Figures and Psychology the Editor of the "Noon-Cuna Dany News."
'Sim—Being a simple, sort of chap, 1 confess to knowing nothing at all about psychology, but I do try to Understand plain' facts and Agures.
Txt accepts the statistics quoted sbout Japan's trade for the first seven months of this year, but Jdoes not consider these provide an Janswer to his previous assertion that JJapan had been "virtually excluded" from the China market," He. thinks the period chosen for "examination }was the "most promising within the Fast few years," and he ts quite right, which makes "Japan's action since July the more incomprehensible or, shall T say, reprehensible?
Let us look back to last year if Dr. Mur objects to the current one. JCustoms figures for 1996 show that Japan's share of the import trade was 1629 per cent (516 in 1035), and of the export trade 14.45 per Jeent, (14-25 in 1038), Imports from JJapan in 1996 showed an increase of 10 per cent. and exports an increase lof 24 per cent. compared with 1035, so if Dr. Ixut is not prepared to accept this year's figures as showing that Japan was not "virtually ex-Jcluded" from the China market, perhaps he" will accept the figures for 1036, Once again, however, I must draw tention to ihe fact that the totals above quoted of Last year's Sino-JJapanese trade do not" include the rayon, sugar, cigarctle-paper, Kerosene, plocegoods, and sundries which came into China from Japan. during 1826 "by arrangement" to an estimat-Jed value of about, $2,000,000 a week. This "special trade" done by Japan with China Ted to evasion of Customs duty to an estimated total of $50,- }000,000. There was, if I remember rightly, some "direct talk" on this subject between Nanking and Tokyo, [but Ido not recall that the smuggling {was stopped as a result of these dls-
Dr. Invt may again retort that the 1686 percentages T have quoted are "miserably small for a "next-door neighbour" to enjoy. Possibly 50, but the figures given do show (1) that
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.