January 25, 1904.]
made what it is entirely by the expanditure of British pounds; if it were possible to make a computation, it would be found that a great many of the wicked aliens have contributed handsomely to the development of Hongkong as a commercial centre. A study of the directorates of local companies affords some indication of that fact.
But let us return to the main question. Ir. Winterburn, when dealing with the questiou from the Imperial rather than parochial point of view, says :—
"We are treated to a lot of figures to show that the volume of British trade is really on the increase. thou:h nothing near the extent of that of protected conutrips. sidering that British population is also on the increase, and according to 'X's figures our exports are mostly to British Colonies and dependencies, it simply means that we exploit new countries and naturally get a fair share of business from our sous who spend their energies and blood, and the home taxpayer. who fionnces the exploitation, gets his little bit along with the various other gentlemen from Poland and Hamburg, Trieste, aud all the world over."
|
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.··
Mr. Winterburn saysthere is no reason why the 290 millions of foodstuffs now importeil into
the United Kingdom from foreign countries should not be produced within the limits of the British Empire. Very likely; but judge from the available statistics that if only our colonies will produce mor the United Kingdom is ready to recaive .t. Canada is the granary of the H pire," and í see we took three million more cwts, of w beat in grain from hor in 1902 than we received in 1901. The import from India and Australia h 8 also been increasing in recent years, while that from ussia and the Argentino hus boen dimin shing. From the United States the
increase was not grant r than that from Canad».
Canada's export of foodstuffs to the Unit-d Kingdom will, I doubt not, -continue to grow as the extensive areas of forest laud are brought under cultivation. Every facility, and I may even sav tem station, is offered to Britishers to go thebe and setila; but the growth of a. riculture in the elonies must be slow, and it is very doubtful whether it would be appreciably hastened by a duty against foreign coru.
|
|
85
aimed not against the Tree-Hongkong sugar bat against the bounty-fed Continental sugar with which Japan's markets had been "dumped for some time past.
In spite of the difference in the import duty mentioned above, during the ye r 1902 as much as five and a half million yens' worth of refined and other places. sugar was imported into Japan from Hongkong
I trust I have already given sufficient reasons to be able to claim that so far as sugar tariffs of Japan are concrned, they are not "prohibitive," though they are, no doubt, to some extent
preferential," Yours, etc..
眉
MASANICHI NOMA,
Consul for Japan.
THE AMOY C.S.P. AND THE RIOT.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY PRESS," Hongkong, 16th January. SIR. With reference to your article in to day's paper on the Amoy Riot I should like to point out that the general opinion of the people who were present during the riot was that the Captain Superintendent, who had a most difficult task to perform, carried it out in an exceedingly able manuer.
EYE WITNESS.
THE FISCAL QUESTION.
I it is desired to help the Colonies to give us a 1 we need, it seems to me that it cou'd be more I gave no figures to show that our exports are
satisfactorily and far more cheaply done by mostly to British Col nies and depandancies,aying subsidies upon Colonial produco delivered. The Colonies in fact, take less than half of our
The policy of Mr. Chamb rlain would commit. [The article in question was quoted from the experts. I cannot, however, see the point of Mr.
us tith tixation of the whole of; our 462 | Shanghai Mercury, as stated by us in publishing Winterbuqu's remarks. Even if I had said that
millions of imports; and when w. bear in mind it on Saturday. We expressed no opinion. ED. that 400 millious of that sam are spent ou food. | D.P.} our exports were mostly to British Colonies and dependencies it would not "simply mean that ourselves to the inevitable consequences that stuffs and raw materials, we can hardly biod re exploit new countri s and na-urally get a fair sharef business." Mr. Wintburn is
te cost of production of all the commodities evidently unaware that our export trade to
which the United Kingdom has for consumption countries like Germany, Russia and the United
as well as for export would be enhanced and her States is not yet extinguished but flourishing.
trade in markets where she has long held her Germany in 1902 bought from
own would be seriously endangered. Mr. W. H. us exports Mallock has compared the wealth of the United amounting in value to £33,000,099 ster.ing- nearly four midions more than she did fen
Kingdom to an Eiffel tower, which rises on four years ago; Russia bought from us five millions
enormous legs; but though the tower is in one more than she did in 1892; the United States legs only rests upon British soil.
sense a purely British erection, oue of is four three millions more; Belgium about the same;
One of them France a million moré.
straddles across the Adlant c, and finds its foot- The United States ising in America; another in Europe and Asia; our "larges; customer (3 millious sterling); and another is buoyed up by a multitude of ships Germany and India e practically bracketted second (33 millious storling); France third (22 millions); Australia fourth (21 millions). We cannot afford to injure our trade with foreign countrips.
C
11
Considering that the British population is on the increase.' Yes; and what do we find Why this: that in 1854, when the po, ulation was estimated at 27.70 00, the general trade (merchandise) of the conafry was £9 14s 6d. per head; in 1902, when we had an esti- mated population of 41,916,212, we had a trade which worked out at £20 18s, 44. per head! Is that fact not sufficient to make any man ause before he attempts to upset a fiscal policy which bas encouraged such results?
Great stress is laid in any local disenssion of the question 013 the results to British shipping of f reign competition. Unfortunately, I cannot put my hand on any statistics which give an idea of the growth of our total tonnage, but it is enormous.
Our shipbuilding yards, moreover, launched more merchant and other vessels (not warships in the three
1900-2 than in any previous years. And as for the profits of shipowners, though they may not have been princely, they have certainly been better than those of their chief riva s--the German companies. The dividend of the Hamburg-American lin was it per cent, in 1900, 6 per cent. in 1991, aud in 902 it was 4 per cent. The North-German Lloyd dividend in 1900 was 84 per cent, in 1901 6 per cent.,
years
and in 1902 it was nil. In 1900 the Hanga Line
paid a dividend of 14 per cent., in 191 it was 8 per cent, and in 1902 it was 6 per cent. Then, last, let us take the Hamburg-South America Steam Shipping Company. In 1900 the divid- end was 10 per cent, in 1901 4 per cent., and in 1902 it was again nil.
I am not competent to judge as between the condition of the workman in Essen and his colleague in Leeds or Newcastle, as Mr. Winter- burn recommends, nor is there any necessity for an enquiry so circumscribed; the important thing to know is the condition of the people in Germany and England as a whole. It certainly -cannot be said that the German official reports on industrial conditions in Germany lend any support to Mr. Winterburn's view.
at sea.
+1
4
That consideration I will leave with my oppo- danger is twofold. By erecting tariff walls wo nents, fogether with this final submi-sion:- .ur
may reduce our imperts from foreign countries long before our Coloni s are able to meet our requirements. If we suffer no reduction in our imports, then obviously they can only be sold at
an incr ased cost to the consumer. That mus that the cost of labour and all the products of labour must naturally increase correspondingly. and I submit that the result must be a diminished increasing distress at home. export trade, a declining carrying trade, an 1
The ofore, I say that if home-k eping youths to preserve them-Yours truly, have "homely wits" they wil be well advised
X.
а
JAPANESE MARKETS AND HONGKONG SUGAR.
61
1.
TO THE IDITOR OF THE DAILY PRESS.'
Japanese Consulate, Hongkong, 16th J. nuary. issne, & mention was made about Japan markets SIB-In the leading article of your to-day's being clos d agaiust the refined sugar of Hong- kong by prolitive tariffs, and as I consider this statement is apt to give one rather an you to spare your valuable space for this letter. erroneous impression of the real fact, I request,
ing to the existing tariffs which came into force The import duties in Japan on sugar accord-
ou 1st Jaunary 1899, are as follows:-
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS."
Hongkong, 2 th January. paper that the question of the desirability of SIR-I notice from the columns of your free imports from foreign countries is being vigorously discussed by many of your corres- poudents. May I reuture to express the hope that those gentlemen, and any others who are communicate with me, with a view to a debate willing to ak part, will be kind enough to on the subject being started under the auspices of the Hongkong Old Volumes -ociety? This question 18 undoubtedly one of the public discussion of it would be of considerable most momentous ones of the hour, and a value, because it wou'd help to focus attention on the principal arguments which can be urged on both sides.-Yours, etc..
H. E. POLLOCK. ·
Hon. Sec. Hongkong Odd Volumes Society
CHINA PROVIDENT LOAN AND
MORTGAGE CO., LD.
ANNUAL MEETING,
The seventh ordinary general meeting of shareholders in this Company was held at the offices of the general managers. Messrs. Shewan; Tomes & Co., on the 16th inst. Those present wera-Mr. C. A. Tomes (chairman), Dr. J. Noble, Messrs. J. S. Van Buren, Chow Hing Kee, and J. H. Lewis (Consulting Committee), A. Babing on. E. Owen, F. Faget Hett, W. R. Robertson, G. M. Bain, E H. Sharp, Terry, McGubbio, Capt. Erans, Messrs. Fung Wa Chan, Si Un, and G. Somerville secretary).
The notice convening the meeting was read. The CHAIRMAN said- Gentlemer, the report and accounts having been iu yn hands for ame time we will, with your permission, follow is nothing in the accounts, that calls for very the usual custom and take them is read. There
provident system have increas d by $158,000 special mention. You will see, he loans on the
odd, which is satisfactory, as our aim is to get, as much capital out on these lo us as possible. Charges account is slighty higher, having From No. 15 to 20, 10 pr cent. ad val. or been increased by an expense for some plan's 0.748 yen per picul.
of a property which we, at ous tim, contemplat- Upward No. 20, 10 per cent, ad val. or 0.-27 | ed building upon, but which was afterwards sold yeu per picul.
val. or 0.24 yen per picul.
Up to No. 14 Dutch standard, 5 per cent. ad
}
+
in a block. The other amounts in the accounts tion tax is equally payable by imported sugar
Apart from the import duty, the consamp-all explain themselves and require no comment. At the beginning of the year it was a little as well as by home products. Thus the adrant difficult to lend on satisfactory security, the age derived by the Japanese sugar refiners property mar et being very life los: For some under the existing tariffs is limited to the months we had not quite s much money out difference of 5 per cent, between the import on loan as we might have had, but during the duty on raw sugar and that on refined. Further- latter part of the year we have had a better more, this discrimination had originally been' demand and placed considerable amounts on