Ast Jan. the year that begins to-day is as profitable to merchants on the whole as 1890 was, the cry of "hard times" will be again postponed. The merchant has been a grumbler before and since the days of Horace, when, as the poet tells us, he would willingly have exchanged his lot for that of the soldier; but notwithstanding the extra anxiety which the divagations of silver gave him last year, the Shanghai merchant is generally content with the results of the year's work. 'I'he trade in cotton and woollen piece-goods was distinctly satisfactory to the importers, though the Chinese dealers are believed not to have found it equally remunerative. he big rise send' to the foreign holder, while it in outers in.the autumn was, a god-brought loss to the Chinese holder of goods bought earlier in the year, and; as the table we published last week shows, the deliveries of nearly all piece up to the 24th of December, Were than in 1889. In cotton yarn the ins crease was very remarkable, and the figures of the comparative deliveries are worth reproducing 1890 1880 Bombay yarn... Pls, 422,804 Pls. 178,033 Boglish "4,... 5, 40,659 35,790
Total Pls. 463,463 Pls. 213,823
This large increase has not been accom panied, as might be expected, by a serious diminution in the demand for goods. The only article that appears to have been affected is'I'-cloths, and in them the falling-off in deliveries is not very marked, while they appear to be independently going out. of favour with the Chinese. 'I'he dearness of cotton has encouraged the opening of new markets for yaru: but the trade altogether is interesting enough to merit an article to itself. Metals have given another proof of the well-known fact that Chinese can find outlets when prices are low, and sit still and wait when prices are too high. 'I'he speculation in the spring checked business but when prices relapsed at home and exchange rose, buyers came forward again, and though lead is not up to last year's figures, nail-rod iron shows an increase. Exports from Germany have felt the effect of the protective system of the empire which has so raised prices in Germany, that the export trade has suffered; ina similar way the McKinley tariff has distinctly benefited the English trade in woollens here. The business in aniline dyes under known chops has been a steady one, but it is hinted that, as the Chinese reduce the prices they offer, the quality of the dyes is reduced accordingly.
While the rise in the value of silver has assisted importers, it has had, as was certain, a depressing effect on the export trade. 'I'ea only has. given fair returns to shippers, while in the case of black tea, the results generally have been unusually good. But the profits that have been made have been at the expense of an enormous diminution in the trade, a diminution which is, perhaps, not generally realised until the figures are consulted. We go back only five years, and find that the comparativetotal exports of black and green tea to Great Britain to date are 1890 1885 Black Tea...26,336,994 Ibs, 65,940,685 Ibs. Green Tea... 4,559,527 9,310,574
Total...30,896,521 lbs, 75,251,259 Ibs.
While green tea to London' has generally. done well, the American market has been a very uncertain one, and some heavy losses have been made, but latest advices are more reassure The twin staple of Shanghai's export trade, silk,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.