SHANGHAI
717
munity, there being British, French, American, Japanese, Russian, and Chinese Post Offices. The latter was organized by the Maritime Customs and is at present being conducted under the auspices of the Board of Communications. The former Municipal Local Post was in 1898 incorporated with it. It undertakes the transmission of small sums of money and accepts the registration of letters. It will probably be some years before the difficulties inevitable in a country like China are overcome, and foreigners are, justly or unjustly, doubtful as to the inviolability of their correspondence. China has been admitted to the Postal Union. Shanghai was made a port of Registry for British ships in 1874. All foreign hongs and even
private 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. The number of jinrickshas has been temporarily limited to 8,000; there were also 8,117 passenger and cargo wheelbarrows, and 252 public carriages in the Settlement besides large numbers outside. Of private vehicles there were licensed, in 1918, 6,209 rickshas, 634 carriages, 1,061 motor-cars, and 700 ponies. The water conveyances licensed numbered 61 foreign cargo boats, 1,636 native cargo boats, 64 ferry and passenger boats, 1,531 other boats, 232 sampans and 115 steam launches. There are 21 foreign and 17 native theatres, 303 pawn, 128 opium and 1,161 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 elean Mexican dollars, or equivalent dollars from the various provincial mints, smaller subsidiary provincial silver coins and copper cash. There are fourteen 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 :-
1912... Hk. Tls. 491,485,487 at Ex. 1.52 Mex.
1913...
""
533,534,878
1.51
""
>>
1914... 1915... 1916... 1917... 1918...
""
498,695,147
1.47
""
""
549,379,765
1.41
$747,057,940 at Ex. 3s. $805,637,665 $733,081,866 $774,625,468
""
3s.
2s.
""
0ğd., £ 75,002,733 01d., £ 80,585,997 8d.,£ 68,051,150
2s.
""
""
571,245,672
1.54
""
""
""
580,232,838
1.63
""
627,094,382
1.61
""
$379,718,335 $945,779,526 $1,009,621,955
""
""
7 d., £ 71,247,688 3s. 31 d., £ 94,761,326 4s. 3 d., £125,263,808 5s. 3d., £165,755,416
The following tables show the export of Tea and Silk for eight years:-
Tea--Black Brick Green
1910...piculs 173,100 308,528
1911... 1912... 1913...
177,294
99
220,190
""
1914... 1915... 1916... 1917...
""
311,605
""
296,214
""
Silk Wild Waste Cocoons 264,752 | 1910...66,116 23,379 75,360 13,948 37,688 307,917 1911...59,224 27,679 81,064 16,313 364,420 314,396 1912...86,554 14,899 76,301 141,711 502,460 290,985 1913...73,446 23,762 76,480 196,817 400,01.5 277,565 273,076 434,466 222,384 404,910
18,792
19,530
1914...54,927 13,727
52,474
20,863
1915...79,089 24,260
39,879
31,170
1916...66,609 10,986
106,448
23,398
175,232
214,570
208,292
1917...66,837
11,826
71,451 29,428
,,
1918...
""
73,351 79,716 164,175
1918...60,943
15,525
The Import trade in Foreign Goods for 1918 was as follows:- From Foreign Countries and Hongkong
...
...
...
...
From Chinese Ports
...
...
...
...
...
81,467 28,550
Hk. Tls. 214,967,907 5,932,145
...
Hk. Tls. 220,900,052
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