10
mined coal, merely surface scrapings full of stones and mud, I believe the Posé mines were visited some years ago by an agent of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson, and Co., and that the firm have specimens of the coal in their possession. Posé, I should mention, is an important trade mart close to the Yünnan frontier, some 200 miles above Nanning, on a river which is navigable for light-draught steamers during the summer raonths. Through Posé come large quantities of Yunnan copper, which are manu- factured at Nanning into gongs, candle-sticks, and all kinds of kitchen utensils. From Posé, too, come the tigers and leopards, numbers of whose skins we saw hanging in the furriers' shops in Nanning; a good tiger's skin, head and claws complete, may be bought for 50 dollars; leopard skins range from 10 dollars to 20 dollars. Posé is the farthest point reached by transit-pass from Wuchow.
By the evening of the second day of our stay in Nanning the river had fallen 2 feet, so it was arranged that we should leave the following day. As it happened, rain set in during the night, the water began to rise, and we might have stayed a day or two longer. I decided, however, to return; if the rain continued I could not in any case see much of the city, and having been over a fortnight absent from my post, I was anxious to get back as soon as possible.
The return journey was uneventful. Leaving Nanning at 11 A.M. on the 25th June, we crossed the Great Rapid the same evening, and arrived at IIsanchow the following day at 1 P.M. On Monday, the 27th June, the "Moorhen" reached Wuchow after an absence of nineteen days.
For the convenience of Consular officers who may have occasion to visit Nanning in the future, I append a table of distances (approximate) between the principal towns
en route.
From Wuchow to-
Tenghsien
Mengebiang
Paima
Pingnain
Chiang-kou
Hunchow
Kueihsien
Lei Kung hsu (Great Rapid)
Hengchow
Yungshun
Nanning
:::::
Nautical Miles.
25
36
48
66
77
89
150
179
204
242
320
ITINERARY of His Majesty's Ship "Moorhen," Wuchow to Nanning and return.
Date.
Arrival.
Departure.
Steaming.
Hours.
June 9
10
55
Wuchow, 8-80 A.M. Konghau, 8 AM,
Kooghau, 6 P.M...
4.
Kueihsien, 5 P.M.、.
9
11
ΤΟ
At Kueibsien.
21
22
31
Kueihsien, 5 A.M.
Linglitsun, 7 P.M...
14
23
Linglitsun, 6 A.M.
Nanning, 10-30 A,M.
24
At Nanning,
25
Nanning, 11 4.M,
Leikunghsa, 7 P.M.
8
20
27
Leikangusu, & A.M.
27 Hsunchow, 6-30 A..
Wuchow, T.M...
Hsunchow, 1 P.M...
1
7 61
Total distance, 640 miles; steaming hours, 581.
Note. His Majesty's ship "Moorhen" steamed at 12 knots an hour; average strength of current, 4 knots; over rapids, 5 to 8 knots.
11
Section II.-Nanning as a Treaty Port.
Although Nanning was declared an open port by Imperial Decree on the 3rd February, 1889, no office of the Imperial Maritime Customs has yet been opens? there and the port may, to all intents and purposes, still be considered an "inland place. My visit to Nanning confirmed the opinion I had previously formed as to the advantages which British trade in South China would be likely to derive from the effective opening of the port and the appointment of a British Consular officer to reside there, namely, that from a commercial point of view, the advantages would be quito inconsiderable. It appears to me that Wuchow, situated at the limit of ocean- going steam navigation on the West River, sufficiently meets IIong Kong's requirements as a distributing centre. Foreign goods are imported by steamer to Wuchow and there transhipped, under transit-pass, into junks (which may be towed by steam- launches) for all the principal towns in the West River basin, as far as Lungchow and Posé, and thence overland into Yunnan and Kueichow. Similarly native produce is brought down from these places under outward transit-pass and transhipped into the Hong Kong steamers at Wuchow. The trade, which is steadily increasing, has been carried on for some years past without serious interference on the part of the native Customs authorities. Steam-launches can, under the new Regulations, carry passengers and cargo between Wuchow and Nanning, calling at all recognized way ports; they may, with the permission of the Chinese Government, ply between inland places exclusively, say, between Nanning and Posé. British merchants may lease go-downs for the storage of their goods at Nanning and other riverine towns, and may I take it, under this clause, appoint native hongs their agents for the care and sale of their merchandize.
The Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce have pressed for the establishment of a foreign custom-house at Nanning because they say that foreign goods could then be laid down there on payment of one import duty only; but this applies only to goods consumed in Nanning itself-an inconsiderable quantity; transit-passes would still have to be taken out, or native Customs dues paid on, goods destined for the surrounding districts. The same remark applies in the case of native produce, the bulk of Nanning's exports come from the country districts and in order to be shipped at the port would have to pay the same transit dues and the same native dues, as they do at Wuchow,
On the other hand, for political reasons, I venture to think that the effective opening of Nanning would be to the advantage of British interests. There is at the present moment a temporary lull in French railway enterprise in this part of the world, but at any time an energetic Governor-General in Touquin may decide to resume railway construction on the frontier, and with the continuation of the Tonquiu main line from Hanoi to Lungchow and Nanning, the Province of Kuangsi will inevitably be brought under French influence, aud the French authorities will undoubtedly endeavour to arrange with the Chinese Governments for special facilities for rail-borne cargo crossing the frontier. Under these circumstances, the presence of a British Consular officer at Nanning might perhaps prevent any serious steps being taken to the detriment of British trade; he would, in any case, be able to obtain early information as to what was going forward.
As regards the future competition of the French railway system with the West River trade route, and the substitution of Hanoi for Hong Kong as the distributing centre of South-West China, I do not think the latter port has anything to fear as long as the Chinese Government continue to grant reasonable facilities to foreign trade on the West River and the shipping Companies of Hong Kong continue to maintain and improve their steam-boat services. What is now being done in this direction I shall briefly refer to in the next section, but I would here venture to call attention to the vital importance of the West River to the trade of Hong Kong. We have here one of the largest rivers in China, second only to the Yang-tsze in commercial importance, traversing and, with its tributaries, draining the whole of the Provinces of Kuangtung and Kuangsi, and parts of Yunnan and Kueichow to join the ocean in the waters of a British Colony. To-day steamers and steam-launches are taking passengers and cargo from Hong Kong, Canton, and all the principal towns in the delta, to Samshui, Wuchow, Nanning, and even Posé, distant 750 miles from the coast. By means of this service, assisted by native shipping, foreign goods can reach by water all the principal markets in South-Western Chilia-- to Shaokuan and Nauhsiung (Namheung), on the borders of Kiangsi; to Kueilin, on
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