'THE revenue returns of the I: perial Maritime Customs for the first quarter of the current year are again satisfactory, as the comparative Report of Dnes and Duties given below plai indicates. A gain of nearly 200,000 for the quarter over 1896, which in its turn showed a. gain of above 'T'ls, 200,000 over 1895, cannot but' please the Board of Revenue in Peking, and the mortgages at home of this source of income, As usual, we give the comparison for three years, and it will, of course, be remembered that the war with Japan was still going on in 1895. It should be noted that in the first quarter of 1895 2 sum of 'I'ls, 188,574 was collected in Formosa, which now belongs to. Japan, and this sum, in order to make the comparison fairer, is not included in the table be-Tow, This yenr three. new ports come into the table, Shasi, Soochow, and Hangchow, but the total revenue j collected in them amounted to less than Tls, 40,000, and this can hardly be considered new revenue, but is inainily transferred from previously opened ports. It is satisfactory to find that, taking the ports which were open: both in 1896 jand 1897, only six showed a decline this year, Tientsin, Changking, Ichang, Wahu, Chinkiang, and Ningpo; while eleven showed an improvement, Chefoo, Hankow, Kiukiang, Shanghai, Wenchow, Foochow, Amoy, Swatow, Canton, Kiungchow, and Pakhoi; this latter list including all. the southern ports with out exception. 'I'he following. is the comparative table already referred to Canton 1.1... 423) 59,290 389,925 Kiungchow.. 30,625 21,270 © 25,007 Pakhoi 51,764 33,989 40,458
Total 3,935,704 3,737,998 3,516,468
To this must be added 1897, 1896.
Hk. Tis. Hk. Ts Kowloon...... 105,263 130,614 Lappa. 113,801 99,083, Lungchow " '971 1,073! Méngtzo...... 27,488 23,623
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.