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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 882

6

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

4

REPORT

OF A

JOURNEY IN THE PROVINCE OF SHANTUNG,

INCLUDING A

VISIT TO KIAOCHOU,

By J. H. STEWART LOCKHART, Commissioner, C.M.G., Wei-Hai-Wei.

The Province of Shantung is in many respects the most interesting from a historical point of view of the eighteen provinces of China. In it are situated the birthplace of Confucius and Mencius, China's greatest sages, and the scenes amidst which they laboured. A portion of the Grand Canal passes through it. The Yellow River, "China's Sorrow," ends its course on its coast. boundaries is situated the most sacred mountain in China, T'ai Shan.

Within its

The area of the Province is estimated at 65,104 square miles, being larger by 7,000 square miles than England and Wales.

The population is supposed to amount to 30,000,000, but no reliable census appears to have been taken. For purposes of administration, the province is divided into three Taos, or Circuits, which include 13 Prefectures and ninety-six districts.

The province is ruled by a Governor assisted by a Treasurer, a Judge, a Literary Chancellor, the Heads of the Salt Tax, and the Foreign Affairs Department. At the head of each of the three circuits is a Tao Tai, and each prefecture and district is presided over by a Prefect and Magistrate. In addition to the holders of sub- stantive offices there is a host of expectant officers, who are deputed to discharge special duties or who, Micawber-like, are waiting for something to turn up.

The present Governor is Chou Fu, a native of Anhui, who attracted the notice of Li Hung Chang and started his official career by acting as Li's Secretary during the Taiping rebellion. He is a man of vigour and progressive views, but his eyesight is affected by cataract.

Last year the Governor of Shantung and the Governor of Kiaochou paid me an official visit, to return which was the object of my journey in Shantung.

On the 20th of April we left Wei-hai-wei. My party consisted of Captain Barnes, 1st Chinese Regiment, a Chinese Secretary, four soldiers of the Chinese Regiment, three " boys," a cook, a photographer and his assistant-thirteen in all.

By the courtesy of Captain Stokes, R.N., we were conveyed in His Majesty's. Ship "Eclipse" to the Treaty Port of Chefoo, distant from Wei-hai-wei forty miles by sea and sixty by land.

The port of Chefoo was opened to foreign trade in the year 1863. The net value of the trade passing through the Chinese customs during the year 1902 amounted to £4,805,194. The principal imports are:--

Cotton goods

Cotton yarn

Metals

Sugar

Value in 1902.

£1,309,974

514,121

101,820

291,432

5

The chief exports are silk, strawbraid, beancake, and vermicelli. The value of the silk exports amounted last year to £586,500.

The silk of the Shantung province is of two kinds-wild raw silk, the product of the Attacus Pernyi moth fed on the oak (quercus castaneaefolia mongolica and Dentata), and yellow. silk, produced by the Bombyx mori moth, fed on mulberry

leaves.

Only a portion of the cocoons, and those chiefly from the mulberry, are produced in Shantung. The Tussah cocoons are almost entirely imported into Chefoo from Manchuria viâ Tat'ungkou. In 1902 the import of cocoons reached 25,000 baskets, each pasket containing 30,000 cocoons.

Last year the output of Tussah silk from oak-fed cocoons, was about 8,000 bales. Most of the Tussah silk went to New York and Japan; the greater part of the yellow silk to Lyons.

There are about twenty filatures in Chefoo which reel Tussah silk. Of these, only two use foreign machinery-one partly owned by a German, the other by British and Chinese. A good deal of raw silk is woven at Chefoo and manufactured into pongee, for which there is a demand in Japan, Australia and Europe. Hitherto machinery has not been employed, but it is rumoured that the Chinese are contem- plating the use of foreign machinery.

As almost all Tussah cocoons are imported into Chefoo on payment of duty, and as the silk when exported has to pay a further duty, there seems no reason why Wei-hai-wei, where no duties are levied, should not become a centre for the silk trade. The only difficulty to start with would be the absence of skilled labour, but it ought to be easy to train the Chinese in such work.

During 1902 37,080 cwts. of strawbraid were exported, representing in value £183,943, and the value of the trade in beancake, which is exported to Swatow in the south of China, Japan, and elsewhere for purposes of fertilisation amounted to £242,590. As in the case of cocoons, beans are largely imported into Chefoo, and as they have to pay import duty, and an export duty is levied on the manufactured article-beancake, there seems no reason why a port like Wei-hai-wei, where no duty is charged, should not develop a trade in beancake.

There is also a large export of vermicelli, the value of which in 1902 was. £166,188. There are three qualities of vermicelli. The first is made from green beans only the second from green and other beans: the third from green beans mixed with millet. It is exported in large quantities to Hong Kong and from thence to California and Australia.

There has been a talk of introducing machinery into Wei-hai-wei for manu- facturing vermicelli, but so far nothing has been done. It seems certain that if machinery were used a large trade in this article could be created here, which, owing to the absence of all duties, should be able to compete favourably against the trade in vermicelli at Chefoo.

Since the port of nefoo was opened in 1863, it has been the chief centre of trade in Shantung and the Gulf of Pechili, but the German railway from Kiaochou is certain to divert some of the trade hitherto attracted to Chefoo, a subject which will be discussed later on.

On our way to Chefoo we passed the harbour of Lung mun, a portion of which is within the British zone of influence, and which has been recommended to the Government of China as a base for their fleet.

Under the Wei-hai-wei Convention Chinese vessels of war, whether neutral or otherwise, have the right to use the waters leased to Great Britain, but hitherto no encouragement has been given to the Government of China to use those waters. From the political point of view it appears to me that it would be a good thing to encourage China to avail herself of her rights under the convention instead of compelling her to go afield in search of a harbour.

I am informed the Lung-mun is not a suitable harbour, and that the Chinese Government is contemplating making use of a harbour in the Miao T'ou group of Islands, situated off the northern coast of the province, which we passed on our journey from Chefoo to Yang Chiao K'ou.

On our arrival at Chefoo we were met by His Majesty's Consul, Mr. Brady, who informed us that the Governor of Shantung had made arrangements, through the Tao-tai, whose headquarters are at Chefeo, for placing at our disposal the Chinese cruiser "Ching Hai," to convey us to the entrance of the Hsiao Ch'ing Ho, a canal leading to Chiñan, the capital city of the province, where the Governor resides.