Siry—In some intalligent.quarters the belief prevails that China is overpopulated. The travellers along the seaboard and the waterways have written in their let-wasa "hive of human beings" and the soil was taxed to the utmost producing capacity to support the vast population, Such a belief easily finds the way into oar minds if we journey only along the seaboard and principal waterways, but away' from these population diminishes rapidly and we are in the midst of wide and fertile plains and valleys. Prado has not penetrated these; communi cation is wanting and the traveller who is not a close observer returns and writes that the plains and valleys beyond the seaboard and waterways ure poor in soil because of the scantiness of the population. He does not write accurately.
at 300,000,000, it is only about nine times 1 the population of Chins be estimated that of Great Britain, while the area that supports it is fifteen or eighteen times that of the British Islos,{and this important fact impressing itself upon British merchants with stimulating energy.
The possibilities of China's future trade can best be approximated in mind by comparison, and as the area of China and India are about the same the comparison will be mode between the foreign trade of those two empires, True, there are vast differences in race and customs, but the conditions of life, the populations and the occu-potions and wants of the people and the productions of each are very much the same. And India offers the better standpoint of comparison, because India has been given an enlightened government by a foreign nation and furnished with railways and good roads and canals, while in China there is no enlightened ' government and_trade depends on neglected waterways in the more favoured regions and slow and costly caravans in others. Another consideration is that India has 20,000 miles of railway, and good roads almost everywhere, and is free from likin policy which strangles trade in China, while there are only about 250 miles of railway in China, and China has searcely yet felt the quickening impulses which the figures following unerringly show how great China's trade will be when railways interlace the Empire and other agencies begin the work of internal development.
'The foreign trade. of India and' China compares as follows: The total value of the merchandise imported into British Tndia, including Burma, during the fina -cial year 1896.97 was Rr. 76,103,948. 'The salue of the, imports, into Chine' daring 1897 was Hk. Tls. 202,828,625. If the value of the India importations bs reduced to the same currency as presents the value of the China importations those of India exceed in value by Hk. Tls. 122,401,992. Turning to exports, -it appears that India sent out goods valued at Rx. 103,984,096, vor Hk, Tis, 444,376,478, while the value of China's exports was LIK. Tls. 163,501,385, thus "showing another large excefavour of the trade of Indix. The Sgures given above do not include treasure; and will he seen that the exports exceed the imports, which has always een so; but the reverse, as far as the trade is recorded by the Customs,-is at present the case in China. "But notwithstanding the facilities for trade are so much more in favour of India, imports have been increasing faster during the decwle than India's. With almost every conceivable disadvantage trade the fact is important that China imports already nearly two-thirds what India does, and with similar advantages the local conclusion is that India would tye left far for behind. In China the trade has increased in ten years' from Hk. Tls. 102,263,669 to Hk. Tls. 202,828,625. nearly double, while in India the increase been from Rx. 61,777,257 to Rx,76,103 The future trade possibilities of China are impressing the observant merchants of all Tands. It is beginning to be recognised that when the internal resources of China ie hands her trade industrious efforts now all directed along the seaboard and the main rivers of the Empire; but looking into the near future, when new ways must be found to reach the Central trade markets, the idea connecting by rail the Eastern Indian province with China is occupying the serious attention of the British merchant class. The plan seems to be to build a railway through Burma and Southwestern China, with the view of opening the province of Yunnan and extending the line into the. River, which borders the latter province. province of Szechuan to meet the Yangtze
Such a line of railway would effect a connection between the Yangtze, which is the main artery of China, and the Irrawaddy River, which has its mouth in the Bay of Bengal and runs through Burma to the borders of Yunnan, The connection of these two great rivers by a railway under British control would decide the question of the commercial supremacy of Central China, The control of the trade of: the province of Szechuan would give not only.a commercial bat a political influence which it would be difficult to offset much Jess overcome." But, the French claim Yunnan as the industrial activity, and will do all comers into that province, though the British idea is grand in conception and if, executed would greatly promote trade in China, for the market would be open to all traders.
It is to be regretted that there are influential journals in the United States that do not attach much importance to the trade of China or the future possibilities of that trade. It would appear that China was too far off to merit consideration on tradal lines, but it seems to have been forgotten that the factories of the United States by working seven months of the twelve can supply the home demand, and must remain closed during the other five months, or glut the markets and destroy profits, unless' some outlet be found for what the home markets' are unable to take. The value of the trade between China and the United States is not 0 great as it should be, but the value of it is not to be ignored, and the probability ix that within the next ten years it will double in value that of-the preceding ten. In 1896 the total value of the foreign trade of China may be stated in round numbers to have been $260,000,000,-and of this fully one-seventh fell to the share-of the United States, being an increase between 1888 and 1897 from, in round numbers, $25,000,000 to $36,000,000; and the encouraging feature of the increase is the importation from the United States, which has grown from $7,933,000 to $17,984,000, about 126 per cent in ten years. Notwithstanding the activity of German merchants in China and the indifference of ited States' merchants the import of United States' products to China is more than 50 per e-ut larger -than the German import.
During the year 1897 the most valuable importation from the United States was cotton goods, consisting almost entirely of cotton cloths, coloured and uncoloured; and another important fact is that China takes at. present nearly one-half of the entire value of the cotton cloths sent abroad by the United States. In drills and sheetings the United States have taken the lead, the total value of these in 1896 for the United States they amounted to being from Great Britain $1,600,000, while
$8,100,000; and this increasing demand for dur cotton goods has come from Manchuria and North China, where Russian ascendency is now being emphasised by so many ocular proofs, 'Those of our countrymen who continue so firm in the belief that the demand of the home market will prove sufficient to develop our energy aiid resources and return fair profits will be' difficult' to persuade to look beyond the border lines of their country and view events on a broader field. Even a life spent amid the gigantic developments of our industries narrows one's vision and lessons our interest in the movements of events in the outer world, but this cannot always be the safe guide.' Nations are not so far apart as they appeared before steam and the telegraph bridged all distance and time, Within an hour or so after the delivery of-a speech in Congress or in Parliament it is read in Peking and Tokio, and the quotations: of the London and Now York markets are posted in Shanghai within a few moments. after being posted in the exchanges of those cities. Every part of the world is in close touch, and the messenger wires that reach and connect every: market quickly tell of the slightest changes.. I meet gentlemen and ladies in Shanghai who visit China from America and Europe on pleasure trips, and think no more of it than they would a fow years ago to go from Now York to New Orleans, or from London to Berlin. The nations of the world are made close neighbours by modern inventions, and not to respond to the roll-call of progress is. to form the rear guard and this is why it is 80 imperative to American interest not to abandon the advantageous positions legitimately won in the Pacific and which we can legitimately hold.
Phere was no sectionalism or partisanship in the war with Spain; the country; like a double-celled heart, beat with a single impulse for the honour and success of the flay, and no patriotic American will wish to." withhold from the President all merited praise for the wisdom and loyalty proven in guiding; the ' Ship of State" through the storm to a glorious victory: but when we have the opportunity to legally entrench ourselves in positions which coming events clearly show will be necessary to the protection and advancement of American com:
our. victory will not hear full fruit if we abandon such positions. The acquisition of territory in foreign parts has not been popular with the people of the United States: but a proper appreciation of the changes going on forces a departure from a time-honoured policy in order to place a breakwater, as it were, not only to the aims of European coalitions but as a safeguard to the promotion of our trade. Americans fear no pretoria guard, 60 let them have a standing army fully adequate to the safety of the Republic and n navy that can carry its flag on every sea in defiance of banded kings. 5 5 T. R, Jersican.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.