CHINA
A 3
cations to make specie payment against their own notes. Such an injunction for a day or two paralysed the trade and commerce of the entire country, but, for- tunately, the branches of these banks in the big cities decided to ignore the order and resumed payment. China thus presented the unique spectacle of provincial branches of the two national banks carrying on business in defiance of the Government. Truly a Gilbertian situation. It was explained that the chief concern of the authorities was to re- tain a silver reserve with which to pay the troops and SO prevent mutinies and looting, but whatever the motive which prompted the so-called moratorium, there can be no question as to its harmful effect upon the nationał credit. The Government, however, managed to carry on the administration, and, in October, 1916, sanctioned the payment of silver by the Bank of China, with the result that the value of the Bank of Communications notes rose in one day from 79 to 91, but declined again to 87 in consequence of the run on the Bank of China for silver payments. To finance the futile war against the South the Government borrowed money from Japanese sources with a recklessness that scandalised all people interested in this country, especially as the proceeds were dissipated among the selfish Tuchuns and their followers. National assets were pledged with the prodigality of those who give what is not their's. During 1918 alone over 150,000,000 yen was borrowed.
China's foreign debts are in various currencies and, owing to fluctuation of exchange and the paucity of statistical information considerable difficulty is experienced in arriving at an accurate figure of China's national' indebted- ness. Budget Statements in China have yet to become the precise documents that they are in other countries. The most complete statement of China's financial position of recent years is contained in the report by Dr. Lo Wen- kan prepared at the end of 1922. According to that report, which accompanied the Twelfth year Budget, the domestic loans as they stood in September, 1922, were $208,400,000 with security, and $249,000,000 without security; while the foreign loans amounted to $1,029,000,000 secured and $240,000,000 unsecured, making a total of $1,726,400,000.
The Maritime Customs collection for the year 1932, amounted, in round figures, to Hk. Tls. 188,000,000 (excluding flood relief surtax Hk. Tls. 12,000,000) as compared with the record collection Hk. Tls. 247,000,000 reduction of 23.59 per cent. This year's collection was composed of the following items: import duties Hk. Tls. 151,660,000; export duties, Hk. Tls. 17,186,000; interport duty Hk. Tls. 13,191,000; tonnage dues, Hk. Tls. 2,739,300 and famine relief surtax Hk. Tls. 12,209,000.
TRADE IN 1932.
In his review of the trade for 1932, Mr. H. G. MacEwan, the officiating Statistical Secretary of the Chinese Maritime Customs writes:
The general decline in international trade of the year under review affected China intimately, while in her other foreign relations (with Japan, principally) she took a place in the "front page news," of the world. The year's happening in the Shanghai and the Manchurian areas struck at two of China's most important trade assets. Shanghai (quod vide), the greatest financial, commercial, industrial, and distributing centre in the country, usually handling quite half of the whole foreign trade (though actually responsible for only 47 per cent. in 1931 and 43 per cent. in the year under review), was almost isolated, in a trade sense, by the hostilities that broke out at her very gates towards the end of January and that continued actively throughout February and on into the first few days of March. For the duration of this so-called "undeclared war" the approaches to Shanghai's harbour were filled with hostile mèn-of-war, her land and air approaches were unsafe or entirely cut off, the district of Hongkew occupied by Japanese forces, and the densely populated in- dustrial districts of Chapei and the densely populated industrial districts of Chapei and beyond were the scene of continual fighting and the object of ceaseless bombard- ments and air attacks that caused the loss of many civilian lives and ended in the almost complete destruction of all factories and residences in these latter districts. The tension in Shanghai during this period, the anxiety as to the outcome, the inter-