A Review of the annual returns of the Customs of a country is always of importance, in enabling us to gange the incidence of the various causes which have been at work in increasing or diminishing the demand for various articles. In this respect the last volume of complete statistics for China, that for the year 1877, is of more than ordinary interest, as showing how continuous has been the general depression of trade, and how it has culminated owing to causes connected with the great famine in Shansi, Disastrous as have been the results of that national calamity, they are not solely to blame for the falling off in trade to be observed, for other causes have been at work; so that since 1870, the gradual expansion of trade which had taken plage in consequence of the improved facilities afforded by the Treaty of Tientsin has been converted, first into a cessation of improvement, and latterly.into an annual decrease. It is noteworthy that this change took place coincidently with the policy inaugurated by Sir Rutherford Alcock in the negotiations which led up to his abortive: Convention, and that the most marked period of stagnation has been that which has followed the equally reactionary policy mentioned by Sir Thomas Wade in his Convention at.
Chefoo. Taking the totals of foreign trade with China, these results are somewhat masked by the increase in the export of tea to Great Britain and the colonies, but with this exception, which has tended more or less to disturb the usual balance of the import and export trades, the record of the trade of China has been one of utter stagnation or of decay. The most nnsatisfactory feature of the whole is that this decay is taking place mainly in the products of native origin passing from one port to another, showing that the causes are internal and not to be explained by changes in the course of foreign trade. A fall comparative return of the imports and exports of Shanghai for a series of years is wanting in the present tables; but while the imports from foreign countries, nearly two-fifths of the value of which is represented by opium, are slightly in excess of the average, im. ports and exports of Chinese goods have both fallen off. So in Newchwang we notice a steady increase in the imports of piece goods and metals, but this increase in foreign imports is coupled with a remarkable decrease in such imports as sugar coming from other ports in China. In Tientsin, as might be anticipated, the native imports have swelled to an enormous extent, but the reason of this is the demand for food owing to the famine. In other respects the trade of the port has diminished, though bardly so much as might have been anticipated. Chefoo, though on the whole the trade was larger than in 1876, is very far from having recovered the position it held previous to the dearth in Shantung, and here again the losses are mainly in native commodities. In Hankowa steady depression as taken place for several years back, partly counteracted by a greater export of tea; the latter however during the year 1877 showed a decline of some 40,000 piculs. Part of the losses here are of course to be attributed to the famine in Shansi, but the decrease had commenced prior to the breaking out of that calamity. The same general remarks may apply likewise to Kiukiang, where, on the whole, progress has been backwards both in native and foreign goods. Wahu and Ichang scarcely affect the totals. The former, however, principally vies with Chinkiang, and hence it is the more satisfactory to find that alone of the Northern ports the position of Chinkiang has improved. In some respects, with fair crops, the neighbourhood of the famine caused a demand for produce at Chinkiang, and this doubtless gave a spur to the im. port trade. Still native imports showed 'a falling off. Ningpo, on' the other hand, while the imports native and foreign remained steady at the reduced amount established within the last few years, suffered a tangible decrease in exports mainly to Chinese ports. It may be remembered that Ningpo is the most Northern of Chinese ports pro. ducing largely native commodities for export to the Northern ports, The falling off in the native exports is therefore to be correlated with that in imports throughout the districts North of the Yangtsze. On the whole, we are therefore justified in the assertions that while trade in Northern China is at last in a stationary condition, the exclusively native trade has enffored more than the purely foreign. That there are causes for this is undeniable, and we propose to touch on them on another occasion, 'THE POPULATION OF CHINA, Tur temporary interest which has bon aroused in China and the Chinese by the Northern famine, has naturally set the Home public thinking and talking about a subject which has always excited attention and occasioned discussion amongst sinologues resident in the Flowery Land. Wo refer to the population of China. Two sources have been employed hitherto to supply data on which to base the long lines of figures that have been from time to time presented to us as the number of the black-baired race. Dr. Williams, in the "Middle Kingdom," takes the statements of the Chinese censuses and prefers their numbers to "the guesses of foreigners who have never been in the country, or who have travelled only partially in it," and, indeed, we have to choose still between the Imperial censuses and these guesses.
The four censuses which, according to Dr. Williams, are the most trustworthy, are those of 1711, 1753, 1792 and 1812, From 1711 to 1758 the population increased 74,222,602, which was an annual advance of 1,764,824 inhabi-tauts, or a little more than 6 per cent. per aunum for forty-two years. From 1753 to 1792 the increase was 104,636,882, or an annual advance of 2,682,997 inhabitants, or about 24 per cent. per annum for thirty-nine years, This was the golden era of the great and wise Kien Lung, and these figures were credited by Malthus, From 1792 the increase was 54,126,679, or an anuaal advance of 2,706,388, not quite one per cent. per annum for twenty years. Reckoning at this rate, Williams concluded that the population in 1861 was four hundred and fifty millions, and these figures have been popularly employed by public writers and missionaries during the last fifteen years, A sriier in Fraser, some few years ago, stirred the question, and now a correspondent of the Times, who signs himself an "Old Resident," has
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.