The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1895-05-03

/ Cheh- Chang particularly most of the
! Chinese silk of commerce comes.
The principal countries to which China
exported goods in 1898 and the value
| thereof III taels Ga tacl is Il silver meas
ure of value, about 81. 33) arc rs follows:
Value in taols.
Great Britain and Hongkong. so .G5e. ICg
Inala .. 80, 413
Shiteu states Ga
Europe (Sithout RussiaI ............ Ii, ss5.0,O
Japan. 9.cJ7 g75
AS an instance OF how cheap labor
has affected tho manufacture OF cotton
in England alone may be shown the
enormous increase of the manufacture
of cotton IN India since 1868 1t was be-
gun in that year at kurla, i'll the presi-
dency OF Bombay and considered
doubtful experiment Still it grew I'M
til at the present day there are in Bonn
bay, Madras, Bengal, Surat, Brach and
Ahmeda'oad over $500. 900 sDindles ut
work, producing cotton goods valued
yearly Mt the sum Of $l6O, 900, 600, con
Stunning ,, 700, 600 bales Of cotton. OF
its manufactures of cotton India now
| exports yearly over 0,o00 600 pounds
and consumes 1900, 900 pounds Nine
ty per cont of its consumption was for
niorly manufactured in England, and as
II result of the competition Of India
looms with those of England the cotton
manufacturing business in tho latter
country was never so bad as it is at tho
present day
Perhaps one OF the most important
concessions. aside from the commercial
privileges, which China has granted is
tho abolition OF what is known as the
'hkin' tax, and perpetual FREQ transit
| for goods through the cntre empire
The "likin" tax is m institution in
China rs old US its revenue systcm--in
fact, 1T has for centuries furnished The
interior towns with most Of tho revenue
upon which they carried ON their gov
ernment.
1t finally became Il local duty or tax
that could DO assessed upon foreigners
or foreign goods by any province or mu-
| nicipality to such an amount and rs fro
quently rs the local authorities desired
Under tho operation of the tax und
tho provision in it which perhaps caused
the Japanese more trouble than any one
else IN recent years, Tor it was against
them 1t was most rigidly enforced a
merchant shipping goods into the into
rior was liable to have them assessed
for valuation and taxation by every lnu-
nloipalty through which they passed.
| frequently the tax was so heavy ii be
came necessary for the merchant to pay
the full valuo of his goods to have them
released. The exaction of this tribute
really amounted to an embargo on trade
and kept traders ont Of the country.
The rush of capitalists to take ndvan-
tage of the conditions of tho peace treaty
has already begun. Chester a. Holcurb,
for many years secretary of the United
States legation nt Peling and author
of book called Tho Real Chinaman. ="
Is already on his way to China from
Washington in the interest of n syndi-
cate Of American millionaires. His mis-
sion is to obtain concessions and to picl;
out the most likely places and lines Of
trade or manufacture III which money
can be invested
He Is bat ono of hundred others on
their way to China with similar Oh
Ject in view, and they are from Eng
land Germany, Russia and France, as
we'll rs from America
The above only shows how willing
capital is 10 take advantage of IN op-
portunity TO go into China. But the
only ones to be benefited 10y the opening
up OF tho territory aIe men who arc al
ready millionaires The employment
the opening up of the country will fur
nish Will so to Cinnamon These, work
ing al rate of wages less per day than
is sufficient to feed an American yellow
dog, produce IRON, coal and wheat and
manufacture commercial articles of
trade at a price which, as in Japan. ab-
solutely dehos competition and takes
from the civilized worllingman the lit
tie chance he now has of supporting his
family and himself on the wages he
gets without the competition Of 100,
goo 600 slaves
The exact amount of trade which the
United States now has, bat which. by
the competition OF Chinese labor. will
be jeopardi4ed and probably cut into
from this time on, is shown in tho fol-
lowing table of United States exports
for the year 1904 and the countries
to which the exports are sent In this
England is left out:
Value
British India and East Indies ....... 4.aos. 757
JhlliA. Observation-Disclosures. 8,tol 81
emma. Observation-Disclosures. bs.e -,
Dutch East Indies. .............,, l7sl ii2