Ir is by no means uninstractive to mark the gradual changes which have tended to completely alter commercial relations with China since the early days of foreign intercourse. Perhaps the most remarkable of these changes is in the gradual disuse of specie payments, and the greater extension of credit in our dealings, not only with Europe but with the Chinese themselves. It is not many years since all payments bad to be made in hard steve. In fact, it is well within the memory of many persons still resident and doing business amongst us, how, on the one hand, our imports were exchanged for sycee weighed out on the spot; and, on the other hand, our exporting houses had to keep large stocks of silver in their own treasuries to pay for the tea and silk sent to Europe. Now this was doubtless an extravagant method of doing business, and, indeed, all the surroundings of business in those days were arranged on an extravagant style. Still the fact remains that the growth of business has by no means kept pace with the economy with which it is conducted. We believe that few, if any, extensive trades are carried on at as low rates na is the China trade of to-day. Noteably, thie amount of bullion employed has been reduced toa minimum, yet fow trades have been more unsatisfactory in their development. The cheaper, in fact, the trade has become, the more certain seem to have been its losses, and this without any reasonable hope of development. Tea, silk, nnd opium contribute, as they did twenty years ago, the staple of our trade, China can produce the first two in excess of the requirements of the world, yet, strangely, it shows no symptoms of increasing its needs in proportion. Stagnation has somewhere intervened, and a trade once healthy bids fair to dio of plethora, We may, in a case of this sort, conclude that natural influences must be at work in some manner to prevent progress; yet it is difficult to test to what natural cause we are to attribute the present condition of the China trade. To all external appear. ance, the condition of the Empire is better than it was twenty years ago. A great rebellion has been crushed. The people have returned to a considerable extent to their former homes. The ion is in most places not over in fact, in many places not dense enough to make uso of the available ground, Except locally, as in the case of the present famine in Shango and Shantang, the populations of China enjoy a fair amount of comfort. There are apparently all the conditions for a prosperous trade, but it is certain that it does not exist. The native system of banking economises the available bul-ion of the country to an extent to which in Earope we bad no parallel till within comparatively recent times; yet we are doubtful if native merchants find their business mach more satisfactory than foreigners. It is evident that some incubus is pressing heavily on the moreautile classes. At one time, as we mentioned above, the trade was able to bear all the additional expenses entailed by the necessity of keeping Inrge stocks of bullion constantly on band.. Out. goings, such as now would surprise-the most extravagant of us, were part of the ordinary routine of business. Yet trade was profitable, Now-a-days, we have been gradually relaxing our rules about ready money payments, and mora extended credit hus come to be the order of the day. The result has not been an extension of business, but, on the contrary, as we have seen, it exhibited in more than one port an utter collapse. It is nob many years since Chinkiang, for instance, seemed about to rise into importance as a-port. The last year has apparently seen its utter ruin. In fact, the rale of credit seems
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.