Directory_and_Chronicle_1931 — Page 963

HANKOW

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these were completed in December, 1920. Messrs. Butterfield & Swire have a four- storey reinforced concrete godown on the site of their old office. Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co., Ltd., put up a very fine modern four-storey reinforced concrete godown, on the site of the buildings destroyed by fire in 1917, the total measurement of the building being approximately 74,772 square feet. The English Church was re-built, and consecrated in May, 1904. A new Union Church was built in 1916-17 in the French Concession, and opened in April, 1917. The new British school building was occupied at the end of the summer holidays in 1920 and is a vast improvement on the former accommodation.

The native city of Hankow was burnt by the Imperialist army in October, 1911, and a population of about 800,000 were thereby rendered homeless. At the end of 1914 it was estimated that fully 80 per cent. of the burnt area had been reconstructed, though unfortunately on the old lines, all the laudable plans for modernising the city having fallen through, owing to difficulties in obtaining the necessary funds. During 1919 large tracts of land in the back of the native city were reclaimed and several new roads were constructed. A scheme for the development of a Greater Hankow was started with the backing of the Government.

TRADE IN 1929

That the natural corollary to the accumulation of unusually large stocks at Hankow would be a temporary slump in the import trade was fully recognised, but the general situation at the beginning of 1929 appeared to justify a measure of optimism notwithstanding the activities of bandits in the interior. The suspensions of traffic on the Ping-Han Railway, however, due to the Central Government taking military measures to reassert its position in the province, destroyed the hopeful outlook. Peaceful conditions were luckily soon restored, and during the summer months the wonderful recuperative powers of the Chinese merchant were once again demonstrated, and the volume of trade passing through the port was unexpectedly large. In the autumn, however, military operations recommenced and continued until the end of the year, with the result that trade activities suffered a further set-back. Other adverse factors which contributed to hamper trade were the imposi- tion of local taxes, the after-effects of the anti-Japanese boycott, unfavourable exchange, and the extreme lowness of the river during the spring. As before, a proportion of the trade of the port was again financed through Shanghai, but, comparatively speaking, on a smaller scale. Hankow taels remained the currency of the port, with silver dollars as the chief medium for business transactions, and the price of dollars moved but little throughout the year. Tonnage was in excess of demand, and freight cliarges, especially on wood oil to America, declined considerably. The imports which contributed particularly to a reduction in trade were American kerosene oil, cotton piece goods, sugar, and tea dust, the decline in the last-named commodity being due to the suspension of work in local brick-tea factories consequent on the break in Sino-Soviet relations. A more extensive use of motor vehicles brought about a corresponding expansion in the importation of gasolene. Reconstruc- tion work in other parts of the country increased the demand for cement and pig iron, which were amongst the few articles registering an increase. The tea trade was generally unsatisfactory, while exports of cotton registered a heavy shortage, due principally to a larger local consumption and to the establishment of a press-packing plant at Shasi. A cotton-testing department was established in June, and no raw cotton may be exported from this port without a certificate from this department. Interruption of traffic on the Ping-Han Railway and on the Han River seriously hampered the hide and skin trade. The opening up of several hitherto untapped inland districts brought fresh stocks of wood oil to this centre, but the imposition of a local tax on this commodity was sufficient to encourage many dealers to consign their cargo to Shanghai even after the tax had been withdrawn. Severe epidemics, unfavourable climatic conditions, and a poor.harvest adversely affected the trade in egg products, while seeds and vegetable oils were on a declining market. The Wu-Han Municipal Council constructed several new roads in the city, an omnibus service was inaugurated, and work was started on the new bund frontage from the Custom House towards the Han River. The Hankow Waterworks added to their plant during the year. The daily receipts of the Canton-Hankow Railway, which ran regular services to Changsha, improved considerably, but the track is in poor condition owing to lack of materials, while the same observation may be made of the P'ing-Han Railway, the carriage of merchandise on which was much restricted