January 13, 1900]
LORD CHARLES BERESFORD ON INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISE
IN CHINA,
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE RÉPORT.
machinery
practical, and if they that met their wants they would often buy it. No doubt this is the case. If goods are brought and placed before the eye of a capitalist he will frequently make
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purchase which 110 amount of mere description could induce him to venture on. The time has arrived, we think, or is rapidly approaching, when.
REVISION OF TE CHINESE TARIFF.
(Daily Press, 10th January.)
The revision of the Chinese tariff being now under discussion, it may be useful to recall the representation made by the Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce to the late Sir RUTHERFORD ALCOCK on this subject
(Daily Press, 8th January.) Before proceedling to take up his new appointment that of second in command of the Mediterranean Squadron-Lord CHARLES BERESFORD made a final public deliverance on China as a field for British an Industrial Exhibition on a large scale thirty years ago. At that time the pro enterprise, which we sincerely trust will (and perhaps of a permanent character) may, posal took the form of a commutation of all not prove altogether barren of good results. with great advantage to British manufac transit dues by a payment of 50 per cent. The gallant Admiral, during his recent visit / turers, be held in Hongkong. An exhibition | in addition to import or export duty, pay. was proposed to be held in this island aboutable at the same time as the import and ten years ago, but the time was not ripe for partly because the colony was then suffer the enterprise, and the idea was dropped, ing from depression and partly because it was considered that Hongkong was not sufficiently central vis-a-vis China. The lat- ter reason still, to a great extent, holds good; distance has not been annihilated nor even shortened) by the introduction of the iron road. The railway, that should ere this have linked Hankow is still in the region of projection, and even with Canton and Canton with Kowloon, the capital is still unconnected with the Yangtsze Valley. The communication by
open
to the Fur East, may not, perhaps, have hit upon the most practical method of secur- ing the ultimate fulfilment of his great idea of preserving in China the "
to the commerce of all nations, 'door but he undoubtedly gathered a great deal of valuable information, set in motion an agitation among the commercial classes of the United Kingdom for a more vigorous policy in China, and aroused general atten- tion to the enormous possibilities for the extension of trade in that vast empire, On the occasion above referred to the ordinary general meeting of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, held on the 24th November last, at that institution, Storey's
Gate, London-Lord CHARLES BERESFORD treated his hearers to a fresh account of his experiences and observations in China in 1898, and then dwelt on the importance, specially, of getting the Chinese to make railways and open mines. In the opinion of the gallant Admiral, one of the first necessities of this ancient Empire is better means of communication, and he thought that next to this was the desirabi- lity of opening up the mineral resources, which, with the cheap labour existing in China, would give the Chinese a great ad- vantage in manufactures, and enable them to compete successfully with Western na tions in many branches of industry. Lord CHABLES added, however, that as one fruit
transit
求身
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to the importer or exporter to take out export duty, instead of leaving it optional
this arrangement "is one that the Chamber
passes. The Chamber wrote that.
should huil with much satisfaction; could. they take any assurance to themselves. from past experience that the Chinese "would faithfully observe their part of the agreement. The Chamber do not hesitate "to state that they regard their promises in "this matter with the greatest distrust, and "would respectfully suggest that either "the payment of the 50 per cent. additional. to the import and export duties be made. contingent upon a faithful observance by the Chinese of their part of the ngree- ment, or that Her Majesty's Government "determine to follow up every known. breach of the engagement with uncompro- the Chinese Government are regarded with... mising persistency." The promises of no less distrust now than they were then. The distrust, indeed, has grown. Our ex- perience in the South in regard to transit passes and the creation of monopolies afforda
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steamer on the coast is, however, more rapid and more frequent, and the inland waterways of Southern China are in a mea- sure open to steam navigation. There is a largely augmented traffic through Hongkong.. both from foreign countries and from the neighbouring empire, and this is steadily in- creasing. The territory of the Colony has also been extended, and in a very few years the internal traffic will be considerable, as the centres of population grow and indus- tries are developed.
Even now a vast
development is going on in the Kowloon peninsula, and this will receive a further impetus when the roads now in course of construction are completed. An Industrial Exhibition in Hongkong would, moreover,
conclusive evidence of how little reliance can be placed in the Chinese Authorities to
observe either the letter or the spirit of their treaty engagements. If, then, any de- finite proposal for a revision of the Chinese tariff is brought forward, it behoves the mercantile communities to see that suf
of his experience, any industrial enterprise bring thousands of visitors from Siam, Indo- ficient guarantees are given against ad-
in China manage by the native was sure
China, the Philippines, Borneo, the Straits ditional and Billegal taxation of goods to fail in competition with a similar coucern
Settlements, and Netherlands India. It is, upon which the tariff duty has been managed by foreigners. This statement, as
however, to its effect upon the Chinese
duly paid. The suggestion made by the applied to large joint-stock concerns, will be that we must chiefly look. And here, unfor Chamber in 1870 that the payment of the generally endorsed, at any rate by those tunately, we should be handicapped by the increased duties be unde contingent upon a who have had any 'experience of Chinese dead weight of Chinese officialdom. How faithful observance by the Chinese of their methods and management. There is so
ever much the Chinese themselves may be much jobbery, waste, and peculation in inclined to invest in machinery and im- part of the agreement was, a good many every concern managed by Chinese that, des-provements, the insatiable rapacity of the years later, acted upon with regard to the pite all other advantages it may possess over
mandarin steps in to check all enterprise. arrangement has worked satisfactorily, a increased duty upon opium, and the its competitors, it is in the end bound to go
It is this bogey, as the Shanghai correspond-threat upon the part of Her Majesty's Go- to the wall. Even the China Merchants'
ent of The Times points out, that blocks the Steam Navigation Company, though con- fessedly the best managed Chinese commer- cial undertaking, has made very little head- way when compared with the great Japanese Steamship Companies, and there seems little prospect of its early development, The Chinese commercial classes have but slender confidence in it, in spite of its privileges, and notwithstanding the attempts made to secure their support. The bulk of the shares are held by officials; and although
way in every direction, and renders all genuine progress impossible. To a certain considerable extent this evil influence must inevitably adversely affect every effort that may be made by foreigners to open up trade in China. But we must not allow it to weigh upon us too much and produce stagnation in this Colony. The apathy and stagnation prevailing in the Chinese Empire should rather prove an in- centive to foreigners here under the British
vernment to revert to the old scale of duties having proved successtulin at once stopping any attempt by the provincial authorities to levy squeezes. But an arrangement that works satisfactorily in regard to one article of commerce in which only one Government
is directly interested might not work so satisfactorily when applied to trade in general, and when alt the Treaty Powers were equally interested. The most effec
tive guarantee would be to place the whole
revenue collection, interual as well as ex-
the Imperial Maritime Customs.
possessed of various advantages the Coming to increased effort so as to provide aternal, under foreign control throngit pany has only just succeeded in maintaining stimulus and supply steady pressure to dur the position secured by the purchase of the great but dormant neighbour, fleet and business of the Shanghai Steam Navigation Company twenty-three years ago. It will, unless the Chinese change their customs and methods altogether, be many years before any radical change for the better in this respect can take place.
At Singapore the other day a Frenchman. said to be an officer from the French mail, was arrested for sketching in the vicinity of the forts at New Harbour. He was released on bail
of $1000...
› Lord CAABLES threw out one good sug- de Horsey, Capt. Morgan, B.M.L.I., and Lieut. The Admiralty announces that Commander gestion which we should like to see taken Wilson, R M. L. I., of her Majesty's ship up by British manufacturers. He advocated Monarch, have proceeled un conatry to join the establishment of an exhibition in Chiua the Naval Brigade with Lord Methuen's force, where British machinery could be shown, Commander de Horsey is well known on this engineers bang retune to explain its station, his last command having been H.M.S. capabilities. He said the Chinese were1 Plover.
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The Volunteer Gastle, which is now in the hands of Messrs. Guedes and Co., is succeeding famously. - It gives all the Volunteer news, with the addition of sporting intelligence, and deals in a bantering way with other local topics, i
The Japanese torpedo destroyer Akebona, Capt. H. Kewase, arrived at Singapore on the 26th Ded. Sept. 2ith, and touched at Aden and Colombo, on her way to Japan. She sailed from London on from whence she came direct. It was reported she would be obliged to dook at Singapore owing to one of her propellors being damaged, and would probably leave for her destination in about
a week's time.
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