CO129-428 - Public Offices - 1915 — Page 174

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Hongkong, which sup lies all South China and the coast 170

ports as well as Canton offers a larger and more varied market to Chinese dealers than they can obtain at Canton

and dealers naturally prefer to buy there either from local stocks of well-known shops or from a liberal show of samples. In many cases cheaper freight and duty when shipped by native craft from Hongkong to Canton place direct ordering in Canton at a disadvantage. An ordinary firm of merchant importers who should attempt to sell piece goods direct

here would probably not be very successful. It must be

noted nevertheless that German firms enjoying the fac- ilities of British finance in the last few years have ettempted this very thing and by their usual methods of long and unjustifiable credits have succeeded in capturing

a certain amount of business.

Apart, however, from the piece goods business, there are many articles which cannot be pushed from Hong- kong in a really satisfactory way. I would instance

machinery, paper, metals and chemical manures. In the import business merchants cannot get too closely in touch

with the consumers, and even if a certain amount of busi- ness is done in Hongkong, it is certain that by paying more attention to Canton much more could be done. These remarks

apply particularly to British firms, as I think there is no doubt that German firms, even with head offices in Hong- kong, are far more strongly represented here. To prove thi I would cite the detailed accounts of Messrs. Carlowitz and Company for the year 1915 at Hongkong and Canton, which were obtained by Kr. Ainscough, the Special Commissioner

of the Board of Trade, and forwarded by him to His Majesty's Consul General for his confidential information.

An examination of these gives the following resul te

88 regards imports:-

Canton