gs Woosung was made an open Port and the forts dismantled to prevent some foreign power grabbing them. That Wo-ssu ever possers any advantages as " distributing centre is very doubtful. commercial capital of Chi centre fur northern and riverine ports and centre of the silk trade has come to stay, even as London and Glaszow with all ther disadvantages and expenses from a shipowner's point of view. But the consumer pays.
Woosung is mud swamp, the left bank is silting in ploces, and the space available for wharves very limited, to say nothing of its exposure t0_N.E. gales and typhoons. The right bank is impracticable owing to shoals. Even now, the Pacitie steamers cannot come in to the Wouseng anchorage, asthe deep water available for them to swing is so limited, proper steamers built for the trade with their own cargo-bouts and tugs the trouble 18 nothing und the expense on the stexmer's cargo infinitesimal, The proposition to tranship through cargo at Wuosung is unworkable. It is "If cargo for distribution to the northern and river ports and clsewhece could be discharged at Woosung and reshipped hes If it vould be arranged erect transit sheds and wharves there, it would be conducive to the prosperity of Shanghai as a shipping ewporum which is menaced in more drive ious than one owing to the very serious irawbucks and obstacles which—the port has to comand og-inst, If there is every likelihood of a very marked increase in the nest future in the cargo shipped Riverine and Nothern Ports on through Bills of Lading.""
Shanghai has come to stay. Thirty years Sir Robert Hart predicted the fiw diate decay of Shanghay, and that Chinkiang would take its place. Compare the eondition of the two places now.
Direct shipments to Riverine and Northern Ports of cottons, woollens and general goods have often been tried, but the result has been failure. It placed the inporters at the mercy of the veal dealers ina restricted market and now importers prefer to ship to Shanghai, where the option and competition of a dvzon markets is open to them.
The foreign and native merchant in Shanghai has built his hong and now-adays his home here, and the amount ut foreign and native c+pital invested is enormous, and he has the advantage of goo! government and immunity from squeeze. The temleucy of wholesale desiers is to concent Minei-g Lane, ete, ete.) and all the uew ports opened in China from the days +f Wenchow until now have been failures. Two large dry doc! me shops have lately been built in Shanghai, which goes to show that the owners have no fe: the future of Shanghai asasea port. The Chinese merchant has is customers and correspondents all over the country and supplies their wants from the local stock or special importations vid Shanghai aad ships by local steamers or creek boats ax required. There are something like 200 sternners runing on the coast and to the river ports—apart from junks and lorchas. Ie is mconevivable that 1t would pay these steamers to waste a tide at Woosung every trip to take in a few packages of through eaigo—instead of taking it on board while they wait at their own wharves in Shang-
T cannot comprehend how it would be conducive to the prosperity of Shanghai to tranship at Woosung or elsewhere through cargo that n-ver came near Shanghai at all. The port of Shanghai has no very serious drawbacks and obstacles to contend agains compared to other places. The Bar is as youd as it was when steamer navigation commenced, and any obstacles to the delivery of th+ cargo in Shanghai are remembered in the freight. The English lines charge twice as much freight on piece goods fom England to Shanzhai as is charged from New York ty Shanghai by other steamers, Pho dost of erecting wharves and godowns, to say nothing of the cost of the fand, at Woosung is prohibitive.
T do not think that any of the owners of the steamers run to Shanghei imagine that the shippers of cools would pay the same freights to yet the goods Tanded at Woosung as they would to get them lauded at. Shanghai, Lhe man who pays the piper his " right to call the tune." and the steamship owner who delivers the carya at Shanghai (ex eargoboat from Woosung if necessary) will get the cargo to carry.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.