TABLE OF CONTENTS.
598
Leitrabanco
8
COVERING LETTER.
To the Right Hon. SIR ALBERT H. STANLEY, M.P., President of the Board
of Trade.
Board of Trade,
7, Whitehall Gardens, London, S.W., February 15th, 1917.
I HAVE the honour to forward for your informationu a report upon the probable position of British Trade in the Far East after the war,
The inquiry, of which this report is the result, was entrusted to my charge by Mr. Runciman in March of last year, and has been conducted under somewhat unusual circumstances. Time and pressure of other duties did not allow of a journey to the Far East, and consequently the information obtained has necessarily been secured by correspondence, and at personal interviews with the directors of firms and institutions in this country. It therefore lacks that completeness and exactitude which can only be obtained by an investigation on the spot.
The field is a wide one, and comprises the Straits Settlements, the Netherlands Indies, Siam, the Philippine Islands, French Indo-China, Hong Kong, China and Japan. I have considered the conditions prevailing in each of these markets in a separate section, and have concluded the survey with a brief review of the British shipping and insurance position in the Far East.
While each of the countries described presents a set of conditions and problems peculiar to itself, the general circumstances under which foreign trade is carried on are approximately the same throughout the whole of the area under review, and therefore this grouping of Far Eastern markets is more convenient than would appear at first sight.
I desire to acknowledge my indebtedness to those Associations, Chambers of Commerce, and private firms who have contributed memoranda and general informa- tion, and have thereby facilitated a somewhat difficult task.
SIR,
PAGE
COVERING LETTER
SECTION
1.—THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS
2. THE NETHERLANDS INDIES
3.-STAM
4. THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
5. FRENCH INDO-CHINA
6.—Hana Kore
7.-CHINA
8.-JAPAN
3
4
14
27
+2
54
61
63
88
9. REVIEW OF THE BRITISH SHIPPING POSITION IN THE FAR EAST
- 115
10. REVIEW of the British InsuraNCE POSITION IN THE FAR EAST
AT END.-MAP OF THE FAR EAST.
- 119
I have the honour to be, &c.,
THOMAS M. AINSCOUGH.
A (38)2687 Pk 617 200 5/17 ELS
A 3