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BRITONS V. GERMANS IN CHINA
fifteen to twenty in number, employing at the date of the declaration of war about 150 Germans and Austrians. These were assisted, of course, by large staffs of Portu- guese and native clerks. Now, it must be admitted that these firms really did secure and carry on a considerable proportion of the total trade of the Colony. If we go back to years we find that there were. roughly about 130 German and Austrian subjects engaged in commercial and industrial work in the Colony, and about 600 Britishers engaged in similar undertakings. Ten years later, on the outbreak of war, there were, as stated above, 150 Germans but well over 800 British subjects in actual business or trade, quite apart from any engaged in administrative, legal, naval or military work. It will thus be seen that the British have held their own in point of numbers, but it must be realised that many of the 800 Britishers are employed in
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BRITONS V. GERMANS IN CHINA 13
manufacturing and engineering trades. What we have to consider more closely is merchant business pure and simple, and in this it is doubtful whether the British obtained their fair and proportionate share of the business going. A point which is apt to escape attention is that the Chinese themselves do by far the largest merchant business in Hongkong, as they almost exclusively handle their own products, and have large interests in Rice, Sugar, and other valuable and staple commodities. Hence the term "merchant business is somewhat involved,
Hongkong being a free port, no import and export figures are kept, and it is really by no means certain that the Germans did a proportionately larger merchant business. than the British. Lately a system of import and export licences has been introduced from which it will be a simple matter to obtain valuable statistical information as to the value of the trade of Hongkong, but even
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