Directory_and_Chronicle_1845 — Page 199

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produce a little more than $100,000, of which only 80,000 enter the imperial treasury.

"There is however considerable confusion in the money, weights and measures of Shánghái. Money transactions are effected in pieces of silver called sycee, in Spanish dollars of Carolus and Ferdinand. Silver is reckoned by taels; 720 taels are equal to 1000 dollars of Fer- dinand. But these dollars are here almost nominal, since those current at Shinghái are Carolus and bear to the others a premium of from 5 to 15 per cent. At the time of writing this notice the respective value of dollars was in the following proportion; 100 pure Mexican, Spanish 95, stamped of Carolus or Ferdinand 93. Sycee is not all of equal value. Some is in large pieces of the form of a Chinese shose, and of the weight of 50 taels, others are in small bits of various figures and weights, each of which has its own denomination, and they are received at different discounts. The first or large size is current at Shanghái, and is at a premium of 3 to 4 per cent. above .Spanish dollars, that is above the rate of 720 taels to $1000. At this moment one tael of such silver is equal to 1720 cash, one Carolus dollar to 1230.

The measure is the chih equal to 15 inches 2 lines of the foot of Burgos, and 4 per cent. shorter than the pau of Canton. The chúng is also used, which is equal to ten chih.

"The weights are the pecul (tán) and catty (kin). The Chinese merchants in their purchases and sales of sugar, and some other articles, make the catty equal to 14 taels 4 mace; from which it fol- lows that the peoul only weighs 99 catties at 16 taels. Or else they make it of 18, in which case 100 are equal to 116. The first weight they call shui kwan tsing, and the second lai yan seng. Besides these they have the fat'se sing, or tsao ping, the catty which is of 16 taels; the sima ping of 17; the kin iu pin of 15 taels 3'mace'; and the un la shui kwan tsing or shan sho shui kuvu tsing of 12 taels 8 mace. Whereas the pècul of rice contains 160 catties, of wheat 140, of barley 120, of flour 100. Thus do they make the catties larger or smaller, counting them at the rate of from 14 to 18 taels ; also they have taels of two or three kinds; for example 19, taels of the sima ping are equal to 20 of the shui kwan tsing; that is to say, the weights come to be conventional, but Europeans always bargain for piculs of 100 catties of the custoin-house of Shánghái, which is the same as that of Canton. This however does not prevent a person making inquires of the natives in order to gain commercial informa-" tion to prevent being misled.”