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These non-Chinese races do not buy foreign goods. It should be understood that the only purchasers of foreign goods, i.e., piece-goods, in these parts, are well-to-do Chinese. Every Chinaman who has the means will infallibly purchase foreign cottons and woollens for the adornment of himself, his wife, children, and furniture. There is no necessary proportion between the demand for foreign imports and a space on the Map, as some people seem to think, neither is there any immediate proportion between the demand for foreign imports and the number of the population, but between the number of well-to-do Chinese, who have, say, an income of 8 dollars or more a-month, and the demand for foreign imports there is a necessary proportion, because every one of that class will buy foreign cottons or woollens, for they are as necessary to the vindication of his respectability as the high hat is to the Londoner's. Improved communication would not at once lead the Chinese labourer or non-Chinese aboriginal nine-tenths of the scant population of Southern China, to buy foreign piece-goods, for he could not afford to do so at their price in Shanghae. What that person wears will be seen from the samples sent with this Report. English cottons and woollens were on sale at every city I passed through at moderate prices, all considered. What is wanted to increase the demand for foreign imports is good government and the development of the riches of the country, so that the condition of the people may be raised. Next to the people themselves, no one would benefit so much from the development of the riches of this country as English manufacturers and operatives.
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