760
CHINA
The vessels entered and cleared in 1909 were made up of 87,802 Steamers of 80,613,890 tons, and 120,714 Sailing Vessels of 6,157,919 tons; the latter including 5,071,133 Chinese Junk tonnage.
The gross coast trade in vessels of foreign build amounted to Tls. 512,462,753 outward, and Tls. 529,990,628 inward, the net native imports (that is, goods not re-ex- ported) at the Treaty Ports being Tls. 183,143,704, and the exports to Treaty Ports Tls. 201,243,109.
The Imperial Maritime Customs revenue for the same year amounted to Haikwan Taels 35,539,917, and was derived from :--
Import Export Coast Tde Opium Opium Tnage Transit Duty. Duty. Duty. Duty. Lekin, Dues. Dues. Foreign ...Tls.11,422,462 9,346,505 1,236,001 1,273,565 3,396,171 1,202,643 1,409,892 Native...... 1,197,581 2,716,527
-463,770 509,791 73,575
Totals
780,505
510,925
12,620,043 12,063,032 2,016,506 1,737,335 3,905,965, 1,276,218 1,920,817 The Native Customs Revenue at twenty Coast and River ports for the Year ended 12th November, 1909, amounted to Ilk. Taels 3,144,336.
**
Mr. J. L. Chalmers, Statistical Secretary to the Imperial Maritime Customs, in his report on the Foreign Trade of China for 1909, says:--
"General. The year was commercially a good one for China, since it was marked by a large increase in her Customs revenue, a notable expansion of exports, a rapid industrial progress, and a revival of the home trale. The countries which supplied imports to China have perhaps less cause for satisfaction in the year's results, thôngh the imports of 1909, judged by their total net value, were second only to those of 1905. The total net trade of all ports shows an increase under each healing. Foreign_im- ports rose from Hk. Tls. 396,261,991 in 1998 to Ik. Tls. 117,586,237 in 1909, and exports from Hk. Tls. 438,705,091 to Hk. Tls. 522,136,518, giving a total increase in the whole trade of 104.7 million tacks. The net native imports, which are, of course, included under exports, amounted to Hk. Tls. 201,213,40.), giving an increase of 22.7 million. In the northern provinces, in Yunnan and at Shanghai there was a larger demand for foreign goods, but at the Yangtze and southern ports the demand fell off. Exports declined slightly in Fukien, the Two Kwang, and Yunnan, but show large increases in all other sections. It is to be noted that, considerable as the increase in the volume of exports has been, the increase in value has been proportionately greater, owing to the marked rise in the prices of several leading articles of export. The lower level of ex- change in 1909, as compared with 1999, has also to some extent raise the silver value of imports.
Foreign
Foreign Trade.-The value of the direct trale with foreiga countries in 1999 reached a total of Hk. Tls. 757,150,881, exceeding the total of 19)8 by 85,98 million taels, and the highest total hitherto recordel-tirat of 1907-by 76 million trels. imports amounite:l in value to Hk. Tls. 118,158,057, giving an increase of 23.65 million taels, and exports to Hk. Tls. 339,992,81 1, giving an in-reaso 62 million taels,
Imports.-There was a net importation of 18,917 piculs of foreign opium, giving an increase of 370 piculs as compared with the previous year's import. Of Bengal drug, 2,225 picals more was importel; of Malwa, 1,476 piculs loss; and of Persian, 171 piculs less. The slight increase of importations is due in part to actual scarcity of native drug and in part to excited speculation on the yet greater scarcity to come, Hongkong market prices, taken in January and in December, show that Malwa had risen by the end of the year 10 to 20 per cent., according to quality; Patna, 23 per cent.; Benares, 39 per cent. ; and Persian, 29 to 37 per cent.; and it may be all that by the middle of March, 1910, Hongkong prices for foreign opium were twice as high as in the beginning of 1999. Native opium has more than kept pace with the foreign drug and is reportel from several of the maritime provinces to have doubled its market value dur- ing the year, while the price of Szechwan opium at Chungking rose in the year's course from Tĺs. 250-225 to Tis. 500 550, or 147 per cent. In foreign cotton goods there is an advance in total net value of over 26 million taels, the conspicuous increases being in cotton yarn, white shirtings, and American sheetings and drills. The importations of yarn (2,406,110 piculs) and of white shirtings (4,029,517 pieces) compare not unfavour- ably with the best in previous years, and American piece goods approximate to the average of the years which preceded the inflation of trade in 1905 and 1996. It is im- possible to say how much cotton yarn is now turned out from native mills, but the quantity distributed by Shanghai to other ports in 1909 was 425,055 piculs, as compared with 378,000 piculs in 1908 and 187,000 piculs in 1907; and as might be expected, there is evidence in the port returns of an increasing consumption of piece goods from native