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16
August 4, 1897.1
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says "A noticeable feature of the year was "the marked displacement of Indian cotton yarns by the Japanese product in the "Chinese market." In that His Excellency has been most grossly misled. The annual meeting of the Bombay Millowner's Associa- tion was held on the 6th July, and the first remark i made by Sir GEORGE COTTON, the Chairman, in his review of the year was this :—” At no time has there been a better “demand for our yarns than during the past twelve months.' And in the report of the Committee of the Association the following passage occurs :-' "The exports of country "made yarn to China and Japan have been "the largest on record, exceeding last year by 96,858 bales, or 25.71 per cent., while they are over the largest previous year, 1892, by 66,274 bales, or 16.27 per cent." Turning to the Chinese Customs returns, we find that the import of Indian yarn in 1896 was 1,461,365 piculs of a value of Tls. 28,612,223, as against 1,057.047 piculs of a value of Tls. 19,417,110 in 1895. His Excellency attributes the mistakenly supposed decrease to the unfavourable exchange. On this point the remarks of Sir GEORGE COTTON are of special interest. Referring to the closing of the Mints and the effect of that measure upon trade he said: "Though "the mill industry has had to contend with a double exchange, namely, in the relative "value of silver and the rupee and of the rupee and sterling, yet our trade with China, a purely silver-using country, steadily in creases, showing, I think, that exchange has "much less to do with our exports than has "the demand for our goods. John China- man to-day with exchange at 164 is as ready to pay his 100 dollars for a bale of yarn as he was when exchange stood at “200 and he paid 75 dollars. I do not mean by this to say that fluctuations in ex- "change do not interfere at times with "business, but what I do wish to main- "tain is that our exports are governed "more by what we have to give and "what other people require than by the medium with which we adjust our " balances." Returning to Sir WILLIAM ROBINSON's report, we are next attracted by the remark that " Shipping employed in "Eastern waters shared correspondingly in "the general depression, freights being very scarce and rates unremunerative." As to that, reference may be made to the reports of the various Steamship Companies, which are not uniformly of a nature calculated to be disagreeable to the shareholders, though some of them are no doubt unfavourable. Perhaps, however, the most remarkable and satisfactory evidence that the trade of the colony in 1896 was not unprofitable is to be found in the readiness with which in the early part of the present year $50,000 were subscribed for the Indian Famine Fund and a little later nearly $100,000 for the Diamond Jubilee Fund. Those handsome amounts would not have been realised had the trading of last year resulted in a debit balance. Hongkong will be indeed for- tunate if it never has to complain of a worse year than 1896.
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The German military instructors at Woosung are to be transferred to Kiangning, on the Yangtze, in October next. It is expected that some difficulty will arise as between the officers and the Chinese Government over the proposed change, as the former have been put to consider- able expense in fitting up buildings suitable for European habitation, under the impression that once at Woosung there they would remain until the conclusion of their term of service.—~ Mercury.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
THE OUTLOOK FOR SILVER.
The precariousness of the value of silver was again brought home to us by the recent 'slump" in exchange, and though there, has since been a slight recovery it must be admitted that the outlook for the white metal is anything but bright. The only quarter from which a ray of hope comes, and that
very slender &
one, is America. The silver party made a good fight. at the last Presidential election, and it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that on the next occasion they might be successful. Even so, however, it would ea difficult matter to carry the pro- gramme of the party through Congress, and if ultimately silver were remonetised we may rest assured that it would only be at a ratio approximating to the relative market values of the two metals. In
107
"reduction in the value of silver, following
*
upon the exclusion of the white metal "from India, would have a deleterious effect upon our trade with China. It almost seems-though we are reluctant to speak "with confidence on the subject-as though "the question of the exclusion of silver from "India might, after the experience of the
last four years, be considered apart from "the question of its bearing on the China "trade." Speaking and writing of this kind may be taken as a premonition of approaching action, for it is understood that the fixed policy of the Government of India is ultimately to place the currency on a gold basis and that it is only waiting until public opinion is ripe to take steps for the attainment of that object.
PERJURY BY INDIAN WITNESSES.
The sentence of three years' imprisonment with hard labour which was passed upon the Indian artilleryman for committing per- jury before the Chief Justice will, we hope, of his race who are so prone to give lying act as a stern warning to the other members evidence. The prisoner was tried by Mr. Justice WISE. Probably no one in Hong- kong is better acquainted than Mr. WISE with this most reprehensible class of crime. In his capacity of Puisne Judge Mr. WISE has had an exceptionally large experience with Indians, and he has on several oc- casions expressed himself in very strong
terms when he has been convinced that
the meantime રી very serious danger menaces the white metal in India, namely, the prohibition of its importation into that country. The subject was referred to at the recent meeting of the Bombay Mill- Owner's Association, when Sir GEORGE COT- TON, who said he was not at first a supporter of the closing of the Mints, expressed the opinion that it would be a mistake to re-open them now, that the object the Government had in view, namely, the establishment of a gold standard with a silver currency, would be achieved, and that it would come much sooner were it not for the imports of silver. But irrespective of the currency question perjury has been committed. A liar is an the speaker advocated the imposition of a prohibitive duty on silver, the continued enemy to himself and a danger to every- import of which, he said, must dangerously who is willing to be swayed this way or body; a perjurer is a venomous creature impoverish the country, because the metal that way to criminally shield a nian from served no indispensable purpose, was de lawful punishment or to swear away his preciating in value, and was no investment life-according to the side to which he for the people of India, whether they be rich or poor. Another speaker, the Hon. Mr. loans his lying tongue. Perjury is a crime N. N. WADIA, said that though the Associa- which is most difficult to prove, and un- fortunately in Hongkong it is very rife. tion by no means approved of the step to We regulate the value of the rupee by legisla- the motive for giving false evidence, and in that in most instances money is suppose tion, it would now be a greater mistake this connection we would like to relate an to re-open the Mints. A third speaker, Mr. S. M. MOSES, said that though it would incident which recently occurred in the Supreme Court. Two barristers were de- have been advisable to have placed a duty fending some Indians who were charged upon silver simultaneously with the closing
with assault. One barrister had half-a- of the Mints so that the trade would have dozen witnesses to prove that his client was adjusted itself, having missed that oppor-innocent; the other had no witnesses, but tunity" any attempt to do so now would "dislocate our trade with the Far East, and "would inflict a fatal blow on our mill
That industry."
must be
regarded
{
prove
J
he obtained the names of his learned friend's witnesses and asked his man if any one of them could that he took no part in simply as the language of hyperbole. client ingenuously replied, "No, sir, I have the crime. To the barrister's surprise his A trade which so easily survived the
not paid them!" Happily, all the prisoners dislocation caused by the closing of the
were convicted. How to check or altogether Mints would not be likely to succumb
a problem which to the imposition of a duty on the suppress perjury is
the ablest jurists have not yet solved; import of silver. Such a measure might, and probably it never will be solved. however, restrict the expansion of the trade, A celebrated judge in India once remarked as the closing of the Mints may have done, that the only way you could be certain for Mr. Moses may be correct when he says whether an Indian was telling a lie was by that had the prices of yarn in China re- mained, the same as they were before the looking at his naked feet. Keen observers closing of the Mints India's exports would will have noticed the Sphinx-like stolidity have been doubled or trebled by this time.in the face of an Indian witness, whether That, however, is quite problematical, and he is lying or not, and it might serve a useful it seems certain now that India, sooner purpose to ascertain whether an Indian's toes do really form a reliable indicator of later, will have to. follow up the closing of the Mints by other legislation the extent of his veracity. And what about the Chinaman? Would that somebody could find the anatomical barometer he To lie seems to be part of his possesses. sensitive point in his body which gives an but for all that there may be one nature, involuntary twitching when a lie is told. That point is certainly not in his face.
or
detrimental to the interests of the white metal. The Times of India, in an article on this subject, says :-' "Four years' experience “has taught us that, apart from temporary "inconvenience during fluctuations, our “trade with China has adjusted itself to the "new conditions. The Indian millowner "has not had to lower his rupee price to the new dollar rates, but the dollar rates have risen to rupee prices. This fact should go *far to remove the fear that a further
"
A tattooer has been fined one ven at the Hyogo police station for having tattooed a Hyogo resident, tatooing being now an offence under the Japanese Criminal Code.