AYTER so many years it might be thought general improvement in the demand for cotton goods is satisfactory, and there was still a good average import of raw "cotton, the main falling-off in sundries imported being in Kerosene oil, to the use of which were attributed the dis-was due to the want of the means of communication. The drought in parts of the country rendered the water-ways impracticable, and land-carriage is too expensive a substitute. It is not too much to say that famines will be that the Commissioners of Customs astrous fires of the previous year. As! unknown in China when the empire is would have little new to say in their instance of how one province of once provided with sufficient means of annual reports from the River Ports, the China supplements another, we may communication, for the droughts and tenour of whose way is generally remark- notice the largely increased export of floods are only partial, and there are ably even. But they nearly all fill each beancake, beaus and pease demanded always superfluities in some provinces his allotted four bazes, and with a skill by the failure of the crops round New-to supply the necessities of others, if that disguises the Procrustean limita- chwang. they could only be readily transferred, tions imposed on them. They are all} Mr. Simpson's report from Kiukiang and this cannot be too strenuously imcheerful this year, except that from is so satisfactory, that he is able to pressed on the Central Government. Chinkiang, and that might well have compress it into three pages.
Under been worse, considering the distress of imports he notices specially the increase which that port has been the centre. in the quantity of cotton yarn, amount-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.