Directory_and_Chronicle_1877 — Page 810

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CHINA AND ITS OPEN PORTS.

£16 in 1869, of £97 in 1870, of £487 in 1871, of £4,119 in 1872, of £21,041, in 1873, and of the value of £9,791 in 1874.

Manufactured cotton and woollen goods, the former of the value of £3,402,952, and the latter of £597,583 in the year 1874, constitute the bulk of the imports of British produce into the Chinese empire, a part passing in transit through the colony of Hongkong.

China is traversed in all directions by 20,000 imperial roads, and though most of them are badly kept, a vast internal trade is carried on over them, and by means of numerous canals and navigable rivers. It is stated that the most populous part of China is singularly well adapted for the construction of a network of railways, and a first attempt to introduce them into the country was made at the end of 1875, when the rails and rolling stock for the construction of a line from Shanghai to Woosung, ten miles in length, were despatched from England.

Money, Weights, and Measures.

The money, weights, and measures, in ordinary use at the treaty ports, and in the intercourse with foreigners, are as follows :---

Money.

The Tael 10 Mace-100 Candareens=1,000 Cash=

Mexican Dollar

""

Average rates of exchange, 68. 8d., or 3 Taels to £1 sterling. 48. 2d.,

There are no national gold and silver coins in China, and foreign coins are looked upon but as bullion. The chief medium of payment in commercial transac- tions consists of whole and broken dollars by weight. În accounts between foreigners and Chinese merchants, Mexican dollars are mostly converted into taels, at the rate of 1,000 dollars for Tls. 720. But payments in cash are usually weighed at Tls. 717 for 1,000 dollars.

Weights and Measures.

The Leang, or Tael...... = 11 oz. avoirdupois.

Picul

Catty.. Chih..

""

= 133 lbs.

14 14,1 inches.

""

""

Chang.

11 feet.

Lys, or Li..... =194 to a degree, or about English mile.

In the tariff settled by treaty between Great Britain and China, the Chih of 14% English inches has been adopted as the legal standard. It is the only authorised measure of length at all the ports of trade, and its use is gradually spreading all over the empire.-Statesman's Year Book.

HOIEOW (IN HAINAN.)

The port of Hoihow, officially known as K'iung-chow (the seat of the local govern- ment, and distant from its port about three and a half miles), was opened to foreign trade on the 1st April, 1876. A Vice-consul, who also acts for Germany, represents British interests, a branch of the Imperial Maritime Customs controlling the duties, &c., paid on foreign trade. The position of the port, though geographically favourable, is topographically unsuitable for the development of any extensive commercial trans- actions, vessels being compelled to anchor some two miles from the entrance of the creek, or branch of the main river, upon which Hoihow is situated. The tides are extremely irregular, and the anchorage is liable to the visitation of very severe typhoons, being moreover entirely unprotected from the North. As regards health, Hoihow compares favourably with the other ports of Hainan, though fever and ague are said to prevail to some extent. The port is badly supplied with water.

The approaches to the shore are extremely shallow, so that loading and unloading can only be carried on at certain states of the tide. Despite this disadvantage, however, the advent of foreign steamers has given a considerable impulse to trade,

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