July 8, 1896.]
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
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lative Council. According to the report tainly regard it as an ill requital of he is unable to produce goods to compete on that occasion, in price with those of other countries, in circulation, in order to keep the relative | their good offices
there is no advantage to be voting strength of the official and unoffi- Of course the Russian Government might and cali sides at its present standard an rejoin that this concession could only take gained by affixing fraudulent marks to additional Chinese member is to be effect when the other Treaty Powers agreed goods which cannot be sold for the same, appointed as a counterpoise to the appoint to it; but nevertheless it would have opened price as the goods to which the mark pro- Nevertheless, the circum ment of the General on the official side, and the way to a very extensive concession perly belongs. that is the whole sum and substance of the which China would be in no hurry to stance reminds us of the fact that British matter. If no further concession than that reciprocate by conceding other advantages. interests in Tonkin are entirely, unrepré- is made it will be a great disappointment to Whether or not Russia has agreed to sented and unprotected, although the import the community, but until the actual terms make any compensating concecsion, how-trade consists very largely of British goods. no British merchants in the of the despatch are known further comment ever, it is, we believe, true that permission There are would be useless.
has been obtained for the Trans-Siberian country, and no British Consul is maintained A Consul would certainly have Railway to be carried through Manchuria there. to the coast. This will involve the con- little regular-consular work to do, with none cession of a port, if not of the country of his nationals to claim his attention and If Russia has very rarely the entry of a British ship to through which the line runs. succeeded in obtaining this, from her point take note of, but as a gatherer of commercial of view, very necessary concession, Great information such an officer might render Britain, we believe, will not have a word valuable service and might perhaps even pave the way for the establishment of to say against it.
British firms. At all events he would be able to keep merchants and manufacturers informed of the progress of the country, its requirements, the treatment accorded to British goods, and any abuses that might spring up and call for redress.
[The following is the communiqué addressed to the home papers with reference to the Secretary of State's despatch on the constitution of the Legislative Council:- "Mr. Henniker Heaton, M.P., having called the attention of the Colonial Secretary to the strong feeling exhibited at Hongkong in favour of the appointment of additional unofficial members of the Legislative Council, and to an alleged un dertaking by Lord Ripon on the subject, Mr. Chamberlain has replied, stating that he has just addressed a despatch to the Governor of Hongkong, conveying his decision, which will be published by his Excellency." The despatch itself is not published. In another column we publish Mr. Henniker Hea- ton's letter to the Hon. T. H. Whitehead and the letter received by him from Mr. Chamber lain's Secretary.]
LI HÙNGCHANG AND THE RELA
TIONS BETWEEN RUSSIA AND CHINA.
It would appear, from telegrams published in American papers-not always too reliable, by the way that the statement that LI HUNG-CHANG had agreed, on behalf of China, to allow a Russian railway to be laid through Manchuria to the coast, originated with the Berlin correspondent of the Standard. The Standard is, on the whole, a thoroughly reliable journal; but, like the mighty Times, it may sometimes be caught napping or be misled by correspondents. The Standard's correspondent does not say, however, that the Chinese Special Ambassa- dor denied the conclusion of a treaty with Russia; that is a statement made by others. What he says is:-"It is reported that LI "HUNG-CHANG has concluded negotiations "with Russia by which, for the concession "of a Russian railway through Manchuria, “Russia consents to China nearly doubling "the import duties at treaty porta." This statement is made in a later telegram than the one which declares that LI HUNG-CHANG had denied that any treaty had been cou cluded with Russia. Whether or not the Standard's correspondent is to be relied upon. remains to be seen. It is quite possible that he may have obtained the_information from a member of his Chinese Excellency's suite, who had no motive for concealing facts. The Chinaman will sometimes tell the truth if there is no particular reason for bottling it up. In fact, if he is the possessor of news, the ordinary Chinaman generally is very willing to part with it, unless he believes it to be a marketable commodity. And that is what most of them have yet to discover.
We do not believe, however, that the latter portion of the statement is correct. It would be such a very high handed pro- ceeding for Russia to take, to concede to China the right to double her tariff on foreign goods, without consulting any of the Treaty Powers, that we may well hesitate to credit such a report. Russia herself, it is true, would probably care
very little whether the duties levied on imports and exports were raised or not, for her trade with China is comparatively small; but her late allies in bluffing Japan for the benefit of China (France and Germany) would cer-
That Russia should have
an open port on the Pacific is a legitimate ambition, which should not be obstructed, so long as she does not aspire to play the role of the dog in the manger. The establish- ment by her of a great naval and military stronghold on the Pacific will of course at the same time entail upon the British Gov- ernment the necessity of rendering Hong- kong absolutely secure from attack and probably of acquiring another naval station in the vicinity of Shanghai. In short, 'not to mince matters, it will be imperative, if England is to maintain her position in these seas, to widen the boundaries of this colony as recently proposed, and to demand from China the retrocession to us of Chusan. The time has come for both these demands to be put forward, and it is to be hoped that there will be no miserable hesitation at the Foreign Office in formulating them.
A COMMERCIAL FRAUD IN TONKIN.
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PERMANENCY OF CONSULAR APPOINTMENTS.
In the communication addressed by the Chinkiang Chamber of Commerce to Mr. BYRON BRENAN upon matters affecting British trade in China there is one recom mendation inade the wisdom of which is, we think, doubtful. The recommendation is that "titular Consuls should be permitted, 'when possible, to remain in their posts "undisturbed, as thus they can acquire a
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practical and intimate knowledge of local "trade and the advancement of British "interests be promoted.". Other things being equal, we should say British interests would be more likely to be promoted by a A most shameful fraud is disclosed in an Consul who had experience of the trade of engagingly frank manner by the Indo- other ports as well as of that at which he may Chine Francaise, the writer apparently being happen to be stationed. It is easy to understand quite unconscious of any sense of wrong the objections of a port to the removal of a in the matter. Our contemporary has been Consul who has identified himself with the publishing a series of articles on the cotton interests of the community, and has served industry in Indo-China, and in the course interests energetically and well, but of the argument the preference of the tak.ng.a more mrehensive view it must De recognised ad there are advantages in native for well known chops is referred to.
It is necessary," say the writer, giving our Consuls a diversified experience support the mills established in Tonkin uud by periodic changes preventing their In the Colonial Service "in order that our nationals may be able to | getting into a rut.
with foreign | à Governor's term of office is six years, but compete advantageously goods, the sale of which is so con- perhaps that can hardly be cited as an siderable in all the markets in our example in point, as the arrangement is 'possession. We recollect trials made by made probably more with a view to the some of our compatriots to sell to the interests of the Service by preventing. "Annamites cotton yarn of French origin. a. block in promotion than with a view An "The_natives recognised the superiority of to the interests of the colonies. "the French thread, but even at the same example more in point is that of the Chinese Foreign Customs Service. Sir price they would not buy it. They were "accustomed to use English cotton of so ROBERT HART seems to act on the principle many hanks to the kilogramme and with of keeping his Commissioners frequently on a certain mark on the package and they the move, and that without any reference to "would have no other. They were shown the question of promotion. A Commissioner "that the French thread was whiter, more puts in two or three years at one port and 'solid, that the weight of the packages was then is transferred to another, and it is the "the same. They looked only at the mark same in the junior branches of the Service, "and asked for English yarn No. 20, so that every member of it has the ad- "30, or 40. This spirit of routine amongst vantage of becoming acquainted not only "them had so little reason that one of our with the trade of a particular port but also "friends having several bales of French with the trade of the whole country. In yarn in his godowns and being unable the British Consular Service in China to get rid of them except by buying changes also are not infrequent, due to English labels, removing the French ones, furlough and occasional retirements, and "and affixing the English ones, did so, and on the whole we are inclined to think "the goods were then eagerly sought after." these changes must be beneficial to the in- We should not like to suppose that frauds terests the Consuls are supposed to promote. If in some cases a change may be unwelcome of this kind were common amongst our French neighbours, nor is it very likely, to one port, it will probably be correspond. for the Frenchman's difficulty is that ingly welcome and advantageous to another.
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