Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1858-12-02

ed from that country The annual export wa.
| 1000, and for $50 years it was thought to bt
the utmost that China could supply for trans
| portation. No sooner was the monopoly bro
ken up than the 1000 expanded into 10000
The latter quantity increased to IA, 900 bales
While the silk producing powers of Europe re-
mained intact, the Chinese silk supply, already
developed more than Seren-fold, was thought
| to have reached its maximum Mark however
| the curious result Last year the quantity OF
silk exported from China amounted to the en-.
ormOus quantity Of "a 800 bales, showing that
since the year 1910 the supply had increased
forty-fold. Well might Mr. Crawford at a re-
cent meeting of the Geographical Society, say
that in the history of foreign trades, there is
not more remarkable fact than this
1t has been said by celebrated naturalist
that the physiological and geological condition
of a country has more to do with its character.
its liberty, its commerce, than perhaps any 9th
er feature. The physiology of Chinaman is
matter not half as obvious as the geographi-
cal confguration of China A single glance
at any map of China will suffice to make evil
dent one reason of the dense population of
that land. No country on the face of the
earth is watered by so many noble rivers In
few countries, however, have the water econo-
mics been more assideously attended to by re-
gulatlng lrragatiOn from main river trunks, and
by the construction of canals for purpose of in-
fernal communication The population on the
banks of the Yangtse Kang alone is estimat-
ed to amount to one hundred millions of souls,
or about three and half times the population
Of the United Kingdom and, according to the
estimate of Mr. ConSul 4 loonk tbara l. n rroot
er trade carried on between the coasts and the
centre of China than between all Europe and
the rest of the world This statement is as.
founding but when q member of the Geoprahi-
cal Society tried to impugn it, Mr. Alocok did
not hesitate to return as follows to its defence:
did not" said he, speak altogether with
out proof upon the internal trade of China In
the port of Shange there have been as many
as four thousand large junks at one time. tits
estimated, and has not been called into ques-
tion for the last century that from 800 to $50
millions inhabit that vast territory. There is
a larger population than all Europe, to begin
| with, and taken as a whole, they are CONNER
cial and tra6cking race"
In estimating the probable consequences of
throwing China open to foreign commerce, it
must be remembered that European articles Of
barter can hardly yet have been seen in Cen
tral China, even as curiosities Most of the
British goods are taken to Shanghe are sold
TO pedarS, who carry them on their backs
That merchants on this small scale, performing
the work Of beasts of burden, should penetrate
far it is difficult to imagine. The interior of
China may be regarded as a commercial terra
iHoqgRitia. The Yang ,tse- Kiang is to that in
ferior what the MiSSjssinni is IN North America
What would the latter bc without her steam
boats, and what might not the great Chinese
river become under the auspices Of steam =