Birmingham age-herald., 1895-05-23
ALESSON FROM CHINA.
CURRENCY ON ASILvER BASIS IN THE EAST
Rev. Dr.. Henry Tells of His Observations Dur ing Twenty Years-SOme Fruits ot
 the War Ready to Be Gathered.

A Washington special to the Philadel- | phia Press says:
 Rev. B. c. Henry D. D., a Presbyte-
 rian missionary stationed at Canton, China, has just arrived in this country
 on a leave of absence granted after ten years service. He is somewhat inter-
 ested in the popular discussion now go- ing on relative to the free and unlimited
 coinage of silver by the United States.
 He has had over twenty years experi-
 ence of the practical operations of the
 single silver standard in China.
 The estimation in which the silver cur
 rency of China is held by the nations of
 the world was discovered by Dr. Henry when he exchanged that money for gold The exchange was effected at discount of 112 per cent. In discussing the ques- ton as to whether the single silver stand ard depreciates the purchasing value of 1 the silver dollar, Dr. Henry had this to say to the Press correspondent:
 Intelligent Chinese tell me that 1t 1 costs them from 20 to 20 per cent more 1 to live now than it did ten or fifteen | years ago. This, I believe is mainly due | to the depreciation of silver, but per haps not altogether. In regard to my | own experience, the silver dollar has less l purchasing power than it did, say ten or fifteen years ago. In .purchasing | native products, the increase Of cost has | been from 10 to 15 per cent. In purchas- ing imported goods it has been much l greater, probably from 50 to 70 per cent. 1 There is one article which has re-
 mained at the same price, and that IS | American four We paid $2 in silver for
 a bag of fifty pounds twenty years ago. | and we paid the same in silver last year. Silver's D rec1ation.
 "There is considerable fluctuation in the price of imported goods, but native l products remain at about the same silver l price from year to year. Other clements 1 may come in as in the case of coffee, ] from Manila, where the government 1 monopoly has raised the price to more l than double what it was ten years ago. silver and copper are the only metals | in the currency of the Chinese. Gold is | used, but not as current coin, and It ai-
 ways follows foreign quotations in rela- | tion to value. Speaking in general way would say that in China, for native
 use, silver has from 10 to 20 per cent less
 value than it had twenty years ago. Everything is paid in silver. AS to wages, house rents coolie hire and boat hire, they remain about the same as they
 were when l first went to China in 1875. China's Rich Resources.
 Dr. Henry, being in the south of Chi | na was not within thousand miles or | more of the scenes of the late war, but appreciates the importance that attaches l to that event, and, with most foreign l CTS, expects that good will eventually | come out of 1t. The belief of foreigners | who reside in China and who have stud | jed the situation there seems to be that | one of the first results of the war will be the opening of the empire to wider foreign intercourse. The extent and rich ness of that country are not appreciated | by the outside world, but the late war 1 will mako them hpttpr known. Another result will doubtless be the introduction l of weSternsideas and methods in the way | of manufacture, building steam railways, | establishing telegraph lines; also mining | and engineering will be prosecuted, All | of these things are practically unknown 1 in the empire at the present time
 One of the important results expected will be greatly increased demands for
 western education. They may send stu | dents abroad, as Japan did, but this is
 doubtful The colleges already estab- | lished will receive increased patronage | and new ones will be established. This | will open a wide field for the benevo- 1 lence and enterprise of foreigners, who
 will be able to gain great influence as l the patrons of higher education.
 | While these results are hoped for | they are not expected to follow immedi- l ately. China has made peace with Ja- | pan, but she must reckon now with her
 own people. The peace policy of the l government is very unpopular and will 1 excite dissatisfaction. It will probably | lead to instructions in central and
 southern China and a time of trouble | and confusion will ensue. There are two
 extreme parties in China. One is com | posed of the ultra-consevativeS, who
 want China closed and restored to its
 ancient exclusiveness. They are op- | posed to any modern ideas. The other
 party is known as the liberals, and in it
 are some real aggressive and progress
 i've men. Outside of these parties is a
 large middle class, ready to join with
 whichever party is uppermost.
 If the internal revolution that seems
 to be expected the liberals should be vic-
 torious. and the existing dynasty. which is foregn-Manchu-no pure Chinese
 should be overturned, China will make
 rapid strides toward the first place | among the nations of Asia"
 Prices Cream Baking Powder passed
 triumphant through crucial tests, se-
 curing highest honors of the Worlds nT,1 N r,..k. G..