· 96
withdrawing some 15,000 cases of kerosene oil and a quantity of other merchandise from junks to foreign vessels. I refer to an at- tempt, which in the end succeeded, of several foreign traders to escape payment of the Ching-fei tax, and settle the question of the validity of transit passes by escorting their own merchandise covered by transit pass to Wu-chou-fu, its inland destination, where they watched its fortunes after its purchase by native
merchants.
REVENUE.
NG WEEKLY PRESS AND
[July 29, 1897.
PASSENGER TRAFFIC.
THE HONG iron wire, pig
lead in pigs, and old 4,438 steam-launches visited Kowloon during yellow metal exh
slight improvement; 1896, as compared with 7,368 in the previous but the net result is
ng off representing year. The closing of the gambling-houses has a value of some Hk. s. 448,000. Of foreign undoubtedly deprived the inhabitants of a brisk sundries, kerosene oil of 830,795 gallons. The a net increase trade and of facilities of commumication with nearly equalled those to patents to Shuntak Hongkong-a loss which, though not without p, and there is its benefit to local morals, is much deplored by no article of trade so generally carried by junks the shopkeepers, who have made several vain to all the marts supplied by way of the Kowloon attempts to restore the old order of things. Stations, as will be seen from speias table No. 5, which is well worth studying. The product has increased by 716,175 american The increase of Tls. 36,641.9.4.8 is accounted Russian has decreased by 544.265 galoms, the the Sumatra, with a rise of 658,885 galone and Tls. m.c.c. nearly doubled the preceeding year's gubas 17,470.0.2.1 The last named is likely to show a still great
5,433.9.6.5 development as soon as the tanks now under 6,646.7.0.7 construction by a German firm in Hongko
are ready for storing the oil in bulk. The 27,035.0.9.9 port of rice advanced by 614,000 piouls. T
was chiefly in the first half of the year; duri Tls. 56,585.7.9.2 | the latter half, owing to the good crop in t Tls. m.c.c. Kwang provinces, the import fell off, and
ztésforobat unusual quantity was exported. The 3,471,6.2.6 arrivals of paddy decreased over 100,000 9,257.6.7.0 piculs.
for thus:-
INCREASE.
Export Duty (excluding Opium) Import Likin (excluding Opium) Export Likin
Import Ching-fei (chiefly Kerosene
Oil)
DECREASE.
Import Duty (exclusive of Upium) Opium Duty Opium Likin..
11-
(b.) Exports-The following articles show Tls. 19,943.8.4.4 conspicuous increases, to the extent indicated
by the appended figures :- Fans, Palm-leaf .7,955,000 pieces- 34 %. Hides
4,944 piouls346 Matting
53,700 rolls.
Net Increase. .Tls. `36,641.9.4.8 In addition to the total collection of Tls. 579,202.8.2.5 under the above heads, Tls. 27,403 were collected for granary tax on rice and paddy exported abroad, which amount was in excess of the previous year's grain tax by Tls. 10,608. The increase of Ching-fei on kerosene oil alone amounted to Tls. 25,056. The advance of import likin, coincident with the decrease of import duty, is again apparent, and, as explained in my 1895 report, is probably due to the augmented trade to Canton. The decline in opium revenue is perennial; its pro- portions are slightly accentuated.
FOREIGN TRADE.
(a.) Imports-Every description of cotton piece goods from Western countries except figured shirtings, drills, and cambris, has fallen off, the total import being about 35,775 pieces, as compared with 40,572 pieces in the previous year. Japanese cotton textiles have, on the contrary, nearly doubled their record for 1895, and have reached the substantial figure of 22,733 pieces, which seems to prove that their undoubted cheapness is not their only merit. Indian cotton yarn has jumped to 55,310 piculs, an increase of 25 per cent., which has been more than counterbalanced by the diminution of the yarn carried by steamer to Canton. Taking the Canton and Kowloon figures together, the net result for the year is a decrease of 20,000 piculs. Cotton thread has diminished from 280 to 187 piculs. Woollens also have decreased all round, the aggregate number of pieces of all descriptions being 7,686, or about 20 per cent. below the previous year's figures. A large proportion of those were sent to Canton, viz., Spanish stripes, 2,356 pieces; broad and medium cloths, 2,600 pieces; and Lustres and Orleans, 1,851 pieces. I am in- debted to one of the leading merchants of Hongkong for the following informa tion concerning Indian cotton yarn, and for the remarks on opium at the end of this report. The trade in 1896 was very unprofitable to importers, and during the latter half showed very heavy losses. Although prices advanced considerably in China, the rise was not commensurate with the fall in the rate of exchange between here and India. The native dealers, however, one and all made large profits, and it is reported that, as a consequence, one or two new hongs have started business since the Chinese New Year. The rise in price, due to the fall in rupee exchange, is not considered healthy for the trade, as it invites competition from other places; the closing of the Bombay mills, on account of the plague, is likely still further to raise the price, and Japanese yarn is said to be reaping the advantage of the situation, large quantities being bought by Chinese even in advance of arrivals. The heavier metals are mostly shipped by junk to Cauton direct, though the Shantak and Tungkun districts absorb a considerable quantity. Over one-third
Oil, Ground-nut.. Rice
39
9,609 piculs-338 124,507 510
60
"J
18 20
ور
رو
وو
"
Silk, Raw, White Sugar, Brown & White 32,336 Planks, Soft-wood ..2,986,352 sq. ft.= 50 The advance in soft-wood planks was probably in consequence of building activity in Hongkong. There was a considerable export of rice from Canton towards the end of the year, and as the price of grain there remained exceptionally high, the permission to export was withdrawn by the authorities. There is a growing and wide- spread demand for palm-leaf fans, which is said to extend to South Africa. The ground-nut oil crop was more productive than that of 1895. Notable decreases, to extent shown, will be found in the following products:- Cassia Lignea 9,500 piculs Clothing, Silk 254 Fire-crackers 15,000 Salt
205,643 Silk Cocoons 313
J
77
رو
12 per cent.
21
"
21
J
**
80
18
"
64
10
6
23
14
22
Refuse Piece Goods 324 Tea, Black... 10,658 Tin- foil
22
J9
وو
4,698
= 64 The decline in silk clothing and silk piece goods is attributed to the enhanced price arising from the demand for raw silk for export.
(c) Re-exports.-Nil.
COAST TRADE.
(a.) Original Shipments Coastwise.—Nil. (b) Coastwise Arrivals (ie., produce ex- changed between Chinese ports via the Kowloon Stations).-In the decrease under this head the most important commodities are split bamboos, dried and salt fish, fine grasscloth, mats, pre- pared opium, salt, and tobacco leaf. Coarse grasscloth, rice, and paddy are among the few items showing an increase.
Hongkong-Macao Trade via Changchow_and Capsuimoon.—The junk trade from Hongkong to Macao aggregated Hk. Tls. 2,579,000 as compared with Hk. Tls. 2,429,000 in the pre- vious year. The chief articles carried were piece goods, metals, beans, coal, coke, betel-nuts, fungus, kerogene oil, and ground-nut oil in in- creased quantities; and cotton yarn, indigo, rice and paddy, vermicelli, and macaroni in reduced quantity. From Macao to Hongkong the trade was valued at Hk. Tls. 1,224,000, an improvement of over Hk. Tls. 260,000 on the previous year's figures, the leading items being brassware, palm-leaf fans, fire-crackers, packing mats, ground-nut oil, and brown sugar.
SHIPPING.
The year shows a decrease in the number of junks, both inwards and outwards, as com pared with 1835, which had the highest total on record. It still, however, makes a good second on the list. More passed inwards to China and fewer outwards from China in
The passenger traffic to Chinese Kowloon has decreased by about 90,000, and from Chinese Kowloon by 75,700-also the result of the dwindling prosperity of that neighbourhood. the other Stations falls short of the preceding The aggregate number of passengers throngh
year's total by 13,000.
OPIUM.
(a.) Foreign-The history of the years 1888-95 has been repeated in 1896. The amount declared for import at the Kow- loon Stations is smaller than in thevious rear by 115 piculs. The following is a com- arative statement of nine years' imports, from which it mayeoncluded that the day is not far distant when the drug will entirely dis- appear from the trade returns of this office:-
1888. 1889. 1890. 1891.
1892.
Piculs. Piculs. Piculs. Picular Pieuls. 2,851 2,453 1,810 1,447 961
1893. 1894. 1895, 1896.
Piols. Piculs.
640
Picals. Picals. 916
530
415 The total imports in Hongkong were :- Malwa, Patna. Benares. Persian. Turkey. Total.
Chests. Chests. Chests. Chests. Chests. Chests. 7,576 17,883 5,008 3,687 54 34,208 a decrease of 2,401 chests. The stock at the end of the year was :—
Malwa. Patna, Benares. Persian. Turkey. Total.
Chests. Chests. Chests. Chests., Chests. Chests,
286 2,023 521 586
3,416 The exports by steamer to Chinese treaty ports amounted to 26,363 chests. The Indian opium trade was anything but satisfactory both to importers and Chinese dealers. Though there have been no failures among the latter, two hongs have stopped business. The importers sustained losses through the fall in the rupee exchange without a corresponding rise in the prices of the drug in China. There is also no doubt that Chinese opium is slowly but surely supplanting the Indian; nor is there any ques- tion that the enhanced prices of the Indian have been a great impetus to the growth of the Chinese drug. The shortness of the Bengal opium crops year after year and diminished auction sales by the Indian Government are partly responsible for the rise in price, but the chief factor is the fall in rupee exchange.
(b) Native.-None has passed through the Kowloon Stations.
MISCELLANEOUS: The net value of the trade for the year is shown below:---
Hk. Tls..
Native
"
Foreign Imports from Hongkong... 21,124,268 3,482,122 2,216,242 Hk. Tls.
"3
"
71
China to China
Exports to Hongkong
Hongkong to Macao Macao to Hongkong.
"J
**
***
22,565,590
2,579,430 1,224,749
H.M.S. Narcissus has left. Kobe for Korniloff Bay (a few miles south of the boundary between Korea and Russia). She meets the flagship Centurion, Alacrity, and Hart at Douglas Inlet. On or about 24th inst. the Grafton, Immortalité, Handy, Archer, and Redpole will join them at Korniloff Bay and a course of fleet torpedo drill and submarine mining evolution will be gone through. Afterwards the squadron will separate at Otaru, the Centurion making for Barracouts Bay and the other vessels going in pairs to various ports in the Gulf of Tartary. The ships are to assemble at Hako- date about the middle of August, according to the Kobe Herald, when they will meet the Humber with stores from Hongkong and some
Step the shipments of old iron went to Chantsun, ballast; 137 more janks traded between Hong- colliers with supplies of Cardiff coal. The
in the Shuntak dist ict. Nail-rod, bar, and old iron all show a marked decrease, while
kong and Mao; between Hongkong and Annam the number rose from 4 to 8. Only
latter craft are reported to be due at the northern port on or about 20th August.