Directory_and_Chronicle_1932 — Page 837

WUHU

767

Coal inay some day become a considerable article of export from Wuhu, both native and foreign capital having been directed to the great coalfields of the province. The China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company are interested in several coal districts and have expended large sums in the opening of their mining property; the output has thus far been small, owing to the lack of proper machinery and management. The Chin Kang Company, a wealthy native syndicate, have a Government permit to open mines in several districts. A number of smaller companies are operating at present with the sanction of the above Corporation, to whom they pay a royalty. Two companies representing foreign capital-the Yangtsze Land and Investment Com- pany, Limited, and the I Li Coal and Mining Company, Limited-have purchased a number of the most valuable mining properties in the immediate neighbourhood of Wuhu. The Yu Fan Iron Mining Company completed a mountain railway, about five miles long, from their mines to the river bank at Tikang, a small port 30 miles up river from Wuhu, in 1918.

The tract of land selected 30 years ago for the Foreign Settlement was definitely ceded in 1906, and sites were allotted to the Anhwei Railway Company and to various shipping companies, each lot having a river frontage of 600 to 1,100 feet. In 1914 the Ministry of Communications took over the Anhwei Railway Company with its entire assets and liabilities. Large godowns have been built by Messrs. Butterfield & Swire on their ground in the New Settlement for storing rice, and Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co., Ltd., have also acquired property in the vicinity. On the plots of ground acquired by the Asiatic Petroleum and the Standard Oil Companies below I-Chi-Shan, a hill which forms the lower boundary of the Foreign Settlement, the former company has erected oil godowns and the latter, also, has established premises. Customs buildings on the foreshore near the Foreign Settlement were completed and occupied in 1919. The Chinese population of Wuhu is estimated at 130,706.

TRADE IN 1930.

In the midst of general unrest the port of Wuhu and the surrounding districts were gratifyingly free from serious disorders, but the disruption of the Tientsin-Pukow Railway had an adverse effect on up-river trade. Apart from the failure of the 1929 rice crop, the greatest obstacle to communications with the interior was the prevalence throughout the province of banditry. Farmers were afraid to convey their produce from the hinterland to Wuhu, while local merchants were reluctant to risk forwarding ready money to country districts. The prosperity of Anhwei being almost entirely dependent on its harvests, the year under review can only be considered a disappointing one. The rice crop of 1929 was exceptionally poor and resulted in famine in many districts. An embargo was placed on the export of rice, but available stocks were insufficient, and for the first time in history resort had to be made to importations of foreign rice. Much of this was sold below cost to the poor, the money being advanced by the local chamber of commerce. By the autumn, however, conditions greatly improved with the harvesting of an excellent crop. To prevent a further possibility of famine in Anhwei--one of the richest rice- growing provinces of China-the provincial authorities issued orders for the repair of old granaries and the construction of additional ones, and at the end of the year the outlook for 1931 was healthy and promising. The trade in silk cocoons from Tatung, although far from having regained its former importance, has improved, and there was a noticeable increase also in the exports of fresh eggs, native medicines, and paper. Owing to the embargo on the export of rice, the demand for tonnage was not large during the first three quarters of the year, but from the middle of October sea-going vessels were chartered in increasing numbers to cope with the rice harvest. The Wuhu Electric Light Company began to supply daytime current at the end of October. As yet only certain sections of the town are enjoying this convenience, as the work in connexion with the necessary alterations to the plant has, in certain parts, yet to be completed.

The value of the trade of the port for the year 1930 was Hk. Tls. 49,471,405 as compared with Hk. Tls. 52,404,006, in 1929, Hk. Tls. 43,428,377 in 1928, Hk. Tls. 33,656,178 in 1927, Hk. Tls. 49,560,411 in 1926, and Hk, Tls. 63,225,860 in 1925.