China, the shopkeeper is ably assisted by his wife and family, and there are numerous tea-houses in which Japanese girls, known under the euphonious names of singing girls and waiting maids, play their part. Chinese patronize the latter in great numbers, the true occupation of their inmates is unquestioned, and prices are well within the reach of all. It is, perhaps, no exaggeration to say that there cannot be far short of 20,000 of these girls in Manchuria from Taiwen in the south to Tsitsihar in the north, and their earnings, regularly remitted to Japan, must account for some of the millions left by the belligerents during the war. These young ladies are all carefully registered, and taxed at the rate from 1 to 3 dollars a-month according to age, and the revenue thus derived must be considerable.
A large revenue is also derived from opium and gambling dens, which, closed in the Chinese town, have taken refuge in the Japanese Settlement. I have the best authority for stating that there were at the time of my visit 160 opium smoking dens, each of which had to pay a tax or levy of 60 yen cents a-day, a total of 96 yen; five large gambling establishments, each of which paid 150 yen a-day, four paying 10 yen a-day, and sixty outdoor booths or stands, each of which was charged 140 yen a-day, making a daily total of 874 yen derived from gambling alone.
A Chinese Imperial Maritime custom-house was opened at Antung on the 14th March, and a branch office at Ta-tung-kow on the 1st October, 1907. Like Newchwang, the port will be closed by ice for about four months. There is also a native custom-house which controls the junk trade. The river junks are estimated to number 2,000, and sea-going junks 1,000. Both custom-houses lie close together on the river bank in the Chinese city, to the immediate east of the southern section of the Japanese railway reserve. Their sites are liable to be flooded, and I was informed that the Japanese are anxious to provide a site for the foreign custom-house within their area.
The Chinese city, which is about 30 miles from the mouth of the river, is small, with a population of 20,000 inhabitants, and owes its existence to the Yalu timber trade, every establishment with any pretence to importance dealing inter alia in timber. A peculiar feature of the place is the terraces of houses on the hill behind the town, where the shopkeepers take refuge with their goods in flood time. During the present year the river did not overflow its banks. Antung is itself of no importance as a producing or consuming centre, but it is the market for the districts lying along the right bank of the Yalu, which is navigable by junk as far as Mao-erh-shan, about 200 miles up-river. Enormous quantities of timber logs are floated down the Yalu and its chief tributary the Hun River, and are then distributed from Antung and Ta-tung-kow, principally by junk, over the sea-board of North China. Cocoons of the oak-fed silk worm and beans are the other chief exports, while flour, kerosene oil, piece-goods, and sundries, such as enamelled and Japanese chinaware were very much in evidence in shops and on street stalls.
As to the annual value of the trade through Antung it is as yet impossible to form a reliable estimate. Vague figures were given to me by the native custom-house, and the foreign custom-house could give me only revenue not value, which will not be made up until the end of the year. The revenue of the foreign customs was 35,692 and 19,360 Haikuan taels in June and September quarters respectively, and the Commissioner of Customs estimated that the total revenue from the 14th March to the 31st December would run to about 75,000 Haikuan taels. Steamers have visited the port during the year from Japan and Corean ports, Tairen, Newchwang, Tien-tsin, Chefoo, and Hong Kong. From the last named came a large consignment of flour from the British Kowloon Junk Bay Flour Mills. Four Japanese steamers were in port on the day of my arrival. During my visit the junk trade was at a stand-still, the Taotai having issued an order that each junk should be taxed, while the owners were resolutely refusing to pay.
An American Vice-Consul established himself at Antung on the 4th July, a British firm started business in the Japanese Settlement on the 15th April, and a German in the Chinese city on the 8th May. During an interview which I had with the Taotai, I informed him that a British Vice-Consul would soon take his residence, and he assured me that he would do everything in his power to assist him on his arrival. One of his subordinates, a very old friend of mine, was present, and I am sure that the Vice-Consul will receive a hearty welcome.
In dealing with Antung I have left the two great questions which are agitating the port to the end. Article 10 of the Additional Agreement, concluded between China and Japan on the 22nd December, 1905, says: "The Imperial Chinese Government agree that a Joint-stock Company of forestry, composed of Japanese and Chinese capitalists, shall be organized for the exploitation of the forests in the regions on the right bank of the River Yalu, and that a detailed Agreement shall be concluded in which the area and term of the Concession, as well as the organization of the Company and all regulations concerning the joint work of exploitation, shall be provided for. The Japanese and Chinese shareholders shall share equally in the profits of the undertaking."
No satisfactory Agreement has yet been concluded on the subject, but there is a Japanese timber bureau established on the river bank above Antung, and one log out of every four is selected by Japanese from descending rafts and paid for at prices much under their real value. These prices were variously given to me as one-fourth and one-third of those paid by Chinese, and they enable the Japanese merchants to undersell Chinese, or any others who wish to take a share in this trade.
The second question is the proposed bridging of the Yalu for the purpose of connecting the Corean and South Manchurian Railway systems. In conversation with Consul Okabe, that gentleman informed me that the position of the bridge was to be that marked on the accompanying plan of Antung, which was kindly supplied to me by the Commissioner of Customs, and that it was to be a fixed, not a drawbridge. I pointed out that the bridge would cut off shipping from the native city, and asked him whether it would not be possible to build the bridge above the town. He did not appear to think that any change could be made, and I understood from him that work would commence next spring. A reference to the plan shows that the position of the proposed bridge is the present lower harbour limit, and that both the steamer and junk anchorages are higher up. The soundings given on the plan are in feet reduced to low-water springs, and they show that, while the river is shallow abreast the lower part of the Chinese town, the deep water is on the Corean side, both above and below the position of the proposed bridge. Merchants complained loudly of the cost of lighterage, which is almost as much as the freight from Chefoo, and if the anchorage is driven further down river, as it must inevitably be if the bridge is built as proposed, these charges will be much enhanced, and any chance of improving the waterway so as to render it navigable up to the native city, of the possibility of which the Commissioner of Customs spoke hopefully, will be lost. I understood from the United States' Vice-Consul (Antung was opened by the United States' Treaty with China of the 8th October, 1903) that he had reported unfavourably on the Japanese project, which, if carried out, will have the further tendency to concentrate trade in the Japanese Settlement. The matter is one deserving the most serious consideration.
I did not visit Ta-tung-kow, which the consensus of opinion describes as a place which is not now and never will be of commercial importance. There are about 100 Japanese there, the great majority of whom are small shopkeepers and the like. The Taotai informed me that he proposed to set apart 850 mou (141 acres) to the west of Ta-tung-kow for a foreign Settlement, and the fact that land is available for this purpose contrasts strongly with situation at Antung, where the proposal is to give up about 100 acres of the native city. It is a pretty clear indication that, although Ta-tung-kow was opened by the Japanese Treaty with China of the 8th October, 1903, it is not now considered of very much importance.
Antung to Mukden.
I left Antung at 7:12 A.M. on the morning of the 8th October for Mukden, travelling by the Japanese light railway of 188.7 miles built during the war. The train, which started from the Settlement station, was made up of a small engine and thirteen small carriages and trucks, most of which, being empty, were shunted off as we proceeded along the line. The railway follows the high road north-west up a narrow valley as far as Feng-huang-ch'eng, or, to give it its official title, Feng-huang Ting, one of the marts opened by the Japanese Additional Agreement of 1905. Here the valley opens out, and the railway passes about a mile or more to the west of the city. This valley presents the finest scenery I have witnessed in Manchuria. The low hills which bound it are well-wooded, especially with scrub-oak (Quercus mongolica), whose leaves are used to feed the wild silkworm (Antheraea Pernyi), and the russet tints of autumn were magnificent. The valley to the west, through which the main line goes south to Port Arthur, is barren in comparison. Indian corn and Kao-liang (Holcus sorghum) were reaped, the brown bushy heads of the latter lying about in the fields.
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China, the shopkeeper is ably assisted by his wife and family, and there are numerous tea-houses in which Japanese girls, known under the euphonious names of singing girls and waiting maids, play their part. Chinese patronize the latter in great numbers, the true occupation of their inmates is unquestioned, and prices are well within the reach of all. It is, perhaps, no exaggeration to say that there cannot be far short of 20,000 of these girls in Manchuria from Taiven in the south to Tsitsihar in the north, and their earnings, regularly remitted to Japan, must account for some of the millions left by the belligerents during the war. These young ladies are all carefully registered, and taxed at the rate from 1 to 3 dollars a-month according to age, and the revenue thus derived must be considerable.
A large revenue is also derived from opium and gambling dens, which, closed in the Chinese town, have taken refuge in the Japanese Settlement. I have the best authority for stating that there were at the time of my visit 160 opium smoking dens, each of which had to pay a tax or levy of 60 yen cents a-day, a total of 96 yen; five large gambling establishments, cach of which paid 150 yen a-day, four paying 10 yen a-day, and sixty outdoor booths or stands, cach of which was charged 140 yen a-day, making a daily total of 874 yen derived from gambling alone.
A Chinese Imperial Maritime custom-house was opened at Antung on the 14th March, and a branch office at Ta-tung-kow on the 1st October, 1907. Like Newchwang, the port will be closed by ice for about four months. There is also a native custom-house which controls the junk trade. The river junks are estimated to number 2,000, and sca-going junks 1,000. Both custom-houses lie close together
on the river bank in the Chinese city, to the immediate east of the southern section of the Japanese railway reserve. Their sites are liable to be flooded, and I was informed that the Japanese are anxious to provide a site for the foreign custom-house within their area. The Chinese city, which is about 30 miles from the mouth of the river, is small, with a population of 20,000 inhabitants, and owes its existence to the Yalu timber trade, every establishment with any pretence to importance dealing inter alia in timber. A peculiar feature of the place is the terraces of houses on the hill behind the town, where the shopkeepers take refuge with their goods in flood time. During the present year the river did not overflow its banks. Antung is itself of no importance as a producing or consuming centre, but it is the market for the districts lying along the right bank of the Yalu, which is navigable by junk as far as Mao-erh-shan, about 200 miles up-river. Enormous quantities of timber logs are floated down the Yalu and its chief tributary the Hun River, and are then distributed from Antung and Ta-tung-kow, principally by junk, over the sea-board of North China. Cocoons of the oak-fed silk worm and beans are the other chief exports, while flour, kerosene oil, piece-goods, and sundries, such as enamelled and Japanese chinaware were very much in evidence in shops and on street stalls. As to the annual value of the trade through Antung it is as yet impossible to form a reliable estimate. Vague figures were given to me by the native custom-house, and the foreign custom-house could give me only revenue not value, which will not be made up until the end of the year. The revenue of the foreign customs was 35,692 and 19,360 Haikuan tacls in June and September quarters respectively, and the Commissioner of Customs estimated that the total revenue from the 14th March to the 31st December would run to about 75,000 Haikuau taels. Steamers have visited the port during the year from Japan and Corean ports, Tairen, Newchwang, Tien-tsin, Chefoo, and Hong Kong. From the last named came a large consigument of flour from the British Kowloon Junk Bay Flour Mills. Four Japanese steamers were in port on the day of my arrival. During my visit the junk trade was at a stand-still, the Taotai having issued an order that each junk should be taxed, while the owners were resolutely refusing to pay.
An American Vice-Consul established himself at Antung on the 4th July, a British firm started business in the Japanese Settlement on the 15th April, and a German in the Chinese city on the 8th May. During an interview which I had with the Taotai, I informed him that a British Vice-Consul would soon take his residence, and he assured me that he would do everything in his power to assist him on his
up arrival. One of his subordinates, a very old friend of mine, was present, and I am sure that the Vice-Consul will receive a hearty welcome.
In dealing with Antung I have left the two great questions which are agitating the port to the end. Article 10 of the Additional Agreement, concluded between China and Japan on the 22nd December, 1905, says :----
"The Imperial Chinese Government agree that a Joint-stock Company of forestry, composed of Japanese and Chinese capitalists, shall be organized for the exploitation
9
451
the forests in the regions on the right bank of the River Yalu, and that a detailed Agreement shall be concluded in which the area and term of the Concession, as well as the organization of the Company and all regulations concerning the joint work of exploitation, shall be provided for. The Japanese and Chinese shareholders shall share equally in the profits of the undertaking."
No satisfactory Agreement has yet been concluded on the subject, but there is a Japanese timber bureau established on the river bank above Antung, and one log out of every four is selected by Japanese from descending rafts and paid for at prices much under their real value. These prices were variously given to me as one-fourth and one-third of those paid by Chinese, and they enable the Japanese merchants to undersell Chinese, or any others who wish to take a share in this trade.
The second question is the proposed bridging of the Yala for the purpose of connecting the Corean and South Manchurian Railway systems. In conversation with Consul Okabe, that gentleman informed me that the position of the bridge was to be that marked on the accompanying plan of Antung, which was kindly supplied to me by the Commissioner of Customs, and that it was to be a fixed, not a drawbridge. I pointed out that the bridge would cut off shipping from the native city, and asked him whether it would not be possible to build the bridge above the town. He did not appear to think that any change could be made, and I understood from him that work would commence next spring. A reference to the plan shows that the position of the proposed bridge is the present lower harbour limit, and that both the steamer and junk anchorages are higher up. The soundings given on the plan are in feet reduced to low-water springs, and they show that, while the river is shallow abreast the lower part of the Chinese town, the deep water is on the Corean side, both above and below the position of the proposed bridge. Merchants complained loudly of the cost of lighterage, which is almost as much as the freight froin Chefoo, and if the anchorage is driven further down river, as it must inevitably be if the bridge is built as proposed, these charges will be much enhanced, and any chance of improving the waterway so as to render it navigable up to the native city, of the possibility of which the Commissioner of Customs spoke hopefully, will be lost. I understood from the United States' Vice-Consul (Aufung was opened by the United States' Treaty with China of the 8th October, 1993) that he had reported unfavourably on the Japanese project, which, if carried out, will have the further tendency to concentrato trade in the Japanese Settlement. The matter is one deserving the most serious consideration.
I did not visit Ta-tung-kow, which the consensus of opinion describes as a place which is not now and never will be of commercial importance. There are about 100 Japanese there, the great majority of whom are small shopkeepers and the like. The Taotai informed me that he proposed to set apart 850 mou (141 acres) to the west of Ta-tung-kow for a foreign Settlement, and the fact that land is available for this purpose contrasts strongly with situation at Antung, where the proposal is to give up about 100 acres of the native city. It is a pretty clear indication that, although Ta-tung-kow was opened by the Japanese Treaty with China of the 8th October, 1903, it is not now considered of very much importance.
Antung to Mukden.
I left Antung at 7:12 A.M. on the morning of the 8th October for Mukden, travelling by the Japanese light railway of 1887 miles built during the war. The train, which started from the Settlement station, was made up of a small engine and thirteen small carriages and trucks, most of which, being empty, were shunted off as we proceeded along the line. The railway follows the high road north-west up a narrow valley as far as Feng-buang-ch'eng, or, to give it its official title, Feng-huang Ting, one of the marts opened by the Japanese Additional Agreement of 1905. Here the valley opens out, and the railway passes about a mile or more to the west of the city. This valley presents the finest scenery I have witnessed in Manchuria. The low hills which bound it are well-wooded, especially with scrub-oak (Quercus mongolica), whose leaves are used to feed the wild silkworm (Antheraa Pernyi), and the russet tints of autumn were magnificent. The valley to the west, through which the main line goes south to Port Arthur, is barren in comparison. Indian corn and Kao-liang (Holcus sorghum) were reaped, the brown bushy heads of the latter lying about in the
Not reproduced.
[2813 7--2]
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