SHANGHAI
799
houses have to give themselves fancy Chinese names, by which only they are known to the natives. The system is, however, found to have its conveniences. No less than 8,622 jinrickshas, 6,437 passenger and cargo wheelbarrows, 649 ponies, and 525 horse carriages ply for hire in the Settlements, besides large numbers outside. Of private vehicles there were licensed in 1913, 5,156 rickshas, 753 carriages, 342 motor-cars, and 874 ponies. No fewer than 47,686,648 passengers used the tramcars in 1913. The water conveyances licensed numbered 66 foreign cargo boats, 1,432 native cargo boats, 60 ferry and passenger boats, 1,874 other boats, 252 sampans, and 109 steam launches. There are 18 foreign and 23 native theatres, 262 pawn, 465 opium and 908 wine shops registered within the Anglo-American Settlement.
The currency of Shanghai is the tael weight of silver-equal to 579-84 grains troy, of fineness 0.916, but reckoned at 98. That is to say, an actual weight of 98 taels is counted as 100. The Shanghai tael thus contains, or should contain, 520.43 gr. troy of pure silver, but varies owing to the crude methods of assay. This is, however, the mean. The silver known as "sycee" is cast into "shoes" of fifty taels, more or less. The foreign banks issue notes of the value of one dollar and upwards for both taels and dollars. Smaller transactions are conducted in clean Mexican dollars, or equivalent dollars from the various provincial mints, smaller subsidiary provincial silver coins and copper cash. There are eight foreign and numerous native banks in the settlement. In 1896 the Imperial Chinese Bank, under Chinese and European management, was opened by Imperial Decree.
TRADE AND COMMERCE
Shanghai is the great emporium for the trade of the Yangtsze and Northern and Corean ports, and to some extent for Japan. The total import and export trade of 1868 amounted to sixty-five million taels. It steadily increased each year until 1881, when it reached Hk. Tls. 141,921,357, but afterwards showed a great decline, the total for 1884 having been twenty per cent. less than that of 1881. There was, however, a rapid recovery up to 1905; the total trade import and export, for the last seven years, as given by the Customs Statistical Department, being :---
1908... Hk. Tls. 397,106,850 at Ex. 1.48 Mex. $587,718,138 at Ex. 3s. 8d., £52,947,580
1909...
"1
1910...
"}
449,242,406 471,071,623
1.48
"}
})
1.48
""
1911...
484,202,222
1.48
7)
"J
1912...
491,485,487
1.52
""
""
1913...
533,534,878
1.51
19
,,
1914...
498,695,147
1.47
31
$664,878,760 $701,896,718 $716,619,288 $747,057,940 $805,637,665 $733,081,866
クラ
2s. 7 d., £58,378,114
2s. 8 d., £94,317,071
""
""
2s. 8d., £96,295,716
"
3s.
0ğd., £114,004,154
"
35.
2s.
01d., £121,684,855 8d., £100,035,129
>>
The following tables show the export of Tea and Silk for eight years:-
Tea- Black Brick Green
1907...piculs 197,824 311,138
1908...
1909
1910...
""
1911... 1912... 1913... 1914...
177,294
7
279,031 168,835 214,297 295,862 140,121 247,067 297,860 173,100 308,528 264,752 307,917
37,688
220,190
71
364,420
314,396
""
141,711
502,460
290,985
Silk Wild Waste Cocoons
1907...54,031 16,952 71,438 8,850 1908...58,875 26,593 51,492 9,308 1909...60,301 26,996 52,487
15,083 1910...66,116 23,379 75,360 13,948 1911...59,224 27,679 $1,064 1912...86,554 14,899 76,301 1913...73,446 23,762
16,313
18,792
76,480 19,530
196,817 400,015 277,565 1914...54,927 13,727
52,474 20,863
The Import trade in Foreign Goods for 1914 was as follows:- From Foreign Countries and Hongkong
...
...
From Chinese Ports
...
+
...
Hk. Tls. 238,589,548 2,656,319
Hk. Tls. 241,245,867
The following were the values of the principal classes of Foreign Goods imported during that year:—
Cotton Goods. Tls. 70,133,243, Metals....
Tls. 8,272,374 Misc. PieceGoods Tls. 2,689,776
Cotton Yarn 30,160,598 Kerosene Oil, &c. Opium...
Sugar.
+
-
26,462,931 Coal
10,778,145 Machinery...
Dyes and Colours 10,668,800 Paper Tobacco, Cigars &c. 9,981,618 Timber
...
7,022,928 Cotton, Raw
2,318,440
4,959,624 Gunny & C'ton Bgs. 2,045,071 3,950,937 Wol.&C'tonMix.... 1,835,148 3,151,098
3,034,308 | Card. ford. ... Tls. 197,465,039
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