Although it is only to the few that the mysteries attaching to Shantuns, Hohows, Kemuns, ete., are revealed, a short review of the present" tea-season in Hankow may not be altogether uninteresting. It will at least show that in spite of loss after loss the faith which has so long possessed the soul of the tea-shipper is very hard to kill.
To make matters plain it must be clearly understood that the day of the princely merchant is over. Instead of merchants taking their risk and standing or falling by it, the teactrade now is mainly composed of men who buy on orders for a commission.
matter what part of the globe you may during the winter months, so-called merchants nay be found touting for orders. Tu Moscow and Odessa they abound, round the territory of the Hudson's Bay Ca. they may be seen worrying the potty retailers of the place into slying orders, even if only for five or ton bult-chests, at the Cape, on the Continent, in the Colonies, in fact everywhere it is the same, and Mrs. A, who in Shanghai holds hor head so high, would feel her dignity somewhat compromised could she sov her husband korctowing to a drowsy little German Jew. It will con quently be easily understood that the bulk of the tea shipped is not the property of the shipper, whose chief care is to get as large orders as possible, and so earn more commission. "To such a degraded point has the once glorious tea trade fallen.
Having shown how and why large shipments are the rule, let us now see what are the probabilities that shipments will prove remunerative or the reverse.
Tt was proved beyond all doubt that too much tox was shipped to London last season, in fact largo quantities which wore sent from Hankow still remain unsold and unsaleable at less than half the price offered for them on arrival. For purposes of home consumption demand for China tea has tactically ceased, teas from India and ceylon having supplanted it, and the principal outlet is to the continent of Europe. Occasionally 2 good shipping demand sets in which enables a holder to clear a portion of his stock at remunerative prices; too often a large proportion of it is left to the tender mercies of the London dealer and his tender mercies are cruel.
This year the season in Hankow opened late owing to the heavy rains which prevailed during the time of picking the leaves and it was soon apparent that the crop had suffered considerably. It was generally supposed that in consequence of this the supply would be curtailed, and the Chinese were not slow in working this for all it was worth. It is now questionable whether the yield of first crop tea will not exceed that of last season while it is quite certain that buyers for Russia will take very much less. Shortly after the market was opened, news arrived that the crops in India "had suffered severely from drought, and this, coupled with the belief that supplies from this side would be small, and the fact that teamen were willing to accept prices considerably lower than we had been accustomed to, helped to encourage buyers; still results last season were so disastrous that prices kept falling until they are now lower than we have ever seen them. So far this is a good feature but it yet remains to be seen whether they are low enough to compete with teas from Ceylon and India.
London is over-supplied with China tea and already shipments this season have assumed formidable proportions, It is possible that Russian buyers may to a certain extent make up their deficiencies from China by purchasing on the Lun-don market; failing this, it is ditticult to see how the large purchases for London, which according to the latest reports from. Hankow are twenty-eight per cent more than last season, can be disposed of except at a heavy loss to importers.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.