Tue portly volume issued annually by the Imperial Maritime Customs containing the reports and statistics for each port in China, with the Statistical Secretary's report on the foreign trade of China, has just reached us, by the courtesy of the Statistical Department. The amount of matter, tables, and plans that it contains fully accounts for its somewhat delayed appearance, and as to its value to all interested in the foreign commerce of China there is no question, We reviewed some time ago Mr. F, E, Taylor's able report on the foreign' trade of the empire as_a whole. It is followed by M. Bawra's report on the trade of Newchwang, which is a remarkably favourable one, The year 1900 was an "annns non" as far as Newchwang was -concerned, and Mr, Bowra accordingly makes his comparison with the record year 1899, and finds that, the necessary allowances being made, "there is not a great difference in the trade of the two years." He notes with satisfaction that 1901 "brought large profits to local merchants." He speaks most favourably of the we ing of the railways in Manchuria and of their prospects, "but no one who traverses the great and wealthy plain of Central Lower Manchuria can think that any single or even double line of railway can carry away its vast productions or bring in its large requirements, as well'ns deal with the passenger traffic, foreign and native, which is already a prominent feature of the Russian line." Mr. Bowra shows that the steamers have by no means killed the junk trade of Newshwang. Of foreign imports in 1901, the steamers brought in goods to the value of Tls. 17,000,000, while those brought by junk were only valued at Tis, 50,000 but of native imports the figures were, steamers Ts. 6,500,000 and junks Tls. 10,240,000; and of exports, teamers Tls. 18,750,000 and junks Tls. 6,200,000.
General prosperity, with high prices all round, is the key-note of Mr. Bowra's report. The only drawback seems to have been the action of the native banks, which made enormous profits at the expense of the trate. Theshipping returns show only one foreign saiing vessel extend and clared daring the eyer, while in steamers, the Jumn's: flay ko ded the lst, the British fag coming next, and then the German and American figs, his final paragraph, Mr. Bowra says; "The. building of
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.