COCHIN CHINA.
For the last two days we have been in sight of the coast of Annam.
When shall we be at Cape St. Jacques? Shall we lose the tide? This is
the question which one asks of the other on board. And by 6 a.m. we
find ourselves at rest, waiting outside the bar of the river Dannai,
for the tide to turn, to ascend inland to Saigon. Saigon is the French
capital of Cochin China, or Indo-China, as it is called, and is the
chief city of the provinces of Annam, Tonquin, and before long of
Gambogia, when the present King dies.
Cape St. Jacques is a pretty green foreland, jutting out into the
sea, fringed with cocoa-nut palms, and has a large white hotel, built
by the Pilot. Surely by this roadstead upon the hills, courting the
breezes of the north-east monsoon, with the ample anchorage in the
rear, the French might have fixed the capital of Cochin China. But
no. They placed it, as in olden time, far up a tortuous river, with a
narrow channel. The delay, and the pilotage, frighten away the ocean
greyhounds of commerce.
We weigh anchor. It is one o'clock. The sun is blazing hot, and there
is not a breath of air. But it is cool, they say, compared to what
Saigon will be. We shall see. Now we are in the winding channel. North,
south, east, west, we steer. Larboard! Triboard! Four hours we steam up
the river Dannai, with its flat banks of mangrove swamps, and tangle of
tropical vegetation, where they say tigers come out to sun themselves
on the sands. We sight at length the cathedral towers of Saigon.
They are to the right of us. In another instant they will be to the
left. Then we appear to have passed them, for we see the town on the
starboard quarter.
But at five we are at the quay, which is shaded by avenues of trees,
with the hibiscus, blossoming garden of the agent's house opposite--an
old temple with rows of fierce-tailed dragons guarding the roof. On the
wharf, the usual motley crowd thickening every minute as the news of
our arrival spreads, whilst Victorias, drawn by those beautiful, though
rat-like, ponies that are bred in Tonquin, are in waiting. These latter
only come out at five in the evening, and in the daytime we must be
content with the malabars, as the shuttered gharries are called, from
the Annamite name of the coachman.
We take the fashionable drive of Saigon, the _tour d'inspection_. Off
we go, flying as the wind, past some native houses, built on piles over
a green swamp, with waving palms above them. Here flourish the Cochin
China pig, the real pig of original breed, with its pink, bow-shaped
back, and earth-touching stomach, and the bright-plumaged Cochin China
fowls. We should like to buy specimens of the animals that have made
Cochin China celebrate at home, but doubt the warmth of our reception
on board-ship if we return with them. We cross the bridge, and look
over the hundreds of sampans that swarm up this creek of the river;
then drive along for a few yards by the steam tramway which connects
the China town of Cholons with Saigon, out under the cool wide avenues
of the Quai du Commerce, with its arsenal and Bureaux d'Affaires. The
roads are as flat and firm as a billiard table.
Beautiful boulevards, wide streets, great cafés, where pale-faced
Frenchmen sip absinthe and petits verres. It is Paris. Bravo, La
France! But it would be much better for these gay causeurs, to play
lawn-tennis, and football, cricket, rackets and rounders, as do the
English at Hong Kong, Singapore, and Colombo, thus defying, in large
measure, or at least postponing, the action of the tropics. It is
thirty years since the French acquired Saigon and Cochin China. At
one time it promised to be a prosperous colony. But that day is past.
Commercial depression reigns supreme, and France wearies of the large
subsidies swallowed up without results by Tonquin. That, though, is not
our business. We rather admire the feats of engineering, of laying out,
and the horticultural skill.
[Illustration: BOTANICAL GARDEN, SAIGON.]
We see this in perfection in the Jardin d'Acclimitasion, but with a
wealth of natural vegetation, how easy it is to make a garden such a
paradise as is this. In the deep bend of the river are the green lawns
and forest-trees of this botanical garden. There are banyan trees with
their trellise curtains of roots sweeping the ground, cacti in a mighty
spiky group, standing apart. Single aloes, with their blooming crests,
and the palms--they form a palmery of themselves, with the various
specimens of cocoa or tree palms, their straight grey stems tufted at
the top; of sago palms, with their graceful curving arms, shadowing the
lawns; of travellers, with their hands of mighty fingers outspread from
the single stem, all and every kind luxuriantly magnificent, a single
one of which would assist in making the fortune of a London florist,
such as we who see them dwarfed and frozen when exiled to our northern
climes, are scarcely able to realize that they are of the same species.
There are magnolias and camellias, growing to the height of our
forest trees, bamboo clumps, whose single-jointed stems spring equally
high, and mimosa trees, with their tender sensitive leaf, as spreading
as our chestnuts. And all these trees are banked up with and grow out
of brilliant beds of variegated green and yellow crotons, of caladiums,
with their enormous boat-shaped leaves of pink oleanders, of crimson
hibiscus, and purple bougainvillea, and cconvolvulus, whilst orange
and lemon trees, India rubber and mangoes, mingle with the heavy green
and yellow melon-like fruit of the pommelo. In the midst of this is an
aviary, and cages of rare animals, natives of these tropical regions.
We particularly notice the white pigeon, with the single blood-red spot
on the bosom.
We wander about in the dusky growth of overpowering luxuriance,
which to us appears so supremely beautiful, but which they say in its
monotonous green, palls upon you when you live amongst it. We come upon
a cool arbour, formed of green lattices overgrown with creepers and
passion flower, containing an exquisite fernery, damp and green, with
a collection of orchids of the rarest kinds--indeed, we saw several
specimens of the hardier ones in purple and yellow, growing on the
trees near the wharf. The twilight of this little open-air conservatory
is made darker by the enormous bananas outside, under whose pale green
sword-like leaves, cluster such heavy bunches of fruit, fifty or sixty
on a single stalk.
Night though closes quickly in, and if we would see the Annamite
suburbs we must give rein to our impatient little black steeds and bowl
swiftly out into the country, by some fields of brilliant pale green
rice, where the monster grey water buffaloes, with branching horns laid
backwards, strong and patient, are being driven home from working in
them, by coolies, hidden under bamboo hats the size of umbrellas. The
marshes have been in a measure drained, but the miasma rises thickly
from the rice fields, near which cluster the wretched huts of thatched
bamboo.
On we go, now through an avenue entirely composed of the glossy leaved
magnolia or another of feathery mimosa, broken only by groves of
tufted cocoa palms. Then we reach the military boundary, and returning
homewards another way, pass the cemetery where many a Frenchman lies
low. Along these shady avenues, deep and cool, we see the walled
compounds and overgrown gardens of the bungalows of officers and
merchants, of whom about 1700 reside in Saigon. We meet many of them
out for their evening drive, flying along in Victorias, to gain as
much air as possible. There are many smart-looking officers in white
uniforms, with their wives by their side--pale French ladies, but in
Parisian fashions. Poor things, they appear sickly and enervated, yet
robust compared to the shop-keepers, who look, if they do not say so,
as if it was trouble enough to rise on the entrance of a customer,
without serving them.
But it should be a great colony. The Governor-General's palace is
magnificent--a Versailles, with its long flights of steps and spacious
balconies. But his Excellency is always at Hanoi, vainly endeavouring
to get things straight in Tonquin. The Cathedral, with its dim aisles
and stained glass; the Grecian colonnades of the Palais de Justice;
the post-offices; the theatre, with its bi-weekly performances; the
Officers' Club, where the punkahs are lyslow waving to and fro in the
balconies,--all betoken the great intentions of its founders.
And there are statues of Francis Garnier, the intrepid and disavowed
explorer of the way to south-western China, and in the centre of the
great boulevard, leading to the Governor's palace, we distinguish a
very large stout man on a great pedestal, his stomach far protruding.
When we come near, we see whom it represents: Gambetta in the fur coat
worn in the balloon whence he escaped from Paris during the siege,
to instil life into France, with his outstretched finger pointing in
the direction of Tonquin, as in the memorable day when he came to the
Chamber, and said, 'Messieurs, au Tonkin!' A dying soldier, in the act
of falling, is on one side, and a sailor, with a bayonet peeping round
as if in search of the enemy, on the other. The reverse side of this
fine monument bears the legend: "À Gambetta, le patriote, défenseur de
la politique coloniale."
In the evening some went to the opera, Traviata, played by the
subsidized company, to distract the garrison. The sight, however, of
the house with its myriad waving fans, was enough for us. We could not
face the heat.
What an awful night we passed on board! Four steam winches in charge
of seventy shouting French, with ports shut, tropical heat, and
mosquitoes by the million. It was over at sunrise like a bad dream. But
a sorry sight, the languid heavy-eyed passengers, with not a face but
was severely wounded, presented next morning; for none had slept, and
all had come off worsted in the conflict with those venomous brutes.
Glad we were of daylight to go on shore, and set off in a gharry at
seven o'clock to the open arcades where the curio shops are. The
black woodwork inlaid with mother-of-pearl that comes from Tonquin is
very pretty, but otherwise we only see curiosities common to other
countries. We drive past gardens, which, as in France, are unrailed
and open to the public, to the market square, with its deep red-roofed
market hall, where a busy scene of buying and selling is progressing.
We notice many French cafés, the familiar little marble-topped tables,
looking strange among the palm trees of the gardens. There are many
French officers, in solar topees and cotton umbrellas, strolling in
the streets, but though the French element predominates, there is a
wonderful mixture of races--of Chinese, Annamites with their heads
bound in red cloths, Cinghalese with high tortoiseshell comb, and
Indians in sarong; and the languages are as varied, for here the
Chinese and natives have learnt French, instead of pigeon English.
By nine o'clock the sun on the top of the gharry is overpowering. We
are quite overcome by the heat, and abandoning all idea of going by
the steam tramway to Cholons, the neighbouring emporium of the Rice
of Annam, return on board. But at eleven o'clock the thermometer in
the shade registered 95° Fahrenheit, and in the sun about 130°, and we
lay on the deck ready to succumb to the awful breathless heat, just
existing through the long midday hours of the worst part of the day.
The tropical vegetation of Saigon had entranced us, but its charms
faded before the experience of this equatorial temperature by which
alone it can be produced. We were grateful when at five o'clock the
twenty-four hours' sojourn required by the Government contract were
over, and we left Cochin China on our homeward voyage.
It is a long, long journey home to England, this one of 10,000 miles
from Shanghai to London--lasting for five weeks.
Day after day goes by with the same routine, until we feel that we are
automatons. Passengers come and go at the various ports, but "we go on
for ever." Night and day there is heard the ceaseless throbbing of the
engines, like the beating heart of some great monster. It lulls you to
sleep, keeps you company in the silence of the night, and greets you
in the morning, and when we are in port, we unconsciously feel that
something is wanting. It is a cheering noise, for every revolution of
the screw brings us nearer home; 4368 times does it revolve in one
hour, and it takes 3,600,000 revolutions to bring us to Marseilles.
We consume 52 tons of coal a day, or 1800 tons for the whole voyage,
whilst 8000 kilos of oil are used for the machinery.
The ship is like a floating city with a cosmopolitan population,
for we have over twenty different nationalities on board: French,
English, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Chinese, Dutch,
Austrians, Arabians, Indians, etc., and yet all goes smoothly, save for
the passing incident of a passionate Frenchman, who came to ask the
captain's permission to fight a duel with an officer from Tonquin, for
usurping his place at table.
It is a monotonous thirty-six days of life at sea, alternating with
frantic rushes to land, when in port, and sometimes sleeping on shore,
where, like at Singapore and Colombo, the ship is hermetically sealed
for coaling. Then there is dire confusion on board, everyone loses his
head, the stewards are beside themselves, and the organization becomes
sadly out of gear. We are thankful to put out to sea once more, into
the breeze and calm, to sail away into that great trackless space
so well defined "as a circle whose centre is everywhere, and whose
circumference nowhere."
We touch at Singapore, and spend the night at Government House,
noting the growth of the town, and the great improvements since we
were there six years ago. Through the Straits of Malacca, past Acheen
Head, the extreme westerly point of Sumatra to Colombo--Colombo with
its beautiful sea-shore, where amidst palm groves, the blue breakers of
the Indian Ocean are ever rolling in, and casting their surf and foam
on the golden sands. Through its tropical avenues we drive, past the
barracks, where the pipe of the bagpipes is heard, wailing in their far
exile, and the handsome Cingalese merchants, with their checked sarongs
and tortoiseshell combs, tempt us with precious stones. Mount Adam,
with his pillar-like peak, in the centre of Ceylon, does us honour by
showing himself (a rare occurrence) as we put out once more to sea,
through the magnificent breakwater of Colombo.
Six days' steaming, and we cast anchor under rocky Aden, whose peaks so
barren and sterile, are yet picturesquely deformed, and glowing with
warm tints of cobalt and carmine. Then we enter the Red Sea, through
the Straits of Babelmandeb, by England's key to the Eastern hemisphere,
the Island of Perim, and pass fragrant Mocha on the sandy shore.
One hundred hours through this inland sea, and we are at Suez waiting
our turn to enter that great highway of nations, that sandy ditch cut
through the desert, that connects the eastern with the western globe.
In the daytime we have that strange fascination linked to the boundless
plain of sand--the mirage flickering on the horizon, the clear pale
blue and pink shades that steal over the desert at sundown, with the
golden glory of the sunset sinking slowly into the waters of the Bitter
Lake, whilst at night the banks of the canal are illuminated by the
broad shafts of light, that sweep from the electric lamp in the bows of
every ship.
We spend a dreary Sunday at Port Said, amid its dirty streets, rubbishy
oriental shops, thievish donkey-boys, and a population which gathers in
the scum of the earth.
The Harbour of Alexandria is entered at sunrise next day, and we look
in the dull chill of early morning on its quays and forts, its mosqued
domes and windmills, but ere the day is really begun we are on our way
joyfully cleaving the waters of the Mediterranean, near, so near home
now. The chill winds and the grey atmosphere would make us know we are
in Europe once more. The hard even-coloured skies of the East, burning
with brazen sun, have been left on the other side of the Canal, and now
the skies are full of grey and purple clouds, silver-edged, soft and
rounded. The Southern Cross has sunk below the horizon, the brilliant
starlight nights, with the purple vault of heaven gemmed with diamond
stars, have faded into the past.
Now the snow-clad mountains of Candia or Crete rise up from the ocean
above low-lying clouds. Then, the danger of avoiding Charybdis to be
wrecked on Scylla safely passed, we thread the green Straits of Messina
between the toe of Italy and the Island of Sicily. The smoking cone of
Etna is invisible, but the little island volcano of Stromboli shoots
forth its black column of lava.
The beacon lighthouses of the Straits of Bonifacio mark out our course
between the islands of Sardinia and Corsica. And by the next afternoon
the vine-terraced mountains and sunny shores of the Corniche are near
at hand, with the white villas of Toulon shining in the sunlight.
The last day on board, the last packing, the last dinner, the last
evening. What a pleasant bustle of departure, what a feeling of _bonne
camaraderie_ prevails! With the contagious sympathy of joy, passengers
speak to each other who have held aloof for the whole month's voyage.
We are all restless and excited, and only able to discuss the hour of
arrival--no, not the hour, it is the half-hours and quarters that we
dispute and wager about.
The sun goes down. The great white cliffs--for they are very near to
us now--loom up ghostly in the dim twilight; these are bathed in pink
reflections from the rosy sky. We see the little chapel perched on
high, where the sailors implore the protection of the sainted Mary ere
commencing a voyage--the gloomy dungeon fortress of Château d'If on its
island, and with the last gleams of daylight we sight the green Prado,
the cathedral towers of Notre Dame, and the large seaport of Marseilles.
For two days we linger in the sunny south, under blue skies and warm
sunshine, amid the palms, cacti, and hedges of roses.
We reach Paris in time to see the gorgeous obsequies at the Madeleine
of Dom Pedro, the ex-Emperor of Brazil. Then ends our second journey
round the world with a fearful gale in the English Channel, reaching
Charing Cross in the raw cold and fog of a December night.
APPENDIX.
BY
C. E. HOWARD VINCENT, C.B., M.P.
BRITISH AND AMERICAN TRADE IN CANADA.
MEMORANDUM
_Addressed to the Chamber of Commerce and Manufacture of Sheffield
upon British and American Trade in the Dominion of Canada and the
McKinley Tariff in the United States._
_September, 1891._
INTERNAL TRADE.
1.--It is necessary in the first place to state that the internal
trade of Canada has made vast progress during the past decade. Not only
is this evident from the numerous factories at the principal centres,
but it is corroborated by the rapid extension and development of
Toronto, Hamilton, Winnipeg and other towns. Manufacture has taken such
rapid strides that not only is a very large proportion of the articles
in daily use of home make, but the whole of the iron bridges and much
of the plant upon the gigantic railway system, and the greater part of
the agricultural machinery are of Canadian construction, but there is a
surplusage for export of certain manufactured goods, amounting in the
fiscal year ending June, 1890, to 5-3/4 million dollars--upwards of
two-fifths of which were purchased by the British flag.
INCREASE OF EXTERNAL TRADE.
2.--The external trade (imports and exports) has also increased from
153 million dollars in 1879, when the "National Policy" was inaugurated
by the late Right Honourable Sir John Macdonald, to 218 million dollars
in the last statistical year.
IMPORTS FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE EMPIRE.
3.--The imports from the United Kingdom of British and Irish produce
have increased from 5,040,524_l._ in 1879, to 7,702,798_l._ in 1889.
In the twelve months, July 1st, 1889, to June 30th, 1890, the purchases
by Canada from the British Empire amounted to 45-3/4 million dollars,
or only 6-1/2 million dollars less than from the United States with
their 60,000,000 of people and conterminous frontier of over 3000
miles, running especially close to the more settled and affluent
portions of the Dominion.
This is the more satisfactory when it is considered that less than
one-fourth of the British imports were admitted free of a duty
averaging 25 per cent. ad valorem, while two-fifths of the American
imports were from their nature untaxed.
COMPETITION BETWEEN BRITISH AND AMERICAN FLAGS.
4.--The Union Jack upon the one hand, and the Stars and Stripes upon
the other, are practically the only two competitors for the custom of
Canada, and they absorb between them 98 million dollars worth of the
import trade out of a total of 112 million dollars.
SUPERIORITY OF ENGLAND.
5.--In most of the great lines of manufactured goods, such as in the
manufactures of iron and steel: of cutlery; of cotton and silk; of wool
and linen; of lead, paper and fur; of hemp, twine and earthenware, as
also in hats, gloves, combs, umbrellas, embroideries, ribbons, crapes,
oilcloth, iron furniture, fancy articles, and in bottled ale, beer and
porter, England more than holds her own against the American Republic.
FOREIGN INTERMIXTURE.
6.--At the same time it is right to observe that a considerable and
increasing proportion of the imports officially attributed to British
production were in reality of German, French, or other foreign origin,
and this to an amount exceeding last year six million dollars.
They were obtained, however, through English distributing houses
instead of direct, partly by reason of transit facilities, but mostly
on account of the long credit readily accorded.
LEAD OF THE UNITED STATES.
7.--The United States on the other hand take the lead with manufactures
of brass and copper; of gutta-percha and India-rubber; of slate,
stone, and wood; of cork and glass; of leather and tin ware, as also
in edge tools, Britannia metal, bells, brushes, buttons, carriages,
clocks and watches, jewellery, musical and surgical instruments, and in
agricultural implements.
SHEFFIELD TRADE IN CANADA.
8.--In the staple trades of Sheffield, with the exception of
edge-tools, the ascendency of England is fairly well maintained.
CUTLERY.
9.--Especially is this the case with regard to cutlery. Out of 311,897
dollars (say 62,500_l._) worth of table knives, jack knives, pocket
knives, and other cutlery imported into the Dominion during the past
year, about two-thirds came from the United Kingdom.
Of the remainder the United States supplied 27,900 dollars worth, and
Germany 43,500 dollars worth.
Not a few importers of Sheffield cutlery speak anxiously,
however, of the growing competition of Newark (New Jersey) and of
Germany--especially in the production of attractively got up and
elegantly carded knives at low prices.
In Canada itself only one attempt has, I believe, been made to
establish a cutlery factory, and this recently at Halifax by a young
Sheffield man, assisted by six or eight Sheffield trained artisans.
They speak hopefully of their prospects and are meeting with much local
encouragement.
PLATED CUTLERY.
It is right to add that although throughout the Dominion the table
cutlery bears the names of the leading Sheffield houses, the more
easily cleaned plated cutlery is coming into some use. During the past
year 919 dozen were imported, to which the United States contributed
774 dozen and Great Britain only 140.
FILES.
10.--In files and rasps the import from England amounted to 34,358
dollars (say 6800_l._), and from the United States to 45,724 dollars.
SAWS.
11.--In saws the United States made even greater headway with a total
consignment amounting to 14,000_l._, while Great Britain sent scarcely
600_l._ worth.
EDGE TOOLS.
12.--A like disproportion occurs with regard to edge tools, of which
the United States supplied 15,000 dollars worth out of a total external
purchase by the Dominion of 18,279 dollars.
This has been explained by the untiring efforts constantly made by
American manufacturers and their employés to make all tools more and
more adapted for the purpose in view, lighter and more facile to the
hand, without the slightest regard to former use, old ideas or customs.
AXES.
13.--It is frequently alleged that Sheffield lost the Canadian axe
trade by adherence to the opinion that it was a better judge of
the shape of the handle or the chopper than the backwoodsmen whose
livelihood depended upon the skilful use of the axe.
This must, however, be legendary, for I am told we never had the
Dominion axe trade.
In any case, at the present time nearly all the axes used in the vast
lumber industry are of Canadian make, and out of a total import of 6751
dollars worth last year, the whole came from the United States, with
the exception of a single axe contributed by France.
SPADES AND SHOVELS.
14.--Of spades and shovels 4000 dollars worth were imported from Great
Britain against 6259 dollars worth from the United States.
SCYTHES.
In scythes the two countries each supplied one half of a total import
of 6731 dollars worth.
AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS.
15.--But in other agricultural implements--ploughs, drills, harrows,
forks, rakes, mowing machines, harvesters, etc., America supplied no
less than 117,000 dollars worth, against only 4000 dollars worth, from
Great Britain.
The explanation given is similar to that I have often heard in
Australasia, that the high-priced, solid made, somewhat heavy and
durable machines and implements which find favour in England, are
unsuitable for Colonists with small capital, who want a cheap, handy
and light implement which can be replaced as soon as a year or two
brings easier means, and sees improvements perfected.
It is indeed stated in proof of the adoption of like ideas in the
mother country that more Ontario-made self-binding reapers have been
sold this year in Great Britain than any of English manufacture.
BAR IRON, PIGS, RAILS, ETC.
16.--It is, however, in bar iron; in boiler or other plate iron; in
hoop, band, or scroll iron; in iron, in slabs, blooms, etc.; in iron
pigs; in railway bars, rails and fish plates; in rolled iron or steel
angles, beams, girders, etc.; in sheet iron, and in wrought iron or
steel tubing that the United Kingdom asserts the greatest predominance
with an importation last year into Canada amounting to 2,356,523
dollars against 642,129 dollars worth from the United States--that is,
nearly fourfold.
At Londonderry in Nova Scotia important rolling mills have been
established, and at Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario there are
prosperous foundries.
MACHINERY.
17.--England though falls back again seriously in machinery, composed
wholly or in part of iron, in locomotive, fire, or other engines, and
in cast iron vessels, plates, etc., as also in builders', cabinet
makers', carriage and harness makers' hardware, and in house furnishing
hardware.
In these lines Great Britain supplied Canada with only about
100,000_l._ worth, compared to 500,000_l._ from the United States.
In connection with machinery it may not be amiss to mention the
almost invariable practice, throughout the American continent, for
all machinery under the control either of the State or public bodies
being kept spotlessly clean and as attractive as possible, and, in
the case of all stationary engines, allowing the public to see them
in operation, from a gallery or other suitable place, so that humble
mechanical genius may feast its eyes, and think out problems or
improvements, which may advance their authors to wealth, and place
further names upon the roll of the world's inventors.
ELECTRO-PLATE AND BRITANNIA METAL.
18.--In electro-plated ware and gilt ware of all kinds the import from
Great Britain amounted last year to 51,041 dollars, and to 98,669
dollars from the United States, while in manufactures of Britannia
metal (not plated) the importation from America amounted to 40,000
dollars, or eight times that from Great Britain.
PREDOMINANCE OF BRITISH MANUFACTURES OF COTTON AND WOOL.
19.--It is not necessary to examine in like detail the relative
trade in the Dominion of Great Britain and the United States in
the manufactures which are not located in Sheffield. But it may be
mentioned that the purchases by Canada of British cotton goods exceeded
three million dollars last year against one-fifth that amount from
the United States, in velveteens exceeded 82,000 dollars from Britain
against only 356 dollars from America: while the sale to Canadians of
British manufactures of wool were over ten million dollars, or too
times that of the States.
THE EMPIRE, CANADA'S BEST CUSTOMER.
20.--While, as has been shown, Canada bought last year of Great
Britain and Ireland, and British possessions, to an amount exceeding
forty-five millions of dollars, the Empire was in return the best
customer of the Dominion, purchasing no less than 44,479,992 dollars
worth of Canadian products, or 11,156,785 dollars worth more than the
United States, and admitting nearly the whole free of all duty.
PREFERENTIAL TRADE WITHIN THE EMPIRE.
21.--It is hardly to be expected that Canada, with her scanty and
hard-working population could, with the example of every nation or
colony (save one) before her, attempt to raise by direct taxation the
twenty-four million dollars of public revenue she now derives from
customs duties.
But there can be little doubt that if a preference was obtained for
British over foreign goods in the tariff, it would give just that
pecuniary advantage calculated to stimulate the undoubted partiality of
most British colonists for British made goods, if they themselves are
unable to produce them in adequate quantity.
Such preferential trade, large public meetings I have recently
addressed in all the principal commercial centres, on behalf of the
United Empire Trade League, have declared with practical unanimity and
much support from both political parties, that Canada is willing to
exchange with the mother country and the Empire, so soon as foreign
treaty hindrances (treaties with Belgium and Germany of 1862 and 1865)
are removed--it being calculated that no policy would more certainly
advance the prosperity, peopling and capitalization of the whole
country and the consequent augmentation of customers.
MEANS OF COMMERCIAL NEGOTIATION.
22.--No more effective means either could probably be found to bring
about that reduction of the United States tariff wall, so much desired
both by the Dominion of Canada and the mother country, for it would
furnish her Majesty's representatives with a weapon of commercial
persuasion they now wholly lack in negotiating with foreign countries.
EFFECT OF THE MCKINLEY TARIFF.
23.--It may be too early perhaps to judge definitely as to the effect
of the McKinley tariff upon British trade in the United States, There
can, however, be no doubt that in many industries, and especially among
the receivers of wages in the United Kingdom, it will be very serious,
and tend still further to extend the disproportion between the sales of
America to Great Britain and the purchases by America of British goods,
which have stood for some time in the adverse ratio of three to one.
MUCH CHANGE NOT TO BE EXPECTED.
24.--It is necessary, therefore, to say that while the organs of
the democratic party in the United States and the sanguine views of
American importers who are in personal or correspondence relations with
England, encourage a hope that the McKinley tariff will be repealed
or considerably modified in the near future, I am convinced that, as
matters stand, such belief is to a great extent delusive.
In the first place the democratic majority in the House of
Representatives, as at present constituted, is practically powerless in
the face of a strong and hostile Senate, with an equal mandate from the
people, and in the face too of an antagonistic President, to a great
extent independent of either, with all his Ministers and machinery of
government.
In the second place democratic leaders and advocates in every locality
are eager to protest that they do not now desire free trade, do not
dream of admitting duty free the productions of competing foreign
workmen, and that they aim only at a reduction of the tariff.
Again, it is now well understood that the alleged rise in prices at
the time of the election last year for Congress was artificial and
impressed upon voters by skilful wire-pulling--such as the hiring
of itinerant pedlars to perambulate the agricultural districts with
household wares marked up at double cost; by urging democratic retail
dealers to serve their party (and their tills) by demanding greatly
increased sums for all goods during the campaign "in consequence of the
new tariff."
INDUSTRIAL PROSPERITY IN THE UNITED STATES.
25.--There appears to be little doubt that the Federal Commission
now sitting will find that, although in some districts there may
have been speculating failures, employment was never upon the whole
more plentiful or better remunerated than at the present time. As in
Canada so in the United States, it is work which is everywhere seeking
hands--and not, as with us, men searching, too often vainly, for
employment.
On both sides of the border between Canada and the United States the
necessaries of life--wheat, flour, bread, meat, are extraordinarily
cheap and excellent, while artisan clothing, so often reputed dear and
pressing upon the family purse, is readily obtainable, so old Sheffield
men have assured me, in very fair quality at from 8 dollars 50 cents.
to 12 or 14 dollars per suit, that is 1_l._ 14_s._ to 2_l._ 16_s._
Indeed, before me is the advertisement of a New York house offering
"Jersey Cloth (silk finish, new), blue, black or brown, per suit 14
dollars, quality XXX."
Beyond question the whole standard of industrial life is higher than in
Europe--higher too, I am sorry to have to admit, than in Great Britain.
Neither poverty nor distress are visible, while drunkenness, so far as
it may exist, is kept carefully out of sight.
AMERICAN RECIPROCITY TREATIES.
26.--It will be probably less, however, on the industrial prosperity
of American workers, on the success of the high tariff in compelling
competitors for the custom of the American people, to employ their
capital within the United States, to pay wages to Americans, and use
American materials, that the Republican party will appeal next year
for a new Presidential lease of power (with what chance of success I
do not pretend to prophecy), than upon the unexpected triumph that has
attended Section III., or the Reciprocity clause of the McKinley Tariff
Act in the hands of Mr. Secretary Blaine.
Already under its provisions free entry for American productions and
manufactures has been secured into Brazil--a market taking in 1889
6,232,316_l._ worth of British goods--in exchange for the free entry
of the raw materials and other commodities of that Republic so rich in
natural wealth.
The same result has been achieved, and will shortly come into force
with regard to Spanish possessions, taking together 8,000,000_l._ worth
of British products every year.
TO BREAK UP BRITISH TRADE.
27.--This latter treaty is viewed with especial concern in Canada, and
the notice of terminating the Anglo-Spanish treaty of commerce which
has been given, gives rise to a fear that the Americans will secure the
trade with the Spanish Indies heretofore enjoyed by the Dominion.
Both treaties will also very injuriously affect the interests of the
fishermen of Newfoundland, who among the Catholic population of Brazil
and the territories of Spain seek the principal market for that dried
fish, the sale of which, until improved fish trade and other mercantile
relations are established with England, as they might easily be,
constitutes their principal means of existence.
A like treaty has been concluded with San Domingo, and others are in
active negotiation.
The vaunted object is "the breaking up piece-meal of British foreign
trade," and whether or no it obtains that aim, the untoward influence
these treaties, placing American trade upon a preferential basis, are
calculated to exert in that direction, is not, I fear, a circumstance
well calculated to induce the masses of the American people, in their
present frame of mind, very speedily to destroy the instrument.
EFFECT OF BRITISH INACTION.
28.--It is a paramount duty to direct the attention of the Sheffield
Chamber of Manufacture, as a body representative of the commercial and
industrial community of Great Britain and Ireland, to this practical
aspect of the present situation, lest buoyed up by a vain hope that the
markets of the United States will be thrown open, England allows all
opportunity to pass of following the example of America and Central
Europe in establishing preferential trading relations on mutually
advantageous terms. A commercial union richer in its prospects than
any attainable by whatever phalanx of foreign nations, lies now, but
not for much longer, ready to her hand--that of the British Empire, of
a fifth of the entire world, peopled or fostered by her own people,
capitalized by her own capital.
Inaction much longer maintained on the part of the mother country
will be ascribed by the energetic minds of Greater Britain to callous
indifference to Imperial responsibilities, and can have no other effect
than to expose Canada, Newfoundland, the West Indies, British Guiana
and British Honduras, aggregating not much short of half the area of
the Empire, and not impossibly other Colonies, to the temptation of
entering instead into commercial alliance with the United States,
involving discrimination in favour of foreigners against the British
flag, which even the loyalty of the most loyal Colonial subjects of her
Majesty the Queen may not, with due regard to their material interests,
be able to resist.
AMERICAN PIONEERS OF COMMERCE.
29.--But in any event I must note the amazing energy and push shown
by American business houses. On every journey in nearly every quarter
of the globe you meet their representatives, who lose no opportunity
of skilfully advancing American trade; and while Germany, backed by a
vigilant Government, is following closely in the same direction with
astonishing results, the reports of her Majesty's Consular officers
agree in declaring that the appearance of an English commercial
traveller becomes more and more rare.
BOARDS OF TRADE.
30.--American Boards of Trade, corresponding to our Chambers of
Commerce, are also very active organizations, sparing neither expense
nor trouble.
They occupy a like position in Canada, and in Toronto the Board
of Trade--an enthusiastic meeting whereof I had the honour of
addressing--has erected a palatial building, where business men meet
daily for the mutual exchange of information and views. The turn of
the market is recorded from hour to hour from the centres of commerce,
and among the members there exists an admirable system of mutual life
insurance.
CANADA AS A FIELD FOR BRITISH CAPITAL AND IMMIGRATION.
31.--In conclusion, it is hardly possible to speak of Canada in
exaggerated terms as a source from which Great Britain may most readily
obtain the larger portion of the supply of corn, meat, and dairy
produce, her increased population and diminished agriculture oblige her
to purchase from over the sea.
The extremely fertile and virgin soil of the vast region occupied
by Manitoba, the North-West Territories, and British Columbia--half
the size of Europe, and lying between Lake Superior and the Pacific
Ocean--has now been provided by British Canadian enterprise with
a complete network of railways, bringing it, so soon as Atlantic
communication by Nova Scotia and Newfoundland has been improved, to
within fourteen days' steam of Liverpool.
Capital and immigration are alone needed for their development.
A better field for the former could not be found if British Commercial
Union made the market secure of foreign caprice, while for steady
industry under the old flag, under like institutions, under the same
law, no wider scope exists in the universe.
BRITISH TRADE WITH JAPAN.
MEMORANDUM
ADDRESSED TO THE CUTLERS' COMPANY OF HALLAMSHIRE, UPON
BRITISH TRADE WITH JAPAN.
PROGRESS OF JAPAN.
1.--Little idea can be formed of the progress and development of Japan
without a personal visit. That the Japanese Empire should have been
brought in less than a quarter of a century from barbaric darkness and
isolation to a leading place in the civilized world, is not the least
remarkable event of the present generation. The fact that this great
revolution has been accomplished without the pressure of external war,
and practically without internal riot or bloodshed, renders it the more
extraordinary.
Some may affect to prefer the old order of things, may think that the
transition has been dangerously rapid, may sneer at the wonderful
adaptive faculty displayed. This is, however, certain, that in good
order and sobriety, in cleanliness and politeness, in industry and
contentment, the Japanese are already in the van of nations.
The police, postal, telegraphic, and educational systems are tributes
to their capacity, while over 1400 miles of railway are being
efficiently worked by native employés.
Care and caution will be undoubtedly very necessary for many years
to come. But if reliance upon indigenous talent, and the new law that
Japanese industrial undertakings must be represented by Japanese, are
not carried to an extravagant point, the next decade or two may see the
vast reforms not only matured, but carried onwards to a summit undreamt
of, when, in 1868, the country was released from the chains of ages;
or even when a score of years later his present Imperial Majesty, the
121st Mikado and Emperor of his race, voluntarily gave the nation one
of the clearest constitutions in existence "in consideration of the
progressive tendency of the course of human affairs and in parallel
with the advance of civilization."
CONCURRENT GROWTH OF BRITISH INTERESTS.
2.--There is nothing more striking in this transformation than the
constant growth of British interests in the Empire, with which it has
been attended.
ILLUSTRATED BY LARGE NUMBERS OF BRITISH RESIDENTS AND MERCANTILE
FIRMS AND PROPORTION OF TRADE AND SHIPPING.
This is clearly illustrated by the following notable facts:--
(_a_) That British residents, numbering 1500 souls, of which two-thirds
are males, equal numerically the representatives in Japan of the whole
of the rest of the world, excluding the adjacent Chinese.
(_b_) That a like state of affairs exists with regard not only to the
number of foreign mercantile firms, located in Japan, but also in the
proportion borne by the British flag of the external trade.
(_c_) That since 1868, the first year of the new Japanese era, British
shipping in the waters of Japan has, according to the calculation
of her Majesty's Consul at Kobé, increased threefold in number and
fifteenfold in tonnage. It carried last year two-thirds of the (extra
Chinese) foreign trade, and 71 per cent. of the whole, in over 1000
ships inwards and outwards, giving employment to more than 25,000
persons, and this notwithstanding the harassing exclusion of foreign
vessels from any share in the large coasting trade between other than
the six open ports.
VOLUME OF JAPANESE EXTERNAL TRADE.
3.--The external trade (imports and exports) of Japan has more than
doubled in the past ten years. It amounted in 1890 to 138-1/4 millions
of silver yen or dollars[2] (say 21,000,000_l._ sterling) against
62-1/4 million yens in 1881. The exports, of which the British Empire
took nearly a third, amounted to 54-3/4 million dollars; the imports to
81-3/4 millions.
THE FOREIGN ELEMENT AS A SOURCE OF WEALTH TO JAPAN.
4.--The financial value to the Empire of the foreign commercial houses
is shown by the passage, through their agency, of 110 million dollars
worth of the total external trade.
There is in addition the expenditure of many thousands of foreign
visitors to the natural beauties of the country--of which 70 per cent.
are calculated by Mr. Gubbins, secretary for Japanese to Her Majesty's
Legation, to be British,--a sum estimated at an extreme minimum of
three million dollars a year, or about 500,000_l._
THE PASSPORT SYSTEM AND DISABILITY OF FOREIGNERS.
There is hope that these important considerations may lead ere long
to a modification of the stringent passport regulations, and of the
disability attaching to the alien tenure of real estate, hindering as
it must do the permanent investment of capital.
PROPORTION OF EXTERNAL TRADE WITH SEVERAL FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
5.--Foreign countries shared or divided in 1890 the external trade of
Japan in the following proportions:--
(_a_) Great Britain, 32·0 million dollars.
(_b_) British Colonial Empire, 27·0 " "
Total British Flag, 59,000,000. dols.
(_c_) United States, 26·0 million dollars.
(_d_) China, 14·8 " "
(_e_) France, 14·0 " "
(_f_) German, 9·0 " "
(_g_) Corea (adjacent), 5·6 " "
(_h_) Belgium, 1·0 " "
All other countries less than
one million dollars each,
and aggregating, 9·4 " "
PURCHASES BY JAPAN OF BRITISH GOODS.
6.--The purchases by Japan from the British Empire exceeded 41 million
dollars (say 6,750,000_l._), of which 26-1/2 millions worth were
obtained from the United Kingdom.
Unfortunately, however, a not inconsiderable proportion of the imports
credited to Great Britain, are stated to have been of German, Belgian,
or other foreign make, and although obtained through English houses,
the advantage to the artisan community at home was thereby materially
reduced.
FALSE MARKING.
The observations on this head of Consul Longford, in his report for
1886, are still deserving of attention:--
"While fully recognizing that it is only reasonable and right that
English merchants in Japan should go to those producing centres which
show the greatest readiness to meet and satisfy their demands, it is
at the same time unfortunate that they should import the goods which
they obtained from Germany with English marks and chops on them, even
though the latter are only intended to acquaint native dealers with the
name of the firm supplying them and not in any sense to designate the
country of origin or production... for means are thus placed in the
hands of the Japanese middlemen or the ultimate retailer, which may aid
him considerably in selling (inferior goods) as English."
MERCHANDISE MARKS ACTS.
The enactment in the United Kingdom of the Merchandise Marks Act of
1887, so largely due to the Cutlers' Company, has no doubt modified
this evil at its base. It has not, however, stamped it out, partly
because foreign goods can still be imported into England, plain and
devoid of any indication of origin, and the detection of subsequent
false marking by the few dishonest, prior to home sale or foreign
exportation, is practically impossible; and partly because few foreign
nations have adopted a corresponding law, or if they have, it is rarely
enforced.
The Japanese Trade Mark Regulations of October, 1884, do not touch the
question, and moreover have been judicially held, so Mr. Consul Hall
informs me, not to apply to foreigners or foreign goods.
PURCHASES BY JAPAN OF SHEFFIELD GOODS.
7.--The purchases by Japan from Great Britain of those productions of
iron, steel, and hardware, in which Sheffield is mainly interested,
compare favourably with those from other foreign nations.
IRON PIG, BARS, RODS, RAILS, ETC.
8.--In pig iron, iron bars, rods, plates, sheets, and rails, Japan
bought last year from England 1,424,000 dollars worth (say 235,000_l_.)
against one-fourth that amount from Germany, and only 20,000 dollars
worth from France. Even this large figure shows some shrinkage on the
British import in 1888-89, while the German, although so far behind,
has increased.
PIPES AND TUBES.
9.--In iron pipes and tubes Great Britain supplied Japan in 1890 with
159,000 _yen_ worth, out of a total purchase of 166,000 dollars--an
increase of 98,000 dollars worth in two years.
NAILS.
10.--In nails, however, Great Britain has fallen behind and given place
to Germany. Indeed, her Majesty's Consul at Yokohama says in his report
for last year:--
"The consumption of wire nails is steadily increasing. The demand for
nail rod is now almost extinct--manufactured nails being taken instead.
These nails are now mostly of German, and a few of Belgian origin."
This is corroborated by the purchase from England of nails having
fallen from 342,000 dollars worth in 1888 to 134,000 dollars worth in
1890.
SCREWS.
This is the more remarkable as in iron screws, Great Britain holds the
market with a supply of 70,000 dollars worth in 1890, against only 2000
dollars worth by Germany, and a like amount by France.
STEEL.
11.--In steel 162,000 dollars worth was obtained from England out of a
gross importation amounting to 194,000, France supplying 23,300 dollars
worth, and Germany, subject to the observations in paragraph 6, only
3900 dollars.
Mr. Consul Troup has observed "that the steel imported by the
Government for the making of barrels at the small-arms factory at
Tokio, and for the Osaka arsenal is mostly French, German, or Italian,
and at the Yokosuka dockyard there is a certain preference for Creuzot
steel."
With the approval of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, whose great
courtesy I take leave to acknowledge, and by permission of the Minister
of War, I visited the Osaka arsenal to ascertain the cause.
OSAKA ARSENAL.
12.--It is an admirably organized institution with canal service direct
to the sea, provided with the best English, German, French, Italian,
and Austrian machinery, employing 1400 hands at an average wage of ten
pence for a ten hours' day, and turning out 24-ton guns, besides all
other material for a standing army, 80,000 strong, formed on the French
model with German improvements, and reserves 240,000 in number, but
deficient in officers.
ADVANTAGE OF THE METRIC SCALE.
The Director, Lieutenant-Colonel T. Ota of the Imperial Artillery and
European trained, was so good as to give me for the Cutlers' Company,
on hearing that it included the members of the great iron and steel
firms, a complete set of photographs, illustrating the workshops,
the guns, and the target experiments. He expressed himself as fully
sensible of the excellence of the metal manufactures of Sheffield, and
their superiority, both in cost, quality, and workmanship, for original
productions. Upon the other hand, though, he frankly said that there
was so much risk of error in the measurement by "feet" and by "inches,"
that it saved much anxiety and trouble, when specific and exact size
was required to order from Creuzot, or from Krupp, in the metric
scale, adopted by Japan of "mètres and millimètres." One well-known
English firm has in consequence, I understand, determined to follow the
German example, and to render specifications to foreign governments or
individuals in their own lineal and currency calculations.
PARTIALITY OF STUDENTS FOR COUNTRY OF EDUCATION.
13.--In this connection the Consul at Yokohama calls attention to
another important matter. He says "the Government official prefers the
material of the country where he has received his training."
The Japanese authorities have in the last fifteen years sent large
numbers of students to Europe. Many have given since their return solid
proof of their industry, perseverance, and natural aptitude. More
than one Continental Cabinet has taken an active interest in these
students. But not so, I understand, her Majesty's Government. Several
have consequently gone to France, Germany, Austria, and Italy, who
might with advantage have come to England, as well as those studying
ship-building and engineering. It is a matter not to be lost sight
of in the future, for there are other backward lands likely to be
stimulated by the bright example of Japan, and to endeavour to follow
it.
CUTLERY, TABLE KNIVES.
14.--The imports of cutlery have averaged 21,000 dollars (say 3000_l._)
during each of the past three years, and practically the whole came
from Sheffield. It is a trade capable, I believe, of great development.
At the present time, the use of table cutlery is confined to the
foreign population and visitors, and to a small proportion of the
Japanese, perhaps 100,000 out of the forty millions.
But this number is likely to increase every year, and, indeed, every
day, as European ideas, habits, and costume, encouraged, by the
imperial Court, the nobility, and the leaders of commerce and thought,
gain a firmer foothold. It is illustrated _inter alia_ by the wide
adoption of English head gear on the Lop of the native costume, and the
consequent importation of a million dollars worth of English hats and
caps in the last triennial period.
ENCOURAGEMENT OF TABLE CUTLERY.
At a recent industrial conference with some of my constituents, an
artisan asked if nothing could be done to encourage Eastern races to
abandon "chop sticks" in favour of knives and forks. The question
created some amusement, but it showed much intelligence and acumen. It
has since occurred to me that possibly advantage might be taken of the
Japanese and Oriental generous custom of present-giving to stimulate
a taste for our cutlery, by enabling donors to obtain at a small cost
a gift knife and fork, attractively got up either upon a card or in a
case. In any case an experiment would not be ruinous.
RAZORS, SCISSORS, AND POCKET KNIVES.
15.--I have obtained for the information of the Sheffield trade,
specimens of the razors, scissors, and pocket knives now in use among
the Japanese, and shall on my return forward them to the Cutlers' Hall.
As will be seen, they are of a very rough and primitive description.
SKILL OF JAPANESE AS CUTLERS.
Time was when, according to Professor Rein, the German scientist sent
by the Prussian Government to report upon "The Industries of Japan,"
"among the nations of Eastern Asia the Japanese were known as skilful
workers in iron, which their celebrated armourers transformed into
famous weapons of excellent steel. The forging and polishing of swords
was a wearisome work demanding much skill and practice. The tempering
of the edge was carefully done in the charcoal furnace, the softer
backs and sides being surrounded up to a certain point by fire clay,
so that only the edge remained outside. The cooling was in cold water.
Skilful sword cutlers gained for themselves high social position, and
won great glory and fame with their swords."
It now survives only in collections of old weapons. An Imperial edict
forbade the carrying of swords, and in a few weeks the most costly arms
were a glut in the market.
DEMAND FOR RAZORS.
It is noteworthy that the Japanese very rarely allow any hair to grow
upon the face, and the humblest peasant is regularly shaved by the
barber, "dry," and with a rude handleless razor.
There is scope here. Indeed, a contract has just been concluded with
an English house in Japan, for the supply of a considerable quantity
of soft "German" steel, for the blocking out of razors, and I noticed
one considerable shop-keeper announcing himself as "manufacturer of all
kinds of European hardware."
LOCOMOTIVE AND OTHER ENGINES.
16.--In locomotive engines Great Britain supplied Japan in 1890 with
474,000 dollars worth out of a total of 659,000 dollars, Germany
following with 81,000 dollars worth, and the United States with rather
more than half that sum. In other engines and boilers 253,000 dollars
worth came from England out of a total import of 345,000 dollars, while
of railway carriages the United Kingdom supplied 10,000_l._ worth, or
the whole save 600_l._
ZINC.
17.--In zinc, however, Germany took the lead with consignments
amounting to 141,000 dollars against 89,000 from Great Britain. As the
prosperity of the country advances the use of zinc, especially for
roofing purposes, is likely to increase.
WOOLLENS AND FLANNELS.
18. While in woollen cloths England holds her own in Japan with
the supply of three-fifths of a gross import exceeding last year a
million dollars, she falls far behind in woollen yarns and flannels.
In the former Germany led in the proportion of 3-1/2 to 1, and in the
latter by a sale of 715,000 dollars worth out of 927,000 dollars,
and I understand that the representative of a well-known English
house recently found the trade much overrun and business exceedingly
difficult.
APPREHENDED DECLINE OF ENGLISH COTTON TRADE.
19.--It is, however, the cotton trade of Lancashire which is likely
to feel a serious change ere long in its relations with Japan. Her
Majesty's commercial representatives have given warning of it for
some time, and shown not only the danger to be apprehended by English
operatives from the competition and cheap labour of India, but also
from the establishment of cotton spinning factories in Japan, and the
growing preference for the home made article.
In 1885 there were only 62,000 Japanese spindles at work. Now there are
over 313,000 in 35 mills. Some have not done well owing to defective
management. But others are working day and night. The importation of
raw cotton has quadrupled in the last three years, while that of cotton
on the seeds has doubled. A million dollars worth of the most improved
British spinning machinery was laid down last year, and much attention
is being given to the cultivation of the cotton plant, although, owing
to the typhoons, with indifferent success.
While British cotton velvets, satins, and handkerchiefs have not lost
ground, and grey shirtings, T cloths, and Italian cloths came almost
entirely from England, as also turkey reds and victoria lawns, the work
of the Japanese mills is evidenced by a decline in the importation of
cotton yarns by over three million dollars since 1888, of which two
million fell on Great Britain, and a diminution in the purchase of
foreign cotton drills by two-thirds. In shawls also there has been a
shrinkage.
A FRESH MARKET FOR LANCASHIRE.
It is clear, therefore, that Manchester will have before long to a
great extent to replace her Japanese market, of which she had, until
lately, a monopoly. This may probably be done most advantageously and
effectively in the direction of United Empire trade.
PROPOSED INCREASE OF JAPANESE TARIFF.
20.--Closely allied with this question is the almost certain increase
in a year or two of the Japanese tariff. The amount collected at the
present time by the Customs Bureau (whose returns are compiled with
much care and despatch) comes to about 5 per cent. _ad valorem_ (60
cents per 100 catties or 133-1/3lbs. of steel, and 30 cents per 100
catties of manufactured iron in rods, bars, etc., and 15 cents per 100
catties of pig), and yielded last year 4,488,384 dollars, or nearly
double the customs revenue of 1881.
It is highly probable that this rate will be doubled, or even increased
to 11 or 12 per cent. in accordance with the demand of national
manufacturers and operatives.
POWERLESSNESS OF HER MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT. PARTIALITY OF THE JAPANESE
FOR THE ENGLISH.
21.--Under present fiscal conditions in the United Kingdom Her
Majesty's Government is powerless to negotiate for a special
arrangement as regards England. Were we differently situated it is
not impossible that the Emperor's Government might be willing to
treat preferentially with Great Britain, not only by reason of the
preponderance of British interests in Japan and Japanese waters, but
also on account of the popular partiality throughout the empire for our
countrymen and their productions. This is evidenced in a thousand ways
in the national life of this most attractive people, and not least of
all by the adoption of English as the secondary official and commercial
language, to an extent so great as to render it ample for travel in all
but the remote districts.
A CLOSE ALLIANCE WITH JAPAN MOST DESIRABLE.
22.--It is much to be desired that this feeling may receive all
possible encouragement. No question is likely to disturb the harmony
of Anglo-Japanese relations, and no alliance is calculated to be of
greater mutual advantage to both nations.
FOOTNOTE:
[Footnote 2: The figures are expressed in yen as being more accurate
than the taking of an arbitrary rate of exchange, when it is constantly
varying to the great inconvenience of commerce. A Japanese yen or
dollar fluctuates in value between 3_s._ 2_d._ to 3_s._ 4_d._ An
average of 6 dollars 20 cents. is usually obtained for the sovereign.]
"BRITISH INTERESTS IN CHINA."
REPORT TO CENTRAL SHEFFIELD.
Having regard to the apprehension caused by the danger in which
foreigners in China have been lately placed, many of my constituents
desire to know the result of recent inquiries at Peking and elsewhere,
into the condition of affairs as affecting BRITISH TRADE AND INDUSTRIAL
EMPLOYMENT. I have the honour, therefore, to submit the following
report.
The details have been collected partly from official sources and partly
from the views of authorities in various spheres who have favoured me
with opinions founded for the most part upon long personal experience.
EXTENT OF CHINESE EMPIRE.
1.--It may be desirable, in the first place, to call to mind the area
and population of the Chinese Dominions, and the system of government.
The Empire of China proper is about 1,500,000 square miles in extent,
or twelve and a half times the size of the United Kingdom; sevenfold
the area of France or of Germany; yet less than one-sixth the British
Empire. To this must be added the dependencies of Mongolia, Manchuria,
Thibet, &c., say 2,000,000 square miles.
POPULATION.
2.--This vast and productive Empire, bordered upon the West and
South-West by the possessions of the British in India and Burmah, and
by Thibet; upon the North by Asiatic Russia, and upon the South-East by
French Indo-China, is estimated to contain about four hundred millions
of what an English authority has described as "the most cheerfully
industrious, orderly, and wealthy nation in Asia."
THE EMPEROR OF CHINA.
3.--Over them despotically reigns, from the absolute seclusion enforced
by tradition of The Forbidden City at Peking, the youthful descendant
of The Conqueror who, two centuries and a half ago, placed for the
second time the Tartar sceptre over the Chinese, and assumed the style
of "The Son of Heaven."
The Crown does not devolve by primogeniture, but by the posthumously
declared selection of the reigning Emperor among the male members of a
younger line of the Imperial House.
THE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT.
4.--The Central Government is regulated by an Inner Chamber, a Grand
Council, and the following six Ministries or Boards: (_a_) Civil
Office, (_b_) Revenue, (_c_) War, (_d_) Works, (_e_) Ceremonies, (_f_)
Punishments. Each Board is composed of Manchus (Tartars) and Chinese in
equal numbers, with two Presidents--a system excluding individual power
or responsibility.
The executive orders go from the Throne, and are obtained, according
to ancient custom, on petitions presented by the Presidents of Boards
or Members of the Grand Council, upon their knees, at or before
sunrise,--the course of the Vermilion Pencil of the sovereign being,
it is said, much influenced by the Empress Dowager, who, during the
Imperial minority of seventeen years, skilfully administered the
Regency.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
5.--The relations of China with Foreign Powers are conducted through
a special Board or office--the "Tsung-Li-Yamen,"--consisting of
eleven members of the Grand Council and six Chief Secretaries, a
considerable number of whom, with a large retinue of servants, receive,
round a sweetmeat-covered table, the official visits of diplomatic
representatives. This collective conduct of state business, added to
the difficulties of a language which, although monosyllabic, contains
over 20,000 characters, and the necessity of all communications passing
through interpreters (except in the case of the French Minister,
who speaks Chinese), much restrains and practically prohibits the
confidential and personal negotiations which, in other countries, so
much facilitate the satisfactory conclusion of public affairs.
PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION.
6.--For purposes of provincial administration, China is divided into
several Viceroyalties, each invested with a large amount of sovereign
power, including taxation, internal order and defence. It is subject,
however, to many ingenious checks. In the first place, a Tartar General
is attached to each Viceroy, in a semi-independent position, and his
assent to many administrative matters is essential. Secondly, there is
a rule against the appointment of a Chinese Viceroy over any province
or provinces whereof he is a native. There is also the vigilance of
a Board of Censors, established 160 years B.C., and theoretically
consisting "of the most enlightened, righteous, and firm persons,"
whose duty it is to warn the Emperor direct of anything done to the
public detriment, not excepting even Imperial laches; for the Chinese
maxim runs--"To violate the law is the same crime in the Emperor as in
a subject."
There are, within the Viceroyalties, 18 provinces, over each of
which is an Imperially-appointed Governor, a Treasurer, a Judge
and Comptrollers of the Salt Monopoly and the Grain Tribute. Every
province is again subdivided into prefectures, departments, districts,
and townships under small Mandarins, and into village communes under
Headmen.
The territories of Mongolia and Manchuria are administered martially;
in Thibet and Corea there are "Residents" representing the Chinese
Suzerain.
THE MANDARINATE.
7.--The Mandarinate is not hereditary, save in the case of a few
princely families, largely debarred from public life, and the still
surviving house of Confucius, which was elevated to a Dukedom, 1500
years after the death of its founder, in 479 B.C.
PUBLIC OFFICES.
Public Offices are filled by nominated Mandarins of various grades.
They obtain their posts partly by proficiency in successive urban,
provincial, metropolitan, and palace open competitive examinations in
Chinese classical lore, and partly by purchase or judicious bribery.
The former literary tests were established twelve centuries ago, and
at least 1100 years before merit or study had much place in European
patronage.
The brilliant graduate of humble origin rarely lacks, moreover, the
pecuniary support necessary for the prosecution of his studies, or for
official recognition of his examination laurels. Localities, banks,
and capitalists are usually ready to stand behind a man of promise, as
an investment, to be liberally recouped by ulterior "squeeze,"--on his
attaining place,--smally paid in itself, however exalted, but prolific
in indirect sources of enrichment.
INFLUENCE OF THE LITERATI.
8.--Nothing is declared to press so heavily upon the social, political,
and national progress of China, as the adverse influence of the
"educated" classes. So it was even in the time of the great monarch
who, 200 years before Christ, consolidated the Chinese Empire, and
built the still-enduring Great Wall, in hopes of thereby defeating
Tartar incursions. To overcome the opposition of the Literati, he
ordered all their books to be destroyed. But the fact remains that the
vigorous heads among the people, who, in other lands, have had to carve
their forward path, by agitation and revolution, through the barriers
of social rank, caste, and the privileges of wealth, have had for ages
in China an open avenue to advancement.
Thus it is that the student tendency, instead of being, as in every
other part of the world, in the direction of reform, is applied to the
most absolute maintenance of the present system, and to the rejection
alike of the methods and appliances of the Western world.
STUDENTS SENT TO EUROPE.
9.--It is true that a few youths have, from time to time, been sent
to Europe and America, but their studies have been either cut short,
or the palace circle has succeeded in relegating them, on return, to
distant posts. Some also have gone back, not imbued, like the Japanese,
with ardent enthusiasm for reforms, but apparently more embittered than
ever against the foreigner.[3] How little influence they have had,
and how little is really known of the West, may be illustrated by the
belief said to have been expressed by a provincial functionary in high
office, that foreigners came to China, from the barren rock of Europe,
to obtain "rice" as a means of subsistence; and to the opinion of
another, that we owed scientific progress, not to our own discoveries,
but to having obtained a copy of the ancient Chinese classics, saved
from the above-mentioned Imperial destruction.
NATIONAL RESULT.
10.--The national result is that, although recent events have hastened
forward the completion of a telegraph system, there is throughout the
Chinese Empire but one short railway, no proper road communication, and
defective attention to the unrivalled waterways, no uniform system of
taxation, no reliable administration of justice, no Chinese currency
(other than brass cash), no postal system, and little regard for the
public health and welfare; yet, wherewithal, there is great respect for
private property and the due transmission of the small holdings into
which the land is divided.
PROSPECT OF REFORM.
11.--That a people sometimes accounted "the active race of mankind";
as keen and reliable in business as any in the universe; the reputed
first inventors of the mariner's compass, of gunpowder, of ink,
printing, and paper (which have contributed so much to England's
greatness), should be content with such a condition of things may
well pass belief. Ambassadors have of late been sent to Europe,
Diplomatists, consuls, traders, and missionaries have endeavoured
to show the light. The example of Japan is at hand. Yet no man can
say, upon any foundation of actual fact, that a change is probable or
imminent.
It is true that fully two millions of industrious Chinese emigrants
can testify to their speedy acquirement of comparative wealth under
happier conditions, despite laws of exclusion in America. The majority
are said, however, to return quietly home and settle down (awaiting
interment in one of the family burial places which cover the surface
of the country and much prevent the sale of land) to that worship of
ancestors, filial obedience, and veneration for authority, which are
quoted with pride as contrasting favourably "with a society where each
generation despises the one which immediately preceded it, and strains
after the future without respect to the past."
WANT OF LEADERS.
12.--There is also an undoubted want of men willing to champion, or
capable of leading, a party of reform.
The two most conspicuous statesmen in the Empire--and, indeed, the only
ones--are the Viceroy of the Metropolitan Province of Chilhi, and the
Viceroy of Hupeh.
The former is His Excellency Li Hung Chang, who, for 40 years, has
possessed a great and beneficial influence. To the viceregal functions
are united those of Grand Secretary of the Empire and Commissioner for
Northern Trade, in which capacity His Excellency is consulted on all
foreign and naval matters. He has the forts on the Peiho in good order,
the troops well trained and armed--not with matchlocks or bows and
arrows, as in other viceroyalties, but with modern weapons, replenished
from arsenals at Tientsin, under foreign direction. A railway[4] runs,
moreover, under English management, to the Gulf of Pechilhi, and
its extension to within 14 miles of Peking was once authorized, but
subsequently disallowed.
Unfortunately, Li Hung Chang, who has given not a few proofs of his
good-will and preference for England, is over 70 years of age, and
his brother, the Viceroy of Canton, who also vainly seeks to build a
railway to Kowloon, opposite Hong Kong, is still older.
His Excellency Chang Chili Tung, Viceroy of Hupeh and Houan, is a
different stamp of man, in the prime of life, and energetic. But the
regeneration of the Chinese must be, he contends, by the Chinese, and
not by foreigners. To carry out his project of a railway from Hankow
to Peking, he was transferred from a superior viceroyalty, and to
this end an iron foundry has been established at Hanvang. The rails
and the plant are all, however, to be of Chinese make, so that the
commencement, not to say the opening of the line, is still in the Greek
Kalends.
SECRET SOCIETIES.
13.--The influence of secret societies is also prejudicial to reform.
They exist in every province, but their objects are often merely local
and devoid of revolutionary aims. Their existence has, however, been
put forward upon more than one occasion in extenuation of popular
excesses.
Some, moreover, like the "Kolao Hui," or Association of Elder Brethren,
mainly formed of disbanded soldiers eager for employment, have spread
widely, and could bring about serious trouble. Others, like the "Broken
Coffin Society," so well repressed by the British among the vast
Chinese population of the Straits Settlements, have predatory aims.
It is not, however, thought that the overthrow of the system of
government, or of a dynasty, which has exterminated its rival, is held
in serious contemplation, except by extremists, who may, however, get
the upper hand. Very summary proceedings and execution tend to damp the
enthusiasm of active agitation. Moreover, the difficulty the Southern
Provinces, speaking Cantonese, or the Centre and Western Districts,
speaking other dialects, have in making themselves understood by
Northerners, speaking Mandarin, or the official language,[5] coupled
with the practical absence of a press (besides the Official Gazette),
restrains revolutionary propaganda by means more effectual than police
edicts.
INTERCOURSE WITH FOREIGN NATIONS.
14.--At the same time the intercourse of China with the outer world
has undergone frequent change, and especially during the present
generation. The leading incentor to French activity in the Far East,
says--"Yesterday Chinese trade did not exist for Europe, but to-day it
puts thousands of arms in motion in England, and amounts to millions."
This is literally true. The Dutch and the Portuguese were before us.
Even as early as A.D. 971, a superintendent was appointed at Ningpo to
overlook foreign trade, and before that, there was such a functionary
stationed at Canton. Until the latter part of the last century the
British flag had hardly appeared. But now we have outstripped the
competition of the whole of the world.
Fifty years ago England sent to China barely half a million worth of
goods. The first war Her Majesty was obliged to wage in the interests
of British trade, brought about the opening of new ports, and in
1844 the English exports to the China Sea exceeded £2,300,000. Then
were forced upon us the operations of 1857-58, and the war of 1860,
resulting in the Treaty of Peking. Within the next decade British
commerce rose to £9,000,000 a year. Now it is half as much again.
Apart, then, from the indemnity, and the anterior cession of Hong Kong,
become one of the greatest, as well as most beautiful, ports in the
world, the cost of the operations has been defrayed many times over in
increased wages to British artisans.
BENEFIT TO CHINA.
15.--Nor has the advantage been one-sided. The gain to China has
been even greater. The value of the Chinese foreign trade for 1890
is given by Sir Robert Hart, the Inspector-General of the imperial
Maritime Customs (an Englishman whose eminent services to China receive
universal recognition), at 214 million Haikwan taels (the average value
of which, for last year, was 5_s._ 2-1/4_d._), say, in round numbers,
£53,000,000, or double the total of a few years age, while in the last
decennial period the imports have increased by 48 million taels, and
the exports by 9 millions.
TREATY PORTS.
16.--Under various treaties, mainly negotiated by England, twenty-one
ports and places have been opened for foreign trade and residence, of
which five are on the River Yangtze, penetrating over a thousand miles
into the heart of the interior. Two other places were added in 1889,
under agreement with France.
At most treaty ports a portion of the urban area has been assigned
to the foreign community, who are left free to provide for its
regulations--a duty which is usually discharged by the help of tolls on
shipping and house rates, as to roads, lighting, public conveyances,
and buildings, in a manner which sets the most successful example of
municipal work to the neighbouring native administration.
DUTY UPON FOREIGN GOODS.
17.--An import and an export duty, each averaging 5 per cent. _ad
valorem_, is levied upon goods conveyed in foreign vessels, which are,
upon the other hand, exempted from the "Likin" or war tax, and freely
granted transit passes, clearing them from the prefectural tolls, which
do not a little to embarrass the native trader in the interior.
The duty upon foreign goods is collected by the Imperial Maritime
Customs--a splendid service, employing 700 Europeans and 4000 Chinese.
It yielded, in 1890, a revenue of 22 million taels (say £5,500,000) to
the Chinese Government, or a third more than ten years ago, and further
supervises the lighting and buoying of the coast.
DUTY UPON NATIVE GOODS.
18.--The import and the export duty upon goods conveyed in Chinese
junks is levied by the Chinese Customs Service; and it is said that
many shipments are so made to escape the vigilance and the higher
taxation of the European Administration, and are subsequently
transferred to foreign bottoms at Hong Kong or elsewhere.
BRITISH SHARE OF FOREIGN TRADE.
19.--Three-fourths of the entire foreign trade of China fell, last
year, to the share of the British Empire, or more, by three million
taels, than that done by the entire Continent of Europe and the United
States of America. The trade with the United Kingdom, including that
passing through Hong Kong, exceeded £15,000,000.
The Commissioners of Customs at Tientsin, Newchwang, Ningpo, and other
treaty ports, all speak of "the increased demand for British goods," in
spite of much distress last year, owing to floods in many places; and
while Shanghai reports that "German figures fall off decidedly," the
Commissioner at Kinkiang states that "the British and Chinese had all
the trade to themselves."
BRITISH SHIPPING IN CHINESE WATERS.
20.--This fortunate state of affairs is strikingly illustrated by the
British shipping in Chinese waters. The red ensign of England, which
appeared on the first steamer in the Yellow Sea, in 1830, floated
in 1890 upon 16,897 of the 20,530 foreign vessels which entered and
cleared at Chinese ports, while the British tonnage amounted to 8/9ths
of the whole.
Our next competitors were the Germans, with whom we have so much in
common, and who are sparing no effort to develop their China trade.
They entered and cleared 2140 vessels last year, or 622 fewer than in
1888, with a diminution of 227,000 tons burthen.
A good proportion of the coast-carrying trade was also done by
British-built steamers, carrying the dragon flag, and wholly owned by
Chinese merchants. But, with very few exceptions, insurance companies
and underwriters insist upon such vessels being commanded and officered
by British or Americans. Besides this, the majority of the pilots on
the Peiho and other rivers are British, a state of affairs pointing to
the necessity of nothing being omitted by the Board of Trade to afford
every possible facility to the merchant marine to acquire the technical
knowledge necessary to maintain this world-wide reputation of the
English for superior nautical skill.
PREPONDERANCE OF BRITISH INTERESTS.
21.--These facts show the enormous preponderance of British interests
in China,--a condition of things existing also in Japan,--not only over
those of the whole world, but especially as regards those of France,
Germany, Russia, or any other European power.
They are corroborated by the establishment in China of 327 British
firms, or double the number of the mercantile houses of every other
nation, and by the residence at the treaty ports of over 3300 British
subjects, out of a total foreign population of about 8000.
Germany comes next with 80 firms and 640 residents; following her,
America, with 32 firms; and then France, with 19 firms and 590 persons.
REPRESENTATION OF THE BRITISH PEOPLE.
22.--Under such circumstances the British public cannot be otherwise
than glad that Her Majesty the Queen is fitly represented at Peking
by what is not unfrequently described in the vernacular as "The Great
English Legation."
The consular service of Britain in China is also manned by some
three-score officers, each one of whom is an accomplished Chinese
scholar, a large majority having passed through the arduous Student
Interpreter Course, which is ready to fill junior vacancies, as they
occur, with young men evidently as well selected as they are carefully
trained.
DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR ASSISTANCE TO BRITISH TRADES.
23.--At the same time it would be idle to deny that, in spite of
recent improvements, British traders generally complain in China,
as elsewhere, of the lack of diplomatic and consular assistance in
the advancement of English trade, and the apparently little official
interest shown therein.
The French have a like grievance, and the work of German
representatives for their nationals is often cited with envy. It is
said, though probably with exaggerated truth, that German Ministers and
Consuls are unflagging in their efforts to advance German commercial
interests, to show that German traders have government recognition and
approval, and that the employment of Germans, instead of English or
French, is much appreciated by the Emperor William.
It is possible that the out-of-date view that diplomatic and
consular officers are purely political agents may be excessively
retained in some instances, and that the assistance rendered by Her
Majesty's Consuls to British trade might advantageously receive more
encouragement and departmental recognition.
There can be no doubt, however, of the difficulty which would ensue
by consular espousal of the interests of a particular firm to the
inevitable prejudice of a rival house.
Nor is the prestige small or unimportant which Her Majesty's service
derives from the fact that any expressions of opinion, or any advice
tendered, are known to be wholly free from any interested motives.
IRON AND STEEL TRADE IN CHINA.
24.--In examining the position in China of particular industries,
attention must first be directed to the iron, steel, and hardware trade.
The standard work (Williams' "Middle Kingdom") says:--"Handicraftsmen
of every name are content with coarse-looking tools compared with
those turned out at Sheffield; but the work produced by some of them
is far from contemptible. The bench of the carpenter is a low, narrow,
inclined frame, on which he sits to plane, groove, and work his boards,
using his feet and toes to steady them. His augers, bits, and gimlets
are worked with a bow; but most of the edge-tools employed by him and
the blacksmith are similar in shape, but less convenient than our own.
They are sharpened with bows, on grindstones, and also with a cold
steel like a spokeshave, with which the edge is scraped thin.
"Steel is everywhere manufactured in a rude way, but the foreign
importation is gradually supplying a better article."
IMPORTATION OF METALS.
25.--This is illustrated by the importation, in 1890, of 242,000 taels
(60,500_l._) worth of steel, besides 800,000 taels worth of iron
sheets, plates, bars, hoops, nail rod, pig and old iron, and 500,000
taels worth of copper bars, nails, wire, &c.,--a purchase exceeding
400,000_l._,--the greater part of which was from the United Kingdom.
The Statistical Secretary of the Imperial Maritime Customs states
that "iron of all kinds maintained, in 1890, a steady consumption of
1,100,000 piculs (each picul equals 133-1/2 lbs.), and steel rose from
39,000 to 56,000 piculs,--an increase of 43 per cent.,--although it is
noticeable that the import is very variable from year to year."
The Commissioner at Newchwang states that "importations of metals
advanced to the enormous extent of 113 per cent. over 1889--the most
conspicuous being nail rod;" while his colleague at Tientsin speaks of
"the increasing demand for manufactured iron nails, which are cheaper
and better than those made by native blacksmiths;" and Chin-kiang
states, from the Central Provinces--"For iron of all kinds, 1890 totals
have not been equalled."
SHEFFIELD ENTERPRISE.
26.--The enterprise of Sheffield has not been behindhand. In 1843,
after the Northern ports had been opened, a _Times_ correspondent
reported "that an eminent Sheffield firm sent out a large consignment
of knives and forks, and declared themselves prepared to supply all
China with cutlery. The Chinamen, who knew not the use of knives and
forks (or, as they say, abandoned the use of them when they became
civilized), but toss the rice into their mouths with chopsticks, would
not look at these best balanced knives. They were sold at prices which
scarcely realized their freight, and shops were for years afterwards
adorned with them, formed into devices, like guns in an armoury."
A somewhat similar fate has attended the efforts of another prominent,
but younger firm, whose dust-covered sample cards were shown me in
Shanghai.
Although in 1885 Germany sent a considerable quantity of cutlery to
Tientsin, Chefoo, and elsewhere, Sheffield evidently meets the demand
of foreign residents as regards table articles, for some of our leading
names are present at every meal.
DEMAND FOR RAZORS.
27.--The demand for razors is, however, enormous. It is stated that,
having regard to the artificially caused excess of the male population,
some 180 or 200 millions of men have their heads and faces "painfully"
shaved once a week by a razor of the rude specimen I am sending,
with others, to the Cutlers' Hall, and which cost about 5 cents, or
2-1/2_d._ Three-quarters of a Chinaman's head is always kept closely
shaved, and custom prohibits either whiskers or beards, and even
moustaches, unless before then a grandfather!
At Canton, a well-known Hallamshire trade-mark is reported as selling
freely on razors at 20 cents. But in other places, more removed from
British example, I was assured that it is quite hopeless to induce
Chinese barbers to adopt the Sheffield shapes, unless they wish to
empty their crowded shops. For the Sheffield-made _Chinese pattern_,
however, a vast demand might possibly be brought about by careful
agents, if only it can be done at the low price the Chinese are willing
to pay.
DEMAND FOR LARGE FORGINGS.
28.--There is already a considerable request for large forgings, and
the arsenals under the control of Englishmen are steadfast believers in
the undoubted superiority of English manufacture. But all agree that it
is nothing compared to what will come when China really begins to go
ahead, and to open up for her people the vast wealth of the Empire. The
representatives of Messrs. Krupp and of M. Creuzot are very vigilant,
active, and skilful.
ADOPTION OF METRICAL MEASUREMENT.
29.--In connection with this matter, it is important to mention that
a recommendation is about to go forward from a high authority, to
whom attention is paid, that China should adopt, as Japan has already
done, the metrical system of measurement of France and Germany. Unless
this is fully realized, there may be a loss of valuable business, for
although there are measures which render feet and inches in mètres and
millimètres with the utmost nicety, foreigners contend that there is
sometimes an inevitable plus or minus, which upsets calculations.
WANT OF UNIFORM MONETARY STANDARD.
30.--In the same direction, too, it may not be amiss to give expression
to the general mercantile complaint of the absence of a uniform and
international decimal monetary system. Not only are many firms ruined
by unexpected and often unaccountable fluctuations of exchange between
the 29 principal currencies of the world, but the clerical labour
involved, not to speak of constant misunderstandings, is stated to be
most prejudicial.
This can be appreciated when it is considered that trade in the
East is conducted in rupees, piastres, Mexican and American dollars,
Japanese yen, silver shoes, shapes, and bars; Haikwan, Shanghai, and
Tientsin taels--the latter unrepresented by coins or notes, and all
varying in value from day to day. The Shanghai tael, for instance,
which was worth 4_s._ 3-1/8_d._, on February 28th, 1890, rose to 5_s._
3-1/8_d._, by September 5th,--a difference of 23 per cent.,--and fell
back again 13 per cent. in the next two months. The rupee, too, worth
2_s._ at par, was at a discount of eightpence in 1889, but early in
1890 all but touched 1_s._ 9_d._, until, in November, it fell to 1_s._
5-1/2_d._--each penny of fall occasioning not only great loss to
individuals, but it is calculated many thousand lacs of rupees to the
Indian Government.
It is difficult to say which decimal system has the most
advocates,--probably dollars and cents,--but all agree that pounds,
shillings and pence, and English coins on which the value is not
stated, entail more trouble than any standard.
COTTON GOODS.
31.--The vast present and the enormous future interest Lancashire has
in China, as also the British capitalist in India, is shown by the
Imperial customs report for 1890. It runs thus:--"Cotton goods bounded
upwards in value from 36 million taels in 1889, to 45 millions (say
11,000,000_l._) in 1890--an increase of 25 per cent. Cotton goods
of nearly every texture were infected with the general contagion of
increase, and expanding in quantity and value, while cotton yarn, and
more particularly that from India, poured into China in a higher ratio
of increase than ever heretofore, having risen from 108,000 piculs in
1878, to over a million piculs in 1890, representing 19-1/3 millions
of taels (say nearly 5,000,000_l._), or 50 per cent. more than in the
previous year."
It is not necessary to add anything to this authoritative statement,
unless it be that the French efforts to force their "cotonnade"
upon the Annamites, by prohibitory duties upon all foreign goods in
Indo-China, are unavailing, and that the prospect before Manchester is
unlimited so soon as the South-West of China is opened from Burmah. It
is tempered only by the establishment of mills to turn Chinese-grown
cotton into yarn.
WOLLENS.
32.--In woollen goods there was, in 1890, an importation of 3-1/2
million taels worth--a slight falling off compared with the previous
year, mainly in English camlets and lastings.
EXPORT OF SILK.
33.--Nothing, perhaps, more eloquently exhibits the importance of
China as a commercial factor in the world, and the necessity of foreign
trade to her people, than the silk industry, which employs many tens
of thousands of persons. Fifty years ago not a bale was exported, at
least to England; but last year over 30-1/4 million taels' worth were
sent abroad. Even that large quantity showed a falling away, owing to
transient circumstances, of 16 per cent. over the previous year.
THE TEA TRADE.
34.--The staple export of China, and the one with which the Celestial
Empire is most closely identified in the popular mind, is, of course,
her tea.
In 1670, eighty pounds of China tea were exported into England, and,
despite export duties, varying in China and in the United Kingdom from
400 per cent. on the productive cost to 100 per cent. at the present
time, the trade increased to 108 million pounds in 1880.
INDIA TEA.
35.--Since then there has, however, been a serious decline, increasing
so much, from year to year, as to jeopardize the entire industry.
This is declared to be mainly owing to the fortuitous development of
tea-planting in India and Ceylon, and to the preference shown by the
English consumer for tea of British growth.
Twelve months after the Queen's accession, 400 lbs. of Indian tea were
sent to England as an experiment. In 1890 the consignment was over
100,000,000 lbs., and Ceylon sent nearly half as much. The effect has
been that, while, in 1865, out of every 100 lbs. of tea sold in England
97 lbs. were Chinese and only 3 lbs. Indian, in 1890 the Chinese
proportion had fallen by about 50 per cent., and the cost to the
British tea drinker was also in like degree reduced.
One reason put forward by the experts, consulted by the Maritime
Customs, is that "a good stout tea, that will stand several waterings,
is what suits the mass of English consumers, and this India provides
much better than China." The English merchants at Shanghai and Foochow
affirm, however, that this greater strength is purchased by the
retention of deleterious properties.
APATHY OF THE CHINESE.
36.--It is in vain that the attention of Chinese cultivators has been
called to the condition of the tea industry by all concerned. Moreover,
four years ago, the Inspector-General of Customs thus addressed the
Imperial authorities:--
"To a government, its people's industries must be of higher importance
than revenue. I would, therefore, advise that taxes be remitted, in
order that industries may be preserved. Think for the people, and
forego revenue. Export duties ought to be light, in order that the
surplus production of a people may go for sale elsewhere. Import
duties, on the contrary, are the duties which ought to be retained;
but the use to be made of each commodity ought to be well weighed. If
it is something people cannot do without, it ought to be exempt from
duty; but if it is a luxury, it ought to be heavily taxed. On the right
application of these principles depend the nation's wealth, and the
people's too."
Nothing whatever has been done. From Foochow the export has declined
by one-half in ten years, and deprived the revenue of a million taels
a year, and the people of five million taels in wages. The opinion is
indeed general "that the gradual extinction of the China tea trade
is practically assured, unless something retards Indian and Ceylon
production, or drastic measures are adopted."
The "Shanli," or hill tax; the "Likin," or war tax, and the export
duty, are all maintained intact, and the unfortunate Chinese growers
have to compete with the untaxed tea of India and Ceylon. What distress
is likely soon to ensue may be gathered from the fact that the
production of one-half only of the output of the Assam Company, with
its few hundred employés, affords the main sustenance of 4500 Chinese
families, or, say, about 20,000 persons. They are themselves, moreover,
so apprehensive that the introduction of the machinery in vogue in
India and Ceylon will diminish employment that the Government has not
felt itself strong enough to protect its use.
FOREIGN OPIUM TRAFFIC.
37.--The opium question excites much interest in England. Some
philanthropists have feared that the revenue of over 5,000,000_l._
a year, derived by the Indian Government from the licensed and
carefully-restricted cultivation of the raw material of the valuable
drug, is in major degree responsible for the reported influence upon
the Chinese of opium smoking. They may be somewhat reassured by the
result of a careful European inquiry, officially instituted throughout
the Empire. It shows that imported opium is only smoked by the
affluent, the luxurious, and well-to-do, or, at most, by one-third of
one per cent. of the population; that is, by about three per thousand.
The annual importation used to amount to an average of 100,000 chests,
yielding, for smoking, about 4000 tons of boiled opium. They cost the
consumers upwards of 17,000,000_l._, of which 3,000,000_l._ went to
the Chinese revenue. But it is a rapidly declining element in Chinese
finances, and the deficit may, before long, have to be made up by
increasing the duties upon other imports.
NATIVE OPIUM.
38.--Native opium was known, produced, and used in China long before
any Europeans began the sale of the foreign drug. The records of the
10th century prove this; and opium figures as an item in the tariff
of 1589, and again in a customs list of the 17th century. Hundreds
of square miles are devoted to the cultivation of the poppy, which,
according to the late Dr. Williams, "is now grown in every province,
without any real restraint being anywhere put on it." Native opium
sells for half the price of the foreign article, and its smokers are
consequently more numerous among the people and younger practitioners
(_i.e._, those from 25 to 35 years of age). It is, in short, say the
latest reports, "forcing foreign opium out of consumption with triple
energy."
NUMBER OF OPIUM SMOKERS.
39.--The best authorities concur that the whole of the smokers, of
either foreign or native opium, do not exceed two-thirds of one per
cent. of the population, or adding a margin, say, seven per thousand
(Replies to Circular No. 64, Second Series, Inspectorate General of
Customs)--a state of affairs which is corroborated from the great
town of Tientsin, with its million of inhabitants. The Commissioner
of Customs reports "that but little opium is consumed, owing to the
growing influence of Abstention Societies, the 40,000 members of which
neither smoke the drug or tobacco, nor drink liquors of any kind."
EFFECT OF OPIUM-SMOKING.
40.--The effect of opium-smoking, injurious and wasting of vital power
though it may be, is certainly not apparent to the ordinary traveller;
and the American clergyman, whose work on China, founded on the
experience of a life-time, aided by keenest judgment, has been adopted
by every foreign legation as the Text Book for aspiring Consuls, thus
records his opinion:--
"A dose of opium does not produce the intoxication of ardent spirits,
and, so far as the peace of the community and his family are concerned,
the smoker is less troublesome than the drunkard. The former never
throws the chairs and tables about the room, or drives his wife out of
doors in his furious rage; he never goes reeling through the streets
or takes lodgings in the gutter, but, contrariwise, he is quiet and
pleasant, and fretful only when the effects of the pipe are gone."
MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA.
41.--The missionary work of endeavouring to reclaim China from the
faith which was first introduced 65 years before Christ, and whereof
the leading principles are stated as the worship of ancestors and of
sky and earth, has become, during the last 30 years, of political as
well as of religious importance, for it constantly gives rise, and has
done so very lately, to serious international difficulties.
Although there are many who regard the missionaries as doing valuable
secular service in accustoming the native population in remote
districts to the sight of European faces, and in prompting inquiry as
to the source of their evenly balanced and steady lives, constituting
them thus as pioneers of trade, it is undoubted that the great majority
of foreign residents are openly sceptical as to the fertility of the
missionary field. They are especially apprehensive of the effect when
the ground is tilled by fragile mothers and young ladies in the teeth
of deep and apparently ineradicable prejudice against the public work
of women, and particularly in conjunction with the opposite sex, for
as an incendiary proclamation, calling on Wuhu "to chase out all the
barbarian thieves," ran, "This breach of morality and custom is in
itself a violation of the fixed laws of the State."
ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES.
42.--The first missionary labourers were the Italian Jesuits. They
came to China three centuries ago, and by toleration some of the least
objectionable tenets of Buddhism, and a malicious employment of their
European learning, obtained such imperial favour as to be put at
the head of the Astronomical Board, and to be employed to build the
celebrated summer palace. There seemed, indeed, every possibility,
at one time, of the wholesale conversion of the Chinese to the Roman
Catholic Church, termed by the Emperor, K'anghi, "the Sect of the Lord
of the Sky." But then came Christian dissension, and following it soon,
as in Japan, their persecution, slaughter, and expulsion.
Now the Church of Rome is stated to have, in China, 60 Bishops or
Vicars Apostolic, some 600 European Priests (of whom 65 per cent.
are French), and about 400 Chinese clergy. It claims, also, close
upon 700,000 adherents (in Japan the proportion is one in every 905
persons)--a calculation which should, however, be read probably in
conjunction with the officially published fact, that of 13,684 baptisms
in the metropolitan diocese between August 15th, 1891, and August 14th,
1891, 11,583 were "_baptismi puerorum infidelium in articulo mortis_."
At the same time recognition should be given to the general respect
entertained by foreigners of opposing Christian creeds for the
life-long devotion to their task, on the slenderest stipend, of the
Roman priesthood. Their success as to numbers is also said to be
much aided by their care of the mundane interests of the converted,
who, loath to continue subscribing to family memorial halls for
communication with ancestors, and to extravagant funeral rites, if not
also to that support of aged parents which is obligatory on Chinese
Buddhists, are shunned by their kindred, and often find private
employment, even in foreign families, as impossible to obtain as a
public office.
PROTESTANT MISSIONS.
43.--Nor have the Protestant Churches, although later in the field,
been backward in sending out representatives. A considerable proportion
of the _thirteen hundred thousand_ pounds, which is on an average
annually subscribed in the United Kingdom for the support of Foreign
Missions, goes from "Darkest England" to China. The United States are
even more liberal, and school buildings have been erected by Americans,
on an extensive scale, in many places.
Forty-one Protestant Societies were represented in 1890, by 589 men,
391 wives, and 316 single ladies,--a total of 1296 persons, of whom
724 were British, 513 American, and 59 Continental,--assisted by 1660
natives. These numbers may now be slightly larger.
As regards persuasions, 7 per cent. of the Protestant Missions belong
to the Church of England, 20 per cent. are Presbyterian, 14 per cent.
Methodist, 12 per cent. Congregational, 9 per cent. Baptist, and the
larger number, or 38 per cent., unclassified.
There are upwards of 550 Protestant Churches, distributing, in 1889,
700,000 Bibles and 1,200,000 tracts, and over 60 hospitals and 50
dispensaries.
The result of the work since 1842, reported to the Protestant
Conference, held in 1890, was, in round numbers, 37,300 communicants
(of whom over two-thirds are stated to be Nonconformists), or about
one in ten thousand of the population; 19,800 pupils; while 348,000
persons were returned as having received medical aid, or at least to
have visited a missionary dispensary--a work which is acknowledged by
all to be of the utmost value, to be of real national benefit, and
to be appreciated by the people. It is much encouraged by the Rev.
Hudson Taylor, himself a surgeon and native of Barnsley, who from
Shanghai directs, with great tact, the undenominational China Inland
Mission, the members of which adopt, like the Roman Catholics, the
Chinese costume, and, like them, are smally remunerated, the expenses
of the Mission, exceeding £38,000 a year, being met by unsolicited
contributions.
THE RECENT DISTURBANCES.
44.--The disturbances on the Yangtze in 1891, like those at Tientsin
in 1870, had for ostensible cause the fixed popular suspicion that
the succour of foundlings by the Roman Catholic sisterhoods is for
nefarious medicinal purposes. Many of the female children, purposely
exposed to die, are necessarily, as indeed in Europe, in a moribund
condition when brought in, and the mortality is very high. This is
confirmed by the baptismal figures above quoted. The freedom of access,
anywhere and to anybody, which is inseparable from Chinese life, and is
tolerated, however disagreeable, by the most experienced missionaries,
has also sometimes been attended, it is alleged, with difficulty,
especially from native converts, and irritation has resulted.
The facts disclosed in the British Parliamentary Paper (C. 6431)
appear to be that, on May 9th, 1891, two Chinese nuns were visiting a
sick family at Wuhsueh, on the river Yangtze. As the disease of the
parents was infectious, they removed the children. On the way to the
Mission they met a relation, who demanded their restoration. This being
refused, the nuns were taken before a magistrate, who, however, on the
requisition of the fathers, immediately released them.
This excited much popular agitation, and three days afterwards,
a woman came to the Mission to claim a child alleged to have died
therein. As she was accompanied by a small crowd, which assembles in
the narrow teeming streets of China on the slightest pretext, admission
was _apparently_ refused. Then commenced the work of destruction,
costing two Englishmen, who gallantly went from some distance to
render help, their lives, and imperilling many others, not only in the
locality itself, but, later on, elsewhere on the river. Much foreign
property was destroyed, and a very serious state of affairs seemed
likely to supervene, for, as _The Times_ recently wrote, and experience
has often shown, "Native feelings of hostility, once roused against
the white man and whetted by the intoxication of success, cannot be
expected to take account of an imaginary dividing line between two
spheres."
ANTI-FOREIGN FEELING.
45.--In attributing the outbreak to Chinese hatred of the foreigner,
two observations appear in this instance to claim consideration. The
first is by Mr. Consul Gardner, in his despatch of June 9:--
"The mob was composed of many hostile from mere ignorance, many
from the force of contagion, some from fear of others, a few really
friendly, who, like the soldiers, led a lady to a place of safety under
pretence of robbing her of a ring, and others who sheltered them from
blows, while very few deliberately meant mischief."
The other is by the Rev. David Hill, a Wesleyan missionary of much
experience, who was officially employed to inquire into the facts.
Under date June 12th. 1891, he writes:--
"One thing which the sight of the house impressed on me was the
evidence which it gave of the hold on the people's mind which the
rumours as to the destruction of infant life have gained. On the upper
story, the ceiling had been inspected by means of a ladder, which
evidently had been brought up for the purpose. On the ground floor the
boards of one of the rooms had been fired, and a large aperture made.
Below the ground floor the ventilators outside had been torn open, as
though search had been made for missing infants, and, of course, the
lath and plaster walls in all the rooms where they might be found were
pierced."
This latter view is confirmed by the Rev. Father de Quellec, who,
writing in the _Missions Catholiques_, describes how, at another place,
on the night of May 23rd, a dead child, from whom the eyes had been
removed, was placed on vacant land near the Mission. A crowd assembling
next morning, cried out, "It is the European devil who has torn out the
eyes and heart of this child!" The house was stormed, but fortunately
a magistrate arrived with troops more under command than is usual in
China, and the mob was dispersed. "But," adds the Father, "eight out of
ten believe that we take out the eyes and store them in the cellars of
the Mission."
It is contended that, under such antagonistic circumstances, rescue
work should be guided by the greatest care, for otherwise its use,
to the prejudice of both missionary efforts and European trade,
by reactionaries, is _inevitable_. Their sinister influence, once
asserted, may at any moment call into fatally destructive play, as
indeed recently, the anti-foreign feeling entertained by a large
proportion of the Chinese.
That this anti-foreign feeling exists all agree. It is urged that it
must never be forgotten--for what renders it especially serious in
China, is the frequent evidence of its being fanned from above--and
that the authorities have no efficient machinery of civil order on
which reliance can be placed. Nor is the Central Government always
able to enforce its will on distant provincial authorities, or even to
prevent their varying the orders of the Throne.
At the same time, say others, the hostility may be exaggerated. The
employment of over 100,000 Chinese by foreign residents, many in highly
confidential capacities, both in the office and the household, and as
many more on board foreign ships, tends to confirm the general verdict
that the people, in an individual sense, are civil, obliging, and even
hospitable towards the foreigner, and well-disposed especially towards
the English trader, who treats them fairly good-humouredly, and without
offending their national prejudices. This is supported, even from Wuhu
itself, for the last Trade Report says: "The trade in goods classed
under Foreign Sundries has increased rapidly during the past two years,
and shows a gain of 70 per cent."
SUMMARY OF BRITISH POSITION IN CHINA.
46.--It remains but to summarize the position of affairs as regards
British interests in China, so far as I have been able to grasp it.
(_a_) That three-fourths of the foreign trade is in British hands,
and a still larger proportion of the shipping in Chinese waters.
(_b_) That British commercial firms and residents are in a large
majority among the foreign population.
(_c_) That the contiguity to China of British India, Burmah, and
Hong Kong, and the large numbers of Chinese residents in British
territories, give England an especial interest in the welfare of
the Empire, and in the gradual opening of the vast markets in the
West, South-West, and Centre.
(_d_) That while British interests outweigh, in their magnitude,
variety, and extent, not only those of every other Great Power,
but those also of the whole world, Russia upon the North and
North-West, and from her adjacent port of Vladivostock; France, her
ally, upon the South from Tonquin; and Germany upon the coast, are
anxious and watchful competitors.
POLICY OF BRITAIN.
47.--The course of policy best calculated, under such a condition of
things, to maintain and extend British commerce is a matter for the
Electorate to decide. Those who share the feeling of the majority in
Sheffield, that the undeviating conduct of the foreign affairs of the
Empire is essential to the expansion of foreign trade and its wealth of
home employment, will probably consider--
(_a_) That the British Industrial interests at stake in China,
and also in Japan, are too great to be necessarily linked to the
comparatively trivial concerns of any other nation.
(_b_) That as they are mainly dependent upon the safety of the
resident standard bearers of British trade, Her Majesty's ships
in Eastern waters[6] should always be sufficiently numerous and
ready at any moment to protect them, unaided, in their persons and
property.
(_c_) That the trade route from Europe to Asia, and its line of
defence--Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, Egypt, Aden, Ceylon, Singapore,
and Hong Kong--should always be kept in British hands, and secure
against any possible attack.
(_d_) That at the same time, no accession of friendly territory
being desired, and only mutuality of commerce on equitable terms,
the Emperor of China and the Imperial Government should be enabled,
by the Queen's representatives, to feel that the support of England
will always be forthcoming in any step for the advancement of the
Chinese nation, the development of amicable relations, and the
security of the Empire against any unwarranted maritime aggression.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 3: A Chinese literate, who had been to Paris for study,
expressed his opinions of Europe in the following terms. He freely
acknowledged the superiority of our intellectual enterprise, without
being at all persuaded that it was a thing for which we were to be
envied:--"The eyes of your intelligence," he used to say, "are more
piercing than ours, but you look so far that you do not see about you.
You have a bold spirit which must make you successful in many things;
but you have not enough respect for what deserves to be respected.
This perpetual agitation in which you live, this constant want of
diversion, clearly indicates that you are not happy. With you, a man
is always as if he were on a journey, whereas we like to be at rest.
As to your governments, I am willing to believe they have some good
in them; but if they suited you as well as ours suits us, you would
not change them so often as you do. I am quite sure to find, when I go
back to my country, the same institutions as when I left it; and I see
that not one of you would guarantee me, for even a couple of years, the
solidarity of your government as it is to-day."]
[Footnote 4: Owing to the multitudes of men who find employment in
China by tracking or towing junks and boats up and down the rivers,
canals, and other waterways, once in a splendid condition, but now much
neglected, as also in carrying tea, salt, and other produce on their
backs, over paths inaccessible to horse or cart, there is as much, or
more, popular prejudice against railways as prevailed in England 60
years ago. One writer says:--"Whenever the effects of our scientific
machinery in abridging labour are explained to a Chinaman, the first
idea that strikes him is the disastrous effect that such a system would
work upon his over-peopled country, if suddenly introduced into it, and
he never fails to deprecate such an innovation as the most calamitous
of visitations."]
[Footnote 5: It is very common to find that Chinese, meeting on board
ship, or elsewhere, with distant countrymen, are obliged to resort to
"Pidgeon" or English business jargon as their only means of linguistic
communication.]
[Footnote 6: Her Majesty's fleet round China and Japan consists,
exclusive of torpedo boats, of 22 ships, aggregating 45,100 tons, with
137 large guns. The next naval power is Russia, with 8 ships and 18,100
tons, and 61 guns. The Japanese have 29 vessels; the Chinese 20, but
all with native officers.]
MEMORANDUM UPON THE BRITISH TRADE ROAD TO THE FAR EAST.
1.--The nearest trade road from Europe to the Far East lies through
the Suez Canal, down the Red Sea, past Perim, to Aden; thence to
Ceylon; from there to Singapore, and to Hong Kong in the China Sea.
2.--As three-quarters of the external trade of both China and Japan
is in British hands; as the British residents are nearly equal,
numerically, to those of all foreign nations combined; and as
British ocean steamers are more numerous than those of the whole
world, and eightfold those of Germany, the second on the list, it
is only fitting, independently of the possession of India, that
this trade route should always be retained, as at the present time,
in the hands of England, whose position is greatly strengthened by
the possession of Gibraltar, Malta, and Cyprus in the Mediterranean.
3.--So long as this sea road is held intact and properly defended,
Great Britain remains the dominant commercial and naval power in
the China Sea.
4.--To pass Perim or Aden in the Red Sea, and so gain access to the
Indian Ocean, would be almost impossible for any European power at
war with England.
5.--Singapore likewise commands, to a great extent, the entrance
to, and exit from, the China Sea.
6.--Apart, though, altogether from the active power of
fortifications and artillery, torpedoes and submarine mines, there
is the equally effective one of want of coal.
7.--Even supposing that Germany, Russia, Austria, or Italy
were able to coal at Port Said,--a state of affairs which,
while we occupy Egypt, would not be possible in a state of
belligerency,--their steamers could not traverse the 7000 miles to
the coast of China without fresh fuel; and, against the will of
England, this would not be attainable.
8.--France alone, by coaling at Brock, opposite Aden, and
Pondicherry, might take the outer channel of Singapore, and so
reach Saigon, a distance of 2300 miles; or even Haiphong, in
Tonquin, an additional 600 miles; but the vessels could only steam
very slowly.
9.--The defensive value to the Empire of the Colonies guarding this
great trade road is therefore clear.
10.--But these prosperous Colonies are also commercially valuable
to the Empire in themselves, and particularly Ceylon, the Straits
Settlements, and Hong Kong.
11.--Ceylon does a trade of 6,000,000_l._ a year with the Empire,
whereof half is with the United Kingdom, which she is now supplying
with 50,000,000 lbs. of tea annually.
12.--The Straits Settlements have a population of 507,000; and of
the external trade of 178 million dollars, 78 millions are with
the Empire. There is no public debt, and the Colony contributes
(as also Ceylon and Hong Kong) 100,000_l._ a year for its defence,
which is now, for the first time, upon a proper footing.
13.--Hong Kong, ceded to the British 50 years ago, has become a
port of first-class importance. Although, not barring the approach
to the Upper China Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the waters of Japan,
it does so to a large extent, in a practical sense owing to the
coaling difficulty.
14.--The shipping trade of Hong Kong has doubled in the past 20
years. Of 130 million tons of shipping, passing in and out of the
harbour in 1890, 7 million tons were British, 4 million Chinese,
and 2-1/2 million foreign. British ships numbered 5500 (an increase
of 136, and 400,000 tons in three years); foreign ships numbered
2600 (an increase of 307, and 225,000 tons), and Chinese junks
55,600--a total of 64,000 vessels.
15.--The population of Hong Kong is about 200,000, of which 10,000
are European, and the remainder Chinese. Emigrants from China, to
the number of 42,000, passed through the port, and of these, 36,000
were bound for places under the British flag, while 850,000 Chinese
visited the island in the course of the year.
16.--The general impression of Hong Kong, in a commercial, maritime,
defensive, and picturesque sense, has been fittingly summed up
by the late Governor: "It may be doubted whether the evidence of
material and moral achievement make, anywhere, a more forcible
appeal to eye and imagination, and whether any other spot on the
earth is thus more likely to excite, or more fully justifies, pride
in the name of Englishman."
17.--Provided, therefore, the British hold firmly by this trade
route, and, in friendly alliance with China, do all that is
possible to develop mutual trade between Burmah and the Yunnan
district, there is nothing to fear from the rivalry of any other
power, for so long as South Africa remains loyal to the Empire, the
long sea road by the Cape is absolutely impossible to any other
nation. If, however, the short route be cut off at its base, by
the British abandonment of the magnificent mercantile position
established in Egypt, not only will the labour of ten years be
thrown away, but the whole of the gigantic trade with the East be
imperilled.
18.--The only foreign powers capable of injuring us, in a naval
sense, in Chinese waters are Russia and the United States. The
former has a formidable fleet, based upon the splendid fortified
harbour of Vladivostock, and could move land forces upon Corea.
The reinforcement of the squadron from Europe should, however, be
impracticable. As regards the United States, hostility is happily
not a likely contingency; but, in any case, the 4500 miles across
the stormy Pacific Ocean, devoid of any coaling station, unless it
be Honolulu, is a formidable barrier.
C. E. HOWARD VINCENT.
21, 12, 1891.
40,000 MILES
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---- 1890, cloth, 15_s._, half morocco, cloth sides, 18_s._
_Antipodean Notes_; a nine months' tour, by Wanderer, 7_s._ 6_d._
APPLETON, _European Guide_, new edit., 2 parts, 10_s._ each.
ARCHER, W., _English Dramatists of To-day_, 8_s._ 6_d._
ARLOT'S _Coach Painting_, from the French by A. A. Fesquet, 6_s._
ARMYTAGE, HON. MRS., _Wars of Queen Victoria's Reign_, 5_s._
ARNOLD, E., _Birthday Book_; by Kath. L. and Constance Arnold,
4_s._ 6_d._
---- E. L. L., _Summer Holiday in Scandinavia_, 10_s._ 6_d._
---- _On the Indian Hills, Coffee Planting, &c._, 2 vols. 24_s._
---- R., _Ammonia and Ammonium Compounds_, illust. 5_s._
_Artistic Japan_, text, woodcuts, and coloured plates, vols.
I.-VI., 15_s._ each.
ASBJÖRNSEN, P. C., _Round the Yule Log_, 7_s._ 6_d._; new edit.
5_s._
ASHE, R. P., _Two Kings of Uganda_; six years in Eastern Equatorial
Africa, 6_s._; new edit. 3_s._ 6_d._
---- _Uganda, England's latest Charge_, stiff cover, 1_s._
ASHTON, F. T., _Designing fancy Cotton and Woollen Cloths_, illust.
50_s._
ATCHISON, C. C., _Winter Cruise in Summer Seas_; "how I found"
health, 16_s._
ATKINSON, J. B. _Overbeck._ See Great Artists.
ATTWELL, _Italian Masters_, especially in the National Gallery,
3_s._ 6_d._
AUDSLEY, G. A., _Chromolithography_, 44 coloured plates and text,
63_s._
---- _Ornamental Arts of Japan_, 2 vols. morocco, 23_l._ 2_s._;
four parts, 15_l._ 15_s._
---- W. and G. A., _Ornament in all Styles_, 31_s._ 6_d._
AUERBACH, B., _Brigitta_ (B. Tauchnitz), 2_s._; sewed, 1_s._ 6_d._
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AUSTRALIA. See F. Countries.
AUSTRIA. See F. Countries.
_Autumn Cruise in the Ægean_, by one of the party. See
"Fitzpatrick."
BACH. See Great Musicians.
BACON. See English Philosophers.
---- DELIA, _Biography_, 10_s._ 6_d._
BADDELEY, W. ST. CLAIR, _Love's Vintage_; sonnets and lyrics, 5_s._
---- _Tchay and Chianti_, a short visit to Russia and Finland, 5_s._
---- _Travel-tide_, 7_s._ 6_d._
BAKER, JAMES, _John Westacott_, new edit. 6_s._ and 3_s._ 6_d._
BALDWIN, J., _Story of Siegfried_, illust. 6_s._
---- _Story of Roland_, illust. 6_s._
---- _Story of the Golden Age_, illust. 6_s._
---- J. D., _Ancient America_, illust. 10_s._ 6_d._
_Ballad Stories._ See Bayard Series.
_Ballads of the Cid_, edited by Rev. Gerrard Lewis, 3_s._ 6_d._
BALLANTYNE, T., _Essays._ See Bayard Series.
BALLIN, ADA S., _Science of Dress_, illust. 6_s._
BAMFORD, A. J., _Turbans and Tails_, 7_s._ 6_d._
BANCROFT, G., _History of America_, new edit. 6 vols. 73_s._ 6_d._
_Barbizon Painters_, by J. W. Mollett--I. Millet, T. Rousseau, and
Diaz, 3_s._ 6_d._ II. Corot, Daubigny and Dupré, 3_s._ 6_d._; the
two in one vol. 7_s._ 6_d._
BARING-GOULD. See Foreign Countries.
BARLOW, A., _Weaving_, new edit. 25_s._
---- P. W., _Kaipara, New Z._, 6_s._
---- W., _Matter and Force_, 12_s._
BARRETT. See Gr. Musicians.
BARROW, J., _Mountain Ascents_, new edit. 5_s._
BASSETT, _Legends of the Sea_, 7_s._ 6_d._
BATHGATE, A., _Waitaruna, New Zealand_, 5_s._
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Chevalier Bayard, by Berville.
De Joinville, St. Louis.
Essays of Cowley.
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Table-Talk of Napoleon.
Vathek, by Beckford.
Cavalier and Puritan Songs.
Words of Wellington.
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My Uncle Toby.
Rochefoucauld, Reflections.
Socrates, Memoirs from Xenophon.
Prince Albert's Precepts.
BEACONSFIELD, _Public Life_, 3_s._ 6_d._
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BEAUGRAND, _Young Naturalists_, new edit. 5_s._
BECKER, A. L., _First German Book_, 1_s._; _Exercises_, 1_s._; _Key
to both_, 2_s._ 6_d._; _German Idioms_, 1_s._ 6_d._
BECKFORD. See Bayard Series.
BEECHER, H. W., _Biography_, new edit. 10_s._ 6_d._
BEETHOVEN. See Great Musicians.
BEHNKE, E., _Child's Voice_, 3_s._ 6_d._
BELL, _Obeah, Witchcraft in the West Indies_, 2_s._ 6_d._
BELLENGER & WITCOMB'S _French and English Conversations_, new edit.
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BERLIOZ. See Gr. Musicians.
BERVILLE. See Bayard Series.
BIART, _Young Naturalist_, new edit. 7_s._ 6_d._
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See also Low's Standard Books.
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BIGELOW, JOHN, _France and the Confederate Navy_, an international
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BILLROTH, _Care of the Sick_, 6_s._
BIRD, F. J., _Dyer's Companion_, 42_s._
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BISHOP. See Nursing Record Series.
BLACK, ROBERT, _Horse Racing in France_, 14_s._
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BLACKMORE, R. D., _Georgics_, 4_s._ 6_d._; cheap edit. 1_s._
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BLAIKIE, _How to get Strong_, new edit. 5_s._
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BLOOMFIELD. See Choice Editions.
_Bobby, a Story_, by Vesper, 1_s._
BOCK, _Head Hunters of Borneo_, 36_s._
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BONAPARTE, MAD. PATTERSON, _Life_, 10_s._ 6_d._
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BOULTON, _N. W. Rebellions_, Canadian life, 9_s._
BOURKE, _On the Border with Crook_, illust., roy. 8vo, 21_s._
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BOUSSENARD. See Low's Standard Books.
BOWEN, F., _Modern Philosophy_, new ed. 16_s._
BOWER. See English Philosophers.
---- _Law of Electric Lighting_, 12_s._ 6_d._
BOYESEN, H. H., _Against Heavy Odds_, 5_s._
---- _History of Norway_, 7_s._ 6_d._
BOYESEN, _Modern Vikings, 6s_.
_Boy's Froissart_, _King Arthur_, _Mabinogian_, _Percy_, see
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