SAMSHUI
A449
winter, and an occasional partridge, quail or duck may be added to the bag. The attractions of good sport and pleasing surroundings have made Samshui a week nd resort for some of the Canton community confined to the small island of Shameen.
A telegraph service is maintained from Sainam. A nice building for the Post Office, situated alongside the road leading from the railway-station to the stone jetty, was completed and opened to the public on September 9th, 1921. There are ho Consulates established; the Consuls within whose districts Samshui lies reside either in Canton or Hongkong.
TRADE IN 1938
Though the Samshui district enjoyed comparative peace during the first nine months of the year, trading conditions were naturally adversely affected both by the nstability of the money market and by the Sino-Japanese hostilities, which culminated In the landing of Japanese troops in Bias Bay on the 12th, October, the closing of the Pearl River to navigation on the 14th, and the enforced evacuation by the Customs of Samshui on the night of the 23rd, October, 1938. Throughout the year the exchange ate between the Hongkong dollar and the legal tender notes, to which the wangtung provincial currency was linked at the fixed ratio of Small-coin $144= Standard $100, was subject to a wide range of fluctuation, Hongkong dollar notes 100 xchanging for about standrad $105 in January, Standard $132 in May, and Standard 180 and over in June and thereafter. This ever-increasing value of the Hongkong lollar in ration to the national and provincial currencies, coupled with the bnormally high prices ruling in Hongkong, placed imported goods largely beyond the reach of the masses, with the result that direct foreign imports were valued at 30.4 million only as against $1.2 million in 1937. In the value of direct export trade there was a slight improvement from $188,000 to $213,000. Steamer-borne interport rade remained insignificant, but tow-boats and junks carrying native goods did comparatively well. Under foreign imports there is little of interest to note; metal goods declined, as did the import of salt fish, there being a slight increase in the mport of wheat flour. Salt herrings and betelnuts fell also to insignificant amounts. Under export abroad, timber poles increased from nil to 134,109 pieces, while there was small exports of cassia oil, cassia lignea and black tea.
Prior to the closing of the Pearl River in October, shipping on the West River was generally satisfactory. The Canton-Samshui Railway functioned irregularly wing to repeated air raids, most of the passenger traffic being diverted to tow-boats plying by night. Rice crops in the district were reported to be good there being no Hoods during the year. The reinforced concrete jetty referred to in the previous year's report as being contructed under military auspices was completed during the Hyear.
關水三
CUSTOMS, CHINESE MARITIME-
DIRECTORY
Acting Commissioner-Huo Chih Chien
Assistant--Chan I-kan
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Assistant Tidesurveyor & Acting
Harbour Master-Ip Yau Cheong Examiners-Lui Fuk Tim, Chen Hsiao
Liang and Cheung Shui Fu