In no particular was the artificiality of the boycott shown more than by the methods which in the early days of the boycott Chinese dealers used to do business. While Germany manufactures piece goods, she is unable to compete in quality with Lancashire. Before the war, however, German firms were good salesmen of British piece goods, and for two or three weeks about the middle of the summer these firms booked a moderate amount of cloth for local delivery. It was by no means an attempt of the German firms which had returned to the country following the war to re-establish their position as importers of British goods, but an effort on the part of the Chinese merchants to evade the boycott.
It did not last long, and by August the position was so much easier that Chinese dealers were again dealing with their u: ual British clients. A new feature, however, was apparent in the market, and it resulted in an absolute lack of confidence which prejudiced the trade until the end of the year. This consisted of the war clouds which gathered in the north first of all, but later as a preliminary burst upon the province of Kiangsu when the lieutenant of the overlord of Manchuria was compelled to beat a hasty retreat. This was the signal for deliveries of cargo to fal off and reach a lower level than had been the case in the very worst days of the boycott, and we regret to have to report that this condition continued almost until the end of the year. Occasional revivals were seen from separate quarters, but owing to the grave nature of the situation and the wide field of operations which could become involved, the only safe policy for importers and dealers to pursue was one of the utmost conservatism.
In cotton cloth one outstanding feature of 1925 was that China showed herself as an exporter of the cheaper varieties of cloth. The mills here exported practically 1,000,000 yards of grey sheetings, shirtings and T-cloths, and these not only found a market in different parts of Asia, including India, but also penetrated into Africa. This shows that the local mills are already in strenuous competition with Japan, and these statistics give a cogent reason why the Chinese delegates to the Tariff Conference have placed cloth upon the list of the luxury taxes which they wish to see imposed,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.