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CHINA'S TRADE IN 1899.
(Daily Press, 24th March.) In his Report on the Foreign Trade of China in 1899 the Statistical Secretary deprecates the charge of undue optimism which was brought against him by some of the critics of his Report last year; and he admits the actual smallness of China's trade when its possibilities are considered. But he derives comfort, not dissatisfaction, from the com. parison of Chinese and Indian exports. If, he says in effect, India with her excellent roads, her railway system, and her light taxation, can only show a total Export Trade three times the size of China's, have we not every reason to be optimistic about the future of China, larger in extent, natur- ally richer, inhabited by a more numerous and more industrious population, when she shakes off the burden of lack of roads, absence of railways, and a crushing taxa- tion? Already her total trade is Hk. Tla. 460,533,288; and her total Revenue for 1899 is the highest ever recorded, amount- ing to Hk. Tle. 26,661,460, whereas the previous best was 1891, with Hk. Tls. 8,143,413. The year 1899, says Mг. TAYLOR, has shown in a striking manner what an advance is made when circumstances are propitious. And yet we may say that China still has no railway, still leaves her mines unworked. If she stands so well already what may we not look for in the future when she uses here resources and has a sys, tem of internal railways? The Report does not directly take into consideration the new Siberian line now so rapidly becoming an actual fact, though this of course is destined at no distant date to mark a new epoch in China's commercial history. But the Sta- tistical Secretary says generally: "The
future is distinctly bright, if the results to "be expected from the coming railways are "calculated. The Chinese, from highest to "lowest, are traders by instinct and are
prompt to take advantage of every oppor tunity of profit." What may be expected, then, from what a close observer has called a far more revolutionary change than the great change brought about by the opening "of the Suez Canal in 1869 ?"
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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND Black Tea export trade is reviving, in spite of the hold of Indian and Ceylon ens ou the English Market. Silk and Silk Products have had a remarkably prosperous year, but it depends in the goodness of the 1900 crop whether there is to be progress. Beancake, for Japan, advanced. Tobacco fell off, the check being "probably due to "defective packing and sorting," Wool had a good season and an increase in this export is anticipated.
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We do not intend here to go into the details of Mr. TAYLOR's Report, for this could not be done adequately without more more quotation than our space allows. may, however, note some of the chief points. The net value of the Import trade was Hk. Tls. 264,748,456, double that of 1890. Opium realised high prices, owing either to bad crops or to excessive adulteration of the Native Drug. The importation of Morphin continned to increase. Cotton Goods made A great advance. Both English and Ameri- can Sheetings rose. Most noteworthy was the continued advance in American and Japanese goods, the latter especially show ing very rapid development. There was a great advance, too, in fancy cotton goods. Woollen goods did not make such progress as cotton. Such comforts and lu- xuries as candles, cigars and cigarettes, clocks and watches, flour, widow-glass, lamps, matches, needles, perfumery, soap, sugar and umbrellas were all purchased freely. With regard to Exports, Mr. TAY LOE says that they are at present checked by price and inferior quality-the former due to cost of carriage and heavy taxation, the latter to adulteration or faulty me- thods of preparation for foreign markets. Yet their total value was estimated at Hk. Tls. 195, 784, 882, more than double the figures for 1890. With the opening up of new districts by railway another doubling **is predicted in the next ten years. The
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Under the Reading Shipping Mr. Taylor says: Entries from Foreign ports were '7,004 vessels, aggregating 5,479,000 tons, 'as compared with 6,093 vessels, with a "total tonnage of 4,927.000 tons, in 1898. "Coastwise entries were 25,350 vessels, making 14,147,000 tons, as against 19,958 vessels, representing 12,164,000 tons, in "1898. The total tonnage, entries and
'clearances, was 39,268,000 tons; and of "this total, Great Britain contributed 59 'per cent.; China, 24 per cent.; Japan, 7 'per cent.; Germany, 5 per cent.; France, "2 per cent.; Sweden and orway, 1 per "cent.; Russia, 1 per cent.; and America, 1 per cent. It may be interesting to note the per-centages contributed by each fl.g "to the total tonnage entered from Foreign "ports, which were: British, 61; Japanese, "13; German, 8; French, 5; Chinese, 5; American, 3; Swedish and Norwegian, 2; 'all other flags, 3, The tonnage employed "in the Foreign trade has approximately "doubled since 1890."
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Doubled since 1890 "—this is the burden of the Report, and a most excellent burden it is, when coupled with the strong hope hat the doubling process will continue.
CHINESE PORTS AND THE BRITISH FLAG.
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(Daily Press, 28th March.) It was learnt with satisfaction by all inter- ested in the trade of China that Sir THOMAS JACKSON is deputed to represent, at the Congress of the Chambers of Commerce of the Empire, the manner in which the right accorded to foreign steamers to navigate the waters of China has been withheld, should it prove to be one of the questions accepted by the organizing committee. We noted it will satisfaction, ns in previous articles we have repeatedly urged the adopting of this means of bringing the matter to a hend. Before Sir CLAUDE MACDONALD went home from China we stated that the concession he had obtained was--in view of the interpreta- tion put upon it-worthless. We stated that he was fully aware of the interpretation that would be and was put upon it by the Chinese Government and that he acquiesced in their decision, and in doing so we explained that he was under a misconception as to the con- dition of trade in China. Some doubt being expressed on this latter point by certain persons who were in a position to speak on the subject, we met Sir CLAUDE MACDONALD | on his return to China by a plain question as to whether he did or did not intend to exclude interport boats from stopping at other than Treaty Ports and Ports of Call. No direct reply was received to this, but the tacit admission that such was the case was made by the failure of any British ship- owner to obtain the right which we asserted the British Minster never intemled he should obtain. We pass by, with the contempt it derserves, the Bippant sent and absurd reply by Mr. BAX IRONSIDE to the representations made by the shipping companies on the subject. His remarks were effectually dealt with in our article of the 4th of November last. But, seeing that nothing is to be got out of the Minister, the Chamber of Com. I
[ March 31, 1907,
merce do wisely to represent it at home and do wisely to entrust, the task of doing so to such capable hands as those of Sir THOMAS JACKSON, who has doubtlessly fully posted himself on this important subject,
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It will be noticed that we make use of the
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words "Treaty Ports" and "Ports of Call." Now we fancy to the great bulk of people at home and to not a few in the Far East, this
'Port of Call" will be somewhat of a
foreign steamers are allowed to stop and puzzle. A Port of Call is a place where land or pick up passengers or cargo on cer- tain conditions, and those conditions are so restrictive that, as a matter of fact, little or
Mr. BOURNE's remarks in the Blackburn no cargo ever is picked up or landed there. Commission Report are as follows:-"The "rules under which cargo can be shipped or landed at Ports of Call on the Yangtsze opened under the Chefoo Convention are 14 so unreasonable that no use is made of "these ports;” and again, “unless there'
is a clear understanding between the "Government and the merchants, the "Government take rights as in the case "of the Ports of Call on the Yangtze "in such a form as to be of no value, "and the merchants do not get the
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development that their plans demand.” And yet, in spite of this, we find that the four Ports of Call open on the West River were opened under the Yantaze Regulations! In order to bring about that "clear under- standing" which Mr. BOURNESnys is so neces- sary, the Shipping Companies of this Colony have been hammering at the Government for the past two years but with no success. It is a matter which has now passed out of their sphere and has become one of public interest to the Colony, und as such deserves the closest and fullest attention of all interested in its welfare. A brief explana- tion will then perhaps not be amiss as to why it is that "Ports of Call" are of so useless a character. Originally it was in- tended that they should be places where transit-certificated imports could be landed and transit-certificated exports could be shipped. That is to say, goods coming from a Trenty Port, having obtained their transit pass, could be landed there, and goods coming from the interior under transit pass could be shipped there and carried to the nearest Treaty Port. Why such goods could not be shipped or landed anywhere is one of these mysteries known alone to the framer of the Chefoo Convention and to one other man- -Sir ROBERT Hapt. The latter con- cocted a set of rules known as the Yangtsze Rules, which effectually put a stop to any shipping or landing of transit-certificated goods at these places; and lest that should not prove sufficient and any foreign steamer should endeavour to pick up a little of what Mr. BAX IRONSIDE was pleased to call the native carrying trade of the interior, he (Sir ROBERT) added still more stringen: rules concerning this. What these Rules were we will endeavour to show by taking the numbers 1 to 20 as representing_the line of the Yangtaze or West River from their mouths to their source. Numbers 5, 10 and 15 represent Treaty Ports and num- bers 1, 3, 7 and 13 Ports of Call. The in- tervening numbers and from 15 (ie. the last or uppermost Trenty Port) onwarde represent places in the interior. A steamer takes a cargo of goods from Hongkong (to refer to the West River) to number 5 (ie. Treaty Port). The goods pay duty there and obtain a transit pass and then go by steamer either back to numbers 1 or 3 or on to number 7, all being Ports of Call. The reception that will be accorded to those goods at those places wheu landed ex steamer
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