This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.Į
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Chinese. However, like all Chinese, they are of an inflammable nature, and, as in the case of peaceful natures, when once aroused they may go to further extremes than more turbulent spirits, as happened in 1900.
4. Opium Smoking.--Shan-hsi is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of the opium-smoking provinces of China. Mr. Sowerby assured me that in and around Tai-yuan Fu, though there might be a slight decrease, it was not very appreciable. He said that sometimes, when he goes into a village and asks how many non-opium smokers it contains, an inhabitant will smile and point to one or two small children, whilst in another a native will state with some pride that 110 per cent. [sic] are opium emokers. He thinks, however, that less opium is grown in the district.
Going north, I found at Ta-tung Fu that the evil was much less, and in that city the Magistrate stated, and the local missionary corroborated, that under 50 per cent. were opium smokers. The Magistrate, himself an inveterate smoker and possibly unreliable (I bad no means of checking his statement), stated that only one-fifth of the area given up to the poppy in his district last year was now utilized for the same purpose.
5. The Irish potato was introduced by Dr. Attwood, an American missionary, residing at Feng-chou Fu, some twenty years ago and has proved a great success. found them in abundance in the Ta-t'ung Fu region.
6. Secret Societies. The great anti-dynastic Secret Society known as the Ko-ming-tang is, local missionaries assured me, very strong in the parts of the province I visited, and many of the officials are believed to belong to it. At Hsin Chou, 47 miles to the north of T'ai-yuan Fu, it was rumoured that there would be a great rising in Southern China this August, that the troops in the north would be dispatched to put it down, and that when they were gone the north would seize the opportunity to rise. This, of course, is only a type of the sensational and ridiculous rumours one hears at times in the country, but it shows that the feeling of unrest is very extended.
7. Robbers flourish in the hills to the north-east and to the west of Ta-t'ung Fu, but they usually avoid the main road, and, as is always the case, they are not likely to attack a passing foreigner. It is only a matter of surprise that with such poorly trained soldiers as the provincial troops (the Hsun-fang-tui) the robbers are of such minor local importance.
8. Poorness of the Province. Shan-hsi is a very poor province, and T'ai-yüan Fa is very inferior in population and importance to any provincial capital I have yet visited. (I have visited fourteen out of eighteen.) I estimate the population at between 50,000 and 70,000 inhabitants, whilst the officials put it at only 40,000. I believe that as regards population Ta-tung Fu has the largest population of any city in the province. The railway is, however, attracting people to Tai-yüan Fu, and it is bound to improve on its present stagnant condition. Through the energy of Taotai Ting, the Judge, a fine new road is being made, and they are even reported to be in possession of a steam-roller, which, however, I did not personally see.
9. Russian Colony at Kalgan.--Consists of one Russian clerk in the Russo-Chinese Bank, and three Siberian Russians (viz,, one postmaster and two tea merchants), who have not much in common with their European compatriot.
10. Japanese Instructors at Tai-yuan Fu.-There are ten in the various schools, including one officer in the military school and one sergeant-major.
(Signed) G. PEREIRA, Lieutenant-Colonel,
Grenadier Guards, Military Attaché.
Peking, August 24, 1907.
CHINA TRADE.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[36185]
[November 2.]
SECTION 3.
હું
No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.--(Received November 2.)
(No. 443.) Sir,
Peking, September 17, 1907. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch No. 260 of the 4th July transmitting copy of a letter from the Colonial Office respecting a suggestion by the Hong Kong Government that, in view of the acute currency crisis existing in Canton and Hong Kong, the Chinese Government should be urged to carry out its obligation under the Mackay Treaty to establish a proper currency in China and instructing me to report, should no practical steps have yet been taken, whether the time is opportune for making further representations to the Chinese Government on the subject.
In my despatch No. 363 of the 24th July, I had the honour to transmit to you copies of a note which, in pursuance of a representation received from the Chambers of Commerce of Hong Kong, Shanghae, and Tien-tsin, the doyen of the Diplomatic Body addressed to Prince Ch'ing and of His Highness's reply that a Commission had been appointed to deal with the question and report to the Throne. Since that time I have frequently asked the Ministers of the Wai-wu Pn whether the Commission had presented its report, and have been informed that, owing to the divergent views of its members, no satisfactory scheme for a uniform currency has yet been decided
upon.
While the want of a uniform silver coinage is a serious obstacle to the foreign and internal trade of China, the difficulties attending its introduction, although not insuperable, are by no means light. That a suitable coin in the shape of a silver dollar can be made in China is evidenced by the fact that the dollar issued by the Pei-yang Mint at Tien-tsin holds its own here with the British dollar and that both are at a premium as compared with the Mexican dollar; but the aim of the Chinese provincial mints is not so much to coin as to make money, and this object is facilitated A dollar by the lax way in which they are controlled by the Ceutral Government. coined in one province is accepted in the next only at a considerable discount. The coining of a dollar of the proper fineness, weight, and finish is not a gain but a cost to the mint from which it comes, and it is not unnatural that the mint should wish to recoup itself by the profitable coinage of subsidiary silver coins, the over issue of which, combined with the natural law that the coin of less will always oust the coin of greater intrinsic value in a country where the coinage is not insufficiently protected by law, has been specially felt in South China. What has occurred in the silver coinage of the south is at present taking place in the copper coinage all over the Empire, the new copper coins are fast displacing the old copper cash.
or
By the laws of China land and other taxes are payable in Treasury (Kuping) taels, while the Treaty Tariff calls for Customs duties in Haikwan taels, so that, if the proposed silver dollar is to be the uniform coinage of China, it will be necessary to fix the rate of exchange between it and Kuping and Haikwan taels, and, what is still more desirable, between it and the new copper coinage which is the retail trade currency of the Empire.
These are some of the difficulties with which China has to grapple, and, although from a European standpoint they are not insurmountable, the ignorance of even the highest officials on the subject of finance and currency is so great that their speedy solution can hardly be looked for; but I shall continue to make representations to Were the coinage the Chinese Government for the fulfilment of its Treaty engagement.
of this new dollar restricted to three or four mints under the direct control of the Ministry of Finance, identical dies supplied to them, the defacement or destruction of the coin made a penal offence, the issue of subsidiary coins restricted as in the case
copper
with a fixed legal tender, and only the new coins accepted in payment of [2721 6-3]
of
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