The way in which foreign trade has beuefited the native population has been very varied. Foreign cotton cloth has been to many natives flourishing business. Lately they have profited still more than formerly because the trade has gradually left foreign hands and entered native hands. The profits formerly secured by the foreigner are now obtained by the native. The native merchant watches the markets, and sends orders to Europe through a foreign merchant here and the responsibility, the profit or the loss remain with the native. No immense fortunes have been made, but profits have been very: considerable. ' This is what the Chinese say themselves. 'The silk merchants did remarkably well forty years ago. 'Then there were ten years of decline, and now that silver is so cheap the prospects of native silk merchants' should be by no means dull, Yet they do not acknow: that they are bright, The remarkable import of Bombay yarn during the last five years shows plainly that native yarn importers have during the last five years thriven unexpectedly by the brisk demand for this article in many parts of the country. A very great advantage has accrued to the Chinese at Shanghai in the opening of new industrial occupations. 'There are supposed to be fifteen or twenty thousand women engaged in the work of preparing fowl feathers for export, in cleaning cotton and silk, in making' lucifer matches and cigarettes. The Chinese Cotton Cloth mills which were recently burnt down gave employment to four thousand persons. The pawnbrokers of Shanghai have resontly made very large profits. They score twenty percent. out of which 10 per cent. must be deducted for expenses, so that their net profits are ten per cent. The cash shops have not been doing so well. Yhey net five por cent., and there have deen no failures for some time past. The absence of bank failures may be in part due to cheap silver, but it is a mark of prosperity.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.