CHINA'S MINERAL
WEALTH.
GOLD AND SILVER ARE
· LACKING.
UNDEVELOPED FIELDS.
There are two erroneous popu Tar conceptions of China's mineral resources. According to the one, the Celestial Empire is a country without minerals, being even obliged to import gold and silver for monetary purposes, writes Mr. D. H. Schelley in the Far Eastern Review. According to the other, China abounds in most of the use ful and precious minerals, only the superstitious convictions
OL
EX-
BAD TIMES FOR "STORYTELLERS."
CAMPAIGN AGAINST
WIRELESS.
It is reported that financial trouble has fallen upon the Oriental story-teller, thatctures que figure from the "Arablan" and so many other "Tales," round whom in past days crowds of attentive steners rallied, at the cafes and bazaars, since his circle of admirers is gradually evaporating into thin air. In Asia Minor the story-tellers are prac
leally faced with starvation, and have formed a trade union against their worst enemy-broadcasting!!
After the opening of the large | her people having prevented their radio station at Angora, which development. Although there is transmits its news into the in- truth in both these extremes, yet terior of the country, not everi both are perhaps equally far from the small villages want to listen now de- the facts, especially if we to the story-tellers, who cept a few minerala which have mand that the fees for aubscribers not been found in China. Thus to broadcasting be considerably there remains considerable increased. They particularly T - medium ground, making it possible quest that a high tax should be for the Chinese to possess mineral levied on cafes, Turkish baths. resources well worth considering. and harems, where listening to Indeed, save for this fact, the news by broadcasting is gratui western nations would have been tous, less eager to secure concessions
in the Celestial Empire..
M
True, the Chinaman is pre eminently a tiller of the soil. Brought up in the Confucian cult of simplicity and frugality, he in- elines to regard the exploitation of mineral riches something
ፍ።
Ancient Copper Mines.
em-
THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH,
PARSEE RITES IN LONDON.
-MR. SAKLATVALA'S CHILDREN INITIATION
STRANGE CEREMONY.
The counell chamber of Crixton Hall Westminster; was the scene of the strangest ritual that can ever have taken place within its walls, reports the London Daily Chronicle.
The five children of Mr. Shapurji Saklatvala, the Com- initiated munist M.P., were into the Parsee religion before a large gathering of Socialists and co-religionists of Mr. Saklatvula.
Such rites have only once be fore been performed in this coun-
try.
Until they had been through this initiated ceremony Mr. Saklat- vala's children, whose ages ranged from eight to 19, had not the right to call themselves Par- sees. The ceremony had been de layed longer than is usual in the average Parsee family because Mr. Saklatvala only recently. be came aware it could be done out- took side India. The ceremony nearly an hour, cach of its various stages being symbolical
Mr. Saklatvala's two daughters, Dhunbar and Jivanbai, were first initiated.
Sacred Vest.
After being bathed they enter- ed the hall clothed in white silk trousers, coloured skull caps. white muslin shawls and black
Avesta,
Rising to their feet, they then discarded their muslin shawls and donned the sudra, or sacred vest, which is never again discarded, night or day. Then, turning their hacks on the
The history of copper in Chian might almost be identfied with verging on theft. Accordingly, if the history of the celestial ores cropped out at the surface pire's money. Deposits of the in his country, they belonged to metal were always sought with though only to be the sovereign. But China's rulers agerness, utilized copper especially for coin-abandoned after a short period of age purposes, a fact attested by exploitation, owing to lack of the monetary vogue of this metal scientific equipment. The copper
at sandals. Seating themselves on a; in the Celestial Empire throughout mines best known, to-day, or
a white' forty-five centuries. As for salt least the most promising are platform covered with and iron, these were government those in Yunnan and in Szechwan, sheet at the feet of the officiating monopolies long before the Chris- Provinces in the western part of priests, who were clad entirely in
en-white robes, prayers in tian era; and Chinese history rethe country. Surprisingly cords many edicts against the augh, China's present copper out-
were chanted over them. creation of private metallurgical put is even Inferior to that of the one of the dead Peraian languages, eighteenth century. Whereas at enterprises, the last having been that earlier time it totaled 5,000 in 1850.
tons a year, to-day the yield "So, despite China's valuable amounts to scarcely eight hun- resources, the meagre development dred tons annually. Private en- of her mining, establishments terprises have existed only since should occasion no surprise. Nor the revolution of 1912. Experts in this respect has the government affirm that most of China's aban-priests, they held in their hands particularly favoured its own doned copper mines would give the citizens. To be sure, in mining good returns if they were worked strong white cord. matters 48 in those regarding with up-to-date machinery. railways, commerce and industry.
As for zinc and lead, many de- foreignere have been held in check by means of rigid restrictions and posits are known in China, though formidableAdministrative all are relatively unimportant. The best are situated in the southern provinces of Hunan and Notwithstanding such unfavou Yunnan. Those in Hunan worked since doubled able conditions, a few mining con- since 1911, have cessions were granted to foreign their yearly output of zine, bring- ers In the years prior to the Boxer ing the figure to 20,000 tons, with disorders of 1900. Similarly half as much lead. So far as some native enterprises were known, silver deposits are insigni- created. But nowhere did results fiennt. China's production of this fulfil expectations, As if to precious metal for 1916 was es crown disappointment, the Chin-timated at a little more than one ese government issued in 1914 ton; indeed, it has never execeded complicated mining deeree, which fifteen tons in a year Nor is the the foreign ambassadors at Peking Chinese production of gold really refused to accept bit which China
L
inertia.
kusti-sacred
thread-a
The cords were then tied round their:waists and knotted in a pecu- liar fashion by the priests.
Coconut and rice were sprinkli on the girl's heads, followed by the branding on the forehead with a spot of tilily, athick reddish paste which glows between the eyes.
on
Incense in Silver Urn.
H
The initiation of the boys was similar lines, only their clothes differed. They were whit trousers of khadder cloth-a ma- terial hand woven and advocated' by Gandhi and black skull-caps.
Throughout the ceremorj larger, since that for 1916 attain-sandalwood and incense burned in has never consented to modifyed only four tons, a figure which a silver urn as a good omen for substantially in their favour. has latterly decreased." The best!
exploitations are those which treat the future. At the conclusion of the ceremony. the young Parsees the auriferous sande in the north. had garlands of flowers hung To be sure, important gold de-i
necks, and Coout their nosity are known to exist in the Altat mountains and in Mongolia, Sprinkled with rose water from a but they must await stable poli silver bottle on a silver tray.
Coal in Abundance.
tical conditions.
At present China's most import- ant mineral is unquestionably coal. Although iron is fairly plentiful, the industry has mad Hittle progress, due especially to
Antimony is found the most the diapersion of deposits and un
plentifully in Hunan, though the settled political conditions. S deposits farther south and west, far as may be judged by explora-in Kayangsi, are also excellent. tions, China is relatively poor in China's annual production of this .copper, lead and zine. The same metal has increased from three holds of silver, extensively used tons in 1908 to 18,000 in 1925, or as money. But on the other hand 50 per cent. of the world's output. no country can compete with her On the contrary, her production to advantage in the antimony and of tin shows a decline, the figures tungsten markets. Well known for 1917 and 1924 being, respec- are the rich tin deposits in the tively, 11,000 and 6,600 tons. province of Yunnan. Very pro- ising, too, are China's resources
in bismuth and manganese.
Leads in Tungsten.
were
The reason for the ceremony is explained in a letter which Mrs. Saklatvala, the English wife of the M.P., addressed yesterday to Mr. R. R. Desai, an Indian mer- chant in London, who performed the ceremony. She wrote:-
I thank you and your friends to- for your valuable assistance day with all the pride of a mother at seeing her children take their place in the society in which they are born.
up
I feel particularly happy that despite the peculiar and difficult circumstances of my case, it hay been made possible for me to re- my late In- With in the last decade China [deem my pledge to The chief coal-producing cen- trea are situated in the north has become the world's chief mented father-in-law that his eastern provinces of Chihli, Man-producer of tungsten. Whereas grand-children be brought churia and Shantung. The year- in 1915 her output was insigni- within the fold of their fathers ly output of the first two amounts ficant, by 1918 she contributed and remain a part of his family
A curious feature was to some six million tons each and 10,500 tons of the 36,800 produced, and his community Shantung produces about two and in 1922 her share, was 70 per- million. Hard coal is found main-cent. of the total: The metal provision of a new set of clothes to the exists in at least four of the for each of the children, as, in ac- ly in Shansi and Honan' west' and southwest of Shantung. southern provinces. And in escordance with the rites, the old! Though the cost of extraction dos sentially those same regions is to clothes could not be worn again not come high, there is a long be found manganesc. The Chin-until the day after the ceremony. distance between the mines and ese made their first experiments centres of consumption, a handi- with this metal in the Hanyang. cap aggravated both by inade- steel'milla about twenty years ago.
the
qate transport facilities and by Since then various manganese de promising are some deposits dis- been discovered. covered recently by the Japanese southern Manchuria, Not- Fresent political disorders. Small posits have
past disappoint
panies, each equally.
sharing
-not
of
wonder that anthracite coal should The ore is of an exceptionally rich in cost $35 or $40 a ton at Shang- content, averging from 40 to 45 withstanding hal. China's coal output, which per cent. At present China's pro- ments in this regard, experts have totalled 14,000,000 tons in 1913. duction amounts yearly to some not abandoned their dreams
making rich petroleum finds in the had by 1924 expanded 25,000,000 fifty thousand tons.
present, however, For the tcns. Approximately 40 per cent.
I might mention yet such metals celestial empire. is. furnished by two foreign com-
about as mercury and bismuth, but their China's complicated mining laws syndicates. meagre importance" would
discourage foreign- justify the space. Of
one For her distrust of foreign capita- The logical complement of coal mineral, however, I must speak lists the foreign powers should is iron. Such ore, embedded in It is petroleum, the product which blame chiefly themselves, since
attracted foreign quartz, is found abundantly la has latterly. southern Manchuria. It is mined powers. While it is reasonable to they have always sought to en- notably by the Japanese company expect the discovery of vast croach. Nor is it logical to expect that runs the southern Man-petroleum deposits in China, thus in the near future much change in cburian railway. Whether such far prospectings have proved dis- China's attitude. But when the of appointing. Those made in 1914 political factions conclude peaca, the Chinese government will prob companies be purely Chinese jointly Chinese and Japanese, 60 by the Standard Oil Company in ably realize the wisdom of grant per cent. of the ore is shipped the province of Shansi led to no-ing more reasonable concessions. to Japan, a fact which leaves only thing. True the Chinese govern- Such a change could not fail to development of 40 per cent. for atilization atment works a few wells, though stimulate, the
their yield is mediocre. More China's mineral resources. Thome.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1921.
HONG KONG WOMEN'S GUILD
AND
MINISTERING CHILDREN'S LEAGUE.
Fun of the Fair.
TO BE HELD AT
LEE GARDENS
on OCTOBER
1st, 1927
from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.
A magnificent array of attractions including
THREE REGIMENTAL BANDS,
Dancing to
H. K. & S. Hotels Super-Orchestra,
GRAND FIREWORK DISPLAY,
CABARET SHOWS, CHINESE CONJURING,
DRAGON PROCESSION,
DONKEY RIDES
Teas and all the usual Candy Stalls, etc.
Come, Lasses and
Lads!
Charity Begins at the Fair!
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