The following extract is taken. from the report of Mr. Cecil A. V. Bawn, Commissioner of Customs, on the trade of Amoy in 1907.
With such persistency have recent reports dwelt upon the decadence of Amoy as the port of shipment for Formosan teas that it would be a relief to be able to record a change for the better in this aspect of our trade. Far, however, from such an improvement occurred, 1907 is only conspicuous as the year in which the Formosan tea traffic came to a virtual end; the patient, in fact, took a serious turn for the worse, and unless present indications are unexpectedly falsified, it will only remain for the coming year to celebrate the obsequies and put up the tombstone over the defunct trade.
Of the total shipment of Formosan teas during the past season, only about one-twelfth went vii Amoy, against nearly one-half in the preceding year, and it is probable that daring 1908 even smaller fraction will pass through thin port. Thus the end, though long foreseen, has at last come somewhat suddenly. Amoy is perhaps the oldest of the (hiner tea ports. The Amoy language has even given the name tea to the Western world.
For many years there was a large duction of tea in this dist itself Not only to the Viceroys on the gtze, but also to. number of the leading statesmen in Peking and the officials in Shansi, did I distribute my programme for the uplifting of China. at night Mr. Turner, my friend On leaving Taiyuenfu at 10 o'clock
and colleague, the leading officials were there in full robes to bid us good-by Thus, notwithstanding so much stagnation in Peking, we feel profoundly gratefal that the seed sown in much discouragement, sorrow, danger, and death (200 foreigners were massacred by the Boxers in 1900) has now taken root in the province, so that we can see plainly that the Kingdom of God is already come and is being rapidly established. It is but meet that the churches at home should sing "Te Deum" for God's glory, and note also that nothing connected with the University costs a cent to any missionary society.
Our missionaries here tell me that the teachers in our Christian schools both for boys and girls are in demand for the Government schools that they cannot supply a tithe nor a huodredth part of what is needed. The late deputation here has testified that the that died out, and Amoy enjoyed prosperity Insting for thirty years or so as the barbour and entrepot for teas from Formosa, This, too, in its tura now draws to x conclusion and other sources of production must be tapped if sny-thing of the old affluence of the port to be regained. Apart from tea, trade history of the year presents no unusual features. The weather in the earlier part of the year was favourable and fair first crops were reaped. Bat drought interfered with the second crop, and upon the whole the harvests of the year were poor. The clan fighting in the Namen and Hweian districte interfered seriously with trade; communications were not absolutely interrupted, but many fields were left. untilled, and trade in the disturbed country was very languid. Business during the year is reported to hare been generally dull and profits poor. and there were two or three failures of native banks. The gross value of the trade in 1907 was Hk. Tls. 18,836.566. a decrease of about 1 million taels in comparison with that for the preceding year; but the net value shows a small increase over the 1906 figures. This is
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.