractors were Japanese, who supplied all material, the rails and engines coming from America and the carriages from Japan. The construction of the line has brought about a great inflation of land values, as well as a notable influx of Japanese traders.
The foreign trade of Swatow has never been large, but of late years it has shown a slight increase. Tea and sugar were formerly the principal exports but the tea trade here, as in other China ports, has to a very large extent passed away, and the sugar trade seems to be rapidly following it, the chief reason being that the superior sugar exported from Hongkong is finding increasing favour with consumers in the north, who formerly drew their supplies from Swatow. The China Sugar Refining Company of Hongkong have a large sugar refinery here, but work has for some time been suspended. The import into this sugar-producing district of sugar from the Hongkong refineries showed an increase in 1902 that was described as stupendous, the Hongkong product being cleaner and even cheaper than the native product. Brown Sugar increased from 215 to 5,397 piculs; white sugar from 909 to 14,532, piculs ; and refined sugar from 5,486 to 22,368. The returns for 1907 showed an import of.. 27,078 piculs of white and 25,988 of refinned. Refined sugar from Hongkong, and Java and Malay sugars, have taken the place of Swatow sugar in the Northern markets. The export of sugar in 1907 was 573,487 piculs of brown and, 316,745 piculs of white, only about half the quantity exported five years ago. In place of sugar increased attention is being given to the cultivation of vegetables, fruit, poppy and indigo. The net value of the trade of the port, coming under the cognisance of the Foreign Customs for 1907 was Tls. 45,342,001 as compared with Tls. 43,159,013 in 1906 and $47,948,050 in 1905.