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annual value of the foreign imports at this town is estimated at about 2,500,000 tiao (84,0007. (P)).
Sanshan (Kilin) on the Sungari River was opened to foreign trade by the Portsmouth Treaty. This town, which is an important place of transhipment for cargo travelling between the Russian Settlements in the Amur Province and Manchuria proper, is one of the great anchorages of the Sungari. The population is 30,000; but the neigh- bouring country, being mountainous and therefore not well suited for agriculture, is sparsely inhabited.
Sanshan is a great centre of distribution for hair, hides, fish, and precious metals. Foreign goods, which come mostly from Newchwang via Ilarbin and the river, are imported to the approximate value of 300,000 tiao (10,0001) annually. There are twenty Japanese and about 1,000 Russians in the place, the latter subsisting for the most part on the troops or their own compatriots travelling to and fro.
Kilin with a population of 200,000, is about 75 miles from Changchun, at a point of intersection of the high roads reaching into North-East Manchuria, North and South Manchuria, and North Corea. It enjoys the additional advantage of being on the Sungari.
This place is the centre of the Manchurian internal trade, though its ancient prosperity has for the time being been somewhat affected by the construction of the railway. This, however, is not likely to militate permanently against the town.
Along the river front convenient anchorages are numerous; while for a Chinese city Kilin is extraordinarily well laid out and drained. The trade of the town is estimated at the annual value of 45,000,000 tiao (1,500,0001). The chief items of export are cereals, tobacco, timber, and salt. Imports are represented by cotton cloth, cotton yarn, cotton threads, carthenware, metal ware, kerosene, sugar, marine products, spirits, manufactured tobacco, table salt, rice, glass, furs, and miscellaneous foreign goods. These are purchased for the greater part at Newchwang or Mukden.
Hulancheng is a very prosperous town situated on the left bank of the Hulan River in a very fertile district of the middle reaches of the Sungari. Population 80,000.
Agricultural produce and their by-products are the chief staple of export: while imports are represented by hemp cloth, cotton goods, sugar, and articles of daily use. The total value of the agricultural produce, &c., passing through the markets of this town annually is estimated at 41,060,000 tiao (1,368,000% (?)), of which about 14,529,000 tiao (484,3007. (P)) worth is exported.
Imports which are valued at about 3,893,000 tiao (129,000!. (?) ) per annum come mostly by way of Newchwang, though a certain quantity find their way in, via Harbin and the river, from Vladivostock.
The value of the trade of this town is double that of Changchun.
Petuanlinisu, with a population of 40,000, is situated 56 miles north of Hulan. The value of the trade of this place is probably about 30,000,000 tiao (1,000,000Z.) a-year. Of this sum between 26,000,000 and 27,000,000 tiuo represent exports; 3,000,000 tiao (100,000) imports. The latter come through Newelwang (Shangbae, 60 per cent.; Japan, 30 per cent.; United States of America, 10 per cent.).
Currency: Organs of.
These is no system of currency in Manchuria, and in the transaction of business merchants have to rely on the facilities obtainable from the various moneylenders and moneychangers who are to be found in all towns of any pretensions.
Moneylenders, corresponding to pawnbrokers in Japan, are the most convenient organ of circulation in Manchuria. They are to be found everywhere, and it is their The usual business to make advances of cash on all securities except immovables. rate of interest charged is 3 per cent. per month.
The first function of moneychangers is exchange; but in addition they are bankers of sorts, accepting deposits, making loans, and issuing private currency notes. Their capital varies, being sometimes only 2,000, at others as much as 20,0001. Though this is a business which essentially demands strict official control, no attempt is made by the Government authorities to exercise any real supervision, and the result is that moneylenders can issue notes to an unlimited extent on no better security than their own personal standing. It will thus easily be understood that on occasion heavy losses are thereby inflicted on merchants.
Unlike the universal moneylender, the moneychanger is to be found only in the more prosperous towns. In Chinese Harbin, for instance, there are seven, the most
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important having a capital of 560,000 roubles. In Changchun there are forty. Hulan is the only place in which transactions take place in cash.
Piaochang and nihao are also forms of banking and exchange business; but the latter represents a more limited field of operations than the former.
There are two public banking institutions in North Manchuria: the Russo- Chinese Bank and the purely Chinese institution named Kwanchingkang. The latter, the capital of which is subscribed by the officials and private individuals of the Amur Province is a Limited Liability Company, under official supervision, with its head office at Tsitsihar. Its capital was originally 200,000 dollars (2,000 shares), but has been recently increased to 500,000 dollars.
The business of the bank, in addition to ordinary exchange, is mainly the issue of bills of exchange and paper-money. It is, however, allowed to engage in other under- takings besides banking. Some time ago it was decided to start a mint; but the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese war necessitated the postponement of the scheme. Paper notes (Amur Viceroyalty official notes) of 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 50, and 100 tiao, denominations were, however, printed in Shanghae, and are current throughout the Viceroyalty, being received as legal tender even in the payment of taxes.
The accounts of this bank are, as stated above, subject to official supervision. For this purpose three sets are prepared: one is presented to the Provincial authori- ties, one is made for the inspection of shareholders, and one is retained by the bank itself. The profits are divided into ten portions: three are placed to the bank's reserve, five are divided among the shareholders, and two among the employés of the concern. According to a recent statement of account the gross year's profit on a capital of 512,300 dollars was 293,805·81 dollars, which represents over 50 per cent.; while the amount of paper-money issued was valued at 14,808,398 tiao (? 500,000%). Against this paper issue there was no reserve. In addition to the Kwanching Kang, or Amur Viceroyalty, notes there exists in the Kilin Viceroyalty official paper-money of the same face values. This has an even wider circulation than those just mentioned above, for, whereas Kwanchangkang paper is received in payment only in the Amur Province, the Kilin paper passes current over the whole of Manchuria. It is not therefore to be wondered at if there should be differences in the rates of exchange between the two provinces. Foreign paper-money, in the shape of Russo-Chinese bank-notes, Japanese notes, war notes, and the paper issue of the Yokohama Specie Bank, circulate freely.
Sheipiao, or lesser currency notes, are of two kinds, silver and copper. They are issued by private firms or by individuals, and rank more or less as bills of exchange. Silver currency notes instead of silver dollars ("yuan") are issued by the so-called banks (piaochwang ") and "nilao" copper currency notes instead of copper coins by money-lenders. In Kilin Province, in order to encourage the use of official the
paper, circulation of these currency notes is strictly prohibited.
Silver coinage is represented by lung-in, Kuping-in, yuanpao-in, shui-in, and foreign silver; copper by 1 and 2-cent pieces.
Lung-in is coined in all the provincial mints in denominations of 1 yuan (dollar ?), half a yuan, 20 cents, 10 cents, and 5 cents. The yuan closely resembles in weight and quality the old Japanese silver yen.
The mints originally existing at Mukden and Kilin are now closed, while, as already stated, the issue of currency contemplated by the Amur Viceroyalty Bank was postponed on account of the war.
Kuping-in, or kupao, was silver coined by the Chinese Government in Kilin and Mukden Provinces.
Yuanpao-in is silver coined by private bankers. It differs little from kuping-in. Kuping-in and yuanpao-in are sycee ("bateigin "), and their value is calculated according to their weight in dollars, the average varying between 51 dol. 5 c. and 53 dol. 5 c.
The percentage of silver in their composition varies with the locality of manu- facture; but it is, generally speaking, somewhat as follows :---
Kilin kupao
Mukden
Kilin
yuanpao
Changchun
་་
Tsitsihar
23
Russo-Chinese Bank yuanpao
98.50 per cent. silver. 98.50
*1
97.80
45
"
96.70
31
98.00
98.50
ラケ
The value of the silver dollar varies, but it is as a rule from 3 to 35 tiao ("tael" ?).
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