720
SHANGHAI
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 twenty-eight foreign and numerous native banks in the Settlement. The Imperial Chinese Bank, under Chinese and European man- agement, was opened by Imperial Decree in 1896.
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 for 1881. There was, however, a rapid recovery up to 1905. The total trade, import and export, for the last nine years, as returned by the Customs Statistical Department, is given below:-
1914... Hk. Tls. 498,695,147 at Ex. 1.47 Mex. $733,081,866 at Ex. 2s. 8d., £ 68,051,150
1915...
2s. 7 d., £ 71,247,688 3s. 3 d., £ 94,761,326 4s. 3 d., £125,263,808 5s. 3 d., £165,755,416 6s. 4d., £243,201,949
1 &
549,379,765
1.41
""
""
1916...
""
571,245,672
1.54
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""
1917... 1918...
""
580,232,838
1.63
""
""
627,094,382
1.61
""
""
""
1919...
""
768,006,155
1.68
1920... 1921... 1922...
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840,969,438
1.58
""
""
""
927,477,660
1.50
"
""
989,715,490
1.50
$774,625,468 $879,718,335 $945,779,526 $1,009,621,955 $1,290,250,340 $1,328,731,712 $1,391,216,490 $1,484,573,235
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""
""
""
""
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""
3s. 11d,, £183,321,756
•
3s. 5d., £241,394,022
وو
6s. 9 d., £285,579,205
The following tables show the export of Tea and Silk for eight years:-
Tea-Black Brick Green
1914...piculs 196,817 400,015 277,565
Silk 1914...54,927
Wild
Waste Cocoons
13,727
52,474 20,863
1915...
""
311,605
1916...
1917...
""
1918...
73,351
1919...
146,232
**
1920... 1921... 1922...
""
40,248 48,341 152,828
""
273,076 434,466 222,384 404,910 296,214 1916...66,609 10,986 175,232 214,570 208,292 1917...66,837 11,826 79,716 164,175 1918...60,943 15,525 149,344 249,658 1919...82,289 14,099 4,642 157,063 1920...46,889 9,412 13,820 249,113 1921...28,260 1,438 261,019 1922...63,593
1915...79,089
24,260
39,879 31,170
06,448
23,398
171,451 29,428
81,467
28,550
77,988
30,894
51,496 24,544
456
18,074 18,211
9,744
49,299 28,396
The Import trade in Foreign Goods for 1922 was as follows:-
From Foreign Countries and Hongkong From Chinese Ports
...
...
...
...
...
....
...
Hk. Tls. 419,593,331 5,137,930
...
...
...
Hk. Tls. 424,731,261
The following were the net values, after deducting re-exports, of the principal classes of Foreign Goods imported during that year:-
...
...
Cotton Goods. Tls. 35,286,874 | Paper... Tls. Cotton, Raw 34,029,185 Wol. and C'ton Mix. Machinery... 26,583,957 and Wol. Goods Tobacco,Cigars,&c.19,150,152 Coal
...
...
17,666,746 Electl. Metal, &c. 12,089,646 Misc. Piece Goods 8,959,631 Dyes and Colours 7,460,058 Cotton Yarn
Metals Sugar Kerosene Oil, &c. 8,959,631 Timber
...
...
...
...
6,394,539 Fish, Salted, &c. Tls. 1,184,454
Ginseng 6,343,508 Leather 4,434,799 Soap 4,076,746 Gunny & Cotton 2,183,333 Bags. 1,686,125 Sundries 1,532,0441
...
...
...
832,556
606,815
468,169
276,822
47,708,124
Total Hk. Tls. 239,054,283
Of the total gross value of goods imported (Hk. Tls. 424,731,261), goods valued at Hk. Tls. 7,331,548 were re-exported to Foreign Countries and Hongkong. A striking feature of the last two or three years' trade has been the rapid growth in the part played by America in the commerce of the port.
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