Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1870-08-28
ing / + stamped upon il in Chinese

Characters with a steel punch. Each.
Hong seems to be ambitious to chop
as many dollars as possible or Gus
tom may require them to do 1t, and
so the coins viii after a while beonly
discs of silver covered and defaced by
Chinese characters. And the process
will proceed until nothing is left but
the rim of the dollar, which in time
will be broken up into segments.
This you may think a waste Of the
precious metal. Not so. Every splin-
ter is saved at the choppiRg and put
in packages, with the weight marked,
on them; which packages are as
good money among the Chinese as
the cleanest of dollars, inasmueh as
all silver moneys are circulated with
them by weight only. Gold is not a
circulating MEDIUM. They have a
copper or brass coinage, however,
called cash; seven hundred and seven
teen CID OF which are about equal to
a clean Mexican dollar. The coins,
other than Mexican or Spanish pillar
dollars, have credit. r
There are five banks in Hong Kong,
the Oriental Bank Corporation 20.
u. C.l Compton DEseOnte de Paris,
(COmptOir), Hong Kong & Shanghai
III. h. &S.), Chartered Mercantile
20. NJ, and Chartered Bank Of India
and Australia Il. & Az. These
Institutions carry generally from IF
teen to twenty millions Of dollars in
the yaultsl and yet you never see any
appearance of business about them,
but they pay very handsomely. The
Hong Kong and Shanghae, chartered
under the laws Of Hong Kong, with a
five millions capital, paysa monthly
dividend OF q per cent. We viii
endeavor to explain how it is done.
Hong Kong is the centre of trade and
capital in Southern China; all goods
shipped from, that vicinity are pur-
chased with funds obtained from these
banks. With the order sent to China
for merchandise there goes a letter OF
ere dit, authorizing the purchaser to
draw on sOne bank in London for 3
given amount of funds, the drafts to
be payable six Co months after sight.
The bills drawn under this au-
thOrity or credit are negotiable with
the banks, the average rate being four
shillings and six pence for a Mexican
dollar, sometimes less, and sometimes
more. That is to say, every four shil-
Ings and sixpence your draft contains
the bank gives you dollar. A mer-
chant sells a draft for ESQ, 600 and TIE
money is placed to his credit, but
is not drawn out ss it would be with
US, by i~nnuTnerable checks. He also
hes asecured e0mpradOr, who is his
cashier, and by him $50, 000 viii be
draWnnin four or five checks and with
as little noise and confusion as if it
were $50. I-T aI4E y
The compraders of mercantile
houses are frequently not only very
shrewd fellows but are men Of great
wealth. The %perquisits and commits
sions in buying, selling, and making
payments to Chinese amounting to.
large sums; and when they are POI
sesSed of capital, few know better the
use of il. Some years since a promf-
nent American merchant failed in
Canton by being ~overreaehed by Jar
dene, Deub and Others. 1t seems that
the American, by certain sharp and
quiet combinations with; the heavy
Chinese tea dealers had ''cOfnered''
the market, and pOeketed 3 million.
All his movements yer known and
understood by his eomprader, who
viewed him with wonder and admira-
ton. The next season, however, the
willy Eaglishers were early on the
alert, purchased all the teal in the mar
ket, and through their Chinese COM
praders and brokers kept selling to
the American, who steadily advanced
the price IN himself, to keep, as he
thought, his competitors out of the
market. One morning he failed for
five millions, and as a matter Ofeourse
was in great t~ribulation, gloomy and
cest down. Whist in this situation
the comprader rushed in with the
query: Mr.. -, what news?" "Bad,
bad, c~Omprader, broke! failedp'
"HOw muchee car dO2" demanded
the Chinaman. "PhaW," returned
the merchant "a million and more
'My can pay!' answered the COM
prader. "No, no. that won't do. two
millions, three millions are not
enough" The Chinaman paused and
deliberately demanded the extent Of
cessary to be raised. This wes unex-
pected. Give Millions gIoomily
replied the American. The China
man clappCd his hands as he ex-
claimed, MY can pay it. Let the
house go on. Next year we get event"
This incident absolutely occurred,
and although the version given may
not accord precisely with the facts,
yet the main fact that a Chinaman
doing the duties of eOmprader for $50
per month and perquisits, was
able to advance five millions
at q moments warning is sufficient.
| have been informed by parties long
resident in China that the Chinese
merchants of Canton hold more specie
than do the banks of London. The
comprader of Messrs. Augustine,
Heard & Co., at Annoy, is known to
be a richer man than his employers,
whilst the butler of the same house at
is known to be worth more
than i've millions, which fortune he
has amassed during the past twenty
five years, and whilst in their employ.
ITO be continued.