416
FAR EASTERN TELEGRAMS.
PRINCE ITO.
Tokyo, May 2th. There are insistent rumours of the impending resignation of Prince Ito as President-General of Korea.
ff
(FROM THE CHUNG NGÔI SAN PO]
CHINESE CONSULATE FOR HONGKONG.
Peking, May 11th. The Board of Foreign Affairs has decided to establish Chinese Consulates in Hongkong, Java and Colombo.
PROPOSED NEW RAILWAY.
Peking, ay 11th.
The Board of Communications intends to raise a loan of 5,00,000 taels for the construc- tion of a railway from Honam Province to Tung Kwan.
ANTI-CHINESE FEELING IN
MANCHURIA.
Peking, May 11th.
The Governor of Hei Leung Kiang Province has informed the Peking Government that there is a strong anti-Chinese feeling in Manchuria amongst the Russian workmen.
REVIEW.
Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai and other Treaty Ports of China. London: Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Co, Ltd.
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*
*
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND abled the reader to judge of the relative impor- tance of the business enterprises which thus obtain advertisement. For example, the enter- prising firm of Messrs. Butterfield & Swire employing in their various establishments scores of European assistants and hundreds of Chinese, are represented in the Hongkong section of the book by thirty-five lines of letterpress - less than is given to some of the "one horse shows in the Colony. There is no commercial photo- graph" of the new Taikoo dock -the largestin the East-and no view of the Taikoo Sugar Refinery, nor the Taikoo Office on the Praya, and no one would gather from a glance at the commercial photographs that the firm of Butterfield and Swire ranks where it does in the commercial, and industrial life of the port. There is nothing to indicate in the body of the book that these commercial photographs and letterpress descrip | tions are paid for according to space occupied and there seems to us to be justification for ad- | verse criticism in that these commercial sections do not adequately show "the manifold interests of the various places described.
[May 15, 1909.
all contributed to bring about a change. The average area cultivated has steadily diminished, and the villager no longer looks to the poppy plot to put money into his pocket, whatever may be the charioter of the seasons. Mr. Shirres, who took charge of the Behar Agency last October, draws attentions to the fact that price paid to the cultivator for opium has remained fixed since 1894, while the price of other agricultural produce has risen. As regards rice in North and South Behar its average price from the ten years ending with 1894 was Rs. 3-2, or 23 per cent higher. It the case of barley, which is said to compete more directly with opium, the increase averaged 17 per cent. But this does not show the great rise in the last two or three years. In 1906 and 1907 the prices of rice and barley were actully 70 and 55 per cent, above the decennial average of 1884-94 and last year the figures were higher still. Mr. Shirres says:- On the plots close to his dwelling the ryot raises his most valuable crops, namely, tobacco, chilees, potatoes, mustard, etc., and all these things are direct rivals of opium. Barley and wheat are We have nothing but praise for the historical also mentioned in the reports as competitors, and sketches and the descriptions of the general sugarcane competes indirectly by using up features of the places covered by the title of the manure. It is said also that Java indigo is fre- volume. Mr. Arnold Wright, the Editor-in-Chiefquently ousting the poppy from its place for the is to be highly complimented on his review of Java plant remains in the ground for two years, the early history and development of long- and cannot therefore be grown as an alternating kong, Macao and the Treaty Ports of China, crop." One of the opium officers goes so far as which occupies the first hundred pages of to say that any crop now pays better than the book. It has been compiled from original poppy, and this would really seem to be the case. materials preserved at the India Office, the It is clear from these statements that Govern British Museum and other national institutions, ment will have no difficulty in restricting the and forms a highly interesting and instructive area under poppy in Behar, and that the cultiva- narrative to which additional interest is given tors will willingly fall into line in the matter. by photographic reproductions of ancient maps, The less productive lands will no longer be old prints and paintings.
licensed and the poppy crop dwindle to small dimensions. In favourable seasons, when the rainfall is good, the crop will probably pay a fair return, but so long as the prices of other products remain high there will be none of the old eagerness to cultivate the poppy.
We can best indicate the comprehensive and valuable character of the more detailed descrip- tions of the places covered by the book by mentioning some of the features in the Hongkong Though like most books of the kind, the work section. Besides an excellent description of the has its defects, we can still congratulate the pub- Colony by Mr. H. A Cartwright, the Assistant lishers upon the production of a volume which is Editor, there are articles on the Local Legis- eminently worthy of a prominent place in the lature, the Courts, the Law (by Mr. C. D. Wil- libraries of all men interested in the Far East.kinson), on Finance, by the Hon. Mr. A.M. I hom- The Publishers in a preface explain that the work is the outcome of an enterprise designed to give in an attractive form full and reliable information with reference to the outlying parts of the Empire. We think they are fully justified in claiming for this work that it is not only of solid and enduring value for purposes of reference and for practical business objects, but is also of unique interest to all who are concerned in the development of the Empire.
scenes of
some
Including a very useful index, there are 848 quarto pages comprised within the Morocco Covers of the book. Art paper has been used in order that the best results might be obtained in the printing of the numerous process-blocks used for illustrative purposes through out the work. There are scores,-we may say hun- dreds of portraits of men identified with the government and the business interests of these ports; there are views galore of the places described -picturesque scenery, every-day life, photographic reproductions of business offices, of mills and of stores. The publishers, anticipating
doubt no objection to the number of commercial photo- graphs in the book, and the accompanying descriptive letterpress, make their defence in the preface. They remind us that a work of this magnitude cannot be produced except at very considerable cost. "As the publishers do not ask for any Government subsidy, because of the restrictions which it might impose upon them," (and because, we fancy, the application would be futile) "this cost has to be met in part by the receipts from the sale of copies and in part by revenue from the insertion of commercial photographs." The publishers venture to think that this fact furnishes no ground for adverse criticism. We do not entirely endorse that view. We agree that these photographs add to, rather than detract from, the value of the book, since "they serve to show the manifold interests of the country and constitute a * picturesque and useful feature that is not without interest to the general reader and student of economics, while it is of un-
donbted value to business men throughout the Empire." This would all be true enough if these commercial photographs with the accompanying descriptive letterpress, en-
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son, Colonial Treasurer; Education, by Dr G. H Bateson-Wright; Public Works, by the Hon. Mr. W. Chatham, C.M.G., Director of Public Works; on Posts, Cables and Telephones; on the Flora by Mr. S. T. Dunn ; on the Fauna by Mr. J. C. Kershaw and Staff-Surgeon Kenneth H. Jones, R.N.; the Sanitary Board by Mr. A. Shelton Hooper; the Harbour and its Shipping, by Commander Basil Taylor. R.N., Harbour Master; Sport, by Mr. J. W. Buins; Health and Hospitals, by Dr. J. M. Atkinson; Police, Pri- sons and Fire Brigade, by Captain F. W. Lyons; Navy, Army and Volunteers (the article on the Volunteer Corps being contributed by Lt. Col. Chapman, the commandant). There are also articles on the Foreign Trade of China, on the I.M. Customs, on the Currency, the tea, silk and cotton industries, on the Ceremonies and Customs of the Chinese (by Mr. S. W. Tso), on Chinese characters (by James B. Wong, B.A); articles on the religious organisations by men well qualified to write on the subject; on social life, on the Press, on Meteoro- logy, on Railways, and many other subjects. This list however will be sufficient to indicate the magnitude and comprehensive character of the work which in many respects will form a hand- some reference volume of permanent interest
on
and value.
It only remains for us to add with regard to the printing of the book, which was done by
the well-known London firm of James Truscott
and Son, Limited, who also produced the illus- tration blocks, that it is a triumph of the printer's art on which the firm is to be highly compli- mented.
OPIUM CULTIVATION IN INDIA.
THE GROWING PREFERENCE FOR OTHER
CROPS.
We have already noticed the decline in popu- larity, of opium cultivation in the Behar and Benares Agencies, (writes the Pioneer) and the annual report by the Bengal Board of Revenue shows in detail the reasons which influence the ryot in proferring other crops to that of the poppy. Unfavourable seasons, the rise in prices of food-grains and the dearness of labour have
COMMERCIAL
RICE.
HONGKONG, 14th May:-Some demand having ecmo forward, the prices are advancing. Saigon, Ordinary
$4.60 to $4.70 Round, Good quality 4.80 to 4.85 Long..
73
**
+
4.75 to 4.90 Siam, Field mill cleaned, No. 2... 4.90 to
4.95 No. 1... 4.80 to 4.85 5.00 to 6.05 5.15 to 5.20
31
Garden,
White,
*
Fine Cargo
OPIUM.
HONGKONG, May 13th-Since the 15th ulto, the movements in the various Opium markets have been as follows:-
Malwa, Patna, Benares, Persian
Stocks on the 29th April, 1009—3,657 2,577 May 3rd Imports per Lightning
680
880
200
80
Mth
"
21
11
18th
11
12th
**
"
"
Suizang Laisang Oceanu
150
15
200
20
1344 5
31
352
200
3,782 3,132 685 911
75
180
497 135
43
Less Exports to Shanghai..
Less Exports to East and` West Coast Ports including Local Consumption for the fortnight..
wind
++
288
Estimated Stocks this day
485 3,200 2,435 Bengal. The market is keeping steady in sympathy with the Shanghai market and prices have advanced to $995. for Patna and $1,015.- for Benards.
Malwa.-The rise here is also due to the advance
in Shanghai and we quote as follows:-Now, $1,000/1,100.-; 3 years, $1,130/1,150.-; 4/5 years
$1,170/1,200,-
Persian. We quote superior drug at $1,020.
Quotations are:-- Malwa New Malwa Old Malwa Older Malwa Very Old Persian Fine Quality Persian Extra Fine Patna New
Patna Old
Benares New
Benares Old
HONGKONG, May, 10th.
.$1,070/1,090 per picyl.
.$11,00/1,120 do.
..$1,130/1,150 do.
..$1,160/1,200 do.
..$1,020/1,050 do.
..$850/900 ..$1,000
do.
per chest.
.$1,030
do.
$1,025
do.
dɔ.
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