Conditions are even worse in the city itself. Business is at a standstill for the people have no money with which to purchase anything, and those who desire to do some small business complain that no one buys their wares, or else are only prepared to give opium in exchange. lhere is no hope of commencing industrial work in Tating for it is removed from the highways, isolated, and hidden among the mountains.
The cost of living is so high that it is next to impossible to carry on any industry. A glass factory has been in full swing not far from the city, but the principal production is opium lamps, which are exported to other parts of the province.
Once every ten days the authorities distribute grain to the poorer classes but it is not sufficient to satisfy their hunger for that time. A bushel of maize is about $7, and rice is $8 a bushel for the better quality.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.