12
TRADE OF WUCHOW.
CONSULAR REport for 1905.
The report of Mr. Acting-Consul F. E Wilkinson, on the trade of Wnchow in 1905, reached us yesterday. It opens as follows:-
I have again to record an increase in the value of the trade of Wnchow. The net total in 1905, as shown by the Imperial Maritime Customs returns and excluding therefore the junk trade, rose to £1,682,880, or 11,188,173 taels, as compared with £1,583 486, or 11.084.227 faels, in 1904, an increase of £99,394, or about 6 per cent. Expressed in silver the increase, it will be noticed, is only 103,946 taels. Whether reckoned in sterling or silver the total is a record.
Mr. Wilkinson predicted this increase in his previous report. It was, however, expected to be more pronounced, and he attributes the disappointment to the tightness of money at Hongkong and Canton. At Nanning the banks never charged less than 36 per cent. p. 8. and at one time the rate rose to 180 per cent. (15 per cent. per month). Notwithstanding that this stringency continues, he says, the prospects for 1906 are not unfavourable. "The imports from foreign countries into Wuchow, the value of which last year was £1,121,410, are dis- tributed between the provinces of Kwangsi. Kweichow and Yunan. Kwangsi, in which Wuchow itself is situated, obtains about four- fifths of her foreign supplies through this port, the remainder entering the province via Lungehow or under transit pass from Canton and Pakhoi. Kweichow is also prin- cipally supplied with foreign goods in the West River, but her wants are also catered for through Mengtze in and Hankow on the Yangtze. Probably about two-thirds of her imports are sent up to her from Wuchow. Yüunan takes the least of the three, certainly not more than per cent, of her total imports. She is supplied almost entirely through her own treaty ports, Mongtze, Tengyüeh and Ssümao.”
Yunnan
Kwangsi failed to increase her purchases, but must not be considered poor on that account. The explanation is that the others grow so much opium that they have to buy everything else.
"I regret that I have no openings to suggest for British trade. There are many cheap novelties advertised in the trade journals sent to this Consulate for which a market of a kind
undoubtedly exists here, but the difficulty is that there are no foreign firms at Wuchow engaged in the import business to whose attention I could bring them. As I pointed out in my last report, it is from Hongkong, with which the foreign trade of the port is entirely carried on, that Wuchow obtains its supplies f foreign goods and it is impossible for the Consul here, under the existing conditions, to be of any assistance to manufacturers at home in placing their products on the market. As the great industrial advance that is reported to be taking place in China is bringing an unusual number of catalogues of machinery to this Consulate, I may mention too that Wuckow and its hinterland have not, as yet, been affected by the movement, and that there is no demand here for machinery of any kind. Some very expensive mining plant, which was imported some years ago for a silver mine in the interior, though taken up to the mine, was never used and is still lying there. I have also come across some pumping machinery and a windmill which had been imported from America by a I 8&w local agricultural company. When them, though they had arrived four years
even cases had not
been previously, the unpacked and were being used as furniture in an old farmhouse where they still remain. These are the only two instances that I know of in which foreign machinery has been imported for industrial purposes. As the same time there can be no doubt that eventually railways will be built in this pro- vince, and its mineral and other exploited. When that time comes, British manufacturers who are properly represented in this country will have every chance of supply. ing their share of whatever machinery happens to be required, but, in the meanwhile, it is pure waste of money to send costly catalogues to this office.
resources
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
"Though the Kwangsi province was more tranquil during the year under revier than at any period since Wuchow was first opened to foreign trade, the conditions are still such as to afford little inducement to business men to
invest capital in any schemes for the develop ment of its undoubted resources. It appears to me, however, that the foreign trade of the province has by now become sufficiently valuable to make it well worth the while of some British firm of good standing at Hongkong to open a branch at this port and engage directly in the import and export business, instead of leaving it, as has been the case so far, in the hands of a faw Chinese firms in the colony. These Chinese firm, which are really agencies of Canton and Fatshan houses, send buyers-very year into the hinterland of this port to procure whatever pro- duce may be offering for which a demand exists for export abroad amongst the foreign firms at Hongkong. As business is done for the most part by barter, these buyers have to take with them to every market town they visit as many bales of cotton yarn, which is the chief medium of exchange, or other foreign goods as they estimate will be sufficient to pay for the produce they may find there. They also take up with them a number of outward transit passes to exempt the goods which they buy from likiu eu route between the place of purchase and Wuchow. These passes are obtained throngh the representatives of the foreign shipping firms at this port who act as their agents in the matter on the condition that, when the the goods reach Wuchow, they are to be shipped by their steamers. When sufficient produce has been purchased at any place in the interior, it is brought down to this port by native boat where, after duty has been paid on it, it is shipped by steamer to Hong. kong. On the arrival of the cargo at Hongkong it is usually offered in turn to the various foreign firms, most of which are German, engaged in the export business there and is sold to the highest bidder amongst them. In some cases the goods are ordered and the price fixed in advance. The system has many good points to recommend it as it involves no risk to the foreign merchant and very little trouble; but any foreign firm with capital at its disposal which, instead of waiting for the business to come to it at long. kong, opens
a branch of its own at this port and sends its own buyer into the interior, will apparently have so many advantages over the native firms with which it competes that, while greatly benefiting its import trade, it will also be able to lay down produce for export at Hongkong at lower cost than these firms are able to do. The latter are greatly handicapped and their enterprise restricted by lack of capital, of which a certain amount is needed to engage in the business. The native banks, to which they are obliged to have recourse for the advances they require, charge very heavy rate of interest, usually from 1 to 3 per cent. Then, again, native merchants are not able to keep in touch with the foreign markets in the same way that a foreign firm can. The advantage of having a branch at Wachow❘ instead of working the trade from Hongkong direct is, first of all, that less opposition will be encountered here aud, secondly, that the know- ledge that there is a firm here which will buy produce at present Wuchow is merely a port of transhipment-will encourage sellers in the interior, instead of waiting for the buyers to visit them, to bring their goods down themselves to the port. Probably, too, many of the boatmen who convey merchandise up river and return with empty boats would also take advantage of the market that the firm would offer to bring down small lots of produce as a private speculation. It is essential, however, in my opinion, that the representative of any British firm that opens a branch at this port should not only be a good business man but have sufficient knowledge of Chinese to be able to discuss business directly with his customers, otherwise he cannot avoid being to a great extent in the hands of his Chinese staff, whose interests are not always the interests of their employers. Before starting business it would, of course, be necessary for the representative of the firm to make a through study of local conditions and the resources of the province, a precaution generally neglected."
[July 9, 1906.
CHINESE COTTON MARKET.
JAPANESE POINT OF VIEW.
the
Mr. Jotaro Yamanoto, acting director of the Mitsui and Co., states in the Chugai Shogyo about the cotton mills at Shanghai, as follows
The cotton mill business in Shanghai is
fair
the progress. At present making a spindles in Shanghai number about 300,000, of which 10.0) are owned by the Chinese, 100,000 by the English, 50.000 by Japanese and 40,001 by the Germans. The cotton mills are representative of the different countries business interests in China. in regard not only to cotton mill business alone, but to industry in general. Judged from the results of investigations carried out in the past four or five years, the cotton mills worked by the Japanese. compare favourably with those of other nationalities. As a canse of the superiority, it may be said that the com- munity of letters used by the Japanese and Chinese and the similarity of their thoughts in the main, wake it easier for the former to con trol the Chinese operatives than for other nationals. We have been in consequence able to dispense with compradores and save their com- missions. Our concerns therefore have succeeded to pay a handsome amount of dividends and to set aside reserve funds, while almost all those belonging to other nationals had to go without paying any dividends since the estab- It is again an lishment of their concerns. undeniable fact that the Chinese have come to recognize the industrial ability of the Japanese. Of late they have been scheming to organize three or four cotton mills, and it is the uniform desire of promoters to engage Japanese engineers and experts for their factories. A similar tendency is to be observed in connection with other industrial enterprises taken up by
the Chinese. The sorts of cotton yarns de- manded in China are varied. Manchuris demands 10-hand, Shanghai 14-hand, Tientsin and Chefoo 16-hand, and Szechuan 20-hand, while India supplies 10-hand and 20-hand and China 14-hand. Cotton yarns made in Japan sold well this year. The sale of cotton yarns according to their sorts and to the places where they are sold. Formerly Japanese yarns were quoted below or equal to Indian varus. At present, however, the Chinese have come to admit the superiority of our yarns in quality. They are therefore quoted five or six taels above Indian yarns. At Tientsin, our 16-hand yarns Chefoo, and Hankow, dearer as they are than Indian yarns, can But Szechuan prefers command the markot. inferior and cheaper 20-hand sort. It is, how- ever, desirable that our cotton mills should strive to maintain the good quality of their yarns.
The trade in general at Shanghai is most active at present. The large sum of money spent there by the late belligerents has greatly in- creased the purchasing power of the Chinese, A large amount of cotton yarns ana cotton goods was exported from Japan to Shanghai during the war and it is quite reasonable to expect that the trade will continue to prosper for the future,
MUSICAL LAUNCH PARTY,
The members of the Bowling Club held a smoking concert on June 30th in circum- stances that deserve to be frequently imitated. A fine new launch, the Hun Kong, was chartered for a cruise out to sea. There was a piano, many vocalists, sundry bottles, and skilful servants aboard. The launch was draped with flags, and lighted with a powerful aro lamp. The flags, while they made a very coloursome spectacle, were rather a mistake, for "the moon on the water was dimmed by a ripple, affording a chequered delight", and it was only the few who put out their heads who realised the real happiness of these three hours of aquatio bar- mony.
There is no need to repeat the programme; most of the singers, and all the songs, were well known to the company; and it will be sufficient to say that Messrs. Inokay, Hume, Chapple, Burnett. and Jordan were rewarded with applause as frequent as it was poutaneous. During the voyage, the prizes for the Club's billiard handicap were presented, Mr. H. S. Holmes receiving a handsome silver bowl, and Mr. Zenköwitch a well-made flask,