On the other hand, the trade done was clearly of " peculiar and one-sided nature, "For imports dropped by more than 60 million taels in value" and it is regrettable to read that the lower cost of Indian and American cotton drove merchants to buy extensively abroad, native cotton being "high priced and inferior." Two other notable commonties, coal and sugar, "owed thely suees to speculation rather than to a keener demand. In nearfy every other class of goods the slump was very marked and fewer than five separate headings among the various returns summaries record decreases of over 10 million tacts."
The figures for native produce, we read, occasioned some surprise, "Under every heading except one, exports of Chinese goods to native ports. substantial increases are recorded. Unhappily, general healthy trading cannot be given as the rea won": deducting silk, the gross value of the trade of the port would b only a little higher than in 1923, Borrowed Trade was room for some hopefulness for 7 the future, Mr. Maze says:—
On looking at the other side of the question—the the year as ex-} evinced, by_merchants, inthe sense DE. business,—signs are' not. wanting hat development will be rapid kina granted some reste Rovira! "Many saves of gecdoy we Sere, mttais and' woslcea, witch" large decreases t9 show tu the Custom figures, reported sounder business. th cersarily restricted, Tt is perhaps not Too much to claim that the many obstacles in the way of easy trading' tended towards placing commerce sounder basis, as there fe less induce-brent for "new compet to enter the already' overcrowded market. Pur~ thermore, the countless petty companies apical and fess experience, rung up of recoat yea to tide over times' of Dressfon; and. it Is these. small com-[Panies which do general trade interests Kee with much damage by: flooding. the "supplies" utterly" reget Stee goods Is that "The ease with cotton eco goods Is somewhs supremacy maintained 42" 5 tons tice atic, and Importers of European goods fre faced with the keenest competition {rma aden more and more naive Goth of cheaper, qualities fs being Inanufactred, and, exported abroad troll aa to sdigtributing centres up fCuntry, shad" dapanece goods of the Srme class continue to grow in' popd-Tarty, while for the finer quality cloths, woollénand arti products have fentered the eld. a3 serious rival Most of the local industries suffered from too much interruption and dis: Ieeation to be able to, show a successful Year's working. Strikes were comm Tepectally dating the. latter pare the henry and. became. almost an eve aby "oatartance a contributory "ea being. the depreciated copper currency, Sich, when' combined with the high Tee, naturally: made workmen contented' and indited to exaggerate Gotten mills and cigarette Factories wore particularly affected, Hou mills; however, were an" tion worklag throughout the" year with fey laterruptions, and consequent-Ty had every reason to be with thole oatpae, which found a ready mar Wit" remord. to. native produce, silk Ket ae fur afield as North Africa, and og. were always In Rood Yequ Tut {nother articles supplies. were. tentrieted to make trade. profitable. sideration, the conclusion be When everything ip taken Into con. Grown that Shanghai's trade "suffered \Grom" a set-back, which, it is hoped, A only" prove"temparaey. 'Theat Veuity' in obtaining supplies, on" the She hand, and, the: weakened "demand jem the other, both. natural results the, let" war ined industrial unrest dat Chi certain' netcles should. stil have Beem for congratulation tha
Sile' to make noteworthy progress.
Considerable space is devoted to an admirable and concise review of the political aspects of the year,
lar. with which local readers are fam Thus we have the peculiar feature
trade" to the boycott in that may be called, "borrowed Canton:—whose firms were com: pelled to bring their goods to Shang. al for disposal, strike om the ilk business altered. the The effect of the general, shippin
complexion of Shanghai's foreign Export trade during 1020. Raw all shipped abroad during the' period under jaw accounted. for more. than one-third" oral value' of exports, me othe fare shave "of Tome fares, silk alone over 1024, the bringing of!
Shanghai for disposal when the shipping strike and boycott the South stopped all business with Honjckone. Shanghai ow) trade, how-fever, was well al fne,' and, contra tthe' exeter can be\ considered to have been" very Successful. The "cocoon speculator, team Mlsture owner, and exporter all had the benefit of prices, steadily ad-waneing from the cad of May, when tie crop wa harvested, "The only item of wllketo be a source of disappo was fatten resrecls" ther dows war renin values wae only. temporarily checked" inthe pring, whens Kee the "English market, "us a result whose. for Kinds suitable for the imposition of row sik duties, Great Britain, Dentand from America, hich was confined almost exclusively tothe best grades of tsatlees, was me iMculty was ever experienced in obtaining supplies. The ave pre fell from, Tis. B95 pee year to as for. The demand for tsatlees is stead fy diminishing, even for native consumption, and {t may reasonably PARURE ther Chinese, wil Tealee at lost what are modern-day requ raments and use more up-to-date methods for
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.