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11-TRADE, AGRICULTURE, AND INDUSTRIES.
A
Under the heading (A.) I have endeavoured to give such statistics as are ascertainable with regard to Exports and Imports. The fact that Hongkong is a free port makes it a matter of unusual difficulty to give anything like a complete statement on this important subject. In the absence of a Custom House it is necessary to rely upon returns which may be only approximately accurate, but which will probably be found useful in giving a general idea of the present state of Hongkong commerce. The tax on Opium renders that article of commerce the only one of which I can offer clear returns. In the following tables I present the export and import returns of opium for the last five years.
(A.) IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF OPIUM FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 Imports, 41,578 chests. 36,609½ chests. 34,208 chests. 37,708 chests. 39,392¾ chests. Exports, 38,978 36,241 37,828 33,385 35,808 Through cargo reported in manifests but not landed, 22,986 chests. 16,190 chests. 14,838 chests. 13,789 chests. 15,482 chests.The Opium Exports of 1898 represent, in piculs, a total of 43,142,525.
The year 1898 was marked by a considerable increase in the dealings in rice and coal, and by the introduction of the trade in Bulk Oil from Langkat (Sumatra). The large dealings in rice were due to local famines in the Kwangtung and neighbouring provinces, and those in coal were due partly to the ordinary increase in shipping traffic and the growth of manufacturing industry in the Colony, and partly to the large purchases made by foreign Governments during the period of impending war.
The Import trade of the Colony was increased, during 1898, from all parts of the world; and this increase amounted in the aggregate to 659,833 tons of cargo discharged. The Cargo in transit was during the same period advanced by 167,860 tons. In Exports generally there was an increase of 1,205 ships and 229,151 tons of cargo.
The Junk trade has naturally not increased with the same rapidity as that conducted by European vessels. The circumstances of a Free Port, added to the difficulty of identifying and distinguishing native craft, and Chinese proficiency in evasion, make it extremely hard to keep an absolutely true return of some 50,000 or 60,000 junks, and it is probable that a number of these junks come and go without leaving any trace on our records. The following extract from the Chinese Imperial Customs Report for 1898 gives the following figures as representing, in Mexican dollars, the value of the Hong Kong Junk trade for the year under review, and the number of Junks entered and cleared:--
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conservative to turn their capital and abilities into new directions. The chief industries are Sugar refining, the manufacture of cement, paper, bamboo and rattan ware, carving in wood and ivory, working in copper and iron, gold beating and the production of gold, silver and sandal-wood ware, furniture making, umbrella making, jinricksha making, and large industries connected with kerosene oil, cotton, and matches.
But while most of these industries are subject to considerable fluctuations from year to year, chiefly on account of the absence of capital to enable the traders to tide over a period of sluggish business, one of the forms of industrial activity which seems to be uniformly and increasingly prosperous is ship and boat building and especially the building of steam-launches, together with all the minor industries connected with docks and ship-yards, such as rope and sail-making.
The manufacture of cotton is a new industry, but one which may become one of the most important. The Hongkong Cotton Spinning, Weaving and Dyeing Company (Limited) commenced the erection of a large mill in 1898, which will provide for the working of 50,000 spindles. The building has now been completed, and 12,000 spindles are already at work. The engines and machinery have given full satisfaction, and the Chinese have shown much celerity and deftness in acquiring a knowledge of their work.
Some of the industries mentioned are carried on to a greater or less extent all over the Colony; many are confined to the City of Victoria; and there seems to be a tendency towards greater industrial activity in Kowloon. One industry—that of tanning—is practically confined to Kowloon.
FISHERIES.
The number of fishing and other boats frequenting the harbour and bays of Hongkong during the year under review may be roughly estimated at about 3,000. There are no means of ascertaining the proportions in which the different kinds of fish are caught, nor the quantities; and it is therefore impossible to give even an approximate value of the fishing industry.
(C.) AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES AND BOTANICAL STATIONS.
Beyond the cultivation of vegetable gardens there is practically no agricultural industry in the Colony.
In the Botanical and Afforestation Department, there is a Chinese staff of 53. The following statement shows the revenue of this Department for the year:--
Revenue from Plant Sales, $674.46 Loan of Plants, $202.02 Forestry Products, $444.51 Total, $1,320.99 Imports from Hongkong. $33,190,202.13 Exports to Hongkong. $38,992,383.12 Total. $72,182,585.25 Number of Junks entered. 30,217 Number of Junks cleared. 30,212In addition to these, 5,379 Fishing Junks were licensed.
(B.) MINES, MANUFACTURES, AND FISHERIES.
Mines.—The only mining done in the Colony at present is in Granite. Some silver and tin have been discovered, but not in paying quantities. In past years a considerable sum was expended in a silver mine on the island of Lantao; but the mine was afterwards abandoned.
It is difficult, as yet, to say what impetus to mining in the Colony may be given by mineral discoveries in the New Territory; and until mining experts and geological surveyors have made a careful examination of the territory, it will be difficult to speak with certainty on the subject of future prospects.
MANUFACTURES AND INDUSTRIES.
There were 33,923 new trees planted in different localities. Grass-fires, which have proved so destructive to trees and shrubs in the past, were greater in number than usual, owing to the dryness. There were no less than 16 between October 20th and December 23rd. Ten fires destroyed 3,285 trees. Gardening, a minor industry which is eminently adapted to the Chinese, is always improving. New kinds of trees and shrubs have been introduced, often by means of a system of exchange with other botanical stations. Fruit is largely cultivated.
(D) LAND GRANTS AND GENERAL VALUE OF LAND.
The following Table gives particulars of Land Sales, Extensions, and Grants on short leases:--
No. of Lots. Area in square feet. Premium, Crown Rent. Sales by Auction, 21 245,131 $107,127.00 $2,282.00 Extensions Granted, 18 402,451 $30,260.68 $1,404.08 Grants on Short Leases, 13 152,356 $1,332.00 799,938 $137,387.68 $5,068.68The present prosperous state of the industry and manufactures of the Colony, especially of the City of Victoria, seems likely to continue. A survey of the industrial returns for the last five years shows an increase in the number of workmen employed in most of the colonial industries, and the growth in the number and variety of the manufactures themselves show that Chinamen are not to...