'Te publication of the second part of the Customs' Returns of Trade for 1867, places us now in " n to examine the subject with all the light that is likely ever to be vouchsafed to us. Our first impress them with those of last y resent collection of statistics is point of usefulness. to that for 1866, No doubt the officials connected with the statistical department think otherwise, and they probably pride themselves on certain of the changes iutroduced as improvements. They bring all the statistics of the ports within two volumes, prefixing to such the summaries of the Sgures contained the volume; and this may, as a matter of form, be in some respects an advantage. "Bat when the statistics are not published until nine months after the close of the period to which they apply, the interest of the mercantile community in the minto details of article us in great measure diminished, and public attention is more concentrated on the brand goneralitias of trade, the comparison of the grand totals, and of the increase or otherwise of the staple articles of ex. port and import, The permanent value of the statistics of the Eh trade, us of all other branches of com-mere, dopouds on the completeness and accuriey of the summaries, and upon thei being arranged on a uniform system over n period of years. Now the Returns for 1867 we find that, although the two volumes together ox tend to no loss than 469 pages, the general summaries are disposed of 12 pages; and the consequence is that some subjects of interest are loft out altogether. For example, in such a wondorfally elaborate mass of figares, we are astonished to find that sach an interesting subject as the amount of revenue the Chinese authorities derive from the Duties levied at all the ports, is not considered of sailicient import: nee to occupy hall a page of. the 459, Ttiis true that the amount of the Duties for ench port is set down separately in the Returns for the respective ports but we think we have good reason to ask why, in a publication which pretends to be exhaustive, and in the previous volumes of which moreover the Duties levied at all the ports are sum marised in a single table, it should have been thought necessary to. suppress this indispensable feature in the permanent statistics of the Chinese trade, Tt may have occurred simply through earoléssness, or by leaving the incumbent of the statistical department to the promptings or caprice of his own genius; bat we cannot altogether sion leaves every one to find out the total duties forhimsolf; and farther, it quietly hides away out of view the total amionnt of the Tounago Dues, so that no one can tun up the volume and find, randy to bisharid, toonmount avail able for the numerous and important purposes to which this item of ro-venue has boon regarded as spplicablo, I sto the figurestliemsolves contained.
these two volumes, and their compa ison with those of the three previous yenrs, itis rather disappointing to note the perfect unconcern with which, on page yr of the second part, the com. pilex informs us an error has boon committed in previous years in the trade with Hongkong. And, after ing us with 469 pages of statistics, ho follows up the announcement of this error with the singularly candid con. fession, that " this has been avoided in the returns for 1867." It is not of very much consequence that the figures for th rected in the prosont issue 50 many much more important res} the want of trade statistics at Hongkong makes the returns of the treaty ports a very imperfect statement of the Com-mexico of China, The figures such as they are show that in the strictly foreign trade, there is n falling off as compared with 1866 of Tls. 8,500,000; but as the change in the arrangement of the statistics of the trade with Hongkong excludes, for 1867, native goods which wore formerly sot' down in the tables foreign, the probability is that the foreign trade ins really increased. the other hand, the value of Chinese produce carried from port to port has, cran in spite of the change in the Hongkong statistics which of course has udded to the valao of the trade in native goods, diminished very consi-dorably; namely from Tls. 82,259,840, in 1800, to "Te, 20,878,500, in 1807, The ostimntod value of the entire trade native and foreign has decreased, us inst. the previous year, by nearly Tls. 9,000,000; bat as we hinvo alrendy shown the falling off is really in the const trade. It is satisfactory to observo that the total trade of Shanghai fins increased by about. Ts, 5,600,000, and that daring 1867 it reached Tis, 97,035,459. In conclusion, we cannot bat commend the ncenraey of the sta-fistics so far as we have hind time to examine them, nnd we trast that now, at last n definite system us been adopted which will servo as a basis of comparison for future yenrs.
In further examining the Returns of Tendo for 1867, it seems to ws more and more a matter for regret that the Latest, and as might be expected, the most complete and most improved statistical publication issued from the Customs, is so dofoctiro in its summntics, Kvon taking the detailed Retarns of the trade ut each port we by no means find the fall information that the pre: i boon suppos-to the qu tion of daties, the Returns from son of the ports, Shanghai for example, only give the totals for the your 1867, comparison, those of the previous tire without republishing for purposes of years; so that, within the compass the two volumes, there is not offered any means of comparing the increnso or decrease at each port. And, aa we have already pointed out, the total of the duties at all the ports hus appeared too insignificant to the Customs authorities to warrant any allotment of their valuable spnco touch an object, Than from some of the ports the Commis sioners do quote the corresponding figures of the previous years; but why that there is no uniformity? Tu the matter of tonnage and the various flags under which the trade is enctiod on,—in some of the Returns these are omitted altogether, and in others they avo set down; bat this is one of the subjects which have not been thought worthy of any general summary. "As the question of duties is an important, one we give the following table which we have ourselves made up from the 503,928 693,140 471,978 712/490 1,649,961, 1,082,201
03,871 61,804
49,037 64,823, 452,002 426,959 989,725 1,033,639 1,010,176 949,497 499.656 "517,811 24254 15,834 '20,800
208011 gag 974 219,514 411,208 641,399 958,023 251,972 185,194 167,064
Usikwan Tls, 8.820036 8,085,090 8,207,275
'Wo note an error in the Returns both for 1865 and 1866, where the 'Transit Dues ab Shanghai' for 1865 are sot down at Tis, 82,91 i Tls. 83,966. boro exhibits is, on the whole, one of steady progress, although for some of the ports it points to decline, "the tonnage duos for 1807, which we collect from the Returns of the various ports, amount to Tis, 203,053, being a slight decrease on those of the former year, when they reached Tls. 217,732, Coming to the more important feataros of the trade of Shanghai, we find that we have reason to congratulate ourselves, The import of Grey Shictings for the year was 2,182,574 pieces against 1,982,089 in 1866; Camlets have declined. from 182,211 pieces in 1866. to 104,776; Spanish Stripes hinvo increas. ed from 50,984 pieces in 1866 to 58,085 Pigeons Long Ble have destina' from 47,287 pieces to 181,988 pieces; Lustres and' Orleans plain and figured have more than doubled, namely 475,110 iecesas against 239,800 in 1866; and plum has slightly' increased, from 41,140 chests in 1866 to 42,703 in 1867, decreases the import for. 1606 being Foreign conl there is an' appreciable
119,125 tons, and for 1867, 105,286 tons; but, on the other hand, thoro is tan increnso of 77,000 tons in the import of native Coal—namoly from 12,260 tons in 1866 to 89,625 tons in 1867.
The export of Black Ton from Shanghai amounted in 1867 to Ibs. 52,014,400. and of Green to Ibs. 27,878,733; while, in the previous year, 41,960,600 and Ibs, £45059,200 rospoo: the corresponding figures were Ibs.
tively—being an increase in 1867 of Ibs. 13,875,000, "On rotorring to the Ro-turns for 1866, we find Unt the export of Ton during that year from all Chinn was piculs 1,188,042, while that sob down on page tit of the first part for 1867 is piculs 1,122,402, An altompt the Intter sum by adding the export of ton to for at Shanghi, Foochow, Cane ton, Amoy, and Hankow (div oct,) has onused us to arrive at piculs 1,245,109 and we are sorry that, after having taken a considerable amonutof trouble, which any rational aystora of arranging. the statistics would have saved us, we cannot find out that the latter amount, which would give fully ths. 166,000,000 as the total export of Ten from all the Chinese ports for 1867, is incorrect, Wo trust there is some satisfactory oxplauation,—althongh the object. of stutistios is'gonorally considered to be that they explain themsolvas,—andespocially so us the figures' that soon to weinaceurato are in the table which prepared with n view to forming a basin for fature comparison. On the first Dinsh it soams tous that pienly 1,122,402 or Ibs. 149,658,600 ik too small a quantity for ' Groat Britain, the United States, and the Colonies and Ibs. 166,000,000 seem to more approximate estimate of the total export from China, Gtaxcixe farther through the "Misco. Muy" to which we alluded a fow days ago, we com to an account of a sail riot at Ningpo, which is interesting just nov, as showing the rharactor of the trade which Teen-kivu-fan is' 80 anxious to protest, "The revenue ncoruing from the salt galelle," says the paper, 0 great as to endear this form of tax~
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.