But if we have gone from bad to worse as regards means of exmmunication between ins portant parts of the colony, the situation as regards our intercourse with the treaty ports is still more serious. Almost daily steamers flying the British flag pass within sight of this harbour, but leave us severely Jone. The companies ask as subsidy a sum that on tue fice of it seems absurd—$300 for exch ship calling here! should he borne li mind that a steamer need only turn a few miles from her course, and if passing through with passengers and. mails only for this port, need scarcely drop an anchor. As itis, the cargo brought here in the ordinary course of business is sufficient for a steamer from Shanghai to call on the average once a week. But there are no exports, and therefore there is little, if any, inducement for steamers to come in on their way to Shanghwi. Te is the accepted policy of the British Government to leave as much as possible to private enterprise, and to avoid the bolstering up of industries by subsidies, Apart from this, owing to our entangle-iment in South' Africa, funds generally available for the improvement of distant colonies and stations are scarce. Nevertheless the authorities are prepared to subsidies to some extent, but the long-standing
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.