October 7, 1899.
on their investment, and however desirable it may be that they should be guided by philanthropic principles in the conduct of their business, it is idle to expect, as a matter of practical politics, that they will be so guided. Nor is it to be assumed that fixing rents on a low scale by process of law would diminish overcrowding. The only
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
१.
Shanghai has just been expressing somewhat mannger of one of our largest banks” nt
similar views, at least so the China Gazette result would be to transfer a portion tells us. Thereare not very many large banks" maintain our old n
at Shanghai, and we have a suspicion that none of the mangers would like to publicly assume responsibility for the opinions given expression to through _the_colum.ns of our Shanghai contemporary. The alleged ut- terances may be genuive enough for all that.
£
cial system in Asia is rotten and out of date | " count. It is undoubtedly because of want arrests attention, however, and although he" of enterprise and independent individual does not himself support it by proof, it is "effort that British interests in China to- worth whileenquiring whether it may embody" day are most seriously suffering, No any grain of truth. Curiously enough "the amount of paternal government coddling "wo want subventions and bounties, to will make up for this defect, and unless
thing will help us
18 in the struggle to
premier position
in “China if our merchants do not possess some of the sturdy characteristics of “their forefathers and display a readiness “and resourcefulness to help themselves." The reference to the young German is not altogether fortunate. Our Teutonic friends may be more enterprising and resourceful than ourselves, as is often alleged, but in the China trade they, too, are for the most part commission agents. If in that capacity › they achieve greater success, than the Brit ish it is perhaps not so much due to superior qualities in the individual as to the fact that owing to circumstances over which the unfortunate Britisher has no control the German is able to do business on more advantageous terms for his Chinese ends. In getting out goods, for instance, he is helped in the way of cheap rail- way rates to the port of shipment, he is assisted by theShipping Conference, and, according to a correspondent who writes to the China Gazette in reply to the article under notice, he is assisted by the manufacturers in Germany allowing more liberal terms than the English manufac turer in the way of credit and forwarding.
of the profits from the landlord to the ten- ants, as the latter would sub-let or take in lodgers up to the full limit nuthorised by the law as to air space and to such further limit as the supineness of official inspection | might permit. The laws of economics are immutable and no amount of official inter- | ference with the "higgling of the market" Only this very day." says our contem- as to rents will produce any result on the porary, "the manager of one of our largest question of overcrowding. In agrarian dis- banks made the remark that there were tricts in Ireland the law gives the tenant arcely any British merchants left in fixity of tenure and determines what is a "China. He lamented the tendency of the fair rent, establishing a sort of joint owner- representatives of British interests here to ship of the soil, in order to keep the "sink into the position of mere agents, population on the land, but we would be toilers for an all commissions, agents of suprised to hear that the law had anything * insurance and shipping companies instead to say as to the rents to be paid for rooms of entering the lists as bona fide merchants, in Dublin tenement houses, or even as to
"as in the old days of the China trade, the price of lodgings in the country. The
"when there were real British merchauts suggested establishment of a rent court in "in the land, and British enterprise in Hongk". g, as suggested by a correspondent
“China meant millions of money directly whose letter appears in another column,"invested by those who carried it on. therefore appears inapplicable. Proposals for interfering with the settlement of the rent 18 'between laudlord and tenant are in fact to be deprecated as calculated to divert attention from more practical remedies. It is the duty of the legislature to deal with overcrowding by ri- gorously enforcing rules as to the minimum air space to be allowed for each occupant, by opening up new residential districts, by facilitating communication with the suburbs by tramways and ferries, and, if it thinks well, by establishing public lodging houses, but it would waste its time and do harm intsend of good by saying that A, having a room to let, should let it to B for $3 a mouth, if C also wanted it and was willing to give -$3.50 a month. To carry the argument to its reductio ad absurduni, why not say that landlords shall charge no rent at all? That would result in an enormous influx of population, landlords would no longer h..ve any inducement to build houses to meet the increased requirements, and the evil of overcrowding would become worse and worse.
1
ARE BRITISH COMMERCIAL METHOUS IN ASIA UT OF DATE.
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Then follows a eulogium on the good old days of the merchant princes, which are sily contrasted with these degenerate days, when business is done "on" commission,' with little or no risk of loss, with an infini- tesmal share of the profits, but with co hope The China Gazette states that the pioneer of realizing large gains as the result of judg line of steamers on the Upper Yangtze is ment, prudence, or commercial knowledge. to be established by a German Company Such a mode of life, our contemporary has If that be so the Germans must be credited no hesitation in saying, is fatal to the main with having exhibited commendable enter tenance of that predominance in commerce prise, and it will afford occasion for regret which the old British merchants in China that after all Mr. ARCHIBALD LITTLE'S
8 work an long held. It reduces all business men Great Britain should come out only a bad to a very poor level of mediocrity, destroys second in the race to Chungking. If the enterprise, checks proper anibition, saps facts be as stated, however, it would not be self-reliance, and destroys. the use of those surprising to hear that the German Company higher faculties which to men of real capa- is directly or indirectly supported by city engaged in commerce in a country like subsidy. Be that as it may, our contem- China are the main factors of pernianent porary shoots very wide of the mark when success. All this is very fine as a literary it inveighs against the British shipowner for effort, but it is uusound as a matter of plain not taking advantage of the "great and business. With the telegraph and regular" valuable privilège" of inland navigation. steam communication even the merchant of "It is nearly two years now," says the good old days, if he were brought back our contemporary
"since this great to the scene of his former labours, would "and valuable privilege has been obtained find it necessary to modify his former for him, but up to the present we methods and adapt himself to the new con-
"have failed to find a single.” British ditions, or take the penalty of bank- merchant or steamship company taking ruptcy, a penalty which in fact a good many had to pay because they failed to recoguise the changes that were taking place and to move with the times. Under existing conditions, when indents cau be so speedily and accurately fulfilled, there is little inducement for merchants to bring out cargoes of goods as ventures on their own account, with the exception of cer- tain well known lines of articles in regular demand.
66
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·
advantage of this long sought opportunity. "of testing it, and showing the good faith "of his intentions by investing any money (Daily Press, fith October).
in inland navigation. He has devoted In a splenetic attack made by Mr. JAMES CREELMAN in the New York Journal on the
"himself to a persistent criticism of the "clauses of the regulations without bringing idea of an Anglo-American alliance, the
any knowledge born of experience to show writer says "The whole British com-
"how they would work or fail to work in "mercial and financial system in Asia is
"the manner intended by those who * rotten and out of date." He does not
"drew them up in his behalf.” How support his assertion by any facts or figures, though he indulges in a growl at the P, & O.
contrary this is to fact will t be seen on a "The truth is," continues the Shanghai perusal of the correspondence on the sub- Company and the Hongkong and Shanghai paper, "that the Chinamen have reaped ject recently published by the Hongkong. Bank, in the one case because the Com-
"the big profits, become the real men of General Chamber of Commerce, which we pany's steamers are in his estimation not
"affairs, increased their holdings in the would commend to the consider giftus equal to those of lines by which, curious"land, till they roll by in their thousands the Shanghai writer. British merchanta to relate under the circumstances, he elected "in carriages while the descendants of the and shipowners contend that they cannot not to travel, and in the other case because "old British merchants trudge along on
extend their operations in Chiña, na they he appears to have had to pay a little for
"foot. And every year the line of demar- would like, because they are not adequately the exchange of his funds between the "cation will become more accentuated. supported by the Legation and Consularə different ports. Mr. CREELMAN as a public "But it is all because the British business Authorities. - This matter of inland naviga. writer is more notable for sensationalism
man will not strike out for himself now- tion is a case directly in point, the British-t than for accuracy, and even were his facts of a more categorical character than is the
'a-days, while he can make a bare living on | Chargé
interests of his nationala. The case it would not necessarily follow that were genuine. His general statement the whole British commercial and finan-
16
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"his commission. Very different is it with trary Affaires having gone directly, cons
"the young German, who, wheuover he Legation and Consular people on their side? "leaves the hong that brought him to claim that the merchant and shipowner do “ China, starts as a merchant on his own ac- I not take full advantage of the opportunities*
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