November 22, 1909.]
From
To
Haiphong-Mongtze
Varying according to
nature of goods.
་.
27
"
39
"
per ton per ton. From $34.07 to $90.49 Haiphong-American
36.32 96.34 Hanoi -Mongtze
30.43 80.48 Hanoi -Amichon
32 58 86.33 Note-In the above tables Mongtze refers to the Pi-che-tchai station for that town.
Passenger Tariff.
99
1st 2nd 3rd 4th class class class class
Haiphong to Mongtze
(Pi-che-tohai) $32.29 $22.72 $12.88 $3.96 Haiphong to Amichou 33.92 24.75 14.01 4.32 Natives only are carried in the fourth class. Note:The rates given above for goods and passengers are at present subject to a surtax of ten per cent, owing to the lowness of exchange, All the rates are given in French Dollars ("piastres de commerce "), of which the official rate of exchange is at present (May, 1909) 1 dollar Francs 2.40, or about two shillings. It is understood that when the dollar rises to francs 2.60 this surtax will be abolished. The ton referred to in the above tables is the ton of 1,000 kilogrammes.
The Government were thanked for forwarding the information."
It was considered that no objections could be raised against the French merchants enjoying the privilege of preferental rates on the Yunnan Railway, as such had been granted to them by Treaty.
CONGRESS AND EXHIBITION TO HE HELD
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
SPURIOUS INDIAN YARN.
Letter from the Singapore Chamber:-
Singapore, 22nd October, 1909. DEAR SIR,-For some time now this Chamber has been receiving complaints from Merchants interested in the Yarn Trade, concerning the spurious marking and labelling of Indian Yarns, which practice, it is alleged, is very detrimental to the trade in English full reeled and properly designated Yarns.
In the month of June, 1907, a Sub-Committee was appointed by this Chamber to test various importations of the Yarn in question, and the results of these tests, together with the corres- pondence exchanged between this Chamber and other Chambers concerned, will be seen in ap pendix "H" of 1907 report sent to you to-day.
It will be seen from this correspondence that the matter has already been forcibly represented to the Indian Government by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce, but with negative results in so far that the Yarn still continues to be exported from India, and further complaints of the troubleit is causing among European firms have again been received by this Chamber.
It has been decided, therefore, to approach the Hongkong and Shanghai merchants and to find out, if possible, if the trouble is the same in their market as it is here. If so, and with the consent of the above merchants, it is proposed to address a general appeal from the three Cham- bers to the Manchester Chamber of Commerce It is, in the opinion of this Chamber, a matter which vitally concerns the British Spinners, and if the Manchester Chamber of Commerce can be induced to take the matter up and act in conjunction with the thres Chambers already mentioned, and with the Bombay Chamber of Commerce, there is not much doubt that the Hongkong, 26th October, 1909. pressure that could be brought to bear. upon the SIR,I have the honour to enclose herewith Indian Authorities would be such that it would a programme of a Congress and Exhibition, be impossible for them to ignore it. which with the support and assistance of the My Committee therefore invite your con- Department of Agriculture of the Netherlands-sideration of these facts with a view to prospec- Indian Government will be held at Sourabaya, tive joint action should the circumstances Java, in July, 1911, in connection with the appear to justify the same.-Yours, &e. cultivation and preparation of Fibres. The prospectus, which is in the Netherlands and
English languages, speaks for itself.
AT SOURABAYA IN JULY, 1911. Letter from the Consul-General of the Netherlands :-
I hope you may find it useful to draw the attention of the members of your Chamber to this Congress and Exhibition, which last offers an excellent occasion for the advertiss- ment of machinery for the preparing of fibree as the space and power on that exhibition will be furnished free of charge, while endeavours will be made to induce steamship companies to grant reduced rates of freight on exhibits.--I have, &c.,
DE REUS, Consul-General, To the Hongkong Chamber of Commerce,
Hongkong.
The Government also forwarded a similar com- munication received from Mr. de Reus, and the Colonial Secretary intimated that he would be glad to learn what reply the Chamber advised should be made to the Consul-General's letter.
The following reply was sent to the Consul General for the Netherlands, and a copy of same sent to the Colonial Secretary for his information:-
Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce,
12th November, 1909. SIR, With reference to your letter of the 28th October, 1909, and enclosures thereto, on the subject of the Congress and Exhibition to be held at Sourabaya in 1911, I beg to inform you that at present the cultivation and preparation of Fibres do not find a place among the in- dustries of this Colony and it is therefore unlikely that any local firm will participate in that Exhibition.
My Committee desire me to express their thanks to you for your courtesy in forwarding them the programme and other papers relative to this matter, and also to express the hope that the exhibition will be an unqualified success.-I have,' &c.,
E. A. M. WILLIAMS,
Secretary, The Consul for the Netherlands,
Hongkong
#
A. A. GUNN, Secretary. The Secretary,
Hongkong Chamber of Commerce.
Enclosure.
At the request of the Chamber of Commerce, to consider an application from Messrs. Brink mann & Co, on the question of Short-Reeled Bombay Yarns, the following Sub-Committee met at the offices of the Borneo Company, Ltd., at 2.30 p.m. on Monday, 11th October:- H.A Low, Esq., of Messrs. Adamson, Gilfillan
& Company, Limited.
E. A. Brown, Esq., of Messrs. Brinkmann
& Company.
F. Hilton, Esq., of The Borneo Company
.Limited.
Mr. Brown asked if the Chamber of Com. merce could not take up the question of Bombay short-reeled Yarns again, and after some dis cussion it was decided to ask the Chamber of Commerce to address the Hongkong and Shaug- hai Chambers of Commerce and find out if the importation of false yarns from Bombay has interfered in any way with the importations of genuine English Spun Yarn into their respec tive Markets; the intention being that these ports should unitedly represent the matter. strongly to the Manchester Chamber of Commerce..
The Sub-Committee suggest that a copy, of the correspondence and tests in Appendix H. Pages 66 to 76 of 1907 Report, made by the previous Sub-Committee, be forwarded to the above Chambers of Commerce. -
It is requested when these replies are received that they may be submitted to the Committee for further consideration and action.
(Sgd.) H. A Low, (Sgd.) E: A. BROWN, (Sgd.) F. HILTON.
Singapore, 11th October, 1909.
This matter is under consideration. The Oriental Glass Co., of Japan, which had been organised by Mr. Loonen with French and Japanese capital amounting to one and a half million yen, have resolved to wind up its business.
CANTON.
441
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
13th November.
PRISON REFORM.
From time to time news comes of efforts being made to improve the prison system, the present state of which is a disgrace to China. The latest development is that the magistrates of the various districts have been ordered to send in lists setting forth the numbers and ages of persons incarcerated in the gaols under their control. They are also to state the average cost per head for maintenance while in prison · and to say if any are suffering from incurable disease. All these returns are to be made within two weeks, and it is said that the teaching of useful employment is to be introduced into the gaols and that a reformatory for youthful- offenders is also to be opened.
BRIGANDAGE.
The Luen Kow village in the Shun Tak District is noted for the production of very good silk. This season the silk crop has been more than usually plentiful and the silk factory owners have engaged many watchmen to protect the property. Notwithstanding this, two nights ago a mob of 200 well armed robers attacked the two most important factories in the village and drove off the watch. They were successful in obtaining much booty and several persons were injured.
A noted bandit called Lo Ah Kwan has just been captured in Shun Tak. This desperado usually confined his attentions to looting villages in Nam Hoi, but that place having got too hot to hold him he moved over to Shun Tak.. Here, the people were afraid of him, and as an incentive to his capture a reward of $1,000 was offered, Luckily a day or two ago a clue to his whereabouts was obtained and after a severe fight between the police and the bandit's followers the rascal was arrested. At the same time a man named Fung, who has long been wanted, was captured. During the fight one of the police was so badly wounded that his life is despaired of.
SELF-GOVERNMENT SOCIETY.
There have lately been all kinds of absurd rumours relating to a supposed French invasion of Kwongsai. The Self-Government Society having wired for news to the seat of the supposed trouble were informed that the whole province was perfectly quiet and that the rumour was entirely false. However, the false news has moved certain patriotic souls to send out circulars to the various schools of the city calling on the students to insist on military drill being includ- ed in the course of tuition. The students of the Police College have petitioned the Warden to allow more time for military drill, and he has acceded to their request. The Self-Government movement is extending to many of the villages, and this week a Society for this purpose has been started in the Chin Lin village, opening ceremonies were largely attended and many speeches were made. A feature of· the meeting was the speaking of two lady students, who insisted on the importance of educating the women of the country. They insisted that girls' schools should be established everywhere, and that there was not much hope of China's progress if its wives and mothers were to be left in the depths of superstition and ignorance.
The
NEGLECT IN THE TELEPHONE OFFICE. They are very neglectful in the telephone exchange. It often happens that one has to ring up for several minutes before getting in the wire, and frequently one may ring and ring and get no answer at all. The Chamber of Commerce propose to alter this state of affairs. Having suffered rather badly lately at the hands of the Telephone people, the Chamber has called the attention of the Viceroy to the matter and the head officer of the telephone bureau has been called upon to put matters right.
TECHNICAL SCHOOL. The Lung family, residing at Tai Leung in the Shun Tap district, are very wealthy, but they do much for the poor villagers. They have now started a technical school in the place for the benefit of the village youths. The local officer in charge of the development of native indus- tries has been requested to give the school his official sanction.