While suppression of the miscel-Janeous types of unauthorized paper notes is a slow process, steps are being taken to restrict note issues to the four banks—Bank of China, Bank of Communications, Provincial Bank of Manchuria, and the Mukden Bank of Industrial Development. The Mukden branch of the Banque [ndustrivllo de Chine—which was opened in April, 1920—has no local note issue, but accepts at face value the notes issued by its Peking and Tientsin offices. No other foreign banks—except Japanese—are as yet established in Mukden, and the advent of the Banque Industrielle has been welcomed by foreign merchants. The Bank of Manchuria— a semi-official institution, with o capital of $8,000,000 and head office.in Harbin—opened its Mukden branch in October.
After a severe winter the prolonged drought in the spring and early summer seriously damaged crops in the districts round Mukden. Later there fell abund ance of rain, with the result that, excepting those crops which ripen early, the yield in general was a fair one, of about 70 per cent. The crops of indigo, hemp and tobacco were up to the average, but the wild cocoons in the Fengwangcheng district suffered seriously.
The demand for furs amd skins for export to the United States of America and elsewhere was as brisk as in 1919—exceptionally so during the first three months of the year—and prices continued high: The Japanese post office continued to be the chief channel for export abroad of skins of the smaller varieties. an indication of the growing importance of Mukden as a centre of the skin trade, it may be mentioned that a foreign firm has placed an order for a press-packing plant, in order Plans have been made for the establishment of a local cotton mill, with a capital of $2,500,000, subscribed partly from official funds and partly*by private individuals. The site selected is situated to the west of the Pao Ling Szu, outside the small west gate of the mud wall: plant has been ordered, and it is expected that construction work will commence in the spring, of 1921.
According to a police census taken in 1920, the Chinese popular tion of Mukden is 35,036 households and 219,756 persons.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.