4th March.
[which sends only about $20,000 to Hongkong; but in Swatow no less a sum than" 700,000 dollars is are the most productive at present and 1 next come the Manchurian.
In the northern provinces dollars are Customs Gazette gives increased with from the people's store, chiefly, very little known and silver is the facilities in its newest form for obser- it must be supposed, to obtain opium favourite medium of payment for commo~ ving the part taken by Shanghai in as an indulgence; for looking into dities. In consequence of this, Shanghai receiving and distribution treasure. ithe table of imports we find' that/ sent to Newchwang during the quarter Phe treasure tables of the Customs, Swatow received 1,859 piculs of opium half a million taels of uncoined silver Gazette mark the movements of gold, sycee, dollars and copper cash. These four elements of Chinese currency are not only constantly circulating from hand to hand. They are a part of the freight of steamers bringing profit to the merchant, and as switch find their place in the quarterly returns of trade of the Imperial Maritime Customs. The most strike ing feature is the flow of dollars to Shanghai, which at present amounts to about five millions in three months. Against this large amount only about 80,000 are sent away again by steamer. The five millions, in addition to the facility they give to Shanghai for conducting commerce, as for example in buying sycee to send to the north, go to increase the circulating medium in the silk districts, in Soochow, in Hangchow, and in other large cities of Kiangstt and the adjoining provinces, Of the five millions, more than three come from Hongkong and Macao aid 170,000 direct from America. Ningpo sends more than half a million dollars to Shanghai in three months, while Wenchow sends 120,000 and Foochow 150,000. Amoy and Swatow together part with 350,000 more. There is no corresponding movement of dollars to or from the ports of the north or of the Yangtze river. This constant flow of perhaps twenty million dollars a year shews that central China, especially in its eastern part, urgently needs dollars to assist in its trade. There are parts where the Carolus dollar is in demand and the Mexican dollar is not wanted, but in the rich Soochow plain a decided Foochow a million dollars were parted partiality is shown for Mexicans. In
with to Hongkong during the last quar-for, showing that north Fukien is willing to lose that amount from its currency for the sake of the opium smoker's gratification. Foochow imports 1,100 piculs of Indisn opium in three months. The fact is similar in Formosa; Yamsui sends in thee months 50,000 dollars to Hongkong, and'Takow as many more, Formosa must have her thousand piculs of the Indian drug in one quarter of a year and diminish her store of accumulated wealth in pro-Formosa sends to Amoy may also tion. Very likely the $200,000 which
be chiefly set down to the love of opium. The Chinese in Formosa have now smoked opium for more than a century anda half, for it must be remembered that the first imperial edict against the sale of opium for smoking was made because of the spread of that habit in Formosa 160 years ago. When Auoy and Swatow present their statistics, export of dollars to pay for opium is still the chief fact calling for remark. This is not so much in regard to Amoy, from Hongkong, and paid 57,000 Haikwan taels of opium duty. Opium the eastern portion of Canton province then is the great deranger of finance in and the neighbouring part of Kiangsi. In Canton city, representing the central and northern portion of the province land the adjoining prefectures Hunan and Kuangsi, the most striking feature is the absorption of dollars from Hongkong, amounting to more than a million during the Inst quarter. The receipt of opium from Hongkong was during. the same time 3,300 piculs. The people there want dollars and will not part with them, preferring to pay for opium in other ways. Hainan is like Formosa in its habits but on a smaller scale. parting with $150,000 to Hongkong in return for 160 piculs of opium. So it is with Pakhoi, which, situated on the south-western coast of the province of Canton, sends $240,000 to Hongkong, receiving from it in return 280 piculs of opium. Thus the regular growth of trade allows the Kiangsu people to absorb twenty millions of dollars in a year to facilitate the operations of commerce, and those of the Canton region about four millions, In all at the present time China is absorbing somewhere about twenty-four millions of dollars in a year, so far as we can judge approximately by a single quarterly number of the Customs Gazette.
In regard to gold, at the present time Shanghai is sending away every three months to Europe an amount whose equivalent is 187,000 Haikwan taels and to India 280,000 Haikwan taels. Including smaller amounts such as 20,000 taels' worth of gold to Hongkong, China is at present parting with hoarded gold and the produce of mines to the extent of about two million Haikwan taels in a year. All. this or almost all comes fiom the north. 'Phere is 131,000 taels' worth from the Manchurian gold mines, and fifty-seven thousand taels' worth from the Chefoo gold mines, but the main part of the export is from Peking, which amounts to five hundred thousand taels. There is evidence here that the European demand for gold affects the rich families in Peking to this extent at the present time, and wealthy people among the higher classes are learning now to study the rates of exchange, and make profit by the diminution of their gold hoardings. According to the tables Shanghai has received other amounts of gold during the quarter to the extent of 77,000 Haikwan taels. 'This is chiefly from Corea, which has sent from her gold mines 254,000 dollars' worth of gold, of which 134,000 went to Japan and 120,000 were shipped to China. Thus it appears that the Corean gold mines to pay for beans, oak-leaf silk and gold. To tientsin Shanghai sent 575,000 taels of silver to pay for samshu, strawbraid, boots and shoes, gold, wool, felt, skins, and medicines. lo Chefoo she sent 86,000 taels chiefly for beans, beancake, vermicelli and gold. Up the Yangtze river Shanghai sent during the last quarter 400,000 taels to Hankow to pay for tea, tobacco, medicines, silk, oil, vegetable tallow and wood. She also sent 53,000 taels to Ningpo, receiving in return tea, medicines, silk piece goods and fish, Shanghai has during' the closing mouths of last year also been sending to Europe and' India 68,000 taels of silver each. Should any one ask from what places Shanghai received the silver amounting to nearly two million taels which she has distributed, it may be replied that $70,000 taels came from America and half a million from the Straits Settlements. Hongkong sent her 70,000, and Japan 180,000. Of the river ports Chinkiang sent her 40,000 taels, and Wulu 60,000 taels. But Shanghai sends away by steamer much more uncoined silver than she receives. The difference for three months is not less than a million and a half taels. She therefore draws upon some Tioarded stock of silver near at hand. The key to this is found in the circumstance that dollars are rapidly taking the place of sycee silver in the hoards of Kiangsu people. The northern trader likes uncoined silver best and he obtains it. He can conduct his mercantile transactions without the dollar. So with the Hankow trader. The native owners of medicine and tea prefer sycee to dollars, and Kiangsu to please them makes an exchange of hourd-ed sycee for dollars whenever the supply from America and the Straits proves to be insufficient. At the southern ports too, when there is an export of dollars this is the most likely to be the reason. It is not that the southern merchant begins to tire of dollars or that the southern provinces cease to absorb them; the cause is partly found in the demand for sycee at Shanghai. When western and northern commodities are brought there by steamers, Shanghai has to pay for them in a currency acceptable to the northern and western trader. Sycee is bought with dollars in Shanghai, where the bankers can find it in the neighbouring cities. For instance Swatow, longing for] the opium which satisfies her craving after a forbidden indulgence, sends 420,000 of her hoarded dollars to Hongkong to buy it, and Hongkong shifts them as cargo to Shanghai. here the banker changes them for sycee, which is desired in preference to dollars at Newchwang, Tientsin, and Hankow. In the three
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.