12th September.
Mr. W. C. Maruews, Canadian Fossa of R. G. Dun & Ca. has eneral manager of the well-known
recently made a four-months' visit to the Far East, and on his return to Toronto was interviewed by the "Globe" of that city. The impres-Sions of a capable business m: an who has been studying carefully the commercial conditions in the places he has visited, are always valuable, and a few extracts from the report of the interview will be found interesting. Mr. Mathews spoke first of Manila which he described as "kept clean, sanitary, and well-policed under American rule, but very strongly characteristic of the old Spanish regime. The Philippines are very rich in natural wealth, agriculture, minerals, and forests." Mr. Mathews went on to give a very graphic sketch of the situation as it is in Manila This wealth can only be reached by the development that comes through manual labour, and by the suicidal policy of the United States Government in applying the Chinese exclusion act to the Philippines they have shut out the only class othe Chinese coolies. The country will of people able and willing to do the work never be developed by the Filipinos, as they are idle and uncertain, incapable of any sustained physical effort, and unwil-Jing to work more than to supply their bodily wants, which are few and easily met. With the increase of wages now in force they don't work more than half the time, and their efforts are more likely to decrease than otherwise. The American Government has many problems to solve in the Philippines, and they will never be successfully met so long as the question ix the football of party politics, and the Jaws are made by people ignorant of local conditions and' requirements. _Seli-government is not to be thought of, for the present generation at least, and it would a cruel mistake for the American Gorernment to turn the country, with its rest possibilities, over to the tender mercies of the irresponsible men who would attempt to control its destinies.
Mr. Mathews saw no opening for Canadian trade in Manila. The only saleable Canadian product was flour, and the railway charges on that made competition with the Oregon and Washington product impossible. In Hongkong there was an active demand for structural steel and other building material that could be supplied by Canada if there were a steel plant in operation on the Pacific coast. Mr. Mathews might have noticed that we are beginning to go in for tall buildings in Shanghai, but we have hardly yet begun to think of steel construction. Mr. Mathews paid the usual tribute to the integrity of the Chinese merchants, whose simple word, he said, is taken for transactions involving large sums of money, and they very rarely break faith.
Shanghai we are glad to read that Mr. Mathews spoke with enthusiasm. "Of the Chinese he said that they are a much higher type of men than is generally supposed in Canada, where we practically only see the coolie class; they are born merchants, cool, clear-headed, and able, and in a business transaction can hold their own with any nationality under the sun." Mr. Mathews came to the conclusion that with better transportation facilities Canada might sensibly increase her trade with China. Ber flour is superior to that produced in the United States, and she ought to get a larger share of the lead and lumber markets.
Mr. Mathews's remarks on Japan contain nothing absolutely new, but his observations are tersely and clearly expressed Commercially, Japan has been making enormous strides. "In 1891 their total foreign trade, both exports and import, was 142,454,540 yen; in 1901 it reached 508,166,187 yen, an average growth per year of 36,571,647 yen. During the four years of 1897 to 1901 the tonnage of Japanese vessels increased 2,287,708 tons, bringing it up to a total of 3,861,659 tons, while Great Britain has 4,080,583 tons and Germany 1,192,153. Their currency is on a gold basis the standard coin being 'a yen, worth fifty cents in European or American gold, with paper money as a circulating medium, and a subsidiary silver coinage. The country is well governed by an able lot of men, full of progressive ideas which they cannot always carry out for want of funds, as they have been spending money in excess of their revenue, and are now trying to raise a foreign loan, Their motto is evidently " Japan for the Japanese: and while they made use of foreigners in starting their railways, teleis, ete, they fave now dispensed with them entirely, and everything is done by their own people. There is a chanco for Canada to increase her trade in timber, lumber, flour, fish, and lead, but it will have to be gone about systematically, and ay require the expenditure of some time and money before satisfactory returns are reached; but the field is a good one and the business worth working for.
We must quote the remarks Mr. Mathews adds in reference to the admiration for his own country which he heard expressed wherever he went in the Far East Mr. Mathews stated that wherever ho went in the Orient Canada was a frequent source of conversation. The contingents to the South African war had advertised the country greatly, and created a warm feeling for us among the other colonies.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.