April 2, 1898.1
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
communication with the railway and reach their final destination, or some place within easy reach of it, with security and despatch. It is said that of the small quantity of tea shipped to Bombay in 1897 a proportion was subsequently reshipped to Batoum, and that shippers are establishing agencies along the line of railway. The Russia Government is en- couraging the adoption of this route and making a considerable reduction in the import duty levied on tea brought to Batoum in vessels flying the Russian flag.
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255
VICTORIA ENGLISH SCHOOLS.
PRIZE DISTRIBUTION, SPEECH BY SIR JOHN. CARRINGTON.
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con.
the exports from Formosa.. It is satisfactory to note that the increase is not due to an excep. tional demand for a particular article, and reference to the table of exports will show that almost every item; except tea, has shared in the
The City Hall was crowded on Friday expansion. It might be thought that the
afternoon, 25th March, on the occasion of increased value conld probably be explained by
the annual prize distribution in connec better prices obtained in consequence of low
tion with the Victoria English Schools. exchange, but it will be seen that quantities as
Sir John Carrington, wearing his robes, well as values have increased. While black
was in attendance, having kindly brick tea shows an increase of 3,512 piculs,
sented to hand the awards to the successful every other kind of tea declined. Black tea
pupils. There were also present the Hon. E. R. fell from 912,417 to 764,915 piculs, green tea A remarkable rise from 6,034 to 62,741 piculs Belilios, the Rev. G. J. Williams, Mr. W. D. from 216,999 to 201,168 picals. I am one of will be remarked in the brick tea shipped to Braidwood (headmaster), and Mr. J. Living- those who believe in the possibility of reviving Great Britain. This was due to an interesting stone (assistant master). At the outset a short this trade. It may not be generally known experiment which was tried with, I understand, programme of songs, &c., was gone through by that the most deilicate and highly prized teas promising results. Brick tea detined for Cen- the scholars, who were conducted by Mrs. Braid- from India and Ceylon are grown on the higher tral Siberia was shipped from Hankow to Lon-wood, Miss Yvanovitch presiding at the piano altitudes and are produced from plants of don, where it was transhipped to steamers leav- porte. The programme included the following Chinese origin. The bulk of the tea exporteding about the end of June for the mouth of the items-Chorus, " Holiday Duet," Class; piano- from India comes from the plains, and is Yenisei River, and was thence water borne to forte duet, "Silvery Waves," Misses Tregillus the product of the indigenous plant which Krasnoyarsk, where it reached the Siberian and Silas; vocal duet, "We are wandering o'er grows as a forest tree in Manipur-attaining Railway. The expenses by this route are said the mountains," Misses Seth,de la Concha, Ivano- in its wild state a height of 30 feet to be lower than those incurred by overland vich, Rodger, Lewis and Joseph; chorus, "The and which will not ourish except at carriage, and, should the limited period during Nightingale," Class; pianoforte duet,
"Gaieté low elevations. The teas made from the which the Kara Sea is open to navigation not de Coeur," Misses E. Lewis and A. del a Concha; leaves of these plants yield a strong liquor, and prove a serious obstacle, we may expect to see a nursery rhymes, Class; darkies' lullaby, Class. they are consequently economical in use; but yearly increase in the shipments of brick tes The "Darkies' Lullaby" was especially well they are certainly anwholesome, and they lack to Great Britain.
appreciated and a portion of it had to be repeated. altogether the delicious aroma the teas
Although the export of silk exceeded that of Mr. BRAIDWOOD read the following report: grown at higher altitudes from Chinese plants. 1896, it did not compare favourably with 1895.
Sir John Carrington, ladies and gentlemen: They can be placed on the market at low prices A large orop was anticipated, but, owing-I have the honour to lay before you the annual because the tea estates are so large that the perhaps to the worms having suffered dur. report of the Victoria English Schools for the quantity of leaf to be dealt with makes the usa. ing their early stages by a long spell of year ending 31st December, 1897. The number of machinery profitable and even necessary rainy weather, it fell short of expectations. of pupils enrolled during the year was 219. The The essential difference between the process of Prices, in consequence, were pushed up rapidly, average attendance during the year was 122.64. manufacture in India and Ceylon and in China the demand from abroad justifying buyers in At the annual Government examination in De- is that the teas are packed within 24 hours of operating freely. The drop in exchange dur- cember 101 pupils were presented, viz:-69 boys the leaves having been plucked, which would ing the summer caused a further advance, the and 32 girls. In the Girls' School all passed seem to be impossible in this country under
well-known "Gold Kiling" chop obtaining the and in the Boys' School 94 per cent. In read. present conditions. It has been stated recently fine price of Tls. 470. Exporters did well in ing, copy-writing, elementary science, and book. that the peculiar excellence of fine China teas consequence of the low exchange and the good keeping 100 per cent. passed; arithmetic, gram- would be ruined by the adoption of Indian price obtained abroad. Stocks in hand are said mar, and geography 98.5; euclid 88; algebra 75. methods. This may be true of fancy teas for to be very low, and prices are likely to rule The results in history and physical geography exhibition, but is certainly not true if applied during 1898. In the North the great demand were not so satisfactory. In the latter subject to ordinary fine teas. Not being an expert for cocoons required by the filatures made the papers were more difficult than usual. my opinion is of little value, but I may be
buying difficult, owing to the high prices asked, These remarks refer to the Boys' School permitted to say that I have been unable to pro- and many filatures were unable to procure only. Sixteen pupils presented themselves oure in China tea of such delightful fragrance enough for their wants. Those filatures which for the Oxford Local Examination. and digestibility as some I have tasted from
sold their out-turn when exchange was low these ten were successful, three boys and seven Danjeeling and the Kangra Valley-grown from made handsome profits, but others suffered loss. girls, viz-2 senior, 6 junior and 2 preliminary.. Chinese plants but manufactured by machinery.
teeing that the northern Chinese silk is in- Miss S. Mehta. was distinguished in Scripture. I believe that the experiment commenced at trinsically the finest in the world, it is dis. The local branch of the Navy League offered Foochow, and shortly to be imitated at Hankow, appointing to learn that little or no improve. two prizes of $20 each for essays on will, if sufficient leaf can be procured close to ment in the reeling has taken place, and that a
Command of the Sea," and "The Use of the the factory, eventually result in a success which trade which should be an increasing source of British Navy." These prizes were awarded to will encourage the adoption of similar methods
wealth to the people is gradually being diverted D. Belilios and H. Naphtali respectively. We in other centres of the tea industry and will re- to other channels in consequence of defective tender our best thanks to the Navy League and gain for this important trade a large measure of reeling and adulteration. Owing to these its hon. secretary for their endeavours to kindle its former prosperity.
causes, and to heavy internal taxation, the silk a spirit of patriotism among the children, trade of China, unless a change is made, will feel more and more severely the competition of Japan, where the silk, although of an inferior quality, is so carefully cultivated and handled that it finds an annually increasing sale. These remarks apply to the silk which is reeled by native methods, and more especially to the silks of Northern China. In the Canton district cer- tain improvement is visible, and it is gratifying to notice that the export of steam filature silk increased from 27,041 to 41,485 piouls, which makes it evident that the salvation of the trade given a more intelligent cultivation of the worms and a result-improvement in the cocoons
must be looked for in this direction. The increase in the export of beans and bean. cake was due to the demand from Japan. Fans and rush hats rose from 2,236,500 to 4,359,578 and feathers were exported in larger quantities,
pieces. Hides rose from 158,367 to 216,525 piouls, and this is a trade which is of growing importance. The export of mats was more than doubled. Nutgalls, oils, skins, brown sugar, and vegetable tallow all show progress. The increase in the export of tobacco leaf is especially noticeable, rising from 104,761 to 141,877 piouls. Wool improved, but did not reach the total for 1895.
It will be observed, on reference to the table giving the particulars of the direct exportation of tea to Foreign countries, that the shipments of tea to India, consiting almost entirely of green teas, fell from 46,737 to 11,441 picals. These teas are not consumed in India, but are destined for Central Asia. From Bombay they are shipped to Karachi, whence they are carried by camel caravans, via Peshawar, Cabal, and Herat, to Bokhara, Samarkand, and other distributing centres. Another route is from Bombay to Bander Abbas in the Persian Gulf, and thence by caravan through Persia to Askabad, etc. The falling off in the shipments to Bombay may be partly ascribed to large stocks held over from last season, and to the disorganisation of trade brought about by the found in a diversion of the route by which they bubonic plague; but the chief cause is to be
reach Central Asia, Batoum taking the place of
Bombay as the port to which they are shipped directly from China. The development of this route is due to the opening of the Central Asian Railway, and for some time a considerable and increasing quantity of tea has been transhipped to Batoum via Port Said. By the old over- land routes from Karachi and Bander Abbas there are many difficulties to be encountered, such as taxation when passing through Afghanistan or. Persia, risk from robbers, expense of transport, and uncertainty as to the length of time occupied on the land journey. Moreover, owing to the dangers of the road, a sufficient number of merchants have to combine their caravans for mutual protection, and thus there is often delay before a start can be ́emade. On the other hand, teas shipped diret to Batoum are brought at once into
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The Directors of the Shanghai Waterworks Co., Limited, will recommend at the annual general meeting, to be held on the 6th of April, the payment of a final dividend of 25 shillings per share, making, with the interim dividend paid in July, a total of £2 per share, yielding to Shanghai shareholders the sum of Tls. 15.70 per share for the year.
Of
"The
The library has been a source of great pleasure to the pupils, but more books are required and we shall be very grateful if our friends will assist to provide them. Drill has been carried on during the year and many of our pupils have been enrolled in the local Volunteer Corps.
The physical welfare of the children has been carefully considered. The boys have their cricket and football clubs and the girls a lawn tennis club.
Our heartiest thanks are due to the following gentlemen for kindly contributing to the prize fund-Sir J. Carrington, Kt., C.M.G., Hon. E. R. Belilios, C.M.G., Rev. G. J. Williams, Hon. T. H. Whitehead, Mesars. T. Jackson, N. A. Siebs, A. G. Romano, D. Warres Smith, D. Gillies, G. C. Anderson, Granville Sharp, H; M.
the prizes, said Mr. Williams, Mr. Braidwood, Mehta, J. M. Basa, P. Jordan, R. Mitchell.
Sir JOHN CARRINGTON, having distributed
ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. It is now my privilege, and in a certain sense my duty also, to make a few remarks to you with regard to the interesting occasion that has called us together. I am quite sure it is an in- teresting occasion to all of you who are here, because you must have been pleased to see the evidences of careful training on the part of the masters and mistresses of these schools and the very pleasing appearance of the boys and especi ally of the girls. (Applause.) This is the first time I have had the pleasure of coming into contact with the Victoria English Schools, but I hope it will not be the last time. (Hear, hear.) I propose to say a few words to you first with regard to the schools and their history during the past year, and then to address a few words of kindly counsel and comfort to the boys and
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