798
SHANGHAI
and Gossip and a number of smaller publications. There are upwards of a dozen native daily papers, the leading ones being the Shun-pao, the Hu-pao, the Sin-wan-pao, the Shi Po, and the Universal Gazette, the latter representing the Reform movement. These are sold at the prices of ten and eight cash, equal to about a farthing. Some of them have a circulation of 10,000 per day. In one matter, that of postal accommodation, Shanghai is over-supplied, much to the disadvantage of the resident community, there being British, French, American, Japanese, German, Russian, and Chinese Post Offices. The latter was organized by the Maritime Customs and is at present being conducted under the auspices of the Board of Communications. The former Municipal Local Post was in 1898 incorporated with it. It undertakes the transmission of small sums of money and accepts the registration of letters. It will probably be some years before the difficulties inevitable in a country like China are overcome, and foreigners are, justly or unjustly, doubtful as to the inviolability of their correspondence. China has been admitted to the Postal Union. Shanghai was a port of Registry for British ships in 1874. All foreign hongs and even private houses have to give themselves fancy Chinese names, by which only they are known to the natives. The system is, however, found to have its conveniences. The number of jinrickshas has been temporarily limited to 7,500, but the necessary reduction has not yet been made; in 1915 there were 8,920 such vehicles for public use; there were also 6,777 passenger and cargo wheelbarrows, and 333 public carriages in the Settlement besides large numbers outside. Of private vehicles there were licensed in 1915, 4 896- rickshas, 720 carriages, 539 motor-cars, and 810 ponies. No fewer than 59,749,710 passengers used the tramcars in 1915. The water conveyances licensed numbered 54 foreign cargo boats, 1,627 native cargo boats, 64 ferry and passenger boats, 1,743 other boats, 258 sampans and 118 steam launches. There are 18 foreign and 22 native theatres, 296 pawn, 538 opium and 1,027 wine shops registered within the Anglo- American Settlement.
made
The currency of Shanghai is the tael weight of silver-equal to 579'84 grains troy, of fineness 0.916, but reckoned at 98. That is to say, an actual weight of 98 taels is counted as 100. The Shanghai tael thus contains, or should contain, 52.43 gr. troy of pure silver, but varies owing to the crude methods of assay. This is, however, the mean. The silver known as "sycee" is 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, or equivalent dollars from the various provincial mints, smaller subsidiary provincial silver coins and copper cash. There are fourteen foreign and numerous native banks in the settlement. In 1896 the Imperial Chinese Bank, under Chinese and European management, was opened by Imperial Decree.
TRADE AND COMMERCE
Shanghai is the great emporium for the trade of the Yangtsze and Northern_and Corean ports, and to some extent for Japan. The total import and export trade of 1868 amounted to sixty-five million taels. It steadily increased each year until 1881, when it reached Hk. Tls. 141,921,357, but afterwards showed a great decline, the total for 1884 having been twenty per cent. less than that of 1881. There was, however, a rapid recovery up to 1905; the total trade import and export, for the last seven years, as given by the Customs Statistical Department, being :--
1909... Hk. Tls. 449,242,406 at Ex. 1.48 Mex. $664,578,760 at Ex. 2s. 7d., £58,378,114 1910...
19
1911...
""
471,071,623 484,202,222
>>
1.48 1.48
""
""
1912... 1913... 1914...
99
491,485,487
1.52
""
"1
533,534,878
1.51
""
""
""
498,695,147
1.47
""
""
1915...
549,379,765
(
1.41
""
>"
$701,896,718 $716,619,288 $747,037,940 $305,637,665 $733,081,863 $774,625,463
2s. 8d., £94,317,071
""
""
2s. 8d., £96,295,716
"1"
3s.
08., £1·4,004,154
1
35.
Old., £121,684,855
29
2s.
8d., £100,035,129.
""
2s. 7 d., £100,459,240
214,297
The following tables show the export of Tea and Silk for eight years:-
Tea- Black Brick Green
1908...piculs 168,835
1909..
11
1910... 1911...
""
""
1912...
1913...
1914... 1915...
11
,,
140,121 173,100 177,294 37,688 220,190 364,420 314,396 141,711 502,460 290,985 196,817 400,015 277,565 273,076 434,466 311,605
Silk Wild Waste Cocoons 295,862 ₫ 1908...58,875 26,593 51,492 9,308 247,067 297,860 1909...60,301 26,996 52,487 15,083 308,528 264,752 1910...66,116 23,379 75,350 13,948
307,917
1911...59,224 27,679 1912...86,554 14,899 1913...73,446 23,762 1914...54,927 13,727 1915...79,089
24,260
81,064
16,313
76,301
18,792
76,480 19,530
52,474 20,863:
39,879 31,170