Att the foreign trade of China was done at Canton up to fifty years ago, and centuries before that the merchants there chartered ships to traffic with the Malay States, Ceylon, the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea, and provided them with carrier pigeons' to bring back -news of their progress from time to time. Now Canton is only one of the twenty treaty ports of China; it is an outport.'" But with.its natural advantages and the prestige of its ancient greatness it cannot fail to be an important centre, and-in the amount of revenue collected in.1891 it stands only second, longe interval lo indeed, to Shanghai.. At Shanghai the collection was Hk. Tls. 6,832,898; at Canton Hk. Ts. 2,480, 160. This, Mr. Louis Rocher tells us in his annual report, " shows an increase of Hk, Ts. 150,660 over 1890, and is only Hk. Ts. 28,182, or 1.12 per cent., below that of 1888, the largest on record. " But the revenue is not the full measure of the actual trade done at Canton in 1891, the progress in whose total net value is shown by the following figures 28,875,573
The great extent of the trade in 1891 is due, according to Mr. Rocher, to several causes. Ihe impulse given to the transit trade was one, for it led to a largely increased import.in foreign-type craft of kerosene oil and cotton yarn., Another was the large importation, of rice and wheat—which hardly affected the revenue, as the. rice, paid no duty. On the other hand, the foreign Customs lost-the tea trade, which was diverted to junks by means of the preferential duties levied by the native Customs. "A noteworthy occurrence as affecting and benefiting trade was the re-opening of the Blenheim Passage, or Back Reach, to navigation. The barriers, which had been closed since the Sth of September, 1884, were opened on the steamers are again able to oad and. Gth of July, 1891, and deep-draught
discharge at the Canton anchorage."
"There was an increase in imports under most headings except piece-goods, which suffered from vexatious cliages in the. local taxation and the competition of the native cloth, and: lead, the greater- part. of the apparent decline in which was made up by junk shipments.
The imports of Indian yarn for the last three years are as follows 11,004 pioule.
The import of kerosene: oil: rose_rip-parently from 2,579 cases in 1890 to 463,997. cases in 1891: but a larger quantity came in native junks in.'1890, and the import actually only doubled in 1891.. Of rice the import: was Pls. 1,578,326 in 1890: and. Pls. 4,338,429 in 1891.
Exports were well maintained. in 1891, and the. business done- in: tea largely exceeded that of any yenr.since 1887.; The greater part of it went by junk to Hongkong, the native Customs giving a reduction. of about. 30 per cent. in the export duty on all butte very finest class tea. "Dealers could thus lay down junk-borne tea in Hongkong cheaper.than they could deliver it free on board' the steamer at Canton, and foreign buyers were able to execute many orders which would other wise have been impracticable." An enlarged business was done in silk, but on the whole, it was "unfavourable to producers and consumers (?) alike,"
In dealing with the unprecedented import of rice, the largest on record; Mr. Rocher mentions five leading causes: "(1) that owing to unseasonable weather and insects the provinces of Kuangtung and Kuangsi reaped only half a crop; (2) that Kuangsi, therefore, stopped the large. supply it sends' an-unally to Western Kuangtung; (3) the authorised export of 500,000 piculs. of Canton rice to Hongkong is said to have reached about double that quantity; (4) the withdrawal of the prohibition, in force during 1890, of the export of rice from the Yangtze" valley; and 29,987,171 (5) speculation, Prices averaged $2.20 per picul, against $2.40 in 1890, 49,957,092 and dealers are said to have. lost heavily."
M. Rocher writes with much satisfaction of the great increase in 1891 in the inland transit business inwards, 1,946 passes having been issued, against none in 1889, and 79 in 1890," This remarkable development, he says, "shows to what an enormous extent, with lighter taxation and unfettered transit privilege the trade and prosperity of the province could be increased. At the close of the year," he adds, "certain local taxes were reduced, with a view to diverting the trade in kerosene and yarn. back into junks; but so far with only partial success." 'I'his success was so limited that, as will be. seen in ant exhaustive article in the Hongkong Telegraph of the 28rd instant, efforts are being made to once more stop the use of transit, passes altogether, and already oil and yarn belonging to two foreign firms at. Canton have been seized, the passes confiscated, and the firms' native employes imprisoned. The shipment of goods. to the interior under transit pass has, as was intended when the system was established by treaty, been a serious blow to the likin and ching-fei tax offices, and they have determined to fight, treaty or no treaty; and it will require all Mr. O'Conor's. skill and determination when he. comes out to get the transit. pass system honestly ne cepted again.
As regards the Mint at Cantor, Mr: Rocher remarks that the work "¢on-finites." satisfactorily, and the supply of scapper -cash and " subsidiary- coins still falls short of the demand:; itanust} however, be added that only-one-fifth of the machinery is employed. "From the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.