The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-01-25
WHERE WILL THEY GO ?
The EWarmfng millions Of China VIII
StarVe IfThey Stay AT Home, and "Must
Go" II They Come TO America.

A correspondent Of the San Francisco
Chronicle, writing from Hong Kong, China,
recently, says: Ina former letter touch.
cd upon the facts Of the influence OF Euro.
pean commerce upon the question OF Chi.
nese emigration. think this phase Ofthe
question has not hitherto been sufficiently
noticed in the discussions OF the press.
China was organized socially and CONNER
cially as a complicated machine, with each
part depending upon every other part, so
that whatever tends to disturbth the eQulib.
RUM OF this machine discrepancies to a
great extent its entire workings. By this
influence large bodies Of our skilled labor
ers have been superseded; and as the en-
pire is so slow in developing her mineral
resources, and the manufacturing interests
which depend upon these, the men thus
set adrift naturally gravitate to the best
labor market. England is welding the
chief influence in Chinese commerce, and
thus driving the mechanics from home,
while the United States receives them. !
have taken the care to investigate the
commercial phase OF the question, and |
find the foreign goods in the market are
nearly all OF English production, and are
introduced through English tea merchants
in exchange for tea. Cotton shirtings,
doeskins, or cashmere cloths and tlannGlS
are very common and very popular with
the natives. Besides, piece goods, clocks,
watches, miscellaneous notions, mirrors,
glassware, including lamps, kerosene oil.
ETC., are gradually finding their way into
the interior. OF all these articles the
United States furnishes very small per
cent. OF China's export trade England
also has the lions share. The trade in
tea, nemp and hides, the chief exports, is
all under the control OF English mer-
chants, and the trade in opium exclusive
~ in English control. OF the
TOTAL IMPORT TRADE
for 1871 iper the official custom reports OF
II, 497 800 taels, nearly one.half was the
Onium. Cotton goods were sold in the
empire for the same period to the value Of
1855, 795 taels, and the WOODEN cloths
foreign trade may be said to be exclusively
in the hands Of English merchants. 1t is
easy enough to see how the consumption
of European goods influences the question
of emigration. Take, for example, the one
item Of cotton cloth. Cotton forms the
great staple for clothing Of all classes, and
its manufacture naturally forms one OF
| their chief industrial pursuits; TO stop the
native looms must cause widespread idle
ness. But to begin ut the first step, as !
must necessarily to properly illustrate. All
farming is done in the most primitive
style. The ground is very commonly pre-
pared for seeding with the hoe, and the
grOwingCrop is cultivated in the same way.
This requireSa great number Ot farm labor.
crs to cultivate small area Of lanu. But
in addition to the labor OF digging the
ground We must remember that all iertiliz-
ing is applied in a liquid state, which re-
quireS much labor in its preparation. But
the cotton being grown and picked from
the fields, the seed is taken away either
by the fingers or by the mercst excuse for
u gin. Next, the raw cotton is beaten
with bow, and then spun by hand in the
primitive style. The thread must he then
wound by hand and woven in narrow
width in hand-powcr looms. YOu readily
see how much handling and labor Is re-
quired before the cloth is ready for the
market; and thrust be sold very cheapln
order to be within the reach OF consumers.
Now it has come to pass the English cot
ton, which is smoother and whittier and in
better widths, can be- sold in this market
cheaper than the native cloth can be pro.
duCed. Hence the
| LARGE ARMIES OF WORKERS.
i'll cotton are being superseded. Thus the
ancient processes OF hand production OF
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m ,'"i" ,a;,n mean" , a,e " m'II u ~ ""
mnrru,ion Ia almost any ny,rn. md n,
every point where the native industries
have come in contact with foreign
trade, the tendency has been to disurganizu
the home system and produce surplus
population, the ten trade alone excepted,
and the work created By European resi-.
dents in the way Of servants but there
cannot be one employed in this way whore
ten are superseded. From time lnmcmO.
rial the manufacture Of porcelain has been
one Of Chna's great industries. IIut this
no longer holds such an Important rank
50 Tar ~ the home consumption lsronrurn.
cd. While the demand is universal and
great, already the people nrc supplied.
especially with the liner and more costly
varieties. So that this branch Of trade
does not employ so many men us former.
". When Europran intercourse ir4, he.
gan, China hud Il ready and profitable