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414
TRÅDE OPPORTUNITIES IN EASTERN SIBERIA,
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF DALNY.
"The British Comme fal Agent at Vladivo- stock no Gr
Toport recently received at the Foreign Office, remark, that up to the present time very little attention has been given by British manufacturer to the markets of Eastern Siberia. Although the enormous extent of land east of Lake Baikal is but sparsely inhabited, yet there are some 10,000,000 people who exist there and whose wants must be supplied. These people are getting more and more ofvilised, and they are requiring many luxuries which can be supplied by British manufacturers. Beside the native population there is a fairly large and increasing number of settlers, both free peasants and convicts; and during the last three years a large increase the naval and military forces has taken ace. It must be remembered, however, that arge wholesale and retall business houses have been established for a number of years in all the verincipal towns of Eastern Siberis, and British merchants should endeavour to get into touch with these houses in order to get them to introduce British goods to the Siberian public. At present Germany has Sommand of the markets for most articles, the imports from England being chiefly galvanised iron for roofing purposes, iron and steel bars, plates, wire nails, and coal. The the imposition of the Russian duties which took closing of the free-port of Vladivostock and place in January, 1902, has entirely put a stop to the import of fancy articles, woollens, prints, and similar articles, and has very much decreased the imports of canned goods, such as sardines, tinned milk, butter, and also pickles and sauces which formerly came mostly from England. Machinery for mining purposes is duty free oxongt American, which has a duty of 40 per cent. levied on it. Briok houses are now to a large ex- tent taking the place of the wooden ones, and there le s good demand for brick presses, especially hand ones. For the next two or three years there will probably be a large demand for bricks, as barracks for the troops, which are being withdrawn from Manchuria are now being planned in the chief towns of the district. Fire bricks
are mostly imported from England and are sold at very high pric, as much as £10 per thousand being charged; the loon, made fire brick is sold for £5 per thousand, and finds a good demand for stove purposes There is also a demand for fancy tiles for paving shops and halls; at present these are supplied from Germany. There is a considerable sile for builders' ironmongery, carpenters' and black- smiths tools, but it is all in German hands; gal. vanised iron, which is sold in large quantities, all comes from England. As the duty is levied by weight on all metal goods, very light articles are usually imported. Asregards mining machinery, the demand is growing, especially for coal mining purpos
oses winding engines, hauling engines, boil. ors, also light railways, are wanted, and one com- „ is in the market for a complete briquette king plant. The coal mining.industry is - in its infancy; the largest colliery is ing out about 5,00 tons a month, but as getting scarce and expensive there is in to be a large demand for coal, which will
the opening of collieries and a good for all finds of mining machinery. hould not be lost sight of by British
irers, Bekwabe adda There is a good for fire-arms, especially shot guns, but the name that sell the Americans have mide speciality of the gun trade and a good
- of American guns is kept here," It is of little use sending catalogues or samples
what the Ru
is a good stock to pay any price
SHE
rom, and
ociate Chinese Appointed by the Court of
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The following extracts (in translation) from a letter from St. Petersburg Viedoniosti, written by its Dalny correspondent, relative to the commercial development of that town, have been received at the Foreign Office in London from H.M. Ambassador at St. Petersburg:
The work of completing the new railway terminus is being pressed on.
The ground plan of the town has been completed. All the official buildings are constructed, the streets laid out and lighted with electricity, the harbour has been deepened and protected by breakwaters, the wharves are about half com- pleted, one dry dock is quite ready and a second has been begun, and the town possesses a hospital, a public lib ary, three clubs, public promenades, &c.
A number of messures have been decided on restricting the commercial development of Port Arthur, by which Dalny will gain. The chief among these are the opening before long of a Custom-house at Dalny and making the line between Port Arthur and Nangalin branch line. In consequence of these measures the commercial firms at Port Arthur will be obliged to forward their goods, not direct to their destination, but first to Dalny, where they must go through all the incon consequence, the commercial centre of the renience and formalities of re-expedition. In Kwangtung Peninsula is bound to be trans- ferred from Port Arthur to Dalny.
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“This commercial evolution is already begin: ning to take place
Our principal merchants are following the new current and abandoning Port Arthur in order to settle permanently in Dalny.
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During 1902 the export trade of Dalny was wil. The import trade was also insignificant. The principal import was tea, a million and half pounds of this commodity being despatched to Russia, and at present there is a large stock of Chinese tes concentrated at Irkutsk, destined for the fair at Nijni Novgorod.
[June 6, 1903.
CHINESE IN NEW ZEALAND Rev. R. E. Chambers; corresponding recre- tary of the China Baptist Publication Society, sends us s
1 copy of an essay entitled “No” Zealand, her Chinese and other Immigrants, read before the Canton Missionary Conference on 25th March, 1903, by Rev. George Hunter McNeur, missionary of the Presbyterish Church The following is an
of New Zealand, extract:
*
The first party of Chinese immigrants came to our Colony between 1850 and 1860, attracted from Australia by the discovery of gold. These newcomers soon let their friends at home know of the new gold hills and for some years they poured into the country in great numbers. in number of their Celestial visitors, and in 1880 The Government became alarmed at the increase
sought to restrict their entrance by imposing a
poll-tax of £10. This was a decided obeck, but the fature the tax was raised years ago in order to prohibit a large influx of aliens in to £100. So during the last ten years the Chinese population has been steadily decreasing, and now there are not 3,000 in the whole of the Colony. Only about one sixth of our Chinese is a decided contrast to the Chinese population come from the "Four Districts." In this there in America and Australia. The five-sixths come from Teang Sheng a d Upper Poon Yü. The
Four District' men are cooks, laundrymen
Poon Yu men are largely gold-diggers. Some and storekeepers; the Tsang Sheng men are market-gardeners and fruit-sellers, while the few men among them have male fairly large keep them in comparative domfört on return to fortunes, most of them have made enough to China, while some have a struggle which ends pathetically in the pour-house or lunatic asylum or at best in being sent home by subecription. into force which makes the importation, sale and Last year an Opfum Prohibition Act came
use of opium à crime. The petition presented: to Parliament which sectired this legislation was signed by several hundreds of Chinese, many themselves victims to the babit. In the
• / district of Otago, where I was first introduced
year exportation began. The first ships to leave "At the opening of the navigation season this were two Japanese steamers laden with beans. Subsequently five foreign steamers cleared with dargoes of beans. At the present moment two steamers are being loaded with goods delivered by railway from Siberia and Manchuria.
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Almost every day fresh consignments arrive from Manchuria, Siberia, and European Russia (but little from, the latter). Some Chinese and Japanese steamship companies have moladed Dalny among their ports of call. A group of tea merchants from Colombo and Singapore are proposing to despatel tes via Ďaloy, the route being an economy of time and money since the duties on tea at Odessa amount to 92 copecks per pound, or double the duties by the Siberian land frontier at Manchuria towns. This difference of duties compensates for the increased cost of transport across Siberia.
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“Unfavourable reports have been current with regard to the commercial conditions of Dalny. Such reports may often be traced to the Port Arthur newspaper, the Novi Krai, which systematically decries Daluy."
Yu. These men are born gamblers. Sometimes to Chinese work, there are now about 1,600 mez and nearly 800 of these are from Upper Poon
with their savings to town in order to secure after years of hard work they will come down passage back to China. The longings of years are at last to have fulftiment. But the sight of the gaming table is too much for them, and a few weeks later you will find them---
not at
for
the wharf boarding the steamer home, but at the railway station Chinese do not seem to be denationalized at all returning to their up-country gold claim. Our by their residence in the Colony. I do not know any who bave out off their queues. Some there and try to ape the foreigner, but these are are who dress then selves cut in English names looked at with contempt by the majority of imitation reminds me of a negro who opened a their fellow countrymen. Their attempt at
fruit-shop in a street in Dunedin just opposite and in opposition to one of our Chinese. He tried to draw custom by painting in large white letters outside of his shop, "This way to an Englishman." Some one must have told him that there was a contradiction between his white sign and black face, because he afterwards altered it to "This way to a Britisher."--
The most terrible blow, our Chinese in New Zealand ever suffered fell on them in November of last year. They chartered the steamship 500 of their fellow countrymen who had died Ventnor to take back to China the remains of
A day out from the port of Wellington ahe in the Colony, during the past twenty years. struck a rock and afterwards fongdered, in 200 fathoms of water. This disaster is unparalleled in their history. The death of their friends was not nearly such a calamity as the loss of their bones, monio punkgo plusterman - de
When the French mail steamer Annam left the Borneo Wharf at Singapore for Saigon, she passed close to H.M.S. Spartiate which Annam had a large number of French soldiers was busy coaling at Tanjong Pagar. The on board and for the nonce was practically a troopship. The gallant Frenchmen, mys the Free Press, crowded to the side to get a good look at the big four-funnelled cruiser, Lient. May, who was officer of the watch, promptly ordered up the band of the Ocean which was on board, and immediately the strains of the Mar- seillaise" fell upon the ears of the delighted Frenehmen. The compliment was acknowledged On her last vorage across the Pacifis from with “Vive l'Angleterre " and " Vive le Roi," the Orient the P. M, 85, China, carried opium and the Spartiate's ship's company replied of the commercial value of about $585,000 gold, with three rousing cheers for their French com.the duty exacted being over $200,000
It was a pleasing ease of l'entente cordiale, which the King's frendly visit to Paris, and the prior British naval: compliments to President Loubet, have done so much to | crește.
• NC. Daily News||rades. Jalo, Secretary for the Colonies, utated in the Hones that the Govern. antipad neither has found nor supported the -importation of (A station for the Transvaal mines,
The Chinese Minister at St. Petersburg gays déjeuner in honour of General Kuropatin, Bussian Minister of War, on the ere of the latter's departure for the Far East.
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