Litchfield enquirer., 1878-11-07
Dull Times Acknowledgements at Home.


 It was statedin theAssocated Chambers o
 Commerce of England, last month, that 'sfron
 1842 to 1872, British trade made marvellous
 advance, but since 1872 the exports have de
 clined in value from $1 ,280 00Q GOO to $990,
 00,O00, and meantime, too, the imports e1
 manufactured goods are increasing, and. Amer
 ican grain is now steadily poufpg ip at an .bn-
 precedented rate"
 C. z Sagsthe New York Sun Arepoft present
 ed to the French Senate, last May, by com
 mittee appointed to inquire into the canses)o1
 the existing commercial suffering, showed an
 astonishing change in the relative amounts of
 imports and exports From 1872 to 1875 the
 exports of France exceeded the imports by
 sums varying from about $40, GOO, 900 to $70,
 900, ,00O In 1876 the tide turned, sthe imports
 exceeding the exports by S80, 000, 900 and in
 the first four months of the present year that excess already reached $70, 900, 900. At Ad- lbussonsth the famous manufacture of carpets is declared to be extinguished by the competition
 of English and Oriental carpets and it is well
 known that the advance in'tlie carpet 'fnanu-
 facture of the United States has 9enn prodtg-
 iOus within ten or fifteen years. In cotton vel
 vets the English have flooded the markets
 and ruined ohe of the industries of Amiens
 The makers of looms And engines at Rbuen cry
 out thattheir trade is'reduced to me9 preca. rious condition by the Competition of England
 Belguim and Switzerland. The whole, in the
 words of Mr. John Morley, lis one long moan
 over the ruin that is being brought on French - industry byy triumphaT rfopeig gnsgS' fa Mg3 . 3 The reports from thesifeHA a1ser4cssof Eng
 lan1 are all gloomy. Stocks are excessive, pri
 ces continue low and business is in an unsatis-
 factory condition. The only chance of per manent return of prosperity for English irons masters consists sach d gteat increAsei of consumption taking place that the relighting 0f Q hnn furn not do fho, supply the demand and of this there is little hope The United States demand, fer rails.s " both ofAsteel and of iroh1 is eperrnahently,
 and the rail trade has come to be the mainstay
 of the largest English establishments We can already proauce moEs at3sthap Re requisef and new markets are not easy to find. EXten- sions of the German railroad system are pro- jected, but they will not benefit English man. ufacturers who console themselves sh0W eyer with hopes of orders from Bulgaria and Asia Minor, but there is not very much that is sub stantial to fOuud the anticipatiOns upon, China and Japan are likely to needraiis largely ins the course of years but they have resources of their own in coal and iron, and, moreover, we also shall be in a condition to compete ,briskly for their custom when it sprlngs up i'm to importance 1'<i -fF 4i V 7&AsS
 We are happily enabled to turn from this gloomy picture of the state of trade in England to brighter one furnished at home. Sc. far I from declining, our exports are rapidly advan- cling, and our imports continue to fall far be- low them.s Cur imports of merchandise fer July were nearly I$4 900, ,000 short of these for the same month of 1877, and for August about $2, 25O, 900 less while the exports of goods in July were over S9 9,OOO, ,O00, and in August nearly $16, ,5O0. 900 greater than in the same
 months of 1877. The decreased movement of goods importation has continued up to this, time while the exports have gone oh hiswelling in amount and in value. The decline. in inl- portati0ns, as compared with 1876, began in November, 1877, and has gone on steadily since, the exports meantime being largely on the increase, every month of 1878 showing a decided gain over either of the two proceed ing years. For the eight months of this,y year up to September our goods imports declined over $49, 900, 900, and our goods exports in- creased $1O0, ,0O0, 900, the net change thus be- ing at the rate of nearly $223, 100000 per year, Including specie, the excess of exports is $780, 122, 900 for the eight months, against $64, ,415,- 900, for the same time in 1877. being gain of $1A, ,6O6, 900. If this rate is maintained, as it seems likely to be, we shall have trade bal ance for the whole year of $289, ,0O0, 900. For the eight months, too, our net export of specie was only $621 282 while for the same period last year 1t was more than $25, GOO, 900, the ex- ports having been SIS, 900, 900 less and. the imports-s6, 0O0 900 more titan in '1677 A3 @Theee are surprising figures, we'll worth the study of every man. They indicate that, so far from needing to manufacture a{ 6ctitious pros perity, we have only to go on'working and economizing to grasp iii full measure that which is real. The greenback illusion cannot last long. +sF L#@
 THR CHINESE STUDRNT-Co COMPETITIVE Ex- | LIMITATIONS. TO drink numerous small cups l of wine and to compose verses in prescribed metre and upon a given subject are accom- plishments in which no Chinese gentleman and scholar is expected to fail. The topics select ed are usually simple enough in appearance, such as ''The Vernal Willows" 1.-The Red blossomed Pear-tree," "The, Departure of the Crane," "The Return of the Swallow" but the verses themselves are full of subtle metap- hors and obscure allusons to classical writings, the whole couched in higll-nown and some | what incOherent language. The rapidity with | which these concealed meanings are caught up | by the hearers, and the certainty with which an | imposter is detected by single error in writ | ing or pronunciation, indicatesa high standard | of scholarship in polished Chinese society,". | The general style of the narrative is simple l enough, but many poetical and fguratve ex- pressions are interspersed Thus to die is to | ''see the land of the nine fountains ;" to mar " is to 'tie the knot of silk," or t'to unite | One's voice to the concert of the phoenix 5" ] a handsome person ''SeeTls to have been form l ed of the air of the mountains and the rivers" | Even the different apartments of dwelling | bear imposing titles, and we have "the gallery | of flowers, ''the hall of medtations," and the l pavilion of rural dreams Occasional prov | erbs occur similar to those in use among our l selves such as to show, "tIle horses ho0f. " equivalent to 'the cloven foot" Other sayings I are more peculiarly Chinese: ''to make a | verse of five syllables, you must pluck out | more than one brietle of your beard T fit can not be said which is the hand that has killed | the stag denoting that eqlalpraise is 1erit- | ed. The overweening pride and self-conf- dence which university stories attribute to the typical senior wrangler, can scarcely be called d misplaced in the heart of a young Chinaman who has attained the highest placeat the grand | triennial examination. The Imperial Acada | my, to whose members the highest appoint, ments are given, is open 10 the humblest Stu dent by industry and ability he may attain to ''the Hail of'Jasper, the Goidet Horse, those [ true lies of the blessed" Ner does official pro- motion alone awaits the successful student in | China; although good looks and giistinguished 4 bearing are by no means despised, talent and, | literary distinction are the frst qualifications sought for by rich and powerful digpitaries in a son-in-law, and an Imperial Academician | may aspire to marry the noblest lady in the | land. Among the many curious and interest | ing sights of a great city in China, none are | more characterisIically Chinese tIAsp the |halls of examination for degrees. The 'examination for the first or B. A. degree is held annually ! in all the principal towns of China and the f place of trial is merely a large enclosure with numerous rows of tables and stone benches. The second degree, corresponding to M. A., is a far mere serious. affair, and can only be o6- tained at one of the provincial capitals, where triennial examinations take place and where persons of all ages compete, the candidates II frequently being over 70 years of age. Suc- cess in these literary competitions conters hon: or not only on the learned individual and his + immediate relatives, but also on his remote an- cestors, which is great additional spur to the ambition of Chinaman. In Canton 10, GOO candidates can be examined at the same time! | fhP Attendance of & mn nfic;al roran,,r ;a ..a'