Arizona republican., 1900-07-06
THE TRADE OF CHINA
Development of Foreign Con-
 nerce iii 1899
In Spite of the Then Threatening Political Disturbances The In ternal Trade of the Empire Has Also Grown Amazingly.

the effect of the railways on business | in the section where the present dis ] turbances are in progress. is discussed i in the annual report of the imperial customs service of that country. just received by the treasury bureau of sta tistics.
 The following are extracts from the report:
 The foreign trade of China during the year 1899 was characterized by an as tonishing development, and merchants. both foreign and native. made hand some profits in almost every branch. The political situation. though still un- settled. gave rise to no immediate fears; exchange remained remarkably steady; the rice crop was abundant; the spring weather during the critical period for the silkworm was unusually favorable: and except for @ recrudes- cence of piracy on the West river. there were no disturbances 10 check the trade. The gratifying result was that the year beat all previous records, and showed an advance without precedent. The total trade was valued al Haikwan taels 46O. .533 2SS. a rise of Haikwan taeis 91. 1.916. .S05 on 1S9S and more than double the figures for 1890. The internal trade of the country was also unusually brisk, and the important changes which will be brought about by the extension of railways have already been proved New Chang and Tien Tsin have prompt ly responded to the stimulus of better means of communication. and the trade at these ports has leaped forward, though the former suffered from a se- were outbreak of plague. It is found that immediately trains begin to run. districts through which there was com Paratively little traffic. such as between Paoting and Pekin. suddenly coInmence to hum with life and activity. and there springs up a flourishinS trade which was formerly undreamed of and impos- silbe for want of cheap transport. The Russian line hae ceen completed as far north of MouKden. and the eXtraordi- nary rich,less of Manchuria will soon become evident. The Lu-Han railway, fror., Pekin to Hankow, makes steady progress. Within six months it is ex- pected that trains will he running as far south as Chingting.
 As what was written last year con- corning China's foreign trade was crit iciZed in some quarters as too optimis- tic. it may be well to point out that the report dealt with the conditions and prospects of the commerce as affecting Chinas national interests and prosper ity. and not from the point of view of the individual foreign merchant. who finds the volume of trade too restricted for the amount of competition en- Countered. 1t is true that the trade. when the possibilities are considered, is Of small dimensions; but the future is distinctly bright, if the results to be expected from the coming railways are calculated. The Chinese. from the highest to the lowest, are traders by instinct. and are prompt to take ad- vantage of every opportunity of profit. To form an idea of what future pros poets are it is fair to make compar- ison with India. The areas of the two empires are almost identical. and their products are very similar. But China has larger. more industrious and more intelligent population; while. on the whole. the country is probably more feItile and possesses greater mineral re- sources. In the former country, trade is assisted by good roads. railways. and
 
 the latter. at present. it is hampered by directly opposite conditions. The result is that the exports from India are worth three times the exports from China. With equal opportunities, which the building of railways and opening of mines will bring about this discrepancy should disappear. The year 1899 has shown in a striking manner what an
 
 are propitious. As will be shown later on. the year was favorable for exports, and we have IS a result to record in each direction the highest figures ever reached.
 The net value of the import trade was Haikwan taels 264.74S. .456 being an ad- vance of Hailwan taels 55,169, 122 over the previous year. and double the fig ures for 1890. Opium of all kinds jumped from 49.7S5 to 59.10O piculs. and realized most remunerative prices. Both importers and native dealers made large profits. The reason for this re- mdrkable increase in q trade which has been steadily dying out was probably due to bad crops of the native drug. The Chinese government has been warned of the evils which are resulting from the improper use of this drug, and steps are now being taken to have the importation restricted.
 The trade in cotton goods. which had remained practically stationary for three years made a great advance. the value having risen from Haikwan taels U,6lSS24 to Haikwan taes 103, 465 04S. l It would be tedious to particularize all the gains which will be found on refer ence to the table of imports. where it will be seen that every article men tioned-with the exception of gray shirtings. Insignificant decrease) T. cloths. English and Dutch jeans. and English yarn-was imported in quanti- ties exceeding the figures for 1898. As | regards the falling off in T-cloths. it is explained that their place is being ta- ken by what are generally known in the trade as "Continentals." which are in cluded in our retA-ns under the heading of sheetings. IL will be observed that English sheetings showed an advance from 525.366 to 762, 762 pieces, and the increase must be ascribed partly to Continentals and partly to the higher prices which have prevailed in the