Directory_and_Chronicle_1931 — Page 1010

Directories & Chronicles 香港指南 All

934

WENCHOW

telegraph cable was successfully laid from the mainland to the Settlement in July, 1905, and communication established with all China ports. A new cable connecting the telegraph office at Santuao with the mainland was laid in May, 1921, and the incon- venience caused by receiving and dispatching all messages from the other side of the harbour, which had been experienced for four years previously, was thus removed.

The port of Santuao serves important tea districts. Much of the tea exported from Foochow to Europe is first shipped from Santuao; and there is a growing demand in North China for certain varieties grown in the neighbourhood. No build- ing operations worth mentioning have been undertaken at the port, and no modern methods have as yet been introduced in the manufacture of the principal local pro- ducts-paper and pottery, though excellent raw material is close at hand, especially extensive deposits of kaolin capable of yielding far superior pottery than is now brought on the market from this district. The iron mines in the districts of Kutien, Fuan, and Siapu, where the deposits were reported in 1918 to be of a promising nature, have not yet been properly exploited, and so far no smelting works at Santuao, as then anticipated, have been erected, so that a regular trade in this valuable mineral does not yet exist here. The chief towns of the district are Funing, Fu-an, Ningte, and Shouning. There is a prosperous and increasing junk-trade, and regular steamship communication with the provincial capital. Political conditions in Santuao improved considerably in 1929, order prevailed, several tax offices were closed down, and likin was abolished, but climatic conditions were none too favourable and trade remained stagnant. The sweet potato crop-the staple food of the people-was nearly a complete failure, and the second rice harvest was spoilt by drought during the autumn, and an embargo was placed upon the export of these commodities. The demand for tonnage was more than met by the addition of a regular monthly service being maintained by a steamer calling at Santuao en route from Hongkong to the North. Importations of sulphate of ammonia, both through the Maritime and Native Customs, fell considerably, as, with the prohihition of the planting of the poppy, farmers are resorting once more to to cow bones as a fertiliser for their fields. A noticeable feature of the Native Customis trade is the appearance of direct importa- tions of foreign goods by junk from Formosa, due mainly to the abolition of several tax offices, which makes this method of transport cheaper than conveyance by steamer through the Maritine Customs. The net value of the trade of the port for 1926 was йk. Tls. 3,874,522, Hk. Tls. 3,292,154 for 1927, Hk. Tls. 3,576,637 for 1928, and Hk. Tls. 3,376,329 for 1929.

Directory_and_Chronicle_1931 — Page 1010

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