The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-05-28
FOREIGN TRADE IN CHINA.
PRESENT OpPORTUNITIES Described
N IN OEEICIIL REPORT

Under the title Commercial China in lS!D."
the Bureau Of Statistics OF the Treasury De-
plrtmcnt publishes the Information collected
from consular reports, addresses. Government
statements and other sources. concerning tho
and commercial opportunities OF
the Chinese Empire as it now is. Even In the
rcmote parts Of China, In spite Of the many OBJ
staclcs still put forth by Oriental prejudice and
superstition. American. English, German and
French enterprises have pushed Onward in
sharp but friendly aud often mutually helpful
competition for the trade of the most p%Opulous
country In the world. All the reports from our
Consuls in China set forth the possibilities OF
increased trade aud urge that American com
merCful interests shall comc forward To take
advantage Of the new opportunities. Many
AMERICAN products are now received with favor
In China. and there is ample opportunity for
extending trade along other lines.
Many are the Disadvantages. however, under
which the Occidental business man must labor
In his dealings with tn" Orient. No man IAN
push his business in China and expect to make
money from the first. From failure To under
stand this many American dealers have be-
come discouraged and let their British rivals
win tho prizes. The United States Consul ut
Chang kiaug says on this point:
British ilrms are fully alive to the fact that
to introduce goods into china a sacrifice must
undoubtedly be made. and it is owing to their
recognition of this that they have maintained
their supremacy in the OF this coun-
try. American firms seem to lose sight of this
and consequently have not made the progress
they should have made
Lack of transportation facilities is one great
drawback. For the 400, 900. 600 people of
China there are now $50 miles Of railway
something less than Il mile for each million
possible travellers. More than 5000 miles
moro is projected aud much OF it is under way
but whether il will be completed is not certain.
for tn" Chinese popuiacc has its own view OF
the locomotive. 1t regards that useful engine
a. a roaring devil. and the first Chinese rail
way constructed by IA British company in 1876
didu't last long. Tho natives organized Il rail
way riot OF their own aud announced their
intention Of destroying the magic promenade
upon which the lrc-devil sped roaring through
their country. SO the local government had To
buy up tho line and the local r%opulacO
did the rest. spending II busy day in ripping
ur the tracks and consigning them to the bot
tom Of the adjacent river. 1t is hardly to lie
wondered at that railway enterprise anguished
after that. The main heavy traffic is nv sys-
tens of rivers and canals. Land traffic is
chiefly confined to the plodding whoelOarrow
and the patient donkey. There are few wagon
roads and those few are so bad that travellers
who have once been over them prefer to travel
across lots. Then. too. the money STANDARD of
China is extremely shaky. 1t constitutes an
object lesson in the value of silver as a standard.
The money of China" says the report. 9 Is
uncertain as to quantity and quality. No ac-
curate estimate has been made of the amount
OF money in circulation in the empire. while
no accurate statement can he made to-day o.
what its value will be tomorrow. Based upon
silver. its value iluctuates with the changes in
the market price Of silver. The copper cash.
! valued at about one-tcnth Of a cent, is the ac-
tuai circulating medium, while the tail is tho
nominal standard for larger sums. it being
| merely n given weight Of silver and not a coin.
Actual silver circulates in two forms. the dol
lar and the sycee. The dollar was origi-
| nally the Mexican dollar. and became II
popular and generally accepted form OF
| currency wherever obtained. So conyeu-
lent was it that large quantities were
imported for use as currency. More recently.
however. mints for the coinage Of dollars, pur-
porting to be Of weight and iln"nesS equal 10
Mexican coin. have been established. not by
the central Government. but by the authorities
Of the various provinces. and the result is that
the rivalry between these provincial minis has
reduced the weight and iincness Of the dollars
which they issue until the provincial silver
dollars are looked upon with distrust. Addi-
tional minis. however. are beng established.
the machinery for them being from the United
States. Some half dozen OF the cities of China
have now their minis for the rninaG" of dollars.
aud work is III progress upon local minis in other
cities. so that BY the end of the present wear.
according to a recent issue Of the NOrit 'kinn
DdilV Nelrs, at least ten different kinds Of sill
YER coins purporting to be dollars will be upon
the market. In addition to this uncertainty
may be pointed out the fact that the tarl diff
fers in various cities and provinces. the weight
OF silver recognized rs II tacl being greater at
some points than at others. Tho consequence
is that while the haik wan. or customs. tact was
worth, on Jan. /, lS!E'. 72.2 cents gold. tho
Annoy tael was worth but II cents, the Canton
tacl 7O.S cents. the Chinkiang tacl GH.1 cents.
the NingpO tacl GS.2 cents. tho Chcfno taci
SO cents. the Hankow tacl ,G.4 cents. the
Foochow tacl 1876 cents. and the Shanghai tacl
6+S cents. Even the sycce. which is an nc-
tual quantity of silver east in the form of a
shoe with the weight written upon it in Chi
nrse characters, is somewhat uncertain as to
~tu;tion in the price ui the silver which II con.
tains and the uncertainty AS to1h" incneS- Of
the silver utilized. Gold coin is practically un-
known in China. no coins Of this metal being
made at the mintS, ana gold coiuS OF other
t tHoasis'f the ." Value sT Of IHs metal n ete Is fH iI Is r%"Sx!
ni2ed, and gold. whether in coin or bulk. proves
2 medium OF HXrhangr upon de'erminalIol of
its weight and tlnCnrSS when required"
But worse than lack of TRANSPORTATION. %facili-
ties and uncertain money values to the foreign
trader Is the likin. or interior tax. Tn" average
tnrlif rate for imports is about . per cent,
ad valorem, which admits through the Custom
/ House. and this is all that is required for coast
trade. Goods intended for interior points do
not get OIL SO easily by any means. In the
Chinese system Ot taNatiOn each province must
pay in yearly IA stated sum to the general GOV
ernment, the amount being arbitrarily decided
by the Government, How that amount is To
be raised is purely the AFFAIR Of the province:
hut it must be forthcoming. or the provincial
authorities are likely To have their heads
Topped of in more than a mctaphOrical sense.
4 favoritc method OF raising this tax is the
imposition OF iikin duties on goods brought
in rom other provinces, This ruIr was even
applied to the subdivisions of provinces. so
that n consignment of merchandise is likely to
be- held M every, few miles. aud a. the amount
Of the likin is determined often by the local
onlcial-and Chinese local officials are not
noted for their stern ntcgrity-thr likin is
simply prohibitory in many cases. Some wears
ago the foreign Ministers made so earnest IA
protest on this point that the Government ar
ranged for the issuance OF transit passes upon
payment Of % per cent, additional to the GUS
toms rate, these passes purpOrting to guaran-
tee entry OF the goods to, any part of he cm-
piru. But in many cases the local authorities
refuse to recognize these transit PASSES,
Al -a AI-U Nl4A.E E-ILN -tI- l-t- V-