950
SWATOW
accompanied by a tidal wave, struck the port on the night of August 2nd, 1922. Seismic disturbances, also, have frequently been felt here. The most serious was that on February 13th, 1918, when, it is computed, over 2,000 people were killed and several thousand injured, while the damage to property was immense. The native population of Swatow was estimated at 141,063 in 1929.
A Chinese syndicate, with a capital of $3,000,000, obtained the necessary sanction for the construction of a railway from Swatow to Ch'ao-chou-fu, and work was commenced on the linc in 1904. The line, 281⁄2 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 construc- tion of the line brought about a great inflation of land values.
Swatow has an electric light plant and a new waterworks was completed early in 1914, the reservoir being at Kia-kun, about eight miles inland. In the middle of 1919 a telephone service was introduced.
TRADE IN 1929
Though what may be termed normal conditions prevailed in Swatow, the hinter- land has been far from peaceful, and trade has again been hampered by disorderly activities, resulting in a lack of security and confidence as regards present and future events. Climatic conditions were marked by an unusually dry spring, which affected transplantation of rice, and this and another spell of dry weather during the summer resulted in famine conditions in every inland district. That Customs statistics should once more compare unfavourably with those of previous years is not surprising, and the net value of the trade coming under the cognizance of the Maritime Customs shows a steady decline, with a decrease of some 5 million taels in three years. This decrease may be accounted for by the gradual replaceinent of various native commodities, such as fertilisers, sugar, etc., by the more convenient and often more economical foreign article. The fact that Customs returns do not show better figures for the net importation of foreign imports as the result of this gradual substitution is generally explained by the recrudescence of smuggling which has followed the introduction of a new and higher tariff. Such a development, it must be admitted, is natural enough in these days of improved shipping facilities at many non-treaty ports, where the monopoly of the slower and less convenient junk is slowly but surely giving way to the fast and more up-to-date motor-boat. Dealers in chemical fertilisers had a remarkably successful year at the expense of beancake merchants, whose produce appears to become less and less popular with the farmer. Business in drawn-thread work and coarse chinaware-two staple industries of this port-is reported to have been very satisfactory. Owing to increased demand in the United States for locally made drawn thread and embroidery work, importations of cotton thread and Irish linen increased by 100 and 60 per cent. respectively. So far as export was concerned Swatow enjoyed a prosperous trade with foreign countries, and figures show an increase of more than 2 million taels. The demand from Chinese residents in Indo-China, Siam, and the Straits Settlements for medicinal herbs, chinaware, eggs, fish, garlic, groundnut oil, and canned fruit continued and was responsible for an increased exportation of these goods. Sugar refined by old- fashioned but expensive methods can no longer compete successully with the cheaper foreign article. As regards the money market, the year's predominant note was the abundance of capital and a far larger supply than was demanded. Though prohibi- tion regarding their export remained in force, the total value of silver dollars on this market is estimated at less than 1 million against a note circulation of some 6 million dollars, secured mostly on property. The number of passengers embarking during the year for Indo-China, Siam, and the Straits Settlements shows a consider- able decrease, due chiefly to a limited demand for labour and to emigration restrictions in the countries concerned. The total number of passengers leaving for Singapore, Bangkok, and Saigon amounted respectively to 70,401, 45,083, and 9,837. Street- widening and the establishment of a modern sewerage system are amongst the improvements effected by the municipality. The number of motor-boat ferries across the harbour has also increased, while progress has been made on the Swatow-Canton motor road, which has now been opened to traffic as far as Lokeng, a distance of 175 miles. Health conditions were satisfactory, and, as a result of a cleaner and better kept town, severe epidemics seem to have become a thing of the past.