C 482,388 A 11817 UUUWVLUVIUUWWILL minina . M ARTES SCIENTIA LIBRARY VERITAS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHI E MICHIGAN N INIMUM UNTURI TCEBOR NS SEOVER CERIS PENINSULA NI CIRCUMSPIC TITTY ILINIMUS DISTRIBUTIE TIMBALI | | || | || M IT NEM T Hr 237 CHINA. THE MARITIME CUSTOMS. 1.-STATISTICAL SERIES: No. 6. DECENNIAL REPORTS On the Trade, Industries, etc., of the Ports Open to Foreign Commerce, and on Conditions and Development of the Treaty Port Provinces ; preceded by “A History of the External Trade of China, 1834-81,” together with a "Synopsis of the External Trade of China, 1882-1931." 1922-31. FIFTH ISSUE. Vol. I.-NORTHERN AND YANGTZE PORTS. Published by Order of the Inspector General of Customs. SHANGHAI: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED AT THE STATISTICAL DEPARTMENT OF THE INSPECTORATE GENERAL OF CUSTOMS. Sold by Kelly & Walsh, Limited, Shanghai, Hongkong, and Singapore; Edward Evans & Sons, Limited, Shanghai; The Chinese-American Publishing Company, 78, Nanking Road, Shanghai; The Uchiyama Bookstore, 11, Scott Road, Shanghai; The French Bookstore, Peiping; The Oriental Bookstore, Tientsin; P. S. King & Son, Limited, 14, Great Smith Street, Westminster, London, S.W.; and all Maritime Custom Houses in China. 1933. [Price $7.50.] NOTE. The equivalent of the HAIKWAN Tael was, during the years 1922 to 1931, at the average Sight Exchange on London, New York, Paris, Berlin, Calcutta, Yokohama, and Hongkong respectively, as follows:- YEAR. ENGLISH | AMERICAN MONEY. MONEY. FRENCH MONEY. GERMAN MONEY. INDIAN MONEY. JAPANESE HONGKONG MONEY. | DOLLARS. Francs. Marks. Rupees. Yen. 1922 1923 .. 1924 ...... 1925 1926, 1927 1928 1929 1930... 1931 ......... ده ده نه ده دا یہ کہ یہ s. d. | Gold & Gold 3 91 0.83 0.80 3 73 0.81 0.84 0.76 2 913 0.69 2 1112 0.71 2 713 0.64 1 1018 0.46 1 6,78 10.23 13.16 15.60 17.92 23.85 17.46 18 13 16.43 11.71 8.70 2.87 2.55 2.53 2.31 2.08 1.88 1.95 1.72 1.63 1.95 2.04 1.58 1.44 1.53 1.38 0.92 0.69 1.49 1.51 1.53 1.48 1.42 1.40 1.42 1.38 2.89 2.98 1.77 2.70 1.93 1.45 1.36 1.27 1.03 ... 0.34 1.42 THE following tables show the CHINESE WEIGHTS AND MEASURES with the approximate equivalence of the standards adopted by the Maritime Customs :- WEIGHT. 10 Li, X = 1 Fên. 10 Fên, 37 (Candareen) = 1 Ch‘ien. 10 Ch'ien, id (Mace) = 1 Liang 16 Liang, (Tael) = 1 Chin. 100 Chin, f (Catty) = 1 Tan, I. (Picul) 583.3 grains (1} oz. av.). | 37.783 grammes. = (133} lb. 60.453 kilogrammes. LENGTH. 10 Fên, 5 10 Tsʻun, † (Inch) 10 Chih, (Foot) 180 Chang, t = 1 Ts'un. (14.1 inches, English. = 1 Ch'ih 10.358 metres. = 1 Chang. 12,115 feet, English. = 1 Li, l (nominal)= 1 619.25 metres. AREA. 25 Square Ch'ih, R = 1 Pu (or Kung, 5). 240 Pu, # = 1 Mou. 100 Mou, in = 1 Ching, . - 10 Ssů, tai = 1 Hao. 10 Hao, t = 1 Li. 10 Li, X = 1 Fên. 10 Fên, 5o = 1 Mou, ich - - Pol. Econ Kelly & w, 10-4-35 30850 CONTENTS. Inspector General's Circular No. 4133: instructions regarding the preparation of the Decennial Reports, Fifth Issue .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Inspector General's Foreword .. . Author's Note to “A History of the External Trade of China, 1834-81" and “Synopsis of the External Trade of China, 1882–1931” .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... A History Of THE EXTERNAL TRADE OF CHINA, 1834–81 .. '..'.!!. .. "... ✓ 1 ✓ SYNOPSIS OF THE EXTERNAL TRADE OF CHINA, 1882–1931 .. .. .. .. .. .. 147 DECENNIAL REPORTS 1922–31:- : : AIGUN .. Map of North Manchuria Plan of Taheiho Harbour .. .. .. .. 197 facing 197 „ 203 : : : : : : : : : HARBIN .. : : : : : HUNCHUN .. .. .. : : : : : LUNGCHINGTSUN .. : : : : : SHENYANG (Moukden).. : : : : : ANTUNG .. : : : : : DAIREN .. : : : : : NEWCHWANG .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Chart giving a Survey of Liao River from Lightship to Swan Island, 1931 .. 309 facing 317 HULUTAO.. .. Plan of the projected Hulutao Harbour .. .. .. 323 facing 323 CHINWANGTAO .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 325 .. 337 TIENTSIN.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922–31. DECENNIAL REPORTS 1922–31—Continued:- LUNGKOW Plan of Lungkow Harbour Page .. 415 facing 420 CHEFOO .. . .. 425 KIAOCHOW 437 CHUNGKING 473 WANHSIEN .. .. .. .. ... 493 ICHANG .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. Chart of Chungking and Ichang Maximum and Minimum River Levels.. .. 501 facing 505 .. 511 521 543 SHASI .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. CHANGSHA .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Yochow .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. HANKOW .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Diagram showing average Rise and Fall of the Yangtze River at Hankow, 1923–30 .. .. .. . .. .. .. . . . . Map prepared from Aerial Surveys showing seriously Flooded Areas along Yangtze River, Hwai River, and Grand Canal, August 1931 Map of Hupeh Province showing Flooded Areas .. 553 facing 569 569 KIUKIANG : 585 WUHU .. : 599 NANKING.. 617 NANKING.. CHINKIANG .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 641 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922.31. Circular No. 4133, Second Series. Shanghai Office of the Inspectorate General of Customs, Shanghai, 5th November 1930. Sir, ###### The four series of Decennial Reports already issued are a mine of most valuable information . . . The next issue of these reports is due for the period 1922-31, and, being the fifth issue, will in a sense be a jubilee volume. I have decided, therefore,— (1) That Decennial Reports for the period 1922-31 are to be issued in the usual way; and (2) That the volume be prefaced by a survey of China's foreign trade during the past hundred years (1832-1931), that is, from a year or two before the abrogation of the charter of the East India Company to the restoration of China's tariff autonomy. The preparation of this survey—which covers the entire modern development of China's trade with the rest of the world and embraces also the role played by the Customs Service during the period—will be entrusted, as it involves a considerable amount of research work, to a member of the Service specially detached for this purpose. The future alone can decide whether further issues of these Decennial Reports will be called for. It is not unlikely that they may be done away with or their place taken by a single decennial survey of the trade of the country as a whole. In compiling the fifth issue of our Decennial Reports, the general instructions of Circulars Nos. 1737 and 3082 are to be followed, and while, in the main, the format of the last issue is to be adhered to as closely as possible, changing conditions have necessitated slight modifications in existing headings, and your report should vi DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. comprise the following paragraphs, for the elaboration of which certain suggestions have been made by the Statistical Secretary as likely to provide useful material:— 1. Trade. Effects of fall in exchange. Demand for native goods as opposed to foreign imports. Boycotts. Changes in demands (e.g., cigarettes, oil, motor-cars, foreign wines, foreign clothes, electrical goods, etc.). Changes in trade methods (e.g., direct imports by Chinese). 2. Shipping. Development of oil-burning and motor vessels. Tourist traffic. Development of steam and motor launch traffic. 3. Revenue. Introduction of gold unit. Tariff autonomy and collection of additional duties and surtaxes. Comparative details of revenue collected under the 5 per cent. ad valorem schedule and under additional duties should be excluded. 4. Currency and Finance. Changes in national and provincial currency. Circulation of bank-notes. Mints. Remittances from Chinese emigrants. Gold standard. Use of foreign currencies. Subsidiary coins. 5. Agriculture. Introduction of modern machinery. New methods of cultivation; poultry-farming and stock-raising; endeavours to improve quality. Fertilisers. Adulteration and its effects on China's export trade. Afforestation. 6. Industrial Development. Prices and wages. Labour unions and strikes. DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. vii Use of foreign-style machinery to make— (a) Goods previously imported; (b) Goods previously made by native methods. 7. Mines and Minerals. Development of new mines. Transport facilities. 8. Communications. Railways. Roads and motor transport. Aviation. Post Office. Telegraphs and telephones. Wireless. 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation. Conservancy: waterways, harbours, water approaches. 10. Administration. Provincial and municipal. Rendition of Foreign Concessions. Likin and other non-Customs taxes on goods transported or sold. 11. Justice and Police. Extraterritoriality. Abolition of Mixed Courts. Law and order. 12. Military and Naval Changes. 13. Health and Sanitation. Hospitals. Medical practice. Free inoculation against disease. Epidemics. Administration. Quarantine Regulations. Modern drainage systems. Street-widening. Public water supplies. viii DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 14. Education. Growth of colleges and national schools. Effect of prohibition of religious teaching in schools. Growth of Communism. 15. Literature. • Newspapers and periodicals. Increase in number of printing presses. Propaganda and pamphlets. 16. Population. Emigration, immigration, and migration. Famine and scarcity. Floods. The greatest care should be taken to check any estimates of population given. 17. Civil Disorder. Smuggling. Coast-guard service. Piracy and banditry. The report is to be dated 31st December 1931, and . . is to be in the hands of the Statistical Secretary not later than the end of March 1932 . . . I am, Sir, Your obedient Servant, PERCY R. WALSHAM, For Inspector General. To The Commissioners of Customs. FOREWORD. The present issue of the Decennial Reports is the fifth or jubilee volume of the series, and is prefaced by a survey of commercial relations between China and Europe, etc., by Mr. T. R. Banister, Deputy Commissioner. China's geographical situation was the principal cause of her separation for many generations from the rest of the world, and the result was that comparatively few contacts were established in former times between the civilisations of the East and West. Caravans carrying silk from China are said to have penetrated, many centuries ago, as far as Syria, but the records of such ancient trading are obscure; and Europe did not learn much about Cathay until the Venetian traveller Marco Polo stirred into activity Catholic missions and European merchants. It should be considered, moreover, that before the sea route to China via the Cape of Good Hope was discovered by the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama in the year 1497, the mountain ranges of Central Asia remained effective barriers to regular intercourse that were only occasionally overcome either by the initiative of China's most renowned rulers or by the tenacity of Western merchants. It was not until about the beginning of the sixteenth century, therefore, that Portuguese merchants appeared by sea, and subsequently settled in Macao; while a little later, Russia established relations with the Peking Government, the outcome of which was the Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689), defining frontiers and ordaining trade relations. At a later period other European countries and the United States entered into trade with China, and for many decades their enterprise was confined to Canton, where the East India Company set up their headquarters in the Far East and developed a lucrative business in tea and silk, etc. Foreign commodities were subsequently imported in growing quantities in exchange for Chinese products, and the progressive demand for Western goods naturally stimulated trade, which the Treaty of Nanking (1842) attempted to regularise by the enactment of a fixed tariff, etc. It may be incidentally pointed out, however, that this new principle remained more or less a dead-letter until the management of the Shanghai Custom House was temporarily placed in the hands of a committee X DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. of foreign Consuls during the occupation of the city by the Taiping insurgents in 1853. In the early Treaty days foreign merchants transacted their Customs business indirectly through the medium of compradores; while the Chinese administrative system then obtaining, whereby revenue-collecting establishments were farmed to local officials with the result that the whole of the revenue collected did not reach the central treasury, naturally accentuated difficulty and delayed the uniform application of specific tariff charges. Other Treaties opened up additional places to foreign commerce, and at present there are 50 ports and trade-marts in China where business is conducted under regulations enforced by the Maritime Customs. Mr. Banister's interesting story opens with an account of pre-Treaty times and closes with the period ending 1881, followed by a brief synopsis of trade development during the years covered by the Decennial Reports, viz., 1882 to 1931. F. W. MAZE, Inspector General of Customs. Shanghai, 31st December, 1931. A HISTORY OF THE EXTERNAL TRADE OF CHINA, 1834-81. Author's Note to "A History of the External Trade of China, 1834-81" and "Synopsis of the External Trade of China, 1882-1931." The following sketch of China's trade with foreign countries is no more than a compilation from readily available sources, written within the space of a few months partly devoted to other work. It has no pretensions to being a piece of historical or economic research. My thanks are due to the President and Officers of the Royal Asiatic Society, North China Branch, for permission to use the Society's library until it had to be packed up during rebuilding operations; and also to the Editor and Managing Director of the "North-China Daily News" for courteous facilities extended to enable me to consult the old files of the "North-China Herald" from 1850 onwards. The comprehensive statistical tables in the Synopsis, Section II, were compiled by Mr. Li Man Kui, of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, under my direction and supervision. I am also indebted for not a few corrections and improvements to the able and careful proof-reading of the technical staff of the printing office of the Customs Statistical Department. T. R. B. A HISTORY OF THE EXTERNAL TRADE OF CHINA, 1834.81. Chapter I. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND. From the earliest times trade has flourished in China. Even before the Christian era, at a time when the Chinese had not yet fully established themselves over the whole of the geographical area now known as China, trade in the products of their country reached as far as the Mediterranean world. Later, when the Roman Empire had been consolidated in Syria, Egypt, Asia Minor, etc., this trade—notably in silk—became considerable; it was carried on entirely overland and possibly contributed to the prosperity of communities whose remains are to-day only known as the buried cities of Central Asia. Trade by sea also grew up in the centuries following. Chinese records show that their junks ventured to Indo-China, Siam, the Malay Archipelago, etc., and even as far as Ceylon and India, in the fourth and fifth centuries a.d. At the same time the Arabian traders of the Persian Gulf voyaged eastward, and contacts must have been established and developed. By the eighth century this sea-trade had centred itself at Canton, where it was of sufficient importance to require the attention of an official known as the Inspector of Maritime Trade. The land route between China and the Mediterranean world was probably closed during these centuries by the activities of the Huns and other Tartar tribes in Central and Western Asia. In the course of time this sea-trade expanded further, in spite of the lack of reliable methods of navigation, and of the universal danger of piracy. In a.d. 999 Custom Houses for foreign trade were opened in Hangchow and Ningpo, and in 1087 at Tsu'anchow (Chinchew), a port which already had commercial relations with Japan and Korea, and which is generally identified with the Zaytun of Arab chronicles. Nevertheless, Canton was the chief seat of the Arab trade, and that there was a considerable settlement there at one time is demonstrated by the traces discovered of mosques and tombs. An ancient Arab record of date a.d. 851-867 states— "At Canfu," (Canton) "which is the principal scale for merchants, a Mohammedan is appointed judge over those of his religion, by the authority of the Emperor of China, and he is judge of all the Mohammedans who resort to these parts. The merchants of Irak who trade hither are in no way dissatisfied with his conduct . . . because his actions and the judgments he gives are just and equitable and conformable to the Koran and according to the Mohammedan jurisprudence." 1 1 2 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. This is most interesting evidence of the antiquity of the principle of extraterritoriality in China. The Arab chronicle goes on to relate how in the capture of Canfu by rebels there perished 120,000 Mohammedans, Jews, Christians, and Parsees who were there for trade, and how in the subsequent civil disturbances this extensive "navigation" was forsaken and the merchants returned in crowds to Siraf and Oman.2 At the beginning of the thirteenth century China's external trade had established connexions with ports all the way from the Red Sea round to Japan and Korea in the north, and Borneo and Manila in the south. With the establishment of the Tartar Empire by Genghiz Khan, the land routes were restored. In 1278 Marco Polo and his father and uncle arrived overland from Venice on their famous visit to China. But thanks to the discovery of the compass, and probably also to the use of gunpowder, which gave them a superior weapon against pirates and savage marauders, the Chinese continued to develop their marine trade with the Eastern Archipelago and the Indian Ocean, and in 1405 a fleet of junks is said to have voyaged as far as Africa and Arabia. The sea route between Europe and Asia, developed and maintained by the joint activities of Arab and Chinese mariners for over a thousand years, was cut in the fifteenth century by the destructive operations of the Turks. Subsequent to this event entirely new factors appear. The nations of Western Europe begin to play a direct hand in the game. "Columbus was attempting to find not a new continent but a shorter highway to Cathay when he discovered America."3 The Portuguese, having rounded the Cape of Good Hope, were the first to arrive in China under a European flag. Trade was opened at Canton, Foochow, and Amoy. In 1537 they established a small shore station, among other places, at Macao; in 1557 an "trivial p*"*"* wag fixed; in 1573 the Chinese built a barrier wall across the neck of the isthmus; and in 1587 they appointed a special magistrate for the place, thus authorising a settlement of Europeans in China at Macao which has endured under many changes and historic events continuously to the present day. The Spanish came to China, not from the West but from the East, by way of America and the Philippine Islands. With the latter a large trade grew up, chiefly by Chinese junks. In 1603 a wholesale massacre of Chinese settlers in the Islands occurred, followed in 1639 by another one even more cruel, after which their numbers were severely limited by the Spanish. There is but little doubt that the semi-piratical activities of the early Portuguese, Dutch, and English traders and the ruthless brutality of the Spaniards were largely responsible for the restrictive policy towards all foreigners which was subsequently adopted by the Government and officials of China, in lieu of the liberal and humane treatment for which Marco Polo extolled them. The Dutch attacked Macao in 1622, and shortly after occupied the Pescadores, whence they moved again to Formosa, where fortified trading stations were erected, notably at Fort HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 3 Zelandia, Anping. Formosa at this time was only beginning to be colonised by the Chinese. The Dutch combined trading with both piracy and politics; they were ejected from Formosa in 1662 by the pirate-king Coxinga, and revenged themselves in the following year by assisting the Manchus to capture this rebel's base on the mainland at Amoy. The English East India Company also began about this time to make investigations into the China trade. In 1635 the first English ship arrived at Macao, and traded under licence from the Portuguese Governor of Goa. In 1637 a squadron of four ships under Captain John Weddell arrived. The Canton authorities, misled by wrong accounts from the Portuguese, refused to allow the newcomers to trade, but Captain Weddell took the law into his own hands and, after capturing the Bogue Forts at the cannon's mouth, forced his way up to Canton, where he was allowed to engage in trade to a limited extent. Subsequent English ventures to Macao were blocked by the Portuguese, anxious to preserve their privileged position. In 1670 trade was opened at Amoy and with Formosa. In 1677 the Canton Viceroy invited the English to establish a trading station at Canton. In 1685 an Imperial Edict opened all the ports of China to foreign trade. The English East India Company sent its first ship to Canton in 1689. Sporadic ventures at Canton and elsewhere followed, but it was not till 1715 that a factory was permanently established at Canton and the trade with China put on a regular footing by the East India Company. From this date the trade between Chinese merchants at Canton and this famous organisation became a regular one; starting thus from small beginnings it grew and developed throughout the eighteenth century, till in the first quarter of the nineteenth century it completely dominated China's commercial relations with the Western Powers. Overland trade with Russia and Siberia amounted to but little until the eastward movement of the Russians coincided with the establishment of the Manchu dynasty, and the multiplying contacts of the two empires resulted in the Treaty of Nerchinsk, 1689. Various subsequent missions and embassies regulated the growing caravan trade, which was eventually localised at Kiakhta, on the border, and which was solely one of barter. During all this period, Chinese trade with Japan, Formosa, Indo-China, Siam, the Philippines, and the whole East Indian Archipelago continued to expand. But while trade with the distant nations of Europe and America was carried on by members of those nations in their foreign ships, trade with these neighbouring countries was carried on by the Chinese themselves in their large sea-going junks. For instance, the Dutch used Chinese junks in the trade between their colony at Batavia and China. "Holland thus trades with all China by means of the Chinese themselves. They do this at a cheap rate, and without exposure to the exactions which foreign merchants suffer every day in the ports of this Empire."4 Also it is recorded that in 1683 and 1684 over 200 junks carrying 50 people each arrived at Nagasaki. So great was the influx of Chinese that the Japanese became alarmed and in 1688 set aside a special settlement in which they were to be confined. Various burdensome regulations wer<» also impr»°H, such as heavy taxation and the prohibition of the export of specie, etc. 4 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The early trade relations between Chinese and Western foreigners were subject to many changing regulations. In 1702 a monopolist, "The Emperor's Merchant", was appointed at Canton, through whom alone foreigners could buy or sell. But this proving objectionable to the local Chinese merchants as well as to the foreigners, freedom of trade was in practice allowed at a fee of Tls. 5,000 per ship. In 1715 the English East India Company arranged to open a regular trade at Canton under an agreement with the Hoppo, or "Administrator of the Canton Customs", which included among other items the right to trade without restriction as to persons, the right to engage and dismiss their own servants, and protection from the arbitrary levy of new duties. It is interesting to note that these points, conceded—only temporarily as it turned out—by the Hoppo in 1715, remained as permanent grievances among the foreigners for over a century and figured among the demands enforced by war in 1842 and 1858. In 1720 the Chinese merchants formed a guild, or Co-hong, which was apparently abolished after vigorous protest by the foreign merchants, and almost immediately revived again. The following years are full of recurring disputes between the foreigners and the Hoppo over new exactions on trade. Again and again trade was stopped, and threats made to transfer it to Amoy or elsewhere. Redress was promised, but new levies were at once imposed. The truth of the matter was that the Chinese merchants and officials knew that the foreigner must have great need of the trade, since he came after it from the ends of the earth, and they had no intention of relaxing their advantage over him. And, on the other hand, the profits of the trade were so great that the foreign merchant, protest as he did, was not fundamentally willing to throw it up rather than submit to the taxation demanded. Thus the charges continually increased and the restrictions became ever more severe. In 1754 the system of a security merchant for each foreign ship was instituted. In 1755 dealings were ordered to be confined to the Hong merchants. In 1757 an Imperial Edict forbade foreign commerce at any other port than Canton, where to all intents and purposes it had already been concentrated. The East India Company attempted to counter these new regulations by opening up trade at Amoy and Ningpo, and by addressing a Memorial in protest direct to the Emperor, in all of which steps they were completely defeated. In 1771 the Hong was dissolved on account of the bankruptcy of most of the members. But in 1782 it was re-established, as it was found that many Chinese merchants were again hopelessly in debt to their foreign creditors. At the same time a Consoo fund was instituted, provided by a levy of 3 per cent. on the foreign trade, with the view of covering all such debts and other losses. This Co-hong, composed at first of twelve and later of thirteen merchants, kept an organisation practically unchanged and held a monopoly practically absolute for 60 years. Diplomatically and politically it also served as the sole intermediary between the Chinese authorities and foreigners. The Hong merchants were individually and collectively responsible to their Government for the good behaviour of the foreign traders, and in their turn the latter were forbidden access to the officials for the presentation of petitions or grievances except through the former. There were also many regulations severely restricting the movements and personal liberty of the foreign traders.5 In actual practice many of these rules were relaxed by the local HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 5 authorities at Canton, in a spirit of goodwill and toleration, but at any time of dispute or crisis strict enforcement was a powerful weapon in dealing with the foreigner. As an American observer describes it: "Unsupported and unprotected by their home governments or by treaty rights, the foreigners depended for safety and justice entirely on the self-interest of the Chinese."8 Of the actual course of trade, little is known to-day. The chief Chinese export to the Roman Orient was silk, serica vestis, and the return seems to have consisted of metals, dye-stuffs, precious stones, coral, ivory, etc. Silk fabrics were highly prized by the well-to-do women of the Roman Empire, and the trade was very profitable. The real nature of silk seems to have been a mystery in the West, and the tradition lingers that many efforts were made to discover the secret. There is a story that two Persian monks, emissaries of the Emperor Justinian, succeeded in stealing the eggs of the silkworm and bringing them to Constantinople. At any rate the cultivation of silk seems to have been introduced into Europe during the sixth century a.d., which naturally reduced the demand for a produce which had hitherto been a complete monopoly of China.7 No doubt the trade of the Chinese with the less civilised peoples in their more immediate neighbourhood was mainly one of fabrics, pottery, and the manufactures of their craftsmanship and industry. They obtained in return the produce of tropical lands, islands, and seas. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the articles of export to Japan were very miscellaneous and comprised "raw silk, silk and woollen stuffs, sugar, lead, tin, quicksilver, copper and brass, porcelain, rare woods, drugs, pictures, and works of art, gems, various edibles, books, musk, glass, and furs." 8 Many of these must obviously have been obtained in trade by the Chinese from elsewhere. Imports from Japan were "copper, camphor, lacquered wares, and umbrellas, but mainly sea-foods—beche-de-mer, dried cuttle-fish, seaweeds, and various kinds of salted fish." 9 The trade with Russia was one of barter, in which the Chinese exchanged tea, silk, and cotton cloths for furs, skins, and broadcloth. In the eighteenth century the Chinese trade with Europe was principally in three articles of export, namely, tea, silk, and nankeens. Statistics are wanting, except for the records of the English East India Company. During the second half of the century the foreign trade of China with the West became to all intents and purposes a preserve of the English and of their newly independent colony, America. "In 1751 there were at Whampoa 9 English, 4 Dutch, 2 French, 1 Danish, and 2 Swedish, a total of 18 ships. ... in 1789 there were 61 English . . . , 15 American, 5 Dutch, 1 French, 1 Danish, and 3 Portuguese, a total of 86 ships."10 The East India Company, at the commencement of its operations in China, had to ship bullion in considerable quantities, merchandise being less than one-tenth of the total "investment" on the average. Strenuous efforts were made to induce the Chinese to buy articles of British manufacture. These efforts were mainly concentrated on woollens. But the truth was the Chinese did not want English woollens. They preferred their own silk and cotton fabrics. It is interesting to note 6 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. that at this time, and well on into the nineteenth century in fact, the movement of cotton goods was in entirely the other direction from what it is now. Until long after the "industrial revolution ", until mechanical processes in the weaving of cotton had attained considerable refinement, the product of Chinese craftsmanship was better than that of the looms of Manchester, and "nankeens" were a very fashionable fabric even in England. Machine-made piece goods could compete in China neither in price nor quality. In the course of time the Company had some success in their efforts. By the middle of the eighteenth century merchandise—almost exclusively woollen goods—was shipped to China approximately in the proportion of three parts to four of bullion. But this export of British goods to China was carried out without profit, and often—in the later years of the century invariably—at a loss. The profits of the Company on the return cargoes of tea, etc., from China were sufficiently great to finance this loss. During the progress of the century the Company devoted itself more and more to the exploitation of the most profitable line of business, namely the export of tea. During the last decade of the eighteenth century the export of tea from Canton to England was 19,000,000 pounds a year on the average. The East India Company had a monopoly of the trade between China and Great Britain, but free trade was allowed between India and China under licence. This was known as the "Country Trade", and the ships engaged in it were called "Country Ships". This distinction becomes important when considering the opium trade. Though opium-smoking was interdicted from 1729, opium was admitted by the customs at Canton as medicine. Down to the middle of the eighteenth century the opium trade was very small and was carried on from Macao. Gradually, however, the export of opium from India increased, and from 1773 to 1800 was undertaken and developed by the East India Company. At this time the quantity was about 2,000 chests a year. In 1800 the Emperor Kiaking prohibited the import of opium altogether. But this prohibition was not in practice enforced by the local officials, and opium continued to be imported into China by the "Country Ships ". The policy of the East India Company and of the British Government in India, looking back from to-day, seems to have been somewhat disingenuous, since though the Company would not carry opium directly yet all the "Country Ships" were licensed by them, and it was a condition of the licence that they should carry no opium except what had been sold by the Company; while the Indian Government made a large revenue out of the export tax on opium, everyone being very well aware of its destination. During the early years of the nineteenth century the foreign trade at Canton was marked by a steady expansion of the export of tea and by an extraordinary increase in the import of opium. The export of Chinese tea to England alone was over 30 million pounds a year by 1830.11 The import of opium from India was, on the average, 4,000 chests12 a year for the 10 years 1801-10, and 4,500 chests a year for the period 1810-21; it jumped to 9,700 chests a year for the period 1821-28, and to 18,700 chests a year for the period 1828-35.13 Other foreign imports into China were British and Indian manufactures and Indian raw cotton, which HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 7 amounted in all to considerably less than opium alone. Other exports besides tea were a little silk and a few sundries amounting to not more than one-eighth of the value of the export of tea. In the briefest possible summary, it may be said that in 1833 the trade of China with the Western nations was an exchange of tea and silver against opium. The modern trade in Chinese silk and in foreign manufactures, both afterwards of such great importance, had hardly yet begun. As regards silver, the situation had reached a critical stage. During the eighteenth century, and even up to the end of the second decade of the nineteenth century, the balance of trade had been well in favour of China; there was a steady inflow and a gradual accumulation of bullion. But after 1820 the phenomenal increase in the demand for, and the importation of, opium involved China in a heavy trade liability, which there was no other way of liquidating save by the export of silver. Fortunately, the situation was somewhat relieved by the American trade, which amounted in magnitude to about one-third, on the average, of the English East India Company's trade, that of other nations being negligible for purposes of broad comparison. The Americans having no manufactures to push the sale of, and but little merchandise except wwSC' they could pick up in Europe, brought silver in large quantities to pay for the tea they wan"1^' This for a time offset the export of silver from China against Indian opium. But, beginr with the third decade of the nineteenth century, the import of opium was too large to be fr ,of counterbalanced, and, moreover, the Americans had also discovered that opium was easier t lay their hands on and a more profitable cargo for their ships than silver dollars. In th years 1830-33 the outflow of bullion from China amounted to between 4 and 5 million dollar a year,14 the beginning of a process which seriously alarmed the high officials of the Chinesi Empire and set in motion political events which ultimately transformed the face of the Far East. In the meantime dissatisfaction was coming to a head among British merchants, both in their own country and abroad, against the monopoly of the East India Company. The throwing open of the trade in India had resulted in a great expansion of the market for British manufactures, and it was expected that the same would follow in China. Moreover, the success of the Americans in cutting into the trade with China greatly impressed the British merchants. Not only did the Americans engage in direct traffic between continental Europe and China, a field closed to British subjects by the terms of the charter of the East India Company and yet not exploited by the latter at all, thereby undermining the entrepot trade of London, but they even managed to secure considerable quantities of merchandise from England itself. The opponents of any change in the monopoly pointed out the existence of the Co-hong and the other restrictions to "free trade" imposed by the Chinese in Canton, and prophesied trouble of various kinds, without any commercial advantage, if the paramount position of the East India Company was overthrown. Many of their forecasts were realised in the event. But the advocates of "free trade" had their way, and the monopoly of the historic East India Company came to an end on the 22nd April 1834. 6 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. that at this time, and well on into the nineteenth century in fact, the movement of cotton goods was in entirely the other direction from what it is now. Until long after the "industrial revolution", until mechanical processes in the weaving of cotton had attained considerable refinement, the product of Chinese craftsmanship was better than that of the looms of Manchester, and "nankeens" were a very fashionable fabric even in England. Machine-made piece goods could compete in China neither in price nor quality. In the course of time the Company had some success in their efforts. By the middle of the eighteenth century merchandise—almost exclusively woollen goods—was shipped to China approximately in the proportion of three parts to four of bullion. But this export of British goods to China was carried out without profit, and often—in the later years of the century invariably—at a loss. The profits of the Company on the return cargoes of tea, etc., from China were sufficiently great to finance this loss. During the progress of the century the Company devoted itself more and more to the exploitation of the most profitable line of business, namely the export of tea. During the last decade of the eighteenth century the export of tea from Canton to England was 19,000,000 pounds a year on the average. The East India Company had a monopoly of the trade between China and Great Britain, but free trade was allowed between India and China under licence. This was known as the "Country Trade", and the ships engaged in it were called "Country Ships". This distinction becomes important when considering the opium trade. Though opium-smoking was interdicted from 1729, opium was admitted by the customs at Canton as medicine. Down to the middle of the eighteenth century the opium trade was very small and was carried on from Macao. Gradually, however, the export of opium from India increased, and from 1773 to 1800 was undertaken and developed by the East India Company. At this time the quantity was about 2,000 chests a year. In 1800 the Emperor Kiaking prohibited the import of opium altogether. But this prohibition was not in practice enforced by the local officials, and opium continued to be imported into China by the "Country Ships". The policy of the East India Company and of the British Government in India, looking back from to-day, seems to have been somewhat disingenuous, since though the Company would not carry opium directly yet all the "Country Ships" were licensed by them, and it was a condition of the licence that they should carry no opium except what had been sold by the Company; while the Indian Government made a large revenue out of the export tax on opium, everyone being very well aware of its destination. During the early years of the nineteenth century the foreign trade at Canton was marked by a steady expansion of the export of tea and by an extraordinary increase in the import of opium. The export of Chinese tea to England alone was over 30 million pounds a year by 1830.11 The import of opium from India was, on the average, 4,000 chests12 a year for the 10 years 1801-10, and 4,500 chests a year for the period 1810-21; it jumped to 9,700 chests a year for the period 1821-28, and to 18,700 chests a year for the period 1828-35.13 Other foreign imports into China were British and Indian manufactures and Indian raw cotton, which HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 9 Chapter II. THE CANTON FACTORIES, 1834-42. The general scheme of the Foreign "Factories" (i.e., residences of a "factor" or agent) at Canton and the conditions of life of the foreign merchants concentrated therein have often been described elsewhere and are well known. The total space was about 1,100 feet by 700 feet and, apart from gardens and promenades, contained thirteen groups of buildings, the so-called factories, which were the property of the Hong merchants and were only rented by the foreigners. Foreign merchants were confined inside this area. A census for the season 1836-37 shows that there were 42 British (including 11 Indian) firms, 9 American, and 4 of other nationalities, and that the persons numbered 224 British (including 66 Indians), 44 American, 28 Portuguese, and 11 of other nationalities, 307 in all.1 These traders came up to Canton for the season only, i.e., October-May, and many of them spent the rest of the year at Macao. Foreign trade was limited to the thirteen members of the Chinese Co-hong, with one of whom every foreigner had to make arrangements to act as his "security ", and who was usually also landlord and general agent in the procuring of servants and stores. The monopolistic trading companies of the French and Dutch had already ceased to exist. The Americans naturally were "free traders", though they, like the French, were represented by a Consul, who was accorded some measure of recognition by the Chinese. British trade, however, had hitherto been organised under a single corporation, the British East India Company, with certain obligations and restrictions it is true, but also with many privileges; as far as the Chinese trade was concerned it had a close monopoly. With the abolition of this monopoly, an anomalous and, as it ultimately proved, impossible position resulted. On the one hand, there was the close monopoly of the Co-hong and systematic regulation of trade on almost every point; on the other hand, the abolition of the special position of the East India Company removed from the great majority of traders not only the one effective control over them but also their only central representative body or organ of joint action. In the first place, though there were private British traders before, i.e., the "country traders ", they were only allowed under licence from the Company, who thus exercised some sort of control over the kind of men who came to Canton and their conduct. The first years of free trade were undoubtedly marked by a deterioration in the moral standards and conduct of foreign and particularly British merchants in China.2 This was disastrous in view of the actually extra-legal position of the foreigners. In Chinese eyes the foreigner had no recognised position in civil or criminal matters,8 the accepted international usage which had already grown up in the West in this regard being altogether unknown in China; while as regards foreign laws there was no organisation or machinery for enforcing them. The foreigner in China at this time was to all intents and purposes outside both his own and Chinese law. It is true that the English Act of 10 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Parliament which abolished the new monopoly of the East India Company authorised the Superintendent of Trade to create and hold a Court of Justice either on shore or on board any British ship, but this was actually effective in extreme criminal cases only and was no deterrent to offences against the laws and regulations of China, such as smuggling for example, and could not be made use of even to enforce the orders of the British Superintendent himself, whose instructions were on more than one occasion ignored by individuals when they thought it to their own interest to do so. In no respect did this deterioration show itself more clearly than in the history of the opium trade. After 1820 this traffic was based at Lintin. Store-ships remained permanently at the anchorage off this island, and ships arriving with opium discharged it there, taking up to Whampoa only their legitimate cargo. The opium was sold for cash against delivery order, and the Chinese purchaser received the cargo from the store-ship into fast, armed boats, known colloquially as "fast crabs" and "scrambling dragons", subsequently making the necessary arrangements with the local officials for landing it on shore. But from 1835 the foreigners began to undertake the direct smuggling themselves. Large numbers of foreign-owned boats, nominally "passenger boats ", were engaged in distributing the opium from the store-ships to any point in the Pearl River that was convenient. Armed conflicts between these vessels and official preventive craft were frequent. The trade increased by leaps and bounds. 30,000 chests were exported from India to China during the season 1835-36, over 34,000 in 1836-37 and 1837-38, and the phenomenal amount of 40,000 chests in 1838-39.* This was 10 times the quantity exported as recently as 1820-21. But this unhealthy development carried within it the seeds of its own destruction. Under the previous system the trade, though nominally contraband, was well regulated, and the Chinese dealers made satisfactory arrangements with the local officials. The foreign smugglers, however, were not only contravening the edicts of distant Peking, they were offending against the reasonable, well-tried, and well-accepted arrangements of the officials on the spot, a very different matter indeed. In other words, what wasjjreviously only nominal smuggling became real smuggling, an actual avoidance otllejacto fees and levies^ Naturally, the local officials were antagonised, and long before the appointment of Commissioner Lin, the Canton authorities started a campaign on their own against opium traffic. Foreign dealers in opium were denounced in proclamations. Nine were ordered by name to be expelled. The British Superintendent of Trade was called on to send away the store-ships at Lintin. An order was issued abolishing the foreign passenger boats, and the native boats were actually attacked and destroyed. Opium was seized here and there, and native retailers were arrested and executed. Events culminated in December 1838 in an embargo on all foreign trade at Canton, which was only removed at the end of the year on the British Superintendent issuing direct orders that all British boats engaged in illicit opium traffic were to retire outside the Bogue, and with- drawing all protection from British subjects who continued to deal in opium. As the "Chinese Repository" pointed out at the time, it is a curious speculation why what was forbidden to British subjects inside the Bogue should have been permitted outside. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 11 In the meantime a long debate, conducted by means of Memorials, had been going on in the highest circles of the Imperial Government as to whether the opium trade should be legalised, or whether still more strenuous measures should be taken to suppress it. The decisive factor in the question seems to have been the drain in the silver resources of the country, the export of which was the only means of paying for the opium imported. The net import of silver from abroad to Canton during the 130 years 1700-1830 is estimated by an expert authority to have been between 90 and 100 million pounds sterling, or say 270 to 300 million taels at the then equivalents.5 But from 1831 onwards the movement was the other way. A Chinese Memorial in 1836 states that the amount of silver exported was 10 million taels a year, and though this was probably an over-estimate, it is certain that heavy inroads were being made into the accumulated stock of treasure. Though there were two parties, the pro-opium and the anti-opium, and the issue for some time hung in doubt, the Emperor finally decided against legalisation and in favour of complete suppression. In December 1838 Lin Tse-sii was appointed Imperial High Commissioner for the suppression of opium, with powers over-riding those of the Viceroy in what concerned the objects in view, and he arrived in Canton on the 10th March 1839—a historic date, as it inaugurated a conflict with momentous consequences. From the Chinese point of view, opium was the only question to be settled. Everything else connected with foreign trade had been arranged for in the regulations long ago. But from the foreign point of view there were many questions, "questions of civil and criminal jurisdiction, of restraints on persons, of monopoly of trade, of irregular and uncertain exactions, of security of person and property."8 The abolition of the monopoly of the East India Company brought all these to the front. The British Government appointed a Commission of three Superintendents of Trade, of whom one was the Chief Superintendent, to take the place of the Select Committee of the East India Company. The first Chief Superintendent was William, Lord Napier, who arrived at Macao on the 15th July 1834. The new mission was doomed to failure. Looking back from this date it is easy to see that this failure was due, not to any mistake or inadequacy on the part of the man on the spot, but—as on many an occasion since—to opinions based on possible reactions on interests and policies remote from China, to preconceived notions, and to radical misreadings of the actual situation in China, on the part of the high authorities in far distant Western governments. Lord Napier should have been provided with credentials and a letter of introduction, say, from the British Foreign Office to the Canton Viceroy. Instead he was merely instructed to announce his arrival at Canton by letter to the Viceroy. On this rock the venture was shipwrecked. Previously the head of the foreign traders in Canton, or "taipan" as the Chinese called him, had been compelled to send all communications to the local officials through the Hong merchants. The Viceroy of the Two Kwang could not possibly be aware of the difference between the "President of the Select Committee of the East India Company" and " His Britannic Majesty's Chief Superintendent of the trade of British subjects in China ", to him an incomprehensible 12 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. distinction made by a barbarous people. He naturally insisted on the accepted and time- honoured procedure being followed of communication through the Hong merchants. Lord Napier on his part also insisted on attempting to carry out his instructions. The result was a complete deadlock. Lord Napier, the man attempting an innovation, was defeated and forced to retire to Macao, where he died of malarial fever on the 11th October 1834, his end being hastened by disappointment and vexation of spirit. For some two years his successors in the British Superintendency of Trade followed a quiescent policy. But at the end of 1836 Captain Charles Elliot succeeded to the post, a man of ideas, energy, and courage, who played a leading part in the events which followed. At the cost of giving way in the technicality of sending letters through the Hong merchants, he established direct communication with, and obtained de facto recognition from, the Viceroy. Matters were rapidly coming to a crisis. In addition to the threatened conflict on the opium traffic, other causes of friction and dispute seemed to be springing up on all sides. One of the chief of these was the debts owing by some of the leading Hong merchants to foreign firms. This question had arisen before, and the Consoo fund, an additional and direct charge on the foreign trade, had been established to create a means of liquidating such debts. But unfortunately at this crisis the resources of the Consoo fund had been diverted to other purposes. The foreign merchants claimed, not unreasonably, that as they were compelled by the Chinese Government to trade with certain selected Hongs only, it was ethically incumbent on the Chinese Government to guarantee that such Hongs would meet their just obligations. In actual practice this came down to repayment by other members of the Co-hong. But on this occasion there were many months of acrimonious dispute as to the amounts claimed and the terms of repayment, a sign of the loss of goodwill and of the growing irritation on both sides. A settlement of the bankruptcies of 1836 and 1837 was finally included in the Treaty of Nanking, 1842. Other grievances were becoming more and more prominent in the minds of the foreign, and particularly of the British, merchants at Canton. Having successfully abolished the monopoly on one side, they now proceeded to attack that on the other side. The monopoly of the Co-hong and the denial of the right to buy and sell in the open market at the best possible rates from whomsoever they wished, and at places other than Canton, became during these years a grievance with the foreign traders, for the abolition of which they agitated unceasingly. Other grievances were the arbitrary taxation on trade and particularly the fact that the scale of duties or tariff, if any, was kept secret and unknown; the strictness of the rules by which their personal lives were hedged in at the Canton factories; and the prohibition of any appeal for redress to the officials except through the Co-hong. The trouble was principally psychological. It was a period of change and great development in the civilisation of the West, and in their desire to break down the somewhat mediaeval exclusiveness and restrictive regulations of the Chinese Empire the foreign community of merchants at Canton was almost unanimously supported by commercial interests in Europe and America, and had beside the strong general support of public opinion in Western countries. Two civilisations of very different ideas and methods can only co-exist if kept apart; bring them in contact and conflict is inevitable. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 13 The rival protagonists in the first onset of this conflict were, on the one side, Commissioner Lin, and, on the other, Superintendent Elliot. Lin was a man of great energy and sincerity of purpose, a type of official new to the foreigner. He had the Imperial instructions to extirpate the opium trade, and he attempted unconditionally and unreservedly to carry out his task. He was armed with great powers as the personal delegate of the Emperor. Elliot was also an out- standing man, with fertility of resource, decision of character, and great personal courage. But he, on the contrary, was inadequately equipped for the emergency. He was handicapped by difficult, often mutually incompatible, instructions from home. He had to negotiate, having nothing in his hand to negotiate with—no armed force, no authority from his own Government, not even the moral position which an accredited envoy would have possessed. He had to lead a collection of merchants, most of them honourable, some pure adventurers, but all trading for gain, together with visiting sea-captains, critical of his authority, whose unruly crews were the cause of oft-recurring disputes both petty and serious with the Chinese, without any police, and without even proper legal sanction for his orders and instructions. To say that he was put in a position of trying to make bricks not only without straw, but also without clay, is no over- statement of Captain Elliot's impossible task. The details of the conflict belong rather to a political history than to a survey of trade. On the 18th March 1839 Commissioner Lin struck at the immediate source of the contraband trade by ordering the foreign merchants to deliver up every particle of opium on board any of their vessels in Chinese waters, including, of course, the notorious store-ships at Lintin and other anchorages. This order was enforced by a blockade of the Canton factories, no foreigner being allowed to leave, servants withdrawn, supplies of food and water strictly limited, and communication with foreign shipping cut off. Superintendent Elliot hastened up from Macao to share the imprisonment of his compatriots, and on the 27th March he shouldered the stupendous responsibility of taking over on behalf of the British Government 20,283 chests of opium from the private owners concerned, paying for them by drafts on the London Treasury. Incidentally these drafts were dishonoured, Captain Elliot being considered without the requisite authority, and the cost of the opium was ultimately included in the indemnity exacted by the Treaty of Nanking, three years later. On the surrender of the opium, the virtual imprisonment was relaxed. Elliot's first act on regaining complete freedom was to withdraw, together with all British subjects, from Canton to Macao on the 24th May 1839, having already unsheathed his only weapon, a complete embargo on British trade with the Chinese. The opium surrendered was all duly and thoroughly destroyed, the work of destruction being witnessed by several American missionaries invited for this purpose. But Commissioner Lin's troubles had only begun. In the first place the opium traffic was by no means ended, only temporarily checked. Ample supplies existed in India; and much was already en route on the high seas. Some of the latter, though at first held up at Singapore, quickly found a market along the coast of China. High prices7 naturally attracted adventurers, and within a year the 14 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. "Chinese Repository ", a monthly periodical issued by the American -missionaries in China, recorded that "the traffic seems to be as vigorously prosecuted as ever, and with as much safety and profit."8 The truth of the matter was that the Manchu Government, both Imperial and local, lacked the organisation and the moral and physical force to cope with wholesale smuggling along the extensive coast-line of China. Agents and methods were changed to meet Lin's actions. "The principal agents . . . are no longer resident in China, and their vessels, both large and small, are so manned and armed as to be able to put all native craft at defiance; moreover, not a few of the native smugglers are arming themselves, in order to defend themselves against the officers of their own government." 9 The smuggling fleet at this date was estimated to consist of 16 ships and barques with 6 to 16 guns and 30 to 90 men each, and 27 brigs and schooners with 4 to 12 guns and 20 to 60 men each.10 The figures of the export of opium from India to China show that while in 1839-40 the trade dropped to 20,000 chests, it rose again in 1840-41 to over 34,000 chests. Commissioner Lin was, of course, aware of the inadequacy of the machinery and resources at his disposal to deal directly with this smuggling, and he attempted to solve the problem in another way. Together with his original order to surrender the opium, he demanded a bond from all foreign merchants engaging themselves and their compatriots, under penalty, both now and in the future, not to deal in opium. The question of the wording of this bond dragged on throughout the year. Having once committed himself, it was impossible for Commissioner Lin to withdraw from this demand; many formulas were proposed by both sides, but the gist of the matter was that while most of the foreigners were willing to enter into bonds for themselves individually, Lin, following out the Chinese theory and practice of responsibility, wanted some sort of collective bond which could be enforced on all foreigners who might come in the future. It was in vain that the British protested the impossibility, according to their ideas, of guaranteeing the conduct of strangers yet to arrive in China, or of agreeing beforehand to accept any punishment, including death, that might be meted out, without reliable counter-conditions as to evidence, witnesses, and trial in the case of alleged breaches of the bond.11 There is no doubt that Commissioner Lin was surprised and puzzled by the obstinacy of the British. Merchants and sea-captains of other nationalities had signed bonds of different kinds, and trade had been reopened at Canton. But the British would not return. Driven from Macao, they took refuge on board their ships at Hongkong and Tongku Island. Their Superintendent forbade British ships or British merchants to enter the river and trade. The High Commissioner brought all his powers of diplomacy to bear on the problem of restoring the full trade at Canton, provided only he could get some sort of bond according to his ideas. Trade, as a matter of fact, had not by any means ceased. British cargoes were transhipped at the outer anchorages and went up to Canton under other flags. The American firm of Russell and Company organised a regular service between Hongkong and Whampoa, and British ships were able to get cargoes of tea for their homeward journey. Though curtailed, it seems that the bulk of the customary trade for the season 1839 was in fact carried through.12 HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 15 In the meantime the Government and people of Great Britain had been stirred by the arbitrary seizure of the opium and the imprisonment by force of all British merchants without any distinction between innocent and guilty, together with that of British officials who could not in the nature of things have been implicated in the smuggling complained of. War, or, at any rate, reprisals by force of arms, had been decided on. A force of 16 ships-of-war, together with other vessels (four of which were steamers, then something new), carrying 4,000 troops in all, had been gathered together in Chinese waters by the British in the summer of 1840. Canton was blockaded from the 28th June. Later on in the year an expedition set out for the North and instituted a blockade of Amoy, Ningpo, and the mouth of the Yangtze, and finally established communication at the mouth of the Peiho with direct representatives of the Imperial capital. Commissioner Lin had been transferred to the Canton Viceroyalty on the 12th February 1840. And subsequent to the visit of the British to the Peiho, a new Imperial High Commissioner had been appointed in the person of Kishen, a Manchu, not be it noted for the "suppression of opium" but "for Kwangtung affairs." Lin had been appointed to carry out a policy of suppression and coercion. Kishen was sent south to try a policy of conciliation. Circumstances were too strong for both. Lin had an initial success, but eventually landed his country in an unsuccessful war. Kishen also scored a success to start with. In the game of diplomacy he completely outmanoeuvred Captain Elliot, though the latter was no longer merely Superintendent of Trade but at last the properly accredited Plenipotentiary of Great Britain. With Canton at the mercy of the British Expeditionary Force, Elliot on the 20th January 1841 agreed to terms with Kishen such as would probably have been accepted a year previous, but which now fell short of what he had by this time been expressly instructed by his Government to obtain. A period of uncertainty and confusion followed, during which Hongkong was definitely occupied by the British, Kishen's agreement tacitly repudiated by the Peking Government, military operations resumed and Canton attacked and spared for the second time at the last moment by the British; ^qt'a^agreement with Kishen was formally disowned by the British Government also. It seems ihjt**(tiifiic"°"T Pottinger, arrived from England oh the 10th August 1841; during the difficult times of war*H)rosecuted by the British; the conditions of peace demanded China trade, and that the sale of manufactures jffi&E1"^ for th^osts of^^pedition^^g were comparatively neglected. While the import intcTchina of cotton piece goocTs^increased in quantity, though at a much reduced price, the woollen trade dwindled practically to nothing during the war years. It is worth noting that in this period there is recorded for the first time the beginning of a line of trade which in later generations grew to large proportions and exercised the minds of many diplomatists, namely the supply of foreign arms, munitions, and implements of war to the Chinese. Besides the purchase of full-rigged ships like the Cambridge, the Chinese built at Canton for use against the British several smaller boats of foreign style, in which enterprise they engaged the assistance of foreigners to supervise and to provide the armament.20 2 16 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The eight years 1834—42 show a considerable expansion in the external trade of China. Naturally, as the important. change distinguishing this period from the previous era was the freeing of the British trade from monopolistic control, this growth is chiefly recorded in the British figures. The Americans, principally engaged in carrying, also benefited. Exclusive of treasure, the joint imports by the British and American ships rose from $22,903,712 in the season 1831-32 to $37,650,348 in the season 1836-37, and exports from $19,216,215 in 1831-32 to $34,866,423 in 1836-37.13 The greatest increases in imports were in opium, as described above, and in raw cotton, the import of which nearly doubled. As regards British manufactures, a very significant change, a forecast of coming economic events, was a proportionately large increase in the purchase of cotton piece goods by the Chinese. Woollens, which the British had been un- successfully striving to popularise in China for nearly a century, definitely and finally took second place.14 The increase in exports were of course in tea and silk, the latter of which considerably more than doubled. In fact the annual average export of raw silk alone to Great Britain increased from 132,000 pounds for the years 1830-34 to 963,000 pounds for the years 1835-39.15 The years 1836-37 marked the highest point of foreign trade during this period. Excessive optimism on the part of the foreign merchants led to some over-trading, and even before the war years, 1839-42, declines are evident from such figures as are available to-day. An interesting result of the free competition among the foreigners, faced with the monopoly of the Co-hong on the Chinese side, was the way in which prices moved in favour of China. The price of exports rose, tea by 55 per cent. and silk by 25 per cent. The price of imports, generally speaking, fell; raw cotton, it is true, advanced by 9 per cent., but opium declined by 15 per cent., and the sale of British manufactures of cotton was only made possible by important lowerings of price.18 There is little doubt that the appreciation by experience of this economic disadvantage was no small factor in the growing determination of foreign traders, both in China and abroad, to end the monopoly both of the Co-hong and of Canton as the sole port. The trade at Canton was stopped by the embargo of the Viceroy from the 4th December till the 31st December 1838. From the 19th March to the 4th May 1839 the trade was again stopped by the embargo of Commissioner Lin while enforcing the surrenoV*^' . From this date onwards, till the Treaty of Nanking, British trade wa^^ the normal way. British cargo, however, was trans"' HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 17 the Governor, and the Lieutenant-Governor, though a few merchant ships had already come up to Whampoa, at a venture, earlier. During all this period of disturbance and confusion trade somehow continued. Opium, the import of which reached 40,000 chests in 1839, and dropped to 20,000 in the next year, increased again to approximately 34,000 chests in both the years 1841 and 1842. This, of course, was all smuggled, and contraband enterprise can readily be understood to have flourished during the anarchy of war. But legitimate trade also managed to continue. No doubt even when the port of Canton was closed arrangements were made for selling to Chinese merchants at Macao, or at the other anchorages in the Delta; while the British were in de facto occupation of Hongkong harbour from the summer of 1840. It is not clear at this date exactly what happened, but buying and selling were effected by some means or other. The total export of tea from Canton to Great Britain and America for part of this period was as follows:- Pounds. Pounds. 1836–37 ... 54,421,332 1838–39... 50,044,933 1837–38... 48,573,868 1839–40.. 45,296,516 18 The export of raw silk to Great Britain alone for the same years shows a bigger decline:- Piculs. Piculs. 1836–37 .. . 13,762 1838–39 .... 3,456 1837–38. ... 4,433 1839-40. ... 2,057 18 The imports (all manufactures) into China from Great Britain for these years are recorded in the British returns as follows:- 1833 ... 630,578 1838 . . . . 1,204,356 1834. ... 845,192 1839. ... 851,969 1835 . . . . 1,074,708 1840 . . 524,198 1836. ... 1,326,388 1841 . ... 862,570 1837 . . . . 678,375 1842 ... 969,381 19 It seems that (contraband traffic in opium apart) the foreign merchants concentrated during the difficult times of war on obtaining the required stocks of tea, the real staple of the China trade, and that the sale of manufactures and the purchase of other secondary commcdiues were comparatively neglected. While the import into China of cotton piece goods increased in quantity, though at a much reduced price, the woollen trade dwindled practically to nothing during the war years. It is worth noting that in this period there is recorded for the first time the beginning of a line of trade which in later generations grew to large proportions and exercised the minds of many diplomatists, namely the supply of foreign arms, munitions, and implements of war to the Chinese. Besides the purchase of full-rigged ships like the Cambridge, the Chinese built at Canton for use against the British several smaller boats of foreign style, in which enterprise they engaged the assistance of foreigners to supervise and to provide the armament.20 18 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. A most interesting and illuminating summary of the foreign trade of China at this time is provided by the following estimate of a normal year's transactions drawn up by contemporary British investigators attached to Sir Henry Pottinger's staff:— Exports. $ Imports. s 9,450,000 Opium 13,800,000 Silk 2,747,000 Rice, pearls, and 370,000 treasure . . . 1,794,630 240,000 Ginseng .... 65,000 Miscellaneous . . 532,750 Raw cotton . . . 5,000,000 Ships' expenses, etc. Manufactured cotton, in Canton . . . 500,000 including yarns . 2,090,000 Treasure . . . 11,160,250 Woollens . . . 1,047,000 261,650 Miscellaneous . . 941,720 Total . . S25,000,000 Total . . $25,000,000 The above statement, of course, covers the trade with the Western Powers only. The historic trade of China with other Asiatic countries, Korea, Japan, the Philippine Islands, the East Indian and Malay Archipelagoes, Indo-China, Siam, etc., carried on in Chinese junks, still continued and possibly developed, also the overland trade with Russia,22 Mongolia, Tibet, and perhaps Burma and Tonkin. Beginning in this period, however, the superior sailing and sea-keeping qualities and greater cargo capacity of foreign vessels began to cut in on the native junk. In a subsequent generation the coming of steam, the opening of Japan to foreign trade, and colonial activities by European Powers in the neighbouring East practically extinguished the junk trade of China with foreign countries. No statistics of this foreign trade carried on in junks are, however, available. * From HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 19 NOTES. 1 H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, pp. 72, 73. 2 H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. II, p. 7. • C. S. See: "Foreign Trade of China," p. 109. I H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 210. 5 Ibid., p. 202. • Ibid., p. 200. '"The price was $600 a chest outside and 81,000-1,200 inside Kwangtung Province."—J. B. Eames: "The English in China." See also "Chinese Repository," 1839, p. 328, and 1840, p. 577. '"Chinese Repository," Vol. VIII, January 1840, p. 442. • Ibid. 10 "Chinese Repository," Vol. IX, September 1840, p. 328. II "By this law the ships and crews of all nations henceforward arriving in China are liable to the penalties, the first of confiscation, and the last of death, upon the determination of this (the Chinese) Government that they have introduced opium. It places in point of fact the lives, liberty and property of the whole foreign community here at the mercy of any reckless foreigner outside, and more immediately at the disposal of the Hong merchants, linguists, compradorcs and their retainers."—" Canton Register," issue of 23rd July 1839. 12 See H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 243, § 37. 13 Ibid., p. 168. 11 A. J. Sargent: "Anglo-Chinese Commerce and Diplomacy," p. 126. 15 Ibid., p. 129. "H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 169. » Ibid., p. 282. 18 "Chinese Repository," Vol. IX, August 1840, pp. 191, 192. Figures from the "Canton Press" quoted on p. 193 ibid, differ somewhat from the above. "British Parliamentary Papers, 1857: "Returns of British Trade with China, 1833-56." 20 See "Chinese Repository," Vol. X, September 1841, p. 527, and Vol. XI, January 1842, p. 64. 21 Adapted from A. J. Sargent: "Anglo-Chinese Commerce and Diplomacy," p. 129. 82 Estimated to amount to £350,000—approximately $1,600,000—a year, on each side, see " Chinese Repository," Vol. XII, p. 522. 20 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Chapter III. THE FIVE PORTS, 1843-58. The main provisions of the Treaty of Nanking between China and Great Britain were the following:— 1. —The ports of Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo, and Shanghai were to be opened to foreign trade, in addition to Canton, where "British subjects with their families and establishments shall be allowed to reside for the purpose of carrying on their mercantile pursuits without molestation or restraint." "Superintendents or Consular Officers" were to be appointed by the British to represent their nationals. 2. —The Island of Hongkong was ceded absolutely and in perpetuity to the British. 3. —An indemnity of $21,000,000 was to be paid by the Chinese, $6,000,000 as compensation for the commandeered opium, $3,000,000 for the debts due by certain bankrupt members of the Co-hong, and $12,000,000 for the expenses of the war. 4. —The monopoly of the Co-hong was abolished, British subjects being permitted to deal in future with whatever persons they pleased, not only at Canton but at all ports. 5. —"A fair and regular tariff of export and import customs and other dues" was to be published at the treaty ports. 6. —Official correspondence between the two countries was to be conducted on terms of equality, the details of which were fully stipulated. 7. —British goods having paid customs duties according to the tariff were to be allowed to be conveyed to any part of the interior on the further payment of transit duties, which "shall not exceed the present rates which are upon a moderate scale." The tariff and trade regulations were drawn up in subsequent negotiations, and a supplementary treaty was signed at Hoomunchae on the 8th October 1843. This dealt chiefly with minor points, but introduced the vital principle of the "rno^tJayjouredjiatiQa" treatment, which being embodied in every subsequent treaty with other foreign powers compelled the extension to all of the rights and privileges granted to any. The restrictive trade policy of the Celestial Empire having been broken down by the British by force of arms, other foreign nations were not slow to take advantage of the opening. ["Treaties were signed with the United States of America at Wanghia, 3rd July 1844; with France | at Whampoa, 24th October 1844; with Belgium, 25th July 1845; and with Sweden and Norway, ■ 20th March 1847. The remaining Powers did not make treaties until a later period, but their nationals were tacitly accorded similar treatment and privileges by the Chinese. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 21 These later treaties, in particular the first two, went further in many ways than the British treaties towards obtaining for foreigners in China the specially privileged position which they subsequently enjoyed for so long. The most important innovation was the specific enunciation of the principle of extraterritoriality, which had not been demanded by the British. Both in the American and French treaties it is clearly Jaid down that their nationals shall be judged by their own law and not by Chinese law. Further, while the Treaty of Nanking provided that the British Consul would be security for all British ships and would "see that all the just duties and other dues of the Chinese Government are duly discharged", no such reciprocal obligation to China was admitted by other Powers; this duty was carried out for some years by British Consuls, but lapsed in practice on the appointment of foreign Inspectors of Customs 10 years later. Another difference of importance was the inclusion in the American and French treaties of a clause providing for revision where required after the lapse of 12 years, which subsequently became one of the bones of contention leading to another war. These treaties marked a transition stage in China's commercial relations with foreign nations. Hitherto foreign trade and foreign merchants in China had in theory no rights at all. The Manchu Government and officials issued from time to time whatever regulations they thought best; there was no argument and no appeal, either to law, to mutual agreement, or to diplomacy; the official regulations were law, agreements did not obtain, while the existence of any external authority other than the Emperor's was absolutely inadmissible. The new treaties were an attempt by foreigners to limit the unchallenged authority claimed by Chinese officials. But though to some extent successful for a period of years, they were never really acquiesced in either by officials or the people themselves in China. "The Chinese . . . knew nothing of international law or the rights of nations; these treaties had been imposed upon them without their consent, and every one of their stipulations was deeply resented." 1 As the years went on, the clash of fundamentally irreconcilable ideas produced an accumulation of mutual grievances, until violence and bloodshed were again resorted to by the Western Powers; and in the arbitrament of war, as will be set forth later, final submission to the terms on which foreigners wished to trade was forced upon China. During this transition period, however, the external trade of China expanded quite considerably. Any complete continuous account of this development is unfortunately impossible. In the previous period all trade was concentrated at one place, viz., Canton, and, though statistics were meagre, a tolerably clear picture was obtained. In the subsequent period, also, statistics began to be kept by the newly organised Customs Service, and though incomplete and in an unsatisfactory form, they provide sufficient material for study and description. But in the period now under consideration trade was carried on at five different ports; there was no attempt by the different Chinese Custom Houses to keep records of trade; and while some foreign consuls compiled returns of their national trade, they varied in method from place to place and are, moreover, difficult of access even when still extant to-day. Hence no really complete statement of China's foreign trade as a whole can be drawn up. All that can be obtained are partial accounts 22 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. of the trade at different places, in different commodities, or with different nations. From these partial accounts, however, it is possible to reconstruct, though without statistical support, a general picture that probably has a close enough resemblance to the reality. The main features of the development of foreign trade during the years 1843-58 may be summarised as follows. The opening of five ports to trade, and the abolition by the treaties of other restrictions, created in the minds of foreign merchants and manufacturers, particularly the British, an exaggerated idea of the possibilities of China as a market for the products of their growing industries. The first few years were marked by the flooding of China with foreign goods greatly in excess of the desire or capacity of the Chinese to buy them. But, as time went on, British cotton piece goods, as a result of continuous technical improvement and a progressive lowering of price, were able to compete successfully with native products, and their import increased steadily but slowly, till at the end of the period it was about 50 per cent. greater than at the beginning. The import of opium also continued to increase largely, though at a significantly diminishing rate, and was roughly twice as much at the end as at the beginning. Exports still consisted practically of tea and silk alone. The opening of additional ports had the natural effect of a considerable fall in the prices of these staples.2 In the case of silk this was estimated to have amounted to 35 per cent. in four years.3 Export was accordingly stimulated. The demand for tea, especially, increased in Western countries by leaps and bounds. China had at this time a monopoly of the supply, and in spite of internal disorder the export of tea grew steadily from year to year, from 70 million pounds in 1844 to 103 million pounds in 1858.4 The export of silk increased in a more remarkable way, being only 1,787 bales in 1843 and as much as 85,970 bales from Shanghai alone in 1858.4 The total export from China in the latter year is valued at £10,000,000.5 The increase in the silk trade was fairly steady up till 1851, and by no means inconsiderable, but in 1853 an enormous jump forward began owing to the depredations of the silkworm disease in Europe cutting short the production of raw silk in France and Italy. As a consequence of this growing demand in other countries for the tea and silk of China, a most interesting reversal occurred in that movement of bullion which had played so large a part in deciding the Government of China in 1838 to attempt the suppression of the opium trade. In spite of the heavy increase in the importation of opium, it is estimated that the export of treasure from England to China averaged as much as £3,000,000 (say 77j. 9,000,000) a year during the period 1851-60 ;8 the heaviest importations of bullion, in view of the figures of the export of tea and silk, must have been in the later years; for instance, another investigator calculates that in 1856 $20,400,000 and in 1857 Tls. 14,443,0897 of silver were imported into Shanghai alone. A very striking change in this period was the gradual supplanting of Canton by Shanghai as the chief centre of foreign trade. Canton lost her supremacy partly owing to the development of Hongkong as the first port of call in Chinese waters, and as a depot whence goods could be reshipped to other parts of China, and partly owing to the devastation caused by the Taiping Rebellion and the consequent disorganisation of those trade routes in the interior by which HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 23 Canton had been supplied from time immemorial. Shanghai was nearer both the tea and the silk districts, particularly the latter. "By 1846 Shanghai was contributing one-seventh of the total exports from China; by 1851 this share in the export trade had grown to one-half, and after 1851 it was never much less than a half."8 The total effect of the Taiping Rebellion on the foreign trade of China is, of course, incalculable; the development that might have taken place if the sources of supply had not been devastated, and if widespread ruin and impoverishment had not cut down demand, can only remain a matter of speculation. It is remarkable that, even in spite of the fact that at the close of our present period this terrible and ruinous civil war was at its height, so much progress in foreign trade has actually to be recorded. Of the four new ports picked out by the foreign merchants as promising centres to be opened to trade, the results at three caused acute disappointment. In fact it was not till the latter half of this period that even Shanghai began to fulfill the extravagant hopes that had been entertained of the new conditions and new era inaugurated by the treaties. Amoy was opened in June 1844, and trade, though on a small scale, was immediately commenced. It had long been a port where trading relations existed with Formosa, the Philippines, and the East Indies, and had occasionally been visited by occidental traders in the days before foreign trade had been concentrated at Canton by the Imperial Edict of 1757. In the few months of the very first year, 1844, British imports at Amoy amounted approximately $372,000 and exports to $58,000.9 British trade at this -porT^incTeased as follows:— Imports. Exports. 1 1 1847 179,758 7,139 1850 253,552 53,208 1852 435,017 60,42910 The proportion of British trade is revealed by the following table for 1846:— Imports. Exports. 35 $ British 775,085 38,939 Other nationalities 361,993 29,708 Total Foreign Trade . . $1,137,078 $68,647" The total trade in 1855 is reported as amounting to about $2,700,000, of which two-thirds was British.12 The imports were cotton manufactures, cotton yarn, opium, and Straits products.13 The exports appear to have been negligible at this time, the trade at Amoy in sugar and oolong teas springing up at a later period. "The principal export from Amoy to redress this inequality of trade has always been human labour, which for centuries has gone to the Philippines and the Malay archipelago." 14 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922–31. In the consideration of any figures or statistics relating to this period it must never be forgotten that they refer to trade done in foreign vessels only. This is particularly important at Amoy, where a large trade with foreign countries is known to have been carried on by means of native junks. The time had not yet come when practically all the external trade of China was carried in foreign vessels. Foochow was also opened in June 1844. For nine years there was no legitimate trade done by foreigners or in foreign ships. The British Consul's report on trade at Foochow for 1847 was as follows:- “No British or other foreign vessel has visited it for purposes of trade, nor a single individual with a view to commercial enquiry.” 15 Its formal abandonment or exchange was seriously considered by the highest British officials. 16 The only purposes for which foreign ships did in fact visit Foochow during this period were for opium smuggling, or as armed anti-pirate convoys. A dramatic change occurred in 1853. At that time the Taiping rebels were overrunning the Southern provinces, and the Chinese re unable to move their teas overland to either Canton or Shanghai. The American firm of Russell & Co. took the bold step of sending Chinese agents, provided with money, into the Bohea tea districts, to buy tea and send it down the Min River route to Foochow. Their enterprise and initiative met with deserved success, and in the following and subsequent years they were imitated by other firms, thus starting Foochow on its brief period of glory as the best-knawn centre of the tea trade and the port whence the tea-clippers began their romantic races across the world. The local export of tea abroad was 15,739,700 pounds in 1855 and 40,972,600 pounds in 1856.17 " re verru Se m Foochow is also to be mentioned for its beautifully printed paper bank-notes, or native remittance notes, which were only gradually supplanted as currency by the silver introduced by the foreign trade that grew up during this period.18 Ningpo was officially opened in December 1843. Great hopes were held of the development of trade here in view of its past history as a Portuguese factory and a port visited by early British traders, but they were ill-founded and doomed to failure. In 1844, the first year, foreign trade amounted to $500,000, but five years later it was less than one-tenth of that amount.19 With the development of Shanghai, Ningpo was left to all intents and purposes without a "hinterland” for either the sale of commodities or their purchase. In the second half of our present period foreign shipping began to participate in the carrying trade, first by means of small fast-sailing vessels and lorchas, and later by steamers of the American river type. This trade, though under foreign flags, was merely a coastal carrying trade with Shanghai, and the direct foreign trade of Ningpo was then, as it is now, practically non-existent. Shanghai was formally opened on the 17th November 1843. Foreign trade was developed vigorously from the very start. A year after the opening there were no less than 11 foreign firms operating in the new port. It was already the resort of considerable Chinese shipping, HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 25 both coastwise to the north, and also to the interior via Soochow and the Grand Canal. It was estimated that there were 14,000 to 20,000 Shanghai junks engaged in the northern traffic alone.20 The East India Company in 1756 had suggested Shanghai as a desirable place for establishing a new factory. Mr. (later Sir John) Davis, Governor of Hongkong and British Plenipotentiary and Chief Superintendent of Trade, after his first official visit of inspection to the four newly opened ports in 1844, reported as follows:— "Shanghai and Amoy, but especially the former, possessed all the elements of commercial success and were likely to be flourishing emporia. . . . Ningpo . . . was too near to Shanghai not to be impoverished by it; while Foochow with its dangerous river and numerous other drawbacks afforded very little prospect of any European trade whatever."21 Commercial expansion at Shanghai during the period now under review was due to several independent factors. One was that in the first years the Treaty of Nanking was practically a dead letter except at Shanghai.22 There was no trade at Foochow, and but little at either Ningpo and Amoy, while at Canton the people of the city resolutely refused to allow the foreigner within the walls, and the officials did everything they could to keep trade in its old restricted lines. Only at Shanghai did the foreign merchant find scope and opportunity for the full exercise of his new facilities and privileges. Another factor was that trade methods in a new place were much more free and enterprising than under the domination of the Co-hong at Canton.23 Foreign firms sent their Chinese agents into the interior entrusted with large sums of money to buy direct the silk and tea they wanted,24 and in this way opened up a far bigger export trade, to the immediate benefit of the Chinese producer, than would have been possible under a system like that which prevailed in Canton. A third factor was the simple geographical one that Shanghai was in close proximity to the great silk-producing district of China, and also far nearer than Canton to some of the tea- producing areas. The most remarkable development of this period was the export of silk from Shanghai. "Shanghai at once took its rightful place as the silk market of China, and in no long time supplied nearly the whole of the Western demand." 25 The amounts exported were— Bales. Bales. 1845 6,433 1855 56,211 1846 15,192 1858 85,97026 1851 20,631 Curiously enough, the devastation caused by the Taiping Rebellion favoured rather than handicapped this expansion, since by the destruction of silk-weaving looms at Nanking and in other cities, and because of the general destitution of the populace, the home demand was greatly curtailed, and the raw silk produced by the countryside was practically forced to find an outlet in the foreign market.27 26 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. As regards tea, the movements were hardly less spectacular. The export from Shanghai was as follows:— Thereafter the competition of Foochow began to be felt, and for the three years 1856-58 the export was fairly steady at an average of approximately 50,000,000 pounds. Some of this development was merely an expression of Shanghai's successful rivalry with Canton, but as in the same period the total export of tea from China to abroad grew from 70,476,500 pounds in 1844 to 103,564,400 pounds in 1858, having reached the high-water mark of 130,677,000 pounds in 1856, it is evident that there was a large expansion of the tea trade as a whole.28 As regards imports, the foremost was the illegal but recognised trade in opium. The importation at Shanghai grew steadily from 16,500 chests in 1847 to 22,981 in 1849;29 the actual deliveries from the receiving ships or hulks at Woosung were: 1853, 24,200 chests; 1857, 31,907 chests; 1859, 33,786 chests.H0 At first carried on under some sort of concealment, the traffic became more and more open as time went on. Other foreign imports were relatively of little importance to China; an analysis of Anglo- Chinese trade published at the time calculated that British manufactures amounted to only one- fifteenth of the total trade of Shanghai.31 In view of this, it is curious what a large space in any contemporary foreign discussion of trade, such as British Consular Reports for example, is taken up with the small ups and downs of the importation of piece goods and woollens. It seems to have been the sole preoccupation of foreign officials and trade leaders in Western countries to get the Chinese to buy more foreign manufactures, though it is doubtful whether this ultimate objective of trade was so keenly sought after by the foreign merchant himself. An independent contemporary observer reported that British exports were unpopular with British merchants in China because of the trouble they had in selling them, the petty bothers of the system of taxation in transit, and the small profits at the end of everything.32 The course of the foreign trade at Shanghai during the first half of the period 1843-58 was marked by the inelastic nature of imports and the spasmodic but on the whole substantial growth of exports.33 The first seven years of open trading in fact proved Shanghai to be the natural outlet for China produce; its advantages for foreign trade were that it was a good port, not so far from the silk and tea regions, having excellent communications with the interior, e.g., by the Grand Canal, and that there was no legacy of misunderstanding and ill will as at Canton.34 Pounds. Pounds. 57,675,000 69,431,000 80,221,000 1844 1846. 1849 1851 . 1,149,000 12,460,000 18,303,000 36,722,500 1852 1853 1855 The year 1851, half-way through the period, marked a sort of minor turning point, as it saw the beginning of an upward movement in the demand for foreign piece goods.35 English HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 27 cotton piece goods were at last beginning to be supplied in a form and at a price allowing equal competition with the product of native looms—that is for certain special purposes. The second half of the period also saw the wholesale transfer of the tea trade from Canton to Shanghai and the phenomenal sudden expansion in the export of raw silk. The boom in the demand for Chinese silk started in 1853.38 Another feature of this period was the change in the balance of trade at Shanghai. In 1849 the excess of imports was £2,668,700; in 1850 this shrank to £1,445,200; in 1853 it was reversed into an excess of exports of £500,000.37 The development of exports from Shanghai was really very remarkable. Tea increased from 1,149,000 pounds during the season 1843-44 to 51,317,000 pounds in the season 1857-58, with a high-water mark of 80,221,000 pounds in 1854-55. Silk increased from 6,433 balesx during the season 1844-45 to 66,391 bales during 1857-58, with a high-water mark of 92,160 bales in 1856-57.38 The silk trade was almost entirely in the hands of the British, who acted as agents in supplying the French silk-weaving industry with raw material from China. The British also practically monopolised the trade in black tea. The tea exported to America was almost entirely green tea, of which crop fully three-quarters went to the United States.39 The English acted as distributors of tea for the whole continent of Europe, with the exception of the overland import into Russia. A certain quantity also went direct to Australia. Of the composition of the foreign trade, a few illuminating glimpses are obtainable:— Imports from Great Britain. (000's omitted.) 1843. 1844. 1845. 1846. 1 1 1 1 Cottons . . . 872 1,576 1,735 . 1,247 Woollens . . . 418 565 539 440 Miscellaneous . . . 166 165 121 (?) Total . . £1,456 £2,306 £2,395 (?) The above is chiefly of interest as showing how cotton piece goods had taken the place of woollens as the leading import of British manufacture. The total value of the importation of British woollens into China sank from $1,375,000 in 1844 to $740,000 in 1853.41 The British Consul at Shanghai, Sir Rutherford Alcock, wrote in 1847 on this point: "The truth seems to be that for the cold season in this and the adjoining provinces British woollens are neither so durable, warm, nor accessible to the majority of the Chinese population as skins and furs."42 It seems to have taken the British trader a hundred years to realise the futility of trying to sell to the Chinese what was not suitable to their purposes and what they did not want. DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922–31. The progress of foreign trade as well as its composition during the second half of the period can be seen from the statistics available of the trade at Shanghai: 43 IMPORTS. (000's omitted.) 1851. 1853. 1858. $ Cotton manufactures. ... 3,447 Woollen 395 Metals . . Miscellaneous · · · .. 476 7,181 726 · } 13,153 I 1,976 | 11,114 941 TOTAL . . . . . $4,318 $8,848 $26,243 EXPORTS. (000's omitted.) 1851. *1853. 1858. Silk · · · · · · · · · 5,591 Tea . . . . . . . . 4,771 Nankeens.) Miscellaneous 13,589 11,928 I 136 I 174 25,461 12,454 2,344 2,274 Total .... $10,403 $25,827 $42,533 It must be noted that these figures are exclusive of the import of opium and specie, and therefore neither show the true composition of the commerce of the time, nor indicate the real balance of trade. The annual value of the opium imported at Canton and Shanghai together was estimated at the time to amount to $12,000,000 for the year 1851.44 The export of silver from Great Britain to China in 1851 was 511,586 ounces only.45 The complete composition of the import trade at Shanghai in 1856 was estimated as follows:- Imports of merchandise ... alluise . . . . . . . . . . 3,011,000 „ „ opium . . . . . . . . . . . 4,624,000 „ „ specie ............ 4,288,000 TOTAL . . . . . . . . $11,923,000 46 Thus it is clear that foreign imports consisted principally of opium, with cotton piece goods a bad second, and other commodities negligible. Exports from China were tea and silk only. The foreign demand for nankeens, though interesting as a survival, was relatively small. Other products were quite insignificant. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 29 As regards the distribution of the trade, two-thirds at least was British,47 the Americans being the only other foreign nation with any serious interest in the China trade. Exact statistics are wanting, but it is well known that the Americans were chiefly engaged as carriers only,48 on the import side presumably of British goods, though on the export side a considerable quantity of tea was directly shipped to the United States. Other interesting points in the foreign trade of these years, as shown in the accompanying figures above and their relative notes, are— 1. —The extent to which the export of silk had surpassed in value the export of tea from Shanghai; 2. —The growing importance of the participation of foreign vessels in the Chinese coasting trade, henceforward until the publication of official statistics by the Customs a further complication in the attempt to discover the true characteristics of the external trade of China; 3. —The fact that while the British carried on practically the whole of the silk export business, they did not have much more than half the tea export business of Shanghai, the bulk of the remainder being done by the Americans; 4. —The large difference between the miscellaneous (including coast trade) business done by all foreign countries combined and that done by the British, which is to be accounted for by the great extent to which the small handy vessels of the North German Ports had cut in on the purely Chinese coastal trade hitherto carried by native junks. Two new developments, which are intimately connected with the development of foreign trade in later years, had their first origins at Shanghai during this period. The first was the employment of foreigners in the administration of the Customs. In September 1853 all Imperial officials fled from Shanghai on the taking over of the city by a rising of Triad rebels. The British Consul was obliged by a clause in the Treaty of Nanking to see that the dues and duties of the Chinese Government were met by British subjects. He accordingly issued a notification taking over the receipt of Customs duties on behalf of the locally non-existent Government.49 The American Consul, though under no treaty obligation, felt himself bound to do the same.49 The French Consul, however, took a different view, holding that the right of a Government to customs dues and duties was not an absolute right, but contingent on its de facto power and on the existence of machinery to collect them. As the Chinese Government was not in fact functioning locally, he claimed the right to allow French ships to come and go without payment of duties.50 In the meantime, owing to the cessation of business and an actual shortage of currency in the district, a moratorium was in force; British merchants were not paying their duties in cash but deposited bonds with their Consul for the same. The arrangements were very unsatisfactory. American merchants protested on the ground of unfair discrimination against being called on to pay duties51 when other foreign 30 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. merchants, e.g., the French, were not obliged to do so. The British Consul found himself the holder of bonds for a large sum, and began to feel uneasy as to their ultimate encashment.52 Finally the three Consuls agreed on the 29th June 1854 to the nomination of a board of three foreign Inspectors to collect Chinese Customs duties, etc., at Shanghai. It turned out that only one of the three Inspectors, Captain (later Sir) T. F. Wade, had either the knowledge of the language or the experience of China necessary for the task, and in practice the administration of the new Customs Office at Shanghai fell upon him. A year later Mr. Wade was succeeded by Mr. H. N. Lay, subsequently the first Inspector General of Customs. It is interesting to note that these first three foreign employees of the Chinese Government were universally execrated by their fellow foreigners. A contemporary observer from England stated that a salary of £2,000 a year was insufficient to compensate for the odium in which the three foreign Inspectors of Customs were held by other foreigners.53 The second development was the beginning of official efforts to provide aids to navigation, without which the external trade of China could never have grown to the extent it has. The first steps of all were the erection of a beacon on the shoal on the north bank of the Yangtze in 1847, and shortly after of another one on the south bank. The funds were provided by the Taotai, and the erection was superintended by the indefatigable Mr. Parkes, later Sir Harry, but then a young interpreter at the British Consulate.54 Buoys were considered impracticable, owing to the certainty of their being stolen. It appears that a foreign Harbour Master for the foreign shipping was appointed late in 1851, as a joint notification was issued in November of that year, signed by the four foreign Consuls, calling upon each foreign vessel to pay $10 on clearance in future, as a fee for a Harbour Master to be appointed by the Taotai.55 A year later there appeared the first report signed by the Shanghai Harbour Master, Mr. N. Baylies.58 Pilotage was evidently not regulated very strictly, as in 1853, in a public warning issued by the above officer, it appears that pilot's certificates were merely documents testifying to competency, signed by several shipmasters, and sealed by a foreign Consulate. Such documents had become articles of exchange and commerce among the natives on the river.57 A lightship, the Sir Herbert Compton, was moored off the Tungsha Shoal, in the Yangtze Estuary, sometime in 1855. The moving spirit in this public improvement was the United States Consul at Shanghai, who persuaded the Taotai to take the step. Funds were provided through the foreign Inspectors of Customs, and the vessel was moored in her position by Commander Preble of the U.S.S. Macedonia.™ In March 1857 eight iron nun buoys were laid by the British Navy in the Yangtze Estuary and at Woosung. As an illustration of the indeterminate relationship and undefined responsibilities of various officials, it is interesting to note that the Notice to Mariners concerning these buoys was headed "Office of Maritime Customs", signed by "G. L. Carr, Master of H.M. frigate Pique", and countersigned by "Wm. Lent, Secretary", of the Custom House. The "North-China Herald" issued its own private warning against the possibility of the buoys being stolen.59 HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 31 In view of its later development as the chief centre in Chinese territory for foreign trade, Shanghai has naturally occupied the prime place of interest. But in point of fact, during the first half of the period now under consideration, Canton still kept the greatest share of trade, and it was only during the later years that its position as leading port was definitely yielded to Shanghai. Canton entered upon a new phase as merely one treaty port among others in 1843. But from the first the memory and the spirit of the old regulations remained strong in the minds of both officials and populace at Canton. This spirit was exemplified notably by the refusal to allow foreigners access within the city walls, or to permit them to acquire or occupy any site or building outside the old factories for either residence or business. The treaties allowed to foreigners the right to live at the port, i.e., chiang-k'ou, and the Chinese were undoubtedly technically in the right when they refused to extend this to entry within the walled city, i.e., ch'Sng.*0 From the first there were difficulties in working the new system. Previously foreign merchants had had no direct dealings with the Customs, except for the "measurement fees" charged directly on the ship. The Hong merchants paid all duties, dues, and exactions, official and unofficial. The new system allowed direct dealings between the foreign importer and the Custom House. At Canton this change was a serious blow to many vested interests. For example, the "linguists ", official interpreters of the Co-hong system, attempted to continue the old charges.81 The monopoly or close system of the licensed linguists survived in full vigour for many years, in fact until the reorganisation of the Customs under foreign officers.82 Nevertheless, the passage of time and the transfer of trade to Shanghai caused the growth of competition among them. So that in later years we have the curiously reversed result that rivalry between the linguists, now acting as Custom House brokers, often led to practical reductions in duty to dishonest traders who were willing to take advantage of it.83 To take another example, the coolies of the far-away Meiling Pass, between Kiangsi and Kwangtung, on the internal route by which travelled most of the tea and practically all of the silk that reached Canton, finding their business diminished by the opening of new ports, organised strikes and boycotts to try and compel the continued transport of commodities along the old routes.*4 The merchants of Canton also made many efforts to revive the Co-hong in some other guise. The most notable scheme was one for the establishment of licensed warehouses for tea, where all tea arriving was to be compulsorily taken and stored.85 But the opposition of the foreigners was now too powerful for the scheme to go through. The loss of revenue must in many cases have been a very serious matter to the provincial and local officials through whose territory tea ceased to travel. Under the existing system there was no fiscal elasticity, and new taxation was hard to impose. Naturally the officials interested did their utmost to prevent produce from going to Shanghai, or elsewhere than Canton. The official policy of the Imperial Government also was to try and confine the foreign trade as much as possible to Canton. An Imperial Edict ruled that to whatever open port raw 32 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. silk might go, it was to pay as transit dues the same amount as it would have paid if sent to Canton. Attempts were made to extend this rule to the export of tea as well. But subsequent events, and the inexorable pressure of economic law, proved too strong. Taxation was but a small part of the extra expense of sending commodities by long overland journeys. The British Consul at Shanghai calculated in 1847 that the transport charges, loss of interest, etc., involved in sending silk 10 times farther to Canton than to Shanghai, amounted to 35 to 40 per cent.86 Before long, however, the spread of the Taiping Rebellion disorganised the internal trade routes, and trade was compelled to seek outlets other than Canton. In 1842 Canton was the sole port for Western trade in China and the greatest market in Eastern Asia. In 1858 it was in the military occupation of foreigners and most of its trade had been transferred forever to younger and more successful rivals. The turning point was round about the year 1851. In that year the Taiping Wang emerged from the welter of bandit gangs in Kwangsi and began the organised rebellion that devastated China for 15 years. As it progressed, by disrupting the overland trade routes it gradually cut off Canton from all but its immediate "hinterland" south of the mountains along the Kwangtung border. Subsequent to this date also the influence of emigration to Australia and California began to be felt in drawing trade away to Hongkong, where a demand sprang up for labour in connexion with shipping, and the business of ship-chandling and supply attracted Chinese in large numbers. In 1854 the destruction of the manufacturing city of Fatshan wiped out the flourishing weaving industry and impoverished the province. In 1856 war broke out again with the British, the so-called "Arrow" War, and at the end of the year the foreign dwellings and offices in the Canton "factories" were looted and burnt down by the mob. The headquarters of foreign trade for Chinese as well as foreign merchants were henceforward established in Hongkong, which meant the loss forever to Canton of all the auxiliary business connected with it such as banking, exchange, and forwarding or postal services. From August 1857 Canton was blockaded; in December the city was occupied by British and French forces in alliance and remained under the administration of a foreign commission for two years. Full statistics showing the exact course of trade are unobtainable. British Consular Returns of British trade at Canton are given below:— Imports. Exports. 1844 3,451,312 3,883,828 1845 2,321,692 4,492,370 1846 2,213,116 3,222,021 1847 2,085,581 3,406,420 1848 1,334,147 1,766,661 1849 1,646,301 2,392,903 1850 1,638,489 2,355,717 1851 2,481,505 3,247,535 1852 2,368,830 1,566,614«" HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834–81. The export of tea of all kinds from Canton was estimated as follows: Pounds. Pounds. 1844 .... 69,327,500 1852. ... 36,127,100 1845 ... 76,393,000 1853 ... 31,796,000 1846 · ... 71,556,000 1854 . . . . 59,025,100 1847 ... 64,192,500 1855 ... 16,700,000 1848. ... 60,243,000 1856 . ..30,404,400 1849 ... 64,677,500 1857 ... 19,638,300 1850 . . . . 55,067,400 1858 ...24,293,800 68 1851 ... 62,468,100 As regards the composition of the trade at Canton, 1851 may be taken as the critical year:- BRITISH IMPORTS. . Cotton manufactures . Woollen „ . Raw cotton . . . . Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,451,945 818,817 5,500,000 1,323,499 . . TOTAL . . . . . . $10,094,261 BRITISH EXPORTS. . . . . . Tea . . . . Silk . . . . Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,554,100 836,220 . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,019 Total . . . . . . $13,210,312 69 One striking feature is the fact that raw cotton accounted for over half the total imports. The quantity was trifling in comparison with the amount grown in the country, but the difficulty and expense of interprovincial transport made the importation of foreign cotton profitable.70 After 1854 the destruction of Fatshan and the cessation of the spinning industry there put an end to the demand for raw cotton and led to the importation of English-spun yarn instead.70 The distribution of the foreign trade of Canton, on the average, was approximately two- thirds—say 66 per cent.—British, 28 per cent. American, and 6 per cent. for all other nationalities. 71 The most interesting development to trace during this period is the rivalry between Canton and Shanghai. In the year 1851, taken as typical above, the imports at Shanghai were $4,299,192 and the exports $10,402,760. Except for raw cotton, the imports therefore were practically equal 34 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. at the two ports. The exports at Canton were almost wholly accounted for by tea, which was shortly to be diverted to new routes. British Consul Alcock, as early as 1849, prophesied that the tea trade, with the exception of the tea leaf produced in Kwangtung province itself, would move to Shanghai. The distances from the tea regions to Canton were too great, and the only factor favourable to the latter place was the existence of a big market there.72 When this was later temporarily suspended by internal rebellion and external war, the tea trade was definitely lost to Canton, whence the whole world had drawn its supplies for 150 years. In addition to the five treaty ports, Hongkong and Macao must from this period onwards be considered in relation to the external trade of China. The prevailing idea among British merchants in 1842 was that, while foreigners could only trade to the five open ports, the Chinese could trade anywhere in their junks from Hongkong, and thus make it a sort of vast central mart for China's foreign trade. But in the Chinese text of the Treaty of Hoomunchae there was a stipulation forbidding this, which the Chinese authorities, particularly at Canton, took care to enforce strictly. So to the bitter disappointment of the optimistic merchants at Hongkong no trade of this kind developed, and the place remained a sort of second Lintin, an anchorage and a base for the opium receiving ships. A memorial of local merchants in August 1845 reads— "Hongkong has no trade at all and is the mere place and residence of the Government and its officers, with a few British merchants and a very scanty and poor population." 73 An American observer in the following year states— "Hongkong is nothing now but a depot for a few opium smugglers, soldiers, officers, and men-of-war's men."74 But time gradually changed this. The inability of the Manchu officials to deal effectively with smugglers gave enterprising natives at Hongkong the opportunity to exploit a double position as residents under British law without forfeiting their rights as Chinese. Under these equivocal circumstances a smuggling trade from Hongkong to convenient points on the neighbouring coast of China grew up, which has endured to this day. Legitimate trade at Hongkong took a turn for the better after 1848. The first stimulus was the dispute at Macao between the Chinese and Portuguese. The opening up of the Californian goldfields brought emigrant and shipping business to Hongkong, as did the development of whaling and sealing in the Northern Pacific Ocean and the progress of the British Colonies in Australasia. The Taiping Rebellion not only drove trade from Canton, but set in motion a wave of emigration from South China to the East Indies and the Malay Archipelago. In 1848 a regular service of river steamers between Hongkong and Canton was instituted, indicating that the former was beginning to serve as a depot of foreign trade for the latter. This was a convenient arrangement for many foreign vessels, obviating the loss of time on the slow journey up the river. Nevertheless, for many years foreign ships continued to visit Whampoa in order to get the benefit of docking in fresh water. In 1854 Japan was opened to foreign trade, and in 1855 the Philippine Islands followed suit. In the latter year also Great HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 35 Britain negotiated a treaty with Siam, which led to the development of a trade in the import of rice to China. All these changes gradually favoured the steady growth of Hongkong as a port, just at the time when both internal and external troubles were bringing retrogression and stagnation to Canton. Macao was also challenged by the establishment of Hongkong, both as an anchorage for ships and as a safe residence for foreigners. In 1845 the Portuguese declared it an open port,75 and in 1849 Governor Amaral ejected the Chinese Customs stations from within the barrier. Macao was at this time chiefly important as the centre of the lorcha business and of the coolie traffic. Lorchas were vessels of foreign-type hulls and native sails. They were nearly all owned and manned by Chinese, but registered at Macao in order to get the protection of a foreign flag. There is little doubt that their chief occupation was the opium trade and other smuggling. The same development occurred at Hongkong, but to a lesser extent. The coolie traffic was of an even more unsavoury nature. The Portuguese authorities issued many regulations and made strenuous attempts to control it, but the ignorance and poverty of the unfortunate victims and the large profits of those engaged in this nefarious export of human flesh defeated all efforts. This trade was entirely forbidden at Hongkong. In addition to the foreign trade at the treaty ports and at Hongkong and Macao, trade with the Russians continued to be carried on overland, chiefly at Kiakhta, and to a much smaller extent at Kuldja and Tarbagatai. It was under strict official control on both sides. The Russian goods were broadcloth from Europe, and skins and furs from Siberia. The Chinese goods were tea leaf, brick tea, and silk and cotton cloth. No statistics were kept, and values and quantities must be estimated from indirect sources. Thus the Russian exports are calculated to have been worth 15,000,000 roubles in 1841.78 The Chinese exports for 1852 are estimated at 80,000 pieces of cotton cloth, 18,000,000 pounds of tea leaf and 3,000,000 pounds of brick tea.77 Another estimate for the latter during the same year is 9,208,764 pounds of tea leaf and 4,638,060 pounds of brick tea.78 A later writer calculated that the total value of the trade on either side at Kiakhta during the period 1850-52 was about 6,200,000 roubles a year.79 Up to 1851 the trade was one of barter only, the exchange of silver or other money being strictly prohibited. But in 1851 the Russian Government relaxed somewhat this regulation. Another interesting change during this period is that up-to 1853 Fukien teas only were supplied by the Chinese dealers at Maimaichen (Kiakhta). The Taiping Rebellion cut off the bulk of the supplies from Fukien in that year, and some merchants tried Honan and Hupeh teas as a substitute. But once having tasted the latter, the Russians much preferred it, and Fukien tea thenceforward entirely lost its market.80 Two subjects require special notice during this period, viz., opium and currency. The opium traffic remained in the same equivocal position as in the previous period till the very end of this period, when it was again legalised. To the Chinese the war of 1840-42 was over nothing else but opium, and the complete absence of any proviso concerning it in the British peace terms nonplussed them. Opium passed out of international politics, but remained throughout the 36 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. period in international commerce. "It was the chief means by which ... a fair balance of exchange was maintained, by which the means were found to pay for the increasing quantities of tea and silk shipped from China to the markets of the West." 81 Exact statistics even of the legitimate trade are lacking, and so naturally there are no figures available showing the import of this illicit commodity. Statistics exist, however, of the export from India, and from these and other sources the following statement of estimated consumption in China has been drawn up:— Chests. Chests. 1842 28,508 1851 44,561 1843 36,699 1852 48,600 1844 23,667 1853 54,574 1845 33,010 1854 61,523 1846 28,072 1855 65,354 1847 33,250 1856 58,606 1848 38,000 1857 60,385 1849 43,075 1858 61,96682 1850 42,925 The attitude of the British Government towards opium was that the enforcement of the laws of China was entirely the concern of the Chinese Government. Instructions sent out to British representatives in China continued in the tone of Lord Palmerston's to Captain Elliot, namely, to avoid committing themselves in any way to the enforcement of China's revenue laws. The British claimed that it was out of their power to prevent opium from going to China, since if they prohibited it on British ships, there were already plenty of vessels under other flags engaged in the trade, and the number could be indefinitely increased; and if it were prohibited in British India, it was already produced in independent India, Persia, and Turkey, and the supply would certainly be increased to meet the demand. The simple truth of the matter was that it required international agreement to stop the import of opium from abroad into China, and that the international conscience of the time had not developed sufficiently for such action. The British attitude, though perhaps unsympathetic if judged by the standards of to-day, was consistent and business-like. The American Treaty of Wanghia provided that United States citizens taking part in the opium or other contraband trade should be deprived of the protection of their Government. But this in effect allowed Americans to engage in the traffic as freely as others, since it left the crucial point, the actual enforcement of the law, to the officials of China, who were powerless to do so. The number of American firms, however, who continued to deal in opium was not large. The opium trade in fact gradually passed into the hands of Jews, Parsees, and other orientals able to claim British citizenship. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 37 Towards the end of this period opium was in the position of having been tacitly though not expressly legalised. From 1856 opium was openly admitted at Shanghai on duty payment of Tls. 12 per picul, and at Foochow as "foreign medicine" at $20 per picul.83 From then onwards opium was regularly quoted in the market prices.84 In April 1857 the Shanghai duty rate was officially extended to Ningpo.85 The procedure was that the foreign merchant paid no duty, but the Chinese merchant who bought and landed the stuff from the store-ship did so."" The newly appointed foreign Inspectors of Customs likewise took no cognizance of the opium trade. This tacit legalisation was due to the urgent necessity of raising funds during the Taiping Rebellion. It prepared and smoothed the way for the entirely voluntary legalisation of the trade by the Chinese in November 1858, when opium was officially included in the new tariff. Currency during this period in China was in a sort of two-fold condition. The real and only currency of the country was copper cash, the basis of all retail transactions everywhere, and the standard by which 90 per cent. of the people measured their well-being. Silver was the medium only for official finance and—chiefly in the form of dollars—for foreign trade. Silver and also gold coins have both been used at different periods of previous Chinese history, but none have been issued in modern times,87 until the establishment of a mint on foreign lines at Canton in 1889 by the Viceroy Chang Chih-tung. China has produced only a negligible quantity of silver within her own boundaries, and practically the whole of her stock of silver has been accumulated by her merchants in the course of foreign trade. At the period now under consideration the silver introduced by the foreigners was mainly in the form of dollars, Spanish, Mexican, and South American. This was because in the course of time the merchants of Canton had found these coins to be of reliable standards and purer than their own sycee. The earliest and most popular dollar was the Spanish, or Carolus, dollar. At Canton at this period dollars of equal weight and purity were received alike. The Mexican dollar had already to a great extent replaced the Carolus. But at Shanghai, where at the end of our period the bulk of China's export trade had been concentrated, and where consequently there was the greatest demand for dollars to send up-country to the tea and silk producing areas, a very marked preference had developed in favour of the Carolus dollar. During the 1850's a curious if not unique situation developed at Shanghai. The rapid growth of exports much exceeding imports in value could only be adjusted by the movement of bullion. Such silver as came to Shanghai was in the form of the Carolus dollar, and these disappeared as promptly as they were imported. The interior of the country was being ravaged by the Taiping rebels, and people required their wealth in its most portable or most easily concealed shape; even the copper coinage of the country was not wanted; nothing but the Carolus dollar would do. To obtain this coin the currencies of the world were combed out; but the demand remained insatiable. From 1853 onwards the Carolus dollar was always at a premium over its true silver equivalent. This premium reached 50 per cent. in 1855 and over 80 per cent. in 1856. The curiosities of the situation are well illustrated by the following facts. 38 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Dollars intrinsically the same were worth different exchange values, the Mexican dollar at Canton being quoted at 4j. \d., and the Carolus dollar at Shanghai being quoted simultaneously at 1s. 9d. Also at Shanghai 374^ grains of fine silver in the form of a Carolus dollar was the exchange equivalent of 696 grains of fine silver in the form of sycee.88 By the summer of 1856 no more Carolus dollars could be found, and as hoarding continued, the currency in use at Shanghai became non-existent. "Trade is disorganised and the currency has disappeared."89 The confusion in business became extreme. Many remedial measures were proposed and discussed, but counsels were divided and there was no central authority to take control. The foreign merchants decided to adopt the Mexican dollar, as had already been done at Canton. But the Chinese at Shanghai did not take to the Mexican dollar readily; it was unfamiliar and unwanted up-country; and as the native bankers were unwilling to lose the existing premium on the Carolus dollar, the efforts of the foreigners were defeated. Later, in March 1857, the Chinese bankers and merchants agreed that all transactions in Shanghai should be in Shanghai taels, a new conventional tael. The foreigners had to follow suit, and on a given day all accounts were changed over, unit for unit from dollars (still at a premium, of course) to taels. The Shanghai tael, though "an intangible thing which no one has ever seen",90 was immediately a great success, and is still to-day the medium of international exchange for China's foreign trade in general. A contemporary observer writes of sycee or tael currency in China— "The absence of a national coinage in the precious metals among so commercial a people as the Chinese is so singular an exception to the general usage, even of Asiatic nations, that one is led to enquire into the reasons for it; and his surprise is rather increased to find that the cause is to be found in the commercial freedom which has done so much to elevate the people. The Government on the one hand is not strong enough everywhere in its wide domain to punish those subjects who counterfeit its coin; and on the other hand not honest enough itself to issue pieces of a uniform standard for a length of years and thereby obtain the confidence of its subjects. It will not receive debased metal in payment of taxes, and it is unable to force tax-payers to take adulterated coin. The result has been that all parties have adopted a form of bullion that partakes of the nature of coin in the single point that the pieces are of a known weight and purity; and yet which can be tested without much loss and bears no effigy to authenticate its origin." 91 Finally to sum up the foreign trade as a whole, statistical treatment or exposition is not available.92 "An estimate of the total value and quantity of all the exports and imports between China and other countries by sea is almost impossible, owing partly to the uncertainty attending the calculation of nearly every article, and still more to the impossibility of separating between the foreign and coast traffic."93 Nevertheless, the same investigator gives as rough estimates $60,000,000 for the total value of the foreign trade of China in 1844 and $125,000,000 for 1854-55. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 39 The period dealt with above can, however, readily be pictured as a whole, through the medium of a series of glimpses. 1. —The opening of four new ports gave rise to ultra-optimistic ideas of future trade in China among the officials, merchants, and manufacturers of foreign countries. For example, Sir Henry Pottinger, the British Plenipotentiary, after the conclusion of the Treaty of Nanking, announced publicly that the treaty had opened to trade a country so vast "that all the mills of Lancashire could not make stocking stuff sufficient for one of its provinces." 94 With undue optimism among foreign merchants there went a profound ignorance of the habits and wants of the Chinese people. Not only were the recognised and staple imports shipped in excess quantities, as during the years 1843-45, but ridiculous ventures like large consignments of table knives and forks, pianofortes, etc., were sent to China on speculation.95 2. —The opening boom was followed by a period of depression, at least as regards foreign imports other than opium. Imports from Great Britain into China sank from £2,500,000 in 1845 to £1,574,000 in 1850. British traders were greatly discouraged, so much so that in 1847 a Select Committee of the British Parliament investigated the whole condition of the trade with China. A report by a British official in the year 1852 complained that after 10 years' open trade, and after the abolition of monopolies on both sides, China did not consume one-half the quantity of British manufactures imported by Holland, Australia, or the North American Colonies, or even by the West Indies.98 3. —The ideas of the foreign traders and manufacturers of the time throw an interesting light on the causes of their disappointment. Their chief obsession was the existence of various impediments, some real, some imaginary, to complete free trade. They wanted more ports opened; they complained of the system of taxation in transit; they imagined that Chinese officials and gentry were engaged in a sort of conspiracy to prevent their goods being sold. Their complaints on taxation read queerly from the Chinese point of view when it is recalled that the tax on tea in Great Britain was 2s. \d. per pound,97 plus an additional 5 per cent., by which in 1846 the British Government raised a revenue of £5,000,000.98 Taxation in China amounted to about 16 per cent. on silk and 30 to 37 per cent. on tea.99 Their chief positive remedial proposals were to increase exports from China, for example by lowering the heavy duty in England on tea, and to reduce the import of opium into China, thus making way for other imports. These views on trade were strangely mechanical, running on the lines "imports equal exports; increase exports and you will then increase imports." The modern psychological view of demand as a need or want calling to be fulfilled is curiously lacking in all the discussions of the time. It never seemed to strike them to doubt whether the Chinese consumer had a desire or "want" for cotton and woollen cloth of foreign kinds, any more than for table cutlery or pianofortes. Mr. (later Sir) Rutherford Alcock, British Consul at Shanghai, was among the first to confute this mechanical idea of trade and to bring into prominence the real nature of any effective economic demand among the Chinese for foreign manufactures.100 The truth was that the Chinese had no particular want, or indeed much use at all, for 40 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. foreign manufactures. "The Chinese believe that their true trade policy is to sell and not to buy."101 China was entirely self-sufficient in manufactured commodities. Foreign manufactures had to compete both in utility and in price with the native products of a people who had in the course of centuries developed a completely adequate industry of their own.102 The real hindrances to the growth of a demand for foreign manufactures were firstly the ignorance of foreign merchants as to the actual requirements of the Chinese people, and secondly the unfamiliarity of foreign goods to the population at large. Even at the end of our present period foreign imports were only known at one or two places on the outer fringe of a vast empire. Nothing could really have prevented the Chinese buying goods that suited their purposes better for the price paid.103 4. —A word of caution in this connexion should, however, be written. It must be remembered that the period concerned was prior to the development of the modern, purely money economy in international trade. Finance had not yet become a highly specialised and intricately organised service at the disposal of the business man. The merchant of those times could not just sell his goods for money and leave to international bankers the transfer of an equivalent sum elsewhere. In other words, the foreign trade of China had not yet completely left the barter stage. Currency was always scarce, and remittance had chiefly to be effected in the inconvenient and expensive form of bullion. In actual business transactions the foreign merchant found that the best way of disposing of his wares was to get some Chinese merchant to take them at a book value against Chinese produce to be exported. In this way the "barter price" was often different from the "cash price," 104 and so long as the foreign merchant made a profit on the whole transaction, taken both ways, he might well be content. In view of actual trading methods, the economic views mentioned above become more easily understandable. 5. —In spite of the dissatisfaction of the foreign merchant, the imports of foreign manufactures did expand during the period, though slowly. The value of British exports to China (including Hongkong) were as follows:— Average: £ 1845-49 1,730,000 1850-54 1,800,000 1855-59 2,650,000105 6. —Other imports into China in order of importance were, firstly, opium; the demand for this drug continued to expand— Average: Chests. 1845-49 39,000 1850-54 53,500 1855-59 68,500108 Secondly, treasure; the movement of silver out of China which marked the previous period continued during the first half of the present period; for example, the export of specie from HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 41 China in 1845 was estimated at about ,£2,000,000,107 but in the second half the remarkable expansion of exports caused a reversal of the movement; the following table shows the importation of silver from Great Britain into China during these years:— Ounces. Ounces. 1850 .... 244,860 1854 ... . 9,602,480 1851 .... 511,580 1855 .... 5,471,080 1852 .... 259,080 1856 .... 12,666,080108 1853 . . . . 2,278,480 Thirdly, raw cotton; this all came from India and all went to Canton; the average import during the period 1843-56 was 244,629 bales, of a value of 5 £ to 6 million dollars annually.109 7.—The predominant and perhaps ultimately the most important feature of China's external trade during this period was the astonishing growth of the demand in foreign countries for China's two staple products, tea and silk. This has already been dealt with above, but as a recapitulation, the following table of the export to Great Britain alone affords a graphic picture of the movement:— Tea. Silk. Average: Pounds. Pounds. 1845-49 52,000,000 1,820,000 1850-54 67,000,000 2,860,000 1855-59 74,000,000 4,410,000110 8. —"In the foreign trade of China during the years 1842-58 the English had the largest share, being probably directly interested, as importers and exporters, in fully two-thirds of the commodities passing in and out, but in this must be included the silk which they handled and transmitted through London on behalf of French buyers; the Americans,came next, especially as shippers of tea, and in addition they had developed an important carrying trade, reaching its highest level between 1850 and 1855, in which they acted as carriers of the goods of others, chiefly between China and London; the interest of other nations was as yet of the slightest."111 In 1855 there were 155 British firms, of which 44 were Parsee or Indian, and 23 American firms, out of a total of 209 foreign firms in China. There were 650 British and 150 Americans in a total of 942 adult male civilian foreigners in China.112 9. —No picture of commercial dealings with foreigners in China at this time is complete without some description of their lawless or extra-legal activities. The enormous trade in opium has already been discussed above; this, however, can fairly be regarded as extra-legal rather than lawless.113 The coolie traffic, the export of contract or indentured labour, has also been mentioned. An estimate of the total number involved in this semi-slave trade114 for the years 1847-62 is 150,000. The free emigration was twice this.115 Lorchas under foreign register were everywhere engaged up and down the coast, trading with the unopened ports. 42 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922 31. A contemporary observer describes them as really smugglers. Most were nominally Portuguese and some British, but all were really owned and controlled by Chinese who took advantage of foreign registry at Macao or Hongkong as a cover for lawlessness and oppression.118 The great majority of foreign merchants were honest, respectable traders. But China as a whole, and Shanghai in particular, was invaded by a swarm of adventurers from many nations during this period. Smuggling, illegal trade, evasion of duties, dealing in arms and other contraband, were engaged in on all sides. The British Consul for some years in Shanghai, writing in 1857, reported to the British Foreign Office as follows: "The worthless character of a numerous gathering of foreigners of all nations, under no effective control, is a national reproach as well as a national calamity. They dispute the field of commerce with honester men, and convert privileges of access and trade into means of fraud and violence. In this career of license, unchecked by any fear of their own Governments, and protected in a great degree by treaties from the action of the native authorities, the Chinese are the first and greatest, but by no means the only sufferers." And farther on: "Foreign merchants, in direct custom-house relations with Chinese authorities all more or less venal and corrupt, launched into a wholesale system of smuggling and fraudulent devices for the evasion of duties. Chinese laws and treaty stipulations were alike disregarded, sometimes by one party, with forcible infractions of port regulations; oftener by bribery and collusion between the native authorities and the foreigners." And again: "Contempt for all Chinese authority, and disregard of inherent rights, habitual infractions of treaty stipulations, license and violence wherever the off-scum of the European nations found access, and peaceful people to plunder—such were the first fruits of this important concession."117 That these strong words covered no exaggeration is borne out by the frequent pronounce- ments in the editorial columns of the contemporary foreign press to the same effect. "Nothing in all the land seems better regulated than smuggling, or to be conducted more systematically than this branch of business."118 "The foreign merchant, no longer circumscribed in his operations by fear of the intervention of Consular authority to compel the payment of duties, contrives to so arrange his business that a large amount of cargo passes free of duty, to the great detriment of his honest neighbours. . . . The state of things in regard to smuggling gets worse and worse at this port." 119 "The records of the earliest commercial intercourse of the West with China are replete with the fruits of the miseries and mischiefs entailed by the lawless and law-defying proceedings of foreign adventurers, who, far distant from the control of their own Governments, made the name of foreigner universally detested by their flagrant outrages. As it was in the 16th Century so it remains to a great degree to the present day." 120 HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 43 A contemporary observer went so far as to say that it was the organised system of smuggling that led to the establishment of the foreign Inspectorate of Customs in order to protect the honest merchant.121 That the first foreign Inspectorship at Shanghai accomplished this end to some extent is evidenced by an address to the U.S. Minister signed by the American merchants of Shanghai, in August 1856, in which they protest against the foreign Inspectorship as a permanent institution on the ground that "... we cannot but perceive the great disadvantage in which we are placed by it in comparison with the other ports. Custom-house business in China under Chinese supervision is conducted with a facility which greatly aids in the despatch of business." 122 The Taiping Rebellion gave rise to a flourishing semi-illegal traffic in arms and munitions of war. It is estimated that 3,000 guns were sold in the Chinese market in Singapore in one year, while all marine stores and shops in both Shanghai and Hongkong sold guns and small arms.123 10.—The period began with a state of war, and ended with another war on an even larger scale. The foreign powers started to claim revision of their treaties in 1854. Negotiations were still in course concerning revision, when hostilities broke out between the British and the Chinese on a side issue, namely the status of a Chinese-owned but Hongkong-registered lorcha, the Arrow, whose crew had been arrested by the High Commissioner Yeh of Canton. Canton was attacked by the British under Admiral Seymour in October 1856. The Americans were also temporarily involved, and silenced and dismantled the Barrier Forts in November. In December the mob attacked and completely destroyed the abandoned foreign factories at Canton. In 1857 Lord Elgin and Baron Gros were sent out as Plenipotentiaries on a special mission to China by the British and French Governments respectively. In August Canton was blockaded by the British and French allies, and the city captured in December. In 1858 the Allied Forces proceeded to Taku, and in June the various Treaties of Tientsin were signed with the Russians, Americans, British, and French. These treaties created new conditions of trade and opened up a new period in the history of China's foreign trade, which will be considered in the next chapter. 44 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. NOTES. 1 H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 333. 'British Parliamentary Papers, 1848: "Returns of Trade, 1847," Enclosure 13, p. 46: Report by Mr. R. Alcock. * "North-China Herald," 16th November 1850. 4 H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 366. s Montalto de Jesus: "Historic Shanghai," p. 47. 'A. J. Sargent: "Anglo-Chinese Commerce," p. 140. "H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 467. 8 C. F. Remer: "Foreign Trade of China," p. 30. • "North-China Herald;" 27th September 1851. lu "North-China Herald," 25th March 1854. 11 British Parliamentary Papers, 1847: "Returns of Trade, 1846," pp. 26-32. 1* S. Wells Williams: "Chinese Commercial Guide, 1863," p. 183. 19 J. Scarth: "Twelve Years in China," p. 35. 11 H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 363. "British Parliamentary Papers, 1848: No. 4, Enclosure 7. "H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 360. "Ibid., p. 366. 1• S. Wells Williams: "Chinese Commercial Guide, 1863," p. 185. 1* H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 359. 20 British Parliamentary Papers, 1857-59: "Correspondence relating to the Earl of Elgin's Special Missions, 1857-9": Memorandum by Mr. Consul D. B. Robertson on trade of Shanghai, p. 116. "Quoted in S. Lane-Poole: "Life of Sir Henry Parkes," p. 88. 22 R. Fortune: "Residence among the Chinese 1853-6," pp. 427 et seg. 23 S. Wells Williams: "Chinese Commercial Guide, 1863," p. 197. 24 J. Scarth: "Twelve Years in China," p. 110. "H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 358. 26 Ibid., p. 366. N.B.—The weight of various kinds of bales of silk is as follows:— 1 bale of fine raw silk = 80 catties. 1 bale of wild raw silk = 100 catties. 1 bale of hydraulic-pressed waste silk = 200 catties. 1 bale of cocoons =150 catties. 27 H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 466. 28 All the figures in this paragraph are from the above-mentioned volume, p. 366. -' H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 358. 30 Ibid., p. 465. 31 "North-China Herald," 27th September 1851. 32 G. Wingrove Cooke: "China 1857-8," p. 200. 33 Imports and exports in British vessels at Shanghai during these years are shown in the following table:— (000's omitted.) Imports. Exports. Total. S 8 S 1843-44 .... 2,522 2,360 4,882 1845 5,195 6,044 11,239 1846 3,889 6,492 10,381 1847 4,311 6,726 11,037 1848 2,533 5,080 7,613 1849 4,413 6,514 10,927 1850 3,908 8,021 11,929 ("North-China Herald," 27th September 1851). HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 45 The proportion borne by British trade to the total foreign trade of Shanghai at the time can be estimated from the following partial statistics:— (000's omitted.) Imports. Exports. All Countries. British only. All Countries. British only. £ £ £ £ 1845 1,224 1,082 1,347 1,259 1846 1,066 810 1,527 1,353 1847 1,009 898 1,517 1,401 1848 806 570 1,306 1,143 (Extracted from British Parliamentary Papers, 1847—49, various Returns of Trade in China.) 34 "North-China Herald," 15th March 1851. ""North-China Herald," 25th March 1854. ** Partial statistics of the legitimate trade at Shanghai during the second half of the period are given below:— (000's omitted.) Imports. Exports. Total. 1851 84,299 310,403 814,702 1852 (British only) (85,303) (810,281) (815,584) 1853 88,845 825,827 834,672 1856 Tls. 8,700 Tls. 30,294 Tls. 38,994 1857 14,549 „ 33,344 „ 47,893 1858 18,895 ,. 30,624 ,. 49,519 This table has been compiled from the "North-China Herald," 3rd July 1852, 25th March 1854, 1st July 1854, 8th July 1854, 26th June 1858, and 30th April 1859. The figures for 1852 refer to British trade only, and not to the total foreign trade. The figures for 1*52 and 1853 were originally in sterling and have been converted at exchange 4s. 2d. to the dollar. The big jump forward in imports 1856-58 is due to the transfer of coastal trade from native to foreign vessels, following the establishment of the foreign Inspectorship of Customs at Shanghai, imports from other Chinese ports being here included in the figures. ""North-China Herald," 25th March 1854. '* Full statistics are given below:—■ Season. Tea. Silk. Pounds. Bales. 1843-44 .... 1,149,000 1844-45 .... 3,801,000 6,433 1845^16 .... 12,460,000 15,192 1846-47 .... 12,494,000 15,972 1847-48 .... 15,711,000 21,176 1848-49 .... 18,303,000 18,134 1849-50 .... 22,363,000 15,237 1850-51 . . .... 36,723,000 17,243 1851-52 .... 57,675,000 20,631 1852-53 . , .... 69,431,000 28,076 1853-54 .... 50,344,000 58,319 1854-55 . . . . 80,221,000 53,965 1855-56 .... 59,300,000 57,463 1856-57 .... 40,914,000 92,160 1857-58 .... 51,317,000 66,391 (S. Wells Williams: "Chinese Commercial Guide, 1863," p. "Of the total quantities shown as exported in Note 38 (above) the following amounts were sent to the United States of America:— Season. Tea. Silk. Pounds. Bales. 1847- 48 1,741,000 1848- 49 2,986,000 35 1849- 50 5,624,000 415 1850- 51 11,069,000 250 1851- 52 18,000,000 298 ("North-China Herald," 23rd April 1853). 46 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 40 British Parliamentary Papers, 1848: "Report of Select Committee of 1847," p. III. 41 S. Wells Williams: "Chinese Commercial Guide, 1863," p. 106. 4a British Parliamentary Papers, 1848: No. 4, Enclosure 13, p. 43. 43 This table has been compiled from various sources: figures for 1851 from the "North-China Herald," 3rd July 1852; for 1853 from the "North-China Herald" of 1st and 8th July 1854; for 1858 from the Shanghai Custom House statement on the trade of Shanghai in 1858, quoted in the "North-China Herald," 30th April 1859, and from the British Consular Report on the Trade of Shanghai for 1858, quoted in the "North-China Herald" of 16th July 1859. It is very characteristic of the inexactitude and unreliability of such statistics as are available of this period that these two latter contemporary official reports should often disagree. The figures for 1858 include imports and exports of Chinese produce from and to other ports, the so-called coast trade, vide also Note No. 36 above. The miscellaneous import alone may be estimated at about 510,000,000. 44 "North-China Herald," 3rd July 1852. 45 British Parliamentary Papers, 1857: " Returns of Trade with China," p. 2. 48 G. Wingrove Cooke : "China 1857-8," p. 96. "1853. Total. British only. (000's omitted.) £ £ Foreign Exports from Shanghai .... 5,381 4,337 Foreign Imports to Shanghai .... 1,843 1,045 Total Foreign Trade 1 rn re at Shanghai . . J*-7'224 *-5,38Z (From "North-China Herald," 1st and 8th July 1854). 1858. Total. * British only. (000's omitted.) Sh.Tls. Sh.Tls. Foreign Exports from Shanghai . . . 30,624 23,524 Foreign Imports to Shanghai .... 18,895 10,850 ^t'sh^™7^} ■ Sh Tb-49,519 Sh Tb- 34,374 (From " North-China Herald," 16th July 1859). » IMPORT TRADE BY FLAG OF VESSELS. (000's omitted.) 1853. £ British 1,045 American 663 All other 135 Total £1,843 (000's omitted.) 1858. Sh.Tls. British 10,850 American 3,451 All other 4,716 Total Sh.Tls. 19,017 *• "North-China Herald," 17th September 1853. 6U "North-China Herald," 12th November 1853. "Mr. R. Mcl.ane, U.S. Commissioner to China, ultimately decided that Americans should pay one-third of the back duties and tonnage dues that remained unsettled subsequent to 7th September 1853.—"North-China Herald," 2nd December 1854. 1! The bonds were subsequently returned by order of the Earl of Clarendon, the British Foreign Minister.— "North-China Herald," 16th September 1854. 53 G. Wingrove Cooke: " China 1857-8," p. 215. 51 British Parliamentary Papers, 1848: "Consul Alcock's Repo,-' on Shanghai," p. 47. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 47 ""North-China Herald," 29th November 1851. 5« "North-China Herald," 9th October 1852. 57 "North-China Herald," 30th July 1853. 59 "North-China Herald," 8th December 1855. ""North-China Herald," 28th March, 1857. ""Chinese Repository," Vol. XIX, August 1850, p. 462. ""Chinese Repository," Vol. XII, September 1843, p. 500. •i S. Wells Williams: "Chinese Commercial Guide, 1863," p. 161. 63 J. Scarth: "Twelve Years in China," p. 262. ""Chinese Repository," Vol. XII, June 1843, p. 331. ""Chinese Repository," Vol. XIX, July 1850, pp. 406-08. "British Parliamentary Papers, 1848: "Consul Alcock's Report on Shanghai," p. 70. ""North-China Herald," 25th March 1854. "s H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 366. •• "North-China Herald," 3rd July 1852. 70 S. Wells Williams: "Chinese Commercial Guide, 1863," p. 88. 71 Estimated from various statistics. 78 "North-China Herald," 7th December 1850. 73 Quoted in J. Eitel's " History of Hongkong." 74 Ibid. ""Chinese Repository," Vol. XIV, March 1845, p. 151. 78 H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 475. 77 Sir Harry Parkes, quoted in H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 475. 79 H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 475. 79 "North-China Herald," 12th December 1857. 8u Article in " North-China Herald," 24th July 1869. 11 H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, pp. 539, 540. "Ibid., p. 556. "British Parliamentary Papers, 1857-59: "Mr. Consul D. B. Robertson's Memorandum on Commercial Relations with China," p. 169. 81 "North-China Herald," 21st March 1857. "H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 551. M J. Scarth: "Twelve Years in China," p. 297. "S. Wells Williams: "Chinese Commercial Guide, 1863," p. 267. M H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 469. •* "North-China Herald," quoted in H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 468. H H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 471. "S. Wells Williams: "Chinese Commercial Guide, 1863," p. 265. "The dirict trade between Great Britain itself, i.e., excluding India and other British possessions, and China, inclusive of Hongkong, was as follows:— Exports Imports Exports Imports to China, from China. to China. from China. £ £ £ £ 1842. . . . 969,381 1850 1,574,145 5,849,025 1843 . . . 1,456,180 1851 .... 2,161,268 7,971,491 1844. . . . 2,305,617 1852 2,503,599 7,712,771 1845 . . . 2,394,827 1853 .... 1,749,597 8,255,615 1846. . . . 1,791,439 1854 1,000 716 10,588,126 1847 . . . 1,503,969 1855 .... 1,277,944 10,664,315 1848. . . . 1,445,960 1856 2,216,123 10,652,195 1849 . . . 1,537,109 — (See British Parliamentary Papers, 1857: "Returns of Trade from China, 1833-56.") 48 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. S. Wells Williams: "Chinese Commercial Guide, 1863," p. 151. 44 Reported in a Memorandum by Mr. Mitchell, British Parliamentary Papers, 1857-59: "Correspondence relating to the Earl of Elgin's Special Missions, 1857-9," p. 244. 95 G. Wingrove Cooke: "China 1857-8," pp. 168, 169. M British Parliamentary Papers, 1857-59: "Correspondence relating to the Earl of Elgin's Special Missions, 1857-9": Memorandum by Mr. Mitchell, p. 243. "The price of tea in England at this time, round about 1850, was approximately 3s. per pound for the commonest congou, and upwards for better qualities. *• A. J. Sargent: "Anglo-Chinese Diplomacy and Commerce," p. 131. "British Parliamentary Papers, 1857-59: "Correspondence relating to the Earl of Elgin's Special Missions, 1857-9," p. 104. 100 British Parliamentary Papers, 1848: "Returns of Trade," Enclosure No. 13: "Consul Alcock's Report on Trade of Shanghai," pp. 73-77. 101 G. Wingrove Cooke: "China 1857-8," p. XV (Introduction). 104 British Parliamentary Papers: "Correspondence relating to the Earl of Elgin's Special Missions, 1857—9": Memorandum by Mr. Mitchell, pp. 246, 247. »• G. Wingrove Cooke: "China 1857-8," p. 203. 104 Ibid., pp. 201, 202. 105 A. J. Sargent: "Anglo-Chinese Diplomacy and Commerce," p. 132. 108 Ibid. 107 British Parliamentary Papers, 1847: "Report of Select Committee ": Appendix, Returns of Trade, 1845. 104 British Parliamentary Papers, 1857: "Returns of Trade from China, 1833-56." 104 S. Wells Williams: "Chinese Commercial Guide, 1863," p. 88. 1,0 A. J. Sargent: "Anglo-Chinese Diplomacy and Commerce," p. 132. 111 H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 557. 112 "Anglo-Chinese Calendar for 1855," quoted in H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 558. 114 H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I, p. 543. 114 A. Michie: "The Englishman in China," Vol. II, p. 169. 114 S. Wells Williams: "Chinese Commercial Guide, 1863," p. 236. 118 Robert Fortune: "Residence among the Chinese, 1853-6," p. 425. British Parliamentary Papers, 1857-59: "Correspondence relating to the Earl of Elgin's Special Missions, 1857-9," Enclosure to No. 49: Memorandum by Mr. Consul Alcock. »• "Chinese Repository," Vol. XIX, July 1850, p. 393. "North-China Herald," 15th May 1852. 120 "North-China Herald," 9th October 1858. 121 J. Scarth: "Twelve Years in China," p. 262. 122 Quoted in H. B. Morse: "The Trade and Administration of the Chinese Empire," Third Edition (1921), p. 388. 144 Montalto de Jesus: "Historic Shanghai," Third Edition (1921), p. 206. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-8L 49 Chapter IV. THE FIRST YEARS OF THE MODERN REGIME, 1859-71.1 In April 1858 the allied French and British fleets arrived off Taku. In May the Taku Forts were occupied, and, under the menace of further force, the Imperial Government at Peking appointed High Commissioners to negotiate the revision of the existing treaties, as demanded by the foreign nations. While the Russian and United States representatives were not authorised to resort to force, they were actually accompanied by ships of war, whose presence with the allied fleet, though they never actually participated in the fighting, must have had a considerable moral effect. These two non-combatant powers were the first to come to an agreement with China. The Russian Treaty of Tientsin was signed on the 13th June 1858, and the American Treaty on the I8th June^ In both treaties, however, "most favoured nation" clauses secured for the powers concerned any privileges or advantages that might later be obtained by the French or British, and their more moderate terms can only be described as a diplomatic gesture. Even the French left to their allies the onus of dealing with the two chief stumbling-blocks to final agreement, namely, the right of foreigners to travel in the interior for purposes of trade, and the permanent residence of foreign envoys at Peking. The representatives of the Manchu Court resisted these demands stubbornly until literally the last moment, but were finally compelled to yield under the threats and relentless pressure of the British. The British Treaty was signed on the 26th June 1858, and the French Treaty on the day following. Negotiations to draw up the tariff 2 and trade regulations were concluded later at Shanghai. The General Tariff was on the basis of 5 per cent. Only opium, tea, and silk were excepted. Opium, already tacitly legalised, was included in the tariff at Tls. 30.00 per picul, equivalent to 7 or 8 per cent. ad valorem. The duty on tea Was Tls. 2.50 per picul. This worked out at about \d per pound, as against \1d. per pound collected on tea in England, one of the signatories to the agreement binding China to the former rate! Silk was charged Tls. 10 per picul, much under 5 per cent., but any suggestion to increase it was strongly opposed by the French, whose only trade interest in China was the silk business. Foreign household goods and groceries, imported for the personal use of foreigners, were exempted from duty altogether, a privilege which during the 44 years of its existence must have cost the Chinese Government quite a considerable sum of revenue in all. The export of rice, copper cash, beans, and beancake3 were prohibited, and salt and munitions of war were absolute contraband. It was also agreed that a uniform system of Customs should be instituted at all ports. This, of course, meant the extension elsewhere of the Foreign Inspectorate of Customs established in Shanghai in 1854. It is worth noting here that the proviso in the British Treaty of Nanking whereby British Consuls were responsible, and became securities, for the payment of duties by their nationals was not included in the Treaty of Tientsin, and so lapsed altogether. The principle of extraterritorial jurisdiction for foreigners was defined and reaffirmed in greater detail. 4 50 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Eleven new ports were agreed to be opened to foreign residence and trade, namely, Newchwang, Tientsin,* Tengchow, Hankow, Kiukiang, Nanking, Chinkiang, Taiwan, Tamsui, Swatow, and Kiungchow. Illicit trade had already been carried on by foreigners for some years at Taiwan and Tamsui, in Formosa, and at Swatow. Chefoo was in the event substituted for Tengchow, while Kiungchow in Hainan was not opened till 1876, and Nanking not till 1899. The arrangements in the Treaty of Nanking covering the trade in native junks to and from Hongkong were not renewed, and this place became an absolutely free port. On the other hand, the British agreed to assist in piracy suppression measures, work which in practice had already been undertaken occasionally by the British Navy. The position of foreign Consuls was further defined, and their official recognition provided for. Foreigners were to be allowed to purchase land and houses at the treaty ports without obstruction and without exaction on either side. Toleration of religious views was enforced. Customs procedure was fully defined and regulated in the trade rules. Foreign ships papers were deposited with the Consul concerned, only to be released when clearance was granted by the Customs, theoretically after the payment of all dues and duties by the ship and her cargo. The foreign merchant was amply protected. Even in questions of valuation the Chinese Customs had no final decision, and disputes were to be settled by arbitration. In other matters appeal could always be made by the foreign merchant to his Consul. Duty-paid imports could be re-exported free to other ports, and a drawback granted if re-exported abroad. Tonnage dues were reduced from 5 mace a ton to 4 mace, and a certificate secured immunity from re-levy t! for four months. It should be noted that, while the original measurement fees were purely revenue charges, the tonnage dues substituted for them in the Treaty of Nanking became in the Treaty of Tientsin hypothecated in part to the provision of lights and aids to navigation, over which the Consuls and the Chinese authorities were to consult together, and the "cost of which was to be provided for out of the tonnage dues." Transit dues, the commutation of internal duties allowed by the Treaty of Nanking to foreign goods bought or owned by foreign merchants, but not previously defined in amount, were now fixed at 2\ per cent. ad valorem, or half the tariff rate proper; opium, however, was excepted and was not allowed the privilege of the transit certificate. The right to participate in the coast trade, the trade in native produce from one port to another, was nowhere in the treaties granted to the foreign merchant. But as the latter was specifically allowed to re-export his own cargo elsewhere, or to discharge part of his cargo at one place and the rest at other places, it was in practice impossible to prevent him engaging in the native trade also. In fact for some years prior to the Treaties of Tientsin foreign vessels, under the purely Chinese management of the Customs, had been allowed to carry native produce from place to place, the greater speed and security of foreign vessels and, above all, the insurability of their cargo appealing strongly to the practical business instincts of the Chinese merchant. During the period now to be considered, the process of substitution of sailing vessels by steamers aided and hastened the transfer of the carriage of China's coastal trade from junks HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 51 to foreign vessels. The "coast trade" duty was later fixed at 2\ per cent., the same rate as transit dues, being theoretically, one supposes, a commutation of the internal duties which would have been levied had the goods gone by land. It will be seen that, except for the privilege obtained by the foreigners of travelling in the interior for purposes of trade, there was nothing radically new in the Tientsin Treaties. They were rather an elucidation, development, and consolidation of the Nanking Treaties; the latter were henceforth to be interpreted in every way as the foreign powers wished, and they were so reaffirmed. Nevertheless, they constituted a definitely new stage in the history of foreign trade in China. The Tientsin Treaties created the system under which trade with foreign nations was regulated, fostered, and grew to undreamt-of dimensions for the next 70 years. The ring of treaty ports round the coast; the centralised administration of the Customs, cutting across ancient provincial independencies; the privileged movement in the interior of goods from, or to, abroad under transit certificate; the wholesale transfer of China's internal trade from inland trade routes and from native junks to foreign vessels along the coasts and rivers; the privileged position of foreign merchants and ships, secure under the treaties and the protection of their Consuls; all these constituted a change profound and definite, creating a trade regime which has endured in its essentials to the present day. In the following year, 1859, foreign envoys proceeded to Taku en route to Peking, as previously arranged, for the purpose of the exchange of ratifications. There they were stopped and invited to go via Peitang instead. But the British envoy was prohibited by the instructions of his Government from travelling to Peking by any other than the main direct route, Taku and Tientsin. In attempting to force a passage the British were defeated, and four gun-boats were sunk. In the meantime the American envoy proceeded to Peking via Peitang, was refused audience, and returned empty-handed. Next year, 1860, the British and French declared war on China and despatched a strong expedition to the North. It throws great light on the conditions of the time that the local Shanghai authorities should have appealed for help against the anti-Imperial rebels to the allied envoys when they passed through to the North with this very expedition. On the 1st August the allies landed at Peitang; on the 21st the Taku Forts were taken from the rear; on the 25th the allies began to occupy Tientsin; and on the 8th September they were at Tungchow, outside the walls of Peking. Once again the Manchu Government of China was compelled to bow the knee to superior force from outside. The Convention of Peking, 24th October 1860, does not greatly concern trade, except that it set the seal on the Treaty of Tientsin. The main conditions were political; the permanent residence of foreign representatives at Imperial Peking had finally to be agreed to; the war indemnities were increased to Tls. 8,000,000 each for the British and French; Kowloon was ceded to the British; the French obtained in their treaty the right for foreign missions to buy land and build houses in the interior; and, finally, it was arranged that copies of the treaty and the conventions should be published by proclamation by all high provincial authorities.5 52 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The first effect of the treaties on foreign trade was the opening of additional ports. Agreed upon in 1858, they were not effectually opened to trade till 1860 or after, with the exception of Swatow and the two Formosan ports, unauthorised trade at which had already been going on for some years. The opening of the Yangtze ports had originally been postponed till peace should be restored on the Yangtze, but they were actually opened in 1860, after the Convention of Peking, although Nanking and part of the southern bank of the river remained in the hands of the Taipings for some time to come. Tientsin had been refused as a treaty port in 1858, and its opening in 1860 was a specific clause in the Convention of Peking.8 These delays had the effect of artificially stimulating foreign trade at Shanghai, where stocks were accumulated by optimistic importers.7 The total value of trade at Shanghai jumped from Tls. 65,683,086 in 1858 to Tls. 73,434,086 in 1859 and Tls. 84,161,146 in 1861,8 even though the latter was an exceptionally bad year for tea. The actual opening of new markets in 1860 had an immediate and dramatic effect on foreign trade movements in China. The re-export of foreign goods from Shanghai for each of the three half-years, 1st January 1859 to 30th June 1860, had been very steady at an average of almost Tls. 850,000. In the half-year ending 31st December 1860, the re-exports suddenly jumped to Tls. 3,677,900; for the year 1861 they were Tls. 4,471,037; 1862, Tls. 6,007,524; and 1863, Tls. 9,311,813. Hitherto there had not been much movement of foreign goods between the first five ports, but now a vast entrepot trade came into being between Shanghai and the new ports along the Yangtze River and in the North. A contemporary observer wrote: "the prospects are that in point of trade and population, Shanghai will become the greatest emporium in Eastern Asia, the center of the steam navigation through- out the Yangtse Valley and across the Pacific Ocean, and its commercial influence pervade the whole of China." 9 Such a prophecy showed vision and clear foresight and contrasts with the, at that time, pessimistic views and complaints expressed by others, particularly the foreign merchants in Shanghai themselves. The immediate burst of speculative over-trading did not last long. In some places the new ports were in the wrong place; instead of Kiukiang, for instance, the treaty port should have been at Huk'ou, at the exit from the Poyang Lake; and Chefoo had to be substituted for Tengchow. In other places hopes were unfulfilled, trade developing along unexpected courses. The foreign merchants were, in point of fact, unqualified to take advantage of the new openings. They were ignorant of the country as a whole and of the interior, and still more so of the difference between particular localities; they were without the language and were further non- plussed by the dialects; they were utterly dependent on their Chinese agent, or comprador. Much of the new trade was simply diverted from Canton or Shanghai, having previously gone to the same destination in native hands and by native trade routes, thus not appearing in the Customs Trade Returns. In the end nearly all of this trade reverted again to the Chinese merchants, who were quick to see the advantage of foreign vessels and of the new administration of the Customs in the treaty ports.10 . The course of foreign trade as a whole during the period 1858-71 can be sketched with broad strokes of the pen. The years 1858-61 were marked by undue optimism among foreign HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 53 merchants, who expected exaggerated results from the opening of the new ports.11 But the uncertainties of 1859 and the war of 1860 restricted the sales of the heavy shipments which had been made in anticipation of new markets, though the situation was somewhat relieved by the fact that Japan had been opened to foreign trade in 1858 and at first drew her supplies of European goods from China. The next subdivision, 1862-64, was dominated by two events of far-reaching importance. The Taiping Rebellion, reaching its climax of slaughter and destruction in the province of Kiangsu, almost annihilated the silk cultivation of the regions near Shanghai. The domestic industry practically ceased, and the supplies going forward for export were on a reduced scale. The interruption was a permanent disaster. The China silk export trade in fact never regained the outstanding position it had in the world during the years 1856-62. The second event was the American Civil War, 1861-65, the course of which created a cotton famine, sending up the price of cotton so high that English manufactures could not compete with the products of native looms. A subsidiary effect was that raw cotton became temporarily an important article of Chinese export, thus reversing the former importation of Indian cotton at Canton noted in the previous chapter.12 These developments may be said to have postponed the full effects of the Treaties of Tientsin, which thus did not properly manifest themselves until 1865. The years 1865-69 were marked by genuine expansion of trade, only checked by financial troubles in Shanghai in 1866, partly due to a repercussion of a financial crisis in London, but chiefly to a slump in real estate values in Shanghai consequent on the exodus of refugees after the final suppression of the Taiping Rebellion. During these years the export of tea from China increased by large amounts, though silk only partially recovered its former importance. The importation of foreign manufactures also expanded considerably, particularly that of English cottons, for which, aided by a steady cheapening in price, an elastic and growing demand opened out among the vast populations of North and Central China, reached through the ports of Tientsin and Hankow. "It appears that in this branch of foreign trade the result of the first opening of China in 1843 was a gain of at least £2,000,000 annually; the result of the second opening in 1861 has been a further gain of £3,500,000 annually to the export trade of Great Britain."13 A new demand for English woollens is also noticeable during these years, particularly along the Yangtze Valley, not improbably as a result of the partial destruction of the native silk industry, for some of the products of which foreign wool textiles could be substituted. This sub-period of prosperity came to an end in 1870, as a result partly of the Franco-Prussian War, and the consequent check to the demand for Chinese tea and other diversions of trading energies, and partly of the political uncertainty and commercial uneasiness throughout China caused by the killing of the French Consul, 10 nuns, and others by an ignorant and misguided mob at Tientsin. One new and interesting feature of this period is the fact that the importation of Indian opium had reached a stationary level. In the previous chapter it was noted how the rate of 54 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. increase was slowing down.14 During the years now under review the importation only varied from its maximum of approximately 75,000 chests, during the season 1858-59, in a downward direction during bad years such as 1859-62 and 1864, reaching the same maximum again in 1862-63 and 1865-69.15 The explanation did not lie in any reduced consumption, but in the rapidly increasing cultivation of the opium poppy in China in the provinces of Yunnan, Szechwan, Shensi, and Kweichow. From a study of the available information, it was contemporaneously estimated that the following amounts were produced in China:— The native product was far cheaper than the Indian, and though at first of inferior flavour and only used for mixing, was now beginning to be of improved quality. The powerful effect of this development upon the external trade of China, and particularly upon the balance of trade and the movement of specie, can hardly be exaggerated. The course of foreign trade would have been far different during the period now being described had the importation of opium from abroad increased pari passu with its actual consumption in China. The closing years of the period are notable for two events, the gradually developing results of which fundamentally changed the methods, though not the course, of foreign trade in China. The opening of the Suez Canal to traffic, on the 17th November 1869, led directly to the supersession of the foreign sailing vessel in China, and to the leisurely methods of trade associated with the same—that is, as conducted by foreign merchants in China. The connecting- up of a through telegraph cable from Shanghai and Hongkong to Europe, 3rd June 1871, was another step in the same direction. Briefly, these changes of method may be summarised as a process of linking-up China into an integral part of the economic structure of the world. The process is also illustrated by the way in which the external trade of China was beginning to be modified by far-distant events, such as the American Civil War, the financial crisis in London, and the Franco-Prussian War. Not many years before China existed in a state of splendid isolation. In the period now being considered we see the first growth of the threads which have since bound her inextricably into the network of international commerce and trade. To the student, the period now under consideration affords an abundance of material, in strong contrast to the previous periods. The new administration of the Chinese Customs at once commenced to publish trade returns. Official Customs figures for Shanghai date from the beginning of 1859; for Canton from 1860; Swatow from the 1st July 1860; Tientsin, Ningpo, and Foochow during 1861; Amoy, 1862; Chefoo and the Yangtze ports, 1863; Newchwang and the Formosan ports, 1864. This information is supplemented from 1862 onwards by very full annual reports on trade by the British Consuls at different places, often including valuable statistics not published by the Customs. Annual trade reports by the various Commissioners of Customs commenced in 1865. 1866 1867 1868 Chests. 50,000 60,000 80,000 1869 1870 Chests. 60,000 70,00018 HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 55 Nevertheless, difficulties abound. The early Customs returns were not rendered on any consistent plan. Methods of grouping differ; various units were used; values were quoted here in local taels, there in dollars; there was no attempt at combined statistics covering China as a whole till 1864; foreign imports and exports were not differentiated from coastal imports and exports till 1867. The British Consular reports gave values in pounds sterling, often at unknown rates of exchange; records of the movement of specie and bullion are unreliable17 where existent, and are more often missing altogether. Furthermore, it is to be remembered that these statistics covered only that part of China's trade that was carried in foreign, or foreign-style, ships, and done at the treaty ports. No statistics are now available, if ever kept, at the various native Custom Houses, or of the commerce borne by junks, though it is certain that a far from negligible external trade was carried on with Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Indo-China, Siam, and the Malay Archipelago by this means. Finally, the existence of Hongkong created a vexing, and to this day unresolved, complication into the study of China's foreign trade. Hongkong was (and is) a free port, and full statistics have never been kept. Though an integral part of China's economic system, it was in foreign hands and for Customs purposes a foreign country. A huge entrepot, second in importance to Shanghai only, it served in reality at that time as it still does as a godown, not only for the import and export trade between China and the rest of the world, but also largely for the coastal trade between the north and south of China. Hence no exact statement can be obtained of the trade between China and any one foreign country, and not even a true statistical picture of China's external trade as a whole. In the remarks and figures that follow, these limitations should constantly be borne in mind. The general survey given above may now be amplified by a short account of the leading or interesting characteristics of trade during the period, taken chronologically. The first year, 1859, was one of political uncertainty. The Treaties of Tientsin remained unratified and were not put into effect. A small increase in the import of foreign goods took place at Shanghai. Exports abroad from Shanghai increased as a whole by 20 per cent. in value—silk by 25 per cent. and tea by over 30 per cent.—as compared with 1858,18 an exceptionally bad year for both tea and silk. The export of tea from Foochow increased by the remarkable amount of 67 per cent. over that of 1858.19 Canton remained in the hands of the French and English allies, under the administration of a mixed Commission. The total value of British trade there was by this time only about one-half of that at Shanghai.20 In 1859 the first office outside Shanghai of the new foreign Inspectorate of Customs was organised at Canton. In this year also the mudbank in the Pearl River known as Shameen was bunded and filled in by the foreign administration, as a new area of residence for the foreign merchants at Canton, in place of the old "factories" burnt down and destroyed in 1856.21 The passing out of existence of the historic " Canton Factories" was a fitting symbol of the inauguration of a new regime. 56 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The next year was one of renewed war. The boom in imports to China brought about by the optimism of foreign merchants over the Tientsin Treaties was marked by an increase of 3 million taels in the value of foreign manufactures alone landed at Shanghai. The opening of additional ports began to have its effect on the volume of re-exports from Shanghai. The year is also to be noted for the effective legalisation of the opium trade, of which the new administration of the Customs began to take cognizance and control at the end of 1860. The export of silk from Shanghai increased by over 10 per cent. in amount, to the enormous total of 83,776 bales, including all kinds, but tea had a marked slump, to less than one-half the quantity that was exported from Shanghai in 1859. The course of trade at other ports was unremarkable. Actual trading began at the principal new treaty ports during 1861. The effect on Shanghai was immediate and astonishing. General imports increased by 1\ million taels, and re-exports practically doubled, from over 11 to over 21 million taels. These figures include native produce imported from other parts of China and re-exported abroad, as well as foreign imports re-exported to other parts of China. On the other hand, the American Civil War broke out, the price of raw cotton began to rise, and a period of rising prices for cotton manufactures ensued, which put a temporary check on the growing demand in China for foreign piece goods. The rise in prices, however, did not apply to woollen goods. The import of the latter, practically all coming from Great Britain, was estimated to have increased from $740,000 in 1853 to $2,000,000 in 1859, and to nearly $4,000,000 in 1861.22 It is difficult to account for this change unless the colder winters of Central and North China created a demand for woollens when the Yangtze and northern ports were opened up to foreign trade. It was also surmised that woollens were used as a substitute for silk in the troubled times of the last years of the Taiping Rebellion, during which the native silk industry suffered appalling devastation. Exports had a bad season at Shanghai, tea being but little better than in 1860, and silk showing a 17 per cent. decrease. At Canton the foreign occupation ended, but a severe decline in foreign trade occurred. Though the export of tea improved to the comparatively high amount of 39£ million pounds (7 million pounds more than the export from Shanghai, the last time that Canton was to surpass Shanghai in this respect), silk was only two-thirds of the 1860 figures, and the total value of the foreign trade declined 17 per cent. to $28,800,000. The post-Tientsin-Treaty boom was of brief duration. "The opening of the Yangtse in 1860 and the introduction of foreign craft may be likened to the piercing of a dam through which an enormous temporary rush is followed by complete stagnation."23 The cotton famine caused by the American Civil War restricted foreign imports severely. The total exports of manufactures from Great Britain to China, of which cotton piece goods constituted much the greatest part, fell in 1862 to little more than half the average for the three previous years. The total value of foreign manufactures imported into Shanghai was 2\ million taels less than in 1861, and the astonishing result is recorded that during the first half of this year the re-export of foreign goods from Shanghai was 7 lacs of taels more than the import. Nevertheless, the gross volume HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 57 of commerce at Shanghai continued to expand. This, of course, was due to the opening up of foreign trade on the Yangtze and at the northern ports, the direct trade between which and foreign countries was small, the great bulk of it passing first through Shanghai. The intro- duction of foreign vessels, particularly steamers, on the Great River, carried everything before it. Native junks with their slow, uncertain, and unsafe return passage, beating up stream, could not compete even with the small handy foreign schooners and brigs, much less with steamers. So difficult was the return journey that in many cases it was the custom to sell the junk for what it would fetch at the end of the down-stream passage.24 A contemporary review of the year 1862 at Shanghai25 brings out the following points:— (1) High prices in England for cotton piece goods owing to the American Civil War. (2) Increase in the opium trade. (N.B.—The value of opium imported at Shanghai this year increased by 50 per cent. to Tls. 18,600,000.) (3) A large trade in munitions of war, of which the authorised import was valued at £200,000, comprising stores, guns, and small-arms enough for 20,000 men, besides the contraband brought in for the rebels. (4) The stimulation to the tea trade effected by the opening of the seaports of Russia to tea, hitherto a land monopoly. The Russian demand for tea was estimated at 30 million pounds per annum. (5) The increase of shipping at the treaty ports, particularly in steamers for coast and river traffic. At Canton the year was marked by a continuation of the slump in foreign imports. This was due almost entirely to the cessation of the import of raw cotton from Bombay. The import of this commodity amounted to 526,798 piculs in 1860, 272,107 piculs in 1861, and only 35,798 piculs in 1862.28 All the available stocks of Indian cotton in the latter year were being bought up for use in Lancashire, as the American supply was cut off by the war. The export abroad of tea also fell away by nearly 8 million pounds, the beginning of a progressive decline in the Canton tea trade which continued for the rest of this period. Silk, on the contrary, had an exceptionally good year, the total value, of the exports abroad being nearly twice that of the previous year. The total value of the foreign trade was thus only $500,000 less than in 1861. At Amoy a slump in foreign trade was very noticeable,27 and was ascribed by the British Consul to the American Civil War. At Foochow the export of tea for 1862 was 74,526,868 pounds, as compared with 46,594,400 pounds for 1859. The export abroad of tea from Shanghai in 1862 was 59,744,409 and from Canton 31,894,031 pounds, so that Foochow was at this date the principal port for the supply of tea in China, and so, of course, in the world also. 58 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. An interesting contemporary estimate of the composition of the total foreign trade of China in 1862 is given below:— Exports: S Tea 35,000,000 Silk 33,000,000 Imports: Opium 68,000,000 Cotton manufactures 27,000,000 All other imports and exports 37,000,000 Total $200,000,000 as compared with a total of $125,000,000 for the season 1854-55 and $60,000,000 in 1844.28 These figures include an estimate of the native trade by junk to Siam, Japan, Manila, Java, and India, but appear to ignore the movement of bullion. The fact that opium is still by far the most important single item of foreign trade is very striking, and should not be lost sight of amid the more voluminous discussion of other items. The foreign trade of China continued to be dominated by the cotton famine caused by the American Civil War for several years. At Shanghai, though the import of foreign manufactured goods declined slightly, the gross value of all imports increased in 1863 to a total of nearly Tls. 82,000,000.29 Part of this was due to a larger import from abroad of Indian opium (which still amounted to one-quarter by value of the whole import trade), but most of the increase is to be accounted for by the continued development of the coastal and riverine interport trade. In 1860, the last year before the opening of the Yangtze and northern ports, the gross value of all imports at Shanghai was Tls. 41,000,000, exactly half what it was in 1863. The increase was due almost entirely to Chinese produce, which took advantage of foreign vessels and the new administration of Customs to avoid the old, slow, circuitous routes of overland and artificial water transport and the frequent and uncertain taxation attendant upon them. The export trade at Shanghai during 1863 was uneven; the total value of exports was Tls. 9,000,000 less than in 1862. Tea increased by over 15 per cent. to 69,026,953 pounds (517,702 piculs). The export of raw cotton, which had been about 114,000 piculs in 1861, suddenly took a jump upwards in the second half of 1862, during which it was three-fold that of the first half, to a total of over 305,000 piculs for the year. In 1863 the export amounted to 554,000 piculs, of the important total value of Tls. 11,080,000. It is to be noted that while the value of raw cotton during 1861 and 1862 was approximately Tls. 10 a picul, in 1863 it had risen to Tls. 20 a picul. On the other hand, the export of silk suffered a disastrous slump this season, inaugurating a period of depression in this hitherto prosperous trade at Shanghai, which lasted for many HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 59 years. The amount exported decreased to considerably less than half the previous year's, being only 37,731 bales (33,026 piculs). This decrease was due principally to the ruin of the silk- producing districts in Kiangsu by the Taiping Rebellion and only secondarily to a decreased demand in Europe, following over-production and an excess of stocks from previous years.3.0 The devastation in the interior was not worse in 1863 than in 1862, but in the previous year every available bale in the country had been turned into cash for export abroad, and the result had been a record export. The country was now almost denuded of silk, and new production was at a very low ebb. The Taipings deliberately cut dgwn the mulberry trees, and it was many years before the industry regained its old standing. At Canton the decline in commerce continued unchecked, the total value of foreign trade sinking to $25,500,000. The heaviest fall was in the import of foreign manufactures, due to the high price of cotton. Foreign piece goods rose to the price of native, and could not compete with them in any other respect.31 In 1861 foreign cotton goods were half the price of native, and the Chinese found it advantageous to buy them. But in 1863 the foreign had risen to the same price as the native, and since the latter was a heavier cloth and lasted longer, foreign cloth ceased to be in demand.32 The export of silk from Canton kept up, but the tea trade continued its gradual migration to other places, the season ending with a further decrease of nearly 25 per cent. in the export. At Foochow the export of tea suffered a slight decline to 69,644,357 pounds (498,538 piculs), but still overtopped that of Shanghai. The export of tea from Hankow was 305,000 piculs, of which only 27,000 piculs went directly abroad, the rest going via Shanghai and providing the increase there already noted above. The estimated net value (net imports plus net exports) of the whole foreign trade33 of China at the various ports during the year 1863 was as follows:— (000's omitted.) £ Shanghai 19,686 Hankow 7,490 Foochow 7,067 Canton 6,046 Ningpo 4,758 Kiukiang 3,456 Amoy 2,947 Tientsin 2>396 Swatow z' . Chinkiang 1,753 Chefoo Total £59,052 3< (,1) DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The outstanding position of Shanghai is rather obscured by the fact that re-exports to other parts of China from Shanghai, amounting to £18,579,000, and for the remaining 10 ports to £556,000 only, are excluded from this table. The value of the gross foreign trade at Shanghai \yas actually nearly half that of the whole of China. The rapid establishment of a flourishing foreign trade at ports like Hankow and Kiukiang, in the second year after their opening, was nevertheless quite remarkable. Next year, 1864, the Taiping rebels were decisively and finally defeated, and they were dispersed into small disorganised bancR. But the effect of this historic event upon trade was not immediate. At Shanghai there was a slight increase in the import of foreign manufactures, accompanied by a decrease of nearly 30 per cent. in the import of opium, the latter a symptom of the depression in the export business and the general lack of prosperity. Exports had a poor season; tea was down by about 6 per cent.; silk slumped to 27,829 bales, hardly more than one- third of the quantity exported only two years previously; stocks in the country were exhausted and new production was still on a very small scale; raw cotton declined in quantity by about 8 per cent. to 510,000 piculs, and in value by over 20 per cent.,35 following a fall of prices in the British market, marking the beginning of the end of the cotton famine. At Canton the depression in trade continued. Foreign imports again declined, but while during the last four years the total value of exports from Canton had maintained itself, in 1864 heavy decreases took place both in silk and tea. The gross total value of foreign trade fell away to less than $22,000,000, as compared with $34,600,000 in 1860. Thus the opening of the northern and Yangtze ports reduced the foreign trade of Canton by one-third at the end of four years. As it happened, 1864 proved to be the turning point; the rest of our period is marked by a gradual but steady return of prosperity to Canton. The trade of Canton was now being increasingly carried on by river steamers from Hongkong, and no longer by sailing vessels from abroad. In 1864 the proportion of trade borne by river steamers was for the first time greater than half. The development of foreign navigation on the Yangtze continued. Steamers of the American river type proved their superiority and engrossed the carrying trade more and more. The first steamers often took a week to go up stream from Shanghai to Kiukiang, but they were unsuitable to the river, and did not run during the night. Big steamers continued to be added to the foreign fleet, many of which made the passage to Kiukiang in 48 hours.38 It should be remarked that these river steamers were nearly all under the American flag, only a few being British; other foreign nations were not represented; the Chinese at the time and for many years to come preferred to charter, or pay freight, rather than own and become themselves responsible for the running of unfamiliar foreign steam vessels. In this connexion the British Consul at Canton ventured on a prophecy which reads strangely in 1932: "During the past year some of the finest steamers in the coast trade have been chartered and loaded by Chinese firms without European intervention and the day is not far distant when the whole of the coast-carrying trade will be in their hands alone." 37 HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 61 Foreign trade at the. outports maintained itself, but there is no feature of particular interest to record. A small export of raw cotton developed from Tientsin, principally to take the place of Indian cotton supplied to other parts of China in previous years. The export of tea from Foochow, Hankow, and Amoy was approximately the same as in the previous year, but at Hankow the quantity exported abroad direct nearly doubled in 1864 as compared with 1863, from 9 per cent. of the whole to 16 per cent., the result of a special effort to combat the high freights charged by the river steamer companies.38 An analysis of the whole foreign trade of China in 1864, published by the Chinese Maritime Customs, estimates the total value of the trade (gross imports and exports, including coastal, less re-exports) carried on under foreign flags as Tls. 190,242,159 as compared with Tls. 199,546,561 for 1863, a decrease of over 9 million taels. Shanghai and Canton between them registered a decrease of 16 million taels, and the difference was due to the growth of trade at the northern ports, Tientsin, Chefoo, and Newchwang. Foreign imports were estimated at nearly Tls. 57,000,000, and exports to abroad at Tls. 56,600,000. Of the imports Tls. 51,100,000, and of the exports Tls. 49,650,000 were from, or to, Great Britain and her colonies and possessions. Trade with America amounted to Tls. 450,000 import and Tls. 4,480,000 export. The trade with Japan in foreign vessels was largely a re-export one. British trade was thus estimated at ten-elevenths of the net foreign trade of China. The outstanding event of the middle years of the period was the end of the American Civil War in 1865 and with it the end of the cotton famine. For the first time the full effects of the Treaties of Tientsin had scope to develop. At Shanghai the year 1865 commenced in gloomy circumstances. The final defeat of the Taiping rebels was followed by a wholesale exodus of native refugees from the foreign settlements. A collapse in real estate values followed, and many local merchants, both Chinese and foreign, were ruined. The American Civil War had not only raised the price of foreign cottons to a level at which competition with native cottons was difficult, but naval operations had also cut off the American demand for tea, thus throwing on the London market an excess of stock and causing a fall in price. Nevertheless, a combination of favourable circumstances intervened to bring trade back to prosperity. The end of the Civil War lowered the price of cotton and restored the American demand for tea, thus benefiting China's foreign trade in both imports and exports. In the same year the English Government reduced the import duty on tea from \s. to 6d. a pound, thus considerably broadening the British market as well. In these improved circumstances, trade at Shanghai showed big increases for 1865. Imports from foreign countries increased by over 13 per cent. to nearly 34 million taels in value. Exports of Chinese goods abroad increased by nearly 5 per cent. to 29£ million taels. The re-export of foreign imports from Shanghai to the outports increased more than 50 per cent. to 25 million taels. The local consumption at Shanghai had, of course, never been more than a small portion of the gross import. What the mounting re-export figures really show is the increasing extent to which the distribution of these foreign goods over the rest of China was 62 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. passing from native to foreign vessels on the coast and river, and thus coming under the control of the new foreign Inspectorate of Customs. The export of silk from Shanghai increased by nearly 50 per cent. to over 40,000 bales. Even so, this quantity was less than half that of the good seasons five years back. The ravages of the Taiping Rebellion were so great that nearly a generation was required to make them good. In the meantime other competitors, such as Japan and India, had taken China's place as sources of supply, not to mention the development of sericulture by growers in Europe itself. It is noteworthy that the export of raw cotton abroad declined from 443,000 piculs in 1864 to 184,000 piculs in 1865, but shipments to England had ceased entirely by May, the export for the rest of the year going to Hongkong only—possibly for South China ports. Two interesting developments are worth recording for the year 1865. One is the first appearance of complaints about mildew in cotton piece goods from England. This was apparently due to the use in the sizing of some ingredient which improved the colour of the goods manufactured from the inferior raw cotton being used at this time as a substitute for American cotton, but which was found to have spoiled them when unpacked at Shanghai. These complaints continued for a number of years, and rather undermined the confidence of the Chinese merchant, who had hitherto been satisfied to take delivery of unopened cases of Manchester goods without a thought of their not being up to expectation. For many years there had been complaints by foreign merchants of the adulteration of tea and silk and their failure to equal samples in quality, but now the boot was on the other leg. The other development was the establishment of the Kiangnan Arsenal, a Chinese Government institution, subsidised out of the Customs revenue, but under foreign supervision, as a shipbuilding works, with docks for ship repairing, and engineering shops for the construction of guns and rifles. How great a step forward was this venture into Western industrial and mechanical methods can only be estimated by those who are familiar with the Edicts, Proclamations, and Memorials of the period of conflict between 1834 and 1860. The progressive ideas of Chinese officials like Li Hung-chang were henceforward profoundly to modify the conservatism and self-sufficiency of the Manchu Court and Government. At Canton the same year marked a striking revival. There was a distinct boom in the export of raw silk, which increased from 2,800 bales in 1864 to 8,800 bales in 1865. Tea for the first time for five years showed an increase, albeit small. The import of foreign goods was 25 per cent. greater. The total value of foreign trade rose to $28,600,000, almost the same as in 1861, the year of the opening of the Yangtze and northern ports which had dealt so heavy a blow to the foreign commerce of Canton. At the outports the most noteworthy development was the beginning of a process of rapid expansion in the demand for foreign cotton piece goods in North China; the importation at Chefoo more than doubled, to a total of 247,000 pieces, and at Tientsin increased from nearly 333,000 to nearly 826,000 pieces. At the latter port this amount was greater than in any HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 63 previous year except 1861, and the fact that prices were more than double what they were in 1861 is convincing testimony to the strength and reality of the demand of the northern Chinese for these goods. The direct export of tea to abroad from Hankow increased from 47,000 piculs in 1864 to over 77,000 piculs in 1865, in continued protest against the semi-monopolistic freights of the river steamer companies. In the Analysis of Chinese Commerce for 1865 by the Chinese Maritime Customs, the total value of the trade in foreign vessels, including the coastal trade, is estimated at Tls. 237,507,922, a substantial increase on 1864. The total import from abroad was estimated at Tls. 63,300,000, of which Tls. 57,700,000 were from British countries, Tls. 2,450,000 from Japan, and Tls. 3,100,000 from all other foreign countries. The total export abroad was estimated at Tls. 60,000,000, of which Tls. 50,000,000 were to British countries, Tls. 5,850,000 to the United States of America, and Tls. 4,150,000 to all other foreign countries. The re-entry of America as an effective market for tea is exemplified by an increase of over 47,000 piculs in the quantity of green tea exported to that country, almost exactly corresponding to the increase in the total export of tea from China for the year. The import of foreign opium increased from 52,000 to 56,000 piculs, apparently the result of an official attempt to stop the cultivation of native opium in the provinces of Shensi and Szechwan. The next outstanding feature of foreign commerce was the financial crisis of 1866 in Great Britain. This ruined many establishments in England and so reacted on China that five out of 11 foreign banks in Shanghai closed their doors. Goods hypothecated to the banks on loan were forced on the market, prices fell, and sales resulted in heavy losses. As eight-tenths of the foreign trade of China either actually or financially passed through Shanghai,39 the magnitude of the disturbance naturally affected all ports. Trading losses, however, were confined to foreign firms and merchants. The Chinese producer and dealer did not suffer; in many commodities the trade of this year showed an increase of quantity. Indeed, the crisis was more financial than commercial. At Shanghai the value of goods imported from abroad increased 22\ per cent. to over 47 million taels, accounted for by big increases in the import of British cotton and woollen manufactures and of opium. The value of Chinese produce exported abroad, however, decreased 14 per cent. to 25 million taels. The decline was chiefly due to a partial failure of the silk crop. Cultivators started off with too many silkworms, but since many mulberry trees had been destroyed by the Taiping rebels, the worms soon exhausted their available food supply and so perished in many districts before reaching maturity. A lesser number would have produced more silk. Decreases are also to be observed in the export from Shanghai of raw cotton and green tea, both due to the resumption by the United States of normal trading. But the falling off of green tea sent to America was more than offset by the increase in the export of black tea to Great Britain. 64 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. At Canton the improvement noted in the previous year was maintained. "With a city with a million or more inhabitants, and a province considered the most populous, the richest and the most important of all in the Empire, it was impossible to conceive that any depression could be lasting, or that anything but some unlooked-for calamity could affect it permanently. In 1864 things were at their worst, but from that date a gradual and steady improvement has taken place." 40 There was a substantial increase of foreign imports, principally in raw cotton and opium; foreign manufactures slightly declined. The export of tea again fell away, but it is noteworthy that Canton tea was beginning to acquire a reputation for careful firing and preparation, and to command higher prices accordingly, in contrast to Foochow, Shanghai, and Hankow teas, where the rather wild competition of foreign buyers had encouraged concentration on quantity and neglect of quality by the producers. Trade at the outports continued to grow. The demand in North China for foreign goods showed further expansion. For instance, Tientsin, though receiving foreign goods indirectly through Shanghai, had become one of the largest markets for imports in China, and for cotton piece goods it was in fact the largest. The course of foreign imports at Tientsin was as follows:— £ £ 1863 .... 1,987,000 1865 ... . 2,690,000 1864 .... 2,421,000 1866. . . . 5,251,000 This process was aided by a steady and progressive lowering in the price of all kinds of cottons. An interesting development, well marked in 1866, was the gradual establishment of a tea trade at Ningpo, through which port the teas of the Fychow (Hweichow) districts began to be diverted from the overland route to Shanghai. This appears to have been partly due to the imposition of a "sea-wall tax" on the Hangchow route to Shanghai, and partly to cheap or free storage at Ningpo, where the tea could wait until it was sold to the foreign merchant, as compared with high godown rents in Shanghai. The direct export abroad of tea from Hankow again increased this year. But the total loss of one vessel, and many accidents to others in the river, caused insurance rates to rise to an unprofitable figure. It also happened that in this year the two competing river steamer companies amalgamated, forming a temporary monopoly, against which exporting merchants found themselves helpless.41 An illuminating review of the tea trade in a contemporary foreign periodical describes the frantic buying of tea by foreign merchants at the beginning of each season. The first tea clipper to arrive in London with her cargo earned a bounty on her freight. The famous races of the tea clippers, though a romantic touch in the rather dry history of commerce, were actually disastrous to business. The unrestrained competition in buying led to high prices in China and a sudden flooding of the London market with a temporary excess of stock, where cautious buyers held off in the safe expectation of forced sales and bargains later on. The gainers were the producers in China, who received prices undreamt of a few years earlier, and the consumers in Europe, who were ultimately able to satisfy their requirements more cheaply. How great must have been the profits of foreign tea merchants in the early days can only now be guessed. For in spite of what they announced to the world as disastrous losses season after season, the trade still continued, and as the figures show, steadily increased as the years went on.42 HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 65 In the Customs Analysis for the year 1866, the total trade (including coastal) of all the ports was estimated at Tls. 299,929,541, a further striking increase as compared with 1865. Total foreign imports amounted to Tls. 76,900,000, of which British imports accounted for Tls. 71,750,000. Total foreign exports amounted to Tls. 56,200,000, of which exports to Great Britain accounted for Tls. 46,000,000 and exports to America for Tls. 6,300,000. The importation of foreign opium reached the record figure of 64,500 piculs, an increase of nearly 8,500 piculs over 1865. The "unfavourable" trade balance of Tls. 20,700,000 for the year is a noteworthy phenomenon. Up to 1865 imports about equalled exports, after allowance is made for the movement of coin and bullion. During the years 1866-1871 imports exceeded exports by varying amounts, though never by so much as in 1866; this again was followed by a period in which exports for some years consistently exceeded imports. It must be remembered in this connexion that the statistical record of China's foreign trade at this date was far from complete, particularly as regards the movement of bullion and specie. The commercial depression continued during 1867, and conditions in China were further unsettled by the Nienfei Rebellion in the northern provinces. Nevertheless, foreign trade showed evidences of continued vitality; British cotton piece goods in particular found good markets as a result of a lowering of prices; while exports recovered partly from the set-back of the previous season, chiefly owing to a 21 per cent. revival in foreign purchases of silk. At Shanghai the export abroad of tea increased by over 19 per cent., and of silk by over 25 per cent. It is interesting to note that the direct export of silk to France nearly doubled. Hitherto this trade had passed through London, but from now on it was gradually taken over from the middlemen there by the French manufacturers themselves, the real buyers of China's raw silk. An interesting feature of the trade of Canton during the whole of this period was the apparent excess of exports over imports, as shown by the Customs statistics. But it is doubtful whether this excess was a real one, since the Chinese merchants preferred to receive payment for their tea and silk in the form of cheques on Hongkong banks, where they used their credits to purchase British cottons and Siamese rice, which were shipped up to Canton in native vessels, and thus did not come under the cognizance of the Maritime Customs. At the outports the trade of 1867 was unremarkable. There was a 17 per cent. increase in the export of tea from Foochow. The direct export abroad of tea from Hankow was 20,000 piculs, only a quarter of that of the previous year. The position of the two river steamer companies on the Yangtze was semi-monopolistic, and they earned fabulous freights. So much so that a revival in the number of foreign lorchas operating on the river was noticeable this year. Though not steam driven, these vessels had all the other advantages of foreign flags. The northern ports were disturbed by the Nienfei Rebellion in their hinterland, and the foreign trade developing in these regions suffered a set-back. It is noticeable, however, that the value of the import of cotton and woollen piece goods did not fall away to any very great extent at Tientsin, and actually increased at Chefoo. The price, moreover, had been lowered, and it follows that effective demand must have been well maintained. 66 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The total value of the foreign trade of China passing through the treaty ports, that is net imports from abroad plus exports to abroad, was Tls. 127,200,000 in 1867, as compared with Tls. 130,700,000 in 1866 and Tls. 121,900,000 in 1865. Tls. 66,300,000, out of a gross total of Tls. 71,600,000, were imports of British origin; Tls. 23,800,000, however, came from Hongkong, and conclusions cannot be hastily drawn as to the real distribution of imports into China. Tls. 45,000,000, out of a total of Tls. 57,900,000, were exports to British countries. America took Tls. 7,500,000 worth of exports, principally green tea; Japan Tls. 1,200,000; and Europe, as a whole, Tls. 2,350,000. Hongkong was the destination of Tls. 8,100,000 only, and thus a truer picture of the distribution of exports is more readily obtainable than of imports. The composition of China's foreign trade in 1867 was briefly as follows:— Imports: Opium 32,000,000 Cotton piece goods 14,600,000 Woollen piece goods 7,400,000 Raw cotton 5,200,000 All other articles 10,100,000 Total Net Imports 43 . Tls. 69,300,000 Exports: Tls. Tea 33,750,000 Silk, all kinds 18,850,000 All other articles 5,300,000 Total Exports . . . Tls. 57,900,000 It is interesting to compare this statement, the first available from the statistical record kept by the Chinese Maritime Customs, with that drawn up in 1842, 25 years earlier, by the British mission to China under Sir Henry Pottinger.44 Opium is still pre-eminent among the imports, but the percentage has fallen from over 55 to 46 per cent., while cotton piece goods have risen from less than 8£ to over 21 per cent., and woollen manufactures from 4 to 10£ per cent. Raw cotton amounted to 20 per cent. of the imports in 1842, but though curiously enough the same in value by itself, is, of course, a much lower percentage, only 1\ per cent. of the whole. Among the exports, tea has decreased in importance from nearly 71 per cent. of the net45 export to just over 58 per cent.; silk, on the other hand, has increased its percentage from 20£ to 32J per cent. Trade, broadly speaking, is still confined to the same staples, opium, cotton and woollen textiles, tea, and silk; only the percentages have changed, and those not fundamentally. The development of China's foreign trade since the forcible opening of the treaty ports by foreign powers is thus clearly seen as an increase in volume only; the great changes in character still remain for future consideration. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. (,7 The latter years of the period were marked by a distinct boom in the international trade of China, inaugurated in the year 1868. The import of cotton piece goods increased that year by nearly 50 per cent., to a value of Tls. 22,400,000. Owing to a heavy decline of nearly 6 million taels in the value of opium, however, total foreign imports only increased by 2 million taels. The export trade also enjoyed a year of great prosperity; the export of raw silk increased by 54 per cent. to Tls. 24,400,000 in value, and of tea by 8 per cent. to Tls. 36,500,000. Total exports amounted in value to nearly 20 per cent. more than in 1867. The gross value of the foreign trade of China at all treaty ports was Tls. 140,000,000, as compared with Tls. 127,000,000 in 1867. Shanghai was the centre of this commercial prosperity. "The heart of foreign trade is Shanghai, and the outports mere blood vessels."48 Foreign imports into all the treaty ports of China during 1868 increased by Tls. 2,000,000, while into Shanghai alone they increased by Tls. 4,000,000; the export of Chinese produce from China increased by Tls. 11,000,000, and from Shanghai alone by Tls. 10,000,000; so that Shanghai was in facf the locality of the whole advance in foreign trade.*7 The import at Shanghai of British cotton piece goods, for example, amounted in 1868 to Tls. 17,429,000, as against Tls. 9,900,000 in 1867. Owing to a relaxation of official action against the cultivation of the poppy in the western provinces of China, the import of opium from abroad declined remarkably, native opium from Yunnan, Szechwan, and Shensi competing very successfully with the Indian product even in Shanghai itself. The heavy cost of the long inland transport was offset by the enormous duty collected by the Indian Government on export, so that native opium could be sold at a profit at about half the price of the foreign opium.4* The increased export of silk noticed above was largely due to the recovery of the silk-producing districts near Shanghai. Extensive tracts devastated by the Taiping rebels had been replanted with young mulberry trees, and the rearing of silkworms was gradually being restored to its previous level. The cultivation of tea also showed a remarkable expansion. In 1866 and 1867 demand was on the whole greater than the supply, but in 1868 there were signs that production had caught up again. So great indeed was the increase in the supply made available for the foreign market, that a scarcity, of course accompanied by a rise in prices, was observed in the home market, many of the poorer Chinese being compelled to substitute pure hot water for their usual infusion of tea.*' The tea trade was not, however, in a very healthy condition. The foreign tea dealer suffered from total ignorance concerning the interior and the actual condition of the season's crop. The continual expansion to ever higher levels of the British and European demand led importers in England to appoint their own buyers, often men previously in subordinate positions in foreign firms in China. These agents were compelled to execute their orders from home; at the beginning of the season the early supply was no indication to them of either the quality or the quantity that would be available later. They had either to buy at once or risk the loss of the whole season's business for their principals. Frantic competition ruled among 68 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. them, leading to high prices and to a willingness to accept any rubbish on the market. This was opposed, on the Chinese side, by a very high degree of combination under strict regulation by the guilds, so that while year after year the foreign tea merchants complained of ruinous losses, there is little doubt that large and unexpected profits were made during this period by Chinese producers and tea dealers. Unfortunately, quality was allowed to deteriorate. In the old days when all tea for abroad was sent through Canton, it was carefully fired and cured and well packed. But at this date such care made little difference to a ready sale; instead of months of overland travel, the leaf could be shipped to the nearest port and could reach Shanghai or Foochow in a few weeks, or days even, and be sure of immediate disposal to the foreigner. Not only was the preparation inadequate, but the new season's leaf was mixed with old leaf, with tea dust, and even willow leaves and other extraneous matter. This deterioration of quality from the high standard of Chinese tea in previous times was from henceforward no small factor in the successful competition of Indian and Japanese tea, leading to the ultimate loss by China of her unique position as the principal supplier of the world's demand for tea. Foreign trade at the outports at this time needs but little description, by far the greater bulk of it taking the form of re-exports from, and to, Shanghai. At Canton foreign imports were to an increasing extent being procured through Hongkong; the distribution to the province was carried out by native vessels, and is not recorded or included in the Customs statistics. Any conclusion from the latter as to whether trade at Canton had or had not fallen off is therefore partly speculation.50 It may, however, be said with certainty that the growing prosperity of the Canton silk trade became further manifest in 1868; the export of raw silk produced in the Kwangtung province increased by 26 per cent., to a total value of $5,850,000. At Tientsin the ground lost in the set-back of 1867 was fully recovered. The import of cotton piece goods more than doubled in value, and, in view of the fall in prices, the increase in quantity was, of course, still greater. For example, a piece of English grey shirting sold for Tls. 2.90 to Tls. 4 in 1866, Tls. 2.50 to Tls. 3 in 1867, and Tls. 2.20 to Tls. 2.50 during 1868. The same feature of a greatly increased importation of cotton piece goods is to be remarked at all outports. But the great importance of the northern and central ports as a market for foreign cottons is well illustrated by the following table:— Cotton Piece Goods of All Kinds. Number of pieces consumed: 1866. (000's omitted.) 1867. 1868. . . . 1,398 1,192 2,444 859 1,146 1,632 ... 527 515 1,344 Chefoo . . . . 221 329 896 About this time a more liberal policy adopted by the local authorities in the matter of transit passes, elsewhere recognised unwillingly if at all, began to have remarkable results at HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 69 Chinkiang. The import of piece goods at that port quadrupled in 1867, as compared with 1866, and tripled again in 1868, as compared with 1867. Later the Chinkiang transit trade developed in a most astonishing way, goods under Chinkiang transit pass finding their way all over North China, in what would be considered the natural hinterland of other ports. . British trade was still overwhelmingly preponderant, more than six-sevenths of the total external trade of China. But signs can be noted of the coming changes. Direct export to the continent of Europe nearly doubled in 1868, due to a further drift of* the raw silk trade from London middlemen. Also trade with Japan was beginning to attain more important dimensions; 1868 was the year of the fall of the Shogunate in that country, marking the beginning of a new era of tremendous industrial and commercial expansion, which later had such powerful reactions on China. Foreign trade continued to expand steadily throughout 1869, though without any striking change. The total value increased by 2 million taels to Tls. 142,000,000. Foreign imports were greater by nearly 4 million taels, due principally to a further considerable expansion of the demand for foreign cotton piece goods,51 and to small increases in opium, woollen manufactures, metals, indeed the import of almost everything except raw cotton, a fact which probably reflected the decline of the home cotton industry in the face of foreign competition. Exports were down by 2 million taels, due to a drop of over 5 million taels in the value of silk. Tea was greater in quantity but stationary in total value, prices having fallen. Increased exports of sundries, such as raw cotton, sugar, tobacco, and wax, accounted for the difference, an interesting forecast of that trade in miscellaneous China produce which later grew up, in addition to the staples, tea and silk. As in previous years, these changes in foreign trade were concentrated, for practical purposes, at Shanghai. The export of raw silk declined heavily owing to a vast increase in the production on the continent of Europe, and a consequent fall in both demand and price. The tea trade for the year was chiefly noticeable for the lengths to which adulteration and debase- ment of quality were carried. The preparation of willow leaf had become a not inconsiderable local industry; it was estimated that 400,000 pounds of this substitute were manufactured in Shanghai alone and put on the market during the season 1868-69." This year also was notorious for the appearance of the "Maloo Mixture", used leaves from the tea shops of Shanghai, some of them probably sweepings from the floor, re-fired and made up for export abroad. Shanghai at this time engrossed about two-thirds of the whole foreign trade of China; in 1869 foreign imports at this port amounted to 55 million taels out of a total for all China of 75 million taels, and foreign exports to 35 million taels out of a total for all China of 67 million taels. At Canton the amount of imports from abroad, and of the exports of tea, as passed through and recorded by the Maritime Customs, continued to decline slowly. Of the quantities carried by native craft from or to Hongkong nothing is known. The export of Kwangtung silk, however, continued the steady growth that had started in 1864. 70 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. At Chinkiang the interesting development of the inland trade in foreign goods under transit pass continued, the quantity of cotton piece goods imported for subsequent movement inland being two and a half times as much as in 1868. At Tientsin the year was chiefly remarkable for the large increase in the tea re-exported overland to Russia, via Kiakhta, a trade which had developed under the terms of the Russo- Chinese Convention of 1862, as revised in 1869. This tea mostly came from Hankow; its value was Tls. 800,000 in 1868 and Th. 1,950,000 in 1869. The amount was large enough to affect the London market as a source of supply for Russia. The Suez Canal was opened to traffic on the 17th November 1869, a historic fact in connexion with China's foreign trade, though its results were not manifest till subsequent years. Another important change, of which the shadow cast before was by this time beginning to be apparent, was the increased production of Indian tea. In a contemporary review of the year the existence of Indian tea as a serious competitor of the Chinese product is first mentioned. "Indian tea more clearly than ever appears to be the tea of the future." The amounts exported from India to Great Britain were as follows:— Lbs. 1866 4,680,000 1868 11,260,000 1869 15,000,000 (approx.).53 The last figure represented about 10 per cent. of the foreign purchases from China. The year 1869 saw the signing of the "Alcock Convention", an attempt by Sir Ruther- ford Alcock to revise and interpret existing treaties on a basis satisfactory to both China and Great Britain. This was a most noteworthy effort to get away from the atmosphere of force majeure into a region of agreement by discussion and negotiation. In the light of modern views this abortive convention was a fair and reasonable arrangement and represented years of patient work by the British Minister and the Chinese officials concerned. China granted concessions, but in return she got something back. The important changes proposed were: (a) a modifi- cation of the rather one-sided "most favoured nation" clause in previous treaties; (b) transit duty in lieu of inland taxation on all cotton, woollen, and linen textiles imported to be compulsory instead of optional; and (c) a modification of the transit certificate privilege on Chinese produce bought by foreigners for export abroad, whereby a refund of the inland taxes in excess of transit duty (2£ per cent. of the Customs duty) would be obtainable on actual shipment. Unfortunately, the weakness of this convention lay in the fact that, unless agreed to by other nations also, it appeared likely to work discriminately against British trade, since British merchants would be bound by obligations not in force against other foreigners. On these grounds the convention was universally condemned by British mercantile interests both in England and China, and in view of this opposition the British Government refused to ratify it. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 71 A combination of circumstances during the following year, 1870, put a check on the prosperous development of foreign trade that had marked the previous three years; namely, the Franco-Prussian War, which upset to some extent the European demand; the Tientsin riots, which created considerable loss of confidence among the foreign trading communities in China; and the occurrence of various rebellions in the western provinces, which disorganised markets in the interior. Gross imports from abroad declined by over 4 million taels, due to decreases of about equal amount in the import of opium and of cotton piece goods. An interesting feature of the lowered markets in China was the doubling of the re-export abroad of foreign imports, to nearly 3 million taels. Exports showed an even bigger falling-off than imports, being 5£ million taels less than in 1869, due entirely to the decrease in the export of tea. In marked distinction to previous years, these changes in the total foreign trade of China were not by any means paralleled at Shanghai. Foreign imports there were only down by some 2f million taels, while total exports to foreign countries actually increased a little. Much of the decrease in total foreign trade took place in the relatively small direct trade of the outports. One of the factors that depressed the import trade during 1870 was the presence in Shanghai of large unsold stocks from 1869. An interesting development of the year was the appearance of German iron and steel in the China market, where it completely drove the British product out of favour. Hitherto the external trade of China, practically confined to a few staple lines, had been very much in the hands of the British. This new feature was a faint forecast of the growth of trade in many lines of sundries by the Germans and other nations in the years to come. At Canton the trends already noted continued their course. The export of tea decreased to 67,800 piculs, about one-quarter of the amount 10 years previously. The remarkable growth of the Kwangtung silk industry compensated for the decline of tea to a certain extent, the export during 1870 increasing by nearly 3,000 bales. The British Consul at Canton, in his annual report on trade for 1870, made the interesting and most illuminating estimate that the imports passing through the Maritime Customs and recorded in the Trade Returns at this time only represented one-eighth of the real imports into Canton.54 At Foochow the port was badly hit by the Franco-Prussian War, the export of tea in 1870 falling off by 16 per cent. to 488,000 piculs, less than in any previous year, except 1866, since the Maritime Customs began to keep statistics. Owing to increased internal taxation, the tea grown in certain districts in the north-west of the province began to be sent to Kiukiang and thence to Shanghai, thus further depressing the commerce to Foochow. 1870 was the first season in which the Suez Canal was available, and marks the beginning of the end of the famous "tea clippers." Steamers going by this route could reach London before the fastest clipper, and so obtained higher freights and the first loadings. 21 steamers in all carried tea from China, and the clippers had to wait till they had loaded and departed. 72 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. At Hankow there was also a heavy decline in the total export of tea. An interesting change, however, was the revival of the direct export,55 now made possible by the use of steamers; 18 per cent. of the total export of tea this season from Hankow went directly abroad instead of through Shanghai. Tientsin had a bad year, due to the riots there, even the transit trade in tea overland to Russia falling off by more than one-half. There was, however, an enormous increase in the import of cotton piece goods at Chefoo, through which port much of the inland territory previously served by Tientsin was doubtless reached. This is an early illustration of that elasticity and fluidity of foreign trade in China, which in later years has astonished so many observers. The distribution of trade remained about the same. Great Britain and her colonies accounted for over 85 per cent. of the total foreign trade, the United States of America for about 6J per cent., Japan for a little over 3 per cent., and the continent of Europe for 2\ per cent. There was an early recovery from the temporary set-back of 1870. The total value of foreign trade was greater by over 15 per cent. in 1871 as compared with the previous year. Imports increased by 7 million taels to over 78 million taels, a new record. The import of opium increased by 2\ million taels, and of cotton piece goods by 1\ millions; the latter represented an increase of no less than one-third. Curiously enough, in this year of expansion there were heavy percentage decreases in the less important classes of imports, woollens and metals. Exports abroad increased by the phenomenal amount of nearly 13 million taels to almost 75 million taels, also a record to date. The "adverse" balance of trade was thus reduced to a little over 3 million, as compared to 9 million taels in 1870. The export of silk increased by \ million taels, and of tea by 9 million taels; the exports of black tea increased by one-third in both quantity and value. Shanghai took the lion's share of this increased prosperity, both foreign imports and exports going up by nearly 5 million taels in value each. Practically the entire increased importation of cotton piece goods passed through Shanghai. The export of tea from Shanghai remained stationary, but that of silk increased by 30 per cent. Direct foreign imports into many outports increased slightly during the year, mostly at Swatow, where the rise amounted to no less than 36 per cent. Direct exports to abroad also increased at many outports. For example, the direct export of tea from Hankow went up from less than 63,000 piculs to nearly 101,000 piculs, nearly 25 per cent. of the total of the tea from the Hankow market. At Canton, whence exports abroad had, of course, always been direct, tea had an astonishing recovery of one-third in value, while the export of silk also increased. The export of tea from Foochow had also always been direct, and in this year took a remarkable jump forward by over 30 per cent. to 638,000 piculs, a record amount. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 73 These changes mark an interesting check to the process during the previous 10 years of the concentration of foreign exports at Shanghai. The large sailing vessels and regular steamers voyaged directly from Shanghai and Hongkong to foreign ports. Goods were brought to these centres from the outports by small handy brigs, schooners, lorchas, etc. Vessels from the North German—the old Hanseatic—ports excelled in this local carrying trade; river steamers monopolised it on the Yangtze; and, of course, the tea clippers sailed from Foochow as well as Shanghai. But with the opening of the Suez Canal, steam navigation in China received a great impetus, and direct trading between the treaty ports and abroad was resumed, particularly as regards the export of tea, whereby an intermediate handling at Shanghai was avoided. Of the total foreign exports from China, the proportion passing through Shanghai was 59£ per cent. in 1869, 55 per cent. in 1870, and 53J per cent. in 1871. The enormous importation of piece goods in 1871 was due to a considerable fall in price. For example, while the price of a piece of 8J-pound grey shirting in Shanghai varied during 1869 between Tls. 2.17 and Tls. 2.22, during 1871 it could be bought at from Tls. 1.81 to Tls. 1.92.M The demand increased everywhere in China. At Hankow the importation of cotton piece goods was greater in quantity by one-third than in 1870. At Chinkiang it was greater by about 30 per cent., and at Tientsin by about 17 per cent. It is noteworthy that more than half the number of pieces of cotton goods imported at Shanghai during 1871 were re-exported to Tientsin for the North China market. Apart from the remarkable general expansion of foreign trade, three events in 1871 are of outstanding interest for their future effects. The first was the opening of the Russian Black Sea port of Odessa to Eastern trade; this indirect consequence of the opening of the Suez Canal put an end to all intents and purposes to the overland trade with Russia, via Kiakhta, only teas, etc., for the immediate Siberian market continuing to go by this route. The second was the completion of the Far Eastern section of the submarine telegraph cable. Shanghai was connected with Hongkong on the 18th April 1871, and Hongkong with Singapore on the 3rd June 1871, thus putting Shanghai in direct telegraphic communication with London. This ultimately effected a great and beneficial change in the methods of the export trade, in particular eliminating the highly speculative element which had hitherto existed in both the tea and silk businesses. "While rapidity of communication has diminished the chance of large profits, it has also lessened the risk of heavy losses, and tended to reduce the trade to a system of regular shipments for full or partial commissions." *- The third event was of equal, or even greater, moment. The privilege of sending foreign imports inland under transit certificate was in this year extended to Chinese merchants. Foreign merchants had secured by treaty the right of commuting inland taxation by the payment of transit dues at 2\ per cent. of the Customs import duty. To exclude native merchants was in effect an iniquitous discrimination against them, and was in practice unwork- able. A system had grown up, to-which there are many references in the Trade Reports of the various Commissioners of Customs, whereby for considerations received, foreign merchants 74 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. lent their names to Chinese for the purpose of obtaining transit certificates. In some cases the arrangements made were doubtless within the law, but in others they were nothing less than collusive frauds on Chinese provincial revenues. The enormous expansion of trade in foreign goods at Chinkiang, and to a lesser degree at other places where transit certificates had secured effective exemption from likin and other taxes on inland traffic, had provided an incontrovertible demonstration to the higher Chinese authorities of the results of the transit pass system. Actually it worked as a transfer of revenue from provincial officials to the Imperial Treasury. And as the cost of collection was infinitesimal, the net result of the change was the removal of a great burden from foreign trade. Having recapitulated some of the historical features of trade during the period, it is illuminating to present to the eye some pictures of China's external trade as a whole as it was at the end of the period. 1.—The geographical distribution of the foreign trade among the various ports of China was as follows:— Value of Direct Foreign Trade of Each Port, 1871. (000's omitted.) Tls. Shanghai 97,114 Canton 20,457 Foochow 15,087 Amoy 6,997 Swatow 6,015 Hankow 3,675 Tientsin 2,464 Chefoo 978 Takow 892 Ningpo 655 Tamsui 500 Newchwang 359 Kiukiang 82 Chinkiang Total Tls. 155,275 This table omits the coastal trade altogether, and shows clearly the position of Shanghai in the external trade of China. It should be compared to the similar table on page 59, which it must be noted included the net coastal trade. Ports like Hankow, Tientsin, and Chinkiang were of much greater commercial importance than the above figures show, being interior marts for the collection of Chinese produce and the-distribution of foreign goods; but, as regards the outside world, they acted so to speak as feeders for Shanghai. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834–81. . 2.—The distribution of the above trade among the various foreign countries was as follows: (000's omitted.) Tls. Great Britain and British Colonies, etc...... U.S. of America . . . . . . . . . . . . Continent of Europe . . . . . . . . . . . Japan . . . . . . . . untries · · · · · · · · · · · · 131,728 12,099 4,347 CO 3,676 TOTAL . . . . . Tls. 155,275 This table somewhat exaggerates the relative importance of Great Britain, since the figures not only include India and hence almost the whole value of foreign opium imported, but also Hongkong, the trade with China at which port amounted to Tls. 37,882,000 and doubtless included a certain quantity of imports and exports from, and to, the other countries mentioned. Nevertheless, the overwhelming predominance of Great Britain as China's best customer and tradesman stands indisputable. 3.—The composition of the foreign trade in the year 1871 was as follows:- (000's omitted.) Imports: Tls. Cotton manufactures . . . . . . . . . 29,804 Opium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,261 Woollen manufactures . . . . . . . . . . 4,766 Metal goods . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,439 Sundries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TOTAL . . . . . . Tls. 78,190 Exports: Tls. Tea, all kinds . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,326 Silk, „ „ ............ 28,502 Sundries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,033 TOTAL . . . . . . Tls. 74,861 58 Comparing this with the same table for 1867, see page 66, a remarkable change is to be seen in the composition of imports, cotton goods being for the first time more important than opium, a result, however, which unfortunately proved to be temporary only. Woollens have declined greatly both relatively and absolutely, while raw cotton has c being merged into “Sundries." In exports the only change is a marked increase in the relative importance of silk. W HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 77 with foreign opium. A noteworthy phenomenon is the fact that the importation of opium into Hongkong was always much greater than into the whole of China, as shown in the Customs statistics. Assuming that practically all opium for China was first landed at Hongkong, and that the consumption there was negligible,80 it follows that much opium must have been imported into China, principally at the southern ports, by native vessels, which did not come under the cognizance of the Maritime Customs. Apart from smuggling, which there is reason to believe continued on a considerable scale, in spite of the legalisation of the traffic, the Native Custom Houses, not under the control of the Foreign Inspectorate, did not keep any statistics of the legal imports by junk which were trustworthy, or are available to-day. When an estimate of the amount smuggled or landed at Native Custom Houses is added to the import through the Maritime Customs,81 an increase in the total import at the end of the period is manifested, but it is proportionately small. In considering the bearing of this fact in the composition of China's foreign trade as a whole, it should be remembered that other articles of commerce, such as cotton piece goods for example, were also undoubtedly imported from Hongkong into South China ports by the same means.82 Tea. The export of tea from China to foreign countries approximately doubled during the period under review.83 A marked slump occurred during the years 1863-66, due partly to the American Civil War. The American demand was almost entirely confined to green tea, which varied between one-fourth to one-sixth of the whole export from China. Two-thirds of the green tea went to the United States. Brick tea was solely a Russian demand. A small but growing percentage of tea was exported to Australia. But, speaking broadly, the tea trade, particularly the trade in black tea, was in the hands of British merchants, and London at this time was the tea emporium for the whole of Europe, where teas from China were mixed and blended and distributed to the various consumers. In the latter part of the period teas from India and Japan began to form an important part of the total supply. But during all these years the demand throughout the world was constantly increasing; tea was becoming a popular beverage, and its use was spreading to new classes of society in Western nations. Production in China had to be greatly extended to supply the growing demand, and in spite of the rise of competitors in other parts of the East, the period was one of great prosperity to cultivators and teamen in China. With the increase in supply there went a serious lowering of quality. Briefly, quality did not pay. The demand was always for cheap or middle grades of tea, and the difference in price between these and good teas was an insufficient inducement to growers. Almost any rubbish could be sold, and high standards of preparation and packing were of little immediate mercantile importance. In later years, however, the lack of proper attention to methods of growing and firing was to prove disastrous to the Chinese cultivator. The opening of the Suez Canal and the completion of the through telegraph line from Shanghai to London radically changed conditions in the tea market. In earlier years the price of tea was ruled by conditions in China, quantity and quality of the crop, demand and supply 78 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. at Shanghai, Foochow, Hankow, etc. In subsequent years the price of tea, speaking broadly, was governed by the state of the London market—quantity of stocks in hand, demand in England and Europe, estimated requirements for the future, etc. The big dealers were represented by agents in China, who ousted the old independent foreign merchants here, and who kept their principals informed by wire, and were in turn instructed how to act, in accordance with the outlook at the consumer's end of the market. The shortening of time on the sea journey had the double effect, firstly, of increasing stocks actually in hand at London, at any rate during the early months of each season when new teas piled themselves up in a way often disorganising to the whole market, and, secondly, at the same time of rendering big stocks unnecessary. The change amounted to little less than a revolution from the days of big fortunes made in a few years by the foreign "merchant princes ", who bought from the growers and teamen in China and shipped and sold speculatively to warehousemen in London, producers and consumers being far away from, and indeed in complete ignorance of, each other. Silk. The silk trade passed through many vicissitudes during this period. It was not carried along on a wave of steadily increasing demand, as the tea trade was. In quantity the average annual export was decidedly less in the later years than at the beginning of the period, but prices ruled higher, and the value of the trade was consequently greater. The export of silk from China was a highly speculative business, owing to the distance of the markets operated, the uncertainty of the yearly supply of silk, and the existence of a very large competing production of raw silk in Europe. The early years of the period were the most prosperous; in 1863 and 1864 the Taiping Rebellion reached its climax of destruction, right in the very silk- producing districts of Kiangsu and Chekiang; the export fell away to less than one-half, almost to one-third, of the previous level. The wholesale cutting down of mulberry trees restricted production for some years. The rest of the period is marked by a steady recovery, varied by the changes in price caused by the fluctuations in demand and supply in Europe. The export of silk from China consisted principally of raw silk from Shanghai and Canton. In the early years Canton only supplied about 8 per cent. of the whole, but in later years a remarkable expansion of silk cultivation in the province of Kwangtung led to increased exports, and in the years 1870 and 1871 Canton supplied about one-quarter of the total export. Apart from raw silk, the only other silk export of any importance was silk piece goods. For some reasons the Canton product alone was in any demand abroad. This was a steady trade, but it had no elasticity, and the export remained throughout at round about 3 million dollars worth a year. Other exports were thrown silk and refuse or waste silk, but these were comparatively of small importance. The export abroad of silk from ports other than Canton and Shanghai was completely negligible.84 In the silk market a similar revolution was brought about by the Suez Canal and the telegraph to that described above for the tea trade. China, however, had by no means the same dominating position as in the tea market. There were other important sources of supply, and HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 79 silk was thus an even more uncertain business than tea. Buying was not at this time done by agents; foreign merchants began to sell their silk by telegraph "to arrive" in London, and aided by banks immediately entered the market again. The old-fashioned "venture" of a shipment of silk, with the outturn unknown and the proceeds unavailable till the voyage was ended and the goods actually landed and sold, was completely a thing of the past. The dealer was no longer a true "merchant", but had become a mere link in a trading chain, bound fast to the interests financing him. Overland Trade to Russia. Trade with Russia over the land frontier at Kiakhta, once an important part of China's total foreign trade, receded during the present period into comparative insignificance. Originally this was a barter trade. The importation of tea by sea into Russia was forbidden. Tea was bartered at Kiakhta for Russian cloth and other manufactures. The import of woollens by this route was at one time considerable, being valued at £361,000 in 1859, £275,000 in 1861, and £234,000 in 1863.85 But the rapid development of sea-borne commerce at the northern ports opened by the Treaties of Tientsin killed the trade, and the annual import of cloth by this route only amounted to a few thousand taels a year during the remainder of the period. By Russian Imperial Ukase the prohibition on the import of tea into Russia by sea was withdrawn in 1861. In the same year the prohibition on the export of gold or silver coins, which had made the Kiakhta trade a barter one only, was relaxed, to be abolished altogether in 1864. Thus the important monopoly of the Russian tea trade at Kiakhta came to an end, much to the benefit of the Russian consumer and to the loss of the Chinese merchants of Maimaichen, the Chinese town at Kiakhta, who for years past had been obtaining Russian woollen cloth for less than its cost of production, the high price obtained for tea recouping the Russian merchant. Many Russian firms moved to Hankow, whence direct shipments began to be made to Odessa. Brick tea, however, continued to go via Kiakhta. An interesting feature of this Russian tea trade is the fact that representatives of Russian firms actually went into the tea districts in the interior and there resided and set up agencies for the buying of tea. For the market in European Russia they bought the very pick of the new season's teas. For the Siberian market they established workshops for the manufacture of brick tea. The overland trade at Kiakhta was put under new regulations in 1862,88 conforming as far as possible to the system of foreign trade established by the Tientsin Treaties. An important modification of these was agreed to on the 15th April 1866, which abolished the coast trade duty on Chinese produce brought from other ports to Tientsin for export thence under bond to Kiakhta, the principle being that movement from Tientsin to Kiakhta was considered as direct export abroad. Under this privilege the export of tea overland to Mongolia and Siberia increased from 1,648,000 pounds in 1865 to 2,399,000 in 1866 and 8,680,000 pounds in 1867.87 Thus this tea export was all that was left of the one time important overland commerce; it amounted in 1871 to only one-sixteenth part of the tea trade and one seventy-fifth part of the total export trade of China. so DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Chinese Maritime Customs. The first origin of the administration of the Chinese Customs by foreigners at Shanghai has already been described above.88 The experiment was an unqualified success. Not only did the Shanghai Taotai find his receipts up and his expenses down, but he realised that the old Chinese system was inadequate to the new conditions, and that only foreigners with foreign methods could cope with foreign trade carried on under the treaty privileges, complicated as they were by extraterritorial rights, steam navigation, and a whole body of international usage concerning shipping with which Chinese Customs officials were quite unfamiliar. In addition to all this, Shanghai was filled with foreign adventurers and low-class merchants ready and anxious to turn their hand to smuggling, running of contraband, or any illegality that promised profits.89 The Chinese yamen type of official was powerless to deal with this semi-organised lawlessness, and his underlings were corrupt and venal. The new foreign Inspectors of Customs, in effect if not in theory the delegates of the Consulates of the three important foreign powers, had the required knowledge, experience, and authority. Order was restored out of threatened chaos. The change was beneficial to all concerned, not least to the honest merchant, who no longer found himself penalised by his honesty and at a competitive disadvantage with those who had no scruples against false declarations, bribery, or any other fraud on Chinese revenue laws. The old system was notoriously inefficient. The responsible head of the Customs, every- where except at Canton, was a local territorial official with many other and more important functions. The subordinates often drew no official pay. Customs tariffs, though usually minute and precise, were nowhere effectively enforced. Duties were in fact a matter of bargaining and "arrangement".70 At Shanghai things were even worse than at most other places. A large foreign trade had grown up suddenly in the course of a few years subsequent to 1843, and the only Chinese organisation and body of rules and precedents that might have been able to cope with it, namely, a copy of that built up at Canton, was expressly interdicted by the Treaties of Nanking, Wanghia, Whampoa, etc. And until the institution of the foreign Inspectorship, 10 years after the opening of Shanghai, no adequate substitute was found.71 The fiscal system of the Manchu Empire was on a "quota" basis. That is to say, the amount to be remitted by each collecting official was fixed; it could not be less; but if the real revenue was more, no questions were asked. The Peking Treasury, however, had no information whatever for fixing a quota for the new foreign trade at Shanghai. Hence it was decreed that the foreign duties paid were to be entered in books to be sealed monthly, and the whole of the proceeds were to be remitted to Peking. Thus not only had the silver to be refined and forwarded at the local Taotai's expense, but the more he collected the greater would be the sum he would be called upon to produce ever after. In these circumstances an astonishingly lax and inefficient f Customs system prevailed at Shanghai. Foreigners regarded the Customs establishment as mo/e or less a legal fiction. There was no proper examination or supervision. The British Consul reported that at least 12 per cent. of all British manufactures were landed without payment of HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 81 duty, and estimated that the total Customs revenue lost was not less than 25 per cent. He complained that "two or three sleepy menials at $5 or $6 a month" were the sole means existing for the collection of duty, with which he was bound by the Treaty of Nanking to co-operate.78 The institution in 1854 of a foreign Inspectorship of three members came at a time of complete breakdown in such Customs arrangements as there were. But though it was in its origin a temporary makeshift organised by the Consuls of the three chief foreign powers, no return to the old order of things was subsequently possible. The financial gain to the Chinese treasuries, Imperial and provincial, both hard hit by internal rebellion and foreign war, surpassed all possible expectation. The first half-year of the foreign Inspectors, ending December 1854, produced a collection of over a million taels on exports alone. In one year the revenue was doubled, and in 1859 the total was nearly 3 million taels, exclusive of duties collected on opium, at that time not yet under Customs control. Together with this great increase in the collection, there went an even more striking economy in costs. Sir Robert Hart estimated the cost of collection under the native system as rather over than under 100 per cent.,73 whereas under the foreign Inspectorship at Shanghai it was just over 2 per cent.74 The opposition to the employment of foreigners in the Chinese Customs came not so much from the Chinese officials as from the foreign consuls and the foreign merchants. The consuls feared that the Inspectors were usurping some of their powers and position. In the conflict with the British Consul, the experiment of a foreign Inspectorship received the strong support of the highest British official in China, Sir John Bowring, the Minister Plenipotentiary and Superintendent of Trade. In the course of time official difficulties were smoothed out and foreign jealousies assuaged. Similarly with the foreign merchants; violent and bitter opposition gradually toned down to toleration and even mild approval. Previously foreign merchants had not concerned themselves with Customs formalities; they were a part of the purely Chinese side of the business, and were left to the comprador, shroff, or clerks to "fix up" in the usual way. The foreign Inspectorship required punctual attendance to regulations, and the presentation of accurate and formal documents. This necessitated either personal attention on the part of the foreigner, or the employment of linguist clerks with special qualifications to carry out Custom House business. The new obligations and additional trouble were intensely resented at first, and the foreign community rang with denunciations of the three foreign Inspectors.75 But this attitude soon changed among the respectable, honest merchants. They realised the advantages of an efficient and business-like Custom House, strictly enforced regulations, and equal treatment for all. Where revenue laws are laxly and corruptly enforced, the better and more scrupulous merchant is always at a competitive disadvantage with the worse and less scrupulous. Thus in 1856 the new Customs establishment was referred to as "a boon to the community" in the leading foreign newspaper.78 And the British Consul reported in December 1857: "The feeling of the foreign merchant is generally in favour of the foreign inspectorship system, for it places all on an equality." 77 The opposition from the low-class merchants, adventurers, and smugglers was, of course, of a different kind and more permanent. For some years they had found in the weakness of 6 82 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. native officials many opportunities of gain. They did not welcome an administration which knew how to attack them through their own laws and their own Consuls. The sanctions for offences by foreigners against the revenue interests and regulations of China raised difficult questions, mainly on account of the rights of extraterritorial jurisdiction. A distinction had at a very early date to be drawn between the person of the merchant and the goods concerned. By treaty China could not touch the former, but no such disability attached to the enforcement of revenue laws against the latter. The question was not brought to a solution under the foreign Inspectorship of three at Shanghai, and later formed one of the major problems confronting Sir Robert Hart in the early years of the new Customs Service. The great weakness of the Shanghai Inspectorship was its uniqueness. The Customs at other ports, Canton, Amoy, etc., were run on the old native lines. The foreign community at Shanghai repeatedly protested against the competitive disadvantage of the strict and rigid collection of duties at Shanghai, as against the possibility of easier and more favourable "arrangements" elsewhere. In a way they were right. Not that Shanghai really suffered as a place of business; its natural advantages were too great; but it was impossible to have one Customs system at Shanghai and totally different and independent systems at other ports. Trade would have been fettered by uncertainty; insoluble questions would have arisen as to the port at which duty was really payable; bitter and acrimonious disputes between foreign merchants and their Consuls on one side and Chinese Customs officials on the other would have arisen at all ports over double taxation, duty exemption, etc. With the intended opening of 11 new ports to foreign trade under the Treaties of Tientsin, all these difficulties would have been greatly intensified. There was a universal consensus of opinion, among both Chinese and foreign officials and merchants alike, that the successful Shanghai experiment must be extended to all ports. Rule 10 of the Rules of Trade, agreed upon in November 1858 to implement the Treaties of Tientsin, recorded that "one uniform system shall be enforced at every port", and arranged that a "High Officer" should be appointed to superintend foreign trade everywhere, and that he should be free to choose without Consular interference foreigners to assist him in collecting the revenue, preventing smuggling, regulating harbours, and providing aids to navigation. From the context of contemporary correspondence, as well as the rather elliptical phraseology of the official rule, it is clear that the appointment of a foreign Chief Inspector and some such organisation as that which afterwards became known as the "Chinese Customs Service" was in the minds of all who discussed, agreed to, and signed this clause. Mr. Horatio Nelson Lay became the first Inspector General of Customs. He had succeeded Captain (afterwards Sir) T. F. Wade in June 1855 as the British member of the Inspectorship at Shanghai.78 Nominally one of three, he had become in actual practice the real executive head of the Shanghai Customs establishment. Added to a remarkable command of the Chinese language, both written and spoken, Mr. Lay possessed great organising ability, tireless energy and initiative, a strongly individual personality, and great ambition. He was just the sort of man required to set in motion the new organisation contemplated. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 83 Mr. Lay was first appointed Inspector General by the Imperial Commissioner for Foreign Affairs at Shanghai, early in 1859. The other two foreign Inspectors were paid off, and in order to leave Mr. Lay free for his new work, Mr. H. Tudor Davies was put in charge of the Shanghai Customs, which thus first became separated from the Inspectorate General.79 The first outport to which the new organisation was extended was Canton. Here the Hoppo, the Chief of the Customs, having heard of the great increase in the duties collected at Shanghai, took the initiative of his own accord. A new Customs office, a branch of the Foreign Inspectorate, was instituted at Canton in October 1859. It was here that Mr. Robert Hart, then an interpreter in the British Consular Service, resigned his position and joined the new Chinese Customs Service. Maritime, i.e., so-called "Foreign," Custom Houses were opened at Swatow in 1860; at Chinkiang, Ningpo, Tientsin, and Foochow in 1861; supervising offices (the collection of duty not being undertaken till later) at Hankow and Kiukiang in the same year; Custom Houses at Amoy in 1862, at Chefoo, Tamsui, and Takow (Taiwanfu) in 1863, and at Newchwang in 1864. Mr. Robert Hart, who succeeded Mr. H. N. Lay as Inspector General in 1863, wrote to the British Minister Plenipotentiary, under date November 1864, stating that he had under him Custom Houses at each of the 14 ports open to foreign trade, with a personnel in the new service of about 400 foreigners and 1,000 Chinese.80 In those days before telegraphs and railways existed, without postal facilities, and at a time when even communication by steam vessel was in its infancy and not always available, such a result in a few short years would have been impossible without executive abilities of the highest order in the responsible heads; sound judgment in the choice of men; fertility of resource in improvisation; exceptional powers of organisation; knowledge, wisdom, and forethought in finding and laying down for others the right path where no man had ever walked before. Mr. H. N. Lay was formally commissioned as Inspector General, by the Imperial Government at Peking, on the 21st January 1861. But in June of the same year, being in bad health, he was granted leave and went home to England. Messrs. Robert Hart and G. H. Fitzroy were then appointed conjointly Officiating Inspectors General during Mr. Lay's absence. But the actual direction of the general affairs of the Customs devolved solely on Mr. Hart. Mr. Fitzroy seems to have confined himself to Shanghai, where he functioned as Commissioner. Mr. Lay while in England undertook the purchase and organisation of the famous Lay-Osborn flotilla for the suppression of rebellion, piracy, and smuggling. But, in attempting to keep too much in his own hands, he overreached himself and lost the confidence and goodwill of the high Chinese authorities. The Lay-Osborn flotilla was accordingly disbanded, and Mr. Lay, shortly after his return from leave in 1863, was permitted to resign. Mr. Hart was then substantively appointed Inspector General81 on the 30th November 1863, a post which he held until his death in England in 1911. Though the new "Inspectorate of Customs" developed historically out of the Shanghai Customs Inspectorship, the two were really very different in spirit and outlook, even more than in organisation and responsibility. 84 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. It was all very well for Sir John Bowring, British Minister Plenipotentiary and Superintendent of Trade, to instruct the British Consul that the Foreign Inspectors were to be considered not as foreign but as Chinese officials. In actual fact they were all appointed by their respective Consuls, continued to be members of their various Consular staffs, functioned for a time as Inspector, and returned one by one to their proper duties. The very use of the word "considered" implies that though they were not, they should be treated as if they were Chinese officials. Contemporary description leaves no doubt of the alien status of the Shanghai arrangement. Mr. Hart, writing in 1864, said of it: "In its origin and in respect of the objects it chiefly contemplated, the Inspectorate partook of the nature of a foreign, rather than of a native establishment: it was in short a foreign governmental measure, and did not originate with the Chinese authorities." 82 Mr. T. T. Meadows, then British Consul at Ningpo, wrote: "Foreign Inspectorates ... of Shanghai are virtually maintained by foreign states; that is to say the power, respectability, and usefulness is entirely the result of the instruments, aid and countenance given by foreign governments." 83 The new Customs Service under an Inspector General was from the first on a very different footing. Mr. Lay was chosen and appointed by the Chinese; in the earliest days he acted in fact as the direct deputy of the Imperial Grand Commissioner and Superintendent (conjointly the Governor General of the Two Kiang provinces). Mr. (later Sir Frederick) Bruce in an official despatch to Lord John Russell, British Foreign Minister, wrote: "Your Lordship will see that the new system differs from that which previously existed at Shanghai, inasmuch as the foreigners employed are no longer recommended by the foreign Consuls. It has now become a purely Chinese service." 84 The duty of choosing these foreigners devolved solely on the Inspector General, who became directly responsible to the Chinese for their good conduct and efficiency. Yet he was not allowed altogether a free hand. Each of the three most interested powers had a representative among the original Inspectors at Shanghai. With the extension of a foreign administered system to all ports, it became obviously impossible for all the powers to have an Inspector of their own nationality at every port. The only possible course was to make the new Service cosmopolitan as a whole, and to have here a British, and there an American or French Commissioner. In 1864 the Inspector General had under him five British Commissioners, three American, three French, and one German. In 1873 out of a total of 93 in the In-door Revenue Staff, 58 were British, 8 American, 12 French, 11 German, and 4 of other nationalities. As a matter of fact national jealousies were never far below the surface, especially in the appointment of Commissioners, and foreign Ministers in China often took it upon themselves later on to push their claims almost to the verge of interference with the Inspector General's control of his staff. Nowhere were Sir Robert Hart's tact and skill shown to greater advantage than in his handling of this matter, where national pride and interest had to be satisfied without allowing the principle of national representation in the Chinese Customs to crystallise into any hard and fast rule or precedent, and so become a perennial element of rivalry and dissension. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 85 Without this new Customs Service, it is safe to say that the Treaties of Tientsin could never have been put into effect, and that the international trade of China would never have developed as in fact it did. The matter cannot be better stated than by the great Inspector General himself: "It is not too much to say that with the treaties into which China has entered . . such a system as that of the Foreign Inspectorate became, for a time at least, a necessity . . . with a growing commerce which, in its development and intricate operations necessitated proper records, and daily called for drawbacks, exemption certificates, and other documents, it became absolutely requisite to have a Customs system under which duties should be justly collected, records correctly kept, office work thoroughly understood and efficiently performed, and which should besides, ensure uniformity at the ports . . . with trade at more than a dozen ports, with firms that must now be numbered by the hundred, with small capitalists, and with increasingly intricate operations, an independency of obligations . . . has already grown up, which can only be met by the working of such an uniform and efficient system as the Inspectorate promises to be." M The first and principal object of any Customs organisation is, of course, the collection of duties. In this matter Mr. Hart had from the beginning the goodwill and support of the highest officials in the Imperial Government. They saw in the increased revenue a way out of their increasing financial troubles. It is difficult to imagine how the war indemnities exacted by the British and French could have been paid without the aid of the Inspectorate of Customs.** The case was different with the provincial and local officials. The new Customs cut seriously into their sources of revenue, and they were often in real financial difficulties as a result of this change. When Mr. Hart officially took over in 1863, he found the seven existing Custom Houses still under the influence of the traditional ideas of decentralisation, with the foreign Commissioner and his Chinese colleague, the Superintendent, considering local needs and looking to the provincial authorities. But, speaking broadly, the provinces' loss was Peking's gain, and with the aid of the Imperial Court behind him, the Inspector General was gradually able to establish everv-where the centralised authority of the new administration. The Chinese Customs collected not only import duties, as in other countries, but also export duties, which are uncommon elsewhere. Both import and export duties were absolutely definite, fixed by tariffs attached to the treaties. Exact and equal collection, as required by these tariffs, could never have been enforced by the previous Customs, on methods and by staffs imbued with very different traditions. Moreover, these duties had to be the same at all ports, also an impossibility under the previous system of local or provincial administration. A centralised, disciplined, Customs organisation was a sine qua rum for the fulfilment of the Treaties of Tientsin. The Chinese Customs also had to collect duties on the inter port (so-called coast) trade. Foreigners participated in this, as merchants as well as carriers; not by treaty right, but by the prescriptive usage of many years.*7 Indeed, much the greater part of both foreign imports and direct exports abroad were, or had been, moved coastwise. Thus foreign complication» were 86 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. unavoidably present in the handling even of this apparently purely internal Chinese commerce. Under the treaties foreign imports could only be taxed once. This necessitated a Customs system which could both issue and respect the proper protecting documents, when foreign goods were moved from port to port. Theoretically the treaties could have been carried out by a method of refund and repayment at each move. But the resulting delays, difficulties of identification, and useless movement of funds would have been a sad handicap on trade. Goods destined for export, unless under transit certificate, were, however, under no restriction as to taxation, except at the port of direct export abroad. "Under the Chinese system, each custom house was an independent unit, levying taxes without regard to what had been levied elsewhere on the same goods . . . This was actually the method of taxation which the Chinese officials longed to apply to shipments of native produce . . . but Mr. Hart . . . pressed upon them the wisdom of lighter taxation." 88 After some controversy, it was finally arranged that full export duty should be charged at the port of origin, and a "coast trade half-duty" at the second port, to be refunded if the goods were exported abroad within one year. The Customs had also to collect tonnage dues, 4 mace a ton according to the treaties. This involved questions of measurement, particularly the equivalents of metric tons and various "lasts", etc., some of which dragged on for years before final solution. It also required the issue and/or honouring of certificates, as tonnage dues were not again payable at any port in China within a period of four months. Finally, the Customs had to collect transit dues, or the half-duty by which the internal inland taxes could be compounded. Nominally this applied both to foreign imports going inland and to native goods destined for export abroad. But in actual practice the only article of commerce that came into the latter category was silk cocoons. This commutation of the taxation on the movement of goods in the interior was a further blow at the fiscal resources of local officials, and everywhere met with prolonged and stubborn obstruction. This is no place for details of the never-settled controversy. But to the Customs fell the task of issuing the certificates and of trying to prevent abuse of the privilege, on the one hand, and of enforcing respect for it when due, on the other. Thus it can be seen that the whole course of China's international trade, not only the bare import and export, but the collection and distribution of its components throughout the length and breadth of the empire, was inextricably involved with the system of Customs administration adopted by the Chinese Government. The Customs were concerned from the moment a foreign ship's papers were deposited with the Consul. Harmonious working arrangements had to be established with foreign officials, as well as with foreign merchants. Chinese revenue had to be secured. Protection had to be given to foreign goods from double taxation. The coastal traffic required systematised handling under some accepted code of rules. Inland transit had to be regulated. Proper statistics of trade required collecting and publishing. Harbour rules had everywhere to be devised and HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 87 enforced, and pilotage supervised and organised. Lights and aids to navigation were urgently needed. Uniformity, system, and organisation had everywhere to be created ab initio. And, with small powers of compulsion, a disciplined staff to carry out all the above had to be collected and welded together out of many discordant cosmopolitan elements. It was indeed a stupendous task, comparable to one of the fabled labours of Hercules. As a matter of history, this task was in fact accomplished, and the Chinese Maritime Customs is the monument to the memory of the man who accomplished it. Enough has been said to show that the Customs Administration was the keystone to the whole edifice of China's foreign trade, without which everything would have fallen apart and disintegrated. If the foundations had not been well and truly laid by its real founder, the new Service could not have endured long; its steady development in later years, the continual extension of its responsibilities and functions, the vitality of growth and adaptation which this unique organisation, under other Inspectors General, has invariably shown when faced with new needs and changed conditions, will always remain a living testimony to the greatness of its architect and builder, Sir Robert Hart, Inspector General for 47 years. The Chinese Maritime Customs is still to-day an essential and integral part of the financial and commercial structure of modern China. In the prophetic words of Sir Robert Hart himself, "it will have finished its work when it shall have produced a native administration as honest and as efficient, to replace it." 89 88 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. NOTES. 1 In this and the subsequent chapter all figures may be assumed to have been quoted from Customs Trade Returns, unless otherwise stated in the reference notes. 2 The tariff was a general one, applicable to both imports and exports. 3 The prohibition of the export of beans and beancake was withdrawn in 1869. * Tientsin was added to the other ten in the Convention of Peking, 1860. * The whole of this account of the Treaties of Tientsin is in effect a resume of the chapters covering the same ground in H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. I. 6 The dates of the establishment of Maritime Customs offices at the new ports were as follows:— Swatow Office January 1860 Chinkiang April 1861 Tientsin May 1861 Kiukiang January 1862 Hankow „ 1862 Chefoo , March 1862 Tamsui ,. Sept. 1863 Takow March 1864 Newchwang Office April 1864 7 S. Wells Williams: "Chinese Commercial Guide, 1863," p. 197. 8 Ibid., p. 198. * Ibid., p. 197. 10 W. F. Mayers: "Treaty Ports of China," passim. 11 Report by Messrs. Michie and Francis, delegates of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce to the Mission to Szechwan, 1869. Quoted in British Consul's Trade Report on Hankow for 1869: Commercial Reports from H.M.'s Consuls in China, 1869-70, p. 228. 13 See above, Chapter III, pp. 33, 41. 13 Commercial Reports from British Consuls in China, 1869-70: Report of Delegates of Shanghai British Chamber of Commerce accompanying the British Mission to the Upper Yangtze, p. 229. 14 See above, Chapter III, p. 22. 15 For statistics, see Commercial Reports from British Consuls in China, 1869-70, pp. 43, 207. "Commercial Reports from British Consuls in China, 1870, p. 7. "The Customs did not begin to publish statistics of the movement of bullion till 1888. 19 "North-China Herald," 30th April 1859 and 14th April 1860. 1• "North-China Herald," 17th March 1860. 20 "North-China Herald," 26th May 1860. 41 See above, Chapter III, pp. 32, 43. 32 S. Wells Williams: "Chinese Commercial Guide, 1863," p. 106. 23 Commercial Reports from British Consuls in China, Japan, and Siam, 1866-68: Shanghai, 1866, p. 117. 24 Customs Trade Reports, 1864: Hankow. ""North-China Herald." 31st January 1863. 20 British Parliamentary Papers, No. 4 of 1864: British Consul's Report on Trade of Canton for 1862, p. 61. 27 Ibid., British Consul's Report on Trade of Amoy, 1862, p. 67. 28 S. Wells Williams: "Chinese Commercial Guide, 1863," p. 151. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 89 "The composition of the trade at Shanghai carried in British ships in 1863 was as follows:— (000's omitted.) IMPORTS. From Great Britain: Th. Cotton manufactures 3,988 Woollen manufactures 3,193 Miscellaneous manufactures 657 Metals 1,245 Coal 119 Sundries 821 Th. 10,723 [tic] From British Settlements: Th. Straits produce 1,261 Rice 3,043 Th. 4,304 From Japan: Th. Silk 2,263 Tea 366 Timber 1,284 Miscellaneous 731 Th. 4,644 . Opium 20,251 Treasure 11,557 Chinese Coast Trade 14,660 Th. 66,139 RE-EXPORTS Th. 23,385 EXPORTS. Abroad: Th. Tea 11,291 Silk 7,649 Raw cotton 8,268 Sundries 47 Th. 27,255 Coast Trade 2,172 Th. 29,427 (Table from Commercial Reports from British Consuls in China, 1862-64: Shanghai, 1863, pp. 167, 168.) » "North-China Herald," 14th May 1864. "Commercial Reports from British Consuls in China, 1862-64: Canton, 1863, p. 77. "Ibid., Tientsin, 1863, p. 133. 33 I.e., trade carried in vessels under the foreign flag. ""London Gazette," 20th September 1864. u Commercial Reports from British Consuls in China, 1862-64: Shanghai, 1864, p. 41. Ibid., Kiukiang, 1864, p. 169. "Ibid., Canton, 1864, p. 192. M Ibid., Hankow, 1864, p. 114. "Commercial Reports from British Consuls in China, Japan, and Siam, 1865-66: Shanghai, 1866, p. 67. 90 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 4,1 Ibid., Canton, 1866, p. 108. 41 Ibid., Hankow, 1866, p. 153. ""North-China Herald," 6th June 1867. *' I.e., gross imports less re-exports. "See above, Chapter II, p. 18. "I.e., exclusive of treasure. 48 "North-China Herald," 2nd June 1869. 47 "North-China Herald," 30th March 1869. 48 Commercial Reports from British Consuls in China and Siam, 1869: Shanghai, 1868, p. 19. 4!' Commercial Reports from British Consuls in China, Japan, and Siam, 1866-68: Shanghai, 1867, p. 117. 50 E.g., 42,000 piculs of tea from the Kwangtung province were estimated to have been exported from Hongkong and Macao without coming under the cognizance of the Maritime Customs.—Commercial Reports from British Consuls in China, Japan, and Siam, 1866-68: Canton, 1867, p. 53. 51 The import of cotton piece goods at Shanghai was 25,000,000 yards more in 1869 than in any previous year.— "North-China Herald," 25th January 1870. H Commercial Reports from British Consuls in China, 1869-70: Shanghai, p. 15. ""North-China Herald": "Retrospect, 1868-72," p. 107. "Commercial Reports from British Consuls in China, 1870-71: Canton, p. 66. See also above, pp. 65, 68. "See above, pp. 61, 63. M Commercial Reports from British Consuls in China, 1871: Hankow, p. 34. ""North-China Herald": "Retrospect, 1868-72," p. 138. 58 The difference between the sum of imports and exports here shown, and the total foreign trade set forth above, is to be accounted for by the re-exports of foreign goods to foreign countries, principally a depot trade with Japan. "The annual values of foreign cotton goods imported into China are shown in the following table:— (000's omitted.) Shanghai. Whole of China. TU. Tls. 1859 8,200 (estimated.) 1860 10,800 ( „ ) 1861 10,250 ( „ ) 1862 4,150 ( „ ) 1863 4,100 ( „ ) 1864 5,367 1865 6,614 1866 11,492 1867 11,498 14,623 1868 17,429 22,373 1869 18,805 25,209 1870 17,851 22,308 1871 23,471 29,804 (Compiled or extracted from Customs Trade Reports.) 80 A few hundred chests a year were re-exported from Hongkong to California, and elsewhere, to meet the demand of Chinese colonies abroad. "Imported into Chinese Estimated Amount Treaty Ports imported into Total Total by Foreign China from Hongkong estimated estimated Vessels. by Native Vessels. Import. Value. Piculs. Piculs. Piculs. Taels. 1865 56,133 20,390 76,523 34,997,000 1866 64,516 16,834 81.350 42,582,000 1867 60,948 25,582 86,530 44,018,000 1868 53,915 15,622 69,537 33,158,000 1869 53,413 32,652 86,065 42,428,000 1S70 58,817 36,228 95,045 44,765,000 1871 59,670 30,074 89,744 45,167,000 HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 91 The total export from India to China for the earlier part of the period was as follows:—■ . Chests. Approximate No. of Piculs. '1858-59 74,707 (84,000) 1859- 60 54,863 . (61,700) 1860- 61 59,405 (66,800) 1861- 62 60,012 (67,500) 1862- 63 75,331 (84,700) 1863- 64 62,025 (69,800) 1864- 65 75,128 (84,500) 1865- 66 76,863 (86,500) A chest of Malwa opium weighed 1 picul. A chest of Patna or Benares opium weighed 1 picul and 20 catties, Malwa opium on the average accounted for three-fifths of the total. To convert the above number of chests to piculs, for purposes of comparison, one-eighth has been added. "See above, p. 65, concerning the importation of cotton piece goods and Siamese rice by Canton merchants. The export abroad of tea from the whole of China was as follows:— Piculs. 1866 1,185,000 1867 1,314,000 1868 1,441,000 1869 1,528,000 1870 1,369,000 1871 1,688,000 Piculs. 1859 832,000 (estimated only.) 1860 763,000 ( „ ) 1861 1,000,000 ( „ ) 1862 1,300,000 ( ,. ) 1863 1,281,000 1864 1,175,000 1865 1,210,000 N.B.—To the figures from 1863 onwards, taken from Trade Returns published by the Chinese Maritime Customs, an unknown quantity, probably between 20 and 50 thousand piculs a year, should be added to represent the export in native vessels, not coming under the cognizance of the Maritime Customs (see Note No. 50 above); a further unknown quantity of which no estimate can be made represented the export over the long land frontiers into Tibet, Mongolia, Siberia, and Russia. 64 The export abroad of raw silk from the ports of Canton and Shanghai combined is shown below:— Total Total Average Price Quantity. Value. at Shanghai. Piculs. Tads. Tls. per picul. 1859 52,400 17,549,000 340 1860 62,800 21,810,000 355 1861 51,400 17,768,000 350 1862 61,400 23,857,000 400 1863 30,200 10,121,000 350 1864 23,800 9,455,000 410 1865 40,900 16,405,000 420 1866 30,900 14,226,000 500 1867 39,300 15,724,000 400 1868 50,800 24.421,000 480 1869 43,800 19,080,000 435 1870 45,800 21,272,000 465 1871 55,900 25,174,000 450 N.B.—The quantity for 1859 contains an estimate only of the export from Canton. The values from 1859—66 inclusive have been computed, but being calculations only and not records should be taken with some reserve. "Report by Mr. J. Michell, Attache to the British Embassy at St. Petersburg, quoted in Customs Trade Report for Tientsin, 1866. "Land Trade Regulations of the 4th March 1862. ""North-China Herald," 24th July 1869. The Custom House at Tientsin kept separate figures of this overland export of tea via Kiakhta from 1866 onwards, which were as follows:— Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value. 1866 1867 1868 Piculs. 28,700 73,932 68,373 Tls. 515,673 924,942 797,654 1869 1870 1871 Piculs. 111,881 83,356 100,223 Tls. 1,952,015 920,780 1,086,977 92 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. •" See above, Chapter III, pp. 29, 30. "Ibid., pp. 41-43. 10 Memorandum by Sir Robert (then Mr.) Hart on the " Introduction and Working of the Foreign Inspectorate of Customs," dated November 1864. See British Parliamentary Papers: China No. 1, 1865. "At the time of the opening of Shanghai to foreign trade in 1843 the Customs collection was farmed out to a cash shop, with an office between the East Gate of the Native City and the river. In 1848 a temple on the present site of the Custom House at Shanghai was taken over to deal with the foreign trade. 72 Sir Rutherford Alcock, quoted by Mr. George Lanning, on p. 4 of his confidential Memorandum on the Establishment of the Imperial Maritime Customs; Customs publications: VI.—Inspectorate Series: No. 5. 73 Memorandum by Sir Robert (then Mr.) Hart on the "Introduction and Working of the Foreign Inspectorate of Customs," dated November 1864. See British Parliamentary Papers, China No. 1, 1865. 71 Despatch, Earl of Elgin, British Envoy Extraordinary, to the Earl of Clarendon, British Foreign Minister, 15th April 1858: British Parliamentary Papers, 1859: "Correspondence relating to the Earl of Elgin's Special Missions, 1857-9," No. 145, p. 263. 75 See also Chapter HI, p. 30. 76 Quoted on p. 14 of Mr. Lanning's Memorandum on the Establishment of the Customs referred to above. 77 Memorandum by Sir Brooke Robertson, see British Parliamentary Papers, 1859: "Correspondence relating to the Earl of Elgin's Special Missions, 1857-9," p. 14. See also letter to Lord Elgin from British Chamber of Commerce, 2nd October 1857, ibid., p. 63. 78 See above, Chapter III, p. 30. 79 As illustrating the change at Shanghai it is interesting to note that while Mr. H. Tudor Davies signed as Inspector of Customs, Shanghai, on the 23rd July 1859, he signed as Commissioner of Customs on the 25th July 1859 (see Shanghai Customs Archives). B" The Customs Service List shows 424 foreigners and 1,417 Chinese employed in 1875, and 543 foreigners and 1,838 Chinese employed in 1881, the last year dealt with in this book. 81 From May to November 1863 Mr. Hart was nominally Commissioner at Shanghai, and concurrently in charge of the Yangtze ports and Ningpo. Mr. Lay being chiefly occupied with the affairs of the flotilla, Mr. Hart continued in de facto control of much of the business of the infant " Service." 82 Memorandum by Mr. Robert Hart, quoted above, Notes Nos. 70, 73. 83 Despatch, Mr. Vice-Consul Meadows to Mr. Bruce, 8th February 1858. British Parliamentary Papers, 1859: "Correspondence relating to the Earl of Elgin's Special Missions, 1857-9," Enclosure 1 in No. 110, p. 198. 8i British Parliamentary Papers, 1861: "Correspondence respecting Affairs in China, 1859-60," No. 112, p. 249. 85 Memorandum by Mr. Hart quoted above, Notes Nos. 70, 73, 82. SB One-fifth of the gross collection of the foreign Customs was paid to each of the new Governments concerned, British and French, until the total indemnity was liquidated in June 1866. 87 See above, p. 50. 88 H. B. Morse: "The International Relations of the Chinese Empire," Vol. II, pp. 152, 153. 89 Memorandum by Mr. Hart, November 1864, quoted above, Notes Nos. 70, 73, 82, 85. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 95 alf of 1872. reat Britain 'on pieces. CHAPTER V. • two most , the three CONSOLIDATION AND DEVELOPMENT, 1872-81. 7,600,000 Thus the The years from the abolition of the monopoly of the British East India Company to t! end of the Taiping Rebellion constituted a period full of dramatic history, with great char Shanghai, and striking developments in the foreign trade of China. The period 1872–81, now tà considered, was in contradistinction almost devoid of event; no marked change or nota 1872 was expansion of trade took place; it was a time of consolidation, of the establishment of norn, have been customary levels of trade, rather than of change or great growth. tea, the The period discussed in the previous chapter closed with a year of exceptional expansiont of tea of imports and exports alike. But towards the end of 1872 a marked slump in foreign impon pounds. set in, which dominated foreign trade for some years. Like its predecessors, this slump was through the main due to over-optimism on the part of foreign merchants. Just as the depression Oisoon as 1862–65 was caused by the overstocking of the China market with imports of foreign god this way beyond the needs and wants of the Chinese, the result of exaggerated expectations amon London merchants of the effects of the Treaties of Tientsin, so the depression of 1872–75 was due to the was same over-optimism, following the new inducements and facilities for over-trading provided by rated the opening of the Suez Canal and the completion of telegraphic communication with Europe. were This Sump as not confined to imports. Telegraphic communication, rapid transit, and lower in eights combined to make it easy for exporters, in fierce competition with each other, nese to flogule ine London market with excess supplies of tea and silk. Although 1872 was again n regcord year for exports, i was followed by three years of stagnation; another boom in Tere orts occurred in 1876, establishing a still higher record, which was followed in its turn by rith Other period of comparative stasis. stal TA The truth was that foreign trade in China, both import and export, was still museon wanks speculative, and with the new increased facilities on the one hand, and the old chaotic disorganised rivalry on the other, there was no quick or effective check on over-trading. . ,” A tendency towards improvement was noticeable in the middle years, but various factors checked and postponed the movement. In 1876 there was considerable uneasiness among foreign merchants and unsettlement of trade owing to the dispute with Great Britain over the murder of a British diplomatic official on the Yunnan-Burma frontier. The same year also was marked by a terrible drought in the northern provinces, Honan, Shansi, and Shensi, the beginning of a three-year famine which was estimated to have caused up to 10 million deaths. Also after 50 years of an almost stationary ratio between gold and silver, a long decline in the value of silver was inaugurated by a series of violent exchange fluctuations, which handicapped business. DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922–31. Es It became increasingly obvious that the market for foreign goods in China was not at s era an elastic one. At the same time strong and efficient competitors deprived China part of the market for her most important products, India and Japan for tea, France and aly for silk. In this connexion it is interesting to note that the balance of trade was °favourable” for the five years 1872–76, i.e., exports were greater than imports; 3 for the mainder of the period the balance of trade was unfavourable, as it had been previously from sie. time Customs statistics began. No safe deduction as to the general course of trade can, ever, be made, as the figures do not include the movement of specie or bullion, which the stoms had not yet begun to record in their returns, and of which little is now known. The period closed with three years of improved trade, 1879–81, years of internal and xternal peace without disturbing factors of any kind. Imports rose to a new record, though n fact this was only another of the periodical booms, and was followed by a further slump. should, however, be noted that in each slump trade only fell back to a level somewhat higher an before, and that each boom carried it to new heights. The movement was like the waves on a seashore when the tide is coming in. The development in China's foreign trade, 'ough slow, was real enough. Actually it was greater than the figures of total value indicate, hce the period was one of a marked fall in prices. There is no way of combining various kinds of quantities into one statistical total, but a glance at the figures for the amounts of different commodities, particularly the import of opium and piece goods and the export of tea and silk, 4 will make this point clear.5 ): + Following the plan adopted in the last chapter, the above general survey of trade will now be amplified by a brief chronological account of the more marked or interestil.: changes of the different years and seasons. One peculiarity of trade in China is its mainly seasonal character. As regards exports, both tea and silk were dealt with in definite seasons, each separated from the seasons before and after by a distinct interval of time, and each with its characteristics and differences. There and signs too that the trade in imported piece goo both cotton and woullen, was to some extent seasonal, the demand depending in normal yea on the wailability of cash, and this in its turn depending partly on the movement of crops an of money in payment for them. oncer The completion of through telegraphic communication with Europe in 1871 har immediate effects on the methods of conducting foreign trade. The rapid voyage thrown Suez Canal curtailed the duration of any venture, while the telegraph must hav lessen the risk of loss. On the one hand, foreign merchants with e On the one hand, foreign merchants with small capital, or trading on credit, were enabled to enter business formerly confined to a few wealthy "merchan he substitution of safer business on a small On the other hand, the elimination of risk meant the substitution of safer busine remuneration for the possibility of large gains. Thus not only were new-come to the China trade, but established merchants sought to compensate themselves for profits by extending the scope of their operations. In this way over-trading easier and more prevalent. is not only were new-comers attracted HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 95 The slump developed itself in imports first, commencing in the second half of 1872. China absorbed 16.2 per cent. of the total export of cotton manufactures from Great Britain in 1871, but only 13.1 per cent. in 1872, the effect of a decline of over 2 million pieces.8 Over-trading can be illustrated by the figures for grey shirtings and T-cloths, the two most important piece goods. The average consumption in China of these two articles for the three years 1870-72, in the markets supplied by Shanghai, was calculated at not more than 7,600,000 pieces a year,7 while the actual import was on the average 8,400,000 pieces a year. Thus the end of 1872 saw large stocks (said to be over 3 million pieces) in dealers' godowns at Shanghai, prices unprecedentedly low, and the goods undisposable except at ruinous losses. The slump in the export trade did not develop until a year later. The season 1872 was in quantity actually a record one for exports, but much of the business appears to have been speculative, as complaints of trading losses this year were universal. As regards tea, the merchant was favoured by a continually expanding demand. Nevertheless, the shipment of tea from China in 1872 exceeded the highest known rate of consumption abroad by 7 million pounds. Silk was even more speculative than tea. Immediately after the establishment of through telegraphic communication, a very radical change took place in trading methods. As soon as the merchant had purchased in Shanghai, he sold his silk "to arrive" in London. In this way contracts for the season 1872 had covered more than the purchasing power of the London market before a single bale arrived there.8 The results were disastrous; much silk was found on actual delivery to be inferior in quality to agreement, and in some cases adulterated or false-packed, and had to be sold on a glutted market at heavy losses. Many firms were completely ruined. One of the most interesting events of the year 1872 was the establishment of a Chinese line of steamers, the "China Merchants Steam Navigation Company", to engage in the coastal trade of China, especially in the conveyance of tribute rice by sea to Tientsin. Foreigners were employed only in a subordinate capacity as officers of vessels, none being connected with the management of the Company, while the shares were non-transferable to foreigners. A translation of the prospectus is worth quoting: "When the five treaty ports were first opened to trade, foreign sailing vessels were largely employed, and the occupation of native junks diminished daily. Later on steamers came from every quarter, and freights were greatly reduced. The steamers were more substantial than sailing vessels and ten times faster; hence shippers, finding their cargo free from moisture and yielding quick returns, eagerly contended in patronising the steamers, and thus the trade of sailing vessels was largely encroached upon. This of state affairs being now established, the former status can hardly be regained." Hence it followed that the Chinese must take up the owning and running of steamships. This venture caused considerable anxiety in foreign shipping circles, but in the event it led to a beneficent development of Chinese coal mines as suppliers of fuel for Chinese steam vessels, and also to the opening of additional treaty ports. 96 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The following year, 1873, marked the depths of the slump in the foreign trade of China. By common consent it was the worst year of depression within the memory of foreign merchants in China." The total import of cotton goods into China decreased by more than a quarter and was under 9 million pieces, and less in value than in any year since 1867. At the ports of Tientsin and Chefoo, supplying the very important demand of North China, the decrease amounted to as much as one-third, and at Chinkiang, another very important consuming centre, to 500,000 pieces, also nearly one-third. But this reduction of import was in reality a process leading to recovery, since redundant stocks were got rid of and trade resumed in a healthier condition. An interesting change of demand, that should be specially noted, was the fall in the consumption (as well as the import) of T-cloths. This article was the one above all others among foreign piece goods that imitated the product of native manufacture and sought to compete with it most directly. T-cloths were largely responsible for the boom in foreign cottons, 1869-71,10 and their decline in popularity was probably a direct consequence of a series of good cotton crops in China, beginning in 1873, which reduced the price and increased the quantity of native cotton cloth. The export trade was as bad as the import. The total export of tea went down by over 150,000 piculs. This was due to the simultaneous overstocking of both the American and British markets. There was a remarkable collapse of the demand for green tea on the New York market, and at the same time exaggerated notions of the effect of the new Adulteration Act in England prevented green teas being dealt with there. Curiously enough there was a slight increase in the quantity of silk exported from Shanghai, but the season was absolutely disastrous for all concerned with the China silk trade, as prices took a sudden fall of 30 per cent. At Canton dealers were forewarned by events at Shanghai, and business was restricted, exports of raw silk being down by one-quarter as compared with the year before. Among other factors depressing the foreign trade, exchange was an additional discourage- ment. Up to 1872 the ratio between gold and silver had been steady at a level indicated by the equivalent Hk.Tls. 1 = 6s. Sd. English money, or U.S. Gold $1.60. In 1873 it commenced to fall. The average rate for 1873 is given in the Customs Trade Returns as 6s. Sd. But at Foochow, principally an exporting centre and thus more directly interested, the dollar, usually nearly As. 6d., went down at one time to 4s. 2%d., lower than had ever been previously recorded.11 The immediate cause of this fall in the value of silver was the action of the new Empire of Germany in changing its currency over to a gold basis, thus throwing a large quantity of silver on to the markets of the world and lowering its value. As will be seen below, this was only the first step in a long decline. The foreign trade of the year 1873 is well summed up by Sir Brooke Robertson, British Consul General in Canton: "Never within the memory of those engaged in the China trade has so much depression existed both in China and in England as during the last twelve months: various causes have contributed to this, not the least among which has been the stagnation of 98 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. complaints against alleged illegal taxation and other obstructions to the sale of foreign goods. But, as the Customs General Trade Report for 1875 pointed out, it is doubtful whether there was anything in these complaints, since the transit pass enabled foreign goods to reach all the main consuming markets of the interior. "The goods do not appear to be wanted, and such being the case, free ingress to the interior would not create a market for them." Woollen manufactures were also imported in greater quantity. But here again the gradual recovery of the native silk industry to the high level obtaining prior to the Taiping Rebellion restricted the demand for the expensive foreign substitute. The import of the latter, 523,000 pieces, was at a definitely lower level than the average, for example, of the years 1867-70, viz., 791,000 pieces. The import of opium continued stationary. This was quite remarkable, in view of the known widespread increase of native cultivation. Heavy and continuous decreases in the import of the foreign drug are to be observed during these years at all the northern ports and at Hankow in Central China, that is at the importing centres nearest the areas in which the native drug was produced, namely, Manchuria, Shensi, Shansi, and Szechwan. The British authorities, interested in the Indian trade, estimated that the quantity of opium produced in China had doubled within 10 years.14 Nevertheless, opium smoking had increased so much that the importation of the Indian product remained as high as ever. The essential sluggishness and inelasticity of the foreign trade during this period is well illustrated by the paltriness of imports into China other than the above-mentioned staples. At a time of tremendous industrial expansion in Europe and America, when the world's consumption of coal, iron, and other metals, and the world's production of new machine-made articles, were going ahead by leaps and bounds, the importation of metals and foreign sundries into China remained at a very low level, both relatively and absolutely. Small increments may be noted from time to time, such as in nail-rod and pig iron in 1875, due to Government account; Indian raw cotton was for a time again imported in quantity at Canton and Swatow; while the increased import of so-called foreign sugar was fictitious, being almost entirely Chinese sugar exported from South China to Hongkong for the sake of gaining a technical foreign status and thus qualifying for transit pass privileges. New articles, such as matches, needles, and kerosene oil, made their appearance, but in insignificant quantities. The total import of metals and sundries during 1875 amounted to less than 18 million taels in value, about 25 per cent. of foreign imports to China. The export trades had a quietly satisfactory season in 1875, without any marked progress. The shipments of tea exceeded in quantity any of the previous 10 years, but the total value was a little down. The green tea trade to America remained depressed in face of a continued decline in popular esteem. The only significant increase was in the export of brick tea, almost entirely to Siberia and Mongolia, via Tientsin and Kiakhta. The brick tea industry had been taken oyer some years before at Hankow by Russian merchants, who improved the methods and extended the production. In 1875 the export was more than double that of 1874, principally due to the activity of new factories at Foochow. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 99 Silk also increased in quantity, but the value of raw silk still further declined, notably the Canton product, of which the total quantity exported rose by 42 per cent., while the total value fell by 27£ per cent. The export of Canton silk piece goods, however, rose by the remarkable amount of 60 per cent. This, though a minor export, is an interesting survival from the "Factory" days. What gave Canton silk piece goods their popularity in foreign countries is not clearly known, but the fact remains that Shanghai silk piece goods, though in great demand in other parts of China, were not exported abroad to the same extent. It is probable either that the Canton craftsmen had acquired some traditional aptitude for foreign tastes and requirements, or that the foreign consumer had developed a special liking for Cantonese designs, styles, etc. Sugar remained the only export, other than tea and silk, which was not entirely insignificant. Coal, though now being mined at Keelung, was not an article of export. It is interesting to note that the competition of Japanese coal from state-aided mines forced, in this year, the adoption for the first time of foreign machinery and methods, under expert advisers, at the Formosan coal-field. Exchange continued further to decline, the average value of the Haikwan tael for 1875 being slightly under 6s. 2\d. No corresponding increases in the price of foreign merchandise followed, as native dealers refused to pay higher rates. Nevertheless, the importation, especially of piece goods, was undertaken in greater amounts. In imports if not in exports the trading advantage was with China; the burden of the fall in the value of silver appears to have been passed on to the foreign merchant and manufacturer. In the following year signs of possible growth in foreign trade accumulated. The import of cotton goods again increased to nearly 12 million pieces, not far short of the 1872 standard desired by foreign merchants. For silk it was a boom year. The total value of the export trade reached the phenomenal amount of nearly 81 million taels. Yet unfavourable factors prevented any permanent advance to a definite new level. A severe drought in the northern inland provinces destroyed both spring and autumn crops over a large area, bringing destitution to millions. General unsettlement accompanied the political complications between China and Great Britain engendered by the negotiations over the murder of Mr. Margary on the Yunnan-Burma frontier during the previous year. Native merchants feared war and attendant internal disorders, and held back their purchases. Financial disturbances also proved a serious handicap. Violent fluctuations in the exchange between gold and silver rendered profits uncertain, while the tightness of money and high rates of interest restricted credit and the easy movement of goods. Complaints of trading losses were heard on all sides among both Chinese and foreign merchants, in spite of the increases in the statistical volume of both imports and exports. The import of cotton piece goods, for instance, though greater by 10.7 per cent. in quantity, only increased 0.7 per cent. in value: nor was this due to a greater proportion of cheaper fabrics, 100 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. since nearly half the increase in quantity was due to drills, a comparatively heavy and expensive cloth. It should be noted that this decline in price was part of a long-continuing process, which made itself felt even in a year of falling exchange. Measured in gold, the return to the foreign manufacturer was, of course, still less than silver prices in China appeared to show. Indian opium passed through the Maritime Customs increased by the large amount of 7,000 piculs; that landed in Hongkong, probably a truer indication of the real import to China, increased by over 12,000 piculs. This was undoubtedly due to the failure of the opium crop in China, except in the province of Szechwan, a consequence of the great drought in the northern provinces in 1876. With the exception of raw cotton, all other imports showed declines. The raw cotton imported into China came entirely from India, and was practically all consumed in Kwangtung province, passing chiefly through the port of Canton and to a lesser degree through Swatow. This trade, though not of very great importance, is of historic interest.15 It faded away during the American Civil War period, 1862-65, and again during three years of bumper cotton crops in China, 1872-74, but in 1875 and 1876 it revived again. As in the case of opium, the record of the amounts passed through the Customs by no means indicates the total import into China. Much raw cotton was shipped direct to the consuming towns and villages of Kwangtung by junk from Hongkong. It is not quite clear why the Indian product should still have had such a localised market in this province, in preference to the native product from Chekiang, Kiangsu, and North China. Probably the cost of transport and internal taxation were important factors, and the failure of the cotton crop along with other crops in the great North China drought of 1876 was certainly a cause of greater import in this particular year. The total exports to foreign countries from China in 1876 far exceeded in value those of any previous year, and in fact were not again equalled till 1887. The tea season was only moderate. An improvement in the green tea export to the United States was offset by a fall in the black tea export to Great Britain and Europe. The total quantity, reckoning all kinds, was slightly down, but the total value was slightly up. It was silk that made the exports of this year remarkable. The low prices of previous seasons had stimulated the demand for silk in Western countries. At the same time unfavourable climatic conditions in Europe seriously diminished the crop in Italy, France, and Spain. In June the European crop was estimated at only one-third of the normal, and a frantic rush to buy China silk featured the next three months. Prices in China rose from Tls. 350 to 420 in June, to Tls. 690 to 740 in September. Large quantities of poor quality silk were bought and exported. The shortage was such that the price of native silk piece goods, articles made in China solely for home consumption, rose rapidly by 15 to 20 per cent. The value of the total export of raw and thrown silk from China went up by over 50 per cent., and the trade must have been exceptionally profitable for the Chinese producer and middleman. Extraordinary developments also attended the export of sugar. A sudden failure in the European beet sugar crop, which could not be made good by the West Indian production owing HISTORY OF EXTERNAL TRADE, 1834-81. 101 to the falling off of cultivation there consequent on several years of low prices, led to a strong demand for China sugar, similar to the demand for silk. But the trade was differently organised, and there was not the same uncontrolled competition between the foreign buyers. The China crop was a bumper one, and the domestic price of sugar remained low. Here the big profits went to the foreign trader, who bought cheap in China and sold dear in Europe. The port of Kiungchow, on the island of Hainan, the opening of which was agreed upon in the Treaty of Tientsin, was at last actually opened to trade on the 1st April 1876. Its only importance to foreign trade, however, was the export of a small amount of sugar to Hongkong. Exchange was subjected to wide and rapid fluctuations during 1876. The price of six months' bills at Shanghai opened at 5s. l\d. to the tael; declined in March to 5j. Z\d.; rose again to 5s. 5id. at the beginning of June; declined to the unprecedentedly low point of 5s. \d. in the middle of July; suddenly shot up to 5s. \Q^d. in August, and down to 5j. \d. again in September; from that point it rose to 5s. 8±d. at the end of the year, having touched 6s. 0£Tungpenhsien Lie Lienkiangkoud R HULINO Filman River Iman | 海倫 ​AILUN I RE neho 07 Mulingho K MISHANHSIENTO L2 Ett UFO Chalinho ] Túriy Rogo L Hanka Lake OHsintien # Mutanchiung SO HARBIN yang to Yo Manzoy! SUIFENHO VR BETA Mulinghsien o 96 98 sa 100 102 AIGUN 1. Trade.—At the beginning of the decade the district was still thriving on the unprecedented boom—fortuitous and artificial from the outset—which, commencing in 1918, had raised Taheiho in a year or two from an ordinary Chinese village to an important trading centre. The demand from Eastern Siberia for goods of all descriptions had, however, already slackened, owing to the exhaustion of the gold and platinum stocks in Blagovestchensk, but large and easy profits were still made during 1922 and during the first part of 1923. In the spring of the latter year the Soviet Government at Moscow, after absorbing the Far Eastern Republic in November 1922, consolidated its position in the Amur province, introduced its policy of self-containment and of monopolistic state trading, and closed its frontier to Chinese traders and shipping. The Chinese authorities, following the trend of public opinion, retaliated by imposing similar restrictions on Soviet trade and shipping along the Heilungkiang border. These restrictive measures were at the time regarded as of a purely temporary nature and, when it was found that Soviet control of its frontier was more nominal than real, they were not given further serious consideration. Taheiho and other places along the Chinese bank of the Amur prospered on an illicit trans-frontier traffic, and large quantities of goods were imported from Harbin for re-exportation to places on the Upper Amur for ultimate conveyance across the river. This illicit but highly lucrative trade continued until 1926, when the Soviet decided rigidly to enforce its fiscal policy and organised an extensive, vigilant, and efficient frontier force to put a stop to smuggling. Smugglers, thereafter, were shot at sight, and this measure, coinciding with a heavy depreciation in the value of the rouble, made the venture too hazardous and too unprofitable. The effective closing of the Soviet frontier brought the Aigun district down to fundamentals with an unexpected rapidity and suddenness, and the shock to trade, unlike that in other places which meet occasional depressions, was one which placed the district in its true perspective. To aggravate matters, gold-mining, which had in the earlier years of the decade been a flourishing industry, had been allowed to dwindle until it had reached insignificant proportions, and the number of miners had fallen from between 30,000 and 40,000 to a few hundred. A belated attempt was made in 1926 to foster immigration and to develop local resources, but natural and political calamities—in the form of floods in 1928 and 1929 and the Sino-Soviet conflict of the latter year—upset preconceived plans. Farmers and settlers migrated in large numbers to places south of the Hingan Mountains, and the whole region received a serious set-back. The Upper Amur region was especially badly hit by the depredations of marauding parties from the Soviet side of the river, and timber camps were deserted. The world depression, which had its repercussions on the Harbin market, further obstructed development, but a brave attempt was made during 1930 and 1931 to pick up the threads of former activities. People returned to their farms and to the timber camps, but a new danger loomed up during the navigation season of 1931 when dealers found that local timber could not compete on the Harbin market with the cheap Soviet article. This new development not only hit Taheiho financially, but it administered the finishing blow to any remaining optimism regarding the possibility of a renewed invasion of the Siberian market—an optimism long and obstinately cherished and largely responsible for the neglect of local resources. By the end of the decade the trade of the district had dropped to a point well below that of pre-boom days, and the gross value of the trade of the port was in 1931, not taking into 198 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. account the rise in the value of all commodities, one-fifth of what it was in 1922. The export trade consisted of three or four articles, and the import trade represented daily necessities for the Aigun district and for the Upper Amur region. No feature of the trade of the district requires special analysis: during the first half of the decade it was governed by an artificial and temporary demand from Siberia, and during the second half of the decade it was too small to afford scope for special remarks. As in other parts of the country, native goods gradually replaced those of foreign manufacture, a change which latterly was accelerated by the fall in the value of silver and by the enforcement of a higher import tariff. Both frontiers were still closed at the end of 1931, but the Soviet Far Eastern Trading Bureau (Dalgostorg) was permitted to open a branch at Taheiho at the end of 1930 to import and export restricted quantities of goods under special permit from the Heilungkiang government. Amongst other causes, development in the Amur district was throughout the decade obstructed by the lack of roads and railways, by heavy taxation, exorbitant freight rates, banditry, and by the absence of an organised attempt, with adequate financial backing, to locate the mineral wealth of the country and to work it with modern methods. 2. Shipping.—As this is the first Decennial Report for this port since its separation from the Harbin Customs, it is perhaps not out of place to describe briefly the events which occurred prior to the year 1922. Despite the terms of Article I of the Treaty of Aigun of 1858 and of Article XVIII of the Treaty of St. Petersburg of 1881, the Imperial Russian Government had refused to allow Chinese shipping on the Amur, the contention that this river belonged to Russia being so strongly asserted that the Customs at Taheiho and Aigun were not even permitted to board vessels in the harbour at these two places. With the collapse of the former Russian Government, and the general disorder resulting therefrom, the opportunity presented itself in 1918, and was taken, to send Chinese steamers to the Amur, and in 1920 the Customs commenced boarding vessels entering the harbour at Taheiho and Aigun and patrolled the Chinese side of the river. From 1918 to 1923 Chinese and Soviet shipping called at places on both banks of the Amur, Ussuri, and Argun Rivers, but after the closing of both frontiers the vessels of each country touched at ports on their respective sides only. Apart from the rise and fall in tonnage and in the number of entrances and clearances, which are dealt with in the Annual Trade Reports, there was little of interest during the decade to record. Most of the Chinese steamers plying on the Amur were those taken over from Russian owners in 1917: they were patched up each year at Harbin sufficiently to pass the annual survey, of necessity based on a low standard, but many of them should have been condemned. Vessels were run with a view to making as much profit as rapidly as possible, and little thought was given to the future or to the advisability of maintaining an efficient fleet on the frontier rivers. Freights and fares were high, and everything was subordinated to the trading proclivities of the comprador and crew. Owing to the non-payment of officers and crew, the Customs were authorised at one time, from 1924 to 1925, to control the signing of articles for their employment, but this control was abandoned as much friction resulted. With the shipping of two countries navigating the frontier rivers it was soon realised that regulations for the prevention of accidents were desirable. Negotiations on the subject proceeded for several years and finally culminated, in January 1928, in the signing by the Sino-Soviet Aids Commission of " Provisional Regulations for the Joint Navigation of Sino-Soviet Frontier Rivers." These regulations, based on those in force when only Russian vessels plied on the Amur, depend for their enforcement on the Aids Commission, which, lacking the necessary staff and other facilities, is not in a position to supervise vessels and their officers. The majority of the steamers operating on the Middle AIGUN. 199 and Upper Amur belonged to the North-Eastern Navigation Bureau, a semi-government institution, which in 1925 absorbed the interests of the Wutung Steam Navigation Company. In 1931 the Navigation Bureau tried, by forming the Harbin Shipping Syndicate, wherein each owner had a share and a controlling voice, to combine all North Manchurian shipping under one central organisation, but the attempt failed, owing to internal dissensions. The general public welcomed the collapse of the syndicate, as private owners were again at liberty to bid for a greater share of the carrying trade by lowering their freight rates. 3. Revenue.—Abnormal conditions and restrictions which have hampered trade in this district have naturally been reflected in the revenue collection of the port. The duty-free list, introduced by Article 14 of the Land Trade Regulations of the Treaty of St. Petersburg of 1881, was abolished in 1922, but not until the export duty had been lost on enormous quantities of wheat flour exported to Siberia. Notwithstanding a diminishing demand from Siberia, owing to exhaustion of capital and widespread destitution, wheat flour continued to be sold locally in large amounts between the years 1923 and 1926, but the duty on these consignments was also lost, as they had to be smuggled across the frontier to evade the restrictive measures of the Soviet. At the time of the opening of the Aigun Custom House in 1909 the 50-verst (100-/*) free zone, inaugurated by Article I of the Land Trade Regulations of 1881, made it necessary for the Customs to establish a barrier at Liangkiatun, at the foot of the Hingan Mountains, on the main Taheiho-Aigun-Tsitsihar road, to regulate overland trade. The duty-free zone was abolished in August 1914, but the barrier continued to function, as it was considered indispensable for the control of the frontier extending from Moho, on the Upper Amur, to the mouth of the Sungari. Its retention gave the Customs a grip on the jugular vein of the trade of the district, but it led to endless friction with the merchants, who regarded the maintenance of the barrier as an unwarranted interference with inland trade. Finally, in 1924, the Government ordered its closure and instructed the Customs to cease controlling and taxing overland traffic. Customs activities have since been confined to trans-frontier trade and to steamer and junk borne cargo on the Amur and from and to Sungari ports. The abolition of coast trade duty and transit dues had almost no effect on the revenue of the port: the former had never been collected, except on postal parcels, and merchants had never availed themselves of transit pass privileges. The cancellation of drawback privileges for foreign goods re-exported abroad also left this port unaffected. The Washington surtaxes were collected by the local authorities from the 1st February 1927 until the enforcement of tariff autonomy and the collection by the Customs of additional duties and surtaxes from the 1st February 1929. In spite of these additional receipts, the promulgation of higher import and export tariffs, and the collection of import duties on a Customs gold unit basis, the revenue of the port has shown no increase. The decline in trade is further marked when the enhanced price of all commodities is taken into consideration. Revenue figures for the years 1929 and 1930 were affected by the Sino-Soviet crisis. Since 1922 navigation fees—formerly termed river dues—have been collected by the Customs on behalf of the provincial authorities and are applied locally for aids to navigation purposes. Owing to an insufficiency of funds, the navigation fees tariff was increased in 1925, 1927, and 1931. 4. Currency and Finance.—Silver dollars and sycee are almost unknown in this part of Manchuria, but the " big" dollar note, originally based on the silver dollar, and its subsidiary note issues are standard. Heilungkiang bank-notes are issued by the Kwang Hsin Company, now known as the Kuan Yin Hao, a Government-controlled institution, with its head office at 200 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Tsitsihar, in denominations of $10, $5, $1, 50 cents, 20 cents, 10 cents, and 5 cents. Harbin bank-notes are accepted at par throughout the province and, during the last year or two, were much in demand, as the Kwang Hsin Company's notes, unless specially stamped and embossed in accordance with certain regulations for the control of note issues, were not negotiable on the Harbin market. The unstamped note was, however, accepted freely by all banks in Heilungkiang, and remittances to Harbin were made at par until the political events of the autumn and winter of the last year of the decade dislocated all banking business at Taheiho. Merchants were then obliged to transmit funds through the agency of shops with Harbin branches, and a fee of from 10 to 20 per cent. was charged for this service. During recent years the Heilung- kiang dollar, in company with the Harbin dollar, has depreciated in relation to the silver dollar, and local rates have followed the fluctuations of the Harbin market. It fell as low as $1.70 = silver $1, but the average for the past few years would probably be about silver $1 = local $1.20. The only coins in use here are copper cents of the old issues, representing 20 and 10 cash, and the " big" dollar 1-cent piece minted in the 5th year of the Republic. The former averaged 3,000 cash to $1, whilst the latter maintained its original value and was exchanged at the rate of 100 cents = $1. The number of copper coins in circulation was very small, and they were used principally for sums amounting to less than five cents, the amount of the smallest subsidiary note issued by the Kwang Hsin Company. Kuan-t'ieh notes circulated, and were preferred, in districts to the south of the Hingan Mountains. The Heilungkiang tiao (ffi), the average rate for which was in 1921 around 80 and 90 tiao to 1 "big" dollar, had fallen by 1931 to over 2,000 tiao = Big $1. At the end of the decade the official Heilungkiang dollar/froo rate was $1 = Tiao 1,200, but, as shown above, the actual market value had fallen much below this figure. Since the collapse of the old Imperial Russian rouble and of the numerous Siberian rouble issues of post-Revolution days, the Soviet rouble has not been current here and has always been regarded with suspicion. From above par in 1923, compared with the local dollar, it had by 1931 dropped to a tenth of its original value on the Taheiho market. Small amounts of roubles can be purchased here. They represent the savings of returned Chinese labourers, who have to engage professional smugglers to bring their money across the river. These Soviet roubles finally find their way back and are disposed of on the "black exchange," the name, in Soviet phraseology, for privately conducted and illicit exchange transactions. Hsiao-yang ch'ien-p'iao ( which formerly helped to complicate the currency question, have all been withdrawn from use. In the southern and south-eastern parts of the province tieh-tzii (ffi "?), private bank-notes or, rather, promissory notes, are still accepted. 5. Agriculture.—In common with other enterprises, agriculture in this district received a great impetus from the large demand from Siberia during the earlier post-Revolution days for foodstuffs of every description. Methods of farming did not, however, develop to the point where tractors and other mechanical implements could profitably be employed. Some modern machines were purchased, but their number in proportion to the area cultivated was very small. Flour mills were erected at Aigun and Taheiho, and the clique in control of these concerns engineered an embargo on the export of wheat to Harbin, thus compelling farmers to sell at low prices. Conditions altered with the closing of the Soviet frontier in 1923, but the flourishing state of the gold mines continued to supply a lucrative market for agricultural produce and wheat flour. Later, in 1926, the local flour mills having been hard hit by a heavy drop in the output of gold, the embargo on the export of wheat to Harbin was lifted, and farmers were able to sell their products at more equitable prices. The authorities at the same AIGUN. 201 time awoke to the fact that the future of the district depended largely on the development of agricultural resources, immigration from China was stimulated, and facilities were offered to prospective farmers. Crops in 1926 and 1927 were good and were disposed of at Harbin, but in 1928 the results of the labours of the immigration officials and of the farmers along the fertile riverine districts were destroyed by flood. Crops were washed away, and many settlers left for places in the southern part of the province. Another flood in 1929, and the depredations of marauding bands from the Soviet bank during the Sino-Soviet conflict, were the causes of further and more serious set-backs, and it was not until the last year of the decade that signs were manifest of a gradual return to more normal conditions. Unfortunately, farmers had in the meantime found other and more profitable means of obtaining a livelihood, and much land was left untilled. One important venture was begun during 1931. A Shanghai financier acquired 10,000 square chang of land near Humaho for the growing of wheat, and he is reported to have purchased tractors and mechanical binders and reapers, but it is still too early to compute how successful the undertaking is likely to be. The richest agricultural land lies around Chikete and Wuyiin, on the Amur River, but throughout the frontier district it is virgin soil that is cultivated, and the use of fertilisers is barely necessary. Wheat, beans, kaoliang, millet, and oats all thrive in the province, but progress and large-scale farming have been confined to the Sungari district and the southern parts of Heilungkiang. Deforestation has proceeded apace along the Amur River and its tributaries, and the country, to a depth of about 20 miles, from Taipingkow to Moho, has been almost entirely denuded of trees. No attempts at afforestation have been made, and the annual inroads into the valuable timber resources will, unless arrested, probably produce important economic and climatic changes in the course of another decade or two. The competition of Soviet timber on the Harbin and South Manchurian markets may for a time stay the work of devastation. 6. Industrial Development.—The gloomy record depicted in the preceding paragraphs applies also to industrial development. At the beginning of the decade factories and mills were being erected or planned, but hard economic facts proved stronger than optimistic hopes, and most concerns were wrecked on the rocks of an artificial boom. Of the flour mills, only one remained in operation at the end of the decade; the Chen Pien Spirit Factory, capable of producing 400,000 gallons a year, and built at a cost of $700,000 in 1924, was declared bankrupt in 1927; and the saw mills, which had had a fairly regular market at Harbin for their planks, were in difficulties in 1931. The spirit factory was built with the sole aim of meeting clandestinely the large demand from the Siberian gold-fields, but it was completed after the closing of the frontier and proved from the beginning a losing proposition. It was working to the end of 1931, but its output was restricted to local requirements. The Heng Yao Electric Light Company, at Taheiho, imported a new plant in 1923, and a regular and efficient service commenced shortly afterwards. An electric-light station was also installed at Aigun, but the quality of the light was very poor. 7. Mines and Minerals.—Gold-mining was a flourishing industry at the beginning of the decade, but the deposits began to give out by the end of 1923, and the output dwindled during each succeeding year. Some of the mines were worked by the Kwang Hsin Company on behalf of the provincial government, the remainder belonging to two private concerns, the Feng Yuan Company and the Hsin An Company. The principal gold-mining districts are at Kaikuk'ang and Humaho, on the Upper Amur, at Wutaokow, Chutuho, and Wulia, about 70, 202 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 80, and 100 miles respectively south and south-west of Taheiho, and at Taipingkou. A tax is levied by the Heilungkiang authorities on all gold produced, and its collection is entrusted to a special office called the Gold Mine Bureau. Conditions at the mines have not been satisfactory and have led to much discontent and to difficulty in recruiting labour. Miners and workmen at the gold mines are under the sole jurisdiction of the organisation for whom they work, and whose by-laws and regulations are supreme within the mining area. Each workman, although not bound by contract, is obliged to sell to the management at the company's price all the gold he excavates. Discontent arises from the very low rate paid for the gold and from the very high cost of daily necessities, which are obtainable only from the company's store. Transport facilities between the mines and Taheiho are poor and in many cases non-existent. In 1926 a foreign financial group tried to arrive at a working agreement with the Heilungkiang government for the development of gold-mining by modern methods, but its activities met with obstruction and its representatives left the district. Coal deposits were reported at Lopeh, on the Lower Amur, but no attempt was made to develop them. Mining throughout the decade was, it might safely be said, confined to surface workings, and no organised development of the mineral wealth of the district was made. One gold dredge was purchased from the United States by the Kwang Hsin Company at a cost of $400,000, but it was found unsuitable for use on the Amur and has been laid up for years. 8. Communications.—All road transport in the Amur district is in a primitive state. In winter a regular motor-car service is maintained with Tsitsihar, but the road is impassable after the first heavy thaw, as there are few bridges and much marshy land must be traversed. An erratic motor-car service plies in winter between Taheiho and Chikete, and a fairly regular service is maintained with Aigun. In the spring and summer the soggy nature of the land bordering on the Amur precludes all form of motor traffic, and even carts find difficulty in reaching their destinations. Work was commenced on the Tsitsihar-Taheiho Railway in 1928, but the track does not extend far beyond Lahachan, and there is no capital for its completion. The following are the more important roads, which in most cases are no more than cart tracks: Taheiho-Aigun-Nenchiang-Noho-Tsitsihar; Taheiho-Humaho-Moho; Taheiho-Chikete-Chao- yangchen; Chikete-Lungmen-Hailun; Noho-Keshan-Hailun; Nenchiang-Hailar; Nenchiang- Humaho-Lienyin. Mail services between Harbin and Taheiho are slow, as carts are used from and to Tsitsihar, and mail connexions with the Upper and Lower Amur in winter are few and far between. A telephone system was installed at Taheiho in April 1922, and the Telegraph Administration maintained a telephone line between Taheiho and Aigun. Wireless stations were erected by the military at Taheiho, Humaho, Wohsimen, and Moho, and, as these accepted private messages, they proved of great benefit to merchants. A difficulty encountered in Heilungkiang is the diversity in place nomenclature, one and the same place being known by several entirely different names. For instance, Taheiho is officially styled Heiho, but the telegraphic address is Helampo, the original name for a district situated in present-day Siberia. The name Tsitsihar, the provincial capital, is an adaptation of the Mongol term, the older Manchu name for the city being Pukuei, still used by the Telegraph Administration, and its latest official designation is Lungchiang. Colloquially it is always referred to as Chiangsheng. The same remarks apply in a greater or lesser degree to nearly every place in the province. AS I -AMUR RIVER- NCHORAGE 30 RUX 1 AIGUN. 203 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—Prior to the Russian Revolution, only Russian vessels plied on the Amur River and aids to navigation were efficiently maintained by the Amur Navigation Bureau, with its head office at Blagovestchensk. From 1918 to 1922 existing beacons and lights were neglected and fell into disrepair, and when the Soviet authorities turned to this matter, they found that an insufficiency of funds prevented them from undertaking any extensive renewals and replacements. As Chinese shipping had in the meantime commenced to navigate the frontier rivers, the officials at Blagovestchensk approached the local Chinese authorities and suggested the establishment of a joint aids to navigation service, each country to bear half the cost of upkeep, but the Soviet to provide the necessary vessels and equipment. Negotiations terminated successfully, and the first agreement was signed on the 27th June 1922 for aids work on the Amur from Lokuho to the Kasakevich waterway, a stretch of 1,703 versts. Agreements for the extension of aids to navigation on the Ussuri and Argun Rivers were signed on the 17th June 1927 and the 19th January 1928 respectively, the former covering the section from the Kasakevich waterway to Hulin, a distance of 336 versts, and the latter providing for the river between Shihweihsien and Lokuho, a stretch of 402 versts. These local and technical agreements were renewed periodically, but the original Joint Sino-Soviet Aids Commission was dissolved, China's interests being entrusted to a Chinese Aids Commission, and her share of expenses being assessed at a fixed amount payable in instalments. Later agreements with the Soviet provided for the removal of rocks on the Lower Argun and for the dredging of the shallows on the Upper Amur. To meet the cost of the upkeep of aids to navigation, a levy of river dues, later known as navigation fees, was instituted on all goods moved on the Chinese side of the Amur, and on trans-frontier trade. The following table shows the numbers of beacons and lights maintained on the Amur, from Lokuho to the Kasakevich waterway, from the signing of the first agreement in 1922 to the end of 1931:— • 1922. 1923. 1924. 1925. 1926. 1927. 1928. 1929. 1930. 1931. 1,302 1,302 1,392 1,471 1,474 1,478 1,497 1,400 1,500 1,574 41 61 165 181 190 329 515 871 1,338 At the end of 1931 there were 654 beacons on the Argun River and 360 on the Ussuri River, no lighted beacons being installed on either river, and special stations were maintained at seven shallows on the Amur and at two on the Ussuri. A survey of the Taheiho Harbour was completed in December 1922, when zero water- mark was established at 402.934 feet, and the bench-mark at 432.82 feet, above the level of the Pacific Ocean, and in February of the following year a water-gauge was installed on the Taheiho Bund, near the Custom House. Harbour Regulations for the port of Taheiho were promulgated on the 1st April 1924, a Customs Harbour Department being opened on the same date. As the survey of 1922 had shown that a jetty, built near the upper limits of the harbour by the Wutung Steam Navigation Company some years before 1922 for the protection of its steamers wintering on the Amur, was causing the silting up of the lower portion of the harbour, the shipping company was required in 1923 to demolish one section to ensure a freer flow for the river. Another survey in 1927 having demonstrated that silting was still proceeding, a further section of the jetty was removed and a channel was dug through the 204 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. sandspit near the lower harbour limits. From more recent observations it would appear that the process of silting has been arrested and that, if anything, the sandspit has slightly receded. The bunding of the Taheiho foreshore was undertaken by the Amur Aids Commission in 1929, and this measure stopped the serious erosion of the river bank. A Customs meteorological station was erected at Taheiho in 1919 and the returns from this port, the most northern of all Customs meteorological stations, have probably been of great value to observatories. In the following table are given particulars of spring and autumn ice- drifts on the Amur at Taheiho, and dates of arrival of the first steamer at, and of departure of the last steamer from, Taheiho for the years 1922-31:— Breaking of Ice. River Clear of Ice. First Ice- drift. River Closed. Arrival of First Steamer. Departure of Last Steamer. 1922 April 21 April 26 October 27 November 14 May 14 October 25 1923 „ 29 May 12 19 11 „ 13 20 1924 ,. 29 ,. 17 18 8 ,. 18 19 ,. 17 1 20 18 ,. 12 19 1926 ,. 27 ,. 11 17 16 ,. 12 20 1927 ,. 22 „ 11 Nov. 4 18 ,. 6 20 ,. 22 4 October 29 11 „ 9 23 1929 ,. 29 „ 10 ,. 29 18 ,. 16 1930 ,. 29 9 28 10 ,. 30 October 21 1931 May 2 „ 17 26 20 ■" The highest maximum temperature registered during the decade was 96° F., on the 7th August 1924, and the lowest minimum temperature for the same period was —42° F., recorded on the 11th January 1931. 10. Administration.—In the first year of the Republic the centre of the Amur prefecture was removed from Aigun, which had once enjoyed the distinction of being the provincial capital, to Taheiho. The rank of Prefect was soon afterwards abolished and a Taoyin was appointed, with jurisdiction not only over the district around Taheiho, but also over the tax offices and Magistrates from Moho to the mouth of the Sungari River, and from the Amur frontier on the north to the Hingan Mountains on the south. He was also entrusted with the duties of special representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, after the establishment of the Aigun Customs, he was deputed to act as Superintendent of Customs. Another change in the administration of the district was made in 1929, after Manchuria had united with the Central Government. In compliance with the procedure followed in China Proper, the rank of Taoyin was eliminated and his office was converted into that of a Provisional Mayor, but the exact scope of the responsibilities of the latter was never properly defined and in practice he was given the status of the former Taoyin. Control of the tax offices in the former Taoyin's district was, however, transferred to the office of the Occupation Commissioner, but the Provisional Mayor and the Occupation Commissioner exercised joint control over the Magistrates. The Mayor's position vis-d-vis the police and municipal taxes was also indefinite and indirect. Likin at increasing rates was collected throughout the decade by the various tax offices. The tariff enforced was amended in 1929, and the levies were described as consolidated taxes. On the plea that the tax offices had already been changed into Consolidated Tax Bureaux, no AIGUX. 205 steps were taken to close them after the abolition of likin by the Central Government, and later, from the 1st June 1931, they were instructed to assume the duties of the Consolidated Tax Bureau of the Ministry of Finance and to take over the functions of the Wine and Tobacco Tax Bureau. The tax offices, in addition to their other work, also collected municipal, police, business, slaughter, sales, vehicle, and shop taxes, and education, volunteer, and military surtaxes. Gambling houses proved a lucrative source of revenue; and in 1931 a special levy was made on all imports into Taheiho, to meet the cost of an improved fire brigade and of £ more efficient Sanitary Bureau. The output of gold was taxed from 1923 onwards, the Gold Mine Bureau having been specially established to collect the dues. Property and land taxes were collectable by the magistrates, and the rates applicable were included in the tariff of taxes as amended in 1929. In former years cattle for the Blagovestchensk market were driven from Mongolia through Tsitsihar, Xenchiang, and Liangchiat'un to the frontier, and a Cattle Inspection Office was opened to levy a special tax on the animals arriving in this district. The revenue at one time was considerable, but with the closure of the Soviet frontier the demand for cattle disappeared, and the Cattle Inspection Office was abolished in 1929. 11. Justice and Police.—Justice is dispensed by the Magistrate of each district, who is required to send a monthly report of proceedings to the provincial capital. A Branch Hist Court of Judgment and a Branch High Court of Inquiry were inaugurated at Taheiho on the 3rd December 1924 and functioned until 1929, when their duties again devolved on the Aigun Magistrate. The Taheiho Public Safety Bureau is financed from local taxes and main7ains a police force of about 150, but this number is generally increased during the winter months, when there are many unemployed and greater precautions are considered necessary. Moreover, during the summer there is an exodus of labourers to the fields, and the police officials find difficulty in retaining their men. 12. Militajtt and Natal Chances.—The military officer in charge of Taheiho was formerly a colonel; his rank was later raised to that of a brigade commander; and more recent}}, with a greater appreciation of the strategical importance of the frontier region, he was given charge of the dual post of Garrison Commander and Occupation Commissioner. The iaxtex rank was done away with in February 1930. The Garrison Commander's district rxttmry from Moho to Suipin. and his principal outposts are stationed at Moho, Wohsimer or Ctpu. Humaho, Hsiaoheiho, Chikete, Wuyun, Lopeh, and Suipin. The tax offices along the iramtr- are subject to the Garrison Commander's control, arid he also takes an active part m ntnsr crrL matters. 13. Health and Sanitation.—Throughout the decade the district eninvsr uniinrrr good health, and the absence of hospitals, doctors, arid other medical and sanitary farfirrtff «s not felt. The Plague Prevention Hospital, opened after the great plague epiriemir of 11. was closed in 1929. but it cat be utilised, rf necessary, for quarantme purposes. Nc quarammt regulations exist, but the police have puoi.-bhed sanitary regulations for Taheibo. Owing to the general depression of trade, little was done during the rirradV m the wtr of street and drainage improvements. A somewhat primitive drainage fvstctt was niii'tr m 1915, each property holder being responsible for the cost and upkeep of the Been or pamrmr his land. but. as man} houses hsne stood lacarr! for years, the s^stetr. m places shoves sums u: great dilapidation 206 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 14. Education.—Two schools, one for boys and one for girls, were opened at Taheiho. Both comprise lower and higher primary grades, and the latter also includes a kindergarten for boys and girls. A school with a similar scope is maintained at Aigun, but a special feature of this institution is the attempt made to induce the aborigines, the Oronchiin, or Chilin, to send their children to acquire a Chinese education. The project met with noteworthy success. 15. Literature.—No remarks. 16. Population.—The population of the district was seriously affected by the floods of 1928 and 1929, when the river overflowed its banks, and many farmers and settlers left for the south of the province after their crops, homes, and villages had been destroyed. The river rose to within 1 foot of flood level in 1931, but luckily the rise in the waters of the Amur did not coincide with that in the Zeya River, and the district was spared the devastation of the floods of 1928 and 1929. As it was, several villages and hamlets below Taheiho were sub- merged. From records available it would appear that flood conditions are becoming of more frequent occurrence, and it is feared that, unless the cutting of timber is controlled and afforestation commenced in earnest, the Amur region will suffer at more regular intervals. 17. Civil Disorder.—As in the other Manchurian provinces, the ubiquitous bandits, or hung-hu-tzu, interfered with overland trade, marauded undefended towns and villages, and were always an actual or potential danger. Their principal depredations were along the Aigun- Tsitsihar road, where their hauls of loot during the winter months, when Taheiho depends on cart traffic for stores and merchandise, were at times considerable. However, the decade witnessed a great improvement in conditions along the riverine districts, and for several years prior to 1932 shipping enjoyed immunity from bandit raids. From 1922 to 1926 smuggling across the river provided an easy and lucrative occupation for the populations along both banks of the Amur, but with the closing of the Soviet frontier and the development of an efficient coast-guard service by the Soviet authorities, smuggling became too hazardous and unprofitable an undertaking. Aigun, 3\st December 1931. C. H. B. JOLY, Acting Commissioner of Customs. HARBIN 1. Trade.—At the beginning of this decennial period the Harbin district was still passing through a period of change and readjustment following the exhaustion of the Great War. The Far Eastern Republic was already well established on the ruins of Ataman Semenoff's government at Chita, but Vladivostock and the Russian Far Eastern Maritime Province had not as yet been drawn under its asgis. In that part of the Far East, government succeeded government in a vain attempt to stem the rising tide of Bolshevism, but disintegration had spread too far to be eradicated or even stopped. Desultory fighting on the frontier was no uncommon occurrence, and routed bands of white troops were from time to time a cause of trouble and embarrassment to the Chinese authorities. Little by little these were disarmed, and the ex-soldiers were for the most part absorbed into the civil population of Manchuria, though a small number of men, unable to reconcile themselves to the new conditions of life, either attempted to continue the fruitless political warfare or openly became frontier brigands preying on the trade of the country. The Manchouli district suffered very severely in this latter respect on account of the rich opportunities afforded by the caravans of motor-cars, carts, or camels running between that place and Inner Mongolia. Gradually, however, the situation improved, thanks largely to the very efficient services of the Russian staff in the Chinese police. At the end of 1922 the Far Eastern Republic succeeded in absorbing Vladivostock and district and was in its turn incorporated in the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics. This change made the political situation clearer, and a period of prosperous trade would have been the result had it not been for the restrictions placed by the U.S.S.R. Govern- ment on foreign trade. As time went on these restrictions became more and more stringent, until by 1923 general trading had practically ceased and what little commerce there was lay entirely in the hands of the Soviet official trading organisations. Foreign trade over the northern frontiers, with the exception of through transit cargo for shipment via Vladivostock (Egersheldt), consequently became spasmodic in character, with little direct dependence on local supply or demand, being dictated by the state-controlled trading institutions of Soviet Russia. Movements of trade were hence often influenced by political rather than purely economic considerations. Against this disadvantage must be set the growing volume of internal economy created by a large and industrious population increasing rapidly through the immigration of Chinese, Koreans, and some Japanese from the south and a diminishing number of Russians from the north and east. This increase has been reflected in the expansion of the chief towns of the district, Harbin being the largest trading centre. Happily, this district has not been entirely hemmed in by the strangling conditions prevalent in the north and east. Economic life finds its outlet over the South Manchuria Railway and the recently opened Tsitsihar-Taonan Railway southwards, either to China Proper or for shipment abroad through the northern Chinese ports. It was in order to parti- cipate in this profitable transit trade that, in 1924, the Soviet Government agreed to modify its regulations in so far as to permit the Ussuri Railway and the port of Vladivostock (Egersheldt) to share in this undertaking, without, however, making any change in the basic principles governing trade with the U.S.S.R. itself. Since this date, therefore, an increasing quantity of goods has been despatched in transit through the U.S.S.R. for shipment abroad via Vladivostock (Egersheldt). The bulk of this cargo has, of course, been beans, the amount of 208 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. which reached the maximum figure of 14,803,343 piculs shipped abroad by this route in 1928. With the growth in stability of the Bolshevik Government the necessity of its formal recognition became more and more urgent. Following upon overtures made by the Peking Government in 1924, a second, independent agreement, covering questions concerning North Manchuria in general and the Chinese Eastern Railway in particular, was concluded at Moukden between the late Marshal Chang Tso-lin and representatives of the Soviet Government at the end of 1924. Although the importance of this act was undoubtedly realised at its inception, yet its far-reaching consequences were then but vaguely appreciated. It secured for China an influence in the affairs of the Chinese Eastern Railway which had long been sought for and, from that date, this advantage has been steadily improved. At the same time it has had the disadvantage of bringing the diverse and sometimes opposing interests of the neighbouring states into rather too close proximity, which has been the cause of no little friction and even conflict. A crisis was reached in July 1929, when, as the outcome of several years of struggle for control of the Chinese Eastern Railway, the Soviet members of the administration were expelled from Chinese territory for nearly six months and all communication across the frontier ceased. Preliminary pourparlers having broken down in August 1929, a state of war rapidly developed. Both ends of the line were seized by the Soviet troops and were held for a period of three months. Losses were reported to be heavy on both sides, and not a few civilians, including some Japanese, were killed and wounded. Finally, a new rapprochement was brought about through the mediation of interested Powers, and a preliminary agreement to regulate the means for settling all outstanding questions was drawn up and signed at Habarovsk in January 1930 by plenipotentiaries on both sides. A limit of one month was fixed for putting into force the provisions there made, but, although a conference has been sitting in Moscow, no final agreement has actually been reached. As the present decennial period closes, the shadow of a fresh dispute is already deepening, the outcome of which it is impossible to foresee. Political events have thus greatly interfered with the normal growth of business in this part of Manchuria. Not only have China's conflicts with her foreign neighbours made business uncertain, but the civil wars in the south of China into which, after some resistance, Manchuria was drawn in 1926, have had a most depressing effect on all business and put many firms in a difficult financial position. While these conditions would not have been so serious had the currency been sound, the fact that business between the smaller merchants and Chinese dealers is done chiefly on a paper dollar basis has aggravated the difficulties. In general, however, the business community cannot complain of the lack of financial assistance from the banks themselves, as Harbin has more than a normal quota of large banks. But the banks, and more especially the foreign ones, have not been able to give the assistance which they might have done under normal circumstances, owing to the fact that they have very limited resources in local dollar notes, being compelled to work on a more stable basis. 2. Shipping.—Since 1923 foreign capital has been completely eliminated from Sungari shipping. Foreign owners sold their interests to the Chinese, and the Chinese Eastern Railway's fleet of 11 steamers and 30 barges was laid up. Some three years later it was taken over by the Chinese naval authorities, together with its wharves, docks, and bund buildings, and has since then been in commission. The chief consequence of this change in shipping interests has been the formation of shipowners' trusts to control freight and passenger rates, etc. The first of these was formed in 1926 and lasted until the end of 1930. It controlled about 75 per cent. of Harbin shipping and was succeeded by a new combine, to which all ship- owners, without exception, were induced to subscribe. This scheme proved unworkable, owing HARBIN. 209 to the impossibility of conciliating the great variety of interests involved, not to speak of the difficulty of economically working such a large number of steamers and barges of such diverse ages, capacities, and types. To these obstacles, great enough in themselves, must be added the vagaries of the river itself, with its ever-changing course, its shallows, and its floods. The syndicate was dissolved in August 1931. At the beginning of 1926 Harbour Regulations for the Port of Harbin were sanctioned by the Central and provincial Chinese authorities and, having been accepted by the Diplomatic Corps, were promulgated on the 1st May. In the same year General Rules for the Control by the Customs of Motor-boats were also issued. They came into force only late in that summer, as the question of foreign ownership of ferry-boats had not then been settled. Although the greater number of small ferry-boats were owned by Russians, permission to ply was withdrawn, and a change of ownership had to be effected. Motor-boats in the private use of Consuls and treaty power nationals not engaged in trade are still allowed to fly their national flags. In 1929 the newly formed Liaoning Executive Council promulgate regulations regarding the inspection of vessels, since when each steamer carries a number, illuminated at night, well above the upper deck, corresponding to its official number in the Council's register. It also issues certificates to replace the former Chiao-t'ung Pu certificates and the motor-boat certificates formerly issued by the Superintendent. On the Sungari River the standard governing the registration of ships' officers has always been made a question of practical efficiency rather than theoretical knowledge. Until 1928 the certificates were issued by the Customs, but since then the North-eastern Executive Council has practically taken over control of ships' masters and mates and grants certificates to them. Although stringent regulations have been published governing their issue, it is seldom possible to maintain the standard. The Customs scrutinise the certificates and register them, insisting in all cases on their production. In this connexion it is necessary to note that a school for the preparation of candidates, called "The North-eastern Commercial Navigation School," was officially opened in December 1927 to provide a four years' course of training. Theoretical tuition is given in the school during the winter months, and practical training on the river in summer. Pupils must then pass two entire summers on the river as assistant officers, after which they are given mates' certificates. The school, with accommodation for 90 students, is housed in a large two- story building on the left bank of the Sungari. Evening classes, extending over two years, are also given to provide for men who are already rated as masters or mates, without previously having had an opportunity of acquiring any theoretical knowledge of their calling. Generally speaking, the gross tonnage of the steamers on the Sungari has more than doubled itself during this decade, being 20,401 tons at the beginning and 45,829 tons at the end. During the first part of the decade only a few wooden steamers were built. The first iron ship to be launched was the s.s. Kwanghsing, 130 feet by 22 feet, of 257 tons gross register, which made her first voyage in 1927. Since then iron construction has been undertaken on a comparatively large scale. There are now two large shipbuilding yards belonging to the North-eastern Shipping Company and Skoda Company respectively. Besides these there are numerous small yards which construct craft anywhere on the banks of the river. Small motor-boats are turned out in great quantity. They are mostly built to cope with the cross-river traffic which has become such a feature of latter-day Harbin. The growth in the population has caused a great expansion of the city on the farther bank of the Sungari, in addition to which there is an ever-increasing number of persons who make their temporary abode there during the summer months. This part of the town serves as a summer resort for the rest of the city. Further down the river, opposite the Chinese city of Fuchiatien, an entirely new suburb, known as Sumbai, has grown up around the terminus of the newly constructed Hulan-Hailun Railway. There is now a 14 210 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. constant stream of traffic across the river connecting these two parts of the city. The construction of a new bridge has already been mooted and, in spite of the great expense, it will shortly be a necessity, particularly on account of the dislocation caused by the moving ice in the spring and autumn, when there is invariably a loss of life. Although the Harbin fleet has been well maintained with regard to steamers and barges, there has been a great falling off in junks. Practically no new junks are being built, and although some have been incorporated into the towing fleet, great numbers of others have been broken up or lost. By the end of the decade the number had fallen to 551. There are as yet no oil-burning steamers on the Sungari, but whereas at the beginning of the decade the fuel consumed was entirely wood, since 1926 an increasing quantity of coal has been burnt. This is due to the cheap coal obtained from the Kiamusze coal mines, some 280 miles below Harbin, which are only 20 miles away from the river. The saving in weight and space in the bunkers and of time in loading is so great that an economy of 30 per cent. is made with this.coal, and even Fushun and Muling coal are both more economical than wood, which is now practically only used on the Amur. 3. Revenue.—The principal feature of the revenue collection has been the steady rise which, with two slight set-backs in 1923 and 1928, has been maintained from year to year. Owing to the introduction, late in the decade, of diverse factors, such as the gold unit, the abolition of the duty-free list, the withdrawal (and later reintroduction) of the one-third duty privilege on goods for the Chinese Eastern Railway, and lastly the increased tariff, the increases recorded in the revenue cannot be taken merely as a reflection of the economic prosperity of the district. By far the greater portion of the yearly revenue is obtained from exports, of which beans and bean products account for the larger part of the substantial sum contributed under this head. Changes in Russian foreign policy were largely responsible for the slump in import revenue in the early years of the decade, though the visible shrinkage was covered to a large extent by the invisible imports from the South, over which there is no Customs control in this district. Since the set-back in 1923, the rise has been steady and progressive. At the end of this decade this strong upward tendency has been much increased in conjunction with the incidence of augmented tariffs and in spite of the world depression of trade, to which that of Harbin is no exception. At the beginning of the decade import revenue formed only 20 per cent. of the whole Customs revenue of the district, whereas at its close it has risen to 41 per cent. The abolition of coast trade duty and transit dues has made no perceptible difference to the general total. 4. Currency and Finance.—(a) Foreign Currency.—With the exception of a certain quantity of gold yen, at the end of this decade there was no foreign currency in general circulation. The gold rouble still remains the official currency used on. the Chinese Eastern Railway, though transactions are usually effected in local dollars. However, when the exchange rates fixed by the Railway are favourable, gold roubles are still sometimes tended in payment and are accepted at par. The rates of exchange for gold roubles are published by the Railway at intervals. Except as mentioned above, gold rouble pieces are seldom seen, and no silver rouble coins are now in circulation. Such old Czarist silver roubles as may be occasionally met with are valued at a price near to their bullion value or are sold as curiosities. The Soviet rouble (chervonny rouble) is treated as the currency of a foreign state and has never been in circulation, except at Manchouli for two months at the end of 1929 during the Sino-Soviet conflict. Japanese yen is the only foreign currency that has the slightest footing in North Manchuria, and at the end of this decade it is very much less in evidence than it was at the HARBIN. 211 beginning. Its circulation, with that of all other foreign currencies, was forbidden in 1927, and a series of regulations were promulgated, prohibiting the use of yen for general business. Stores with yen in their tills were searched and the yen confiscated. Notaries were prohibited from protesting local promissory notes unless drawn in local or silver dollars. Mortgages and other legal documents could not be registered if drawn in yen or other foreign currencies. .Yen are, however, still used, more especially in quotations for transactions at a future date, for the advantage it affords as a stable medium of exchange. Nevertheless, although certain merchants and shopkeepers may like to quote prices in the more stable currency, Japanese yen are not demanded nor local dollars refused in payment. (A) Native Currency.—(1) Obsolete Coins.—Sycee and cash are no longer in circulation. (2) Current Coins.—Silver dollars have not been in general circulation during this decade. Indeed, since 1922, when the embargo on the export of silver was rigidly enforced, silver dollars have entirely disappeared. At the beginning of the decade small silver coins of the Yuan Shih-k'ai type were occasionally met with in Harbin and in the Railway Settlements, but they are now no longer seen. For the smallest denominations copper is used, and coins of this metal in two sizes are met with in considerable quantity. They are universally accepted for amounts under 5 cents. They are at a discount, which at the end of the decade stood at about three to one. (3) Bank and Promissory Notes.—(i) Ta yang-chien piao.—The issue of dollar notes for "big" money was begun in 1920 to avoid the handling of actual hard silver dollars. In 1921 the issue pf notes increased very rapidly, and by 1922 had reached such proportions, compared with the amount of silver available, that many people began to worry about their redeemability. It was at this time that the authorities took more drastic steps regarding the embargo on the export of silver, which already nominally existed. The exchange rate on Shanghai went up as high as 10 per cent. in 1922, in spite of the fact that local dollar notes were freely redeemable in silver. The history of the Harbin dollar note issue is a series of fluctuations, showing a gradual depreciation of the local currency against silver. After the first sharp discount in 1922 the dollar again went up to par at the end of the year, but since then it has always been at a discount, which has been as high as 60 per cent. (in the early part of 1927). In 1924 the redeemability of the local dollars in silver was definitely abandoned. As mentioned above, under "Foreign Currency," in subsequent years the local authorities took more energetic measures to improve this currency. But while the special regulations have forced the public to use the local dollars, they have had the effect of destroying confidence in their value. At the present time it is estimated that there are between 50 and 60 million dollars in circulation. The amount of silver available to redeem them is comparatively small and may be considered negligible in view of the fact that it is unlikely to be used for such a purpose. These artificial measures for bolstering up a paper currency have had a detrimental effect upon business, especially when 70 per cent. of the transactions involve credit facilities. Merchants have naturally not been anxious to extend credit on a local dollar basis, when they feel that the paper currency may depreciate sharply in the coming months. In spite of the fact that the local dollars are not redeemable, Manchuria is so rich in exports that the currency has not depreciated to the extent that might have been expected. There are now some indications that the authorities are considering the advisability of reintroducing an actual silver currency, but it seems doubtful whether the plan will include the restoration of the present note issue to a silver basis. 212 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. (ii) Hsiao yang-chien piao.—"Small" silver notes are issued by the Government banks of Kirin and Heilungkiang for circulation in their respective provinces, but they are not as commonly used as the tiao. The amount in circulation is unknown. (iii) Kuan t'ieh.—These notes, which are still the principal currency in use outside the towns and settlements of the Chinese Eastern Railway, have been issued since 1898. Their depreciation noted in the last Decennial Report has greatly increased during the last decade, especially in the Heilungkiang province since 1926. (c) Banking.—During this decade the most outstanding event in the banking world was the stoppage of the Russo-Asiatic Bank in 1926. This bank was founded as the Russian Chinese Bank for the purpose of financing the construction, and later the exploitation, of the Chinese Eastern Railway. This privileged position gave it from its incipience overwhelming pre-eminence and authority. It continued in the enjoyment of this advantage until the signing of the Sino-Soviet Agreement at Moukden in 1924 deprived it of its place as the "Railway Bank." Nevertheless, in spite of the alteration in its status, it continued to take a prominent part in commercial life, particularly among the emigrant classes, with whose fortunes it has always been so closely linked. The safety of the bank was supposed to have been secured by a declaration of French ownership, and for a number of years the French flag was flown over the bank's buildings. It continued to transact a large amount of business, when its doors were suddenly closed in 1926, by instructions from Paris. The news created consternation, not to say panic, and the failure has been the occasion of a great deal of distress among all classes of Russian emigrant society. The liquidation of the bank was undertaken by Chinese officials appointed by the Ministry of Finance, and up to the present time has not been completed. Private depositors have received only a small percentage of their deposits. Its official position as the "Railway Bank" was taken by Chinese and Russian banks in equal shares. With this object in view a new Russian bank was founded in 1923 called "The Far- eastern Bank of Harbin," which is popularly known as the "Dalbank." Due to the support given it by the Chinese Eastern Railway it has grown to be one of the most important of the local banks. At one time the Railway's deposits held by the bank amounted to nearly 35 million yen. Aided by these resources as well as by the influence arising from its close co-operation with the Soviet representatives in the Railway, this bank has played a leading role in financing import trade. Other new foreign banks opened during the decade include the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China, which opened a branch in Harbin in 1929, besides which there are some smaller banking institutions, one of which is registered in the United States. A number of these have suffered seriously during recent years on account of the present unsettled conditions and are therefore not in a strong position. There are five large Chinese banks, which control the issue of the dollar notes and in some cases invest heavily in the purchase of beans as well as financing large commercial undertakings. Besides the Bank of China, the Bank of the Three Eastern Provinces (Bank of Manchuria), the Bank of Communications, and the Kuang Hsin Syndicate of Heilungkiang, all of which were opened in the previous decade, there is now also the "Frontier Bank." There are also many smaller private Chinese banking houses, which take an active part in the financing and development of business in this part of Manchuria. 5. Agriculture.—Judged by the net results of the harvests during the past 10 years, agriculture in North Manchuria has made good progress. Fairly large new areas have been brought under cultivation in both the Heilungkiang and Kirin provinces. Development has HARBIN. 213 been most marked in the Sungari basin and along the newly built railways. A leading part in this movement has been played by the Hingan Exploitation Bureau, with its head office in Taonan. In spite of determined efforts to rationalise farming, the results attained in this direction have been meagre. It was much hoped that an extensive introduction of machinery would bring to Manchuria the prosperity it has brought in other parts of the world, but it must be admitted that up to the present the measures have been a failure. The lack of intelligent drivers to work the tractors, etc., not to speak of competent mechanics, has proved an insuperable difficulty. The substitution of bean oil, which is so cheap, for machine oil, which is so dear, seems a simple expedient to the average Chinese driver-coolie, with the result that the tractor in a very short time is turned into a heap of scrap iron. Such sad experiences have caused a great check to the use of these more expensive methods, and the end of this decade has seen a general reversion to more primitive methods of cultivation. In the middle of this period there was a shrinkage in the area under wheat, owing primarily to a succession of bad harvests, but in the last few years this cereal in again making headway. There has been a considerable increase in the area under rice on the eastern line of the Chinese Eastern Railway. Rice cultivation is mostly done by Koreans, who employ their own system of culture on flooded land in spite of the example shown by the Chinese Eastern Railway nursery at Echo, which has produced excellent rice crops on land which has not been flooded. Practically no fertilisers are used in the Harbin district, as the natural fertility of the land is still for the most part unexhausted. At the same time the land nearer to Harbin is now beginning to show a decline, which can only be arrested by the employment of such means. Some attempts have been made to enlighten the peasants in this respect, but these efforts are being relaxed, especially since the change in Railway policy, and the task is beyond individual effort. The poor quality of the seed sown, which is saved from the previous low-grade harvest, is also acting detrimentally in the same district. Some propaganda has been used to induce the peasants to obtain a better quality from the nurseries, but it is difficult to convince them of the necessity of this serious outlay. The harvests during the decade have, with a few exceptions, been generally good. The worst year was 1923, when the summer and autumn proved exceptionally wet, and the amount of moisture in the beans was excessive. Again in 1926 a very wet October gave similar results. The following year was somewhat better, but far from good, and although 1928 is classed as bad, it was confined to certain districts only. In latter years difficulty has been experienced in dealing in beans, owing to the excessive admixture of dirt. This reached its climax in 1928, but has now been practically eliminated by paying only on results instead of in advance. No special developments in forestry in this district are to be remarked during the last decade. Progress has been confined to the opening up of new land by the concessions already working. Moreover, two large undertakings have been closed down owing to increased competition from the Transbaikal forest. No planting has been undertaken to replace the felled timber, which tends to reduce the volume of the rivers and increase the extent of the floods. 6. Industrial Development.—In spite of great progress industrial development in North Manchuria has only reached a preliminary stage. Most of the enterprises are run on purely colonial lines, as might be expected in a country chiefly engaged in the export of agricultural products. The manufacture of raw materials is as yet only of secondary consideration. The principal industries are engaged in working up agricultural products, the 214 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. first place being taken by the oil and flour mills, the next in importance being the distilleries. Three-quarters of all the industrial works are to be found in Harbin and its suburban areas, the Mostovoi district (often called "Eighth Section"), Fuchiatien, Old Harbin, and Intendantsky station. The first of these, being well served by water and rail, is by far the most important. Fuchiatien comes next. It is well situated on the river, but suffers from poor railway service and is therefore not so well suited for large industrial undertakings. Old Harbin and Intendantsky station are both conveniently situated on the Chinese Eastern Railway line, the former being particularly well served with railway sidings. Oil Mills.—Among the factories of European type in North Manchuria oil mills now come first. Only in capital value do they yield place to flour mills. In Harbin there are at present more than 50 oil mills, while at different .places on the Chinese Eastern Railway there are others, making a further total of over 20. Altogether they are able to deal with more than \ million tons of beans per annum, though, as a matter of fact, they hardly use half that amount. Thanks to the comparative simplicity of the process for expressing the oil, the capital sunk in this industry is not particularly large. It is estimated at between 10 and 11 million silver dollars. Hydraulic presses are now invariably installed, but most mills leave a large percentage of unexpressed oil in the beancake, which is not only a loss of oil but lowers the quality of the beancake itself. Almost the whole output of the mills is exported, the beancake mostly to Japan for manuring the rice fields, and the bean oil to Denmark, England, Germany, and the Netherlands, to be turned into margarine, varnish, or soap. In latter years the industry has not done so well, as European countries have preferred to import the beans rather than the bean oil. The Japanese demand for oil-cake has also sunk in competition with chemical fertilisers. Flour Mills.—The flour mills in North Manchuria were the first industrial undertakings to be established on European lines, and until 1924 it was the most important industry to be found there, but, following the bad harvest of 1923, it has fallen into the second place. From 1924 to 1926 the mills worked at only half their capacity and the industry was in serious difficulty, the foreign markets being entirely lost. It is only since 1928 that the mills have again been working on a profitable basis. It is estimated that the capital invested in this business amounts to between 12 and 15 million silver dollars, which is very large when compared with other industries in this region. The large and substantial buildings and expensive machinery required account for this difference. Distilleries.—At present there are 16 distilleries of European type in North Manchuria, of which half are situated in Harbin and half at other places on the Chinese Eastern Railway. There is no foreign market for the products of these distilleries, and the stills work at only 25 per cent. of their full capacity. The largest and finest installation is to be found in Harbin, and it alone could almost satisfy the whole of the local demand. There are between 5 and 6 million silver dollars invested in this industry. The distilleries have formed themselves into a syndicate since 1923. Other Industries.—There are a number of other factories engaged in working up agricultural products, the largest of which are the beet sugar factories, which had just been reorganised at the end of the last decade. These factories have been unable to work to their maximum capacity owing to the lack of beet, which the local farmers do not find advantageous to grow. There are two large tobacco factories, each of which has its own warehouses and HARBIN. 215 shops for wholesale and retail trade. There are also a number of smaller concerns in Harbin, and at least 50 tobacco warehouses in Fuchiatien. Besides these, there are breweries, vinegar and soy factories, cotton mills, knitting factories, and cloth mills, etc. Lard and casing factories are mostly to be found at Hailar and Manchouli, but there are also some in Harbin. A large and expensively fitted tannery in Fuchiatien was opened in 1922, and a year later a splendid up-to-date cloth mill was built, with a potential output of 250,000 yards per annum. Tinned and chilled foods are prepared on a large scale by two companies in Harbin, both of which have been in existence for more than a decade. The irregularity of supply, which in the case of meat comes mostly from Mongolia, has hindered their work. There are also workshops for metal work and glassware, but the largest iron works has closed down. There is a small chemical works in Harbin, engaged in making dyes, etc. To the enterprises supplying electrical energy which existed at the beginning of this decade a large new undertaking has been added. This company, which began work in 1927, runs three tramway lines in different parts of the town, besides supplying current at a much lower rate than was formerly the case. Two shipbuilding yards have been established during this decade, and, although there is ample scope for them, they have not been particularly successful for financial reasons. A large brick works was opened in 1929, but in spite of its up-to-date installation it suffers from competition with undertakings based upon cheap labour. Boots and shoes of foreign type are made locally in sufficient quantities for all local requirements. The manufacture of red wine from grapes locally grown is now a small, but well-established, industry, which to a certain extent has reduced foreign imports. White wines are made from grapes imported from the south. Finally, there are a great number of small Chinese workshops, mostly of very primitive character. In Harbin they congregate at Fuchiatien, but they are to be found at all stations on the Chinese Eastern Railway as well. These undertakings use almost entirely hand labour, and their output, individually very small, is designed exclusively for local needs. 7. Mines and Minerals.—Coal is the only important mineral worked in this district. At the beginning of this decennial period the only mine of outstanding importance was at Chalainor, on, and belonging to, the Chinese Eastern Railway, which consumes almost the whole of its output. The importance of this coal mine has now greatly declined, owing to the opening up of mines of better quality at other places. Moreover, during the Sino-Soviet conflict in 1929 its destruction was made one of the objectives of the Soviet attack, and it was so severely damaged that it has only been possible to restore it partially. The first of the new enterprises was undertaken by the Mulin Coal Mining Company in 1924. The mine itself lies 70 miles north of the Chinese Eastern Railway station at Mulin, with which it is connected by a broad-gauge branch line. It is well equipped and produces about 10 million poods per annum of excellent coal, for which there is a steady demand from the railway and for industrial and domestic use. Both in price and quality it competes with all other kinds of coal. The same field is worked at another point to the south of the railway line, where it is known as "Mishansky." The finest coal is, however, obtained from the How Li Han mine, 280 miles north of Harbin. This mine is situated only 35 miles from the Sungari River, with which it is connected by a railway line. Work at the mine is only at an elementary stage, and the output is as yet very small, barely sufficient to supply the Sungari steamers and the Hu-Hai Railway. Very little has been sold on the open market. and it is, therefore, not widely known, but its high quality makes it of outstanding importance in the development of North Manchuria. The capital now sunk in coal-mining in this district is said to amount to about §7,000,000, without taking into account the cost of the land. Mining machinery is obtained almost entirely from 216 - DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Germany, but the steam-engines come from England. There are said to be 5,000 European miners at work in the coal-fields. In spite of the development of coal-mining, the import of foreign coal has much increased. It is chiefly used by the Railway, and only a small portion gets on to the open market. Stone, lime, sand, etc., are brought in considerable quantities for building purposes from the eastern section of the Chinese Eastern Railway and from places along the Sungari River. Soda comes from Barga and from the neighbourhood of Bodune. Coarse salt is obtained by evaporation from salt lakes in the Hailar district. Gold is found in many places, generally on the banks of rivers flowing into the Amur. There are proved deposits of silver, lead, copper, aluminium, asbestos, etc., but the extent of the mineral wealth of this country is unknown. 8. Communications.—Railways and Motor Transport.—An enormous change was made in the status of the Chinese Eastern Railway when the line passed from the Russo-Asiatic Bank to the Sino-Soviet Administration, under the treaties signed in 1924 between the U.S.S.R. Government and the Peking and Moukden Governments respectively. Until that time the Russo-Asiatic Bank had been in control of the Railway, and the signing of the Moukden Agreement marked a definite break with the past. The Administration of the Railway, which in the earlier years of this decade, under the able management of Engineer B. V. Ostroumoff, had installed order and prosperity into its affairs, was replaced by a new joint Sino-Soviet Administration, which, though no less efficient, was inspired by a different policy based on other ideals. This has meant the reduction or often the complete closing down of many of the subsidiary enterprises of the Railway, particularly those of philanthropic, social, or religious character, the declared objective being to commercialise the Railway. Social work has only been retained when calculated to improve the workers' efficiency or to be of political importance. For these reasons clubs are subsidised, while other organisations of purely religious, aesthetic, or scientific character have been abandoned. Under the previous administration no restriction was placed on the number of Russians employed by the Railway, all the high administrative posts being held by them, whereas the new agreement stipulated a completed parity in both numbers and rank. Adjustment to this standard has not been easy and has not been effected without some duplication. Until quite lately North Manchuria had but one railway—the Chinese Eastern,—with a general total length of about 1,070 miles. Since 1923 the railway system has been continuously enlarged. The most important of these extensions connects Koshanchen with Tsitsihar and then crosses the Chinese Eastern Railway to Taonan, a distance of 254.26 miles. Thence it connects with the southern system. The construction of the Hulan-Hailun Railway, covering a distance of 137.40 miles, was begun in 1925 and finished in 1929. Harbin and Hailun are its present termini. The most important addition to the Chinese Eastern Railway has been the construction of a branch line, about 37 miles long, from Mulin station on the eastern section to the newly opened Mulin coal mine. With the exception of the last named, which conforms to the gauge of the Chinese Eastern Railway, the above have all been built on a narrow gauge. The present length of all railway lines in North Manchuria is over 1,700 miles, a considerable increase in the means of transport of this part of China, and its effect in facilitating colonisation and distribution is already perceptible. In fact the wide development of the Heilungkiang province is possible through no other means. With the development of railways there has been a parallel HARBIN. 217 development of other forms of transport, particularly motor. Motor cars, buses, and lorries connect the outlying districts with, and draw traffic to, the main railway arteries. With some exceptions this kind of traffic is confined to the winter months, when the roads and streams are frozen and become suitable for the passage of heavy motor traffic. The development of automobile transport is greatly retarded by the lack of well-made roads and by heavy taxation, which is the more burdensome on account of its uncertain incidence. The wide-spread banditry of these provinces is likewise a menace not only to the transport of goods and automobiles, but to the persons accompanying them as well. Passenger traffic by automobile is maintained very regularly over a number of routes. One of the first and principal services runs from Tsitsihar to Taheiho in winter only. There are services uniting Anda station with the town of Anda and a number of other places to the north as far as Hailun and Keshan. These services run practically all the year round. There are similar regular services between Fuchiatien and places lying south of Harbin, as also between Laoshaogou station and the town of Bodune, which latter service has been run since 1923. One of the latest is a winter service between Hulin, on the Ussuri River, and Mulin, on the Chinese Eastern Railway. An attempt to organise an automobile passenger and goods service between Harbin and Changchun has not given good results, although backed with large capital by a Japanese transport company. Its failure is said to be due to the small demand for quick transport, as all goods imported from the south can, without detriment, be carried by Chinese carts, which mode of transport is in many cases cheaper than the railway freight, especially when exchange is favourable. With the setting in of the winter, therefore, both in the west and in the south, but more particularly between Harbin and Changchun, an increasing stream of primitive Chinese cart traffic is to be seen moving parallel to the railway. They carry not only beans, millet, and flour, but all kinds of imported goods, such as cotton piece goods, sugar, ironware, etc. Aviation.—During the decade aviation has made little practical progress in this district. With commendable foresight a large tract of land beyond the race-course has been ear-marked for an aerodrome, but nothing has been done to equip it for this purpose. At the end of 1931 a mixed Chinese-Japanese Company was formed to inaugurate a passenger service, a start being made by flights between Harbin and Moukden. At the time this report closes it had not yet acquired a sufficient regular character to be regarded as more than an experiment. Post Office.—During the past decade remarkable progress has been made in every branch of postal activity. Extension has been carried out systematically, including offices and agencies at large towns and courier lines over the main roads. At the end of 1931 there were altogether 974 centres of habitation regularly served by postal employees, 30,059 li of courier lines, and money order and/or postal order facilities available at 342 postal establishments. The following comparative table shows at a glance the actual results:— 1922. 1926. 1931. Offices and sub-offices 118 129 148 Agencies 223 273 313 Minor establishments 238 388 513 The increase in mail matter has been steady and closed with a rise of 132 per cent. as compared with 21 per cent. at the beginning of the period under review. Parcels posted also show satisfactory progress. An agreement was concluded in 1926 for the exchange of insured letters with the U.S.S.R. 218 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. In keeping with the times, a summer air-mail service has been in operation with Europe since 1924. The flight, however, only commences from Irkutsk, in Siberia. With the Eurasia Company providing similar services in China, a Shanghai letter can now be sent all the way to London by aeroplane, with the exception of a short gap between Manchouli and Irkutsk, which will no doubt be linked up in the near future. The district is self-supporting, and the money order transactions continue to play a very important part in the business life of the people in this section of Manchuria. Post Office Savings Banks were established at a few offices as early as July 1920 and now number 37, but it must be admitted that they are not extensively supported. Motor cars and buses cover large stretches of territory, principally during the winter months, but the services are often neither regular nor frequent enough to be used for the carriage of mails. Of 50 motor routes known to the Post Office only four are utilised throughout the year. The construction of a fair motor road between Laha and Taheiho, a distance of 710 li, saves two days in the transmission of mails over that long highway. A large building for the Head Post Office at Harbin was completed in 1923, but the space within is already insufficient to meet increasing requirements, and additions are contemplated in the near future. At Kirin, the capital of the province, commodious premises were also acquired for the Post Office in 1930, and the service-owned buildings in this district now total 26. Telegraph.—All places of any importance are now connected by Government telegraph lines with the three chief centres of the northern provinces, Tsitsihar, Harbin, and Kirin. The extension of these telegraph lines has been rapid, doubling itself in the 10 years from 1915 to 1925. It is now estimated at about 12,000 kilometres. In addition to the Government lines, the Chinese Eastern Railway has its own telegraph system, both for its own and public use. The lines, which cover a distance of 2,700 kilometres, reached their maximum development in 1923, when as much as 19,000 kilometres of wire was in use. The number of lines has since then been reduced to about half that quantity, owing to the more extended use of the telephone. Telephone.—The telephone system, which was originally introduced by the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1903, has been greatly developed and extended during the last 10 years. The erection of Chinese lines dates from 1922, and concessions have latterly been given to semi- official bodies for this purpose. Telephones are now in use in all places of importance. Automatic telephones were first introduced by the Chinese Eastern Railway at Harbin in 1922, and the system is being gradually extended. Its control was taken over by the Chinese authorities in 1928. Until this decade there was practically no long-distance telephone. The first improvements were made in 1922, but it was not until after the introduction of "transmitters " in 1925 that all places were connected with Harbin by the direct line. Wireless.—The first wireless installation in Harbin was erected in 1905, for communication with Chita, Habarovsk, and Vladivostock. This temporary installation was changed for a more powerful one in 1907, which was taken over by the Chinese authorities in 1922 and has since been worked by the Radio-telegraph Administration of the Three Eastern Provinces, public messages being accepted for transmission. 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—The conservancy work to improve the approaches to the Harbin Pristan bund, mentioned in the last Decennial Report, was practically HARBIN. 219 completed by 1924. The original channel was dug by hand, 70 feet wide, and then dredged each year. The work involved the removal from the river bed of hulks and pontoons, the latter of which had once formed part of the old pontoon bridge opposite the Artilleraiskaya Street. They had sunk in the middle of the river, and by deflecting the current were largely responsible for the silting that had taken place. Groynes have been built on the opposite bank and on the same side higher up, while the stone pier of the Yacht Club, which had been injudiciously built just above the entrance to the channel, has been partially removed. The work has produced a magnificent, deep stream of water close to the important Pristan railway bund. This benefit has been passed on to the Fuchiatien bund farther down the river, where the channel is now also considerably deeper. The entrance to the Railway Dock has been deepened and it is again navigable for all vessels. The channel in the Upper Harbour has undergone considerable changes, a great scouring having taken place on the right bank. During the decade it has been necessary to remove and rebuild the Customs Upper Barrier no less than twice. The Lower Barrier, which was reconstructed in 1921, has not suffered in any way, although it is also much nearer the stream than it was at the beginning of the decade. The new, or outer, Fuchiatien bund is a stone-faced structure built in 1922-23 to face the reclaimed land at Fuchiatien and Ssuchiatze, as projected by Captain Eldridge, when Deputy Coast Inspector in 1910. It was, however, originally planned on similar lines to the one on the Pristan foreshore, but for some unknown reason those concerned have built a practically vertical protection wall with little or no material to back it. It does not, therefore, afford the protection it was hoped to secure, and in time of high flood is actually a menace to the low-lying land beyond. The flood of 1923 was the only serious one during this period, although exceptionally high water was also recorded in 1927 and 1928, the latter year being the more notable, for, although the height of the water did not exceed that of 1927, the flood was spread over a far longer period of time. The highest flood level registered in 1923 was 16.7 feet at Harbin; this was 1.5 feet less than the record flood of 1914. Great tracts of land were laid under water, but the crops were fortunately mostly spared. The houses on the left bank of the Sungari at Harbin were practically all flooded, and those of flimsy construction damaged. The real danger, however, lay in Fuchiatien, the thickly populated Chinese city on the right bank of the Sungari, where the stone-faced bund, mentioned above, was hastily heightened with bricks reinforced with sand- bags. The various cuts through the bund were likewise filled with sand-bags. Fortunately, the wind remained moderate during the whole of this time, for had there been anything like a gale from a northerly direction the measures taken would have been entirely inadequate. As the water-level was about 8 feet above the level of the ground behind the bund, a breach would have caused extensive damage, and many lives would inevitably have been lost. As a result of this perilous condition, agitation was aroused to fill up the dangerous low-lying ground and thereby render Fuchiatien safe under all conditions. Owing to the large expense involved and the complete absence of any co-ordinated system for spreading the work over a number of years and dividing the cost among the interested parties, practically nothing has been done, notwith- standing the co-operation and support offered by the Inspector General of Customs. The one outstanding exception is the Customs winter harbour at Ssuchiatze, which is being gradually filled up. The buildings have all been raised to the bund level, and a slip way constructed down to the river, with a swing bridge for the convenience of pedestrian traffic along the bund. The North-eastern Transport Squadron, under Chinese naval auspices, has constructed a new winter harbour (Russian = zaton) below Fuchiatien. The outlet of the Machiakou Creek was deflected and, by means of dredging and walling in, the former mouth of the creek has been turned into a basin. In March 1928 a new "North-eastern Water 220 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. (Conservancy) Bureau" was created for conservancy and reclamation work on the various rivers of the Three Eastern Provinces. A numerically strong board was formed at Harbin, with a Chinese engineer-in-chief and numerous assistants, a foreign (German) engineer being engaged as adviser in 1929. The Sungari River dues have been trebled, the extra two-thirds being levied in favour of the new Conservancy Board. Some survey work has been done, but so far no practical results have been attained. 10. Administration.—When this decennial period opened, the administration of this part of China had not long been placed in the hands of the Chinese and, although it was hardly realised at the time, the Russian rights to the Concession were then ipso facto at an end. Only the Chinese Eastern Railway remained under the old administration, and even there many changes were taking place. The chief of these was the suppression, in 1923, of the Land Department of the Chinese Eastern Railway and the opening of a similar institution by the Chinese. All lands not actually leased or ear-marked for some special purpose by the Railway were taken over by the Chinese authorities, as well as the collection of rent on land already leased to private persons. This procedure raised a storm of protest from all the extraterritorial Powers, but without avail; indeed, far more drastic changes were to come. With the growth in stability of the U.S.S.R. Government, the necessity of its formal recognition became more and more urgent. Following the treaty made by the Peking Government on the 31st May 1924 a second independent agreement, covering questions concerning North Manchuria in general and the Chinese Eastern Railway in particular, was concluded at Moukden between the late Marshal Chang Tso-lin and the representatives of the U.S.S.R. on the 8th October 1924. All Russian rights to concessions and privileges in North Manchuria, except the Chinese Eastern Railway, were surrendered to China. It secured for China an influence in the affairs of the Railway which had long been sought and, from that date, the advantage has been steadily improved. The control of the Chinese Eastern Railway was divided between the signatories, and the Railway has since been governed by a joint Sino-Soviet board. At the same time both contracting parties pledged themselves to effect and maintain a complete state of parity. These changes had the disadvantage of bringing the diverse and sometimes opposing interests of the two neighbouring states into rather too close proximity, which has been the cause of no little friction and even conflict. A crisis was reached in July 1929, when for nearly six months the Soviet members of the Administration were expelled from Chinese territory and all communication across the frontier ceased. Preliminary pourparlers having broken down, in August 1929 a state of war rapidly developed. Both ends of the line were seized by Soviet troops and were held for a period of three months. Losses were reported to be heavy on both sides, and not a few civilians, including some Japanese, were killed and wounded. Finally a new rapprochement was brought about through the mediation of interested Powers, and a preliminary agreement, regulating the means for settling all outstanding questions, was drawn up and signed at Habarovsk in January 1930 by plenipotentiaries on both sides. By mutual consent the status quo ante helium was temporarily restored pending the promulgation of a permanent treaty, and the U.S.S.R. directorate and management returned to China. For almost two years negotiations for the conclusion of a new treaty have been in progress, but in spite of all efforts the work is not yet completed. By order of the Chinese authorities, on the 29th December 1928 the flag of the National Government was hoisted over the Harbin Custom House, thereby marking another epoch in the history of the city. HARBIN. 221 As a corollary to the changes on the Chinese Eastern Railway, in 1926 the Russian Municipal Council was abolished and a Chinese self-governing body instituted in its place. Similar changes were made in the different settlements on the line, the whole being subordinated to a central settlement authority establishment in Harbin. The limits of this Customs district remain as they were in 1921. The Central Custom House, which was opened in that year, developed rapidly, and in consequence the General Office in the New Town Custom House has been closed. Following this change the Deputy Commissioner moved his office from New Town to the Central Custom House in 1926, where he has been in charge ever since. The sub-offices at Manchouli, Suifenho (Russian= Pogranichnaya), and Lahasusu function as hitherto, the first two being open all the year round and the last during the navigation season only. Owing to the decline of Sansing as a trade mart, the Custom House there was reduced to a barrier in 1921, and seven years later entirely closed. This town, however, has not lost its status thereby, being still a trade mart open to foreign trade but not having a Custom House. 11. JUSTICE AND POLICE.—Little change has taken place in the judicial administration of this district. The two Chinese courts continue to function as described in the last Decennial Report, but the “District Court of the Special Region of the Eastern Provinces" has, by order of the Ministry of Justice, since 1929 been renamed the “ Local Court of the Three Eastern Provinces.” The name of the “High Court” remains unchanged. The number of judges and barristers has greatly increased during the period. Whereas the “Lawyers' Association,” as the bar is here called, had only 16 Russian members in 1922, it now has 53, besides 32 Chinese. As formerly, the foreign population of Harbin is still represented by Russian lawyers only. There are in Harbin two or three Japanese lawyers engaged in the legal work of the Japanese Consular Court, but they are not members of the “ Lawyers' Association " and have never appeared in the Chinese courts. There has been a considerable increase in the number of Chinese judges, prosecutors, and clerical staff of the courts, but no reliable figures are available. The Executive Division of the Court has now four judges instead of the two originally appointed. The courts still possess Russian legal advisers, as described in the last Decennial Report, but their number has been reduced to two. A “Chamber of Reconciliation," with three special judges, was established at the District Court as from the 1st January 1931 for small civil cases not exceeding silver $1,000, with a view to bringing disputants to agreement. The services of the court are free of charge but become obligatory on the parties submitting to them. When the Chinese took over the administration of the judicial institutions, the Chinese penal laws and Chinese court procedure were introduced and used in all criminal cases. The Chinese civil laws had not then been drawn up, and all business relations, commercial transactions, conveyances of real estate, etc., were governed as between the Chinese by custom, or where both parties, or at least the defendants, were Russians, by the Russian pre-revolutionary law. Foreigners of other nationality than Russian, who did not enjoy extra- territorial rights, were treated by the courts in the same manner as Russians, and Russian law was applied in their cases. This legal status for foreigners not enjoying extraterritorial rights lasted till the beginning of 1929, when the new Chinese Civil and Criminal Codes, drawn up for the whole of China, were first introduced here. 12. MILITARY AND NAVAL CHANGES.—Little information on this subject is obtainable, but it may be stated that no very great changes are to be recorded under this head. There 222 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. have been changes in the disposition and strength of the armed forces, but details of these are naturally not available for publication. The military and naval strength was brought to its maximum at the time of the Sino-Soviet conflict in 1929, when their number is said to have been about 90,000 men. Since the signing of the Habarovsk Protocol the forces have withdrawn from the frontier to their usual billets and the establishment much reduced. The losses inflicted upon the Sungari Naval Squadron during the conflict were very heavy. Three gun-boats and several barges were sunk at or near Lahasusu. Although it has been possible to raise the gun-boats, many of the barges have become total wrecks. 13. Health and Sanitation.—Considerable improvements have been made in all the principal hospitals. To the Plague Prevention Service Hospital a modern block for the accommodation and treatment of general patients was added in 1922, followed in 1924 by an up-to-date building to house the laboratory, library, and museum. The Municipal Hospital in New Town came under the reformed Chinese administration of the city in 1926, and now employs a majority of Chinese doctors and nurses. A new wing has been added to the main building, almost doubling its capacity, while new blocks for the maternity department and for the treatment of venereal and skin diseases were erected during the first half of the decade. The majority of the patients continues to be Russian. The Municipality also maintains a special hospital for mental and incurable cases, now housed in a new building near the main establishment, as well as dispensaries in various parts of the city. Plans to sell the valuable Central Hospital of the Chinese Eastern Railway and with the proceeds to erect a new establishment in the suburbs did not succeed. However, various improvements have been made to the hospital, including the erection of a well-planned block for surgical in-patients. The former Russian Red Cross Hospital now serves as the headquarters and clinical hospital for the Harbin Medical School founded in 1927. While the majority of qualified medical practitioners is still Russian, the number of modern-trained Chinese doctors is steadily increasing. Most of these are, however, in the employ of the public institutions or of the Chinese Eastern Railway, which is filling vacancies mainly with Chinese doctors to establish parity between the Chinese and foreign staffs. There are several private dispensaries and nursing homes maintained by Russian and Chinese doctors. A wide choice of treatment is thus offered to patients according to their means. Fees are considerably lower than in South China. Registration not only of medical practitioners and dentists but also of assistants, nurses, beauty specialists, etc., is now insisted upon by all authorities concerned. Free vaccination against smallpox is given in the Plague Prevention Service Hospitals as well as in the municipal dispensaries. At the same time, while children are readily submitted to this, the need for regular re-vaccination is not sufficiently realised. During the past decade North Manchuria was practically free from plague, only two sporadic cases being met with, in 1923 and 1925 respectively, in men who had hunted tarbagans (Siberian marmots) in the endemic regions. Cases or small outbreaks continue to occur in Transbaikalia, and it was apprehended in many quarters that the year 1930 might witness a reappearance of the disease, which had invaded Manchuria in 1910 and 1920. Not only have these fears not been realised, but Transbaikalia seems likewise to have become entirely free from plague during the last few years, the disease having evidently become quiescent in this endemic area. A new menace for North Manchuria is formed by the outbreaks of bubonic plague HARBIN. 22.1 observed annually since 1927 in the Tungliao and adjacent areas of South Manchuria. An outbreak of this disease was reported in 1928 at Fuyu, or Petune (Russian Bodunc), 107 miles south-west of Harbin, on the northern bank of the Sungari River, but no bacteriological confirmation could be obtained by the Medical Officer sent by the Plague Prevention Service to this town. It may be said that in general the outbreaks in the Tungliao and adjacent district fortunately show little tendency to spread. Cholera, which had been entirely absent from North Manchuria since 1919, rcinvaded this area in 1926, leading to a not inconsiderable outbreak in Harbin itself. Figures in the three hospitals organised for the treatment of cholera cases were as follows:— Hospital. ' No. of No. op Phrcbntaob op Sick. Dhatiis. Uhatiih. Plague Prevention Service 168 29 17.3 Chinese Eastern Railway 55 19 34.5 Municipal 66 36 54.5 The whole epidemic claimed only 1,500 victims in Manchuria, as compared with 10,000 in 1919. Both typhus and relapsing fever are met with every winter, especially among poor Russians living huddled together in night shelters. About 250 cases of typhus were noted at Manchouli between January and April 1929, only three being Chinese, the rest entirely Russians. The arrival of immigrants from Shantung in 1928 led to an unusually large number of typhus cases along the railway route to Harbin. But the most serious outbreak of Typhut exanthematicus was witnessed at Harbin, as a result of the large influx of refugees from North-west Manchuria following the Sino-Soviet conflict of 1929—30. The incidence was highest between February and May 1930, when at least 454 cases were reported. Relapsing fever, although usually non-fatal, claimed 549 victims between November 1929 and May 1930 amongst the weakened refugees and alcohol-addicted beggars living with them. Though cases of smallpox are met with every year and become at times more frequent, this disease does not present a serious menace, as the occurrence of an unusual number of smallpox cases is invariably discussed in the press and induces many to avail themselves of the opportunities for vaccination. Foremost among other infectious diseases stands scarlet fever. Study of this disease by the Plague Prevention Service during the years 1925-28 has shown it to be frequent both among Russians and Chinese and particularly fatal to the latter. Attempts to introduce prophylactic inoculation have not met with universal adoption, and the winter of 1931 has shown a high frequency of the disease in Harbin, as in the years 1924-25, 1925-26, and 1928-29, It is to be hoped that the attention now paid to this disease and the extension of medical services in the schools, many of which now have regular medical attendants, will revolt in a better control of scarlet fever. Typhoid and dysentery occur during every warm season. Both the Harbin and the Fuchiatien Municipalities, as well as the Suburban Administra- tion have sanitary bureaux of their own under qualified Chinese medical men. The Medical Department of the Chinese Eastern Railway, which continues to be entrusted with some public health and disease prevention work in its immediate sphere of activity, since 1925, alv> under a Chinese Chief Medical Officer. In order to unify the registration of infectious disease* 224 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. formerly undertaken independently by each of the above-mentioned sanitary administrations, a conference was held in the Harbin Plague Prevention Service Hospital in June 1929. It was then decided to follow the instructions of the Ministry of Health and to report monthly, through a Central Epidemic Intelligence Bureau of Greater Harbin to be located in the Plague Prevention Service Institute, on the following infectious diseases: plague, cholera, smallpox, typhoid, dysentery, diphtheria, scarlet fever, typhus, and epidemic meningitis. Full information concerning infectious diseases, as well as statistics regarding births and deaths, have since been regularly forwarded, summaries being sent to all the administrations concerned. The Plague Prevention Service was under the control of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from its foundation in 1912 until 1930, when it passed under the direct control of the Health Ministry, now the National Health Administration. Quarantine.—During the 1926 cholera epidemic a close watch was kept upon traffic both by steamer and train. The South Manchuria Railway agreed to allow passengers travelling south from Harbin to continue their voyage unimpeded if their prophylactic inoculation was certified by the Plague Prevention Service. Local measures of traffic control to prevent possible importation of plague from Transbaikalia or South Manchuria have been adopted whenever necessary. 14. Education.—The last 10 years has seen a rapid increase in the educational facilities of this district. In particular, the scope of Chinese education has been considerably extended by additions to the number of elementary schools and the provision of more up-to-date secondary schools. The system is crowned by the provision of a Chinese high school, on the lines of a modern university, situated in Harbin New Town near the new temple Chi Lo Ssu. Besides the above, special preparatory courses are provided for Chinese youths desiring to enter the Harbin high schools, where teaching is given entirely in foreign languages. For foreign children elementary schools of Russian type are maintained both by the Municipality and by the Railway Administration. Secondary schools of the same character have largely been opened and maintained by private enterprise. The exception to this is the large and well-known Commercial School of the Chinese Eastern Railway. This institution has been remodelled on Soviet lines during this decade. The place formerly held by this school in the life of the town has now been taken by the private secondary schools, of which there are no less than nine new foundations, while four of the old ones have been closed. Among the new schools may be noted the Commercial School of Pristan and the three-grade course (elementary and secondary schools, and evening classes) provided by the Harbin Y.M.C.A., which enjoy well-deserved popularity. Besides these there are the "gymnasia" (classical) and "real" (modern) schools before mentioned, run on traditional Russian lines, which are supported by the large number of emigrant families congregated here. There are special schools for Koreans both at Harbin and Tsitsihar, and since 1920 the Russo-Japanese Association of Tokio has supported a college for 90 Japanese students at Harbin. Religious instruction has been eliminated from the curriculum of all Railway-provided schools, but this decline has been more than compensated by the religious activity shown in other directions. Nine new Orthodox churches have been built or rebuilt, and three other very large ones of brick or concrete are now approaching completion, some of these have schools attached to them. In addition, there are two Russian Orthodox orphanages and one asylum for the aged, one monastery and one nunnery, all of which have practically been established during the past decade. The Roman Catholics, in addition to the Polish Boys' School which existed earlier, have opened a large HARBIN. 225 convent school for girls, as well as elementary and secondary schools in connexion with the Greek-Catholic Mission, which has its own church. The larger settlements on the Chinese Eastern Railway are also well provided with schools. A fine new Railway school was built at Manchouli in 1927, but owing to the decay of that town the "gymnasium" and "real" schools have been greatly reduced and will shortly be closed. All the Harbin high schools founded in the previous decade, with the single exception of the medical school, continue to flourish. The most important is the Harbin Polytechnic, which is already turning out Russian and Chinese engineers. Its curriculum is now being reformed to Soviet standards. The Law Faculty, the Pedagogical Institute, and the Institute of Oriental Studies have all expanded and developed. An attempt to open a school of art failed and no organised courses in this subject exist, though there are schools of music and dancing. There are now two dental schools, which send forth numbers of qualified dentists annually. A new medical school was started in 1927 under Chinese auspices. Although education is not compulsory, its advantages are so widely recognised that there are now very few illiterates among the foreign children. Instruction in Chinese has been made a compulsory subject in all foreign schools. Moreover, the children of former Russian subjects who have taken Chinese nationality must be educated in Chinese schools under the same conditions as Chinese children. 15. Literature.—Native.—The growth of the Chinese press is one of the most noticeable features of this decade. Better and quicker news has been attained by better organisation and the installation of up-to-date machines. Besides the "International," the oldest local paper, published since 1917, there are many new ones, the principal of which are "Wu Pao" and "Kung Pao," the latter of which has a parallel Russian edition, which is published daily and usually contains from six to ten pages. Their circulation amounts to 4,000 copies a day. There are some ten other publications of different kinds, with circulations ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 copies daily, as well as a substantial publication called the "Commercial Press." Foreign.—The foreign press has also seen great changes and great improvements. There are a number of dailies which have outlived the decade, the principal of which are "Zarya" (= Dawn), "Rupor" (= Trumpet), and "Russkoe Slova" (= Russian Word), all in Russian, and "The Harbin Daily News" in English. Of the new publications, besides the two mentioned in the first paragraph, the "Harbinskoe Vremya" (= Harbin Times), a Russian newspaper published under Japanese auspices is the most important. There is one other English news sheet published daily, called "The Harbin Observer," which has existed for about six years. An attempt was made to publish a daily newspaper in German, called "Deutsche Manchurische Nachrichten," but in 1930 it was transferred to Tientsin, where it still exists. There are a number of other publications serving particular interests, the most important of which are the "Manchurian Monitor," in English and Russian, and the "Economichisky Vestnik " (= Economic News), both published by the Chinese Eastern Railway. 16. Population.—The increase in the population of this district is chiefly the result of the peasant immigration from the south. It is difficult to estimate with any accuracy what this may amount to, as no census on scientific lines has ever been attempted. Statistics of the arrival and departure of the seasonal labourers are collected by the South Manchuria Railway at Dairen, the difference being taken to represent the number of permanent settlers in Manchuria. Although the accuracy of these figures is guaranteed, there is nothing to indicate 15 226 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. in what degree each of the three northern provinces has benefited thereby. They clearly show, however, that the great colonisation movement began in 1923 and has continued throughout the decade. It reached its climax in the year 1927, when, as the result of the wars and banditry in the south, an unprecedented number of colonists arrived with their families and belongings. In that year the colonists were said to number 936,295 persons, of whom it may be safely presumed that the great majority came to the Kirin and Heilungkiang provinces. Unfortunately, the Sino-Soviet conflict gave a check to this development, as is seen in the figure for 1929, when, although the immigrants almost equalled the record year of 1927, much less than half remained behind. In 1930 the Civil Affairs Bureau and the Ministry of Interior both made estimates of the population. If the latter of these, which is slightly the larger, is compared with that made by the Post Office in 1922, it will be found that the Kirin province has increased by a little more, and the Heilungkiang province by a little less, than 1 million persons respectively. After comparing these figures with those of the Immigration Bureau of the South Manchuria Railway, we may perhaps be justified in concluding that the increase of 2 million inhabitants is roughly correct, being under rather than over stated. 17. Civil Disorder.—There are no regular frontier guards in North Manchuria, the protection of the frontier being borne conjointly by the police and the regular Chinese military forces. By reason of the tremendous length of the Sino-Soviet frontier it has never been possible to guard it extensively, police and troops being merely picketed at the points where communication is usually made. On the other hand, the Soviet side of the frontier has for several years been rigorously controlled. In spite of this there is said to be an extensive contraband export trade, particularly in foodstuffs, of which there is always such a notorious deficiency in Russia. Very few imports are brought in clandestinely over the Chinese border, but there is a constant flow of refugees from Soviet Russia in search of political asylum. North Manchuria possesses a very great area of land covered with forests, more often than not in wild, mountainous country, added to which there are large tracts of undeveloped land and swamp. These form an admirable stronghold for hung-hu-tzu, with whom they are thickly infested, particularly in those parts easy of approach to the more populated centres on which they prey. Cases of kidnapping are frequent, and the reticence of the persons liberated, often after the payment of a substantial fine, and the promptitude with which the cases are hushed up are all most significant facts. Shipping has also suffered not a little in the same way, particularly in time of drought, when the low water in the river makes navigation difficult and the steamers an easy prey. Similar complaints are continually received from the timber concessions, which are usually compelled to come to some working agreement with the hung-hu-tzu. I am indebted for the preparation of this report to Mr. C. S. Gibbes, Unclassed Assistant. Harbin, 23rd April 1932. H. E. PRETTEJOHN, Commissioner of Customs. HUNCHUN. 1. Trade.—Hunchun shed much of its former importance as a distributing centre for foreign imports throughout these districts during the period under review. As a result of the opening to traffic in 1923 of the narrow-gauge railway connecting Kaishantun and Lungching- tsun, and its extension to Yenki in the following year, a considerable part of the Hunchun trade with Wangching, Yenki, and other centres of population in the interior was deflected to Lungchingtsun. The prosperity of Hunchun thus became dependent to a larger extent upon purely local activities; and in these circumstances the gradual but progressive development of the Hunchun district was the prime factor affecting trade during the period. Despite floods and the resulting famines, an increasing population continued to bring new land under cul- tivation and develop more intensively the old. The brisk trade formerly carried on with Russia was finally stifled by political antagonisms in March 1923, and the main trade route to that country via the Customs barrier at Changlingtze became a deserted path overgrown with weeds and frequented chiefly by frontier guards. By this chance Japan fell heir to a practical monopoly of the foreign trade of the district. Thanks to the activities of the military authorities, brigandage was suppressed and the course of trade during recent years has not been affected by the depredations of the bands of hung-hu-tzu, which in former times despoiled the countryside and rendered impossible the establishment of that sense of security so essential to the growth of commerce. The enlightened work of Colonel Chu Jung, the present commander of the local military forces, deserves special mention in this connexion. The net value of the trade of the port increased from Hk.Tls. 1,517,131 in 1922 to Hk.Tls. 2,919,507 in 1931. At the former date only a small proportion of the export trade passed the Customs. In the absence of the chain of Customs barriers and patrol stations later established along the Tumen River— the boundary between China and Korea—there was nothing to prevent the free export of perhaps the bulk of local produce. The proximity of the Hunchun district to Japan through Korea was, and is, detrimental to the growth of trade with the manufacturing centres of China, such as Shanghai and Tientsin; but, notwithstanding this handicap, an improvement in this respect has recently been observed and gives promise of continuance. In an agricultural district of this kind changes in the demand for commodities are of slow growth. The motor-car came into use here for the conveyance of passengers in 1925, and with it came a new demand for gasolene. Recent years, also, have seen a reduction in the cost of simple and useful machinery, and, as a result, rice-hulling and other operations formerly done by hand are now carried out to a progressively larger extent by cheap machines imported from Japan. The use of artificial silk clothing increased considerably among Korean women. Methods of conducting foreign trade showed little change. The great bulk of foreign imports originates in Osaka. Local merchants arrange transactions through their Chinese agents in that city, and payment is made through Japanese banks in Yuki, the Korean port serving Hunchun, or by insured letter through the Chinese Post Office. 2. Shipping.—No picture of the Hunchun district during the period under review would be complete which did not contain some reference to the junk traffic on the Tumen River and Hungch'iho. The existence of this traffic is now imperilled by the advent of the new Korean railway from Yuki, but it is estimated that there are still about 100 junks engaged in the carriage of goods between Hunchun and various points along these rivers. 228 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 3. Revenue.—The last few years of the decade witnessed China's assumption of tariff autonomy and the replacement of what may be termed a nominal tariff by a schedule providing a reasonable degree of protection for home industries. These important developments, and the adoption from the 1st February 1930 of the Customs gold unit in place of the Haikwan tael as the unit of calculation for import duties, had a profound influence on the local Customs revenue, which, for the year 1931, amounted to no less a sum than Hk.Tls. 226,164, including Hk. Tls. 447 flood relief surtax collected in December—a fivefold increase over the corresponding figures for 1922. The higher burden of import duty does not appear to have had an appreciable adverse effect on foreign imports, with the exceptions of wines and spirits, matches, and certain classes of piece goods. It has, however, provided an additional incentive to smuggling, with the result that it was found necessary to establish numerous patrol stations along the frontier for the protection of the revenue. 4. Currency and Finance.—In 1921 the kuan t'ieh tt) or tiao (ffi) notes issued by the Provincial Government Bank of Kirin were the basic currency of commercial transactions in this district. One of the chief attributes of a successful currency, however, is stability, and it is in this respect that the tiao was found wanting. In December 1921 Hk.Tls. 1 was equivalent to Tiao 157, but by the end of 1931 the rate of exchange had depreciated to Hk.Tls. 1 = Tiao 775. During the same period the use of yen notes issued by the Bank of Chosen expanded rapidly, and by the end of the decade the trade of Hunchun was being conducted, to a very large extent, on a yen basis. When it is remembered that the great bulk of local trade is with Japan and that a large proportion of the population is Korean, the extensive use of a foreign currency is not a matter for surprise. The fall in the value of silver in recent years encouraged the purchase and hoarding of silver dollars by local merchants and others with spare funds at their disposal. In this way stocks of dollars, chiefly from Changchun, increased considerably during 1930 and 1931, and at the end of the latter year were estimated to have reached a total of 200,000. The only subsidiary coinage in common use is the Japanese, which, notwithstanding the circulation of numerous false 50-sen pieces, finds general acceptance. The introduction of Chinese small coins would do much to popularise the use of silver dollars. 5. Agriculture.—Methods of agriculture showed little change. The chief products— beans, millet, kaoliang, and rice—remained unaltered. With the increase in the population, virgin soil was put under the plough, and by the use of a larger number of labourers a more intensive development of the land was undertaken. Machinery as an aid to cultivation was conspicuous by its absence. The soil is rich, and fertilisers are not made use of. The raising of live stock remained in a primitive stage of development. Cattle are used exclusively for labour. Pigs are numerous, while large flocks of sheep and goats are often encountered in the neighbourhood. The extreme cold of the long winter and the scarcity of fodder preclude any large development in this direction. The history of the local forests makes painful reading. Year by year vast numbers of splendid pine trees are cut down and exported abroad and to Chinese ports. No attempt is, or has been, made to limit this prodigal expenditure of national resources. The Forestry Bureau, established in 1918, continued to function, and a system of timber concessions was maintained during the period. Afforestation, the need for which is so great, remained a purely academic question. 6. Industrial Development.—The wants of an agricultural community such as this are not sufficiently pressing to encourage the growth of industry on even a moderately large scale. HUNCHUN. 229 A match factory was established early in 1924, but the quality of the product left much to be desired, and the superior article imported from Japan now enjoys a monopoly of the market. Cast iron and galvanized iron stoves have been manufactured locally for many years. They find a ready market by reason of their cheapness as compared with the foreign product. The Hsu Ch'un Electric Light Company, Limited, was established in January 1926 for the supply of electricity to the town of Hunchun. The machinery is of Japanese manufacture and at present supplies current for 1,500 lamps. This venture is well conducted and gives promise of expansion. 7. Mines and Minerals.—Coal of a somewhat inferior quality exists fairly plentifully in the district. Mining has been carried on for many years by primitive methods and the industry gives employment to about 400 persons. The chief obstacle confronting local producers is that of securing markets sufficiently large to render mining profitable. Gold- washing along the valley of the Hungch'iho is still carried on, though on a reduced scale. The production of fine gold now amounts to about 1,000 ounces a year. It finds a ready market in Korea, to which country it is smuggled. 8. Communications.—The construction by the Railway Bureau of the Korean Government of a single-track, standard-gauge railway from the Korean port of Yuki, running roughly parallel to the Tumen River, commenced in 1928 and still in progress, will have a considerable influence not only on the development of the part of Korea through which it passes, but also on the future of trade in the Hunchun and adjacent districts. The first section of the line, from Yuki to Hsinashan, was opened to traffic on the 16th November 1929, while further sections to Kunju and Onjo were opened on the 1st October 1930 and the 20th October 1931 respectively. There was little, if any, change in the condition of the cart-tracks which do service as roads in the district. Efforts were made from time to time to improve the surface of certain of these tracks, but the repairs were of a superficial nature only and no real improvement resulted. Despite the state of the roads, a few local merchants established in 1925 the Ta T'ung Motor-car Company. Six cars are now engaged in maintaining a fairly regular service for passengers between Hunchun and the Korean frontier. A winter service with Yenki, along the frozen Tumen, was inaugurated early in 1931. Its success as a financial venture remains to be proved. As a consequence of the development of the district, postal facilities showed considerable expansion during the decade. By the end of 1931 the Hunchun second class post office had five agencies and seven rural boxes under its control. The agencies do not accept insured mail, but ordinary and registered letters are dealt with. Parcels may be posted and taken delivery of only at Hunchun. The Li T'ung Telephone Company was formed in August 1928, with Japanese apparatus providing for 100 subscribers. All available instruments have now been taken up, and the company, which operates in the town of Hunchun only, provides a very satisfactory service. Lines to the more important outlying villages are maintained by the military authorities and may be used by the public on payment of a small fee. Telegrams for transmission to all parts of the world are accepted by the Hunchun telegraph office. The service has improved con- siderably in recent years and is utilised to a growing extent by local merchants. 230 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—No remarks. 10. Administration.—The administrative system has shown little change in recent years. The hsien Magistrate, holding his appointment from the Civil Governor of the province and directly responsible to the Superintendent of the four hsien—Yenki, Hunchun, Holung, and Wangching—remains the chief civil official and has duties ranging from the collection of taxes to the supervision of education and public safety. For the execution of his functions he maintains a number of offices, consisting at present of the Finance Bureau, Public Safety Bureau, Education Bureau, Pao Wei T'uan, and a special office for the amelioration of famine. The Hunchun hsien is divided into eight districts, each controlled by an elder elected by vote and confirmed in his position by the Magistrate. Taxes on a variety of goods continued to be collected by the Shui-chiian Chii. This organ of provincial taxation maintains sub-offices along the frontier and levies the tax according to a tariff promulgated by the Kirin provincial government. The bulk of the revenue accrues from taxation of exports of beans, grain, and timber, but a levy is also made on natural products, such as deer horns, fruits, and furs moved from place to place within the province. In addition, the Shui-chiian Chii is responsible for the collection of taxes on pawnshops, title deeds, wines and tobacco, shop sales, etc. The Shen-lin Chii, under the direct control of the Kirin Nung- k'uang T'ing, collects a tax on timber felled on government-owned land and moved either within the district or exported abroad. Timber cut on private land, the purchase of which has been registered with the Kirin provincial government, is not subject to the tax. 11. Justice and Police.—There has been no important change in the administration of justice during the decade. The local court conducts the trial of civil and criminal cases, and there is a right of appeal to the higher courts at Yenki and Shenyang. Police offices are main- tained in the more important villages throughout the district. All cases concerning the Japanese population are dealt with by the local Consulate, which maintains a numerous consular police for the protection of Japanese nationals. Of late order has been well maintained, and cases of murder have been comparatively few, considering the stage reached in the development of the area. 12. Military Changes.—The extirpation of bandits has permitted a reduction of local military forces in recent years. A regiment commanded by a colonel now suffices for purposes of protection. Frontier posts are established in the vicinity of the Russian frontier, while the balance of the troops available act as a reserve at Hunchun, where the headquarters are situated. During the dispute with Russia in the winter of 1929-30 the entry of Russian troops into the Hunchun district was feared. Chinese reinforcements from Kirin soon arrived, and an extensive trench system with gun positions and machine-gun posts was prepared near the frontier. Happily the situation cleared without bloodshed. 13. Health and Sanitation.—Little progress can be reported with regard to the prevention and treatment of disease in this area. The bulk of the population continues to put its trust in the remedies prescribed by old-style Chinese and Korean doctors. Serious epi- demics are of rare occurrence, and, with a healthy climate, disease is inconsiderable. A small hospital—the first in the district—was established by a Japanese doctor in 1930. The local water supply continued to be obtained from wells. There is no drainage system in the modern HUNCHUN. 231 sense. The main street of the town of Hunchun has shown considerable improvement during the last few years. Commodious shop premises have been constructed, and at the same time the street has been almost doubled in width. 14. Education.—The district schools are controlled by the Magistrate through the Education Bureau. As the population has grown, the attendance at schools has increased. At the end of the decade there were 41 primary schools with pupils to the number of approximately 3,500. The course, at which attendance is compulsory, lasts six years, and the subjects taught include reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and history. Greater importance is now attached to games. A middle school was established early in 1931. After three years study graduates pass to higher grade colleges in larger centres for three years more before admission to universities. Education has been greatly handicapped by lack of funds, and strikes of teachers for improved conditions have been fairly frequent. Elementary schools for Japanese and Korean children are maintained under the control of the local Japanese Vice- Consul. Communism has made little progress during the period. This is due largely to the severance of relations with Russia and the closing of the frontier. 15. Literature.—No remarks. 16. Population.—The population, both Chinese and Korean, showed a marked increase during the decade. The movement proceeded gradually but continuously. The Chinese immigrants are mostly from Shantung, and, in many cases, are relatives of former settlers who have made good on the land or in business. These people form the most stable and energetic element of the population. Japanese residents are mostly engaged in commerce and show little tendency to increase. Floods and famines are the bane of the district. In 1928 the Tumen overflowed its banks and flooded large sections of the surrounding country. The growing crops were destroyed and measures were taken for the relief of the population. In the summer of 1931 the waters of the Hungch'iho rose some 12 feet above the normal level, creating a huge lake for several miles around the town of Hunchun. The damage to crops and property was extensive. 17. Civil Disorder.—There was no recrudescence of banditry during the decade. Smuggling, on the other hand, became a serious problem following the imposition of higher import duties. The smugglers, mostly of Korean nationality, are not slow to take advantage of any weakness in Customs control. W. A. MACKENZIE, 1st Assistant, B. Hunchun, 31rf December 1931. A. G. WALLAS, Acting Commissioner of Customs. LUNGCHINGTSUN. 1. Trade.—The decade under review was a very interesting and quite a critical period of local history. Notable changes and improvements in communications were witnessed and these left their marks upon the life and trade of Lungchingtsun and the surrounding districts, for most of which Lungchingtsun is the marketing centre for imports and exports. With the advent of railways, both on the Chinese and on the Korean sides of the frontier, Lungchingtsun has grown from a village of 6,000 inhabitants to a township of 18,500 people during the past 10 years. Side by side with this development trade increased by leaps and bounds. The peak years were 1926 and 1927, since when there has been a slow but steady decline in pros- perity, due very largely to local causes, like floods and the crop destruction which followed in their wake, but also to the external influence of trade stagnation and world-wide depression. The former are mitigable if extensive schemes of afforestation be put in hand, but the latter are quite uncontrollable by any local means. Another unfavourable factor in the last two years of the decade was the prevalence of banditry. This had a very disturbing effect upon trade conditions, rendering the passage of goods and the movements of money very unsafe, and making life hazardous for any resident of these districts who was suspected of being even a little richer than his neighbours. Climatic conditions in the years from 1927 onwards were not kind, and extremes of weather, and summers of torrential rains and ensuing floods, worked their destructive effects upon local well-being. The decade closed with the now historical Japanese domination, military and political, of Manchuria, to which there was small reaction locally, but it would be a rash proceeding to attempt to prophesy what changes may be brought about in this district through the momentous happenings on the far side of Manchuria. There were numerous, and apparently credible, rumours of the extension by Japanese interests during 1932 of the Kirin-Tunhua Railway through these districts and the linking up of it with the Korean Government Railways. If that comes about, there should be years of prosperity ahead, though much will depend upon the line the railway extension will ultimately follow. In the Decennial Report for the period 1912-21 the remark was made that trade only awaited improvements in transport facilities to develop still further. The advent of the T'ien- T'u Light Railway, which follows a winding course over the hills and through the valleys of these districts, was the event of the decade in 1923. It serves as the carrier of imports to, and exports from, Lungchingtsun and the frontier district of Kaishantun and provides through communication, by a bridge over the Tumen River, with the system of the Korean Government Railways. The changes it brought about were most marked in the four years which succeeded its opening, when trade boomed, population increased, and a general air of prosperity and contentment pervaded the surrounding countryside. Unfortunately, as was remarked above, due to causes largely beyond local control, the years from 1928 to 1931 did not maintain that high level of development which they might have been expected to produce. This decline, as it is reflected in our trade values from year to year, is ascribable in part to the use which was made from 1928 onwards of the overland route from Tunhua to import goods into these districts by cart and pack mule. These goods were imported at Dairen and transported by the Moukden-Hailung-Kirin Railway to Kirin, and thence to the railhead at Tunhua. With the gold yen as the currency unit here, and with the steady fall in silver values which occurred 234 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. during the last few years of the decade, this method of transport, the cost of which from Moukden onwards was payable in silver, became increasingly popular and profitable. No record of this overland trade appears in our statistics, as we are concerned only with trans- frontier trade to and from Korea, but the effect of it may be gauged from the fact that in 1931 the local branch of the British-American Tobacco Company imported, via Tunhua, 66,450 mille of cigarettes, most of which were manufactured in China. There is no doubt but that other Chinese manufactures have found their way into these districts via Tunhua, but statistics of them are not available. There has been some growth in the use of Chinese goods, but they have to put up a stiff fight against the control of trade by foreign interests. With a greatly preponderating element of Koreans amongst the inhabitants of the towns and villages, and in the countryside, it is but natural that they should be the people through whose hands the bulk of the trade passes. Japanese take a large share in it as wholesalers and dealers in imports and as buyers of agricultural produce for export. There are a few Chinese dealers in piece goods who import direct from Japan, where they maintain their own branches or agencies, but in recent years they have made more use of the overland route from Tunhua to bring Chinese and foreign products to Lungchingtsun. Chinese imports from Chinese ports have shown but slight tendencies to rise, and this is the more surprising in view of the cheapness of silver in recent years against local sales in gold yen and the privilege which such goods now enjoy of retaining their native status though they pass in transit through foreign territory. There is room for expansion in this category of local trade, but it is no doubt an up-hill fight to try and create a demand for Chinese goods in the face of the preference displayed by the large Korean population for those of Japanese manufacture in spite of the heavier duties now enforced against the latter. The value of trade rose spectacularly from Hk.Tls. 3,359,000 in 1922 to Hk.Tls. 9,420,000 in 1927. In 1931 it was Hk.Tls. 5,489,000. From 1929 onwards the drop was most marked and, though silver values have been decreasing progressively during these years, thus exaggerating the value of foreign imports on a gold basis, the effects of heavier tariffs and local disasters through floods and banditry are reflected in the diminished volume of trade. One evil but natural result of the imposition of heavy duties has been a notable increase in smuggling during the last year of the decade. Astonishing decreases in certain articles of import, e.g., artificial silk and silk and cotton piece goods, sugar, and matches, have been recorded. Arrivals from Dairen via Tunhua account for some of these no doubt, but judging from prices at which they are retailed locally it is evident, even when the lower cost of transport overland is considered, that these cheap goods cannot all have arrived by that route. Some extensive smuggling has been indulged in. Efforts to cope with this menace were made during 1930 and 1931 through the establishment of more Customs stations on the frontier and the augmenting of the preventive staff. At the end of 1931 there were 34 stations on the Sino- Korean frontier—the Tumen River. 2. Shipping.—Nil. 3. Revenue.—In an agricultural region like this, with no industries or manufactures to speak of, the harvest from year to year is the barometer by which the revenue collection may be judged. Good harvests mean prosperity and prosperity means good trade. But in recent years other factors have supervened to make that barometer unreliable. Prior to 1929 the revenue collection on a 5 per cent. basis was an index of trade expansion and general local LUNGCHINGTSUN. 235 prosperity. But from then onwards those figures ceased to be the barometer they had been, partly because 1929 brought China's release from the shackles of a tariff imposed and restricted by treaties with foreign Powers, and the grant of tariff autonomy through newly enacted treaties on this question, and partly because a new Import Tariff, including the so-called Washington surtaxes, and a 5 per cent. surtax on export duties were enforced on the 1st February 1929. On the 25th February 1929 the one-third duty reduction on trans-frontier land-borne trade, adopted in 1919 with the enforcement of the 1919 Import Tariff, by virtue of the Manchurian Convention with Japan signed in 1905, was abolished. On the 1st February 1930 the assess- ment of duties on foreign imports on a gold basis was inaugurated. This had the effect of reducing the volume of goods in this category but, due to steadily falling silver values, revenue returns were consistently higher. The abolition of transit dues, inwards and outwards, and coast trade duties on the 1st January 1931 made but slight difference to local revenue. Collection of them prior to that date had been negligible. The 1931 Import Tariff, which was imposed on the same date, was the instrument of revenue increase with a concurrent reduction in the volume of trade. On the 1st June 1931 the new Export Tariff was enforced. This was virtually the 1858 Tariff with the addition of the 50 per cent. surtax on duties which had been imposed since the 1st February. 1929 and had no appreciable effect upon export trade locally. The ratio at the end of the decade between various categories of revenue-producing commodities was approximately as follows:— Imports: Percent. Cotton piece goods, cotton yarn, etc 40 Provisions, household stores, etc 50 Sundries 10 Exports: Agricultural products (beans and cereals) 70 Timber 15 Sundries 15 The revenue collection of 1922 was Hk.Tls. 81,640. In 1923, with railway transport in operation, it had grown to Hk.Tls. 141,500. It was Hk.Tls. 418,600 in 1930 and in 1931 Hk.Tls. 577,000. The tightening up of frontier control, and the addition during 1930 and 1931 of several Customs stations to those already in existence on the frontier, assisted materially to a growth in the revenue collections of those years. 4. Currency and Finance.—The gold yen during the last decade has become the only medium of currency in general use in these districts. Though Chinese silver dollars exist in small quantities, they are used almost exclusively for the payment of Customs duties (they are bought and sold locally for gold yen) and in transactions with the Post Office. The Kirin kuan t'ieh (tiao paper notes) issued by the Kirin Kuan Yin Hao has disappeared as a currency medium, except in the very smallest dealings amongst Chinese, because it is practically value- less. It is said that notes to the value of 10,000,000,000 tiao of this currency have been issued. In 1922 their value was 114 tiao — 1 gold yen: in 1931 the figure was 890 tiao. Other currencies in use to a small extent locally include the Harbin paper dollar, which has varied in value from $1.10 as the equivalent of 1 gold yen in 1922 to $3 in 1931; and the Kirin paper dollar, of which $1.40 was equal to 1 gold yen in 1922. In 1931 its value had declined to $3.50. 236 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Local conditions of population have contributed more than anything else to the exclusive use of the gold yen in all business dealings, retail sales, and in the payment of rents and the cost of transport throughout these frontier districts. The amount in circulation varies with the season, but it is estimated that in winter, when agricultural produce is sold and exported, the sum is Yen 3,000,000. The great preponderance of Korean inhabitants, who still have ties with their own country and remit money back and forth; the close commercial relationship with Korea and Japan, through the trade of these districts being largely in the hands of Koreans and Japanese; the fact that many Chinese dealers have their branches or agencies in Japan and deal mainly in Japanese goods; the presence of the Bank of Chosen in Lungchingtsun as the only local banking institution; and finally the stability of the gold yen as compared with the issues of provincial paper currencies; all these conditions make it improbable that the general use of any other currency will ever be favoured. The only means of displacing the gold yen is to make its tender illegal in Chinese territory and to replace it by a reputable and freely negotiable national currency. Japanese subsidiary coins are exclusively in use throughout these districts. • 5. Agriculture.—The rather primitive methods of the Chinese and Korean farmers have changed but little in the past 10 years. They still scratch the surface of the soil to a depth of 3 or 4 inches once a year with a cast iron ploughshare and sow the ploughed land simultaneously by turning the furrow slice into the adjoining sowed furrow. There is very little fertilisation of the soil by the use of either chemical fertilisers or farm-yard manure. Occasionally the latter is scattered over easily accessible land in small quantities; but even the humus that nature would provide is denied to the soil by the custom of removing in the spring the roots of the previous year's crops for fuel. Most of the local land belongs to Chinese, but as they are numerically a small fraction of the population by comparison with the Koreans, a system has been in vogue for many years past by which the Korean farms the land for the Chinese owner on the basis of an equal division of the crops. This system worked equitably until 1930, when there was a dispute over crop division through an arbitrary claim by the Korean tenant farmers to 60 per cent. of the harvests of that year. The matter was decided in favour of the Korean farmers, with the proviso that they paid half the land taxes. In 1931 there was again dispute over this question, as the Korean farmers demanded 70 per cent. of the crops and no land tax payments. The local magistrates upheld the claims of the Koreans, but at the end of the decade the whole matter was further complicated by a refusal of the Chinese owners to pay land taxes. There is hardly a foot of accessible land within a radius of 50 miles from Lungchingtsun that is not cultivated. The exceptions are distant mountain tops and patches of oak scrub which provide a precarious source of winter fuel. Forty years ago this region was forest land. To-day hardly a tree, except the poplars and elms planted in recent years in and round the towns and villages, can be seen. As the Korean immigrant came into this country he cut as he came, or cleared the land by burning the forests off it, and when a few years later his fuel supply ran short he dug up the roots and burnt them. The results of this criminal denudation of the country are seen to-day in the constantly recurring floods in the wet seasons; the filling up and widening of the valleys with the soil which is washed off the hillsides by rains; the broadening and silting up of the stream and river beds which, in turn, affect the condition of the Tumen River to the point where it becomes wider and shallower from year to year. The flood danger, and its concomitants of food scarcity and poverty, is an ever present one. But a worse feature of this deforestation is apparent in the gradual and steady transformation of what LUNGCHINGTSUN. 237 was a wonderfully fertile district into desert. The good soil has disappeared from the hill- tops and the slopes, which are now a wilderness of sand and stones. From year to year this desert land increases in area, and the process cannot be checked unless some comprehensive scheme of reafforestation be drawn up and carried out. But the plea of "no money" for this purpose is always advanced as an excuse for inactivity. The powerful west-north-west winds of winter do their share towards the impoverish- ment of the soil. With nothing to bind it, or prevent its drifting, the winds pick it up in clouds and transfer it to the valleys where, through frictional action, it is deposited in a disintegrated form which is worthless for cultivation, as it lacks all those qualities which make soil of value. For seven months of the year the bare brown hills meet the eye in every direction; nothing breaks this monotonous view, and hardly a tree alleviates the nakedness of the hillsides. Summer brings the green of standing crops, but the change is all too short in a period of intensive growth and cultivation. The main crops are beans of all varieties, with the soya bean predominant, millet, kaoliang, buckwheat, rice, barley, oats, wheat, and hemp. Production is dependent entirely on climatic conditions. Large quantities of beans, millet, and buckwheat are exported abroad. Some four years ago there were numerous complaints of the adulteration of beans with small stones, but since the local Exporters' Association took this matter up and arranged for inspection these complaints have been rarely heard. 6. Industrial Developments.—Industries are practically non-existent. Small efforts have been made during the past 10 years to manufacture articles which are imported from abroad, but most of them were failures. Two small iron-foundries produce stoves, pans, and castings, and to do this they consumed up to three years ago 150 tons of pig iron annually. Lately consumption has dropped to 30 tons, and production has declined proportionally. There are numerous small machine-knitting establishments, which assist towards meeting local needs, but these are more in the nature of cottage industries. Distilleries are dotted about the countryside and in the villages. They consume most of the local kaoliang crop, and the spirit they produce finds a ready sale amongst the Koreans. In recent years they have made but small profits. No improvements have been made in their methods during the decade. There is a small electric generating plant, for lighting purposes only, in Lungchingtsun. It was established in 1922 by a Chinese company. It started with a 50-h.p. gas-engine and a small dynamo. Gradually, demand for current increased and improvements were effected, and in 1930 the gas-engine was displaced by an 80-h.p. steam-engine and for the dynamo was substituted a self-exciting generator which produces 100 kilowatts at 20 amperes of 3,500 volts. These districts are agricultural, and the crying need for years was the improvement of communications and, consequently, the better marketing facilities which would follow in their train. As prosperity came in with the railway, and as through communication with Korea was established by that means in 1923, so the standard of living rose from that time until 1929. This was reflected in the better qualities of piece goods which were imported and in the growing use of luxury articles such as ready-made clothing, artificial silk, cosmetics, perfumery, cigarettes, etc. But during the past two years, 1930 and 1931, heavier tariff rates on luxuries and the gradual impoverishment of these districts through floods and commercial depression have led to a decline in the consumption of such commodities. Wages have changed but little in the past 10 years. Skilled workers, such as carpenters, masons, and mechanics, earn 3 yen 238 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. a day: unskilled and casual labour is rewarded with 80 sen to 1 yen daily. Prices of ordinary foodstuffs have declined on the whole during the decade, but as supplies vary with the season, prices are by no means stabilised through the year. As a general guide the following table is inserted for comparison between local prices at the end of 1931 with those obtaining 10 years ago:— 1922. 1931. Yen. Yen. Rice Ton (13 catties) 1.60 0.45 Bag (40 catties) 4.90 2.20 Each 0.60 0.30 Eggs 10 pieces 0.40 0.30 Pork Catty 0.40 0.12 0.50 0.22 Beef 0.40 0.12 10 catties 0.50 0.25 , Picul (350 catties) 10.00 3.00 Catty 0.21 0.10 Coal 1,000 catties 8.00 3.50 10 catties 0.50 0.18 Firewood (logs) .... 100 pieces 17.00 11.50 Fuel (twigs, oak and pine) . 1 Korean cart 5.00 4.00 7. Mines and Minerals.—There has been very little development in mining during the past decade. The T'ienpaoshan copper and silver mine, which worked profitably as a Sino-Japanese concern during the years 1917 to 1920, was closed at the end of the latter year owing to fuel difficulties and the cost of transport. It has not been reopened since. Coal mining has progressed as demands for coal for railway and household purposes have increased. There are altogether seven mines in these districts. All are worked by native methods and only two of them produce coal in quantity. The Laot'oukou mine is a Sino-Japanese concern, with a capital of Yen 200,000, and has been working since 1918. The annual output is 16,000 tons. The coal is of poor quality. 150 miners are employed. The Laot'oukou Huali Coal Mining Company is a Chinese concern with a capital of $20,000. Its annual output is 8,000 tons of poor quality coal. 300 miners are employed in winter. The principal gold mine is at Pataokow, in Yenki hsien. Due to technical difficulties, this mine has not been a great success. A mill is installed, but constant break-downs impede work, and a great deal of gold is lost because the mill cannot crush the ore finely enough. More capital and better manage- ment would improve the concern. In many places throughout these districts the washing of gold from alluvial deposits is carried on, but the returns are very small. 8. Communications.—The report for the decade 1912-21 made mention of the completion of the Korean section of the T'ien-T'u Railway from Kainei to Kamisambo. This is a mistake in nomenclature. This section was the beginning of a light railway, the Toman Light Railway, privately owned by Japanese interests, which was destined to extend from Kainei up the Korean side of the frontier to Dokanchin and ultimately in 1929 to be taken over by the Korean Government Railways. The T'ien-T'u Light Railway Company is a Sino-Japanese company which built the light railway known as the T'ien-T'u Railway between Tienpaoshan and Kaishantun during the years from 1922 to 1924. After lengthy LUNGCHINGTSUN. 239 negotiations between the Chinese authorities of Kirin province and Japanese interests, which had been carried on since the opening in January 1920 of the Kainei-Kamisambo section of the light railway in Korea, the construction of the T'ien-T'u Light Railway, designed to connect the Tienpaoshan copper mine with the Korean light railway at Kamisambo, was begun on the 13th August 1922. The section from Kaishantun, on the Chinese bank of the Tumen River opposite to Kamisambo, to Lungchingtsun was completed and opened to traffic on the 14th October 1923. On the 25th July 1924 the section from Lungchingtsun to Yenki and Laotowkow, a few li distant from Tienpaoshan, with a junction between those two places at Chaoyangchwan, was finished and traffic was extended to those points. The total length of the T'ien-T'u Light Railway is 68.7 miles. This line has been operated at a loss since its inception. A yearly deficit has been faced and its total amount at the end of 1931 was said to be Yen 330,000. Additionally, there is a debt to banks and money-lenders of Yen 700,000. Between December 1922 and November 1924 the extension of the Korean light railway from Kamisambo to Dokanchin was completed. In October 1926 the construction of a bridge across the Tumen River between Kaishantun and Kamisambo was begun. It was finished in October 1927. It affords through rail connexion from Laotowkow to Kainei, and has been a considerable factor in the growth and development of these districts. The Kirin-Tunhua Railway, an extension of the Changchun-Kirin line, was opened to traffic on the 1st October 1928, after nearly 2\ years' work. This railway was built under the supervision of the South Manchuria Railway, with capital provided by Japanese interests. The railheads at Tunhua and Laotow- kow leave a gap of 80 miles, and the connexion of these two places by a standard-gauge railway and its extension from Laotowkow to Kainei, or to some other point to connect with the Korean Government system, as is provided for in the Chientao Agreement of 1909, has been a bone of contention for some years past. At the end of the decade now under review there were credible rumours locally that this extension would be built in 1932. The advent of the railway quickened local interests to a realisation of more rapid trans- port than that afforded by horse-cart or Korean ox-cart. Roads did not, and still do not, lend themselves to motor-car traffic, and such as is possible can be run only in winter, when the ground and rivers are frozen. At other times of the year the roads are muddy tracks and the rivers are unfordable and unbridged. However, two local motor-car companies, both Chinese concerns, run a fleet of very old Ford cars and International trucks fitted with omnibus bodies. They ply between Tunhua and Yenki, and between Lungchingtsun and Yenki and other large villages in the neighbourhood. Business is said to be unprofitable, and it is likely to remain so unless something be done to improve roads. There has been much talk of this, but very little performance. In pursuance of the terms of the resolution regarding foreign postal agencies in China adopted at the Washington Conference on the 1st February 1922, the Japanese post office in Lungchingtsun was withdrawn on the 1st January 1923 and succeeded by a first class Chinese post office to extend to the public the facilities formerly provided by the Japanese service. A third class post office was at the same time opened at Kaishantun, while international money order and parcel services were extended to Towtaokow, Yenki, and Hunchun. Since that time new courier lines have been inaugurated connecting all the important centres in Chientao, and new offices were opened at Laotowkow in 1929 and at Santaokow in 1931. Agencies have been established wherever possible. A heavy mail line connecting Lungchingtsun with the railhead at Tunhua was instituted in 1930. At the close of the decade efforts were being directed mainly to the improvement of rural facilities. 240 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. During the past nine years there has been a consistent decline in all classes of inter- national transactions, as the following figures will show:— 1923. 1931. First class mail matter: Outgoing 188,838 164,996 Incoming 605,878 396,994 Total 794,716 561,990 Other articles: Outgoing 184,444 118,833 Incoming 426,569 323,609 Total 611,013 442,442 Parcels: incoming: Ordinary 10,556 4,524 C.O.D . 9,802 4,680 Total 20,358 9,204 The value of international C.O.D. parcels has dropped from Francs 710,290 in 1923 to Francs 60,229 in 1931, and the fall has been particularly marked since 1927, when the total value was Francs 947,115. 1929 showed a decline to Francs 279,760. 1925. 1931. Money orders: Issued Francs 223,369 48,360 Cashed „ 111,964 19,890 The main causes of these decreases are no doubt the rising yen exchange, increased Customs duties, and greater competition by transport and remittance companies, together with a general slackness in business conditions. 1923. 1931. Domestic transactions: First class mail matter 72,178 324,901 Other mail matter . . 41,776 349,494 Parcels (all kinds) 6,080 1,599 Money orders issued $33,045 $121,310 These figures show a general increase in domestic transactions, with the exception of parcels, that branch of the service being subjected to constant interruption during 1931. The Chinese Telegraph Administration established a third class office here in 1925. However, in 1931, because of the small amount of business done, it was reduced to a chih-chu. There is only one line—between Lungchingtsun and Yenki. All telegrams to and from Lungchingtsun, whether domestic or foreign, are transmitted via Yenki. LUNGCHINGTSUN. 241 When the Japanese post office was withdrawn on the 31st December 1922, as recounted above, the telegraph office of the Japanese post office remained here. It deals with an average of 70,000 telegrams annually, incoming and outgoing, and maintains an international service. The local telephone service is provided by a Chinese private company, which was established in January 1921. A fee of Yen 150 is charged for installation, and the monthly subscription is Yen 6. At the end of the decade there were 216 subscribers. Long-distance lines have been laid during the past few years, giving connexion between Lungchingtsun and Towtaokow, Yenki, Kaishantun, and 17 other towns and villages. Conversations between Lungchingtsun, Hunchun, Wangching, and Hsiao Sanchakow are also possible over the telegraph lines, and these are therefore controlled by the local telegraph office. 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—Nil. 10. Administration.—Until November 1931, the last year of the decade, the Kirin provincial government was administered by one of the triumvirate of governors of the Three Eastern Provinces and recognised the Liaoning (Moukden) government as the superior body of the three. But late in 1931, after the Japanese domination, military and political, made itself supreme in Manchuria, a new form of government, the Kirin Independent Provincial Government, was formed under the aegis of the Japanese and assumed control of the province. Opposition to this new power was expressed in Harbin, but elsewhere throughout the province it seems to have been accepted. Lungchingtsun lies within the Yenkihsien, one of the four hsien in the south-east of the province, viz., Holung, Yenki, Wangching, and Hunchun, which together form the district known to the Japanese as Chientao. These four hsien were formerly, from 1915 to 1928, governed by a Taoyin, and the district was known as the Yenkitao. In September 1928 the Taoyin, Mr. T'ao Pin, a deservedly popular and energetic official, died and the taoyinate was abolished. In its place the Yenki Shih-cheng Ch'ou-pei Ch'u was established under a Ch'u-chang. He replaced the Taoyin and assumed control of the four hsien. Within this district there are five trade marts: Lungchingtsun, Yenki, Towtaokow, Wangching, and Hunchun. These areas, which are open to foreign trade and residence, are each administered by a Shang-fu Chii-chang, the appointment of whom rests with the Ch'ou-pei Ch'u-chang. In the last month of the last year of the decade there were many changes in local and provincial officialdom, and the influence of Japanese domination of the province was discernible in these appointments. On the 1st January 1931 the National Government abolished likin throughout China Proper, but difficulties were experienced in applying the mandate to the Three Eastern Provinces. It has always been asserted that likin never was collected here. Certain production, consumption, and business taxes were collected by Shui-chiian Chii, which for all practical purposes were indistinguishable from likin, and it was asserted that the provincial treasuries could not forgo their receipts from these sources. Consequently no change was made in the levy of them, and at the close of the decade they were still being collected. Opposition to the taxation by the Shui-chiian Chii of goods crossing the Sino-Korean frontier which pay Customs duties has been voiced by the interests concerned on many occasions, but always unsuccess- fully. Shui-chiian Chii exist side by side with Maritime Customs stations on the frontier, and they levy what are virtually import and export duties on trans-frontier trade. 16 242 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 11. Justice and Police.—The debatable status of Korean residents in these districts has given rise to many disputes and clashes of authority during the decade between the Chinese officials and the Japanese Consul General and Consuls resident in the trade marts of Lung- chingtsun, Towtaokow, Wangching, Yenki, and Hunchun. The Consular authorities insist that, since Korea has become an integral part of the Japanese Empire, Koreans in Chinese territory are extraterritorialised. Chinese officials, on the other hand, pin their faith to Article IV of the Chientao Agreement of 1909, which vests legal control of Koreans engaged in agriculture in them. No satisfactory steps have ever been taken to clarify this issue. The growth of communism, fostered by reactionary Korean elements from Siberia and Harbin, has complicated this problem to the point where, in the years 1930 and 1931, armed clashes between the Chinese military and police and Japanese Consular police have occurred, and there have been fatalities on both sides. As a result the Japanese have vastly increased the personnel of their Consular police; have added to the number of their police posts in these districts, many of which are established outside trade mart areas in small towns and villages along the Chinese side of the frontier; and increased the mobility of their force by equipping it with motor cars and cycles, and bicycles; but no details of the full extent of their activities are procurable. Speaking generally, the administration of justice in these districts rests with the various District Magistrates, who are invested with the authority of judicial officials. In Yenki there is a Local Court, a branch of the Kirin High Court, and at Lungchingtsun and Hunchun are local branches of the Yenki Court. In country districts order is maintained by the various Kung-an Chu under the control of the District Magistrates, and by Pao-an-tui and Pao-wei-t'uan; but in the trade mart areas there are specially constituted Kung-an Chii administered by Chii- chang appointed by the Kirin provincial government. The Japanese Consular police maintain four police posts on the streets of Lungchingtsun. 12. Military and Naval Changes.—No remarks. 13. Health and Sanitation.—The three hospitals which existed in Lungchingtsun at the beginning of the decade have very noticeably added to their activities during the past 10 years. The Chinese hospital is a branch of the Yenki Government Hospital. A competent Chinese doctor is in charge. Some 8,000 patients are treated yearly, of whom about one-fourth are Koreans. The Canadian Mission Hospital has dealt with an increasing number of patients, mostly Koreans, from year to year. A foreign doctor, assisted by a Korean doctor and a foreign graduate nurse-superintendent, is in charge. Equipment has been improved, and an X-ray apparatus was installed in 1925. The average number of patients annually during the decade has been 9,000. Plans for the extension of hospital work include a nurses' training school, the establishment of public health centres in Lungchingtsun and the surrounding towns and villages, and the building and equipment of an isolation hospital for tubercular patients. The Japanese hospital is staffed with competent doctors, a surgeon, and a dentist. It possesses modern equipment, including an X-ray apparatus. It is housed in a building erected in 1923 and has bed accommodation for 35 patients. Average annual figures are 4,500 LUNGCHINGTSUN. 243 in-patients, of whom 500 are admitted free of charge; and 20,000 out-patients, of whom 5,000 are charity cases. The larger portion of the funds required for this hospital is found by the Korean Government authorities. The commonest prevalent diseases are typhoid fever, smallpox, scarlet fever, and dysentery, and epidemics of them are seasonal. There is an immense amount of tuberculosis, largely due to living conditions and under nourishment. Free inoculations against typhoid fever and smallpox are made by the Canadian Mission and the Japanese hospitals to the number of about 30,000 annually. 14. Education.—There is no lack of educational facilities for Chinese and Koreans in Lungchingtsun, and the preponderance of the latter amongst the population has increased both the number and scope of their educational institutions during the past decade. There are two Chinese primary schools in the town. The Ch'eng Ch'eng School was founded in 1925 with funds subscribed locally, part of which was used as an endowment. Tuition is free. A faculty of five teachers has charge of about 100 boys and 75 girls under a system of co-education. Lack of accommodation restricts its activities. The other primary school, which has been in existence for some years, is maintained by Government funds, but these are generally in arrear. About 200 pupils, boys and girls under co-education, many of whom are Koreans, are accommodated in rather small buildings. The curricula of these two institutions are modern; the subjects taught include "San Min" Principles, mathematics, kuo-yii geography, and history; and attention is given to physical culture. The Korean Government has maintained a middle school for Koreans in Lungchingtsun, which has a branch primary school, since 1908. Nearly 1,000 pupils, boys and girls, are educated in these establishments. A private Japanese association has taught 200 odd Korean boys since 1907. In 1926 a girls' school was opened, and now has 100 pupils. There are three other middle schools for Koreans, maintained by subscriptions and revenue from fees, viz.: the Tung Hsing, established in April, 1920, teaches about 150 boys and girls; the Ta Ch'eng, founded in November 1926, has about 300 boy pupils and the teaching follows Confucian tenets; and the Tung Ya, established in June 1923, in which 170 girls and boys are educated. A primary school only for Japanese children of both sexes was founded by local Japanese in 1913. Funds for its upkeep are derived from subscriptions levied on Japanese residents. A small subsidy towards its maintenance is received annually from the Japanese Government. 180 pupils attend. The Roman Catholic Mission (German Benedictines) has one local primary school, for the support of which funds are found by the mission. Some 85 pupils, boys and girls, are taught. Two schools, one a primary and secondary school for girls, and the other a secondary school for boys, are controlled by the Korean Mission of the United Church of Canada. The girls' school was founded in September 1913, with an attendance of 25 girls, and now teaches about 150 pupils in all. It has twice enlarged its accommodation since then, and at the end of the present decade plans were prepared for an entirely new building, within the mission 244 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. compound, to be completed in 1932. The boys' school was started in February 1920 in a small way and grew steadily until 1926, when 200 pupils were enrolled. Since then attendances have declined from year to year, and at the end of 1931 there were 110 pupils in the school. Communism, so-called, has interrupted the studies of Korean school children locally on several occasions during the decade. -This communism is a strange mixture of definite com- munistic teaching, propagated locally by Korean reactionaries from Siberia and Harbin, and the Korean Independence Movement. The latter now shows signs of dying out locally, as the very real benefits which the Japanese Government has conferred upon Korea become more and more recognised. In 1923 there was an outbreak of communism, which had marked effects upon local educational institutions, and in 1930, when communists who were no more than bandits were ravaging the countryside, there was another exhibition of unrest, closely related to the short-lived Independence Movement of that year amongst students of Government schools in Korea. In other ways the teachings of communism made progress in the countryside, during 1930 particularly. Agents of the movement delegated, it was reported, by the headquarters in Moscow, working amongst Koreans and Chinese, fostered unrest and lawlessness which spread with remarkable speed all through the province. For a year local outrages were almost daily occurrences, and despite every effort at rigid suppression undertaken by the Chinese and Japanese authorities, it was not until the spring of 1931 that their activities ceased and the leaders were arrested and deported to Korea for trial. During that period murder, kidnapping, blackmail, and incendiarism were frequently practised, and decent people lived in a condition of fear and impoverishment. From records kept by the police attached to the Japanese Consulate General it is known that, between May and December 1930, 116 Koreans and 47 Chinese lost their lives; 47 Koreans and 27 Chinese were wounded; 253 houses and 34 schools were burnt; and there were 323 cases of the destruction of crops by fire. Four members of the Japanese Consular police were killed in conflicts with these communist-bandits. 15. Literature.—On the 12th February 1928 a local daily Chinese newspaper, the "Min Sheng Pao," was started. It is printed by a hand-press and has now a circulation of some 300 copies. Other Chinese newspapers distributed by post circulate locally, but their number is unknown. In 1925 the " Kanto Shin Po," in Japanese, and the "Kanto Nippo," in Korean, which up to then had been one publication, became two separate papers under separate management. The former now has a circulation of 1,300 copies daily and the latter 850. Judging from the small number of newspapers read in these districts, it may be inferred that the majority of the people are illiterate, though there is much zeal in learning amongst the younger generation. During the years 1930 and 1931, when communist-bandit activities were rife, there was a large circulation of "Red" propaganda and pamphlets. These pamphlets invariably condemned Japanese imperialism, Kuo-min-tang rule in China, the private owner- ship of land and property; and sought to persuade the people into destruction of schools, financial institutions, and newspaper offices, and the repudiation of loan contracts and tenancy agreements. Detrimental effects were apparent from these teachings, but in some degree they were offset by the counter-measures of anti-communist propaganda undertaken by a local Japanese society working amongst the Koreans. LUNGCHINGTSUN. 245 16. Population.—The period of the great immigration of Koreans into these districts was the previous decade. During the past 10 years the influx of Koreans was at the rate of only about 7,000 annually until 1930 and 1931 when, under the menace of communist-banditry, the tide set the other way and a number of Koreans made their way back to their native land. From statistics kindly furnished by the magistrates of the three hsien districts—Holung, Yenki, and Wangching—the population of them is estimated to be:— c=r j« °™ Holunghsien 120,438 112 Yenkihsien 213,315 106 4 Wangchinghsien 64,902 54 2 From figures courteously supplied by the Japanese Consulate General the population of Lungchingtsun is said to be:— Koreans 13,900 Chinese 3,530 Japanese 1,135 Others (British, Germans, Russians) 55 Total 18,620 and from the same source the population of the three hsien districts referred to above is said to be:— Holunghsien 109,000 Yenkihsien 248,000 Wangchinghsien 63,000 The growth of population during the decade has been very slow, and this is no doubt largely ascribable to the influence of floods, and the resultant scarcity of foodstuff's, and disease. Living conditions are generally speaking appallingly bad, and the incidence of tuberculosis alone is enough to account for the slow increase in the number of inhabitants. 17. Civil Disorder.—Banditry of the hung-hu-tzu type has always existed in these districts in a small way and sporadically. It has shown but little disposition to increase during the past decade. Of another form of banditry, the intimidation, extortion, murder, and kid- napping practised by communist-bandits, almost all of whom were Koreans, during the years 1930 and 1931, an account has been given in section 14. These people passed through these districts in large numbers, and though they made their cause, and that of Korean independence, the excuse for forcibly extracting money from the inhabitants, there is little doubt but that they were out to line their own pockets. Drastic repressive measures by both the Chinese and Japanese authorities eventually put an end to their activities. Smuggling has become a more and more profitable proceeding as progressively heavier import tariffs have been imposed in the last two years of the decade. A 250 mile frontier line, most of which offers no obstacle to the movement of pack men and animals, cannot be effectively guarded against smugglers without an army of preventive staff. We have a staff of about 40 men available for patrol duties, and that figure is hopelessly inadequate at the present day. 246 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. I am indebted to almost every member of the Lungchingtsun Customs staff, to various members of local Christian Missions, and to the Ki-Hei Postal Commissioner for supplying information which is embodied in this Report; and to Mr. S. Takeyama, Consul of H.I.J.M. Consulate General, Lungchingtsun, for much assistance in matters Japanese. A. G. WALLAS, Acting Commissioner of Customs. Lungchingtsun, Z\st December 1931. SHENYANG (MOUKDEN). 1. Trade.—In the absence of statistics of trade it is difficult to write any but very general remarks on the subject. The absence of silver currency and the dependence of the market on the yen make it hard to determine with exactitude the effects of the fall in the value of silver. In spite of political disturbances during several years of the decennium (in 1922, the autumn of 1924, the Kuo Sung-lin affair in 1926, etc.) trade continued to increase until 1929, although the drain on financial resources through army operations depreciated the fSng-p'iao. But with the setting in of the world depression in October 1929, followed closely by the political conflict with Russia, a set-back to trade began, the effects of which were heightened by the collapse of the feng-p'iao, while the rise of the gold yen, when the embargo was removed in Japan, also made mercantile transactions more difficult. The period since then has been one of continuous uncertainty and distress, added to by the floods of the summer of 1930 and marked by a large number of business failures both in Moukden and other centres in the province. There has been no very conspicuous increase in native imports; although their volume has undoubtedly increased in the lines of cotton goods and yarn, and although the output of cottons by the Liaoning Spinning and Weaving Works has developed, it can hardly be said that there has been any remarkable development in this way. The cigarette trade has made great strides during the decade, and smoking has become almost universal, the British Cigarette Company having catered for every class of demand, and the Japanese factory having also turned out its quota of cheap cigarettes. The use of kerosene oil has largely increased, it having more and more taken the place of native vegetable oils (chiefly sesamum) as an illuminant, though during the present depression there has been a considerable reversion to the latter. The increased use of motor vehicles—cars and lorries and buses, the numbers of which in Moukden rose to over 1,500 in 1930, including 600 business vehicles—has led to a large demand for petrol and lubricating oil, such as was hardly even existent in 1921. Motor-buses are now largely used in the province and have developed communications. The repair trade is also growing. Foreign-style clothing and hats are now worn to a much greater extent than 10 years ago; large numbers of students, for example, and the military are clad in uniforms, which are, however, mostly of native manufacture. Owing to the development of education, with a large increase in the number of schools throughout the province, but especially in Moukden itself, the use of stationery and books has been much extended, and these are now largely supplied from Shanghai, though purchasable here. The extension of electric lighting here and in other towns has resulted in the development of demand for electrical goods, and rubber tires for cars, ricshas, and carriages are in demand. 248 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. There has been little direct import by Chinese from abroad, and not much sign of any such change coming in the immediate future. 2. Shipping, and 3. Revenue.—Nil. 4. Currency and Finance.—The tiao and wen referred to in the last Decennial Report have long since disappeared, and copper cents are rarely seen; the market was flooded with them in 1923, but they have now gone almost out of use. The feng-p'iao, which stood in 1922 at $1.41, proved sensitive to the political troubles of 1925, when they dropped to 4 fSng-p'iao = $1, and again in 1927, when the imposition of surtaxes and the consumption tax caused depression to 13.90. After the death of Marshal Chang Tso-lin there was a further startling decline to 40, and the end of 1929 witnessed the collapse to 60 feng-p'iao = $l,a figure at which, or slightly lower, it has remained up to the present. The exact figures of issue of feng-p'iao, which are emitted by the North-Eastern Bank (founded in 1924) and the Frontier Bank, are not known, but they are reported to be nearly $3,000,000,000. The "large" dollars issued by the above banks and by the Banks of China and of Communications, which have remained (except for a short time after the crisis of September 1931) at par with silver dollars, are said to be 40,000,000. No minting has been done during the decade, but it is rumoured that some will soon be carried out. This is a country of immigrants, and their remittances to the south are important, but do not affect external trade. The gold yen—mostly Bank of Chosen notes—is used in the Japanese area and has an important influence in trade, but it is not current among the people at large. The silver yen was admitted to the Moukden exchange in the Japanese railway town in December 1931. As already stated, the use of subsidiary coins is limited to very few copper cents; there are besides 10 and 20 cent paper notes, and the feng-p'iao, of which each $10 note represents 20 cents, and each $5 note 10 cents, are largely circulated. Notes from other provinces are at a discount, and the number of silver dollars is very small—they are hoarded. 5. Agriculture.—There has been no progress in the introduction of modern machinery, except for experiments at the experimental farms at one or two places in the province. New methods of cultivation and endeavours to improve quality of cereals have been confined to the above farms and to the various Japanese stations along the railway area. There has not been much general advance among the farming population, though some of them have used seed supplied to them by the South Manchuria Railway to advantage, as increased production shows. Lack of funds has prevented any extensive use of modern manures: beancake and night-soil still hold the field. Complaints have been made by foreign buyers of extensive adulteration of beans with dirt, etc., but this is rather more the case in North Manchuria than in this neighbourhood. Nothing has been done in the past decade to reafforest the bare hills of Manchuria. In 1931 an Arbour Day parade, largely attended by students, was held in Moukden, but ho practical results emerged. Where there have been one or two "forest" stations established, the peasants do not come forward to get seeds. SHENYANG (MOUKDEN). 249 6. Industrial Development.—The following comparative table of the prices of some of the common necessities of life and of daily wages in Moukden shows the rise which has taken place since 1922:— 1922. 1931. Big $ Big $ Kaoliang , Tou 0.90 1.40 ^do8fpS conditions.) Rice „ 3.30 3.00 Flour Catty 0.10 0.15 Vegetables 10 catties .. 0.30 Pork Catty 0.22 0.33 Eggs Hundred 2.28 2.80 Coal Ton 19.30 17.00 Millet stalks 50 bundles 2.75 3.50 House-rent Room 4.10 6.00 Firewood Picul 1.00 1.80 Bricks Hundred 1.10 1.30 (spring) 1.00 (summer) Unskilled labour Day 0.42 0.60 Masons and carpenters „ 0.85 1.50 In the previous Decennial Report the figures were given in small-coin dollars, and it has been found necessary to convert these into "large" dollars on account of the fall in the feng-p'iao. This was done at the rate of 1.45, which will be found on page 47 of the previous Moukden Report. It will be noticed that two items fail to share in the general rise of prices, viz., rice and coal. This is due to the great increase of rice cultivation near Moukden, and to the development of coal mines in this province, which have reduced prices of the two articles—an excellent illustration of the value of industrial development. At the close of the year the price of new crop rice had actually fallen to $2.30 per tou. It should be mentioned that in 1930, following the floods, the price went up to $5 per tou, and that it is usually much higher in the spring. Large millet (kaoliang) is the food of the masses, and rice only that of the richer classes and of the large number of skilled workmen from other provinces (practically all of whom have left here owing to the political troubles). Small millet is now much more extensively grown than 10 years ago, on account of the greater demand in Korea. Owing to the depressions of 1921 and 1929-31, not very much has been done in connexion with the use of foreign-style machinery to manufacture goods that were either previously imported or made by native methods. The Liaoning Spinning and Weaving Works began operations in 1922 with 10,480 spindles and 100 looms, increased, owing to the good business done, to 25,000 and 200 respectively in 1929. Its capacity is 9.8 million yards of cloth and 6.3 million pounds of yarn yearly, and 1,300 workers are employed. The products replace both foreign and old-style native goods. However, in 1931 the general depression hit the mill badly; it is now said to be in process of reorganisation. Plain and figured silks are produced by the Sun-I Silk Weaving Company at Moukden, with 1,000 piculs of waste annually as by-product and an export of 8,000 pieces of cloth to Japan. This factory has 150 weaving machines and 400 cleaning machines, with 160 workers. In the dyeing industry there are 14 large shops using semi-foreign methods. The Electric Light Works installed a new 2,500- kilowatt plant in 1924, which doubled its capacity, and in 1930 a new power-station was 250 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. opened in the north suburb; the use of electric light is now universal in Moukden, and a large business is also done in motor-driven machinery for hulling and grinding cereals—replacing the old donkey-propelled native machines. There are various small glass-making and brick- making factories in the city, but they do not amount to very much. In the Japanese town there are many small factories, besides the large Toa Company's tobacco factory, the Manchuria- Mongolia Wool-weaving Company's works, which, having been damaged by fire in 1924, was obliged to curtail its output. The beet-sugar factory, set up in 1916, had to close in 1927, owing to the crisis in the sugar trade, and foreign imports of sugar are on the increase. For the rest, Moukden is merely a large market town for the neighbouring agricultural area, which it serves with a supply of carts, harness, iron implements, woodwork, etc., as detailed in the last report. 7. Mines and Minerals.—The chief new coal mine is that at Sian, north of Hailung; it is served by a branch line of the Shen-Hai Railway; its development was very rapid in 1930. The Paotaohao mine in the south-west and the Fuchowwan mine in the south also send coal to Moukden, but these belong rather to the Newchwang district. The coal resources of the Three Eastern Provinces have been variously estimated between 2,500,000,000 tons and 3,100,000,000 tons, and iron ore deposits at 1,200,000,000 tons, from which 350,000,000 tons of pig iron can be produced. 8. Communications.—There was great activity during the decade in railway construction. In 1922 through traffic was started between Szepingkai and Tungliao, and in 1923 the Taonan- Liaoyiian section of the same line was completed, together with the Tahushan-Paotaohao Railway, which opened up the coal mine at the latter place. This branch was extended to Sinlitun in 1925, in which year the Taonan-Chentung section of the Taonan-Angangki Railway was also opened. In 1926 the Shihkiatai-Shihfeng and Taonan-Angangki Railways were completed, and the new railway from Moukden towards Hailung (begun in 1925) was built as far as Pakiachen; this line was finished to Hailung in 1927 and is 145 miles long; it opens up a rich stretch of farming land and with its branch to Sian, built in 1927, gives access to the coal mines at that town. In 1927 there was also completed the extension of the line from Tahushan (on the main Pei-Ning Railway) to Tungliao, 157 miles distant. In October the Kirin-Tunhua Railway, on which construction began in June 1926, was opened to traffic, covering 131 miles into the forest districts. The last line to be completed was the Kirin- Hailung, covering 139 miles, in 1929: this railway connected Kirin with Moukden, and through traffic between the former city and Peiping was inaugurated in 1931. The 10 years under review have seen the opening to traffic of upwards of 1,000 miles of railways in Manchuria, facilitating the access by immigrants to hitherto lightly populated areas, the output of which in crops having thereby been greatly increased. Omission should not be made of the Taonan Railway to Solun, cutting into new ground towards Mongolia; this line, some 100 miles in length, was completed at the end of 1930; it has not yet borne much result. Pari passu with the development of railways there has been great extension of motor-bus routes, practically unknown in 1922, for whereas in the last Decennial Report the heading "Roads" was not even considered worth mentioning, and there were probably no buses in Manchuria outside Dairen or Harbin, this traffic has now assumed large proportions. It must be premised that the roads in question are not, except in a few cities, metalled, and in the rainy season become quagmires, but throughout the long winter they are very useful for conveying SHENYANG (MOUKDEN). 251 passengers and as feeders to the railways. There are now over 60 motor-bus companies operating in Liaoning province, with a total mileage of over 5,000 (some of them cover partly the same routes, which would give a higher mileage if counted); the whole of the densely populated Liao basin is a network of these routes, but they also extend to the perimeter of the province, serving such out-of-the-way districts as Fusung in the forest country, and extending into Mongolia. The longest lines are the following: Antung to Linkiang, along the Yalu, 370 miles; Taonan to Solun, 370 miles by a circuitous route; Wafangtien to Fuchowwan, near the Kwantung Leased Territory, 170 miles; Shanchenchen to Tunghwa, in the east, 300 miles. These lines are on the borders, but the more important lines are in the centre, connecting the large towns together or rich districts with railway stations. The total number of buses running is 254, the capital invested $3,700,000, thus proving that this has become an industry of considerable importance. The wear and tear on the machines is so great that the running of the buses is a difficult business; they wear out rapidly, and are not to be recommended for comfort. Nevertheless, their use will certainly persist and extend. Great activity was evinced in military aviation, and a large number of aeroplanes constructed in various countries was purchased and many aviators trained at the large aerodrome at Moukden. Little was, however, done to promote commercial air-lines. In December 1931, however, a tri-weekly passenger service was started under Japanese auspices from Harbin to Moukden. The old horse-trams in Moukden were replaced in 1925 by electric trams, which now connect the South Manchuria Railway station with the west and north of the walled city. They are very extensively used. The Post Office recorded a very considerable advance between the years 1922 and 1929 (the last available for statistics). The number of major establishments increased from 145 to 150, of agencies from 306 to 333, and of minor establishments from 1,223 to 1,284. Mail matter sent and received doubled—from 26,580,000 to 52,735,000 articles,—the most interesting item being commercial papers, the number of which posted rose from only 197,000 to 1,868,000. Parcels increased from 252,000 to 338,000, but values were not much enhanced. The distances of mail lines increased from only 32,112 to 32,598 li, but of this total, railway lines increased from 3,468 to 5,065 li, eliminating old courier routes. The increased immigration, rendered possible by the new railways, brought about a great rise in the issue of money orders, viz., from 5.9 million dollars in 1922 to 11.8 million dollars in 1929. The Post Office has, during the decade, penetrated farther and farther into the remote districts of the province, assisting business and industry. Its increased activities are a sure index of the development of the country by immigration and extension of railways and roads. There has been considerable development in telegraphs, especially since the establishment of the Communications Department of the Three Eastern Provinces. The total length of lines has increased from 2,000 to 7,000 miles in the 10 years. Telegrams sent in 1930 numbered 189,000, and those received 176,000. The Moukden telephone system, started in 1906, was converted to an automatic installation at the end of 1930. Other installations (non-automatic) exist at Chinchow (1914); Liaoyiian (1918); Peichen (1912); Kowpantze (1922); and Changchun (1906). Long-distance lines now work from Moukden to Shanhaikwan, Changchun, and Newchwang; from Tiehling to Fakumen, and from Szepingkai to Taonan. These are inter- Chinese, and there are also the Japanese long-distance lines along the South Manchuria Railway. 252 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. A wireless station was opened here in 1924 and has since seen many additions, connecting with Europe, such as that erected by a German firm in 1927—short-wave—and others in each of the succeeding years. The radio connecting the United States was finished in 1931. 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—Nil. 10. Administration.—In 1922 Chang Tso-lin was nominated Tuli (the title had been changed from Tuchiin) of Manchuria and Commander-in-Chief, and the holder of this office has remained the supreme authority in the Three Eastern Provinces, assisted by the Political Council. The Commander-in-Chief is the chairman of this body, which includes the Governors of Liaoning, Kirin, Heilungkiang, and Jehol, one* military, one naval, and seven civilian members—13 in all. The military and civil affairs of Manchuria are administered by this body. Liaoning province is administered by the Governor, whose chief adjutant is the Min-cheng T'ing. Other heads of departments are forming the Provincial Committee, the Treasurer, Commissioners of Industry (and Mines), Education, and the Chief Secretary (who is a member of the Political Council). Under the Min-cheng T'ing are the 59 hsien administrators. The municipal government is under the control of the Mayor of Moukden and was established in 1923 to control upkeep and lighting of roads, issue of building and other permits, collection of various taxes and fees, etc. On the abolition of likin in May 1931 a business tax was started, house to house collection being the method adopted. After a protracted period foreign firms began payment, the examination of their books (which was strictly enforced in the case of Chinese) being a matter of form, the collectors being satisfied with fixed sums. This business tax came to an abrupt end with the Japanese occupation. 11. Justice and Police.—The administration of law and order is maintained by the Liaoning Prefect of Police, under whom are the district police heads. The number of police is 25,737. 12. Military and Naval Changes.—No remarks. 13. Health and Sanitation.—The Moukden Men's and Women's Mission hospitals have amalgamated, and a new four-story maternity building has been put up, enabling the whole hospital to accommodate about 300 in-patients, and more up-to-date equipment has been procured. While 60,000 out-patients are treated annually, the Moukden Charity Institute has opened a free dispensary, with an average attendance of 200 out-patients per day. The Japanese Manchuria Medical University, the new and extensive buildings of which were completed at the end of July 1931, has now 600 students, Japanese and Chinese, with some 80 graduations yearly. The hospital connected with the University has a large and efficient staff and 584 beds, with 100,211 in-patients and 152,131 out-patients yearly. The Red Cross Hospital (Japanese) treats 40,000 patients yearly. Small foreign-style hospitals have been established during the last few years, of which about 10 are run by graduates of the Japanese Medical College, eight by graduates of Moukden Medical College (mission), and about six by graduates of other medical schools from other centres in China or abroad. Only a few of the medical practices in the district of Moukden have been started by Japanese graduates, while SHENYANG (MOUKDEN). 253 about 40 are carried on by graduates of Moukden Medical College. Free inoculation against smallpox has been done by various organisations, including the Moukden Charity Institute, but all on a small scale. There have been quite a number of isolated cases of cerebro-spinal meningitis during 1930 suitable for antiserum treatment. Mumps, chicken-pox, measles, and smallpox have also all occurred in mild form. In 1925 typhoid was very prevalent among Chinese, and again in 1927 and 1929; scarlet fever in 1925 and 1926, in which year cholera was also wide-spread. In 1929 dysentery, both amoebic and bacillary, was present in a very virulent form. In 1928 plague appeared on the Mongolian border in epidemic form, but was promptly localised and in the following year it was only sporadic. Appendicitis seems to be on the increase, and there are some cases of kalar azar. Malignant growths, however, seem to be less common than in Western lands. In the early summer of this year the municipal and police authorities conducted two big public health campaigns, at which lectures on water supply, prevention of infectious diseases, etc., were delivered and pamphlets and tracts were distributed, and models and specimens in connexion with hygiene were exhibited. There was also a very large demonstration attended by thousands of people. Inspection of food articles put on the market has also been carried out. . Owing to the fact that there was no big outbreak of epidemic during the year, no quarantine regulations were issued. A number of cesspools have been provided for sanitary purposes, but they are all suburban in location and there is no proper drainage at all. A great deal has already been accomplished by the municipality in the matter of street- widening. Main streets have been widened to the extent of 50 Chinese feet, others 40, 30, and 20 feet as the situation may require. Some of the small lanes have been broadened to 15 Chinese feet. A scheme has been drawn up for the city water supply, with an estimate of 800,000 Mexican dollars, with the view to using deep wells. 14. Education.—As against 6,884 Chinese schools, with 291,243 pupils, in 1918, there were 10,404 schools, with 641,343 pupils, in this province in 1931, representing an increase of some 50 per cent. in schools and 120 per cent. in pupils. The principal event in education was the foundation, in 1923, of the North-Eastern University, near the Northern Tombs at Moukden. This establishment has arts, law, industrial, and engineering departments, the last being very well equipped. A German Olympic athlete was engaged in 1930 to supervise physical training, and has achieved good results. In 1931 there were 1868 male and 108 female students in the University, with 179 professors. The Fengjung University, which specialises in engineering, was established in 1927 in the outskirts of the city; it has over 400 students, with a staff of about 60 professors and officials. The principal effect of the prohibition of religious teaching in schools was that the French Mission college at Moukden was closed, being unwilling to consent to the new regulations. There has been no overt growth of communism, though it is said to have underground ramifications. 254 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 15. Literature.—10 years ago there were three newspapers published in Moukden— the "Sheng Ching Shih Pao," with a daily circulation of 10,000 copies; the "Tung San Sheng Kung Pao," with 6,000; and the "Hsing Shih Pao," with 3,000 copies. The last (which had a circulation of 7,000) ceased to exist in September 1931, but the first two still exist, the " Sheng Ching Shih Pao" having a circulation of 7,600 and the "Tung San Sheng Kung Pao" 6,100; the "Tung San Sheng Min Pao," with 3,000 copies; there are also the "Shenyang Shih Pao," published by the mayoralty, with 2,200 copies, besides four smaller papers, totalling 2,400 copies; these last five all ceased publication after the political trouble broke out. 16. Population.—The population of Shenyanghsien is stated in the "North-Eastern Year-book" to have been, in 1931, 561,633. The city of Moukden was estimated, before the outbreak in September, to have been 300,000, as against some 210,000 given, for 1919, in the last Decennial Report. The increase of some 40 per cent. in 12 years seems a reasonable estimate. The provincial population, estimated in 1919 at 12,800,000, is given in the above year-book as being, in 1931, 16,366,175—the figure given by the Min-cheng T'ing, or as 15,233,000, the figure given by the Nei-cheng Pu. The lower figure would appear to be more correct. The average size of a family is given as 6.9 persons. The figure given in the "Man- Meng Nien Chien" a Japanese publication of 1931, gives the population of the province as 14,988,000. The truth probably is that the population exceeds 14 millions and is below 16 millions. As regards foreign population of Moukden, the number of Japanese was over 22,000, against 17,000 in 1921; of Koreans, 2,400, as against 8,000 given in the last Decennial Report; and of "foreigners," about 1,800, against 240 in 1921, the increase being largely made up of Russians. The decennium under review witnessed, during its middle years, a tremendous wave of immigration from Shantung and Hopeh, the dimensions of which entitle it to be reckoned as one of the largest movements of mankind ever known. It was due to the disastrous conditions of famine, civil war, and banditry experienced in Hopeh and Shantung, especially in the last province, where thousands of farms were simply abandoned, and even entire villages deserted. There has for generations been immigration to MaTichuria—during the great famine of the "seventies " it was of considerable proportions—but none on this scale. The special feature of the immigration which occurred from 1923 onwards was the high percentage of immigrants who remained as permanent settlers in Manchuria—most of them going to the newly developed regions of Heilungkiang, a tendency which was encouraged by the new railways from Hulan to Hailun and from Angangki northwards. Others settled along the Chinese Eastern Railway's eastern section and in South-east Mongolia—the Taonan region, etc. It is calculated by the railway companies that from 1923 to 1929 upwards of 5 million immigrants entered Manchuria, of whom 2\ millions -remained, a significant fact being that in the later years many of the settlers brought their whole families with them. In 1930 the figure of immigration fell very low, owing to the fear engendered by the Sino-Russian conflict, and in 1931 there has been a great falling off, partly due to the better conditions in the south and partly to the political troubles. The population of all Manchuria is now estimated to approach 30 millions. The rivers often overflow during the heavy rains of July and August, but floods are only local in general. In 1922 there was early drought, followed by beneficial rains which brought a bumper harvest. 1923 saw the worst flood for many years, all rivers overflowing and causing great damage to property and crops. 1924 and 1925 were normal years with fair crops. In 1926 there was drought followed by excessive rains, which reduced the harvest but did not SHENYANG (MOUKDEN). 255 cause bad floods. In 1927 climatic conditions were entirely favourable and excellent crops were reaped. 1928 was similar to 1926, but in 1929 there were good crops. 1930 was the year of the memorable flood, when the Liao and its affluents overflowed, inundating immense areas and ruining thousands of farmers. 1931 was free from flood, but the country remained affected by the disaster of the previous year. The record for unusual floods during the decade is about the same as for the previous decade, when there were serious inundations in 1915, 1917, and 1918. It is apparent that South Manchuria is liable to heavy floods every three years on the average. 17. Civil Disorder.—Banditry, the scourge of Manchuria, for which the country has been famed ever since the days when it was the place of exile for outlaws from China Proper, has remained rampant, especially after the floods, and also on account of the great slump in trade which, as already mentioned, affected the country from 1929 in special degree. Bands of bandits have defied the police in many parts of the province and have been particularly bold in 1931. N. R. M. SHAW, Deputy Commissioner in Charge. Shenyang, 31rf December 1931. ANTUNG. 1. Trade.—In studying the statistics of trade for Antung for the past decade, it should be borne in mind that most of the cargo passing through this port is rail-borne and that Antung is only a gateway between Korea and Japan on the one side and the hinterland of Manchuria on the other. But a small percentage of the cargo shown in the returns as imports and exports actually originates at, or is intended for consumption in, Antung. It must also be remembered that a great deal of the import cargo comes from Japan by rail, and for that reason Japanese piece goods and other articles practically monopolise the statistics, to the exclusion of imports from other countries, which mostly enter Manchuria at Dairen. Within the past two years, however, owing to the higher duty on imports from abroad and to other considerations, the importation of Chinese-manufactured piece goods and other factory products from Shanghai by steamer has shown a marked and significant increase. Measured by the value of goods that came under the cognizance of the Customs, the trade of Antung for the decade under review—1922 to 1931—shows a steady and healthy growth. The gross value of the trade for 1922 amounted, roughly, to Hk.Tls. 72,300,000 and in 1923 to Hk.Tls. 87,700,000. There was a slight falling off in 1924, while in 1927 the figure stood at Hk.Tls. 106,300,000, which was a record for the port. The totals for the four succeeding years, though not up to that of 1927, showed a very satisfactory condition of trade. The Sino-Japanese crisis in the latter part of 1931, which brought all business to a standstill, occurred too late to appreciably affect the total for that year. (a) Effects of Fluctuations in Exchange on Trade.—The following table shows the fluctuation of exchange between Haikwan taels and gold yen during the past decade and the gross value of foreign trade (only) for the same period:— . Outturn of 100 Haikwan Taels. Value of Direct Value of Direct Maximum. Minimum. Imports. Exports. G. Yen. G. Yen. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. 1922 193.60 161.30 30,108,230 24,135,605 1923 178.30 158.70 26,818,200 41,886,998 1924 229.90 174.40 23,826,624 32,311,778 1925 222.90 192.40 37,386,594 35,864,260 1926 196.60 131.90 38,541,120 42,994,050 1927 157.80 135.10 36,691,139 53,738,943 1928 169.50 147.50 44,511,907 42,143,822 1929 157.50 120.00 43,019,746 35,405,466 1930 120.00 78.60 33,450,378 41,006,937 1931 112.30 64.70 13,696,336 28,911,112 The difference between the maximum and minimum exchange rates was most marked in 1926, when the loss of the purchasing power of silver amounted to as much as G. Yen 64.70 for every 100 Haikwan taels, as shown in the above table. This drop, however, did not seem to greatly affect foreign trade for that year, for both direct imports and exports reached greater proportions 17 258 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. than in the preceding year. It would appear that, as long as exchange does not fall below an average of Hk.Tls. 100 = G. Yen 150, there is no appreciable adverse effect on trade. Toward the latter part of 1929 the fall in the value of silver was accelerated, reaching the point where Hk.Tls. 100 = G. Yen 120. This drop came too late in the year to appreciably affect the totals of 1929. In 1930 the value of silver fell still further, Hk.Tls. 100 being equal to only G. Yen 78.60 toward the end of the year. The result was a decrease in direct importations of some Hk.Tls. 9,500,000, and in 1931 a still lower purchasing power of silver brought import figures down a further 60 per cent. It would be expected that with the purchasing value of gold so greatly enhanced that exports would correspondingly increase. On examining the above table it will be seen that, while there was no actual increase, the decline was far less marked than in the case of imports. The prevailing world depression prevented Japan from taking greater advantage of the superior value of her currency in purchasing Chinese goods. In 1931 the downward tendency in the value of silver was somewhat checked by the declaration of an embargo on the export of gold, first by England, Sweden, etc., and later by Japan. (b) Demand for Native Goods as opposed to Foreign Imports.—As a result of the change from a silver to a gold standard in India and to other economic causes, the value of silver, as remarked above, has depreciated steadily since 1927. Foreign imports, principally Japanese, suffered in consequence, while articles manufactured in China, mostly cotton piece goods, have benefited accordingly. Additional factors favouring the consumption of native-made goods were the revision of the Import Tariff upwards and the abolition in 1930 of the one-third duty rebate on rail-borne goods. The following figures will illustrate this tendency:— In thousands of Haikwan Taels (000 omitted). 1927. 1928. 1929. 1930. 1931. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. Cotton piece goods and other cotton manufactures: 24,092 27,279 25,426 19,229 4,134 1,403 1,273 1,974 2,857 3,645 Soap: 111 112 88 90 20 21 23 26 67 85 Flour: 5I 142 991 538 693 1,372 537 1,094 1,607 2,205 (c) Boycotts.—There have been no boycotts against the products of another country at Antung during the past 10 years. (d) Changes in Demand for Goods.—On the whole it may be said that the people of Antung are conservative and have been backward in responding to foreign influences despite the large Japanese population. At the same time it is to be noted that shops have a good display of goods of foreign style. A few of the principal foreign articles appearing in the returns may be selected for comment in this connexion. Cigarettes.—The import of foreign cigarettes stood at over 95,088 mille in 1922 but dwindled year after year until it was only 2,410 mille in 1931. Cigarettes manufactured in China, on the other hand, showed an increase in the same period from 56,940 mille to 308,750 mille. Most of these cigarettes were produced by companies under foreign management. It will be seen that the gross importation for 1931 shows a large increase over that of 1922. ANTUNG. 259 Kerosene.—During the latter years of the decade the importation of kerosene declined some 20 or 30 per cent. This was not so much due to a falling off in local consumption, which gradually increased as lamps burning native oils gave way to those using kerosene, but to the supplying of the hinterland from other centres as railways were extended. The increased use of electricity for lighting, however, must not be overlooked in seeking the reasons for this decrease. Motor-cars.—The use of motor-cars in Antung is in its infant stage owing to the fact, principally, that there are no motor roads leading into the interior, though in winter frozen cart roads can be used to a certain extent for bus traffic. About 60 cars are now registered with the two local municipalities. Foreign Wines.—At the beginning of the decade practically only Japanese beer and sake were imported. In later years other alcoholic drinks, such as whisky, brandy, champagne, port, etc., began to reflect a steadily increasing popularity, the figures for 1931 showing a total importation of some Hk.Tls. 58,300. Foreign wines and spirits are consumed for the most part at Chinese restaurants on the occasion of large dinners, and it is to be doubted if they are very popular with the Chinese in their homes. Foreign Clothes.—No marked tendency has been shown toward the adoption of foreign- style dress by the local Chinese as yet. Electrical Goods.—While there was a fair demand for various electrical goods during the decade, the consumption has remained fairly steady, though the electrification of small native factories has meant the introduction of many electric motors. Artificial Silk Goods.—This commodity made its first appearance in the returns in 1923, when over 10,000 yards were imported. These figures increased to 1,710,000 yards in 1929 but dropped to 150,000 yards in 1931. Economic depression is believed to be largely responsible for this marked decrease. (e) Changes in Trade Methods.—Previous to 1922 the purchase of foreign goods by Chinese was principally through the agency of foreign firms, but since then there has been a growing tendency amongst Chinese merchants to establish their own branches in Japan. In Osaka there are now many Chinese merchants doing business and organised into guilds. In Kobe and Osaka there are also many Chinese hotels providing lodgings for Chinese business men and performing business transactions on their behalf. From a reliable source it is learned that in 1927, for example, Antung Chinese merchants purchased drafts on Osaka to the amount of some G. Yen 4,927,000 and sent back to Antung from there drafts to the amount of G. Yen 800,000. These figures would be much greater if direct transactions with Nagoya, Hakodate, etc., were added. 2. Shipping.—Antung has not improved its position as a seaport of secondary importance, being greatly handicapped by uncertain and difficult channels of approach and by the close proximity of Dairen with its vastly superior facilities for handling trade. Vessels arriving from Japan with cargo for Antung and taking anchorage on the Korean side of the Yalu are few and of small tonnage. The nearest that vessels can now approach Antung is Santaolangtow, some 8 miles down river, where the Customs has a sub-station. Larger vessels discharge at Chaoshihkow and Tatungkow, the latter anchorage being at the mouth of the Yalu, 260 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. where there is also a Customs station. At the opening of the river, which is usually toward the end of March, Messrs. Butterfield & Swire place a regular steamer on the Antung-Shanghai run with a fortnightly service. The Chingkee Company also maintain a similar service. In addition, many steamers operate between the ports of Antung, Dairen, Tientsin, Tsingtao, and Chefoo, carrying for the most part beancake, timber, cocoons, and labourers to and from Shantung. There are also a few small vessels plying under Inland Waters Steam Navigation • Rules that touch at nearby unopened ports in the Gulf of Pechili. From the following table it will be seen that the total tonnage for 1931 is less than that of 1922, though an increase over the seven previous years. The trend of British and Japanese tonnage has been downward, while that under the Chinese flag has shown a corresponding increase. It would seem that Chinese shipping companies are gradually getting control of the trade between Antung and nearby ports. British. Japanese. Chinese. Miscellaneous. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. 1922 148,978 238,259 146,931 3,044 1923 146,460 235,746 152,300 1924 105,916 203,666 148,888 1,458 1925 84,974 203,552 158,272 1926 98,966 128,936 126,362 9,262 1927 67,364 143,680 208,016 11,424 1928 77,264 89,988 166,714 4,240 1929 80,134 76,100 180,020 5,822 1930 114,290 62,634 163,744 3,038 1931 98,140 158,042 245,414 4,598 1,022,486 1,540,603 1,696,661 42,886 Total Tonnage. Tons. 537,212 534,506 459,928 446,798 363,526 430,484 338,206 342,076 343,706 506,194 4,302,636 Only two motor-launches have been added to the small fleet of motor vessels operating between Antung and places lower down the river. During the past few years motor-gliders have been introduced on the more shallow upper reaches of the river operating to Linkiang on the Chinese side and from Hsin Wiju to Shinkabochin on the Korean side. Driven by a large motor-driven propeller at the stern, on the principle of an aeroplane, these light-draught vessels make quick time. The pioneers in this style of transportation were Chinese, but they were not able to withstand the competition of Japanese gliders subsequently introduced and enjoying mail subsidies from the Korean Government. There are now some 11 Japanese gliders plying on the upper river. They carry passengers and mail only and make the journey to Shinkabo- chin, 320 miles distant, in three days, not operating at night. There has been a steady increase of tourists travelling on the South Manchuria Railway from Japan and Korea during the past few years. It is estimated that in 1930 1,800 visitors arrived from Korea and 12,400 from Japan. They are usually of the student class and stay in Antung only one day, viewing the Yalu Bridge, the Japanese Park, and commercial industries, after which they continue their journey to Moukden, Harbin, and Dairen. 3. Renve.—Introduction of the Gold Unit.—In 1929 a sharp decline in the value of silver set in, which steadily continued. As much of the revenue is required for the payment of foreign loan obligations, which are in gold, the Government was forced, in February 1930, to ANTUNG. 261 introduce what is called the gold unit system, which required that duty on foreign importations should be calculated at a fixed rate vis-a-vis the gold dollar. While this meant a hardship on the importer and Chinese consumer, the necessity of the step was recognised locally, and there were no protests. The local rates vis-a-vis the gold unit and silver are based on telegraphic rates received from Shanghai as the market varies. The gold yen rates for the payment of duty are based on the daily quotations from Dairen as published locally. Tariff Autonomy and the Collection of Additional Duties and Surtax.—-The revenue collection for 1922 amounted to Hk.Tls. 1,307,200, and increased to Hk.Tls. 2,310,700 in 1928, nearly doubling in six years. In 1929 it reached a total of Hk.Tls. 3,192,000, mainly due to the introduction of the Revised Import Tariff from February of that year consequent on the proclaiming of tariff autonomy by the Government the preceding year. At the same time it should be noted that the volume of trade decreased in 1929 by Hk.Tls. 6,000,000 as compared with that of 1928. In 1929 a surtax was also imposed on exports, which was subject to a strong protest by the Japanese merchants, the Chinese merchants following their example; but later on the protest was withdrawn and the surtax paid. Prior to 1930 imports by rail enjoyed a rebate of one-third on duty, which gave certain categories of goods a cheaper rate if shipped into Manchuria by rail than if carried by steamer via Dairen. This preferential treatment was abolished by the Government from September 1930. The adverse effect on import trade which followed was accentuated by an anticipatory importation in large quantities. The revision upwards of the tariff and the abolition of the one-third duty rebate just mentioned increased greatly the premium on smuggling, as described under heading 17 (a), with a resultant loss to revenue. The revenue collection in 1931 was Hk.Tls. 3,682,000, and in 1922 Antung occupied ninth place amongst ports in the amount of revenue collected, but fell to twelfth place at the end of 1931. The proportion of revenue collected on rail-borne goods as compared with those shipped by other routes is shown in the following table:— By Railway. By Other Routes. Grand Total. Imports. Exports. Total. Imports. Exports. Coast Trade. Total. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. 1922 650,889 249,653 900,542 91,467 285,666 11,279 ! 388,412 1,288,954 1923 799,715 345,675 1,145,390 100,111 283,568 15,751 399,430 1,544,820 1924 699,708 367,436 1,067,144 86,737 199,250 5,717 291,704 1,358,848 1925 1,160,036 408,001 1,568,037 86,593 207,144 7,180 300,917 1,868,954 1926 1,238,307 474,746 1,713,053 86,821 184,418 8,762 280,001 1,993,054 1,192,820 565,728 1,758,548 122,225 205,988 9,858 338,071 2,096,619 1928 1,444,727 488,263 1,932,990 181,291 141,852 9,042 332,185 2,265,175 1929 2,835,635 440,577 3,276,212 314,224 133,681 13,702 461,607 3,737,819 2,845,218 477,968 3,323,186 504,264 263,719 31,364 799,347 4,122,533 1,892,630 804,053 2,696,683 414,257 454,290* 868,547 3,565,230 •Including Hk.Tls. 339.288 intcrport duty. 4. Currency and Finance.—At the beginning of the decade there were two Japanese banks in Antung, the Yokohama Specie Bank and the Bank of Chosen. The former was closed in 1917, and its silver and gold yen notes were redeemed. The gold yen notes of the Bank of Chosen are now exclusively used here, no silver yen notes being in circulation. The amount in gold yen notes outstanding in Antung is approximately 250,000. In addition to the Bank of Chosen, there is a branch of the Bank of China, which does a general banking business and 262 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. through which exchange transactions can be carried on with different parts of China and the world in general. The following banks, doing business in Manchuria only, also have branches in Antung: Tung-san-sheng Kuan-yin-hao and the Frontier Bank. The remarks which now follow have to do with conditions in Chinese business circles here. Changes in National and Provincial Currency.—For many years the big silver dollar was not in favour in the local community, but beginning with 1925 this national currency began to be generally adopted. The tendency is now to discontinue the use of the small-coin dollar and the value of the latter vis-a-vis the big dollar is steadily declining. The total amount of big dollars in circulation is said to be some 500,000. Antung is the only port in Manchuria where actual silver sycee (Chenp'ing taels) is in circulation. It has a standard weight and a fixed value vis-a-vis Shanghai taels, though in the local market the remittance rate sometimes varies. The total amount of sycee held in the leading banks is said to be in the neighbourhood of 1,300,000. Bank-note Circulation.—The notorious fSng-p'iao never had a wide circulation in Antung, and it now has a nominal quotation of Small-coin $60 = Big $1. On the other hand, the notes issued jointly by the four banks, Tung-san-sheng Kuan-yin-hao, Frontier Bank, Bank of China, and Bank of Communications, are growing in favour. The two former banks also issue their own notes, but their value is at a discount. It is estimated that there are some $500,000 in silver dollar notes in circulation at present. Remittances from Chinese Emigrants.—A certain amount of money is remitted each year to Antung from Chinese emigrants in Korea, constituting an invisible import. It is impossible to estimate the exact*amount remitted, but from approximate figures obtained from the Chinese Consulate in Hsin Wiju for the first nine years of the decade under review the average is some 375,000 gold yen per year. The figures for 1931 are not yet available, but when obtained they will probably show a distinct falling off, as a great number of Chinese left Korea toward the end of that year due to mob attacks by Koreans. Gold Standard.—Following the rapid development of direct trade between China and Japan, on the completion of direct rail communication with Korea, and the granting of a one- third rebate on duties on importations by rail (abolished in 1930), the gold yen extended its influence far into Manchuria through the door of Antung. Judging from the wide use of this currency amongst both Chinese and Japanese merchants in this port, there is a demand for a gold currency issued by China herself. Use of Foreign Currencies.—From what has been said above it will be seen that gold yen, in the form of Bank of Chosen notes, has a wide circulation amongst both Chinese and Japanese wholesale and retail merchants. Where transactions with Japanese merchants or the South Manchuria Railway are concerned, gold yen is the dominating currency. It is also accepted by the Customs in the payment of duties at rates based on Haikwan taels or gold units. There are no other foreign currencies in use in Antung. Subsidiary Coins.—Chinese small silver coins in denominations of 5, 10, and 20 cents are accepted in all Chinese retail shops in Antung, and prices as well as wages are, for the most part, quoted in these small coins. The amount in circulation is put at some Small-coin $1,500,000. 5. Agriculture.—For a most detailed description of the region around Antung and the upper reaches of the Yalu I would refer to the last Decennial Report. In general, it may be said that the soil of this district, where the contour of the land permits cultivation, is quite ANTUNG. 263 fertile. Crops are fairly abundant and failures rare, the usual crops common to Manchuria being raised. Further up the Yalu beans and grain are principally grown, and it is from that region that most of the beans come to supply the local bean mills. In the last Decennial Report the growing importance of the rice crop was mentioned. The amount of land used as paddy fields has continued to increase, and the industry attracts an increasing number of Koreans, encouraged to immigrate by the Japanese Government. Near Fenghwangcheng, some 40 miles distant on the Antung-Moukden line, about 30 Japanese farmers have engaged in the cultivation of tobacco. The project has proved a success, the growers being aided in various ways by the South Manchuria Railway. Introduction of Modern Machinery.—Farming is still done on a small scale, and as labour is plentiful, there has been little need for such labour-saving devices in agriculture as tractors, etc. At the beginning of the decade many small machines, such as corn-shelling mills, rice- threshing machines, rice-husking machines, and irrigation pumps, were imported from abroad; these are now being copied locally and used to a certain extent. Poultry and Stock Raising.—There is very little attempt at raising stock by farmers on a scale employed in other countries. There is a certain amount of attention paid to the raising of poultry, and the eggs produced in this district have an excellent reputation. Use of Fertilisers.—In addition to the beancake (which is produced in large quantities in Antung) and natural manures, in recent years foreign imported chemical fertilisers, such as sulphate of ammonia, have become increasingly popular for improving the fertility of the fields. The average farmer, however, cannot afford to use the more expensive imported article, and it does not yet assume an important place in trade statistics. Wild Silk Industry.—At the beginning of this decade the raw silk industry was of great and growing importance, the hills about Antung lending themselves to the cultivation of the scrub oak on which the silkworms thrived. In 1922 and 1923 the industry reached its peak, there being at the time some 50 filatures in Antung. Since then a decline has set in, brought on by decreased demand, by labour troubles, and by the failure of the farmers engaged in the industry to adopt scientific measures in the rearing of the silkworms and in the treatment of the trees on which they fed. In 1922 the price of cocoons was some Hk.Tls. 900 per picul, which declined to as low as Hk.Tls. 240 in 1931. In the first half of the decade some 70 per cent. of the output of raw silk was sent to Changi, in Shantung, 10 per cent. to Shanghai, and 20 per cent. to Japan. Of cocoons, 70 per cent. were sent to Chefoo and the balance disposed of locally. In the latter half of the decade conditions were reversed, 80 per cent. of the output of raw silk going to Japan, 19 per cent. to Shanghai, and 1 per cent. to Changi; while 70 per cent. of the cocoons were disposed of locally and 30 per cent. exported to Chefoo. In 1931 there was practically no market for wild raw silk or for cocoons, largely on account of the world depression, and large stocks were unsold. As a result of the great slump, filatures are closing and farmers are turning to other activities. Afforestation.—(a) Japanese.—The miserable condition of the hills about Antung, which had been stripped of trees to furnish railway sleepers and pit props, was such that in 1925 the South Manchuria Railway introduced a set of regulations to encourage afforestation in the Railway Zone and adjacent country. Saplings were sold at reduced cost and, in some instances, distributed free in large quantities. Where a large scheme of afforestation was undertaken by a private concern, the Company at times contributed toward the expenses of the project. The 264 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. benefits of this enlightened policy are easily apparent along the Antung-Moukden Railway. The Company reforested the hills back of Antung also, planting over a million pines and larches, with the result that a beautiful forest has been created. (b) Chinese.—The continuous felling of trees for many years on the Upper Yalu has almost exhausted the once rich forests on the right bank of the river, causing floods in the river and dangerously increasing the amount of silt now being carried down by it. No effective schemes of afforestation have been attempted to correct these evils or to replenish the timber supply. The result is that the river is silting up rapidly toward the mouth, threatening to stop navigation of steamers entirely, while lumber activities are being driven into the remote upper reaches of the river, in Kirin province. The local sawmills are also being adversely affected by such conditions, and, as their output depends on the supplies of logs floated down in rafts, the following table will illustrate eloquently the trend of the lumbering industry both in Antung and up the Yalu:— Timber floated down the Yalu to Antung. Lien (i.e., logs of various N _ sizes of 8 feet in length). Wa oF KAFTS' 1921 3,966,100 10,229 1922 3,240,112 7,072 1923 2,163,979 4,347 1924 1,959,993 4,057 1925 %. 2,191,363 4,991 1926 1,470,147 3,014 1927 2,109,785 3,291 1928 1,631,705 2,666 1929 1,264,191 1,890 1930 886,819 1,370 The nursery now "called Ti San Mo Fan Tsao Lin Ch'ang," which is situated at Chitaokow, near Antung, was reorganised and improved in 1929. Some 20,000 young trees, principally larch, are distributed amongst the neighbouring districts each year. In 1923 the Magistrate established a nursery called the "Hsien Li Miao P'u" at T'ungtakow, which occupies 42 mou of land and is supported out of the land tax. The saplings, including certain varieties of fruit trees, are for distribution in Antung alone. The nurseries started at Pichaikow some years ago by the Danish Lutheran Mission have continued to flourish in a modest way. The planting of orchards about Antung has not been attempted on a large scale. The soil and climate are both suitable, but the local populace seems content to buy imported fruit from Korea, which is of an excellent quality, and from Shantung. 6. Industrial Development.—(a) Japanese.—During the past decade there has been no marked development of new industries amongst the Japanese in Antung. Those already in existence, owing to the world-wide trade depression and to uncertain conditions in Manchuria, are anything but prosperous. The Fuji Gassed Cotton Mill Company, which manufactures silk yarn and floss silk, has been working steadily since its formation in 1920. In 1930 its output was 2,341 piculs of silk yarn, with a value of 435,000 yen, and 985 piculs of floss, with a value of 150,700 yen. There are about 220 employees. There is only one beancake mill in the ANTUNG. 265 Japanese Settlement, called the Nissho Koshi, with a capital of 300,000 yen. Its product has been sent to Korea for the most part, but owing to the increased use of artificial fertilisers there, the demand, and consequent output, has fallen off during the last few years. The Oryokko Paper Mill, which was organised in 1921, with a capital of 5,000,000 yen, in spite of a steadily increasing output, has been working at a loss. The yearly output is about 15,000,000 pounds of M.G. cap paper and imitation Chinese papers manufactured from wood pulp. The Liu Ho Cheng Paper Mill, established in 1928, was recently reorganised and the capital reduced to some 700,000 dollars. It is a joint Sino-Japanese enterprise producing a good grade of M.G. cap paper and cheaper Chinese paper. The annual output is around 900 tons. Since the reorganisation the mill is paying well, and the machinery bought from England to be installed in a new plant will make it the most up-to-date paper-mill in China. The sawmill industry, by far the most important of Japanese activities, has been on the decline during the last decade, though the Japanese earthquake of 1923 temporarily created a brisk demand. This falling off has been due to a decreased demand and to an increasing shortage of timber from the Upper Yalu, as remarked under 5 (b). In addition to the above larger industries, there are the minor, but nourishing, ones of rice-cleaning mills and sake" breweries. The former are growing in importance as the cultivation of rice increases, while the latter are flourishing because of the increased duty on imports of sake from Japan. (b) Chinese.—The leading manufacturing industries worthy of mention are the wild silk spinning and beancake factories, while during the last few years the cotton-weaving industry has increased in importance. In normal times there are operating about 40 silk-spinning factories, employing some 12,000 hands, 23 beancake mills, with some 800 labourers, and 40 cotton- weaving factories, employing about 1,200 hands. None of these enterprises is on a very large scale. About 90 per cent. of the factory hands come from Shantung. Most of the labourers in the silk-spinning mills are recruited from around Chefoo and Tsingtao by men especially sent for the purpose, many only staying during the winter, when their farm work is slack. At present their pay averages Small-coin $12 per month with board and lodging. The following table shows the scale of wages per month paid at the beginning of the decade and now:— 1922. 1931. Daily Working Hours. Industry. Minimum. Maximum. Minimum. Maximum. Small-coin $ Small-coin 8 Small-coin 8 Small-coin S 8 15 12 18 13 8 60 10 70 12 8 15 12 18 12 6 8 8 17 12 8 30 10 40 10 8 12 8 17 12 7 15 8 18 8 io is 9 20 12 13 25 12 9 12 8 reels. 266 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Formerly Antung experienced no difficulty in dealing with its labourers, as they were mostly illiterate, hard-working, Shantung men, living on the factory premises and unacquainted with the modern trend in the labour world. Of late, however, many workers have been attending night schools and have come in contact with more radical ideas, with the result that in April 1931 all the silk-spinners, to the number of some 3,000, downed tools and staged a demonstration that showed they had been well organised by outside help. Labourers in other industries also joined in the movement, and eventually the demand for higher wages and better food was granted. This success pointed the way, and there followed a rapid development toward the formation of labour unions, the Kuo-min-tang headquarters in Moukden detailing men to aid the movement. There might have been spectacular developments had not the recent taking over of the control of the Chinese town by the Japanese military enabled the local authorities to send away the ringleaders of the more radical elements. Practically no effort has been made to manufacture locally articles previously imported; in that respect the Chinese community is very backward. Keen competition by Japanese goods is one of the principal factors that work to prevent such enterprises, especially at present when so much smuggling of staple articles takes place from Korea. The most noticeable adoption of foreign methods in the manufacture of native goods is the electrification of a large percentage of the local factories. At the beginning of the decade practically all the looms, bean presses, etc., were operated by manual labour, whereas now electric power is used. As to the actual employment of foreign machinery in the local factories and mills, there is practically none as yet. 7. Mines and Minerals.—The Penkihu Colliery and Mining Company, situated on the Antung-Moukden Railway, has become an enterprise of increasing importance during the last 10 years. Geologically speaking, its deposits belong to the Permian carboniferous period; there are light main seams with a thickness up to some 13 metres. The entire area is estimated to contain more than 100 million metric tons of coal. This coal is of a highly bituminous nature, semi-smokeless, and fit for the manufacture of coke. The field is the second largest in Manchuria, ranking after that of Fushun. This company also operates an iron-smelting plant, which has been enlarged several times. The ore comes from Miaoerhkou, nearby, where the deposits are estimated at also some 100 million metric tons. The capacity of the plant is 120,000 tons annually, but owing to the present lack of demand, the output has now been restricted to some 85,000 tons. During the first nine years of the decade under review the amount of coal mined has steadily increased from 338,000 metric tons in 1922 to 582,000 metric tons in 1930. For the same period the production of pig iron has increased from 31,017 to 85,000 tons. Sulphuric iron ore is found at several places along the Antung-Moukden line, but the deposits are generally small. Mines of this ore are to be found at Linchiatai and Yangmukou, near Tsaohokow. Their yield is absorbed by the sulphuric acid plant of the Fushun Colliery. At Penkihu sulphuric iron ore is also found in the coal seams and is mined together with the coal. ANTUNG. 267 8. Communications.—Railways.—There was practically no increase in the track facilities at the local station of the South Manchuria Railway for the last decade, but a most up-to-date concrete platform, 245 metres in length, and costing 323,000 gold yen, was built at the station in 1926-29. The godowns for the storage of cargo now number 11, with a total floor space of some 11,400 square metres. Rail tram-service between Antung and Hsin Wiju, over the Yalu River Bridge, was inaugurated in June 1924 under the management of the South Manchuria Railway. The schedule is four trips daily. A light oil tramcar service was also recently started on the Antung-Moukden Railway between Antung and Chikwanshan, making four return trips a day. These trams carry passengers only. The quantity of goods carried by the Antung-Moukden Railway during the last 10 years is as follows:— Imported from Exported to Korea into Korea from Manchuria. Manchuria. April 1922 to March 1923 . . Am. tons 38,966 320,419 „ 1923 „ „ 1924 37,675 472,761 „ 1924 „ „ 1925 . 60,356 624,056 ii 1925 ii 1926 . 68,378 589,095 ,, 1926 „ „ 1927 . 66,490 694,627 „ 1927 „ „ 1928 72,686 754,645 „ 1928 „ „ 1929 . 99,159 780,305 „ 1929 „ „ 1930 . Metric tons 86,034 1,087,265 „ 1930 „ „ 1931 . 37,053 528,335 „ 1931 „ Oct. 1931 . 10,749 289,356 The reduction of one-third duty on goods carried by the Antung-Moukden Railway, which had been in force during the past 20 years, was abolished on the 16th September 1930. It is difficult to appraise the effect of the abolition of this duty rebate, as general trade conditions, fluctuation of silver, political conditions, etc., must also be taken into consideration. According to the South Manchuria Railway Freight Office, Antung, the average number of consignments handled by that office during the first six months of 1930 was 253 per day, which dwindled to 137 in the latter half of the same year. As far as the Customs revenue is concerned, the monthly average collection during the first nine months of that year amounted to Hk.Tb. 301,070, while for the remaining three months it was Hk.Tls. 204,451. These figures will be self explanatory. It is said that staple imports, such as cotton piece goods, cotton yarn, etc., are now mostly imported into Manchuria via Dairen on account of cheaper freight by steamers. The daily number of passenger trains passing through Antung from Manchuria to Korea and vice versa is three, and that of goods trains from and to Manchurian stations is eight, while the number of those to and from Korea is 11. It was mentioned in the last Decennial Report that the total collection of fares from passengers at Antung in 1920 amounted to G. Yen 868,093, while the freight paid on goods amounted to G. Yen 2,399,127. The corresponding figures for 1931—the last fiscal year—were G. Yen 613,164 and G. Yen 891,185 respectively. 268 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The number of passengers embarked and disembarked at Antung station during the decade is as follows:— Embarked. Disembarked. 1922 154,243 118,540 1923 191,028 148,107 1924 230,028 209,828 1925 253,305 199,756 1926 227,950 154,379 1927 '. 243,370 159,249 1928 232,021 157,015 1929 225,412 166,166 1930 133,426 151,958 1931 152,446 134,341 Road and Motor Transport.—The condition of the principal streets in the Chinese city have been greatly improved during the last decade. What once were little more than country roads have now been converted into macadamised streets with sidewalks and drainage, comparing not unfavourably with the excellent roads in the Japanese Settlement. The modernisation of the streets began in 1922 with the establishment of the Shih-cheng-kung-so, now merged in the Magistrate's Office as the Shih-cheng Ko. The cost of the improvements has been paid from a tax collected on houses, fees on the issue of building permits, and chihchao issued to motor buses. The major portion of this income, however, went for the establishment and upkeep of a library, for schools and other activities, leaving only about §20,000 each year for expenditure on new roads. More than this sum was spent, for it is reported that the Shih-cheng Ko is in debt some $100,000. Between 7 and 8 miles of macadamised streets have so far been constructed. At first the work was done by a Danish firm of contractors from Peiping, but Chinese contractors soon proved competent to do the work themselves, which greatly reduced the cost. Long-distance motor-bus service was first introduced in 1926 between Antung and certain places on the coast toward Dairen, the farthest, Lungwangmiao, some 80 miles distant. Buses can only run to these places in the winter when the roads are frozen, i.e., from October to February. On the inauguration of this service there was only one garage and two buses; there are now eight garages and 16 buses plying, with four more making short trips to nearby places. The long-distance buses were required to obtain provincial chihchao at a cost of $82, valid for one year, and pay a municipal road tax of $6 per year in addition. The absence of regular motor roads leading to the interior has hindered to a great extent the development of what would be a very popular means of transportation. Plans had been made for the construction of such roads, but owing to the military occupation of Manchuria by the Japanese, they did not materialise. Chinese Post Office.—The Chinese Post Office at Antung is one of the three first class offices in the province of Liaoning. It is also an exchange office for foreign mail matter. Letters and heavy mail are conveyed in the following manner:— (a) By the South Manchuria Railway.—Mail for other provinces in China is conveyed to Moukden, where it is handed back to the Chinese Post Office for further forwarding. In ordinary times, when the Peiping-Moukden line is not interrupted, as it has been since the Sino-Japanese crisis, mail is carried the entire distance to Shanghai via Tientsin and Nanking. ANTUNG. 269 (b) By Motor Gliders.—These craft are used in the summer months for the despatch of mail to the upper reaches of the Yalu; it arrives at Linkiang, 960 li, in about three days, and return mail takes about two days. Launches are employed to serve nearby coastal places in summer. (c) By Couriers.—This is still the most extensively used method for sending mail to the surrounding districts and up river, especially during the winter season. Although the couriers pass through such bandit-infested regions as Chian and Linkiang, none has, been molested. Chinese Telegraphs and Telephones.—Telegraphs.—The Chinese Telegraph Office has undergone little change in the past 10 years. The number of telegrams handled have shown a steady decrease; in 1922 there were 26,300 incoming and 26,430 outgoing, and in 1931 the numbers were 16,732 and 18,786 respectively. This falling off is attributed to the closing down of several large firms and to the introduction of Japanese long-distance telephone connexions with the principal Manchurian cities. On the 18th September 1931 the Telegraph Office was taken over by the Japanese military, and the Chinese public could only send telegrams through the Japanese Post Office. The Chinese office is now again functioning, but it only acts as a transmitting office for the latter. Telephones.—The Chinese Telephone Office has done very well during the past decade, maintaining a satisfactory and, at the same time, prosperous service. In 1924 the company was reorganised and placed under the supervision of the Taoyin, giving it a semi-official status. The capital was fixed at $80,000, and 20 per cent. of the profits were given over to the provincial government. Since 1926, when the semi-official status was dropped, a multiple switch-board system has been introduced, the equipment has been kept up to date, and a profit has been shown of some Small-coin &40.000 per year, but the practice of paying a percentage of profits to the provincial authorities ceased only after the Sino-Japanese crisis in 1931. The number of installations during the last eight years is as follows:— In addition to the town service, there is now a network of telephones connecting up the surrounding villages. This was originally created to facilitate communication between the police, but is now availed of by the public in general on the payment of a fee for each call. 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—Aids to Navigation.—The aids to navigation on the Yalu are still under the control and kept up at the expense of the Japanese authorities in Korea. The placing and changing of buoys, etc., to mark the channel consequently remain in their hands. In 1924 a beacon was erected by the Chinese Customs on the mud flats adjacent to Tatungkow, at the mouth of the Yalu. It shows a light visible for 10 miles; during the winter, when the Yalu is closed by ice, it does not function. Talutao Light, situated at an elevation of 248 feet on the eastern end of the island of that name, not far from the mouth of the Yalu, was erected in 1924 by the Chinese Customs. It throws a beam visible for 22 nautical miles in clear weather. 1924 1925 1926 1927 569 610 653 699 1928 1929 1930 1931 712 741 781 726 270 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Harbour and Approaches.—In the last report it was stated that in 1921 the Japanese Naval Hydrographic Bureau had commenced a much needed survey of the Yalu. This was continued on a larger scale by the Marine Department of the Chinese Customs and completed in 1922. Much valuable data was accumulated, and attempts were made to launch a scheme for the improvement of the channels between Antung and the sea. Owing, however, to a not very clear understanding as to the control of the Yalu at this point, a joint Sino-Japanese Commission being required to study the situation, little has been done. At one time steamers could come up to Antung itself. Now only lighter-draught vessels are able to reach San- taolangtow anchorage, some 6£ miles below, while "steamers of greater draught anchor still farther down at Chaoshihkow and Tatungkow. There is a good flow of water in the Yalu, and if properly trained, it could be made to scour for itself a much deeper channel than now exists. With the deforestation of the upper reaches of the river by very extensive timber-cutting operations, the amount of silt carried in suspension is becoming a greater problem each year. The Korean conservancy authorities have dammed the superfluous channels at Mashihtai and Tungtaping, which has resulted in a stronger flow at places, but these isolated works are of little value in the absence of a general scheme of improvement affecting the whole channel. The bar at Wutaokow, just below Antung, is being built up, while farther down, just above Santaolangtow, on the right bank of the river, considerable erosion is going on. 14 feet of water may be had there at low water, neap tides, and accommodation may be found for four steamers of 500 tons burden. Just below Santaolangtow there is a berth for two steamers of 1,300 tons. The closing of the channel at Tungtaping, mentioned above, has deepened the anchorage at Longanpo, on the Korean side, where Japanese steamers generally anchor to discharge cargo for Antung and Hsin Wiju. At present six or seven steamers of 1,500 tons register may anchor there. At Tatungkow the condition of the anchorage is still very good, and no appreciable change in depth has taken place in the past few years, which is 22 feet in low water, neap tides, and five steamers of 1,500 tons may berth there line ahead. In 1925 the Japanese began to explore the possibilities of constructing an ice-free harbour at Toshitao-Tasarugi, to be connected to Hsin Wiju by rail, owing to the difficulty of navigating the river, and to permit trade to be carried on the year round. The harbour lies on the Korean side near the mouth of the Yalu. The project later was abandoned, as it was found that the engineering difficulties would be too great. 10. Administration.—South Manchuria Railway Zone {Settlement).—Up to 1923 the civil administration of the Japanese part of Antung was partly under the Settlement Corporation and partly administered by the South Manchuria Railway. During that year it was amal- gamated under the local office of the South Manchuria Railway. An Administrative Committee of 15, elected by Japanese residents, assists the local manager of the South Manchuria Railway. The total area of the Japanese Settlement is 10,074,424 square metres, and the population is 62,000. A good part of this area is taken up by the Railway. On the hills at the northern side of the Settlement a very picturesque park has been laid out of large dimensions. It is considered as one of the scenic spots of Manchuria and attracts many tourists, especially in the cherry blossom season. In the way of places of worship there are two Christian churches, one Shinto shrine, and eight Buddhist temples. For amusements there are many athletic grounds, a race-course, and a pleasantly situated nine-hole golf course. A subsidiary company of the Railway furnishes electric light, while a gas company was ANTUNG. 271 organised in 1925. A handsome Japanese Consulate building was constructed in that year, costing, furnished, some 350,000 gold yen. As has been described elsewhere, the streets are broad, regularly laid out, and well paved. Chinese Town.—The Tung-pien Taoyin continued to control the eastern marches of the province until December 1928, when the hoisting of the Nationalist flag over Manchuria resulted in the abolition of the office in accordance with the National Government regulations. After an interval of two years its functions were taken over by the Magistrate, who now administers the municipality and the Bureau of Foreign Affairs. Aside from this alteration in the administrative system, the Kuo-min-tang has had little influence in this conservative district, influenced, as it has been, by the Moukden government. The period of 1925-28 was one of great activity in municipal improvements. The principal streets were well paved, drains laid, trees planted along the paved sidewalks, and many small bridges constructed. As has been done in the Railway Settlement, a very nice park, taking advantage of the natural setting of the area, has been laid out on a hillside overlooking the town. The Chamber of Commerce was very active in raising funds to make these improvements possible. During the decade under review there was practically no civil disorder, and an air of tranquillity prevailed. At the time of the Sino-Japanese crisis in September 1931, however, the existing order was abruptly interrupted by the occupation of the town by Japanese troops. The old system of administration is still carried on and largely with the same officials, but Japanese advisers are now in every key position, and Japanese gendarmes control the town. The population is accepting this change silently and with a general sullenness. 11. Justice and Police.—Extraterritoriality.—The treaty stipulations with reference to the question of extraterritoriality have been closely adhered to in this port. Japanese and Koreans committing offences in the Chinese town are handed over to the Japanese Consulate authorities for trial and punishment. To facilitate such matters, the Consulate has an office in the Chinese town with the following name on the door: H ^^^ISHSt-fS^r- The erection of a new building to house this office was hurriedly started in the centre of the town after the Japanese occupation in September 1931, and was completed in two months. The Japanese Settlement has its own courts and police system. The latter belongs to the police force of the Kwantung Government and comes indirectly under the control of the Japanese Foreign Office. There is no mixed court in the port. Law and Order.—The Chinese local judicial system has undergone little material change in its constitution or practice during the past 10 years. In 1929 the Procurator's Office was incorporated into that of the Chief of Justice. The name of Ti-fang Shen-p'an-t'ing was changed into Ti-fang Fa-yuan, and Ti-fang Chien-ch'a-t'ing into Ti-fang Fa-yuan Chien-ch'a- ch'u. Although the Chief of Justice is the chief of court, through this change of status he still has no voice in the Procurator's Office. The court is situated at Tungk'antze, about 3 miles from the city. • To maintain order in Antung and the surrounding districts the police force is divided into three departments, i.e., Local Police, District Police, and Water Police. With the advent of the Nationalist flag in Manchuria the names of the police offices were changed from Ching-ch'a-t'ing to Kung-an-chii, or Bureau for Public Safety. In addition to the above three departments there is also what is known as the Railway Police Office, established in 1910 for 272 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. the protection of the Antung-Moukden Railway. This department was organised with the idea that the Railway would be handed back to China in 15 years, as originally stipulated, but with the subsequent extension of the lease to 99 years it now functions in.name only. The Local Police maintain order in Antung. The force consists at present of 296 men. The District Police have some 400 men, with the head office at Antung, and look after order in the surrounding districts. They have five stations and 25 sub-stations in the more important villages nearby and are under the direct supervision of the Magistrate. The Water Police have under their control the traffic on the Yalu and Hun Rivers, including the examination of boats and passengers. There are six stations and 13 sub-stations along the two rivers, with a personnel of 208; the head office is at Antung, where there are 36 police stationed. Antung has been most fortunate during the past decade in that there has been no disturbances from bandits or military actions. The efforts of the police were somewhat strained in July 1931, when the uprising in Korea against Chinese emigrants caused most of the latter to leave for Antung. Feeling ran high against the local Koreans, but any untoward events were prevented. The efficiency of the police has been marked, and robberies are very rare, as the culprits are soon rounded up. This state of affairs has a moral effect on hung-hu-tzu in the hinterland, and they have left Antung alone the last few years. On the 19th September 1931, following the crisis in Moukden, the Japanese military occupied the Chinese town. The police were disarmed and their arms and ammunition moved to the gendarme headquarters in the Railway Zone. The occupation was so sudden that no opposition was met with, with the exception of an incident at a silk-spinning factory, where four labourers were shot. For two days Koreans in great numbers came to view the "fallen" city, and the Chinese, with the recent events in Korea fresh in their memory, were in great fear of attacks by Korean roughs. About one-third of the Chinese population left the city, and all shops closed. The Japanese troops, who were maintaining order in the Chinese town, then prohibited the Koreans from entering it. Any measure of confidence was not restored, however, until the Chinese police were given back their arms, consequent on the establishment of the Wei-ch'ih-hui. Under the subsequent influence of the Japanese the pay of the police has been improved; they are better uniformed and present an all-round better appearance. During the period of strained relations following precipitation of the Sino-Japanese crisis just mentioned many attempts, some partially successful, were made by so-called Chinese Volunteer Corps to interrupt communications on the Antung-Moukden line. The largest corps of this sort was under the leadership of one Hsu Wen-hai, with headquarters some 20 miles north of Fenghwangcheng, and said to have been under strict discipline and not to have molested the poorer class. Their activities were confined against the Japanese and to enforcing levies against the rich, especially those they considered to be lukewarm toward the cause the Volunteers were espousing. Many hung-hu-tzu bands took advantage of disturbed conditions and carried off many raids, especially at Tatungkow, at the mouth of the Yalu, and at several small places farther along on the coast. Gaol {Chinese).—The gaol of Antung, ranking seventh in importance in the province, was removed to a new building at Tungk'antze, about 3 miles from the town, in 1922. The compound comprises about 30 mou of land, and the management is a great improvement over the old regime. The cells, built in two long rows, T-shaped, are clean, well ventilated, and have plenty of sunlight. Located in the spacious courtyard is a large weaving factory, in which ANTUNG. 273 are installed 70 looms, so that prisoners receive manual training eight hours a day. There is a lecture room for teaching Chinese characters to illiterates, and a Christian pastor preaches to a class once a week. 12. Military and Naval Changes.—In 1927 General T'ang Yii-ling, who was in charge of the Eastern Frontier Defence Corps, with headquarters at Fenghwangcheng, was appointed Governor of the province of Jehol. He took with him the troops under his command, including a detachment of 120 men stationed at Antung. This detachment was never replaced, and the military barracks have been occupied by the Third Primary School. After General Tang's transfer his successor, General Yii Tze-san, removed the headquarters of the Eastern Frontier Corps to Sanchengchen, a place north-east of Moukden. 500 men were left at Fenghwangcheng, the old headquarters, but these were disarmed by the Japanese troops shortly after the crisis of the 18th September 1931. No regular units of the Chinese Navy have ever visited Antung, but each year a small gun-boat has made an occasional patrol in this vicinity. At the time of the Japanese occupation, mentioned above, this gun-boat was also disarmed, but was allowed to leave, and is now taking shelter at a small place on the coast. 13. Health and Sanitation.—(a) Japanese.—The sanitary conditions in the Railway Zone are very satisfactory and a shining example to the Chinese authorities. The streets are broad, well paved, and are kept clean; drainage is good and the water supply excellent. A detailed description of conditions affecting health and sanitation in the Japanese-controlled part of Antung follows. The South Manchuria Railway Hospital maintains the efficient standard commended in the last Decennial Report. A dermatological department was added in 1928 in addition to nine departments already functioning, each in charge of a specialist. The general equipment consists of 56 rooms with 178 beds. In 1930 patients to the number of 123,766 were treated, as compared with 109,044 in 1920. It is reported that the running expenses for the year" April 1930 to March 1931 amounted to Yen 182,300, while the income came to Yen 178,900. This showing is a satisfactory one when it is considered that charges, for the most part, are only nominal. In addition to the medical staff of the hospital, there are 10 Japanese doctors (including two Koreans) practising, besides some 27 midwives assisting at some 300 births a year. Inoculation against smallpox is not only strongly encouraged but free service is rendered each spring and autumn if considered necessary. Injections (free) are also required, as occasions demand, against cholera, scarlatina, typhoid, etc. Inoculation of dogs against rabies is likewise enforced, gratis, 951 being thus treated in 1931. The following returns of communicable diseases for the year ended March 1931 is typical of the other years of the past decade, no epidemic of serious proportions having occurred: dysentery, 113 (14); typhoid, 42 (8); diphtheria (2); scarlatina, 18 (1); paratyphoid, 35 (3); spinal meningitis, 3. The figures in parentheses indicate deaths. The report of the Police Department gives the death rate per 1,000 of population as follows: Chinese, 11.7; Japanese, 18.8; and Koreans, 25.4. The surprisingly low death rate amongst the Chinese living in the Railway Zone may be attributed to the fact that they are mostly without families, hence the infant mortality is extremely small. 18 274 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The extension of the waterworks system referred to in the last Decennial Report was finished in 1922. The supply is derived from a reservoir, which was further enlarged in 1925 and 1927. The present capacity is 618,000 cubic metres. The water is purified with chlorine and filtered through a Patterson plant. The length of water mains in March 1931 was 46,145 metres. Toward the end of 1931 the mains were extended into the Chinese town to the extent of 3,200 metres, and four public supply stations established. 400,000 square metres of ground have recently been purchased to extend the capacity of the reservoir. In 1924-25 drains to a length of. 52,076 metres were laid, costing Yen 210,000 and serving, in 1931, 1,830 houses. The moat surrounding the Railway Zone, the insanitary condition of which was commented on in the last two Decennial Reports, still continues to be an offence. Garbage and excrement are regularly and promptly removed under the supervision of the Ex-soldiers' Association. (b) Chinese.—Though not up to the high standard maintained in the Japanese section of Antung, the Chinese town has made a marked improvement in health and sanitary conditions during the past decade. The Antung I Yuan, reported as having 30 beds and a daily clinic of 100 or more patients, cannot, medically speaking, be called a hospital, as it has no regularly trained doctors on its staff, the man at present in charge having formerly been a dresser. The support comes from the local Chamber of Commerce and from fees. The Danish Mission Hospital, on the other hand, has done notable work. It is in charge of a very competent staff, including two Danish doctors. There are 40 beds in the men's ward and 26 in the women's department. During 1930 there were treated 933 in-patients and 30,000 out-patients. There is only one qualified medical practitioner, who is a graduate of the Moukden Medical College; in addition there are 40 Chinese physicians practising herbage and 12 who claim to know Western medicine. Free vaccination against smallpox is carried out once a year by the Antung I Yuan. Epidemics of cholera occurred in 1924 and 1926, but no record of mortalities is available. Other than this, there have been no serious outbreaks of any infectious diseases during the past 10 years. There are no reliable vital statistics as to the death rate, etc., available. A quarantine station, a branch of the National Health Bureau, is located at Santaolangtow, some 8 miles below Antung. The station was built in 1924 from funds appropriated from the Customs revenue. The plant is an excellent one, and efficient service is rendered by the qualified Chinese medical officer in control. All incoming vessels are inspected, and quaran- tine against infected ports is maintained as occasion demands. There are facilities at the station for properly treating any infectious cases detected or suspected. During recent years, as roads have been widened and improved, modern drains have been installed. There is no public water supply as yet. The construction of a waterworks system has been mooted for some time, but all plans have been dropped since the present Sino-Japanese crisis. In the meantime the Japanese Waterworks Company have begun to extend their mains into the Chinese section for supplying public distribution stations as already noted. ANTUNG. 275 14. Education.—(a) Japanese.—With the expansion of population in the local Railway Zone the number of schools increased considerably compared with a decade ago, when there were only two primary schools, one for Japanese and the other for Korean children. The following schools in the Japanese Settlement are all under the management of the South Manchuria Railway Company, and the expenditure is defrayed by it:— Two primary schools, with a total number of 1,700 students, showing an increase of about 400 boys and girls over the number 10 years ago; the annual expen- diture is G. Yen 78,228. The Higher Girls' School came into existence in 1923, and there are at present 400 students in attendance, the annual expenditure being G. Yen 64,990. A middle school was opened in 1925, and the present number of students is 350. The annual expenditure is G. Yen 66,224. A primary school for Korean children; the present number of students is 580 and the annual expenditure is G. Yen 19,230. One primary school for Chinese children has been established in the Japanese Settlement. The South Man- churia Railway Company donates G. Yen 4,200 towards its annual expenditure. (The instruction in these two latter schools is principally in Japanese.) In addition to the above there are two supplementary schools for the children of Korean labourers (one industrial supplementary school and one girls' supplementary school) and two kindergartens. There is also a well organised public library, where some 12,000 books are kept for public perusal and circulation. (b) Chinese.—It may be said in general that there are very few institutions of learning in Manchuria as yet under the auspices of foreign medical societies. What there are have been established by the Scotch and Irish Presbyterian Societies, while in this district the Danish Lutheran Mission has its activities. American Missions do not seem to have entered Manchuria as yet. Some years ago the mission schools were the best in furnishing a modern education, but the Chinese educational system has developed to such an extent that many, even Christian students, prefer to attend the Government schools. With the advent of the Kuo-min-tang, regulations were promulgated (1925) for the registration and stricter control of Christian educational institutions in China. Attendance on religious instruction was to be made voluntary, and the aim of such schools was to be educational and not religious. These strictures, however, were not enforced to any extent in Manchuria, and no mission schools were closed for not registering with the Government Educational Bureaux. The extension of the educational system of Antung and the surrounding district can best be judged by the figures given overleaf. To verify these statistics, which are only approximate, is very difficult, as the local schools are established by, and must report to, many different bodies. One appreciates the necessity of some standards of Government registration in trying to get particulars of education in Antung. Here there are private, mission, local com- munity, local district, and provincial institutions. Some are registered at the local Educational Bureau, some at Moukden, and others not at all. 276 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. In 1921 there were in the Chinese town of Antung some 19 schools, with about 2,000 students, while in 19,31 there were 35 schools and some 12,000 pupils. The approximate number of students attending the schools was as follows :— 1921. 1931. Middle School (now including Forestry and Normal School) 300 1,200 Commercial School 150 500 Girls' School 80 650 Primary Schools 1,470 9,650 About 10 years ago so-called "Popular Educational Classes" were started by the Y.M.C.A. for grown-up illiterates, which proved very popular, and now many schools have similar courses. Most of those who attend are workmen from silk filatures and other factories, who have never been taught to read and write. Much of the unrest amongst labourers and their demands on employers are attributed to the influence of some of these classes, which have awakened the. labourers from their' mental lethargy. It is also said that some of the teachers concerned were radicals. Teaching boards set up by the Municipality, giving various Chinese characters with interpretative pictures, are proving instructive and interesting to those who have grown up without any education. The characters are changed from time to time. 15. Literature.—The perusal and study of literature has enjoyed a great impetus during recent years, and newspapers and periodicals have increased in number. The "Shang Kung Jih Pao," published daily since 1929, was widely read by the local merchants, but was suspended in September 1931, owing to the Sino-Japanese crisis. The "Shih Pao," a daily paper, having a circulation of about 2,000 copies per day, is read with interest by the common people. In the Japanese Settlement two daily papers are published, namely, "Kokyo Mainichi Shinpo " and "Anto Shinpo." At present the Chinese newspapers published in other ports or towns and current at Antung are as follows: "Sheng-ching Shih Pao," "Manchou Pao," "Tung San Sheng Kung Pao," "Tai-tung Jih Pao," " Ta Kung Pao," "Yi Shih Pao," "Shen Pao," " Shih Pao," etc. As to periodicals, there are the " Chiao Yu Yueh K'an," a monthly gazette, published in 1924 by the Educational Bureau; the "Ling Chung Yueh K'an" and "Shang Chung Yueh K'an," monthly gazettes published in 1927 by the Middle Forestry School and the Middle Commercial School respectively, and the "Shu Kuang Chou Pao," a weekly review published by the Girls' Middle School. Printing presses have increased gradually throughout the decade. Cheng Wen Hsin, the largest printing office, has now 16 presses and 70 workmen. Chi Chi, the next largest, has four presses and about 40 workmen. 16. Population.—Emigration, Immigration, and Migration.—Large numbers of farmers and labourers travel to and fro between Antung and Shantung, generally for seasonal ANTUNG. 277 occupations, spending part of the year in each place. This movement is best illustrated by the following table showing the passenger traffic of this port by steamers as appearing in Customs statistics for the past 10 years:— I.CoM.nC. OUTOOTnO. ^^Z. 1922 47,218 76,546 -29,328 1923 66,559 85,176 -18,617 1924 75,201 64,173 +11,028 1925 58,200 50,922 + 7,278 1926 ....... 68\981 47,003 +21,978 1927 97,999 46,565 +51,434 1928 69,381 42,332 +27,049 1929 53,557 34,178 +19,379 1930 48,987 35,198 +13,789 1931 45,179 40,510 + 4,669 It may be discerned from the above table that the gain or loss in population in this part of Manchuria depends largely on economic and political conditions in Shantung province. For example, the large number of incoming passengers in 1927 may be attributed to the disturbances caused by the Northern Expedition of the Nationalist army that year and to the exactions of the military group in control of the province at the time. After arrival in Antung most of the immigrants proceed farther into the interior on foot, settling down on virgin land in the forest clearings of the Upper Yalu or adopting the occupations of lumbermen or mushroom gatherers. Among them are also many Shantung farmers, who come to Antung to work in the wild-silk filatures in the winter, returning to their farms in Shantung in the spring. Floods.—The town of Antung is built for the most part on what was once marshy ground covered by reeds. During the rainy season in July and September the lower parts of the town were generally inundated by a combination of a rapid discharge of water by the Yalu from the deforested regions of its upper reaches backed up by the inrush of the tides from the sea. The river rose frequently to great heights with little warning, as a consequence, causing extensive damage to cargo stored along the foreshore and to rafts anchored near the shore. The following table shows the readings of the Customs tide-gauge for the past decade (1922-31):— 1922 1923 1924 1925. 1926 1927 1928. 1929 1930 1931. Highest Water-mark. Sept. 6 Aug. 13 July I5 Aug 13 „ 27 July 17 Aug. 31 July 26 „ 31 Aug. 27 Ft. in. 17 8 22 9 18 17 23 20 16 17 16 19 8 Lowest Water-mark. April 1 July 4 April 2 July 20 April 2 Sept. I5 Aug. 25 April 24 Sept. 18 April 11 Ft. in. 0 8 1 8 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 In connexion with the above table it will be of interest to study the rainfall for the spring and summer months of the last 10 years as registered by the Customs rain-gauge. 278 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Rainfall at Antung in the Years 1922-31. April. May. June. July. August. September. 1922 0.70 5.69 8.38 8.33 14.41 17.33 3.44 1.94 3.94 17.23 16.64 1.73 1924 1.58 1.60 4.64 16.33 1.57 2.49 1925 3.06 3.41 3.90 1.17 13.13 2.22 0.66 3.59 4.04 9.80 19.72 7.75 1927 1.28 5.59 1.50 18.54 4.84 2.04 0.86 2.90 0.58 11.53 6.44 6.90 1929 1.14 2.67 2.18 11.20 5.27 7.05 1930 1.34 2.27 . 1.27 15.45 11.77 3.19 2.17 5.23 4.78 4.72 17.68 2.89 It will be seen in the first table that big floods occurred in 1923, 1926, and 1927. In order to protect the Japanese Settlement against abnormally high water, a dike had been erected around the exposed sides of it in 1923. It proved such a success that the Chinese decided to protect their part of Antung in a similar manner. Under the direction of the Taoyin a loan of 8500,000 was raised for the purpose, secured on a dike tax to be collected by the local Shui- chuan Chii. The work was finally commenced in 1927 and finished the same year. The dike surrounds three sides of the Chinese town, and has a total length of 14,300 feet, of which 3,100 feet are constructed of concrete, 5,600 feet of stone, and 5,600 feet of earth. Unfortu- nately, the high flood of 1927 came just after the completion of the dike, and parts of it gave way, resulting in a very serious inundation. The occasion was taken to strengthen the weaker portions, and in 1931, when the water rose to a height of nearly 20 feet, it proved its worth. Statistics of Population.—(a) Japanese Settlement.—The population of the Japanese Settlement nearly doubled during the past decade, as may be seen from the following figures:— Japanese. Koreans. Chinese. Other Nationalities. Total. 1922 8,972 11,139 3,104 9,348 21,732 41,201 13 11 33,821 61,699 1931 (b) Chinese Town.—According to the register kept by the local police the average population of the Chinese town for 1922 and 1931, the first and the last year of the decade, was as follows:— No. of Families. Male. Female. Total. 1922 11,331 14,061 59,781 61,314 16,826 26,390 76,607 87,704 1931 The main feature to be noted is the excess of males over females, accounted for by the large floating population of business men or labourers whose families live elsewhere, principally in Shantung. ANTUNG. 279 17. Civil Disorders.—(a) Smuggling.—The activities of smugglers in this district have undoubtedly been a problem to the authorities concerned since the Yalu River became the boundary between the ancient kingdoms of China and Korea. On the opening of the Customs in 1907 smuggling was found to be a flourishing institution and a most difficult one to suppress, largely due to the restrictions under which Customs officers are required to operate in certain sections of Antung. During the years 1922 to 1930 it is estimated that the revenue lost to the Customs through smuggling varied between Yen 500,000 and Yen 1,000,000 a year! With the adoption of the new and higher Import Tariff of 1930 and the abolition of the one-third duty rebate on rail-borne cargo, however, a much greater premium was placed on the traffic, and it rapidly increased. As practically all the smuggling was done by Koreans, who used the Railway Zone as their base of operations, the Kwantung authorities early in 1930 promulgated an ordinance against smuggling in and out of the Railway Zone, which the Japanese police, in co-operation with the Customs, were able to enforce fairly effectively. But with the advent of the Sino-Japanese crisis late in 1931 many of the local police were sent up the Antung-Moukden Railway line to protect it, leaving the Korean smugglers free to resume their operations on a much larger scale than ever. They operated in large gangs of from 300 to 500, resorting to the use of sticks and stones if interfered with. So openly was the cargo brought over latterly, and so defiant were the smugglers of any organised authority, that the traffic should be styled the bringing in of cargo by force majeure, without the payment of duty. It is estimated that from 7 to 8 million yen worth of cargo (largely piece goods, fruit, etc.) was thus forcibly brought into Antung in 1931. Such conditions made it very difficult for legitimate merchants, foreign and Chinese, to carry on business in Manchuria, and things had come to such a pass at the end of 1931 that the Japanese authorities were again considering measures to resume some sort of control over the Koreans engaged in smuggling. (b) Coast-guard Service.—The only coast-guard patrol in this district has been maintained by a small Chinese gun-boat which has operated on the Lower Yalu and adjoining waters, with a base at Newchwang, for many years. The gun-boat was mainly for the protection and inspection of fishing-junks. As mentioned elsewhere, she was disarmed by the Japanese at the time of the crisis in 1931 and then allowed to proceed to a small coastal port where she now lies. It is doubtful if the fishing industry has suffered much by her being placed hors de combat! (c) Piracy and Banditry.—There have been no cases of piracy in this district during the past 10 years to report. Nor was there any banditry in the district to speak of until after the Sino-Japanese crisis. Of late organisations have been at work, some of which style themselves Volunteers, to menace the Antung-Moukden Railway line, and at times have succeeded in interrupting traffic for a short time. Other gangs have appeared that were openly out for what they could make and have been active along the small coastal ports, such as Tatungkow and Chuangho. In the immediate vicinity of Antung there has been a complete absence of banditry, due to efficient police forces in both the Chinese and Japanese sections of Antung and to the large Japanese element in the local population. 18. Tatungkow.—During the past 10 years Tatungkow, at the mouth of the Yalu, originally opened as a port under Antung and reduced to the status of a sub-office in 1921, has remained of small importance. A skeleton Customs staff is maintained there, which functions on the few steamers occupying that anchorage. 280 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. In preparing the above report I am indebted to Mr. M. Morimoto, Deputy Commissioner, for those parts of the 4th, 7th, 8th, 14th, and 16th sections concerning Japanese activities; to Mr. Y. Matsunaga, Senior Chief Assistant, B, for such of the 1st, 2nd, and 15th sections as concerns the Japanese, and part of the 3rd section; to Mr. Pu Lu Chung, 2nd Assistant, A, for those parts of the 5th and 15th sections concerning Chinese interests; to Mr. K. Hoshino, 2nd Assistant, A, for such parts of the 5th, 6th, and 13th sections as concerns Japanese activities; to Mr. Ong Yah Foo, 2nd Assistant, B, for those parts of the 1st and 4th sections referring to the Chinese, and part of the 3rd section; to Mr. Yuan Fu-chang, 3rd Assistant, B, for those parts of the 6th, 8th, and 16th sections concerning Chinese interests, and the 11th and 12th sections; to Mr. Chen Ching Hao, 2nd Clerk, B, for the 10th section; to Mr. W. Nash, Chief Tidesurveyor and Harbour Master, for part of the 2nd section and section 9; to Mr. P. H. Baagoe, of the local Y.M.C.A., for that part of the 14th section concerning Chinese schools; and to Dr. T. N. Tang, the Quarantine Officer in Charge, for the information in the 13th section concerning Chinese activities. R. M. TALBOT, Acting Commissioner of Customs. 31rf December 1931. Antung, 21th April 1932. DAIREN 1. Trade.—Despite the fall of the feng-p'iao and unsettled conditions in Manchuria, the trade of this port increased steadily during the past decade and rose from a gross value of 239 million Haikwan taels (including junk-borne trade) in 1922 to 418 millions in 1928 and up to 495 millions in 1929—the highest figure of the period; however, during 1930 Manchuria could not but be affected by the world-wide trade depression, the fall of silver, and, during the latter part of 1931, by the Sino-Japanese troubles, so that in 1930 the total had fallen to 410 million Haikwan taels and to 418 millions for 1931. The total volume of imports and exports handled kept pace with the rise in value, and the highest figure of 9 million metric tons was reached during 1929, to be followed by a decline during the next two years. • Silver Yen 100, which was quoted at Gold Yen 111 for 1922, fell to 107 in 1923, but recovered to 136 for 1924—the highest for the decade; although there was a distinct downward trend from 1925 to 1929, it never fell below 90 until the latter part of 1929, when a sharp decline took place, and for 1930 the average quotation was only 62, and but 50 during 1931. This abnormal collapse in the price of silver was naturally followed by the collapse of currencies and decline of purchasing power in the interior of Manchuria, while a large portion of rail traffic was diverted from the South Manchuria Railway to Chinese lines—owing to freight being in silver on the latter,—and this meant that a percentage of cargo which would ordinarily have passed through this port went via Newchwang instead. Native imports made favourable progress during the past 10 years and established a record net value of 40.3 million Haikwan taels in 1929—as compared with 13 millions during 1922; a decrease took place during the last two years, and the 1931 total was 29.9 millions; the percentage in value of native to foreign net imports rose from 18 per cent. in 1922 to 29 per cent. in 1931. Cotton shirtings, sheetings, drills, cotton yarn, cotton blankets, socks and stockings, towels, cigarettes, etc., all did well and are competing very favourably with the foreign manufactured article, having received considerable impetus from the fall of silver and the new Import Tariffs of 1929 and 1931. Direct foreign trade with Japan is carried on by Chinese local firms, who send repre- sentatives to the Kawakuchi district in Osaka to act as buyers; the chief importations are cotton piece goods and sundries. However, since 1930, as many firms have sustained heavy losses as a result of unfavourable trading conditions, many representatives have been recalled and this direct import trade has declined considerably. With regard to the boycott of Japanese goods experienced in South and Central China, Manchuria was not affected to any extent worth mentioning. The importation of foreign cotton piece goods and yarn continued favourable until 1929, when a decline took place owing to the fall of silver; certain grey cotton items were also affected by competition from native manufactures, while foreign grey cotton yarn declined steadily from 60,000 piculs in 1922 to only approximately 4,000 piculs during recent years; this can be ascribed to the competition of native yarn on the one hand and to the growth of cotton mills in and outside of the Leased Territory, and the increased import of foreign raw cotton was chiefly 282 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. f for these mills. Although there was a decline during the last two years, the rapid increase since 1926 of wool and cotton unions and woollen goods imported appears to have aifected the demand for foreign cotton piece goods. The abolition of the one-third duty rebate on foreign rail-borne cargo across the land frontier at Antung has favourably affected the importation of Japanese cotton piece goods through this port. Manchuria is a great consumer of foreign new gunny bags, and the demand has remained steady, during 1922 there was an importation of 180,000 piculs, and since then until 1931 the total has stood at from 230,000 to 340,000 piculs—except during the four years from 1926 to 1929, when there was a brisk import due to speculative buying, registering over 430,000 piculs each year, with a highest importation of 640,000 piculs for 1929. Formerly, gunny bags from India were imported via Kobe, but latterly they have been coming through Hongkong. In 1922 the importation of foreign and native wheat flour amounted to approximately one million piculs altogether; as a result of poor crops in the interior importations from 1924 to 1926 were brisk, with a highest figure of 2.8 million piculs in 1924; in 1929, due to the cheap price and to speculative purchases, the importation of foreign flour amounted to 2.4 million piculs, chiefly from Japan, America, and Canada. Foreign sugar entering in 1922 totalled 330,000 piculs and remained steady throughout the period under review, with a maximum 630,000 piculs in 1931; Japan supplied the largest quantity, followed by Hongkong, Korea, and Netherlands India. The record importation of foreign cigarettes for the period occurred in 1923, when 1,800,000 mille were registered; a drop to 600,000 mille occurred in 1925, but from 1928 there was a considerable improvement to 1,600,000 mille in 1930, but a great decrease took place during 1931, only 100,000 mille being registered. Foreign cigarettes were formerly imported principally from America, but recently have come mostly from Great Britain. Native cigarettes showed steady improvement, from 19,000 piculs in 1924 to 66,000 piculs during 1929, the highest figure for the decade; since then there has been a decline. If the quantity of native cigarettes is converted from piculs to pieces (at approximately 50 mille per picul), the 1929 total would be 3,300,000 mille, or more than double the foreign cigarettes imported during 1930. As a result of the fall of silver, consumers prefer quantity to quality. Motor-cars imported during 1922 numbered 57, as compared with 1,096 in 1928 and 1,878 during 1929; the total fell to 527 for 1930, and to only 10 in 1931, chiefly due to financial depression and little activity in the overworked hire-car and taxi business. The trade in electrical goods remained steady, rising from 2 million Haikwan taels in 1922 to 4.1 millions in 1930, with a slight decrease in 1931. In the interior, where electricity is scarce, kerosene oil is the most important commodity, and the demand at the beginning of the period under review was very large; but owing to the opening of the back country and introduction of modern lighting plant, and to the fall of silver, a great decline has recently been noticed, and the 1931 total of 1.6 million American gallons is a striking decrease from the lowest figure of the previous nine years—5.5 million American gallons. 2. Shipping.—The total tonnage of vessels entered and cleared at this port (including Port Arthur) in 1922 was 8,417,615 tons, and it has increased from year to year until in 1930 DAIREN. 283 it reached a total of 12,740,738 tons, being an increase of 51 per cent.; the average tonnage per vessel also advanced from 1,453 to 1,593 tons during this period. The development in the shipping of the principal countries may be seen from the following table:-- 1922. 1930. INCREASE OR DECREASE. Tons. . Tons. Chinese . . . . . . . 1,075,965 American . . . . . . 359,728 British . . . . . . . . 854,707 Danish . . · · · Dutch . . . . . . . . 260,216 French · · · · · · · 11,518 German . . . . . . . 45,316 Japanese ....... 5,677,053 Norwegian . . . . . . 56,040 Swedish . . . . . . 9,002 1,070,038 428,916 1,067,291 99,630 326,056 8,574 848,342 8,592,223 108,936 61,478 Per cent. -0.6 +19 +25 +62 +25 -26 +1,772 +51 +95 +583 It will be noticed that while German shipping has increased tremendously, there has been a decrease under Chinese and French flags. Whereas few oil-burning and motor vessels entered this port 10 years ago, during the last 12 months alone 57 oil-burning vessels, with a tonnage of 366,725 tons, and 143 motor vessels, with a total of 799,987 tons, called at Dairen, being approximately 6 and 13 per cent. respectively of the total tonnage entered during the year. A tourist bureau was established in Dairen in 1912, being at first a department of the passenger office of the South Manchuria Railway Company. In 1926, however, owing to the steady development of the tourist traffic, the bureau became an independent organisation. It supplies information to tourists free of charge, and also secures hotel accommodation and provides other services indispensable to the welfare of travellers. The number of tourists visiting the port during the past six years was as follows: 1926, 8,786; 1927, 9,528; 1928, 10,670; 1929, 14,930; 1930, 13,508; 1931 (Jan.-Oct.), 8,669. At present, 58 steam-launches, with a tonnage of 6,252 tons, and 110 motor-boats, totalling 3,423 tons, are registered in the Kwantung Leased Territory. The steam-launches are mostly used for towing vessels and in harbour construction work, while nearly all the motor-boats are engaged in fishing. Therefore, there is no launch traffic worth mentioning in this district, except the three lines of ferry services mentioned below:- (1) Dairen-Kanchengtze line: 1 steam-launch, 9.62 tons. (2) Dairen-Ryojun line: 2 steam-launches, 35.19 tons. (3) Dairen-Pitzuwo line: 1 steam-launch, 97.04 tons. 3. REVENUE.—The revenue of the Dairen Customs increased steadily and established fresh records every year until the highest figure of Hk.Tls. 12,837,000 was reached in 1929. There was a slight decrease during 1930 and 1931, the trade of this port being hard hit by the world-wide depression, the fall of silver, and conditions in Manchuria. 284 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. During the past 10 years three revisions of the Import Tariff took place, and in 1930 the Customs gold unit for the collection of import duty was introduced. The appended table is an attempt to illustrate the effect of these tariff revisions and of the adoption of the gold unit: (a) On the amount of import duty collected; (6) On the value of the foreign import trade; (c) On the value of the native import trade; (d) In the rise and fall of a few representative foreign imports as compared with similar products of native origin. That the foresight which prompted the introduction of the gold unit in 1930 was fully justified is also well illustrated by this table; during the years 1929 and 1930 the Import Tariff remained practically unaltered, in spite of the revision, but the proportion of the value of foreign goods imported fell from 215 to 193, while that of the revenue collection rose from 394 to 422. Revision: to Effective 5 Per Cent. (1923). Revision: Additional Duties 2f-22i Per Cent. (1929). Revision: Customs Autonomy (1931). 1922. 1923. 1928. 1929. 1930. 1931. Per cent. 1.950 100 2.184 112 3.570 183 7.701 394 8.243 422 6.820 350 Value of net imports: 71,556 100 70,663 99 14,479 126 121,308 169 32,350 281 154,237 215 36,505 317 138,516 193 29,214 253 104,515 146 29,294 254 Per cent. Per cent. 11,531 100 Foreign imports: Shirtings and sheetings, grey . . Pieces 419,155 100 308,986 74 265,912 63 71,971 21 4,456 7 228,796 55 46,063 13 4,104 7 175,664 42 39,283 11 4,202 7 208,703 50 28,850 8 Per cent. Drills and jeans, grey Pieces 344,587 100 59,890 100 242,144 70 35,405 59 Per cent. 4,379 7 Per cent. Chinese imports: Shirtings and sheetings, grey . . Pieces 344,720 100 370,083 107 11,550 40 28,809 70 880,788 255 977,253 283 843,566 245 655,216 190 Per cent. 29,035 100 150,270 518 93,326 321 85,450 294 250,616 863 78,651 192 Per cent. 40,880 100 143,142 350 87,727 215 46,685 114 Per cent. •Gold units from the 1st February 1930. 4. Currency and Finance.—Stable Japanese currencies, backed up by sufficient reserves, form the mainstay of the money market within the Leased Territory and the Railway Zone and consist of auxiliary coins and silver (gold-standard) sen pieces minted in Japan and notes issued by the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Chosen, and the Yokohama Specie Bank. The military notes issued by the Japanese Government during the Russo-Japanese War, which at one time reached the enormous total of 150,000,000 yen, have all been redeemed as far as humanly possible. DAIREN. 285 Of the above, the Yokohama Specie Bank silver note is of four denominations—1, 5, 10, and 100 yen,—payable in Japanese silver yen, and called by the Chinese ch'ao-p'iao 3jL); these notes are only issuable and redeemable by the Dairen branch of the bank. The value of the Yokohama Specie Bank silver yen notes rose from 1,231,000 in 1922 to 9,863,000 in 1928, followed by a drop to 5,218,000 in 1930 and then by a large increase up to 13,382,000 by the end of June 1931. The bank-note issued by the Bank of Chosen is practically the same as the gold yen note issued by the Bank of Japan, since it is based on gold coins, bullion, or Bank of Japan notes. The estimated amount of these notes in circulation in Manchuria (principally in the Leased Territory and the Railway Zone) was 34,251,000 in 1922 and 26,040,000 by the end of June 1931, with a maximum of 46,355,000 in 1928. Side by side with the gold yen note subsidiary coins of four denominations—50 sen silver, 10 and 5 sen nickel, and 1 sen copper—circulate freely in the Japanese-controlled area. Among the Chinese community in the Kwantung Leased Territory, however, Yuan Shih-k'ai and Sun Yat Sen silver dollars of standard weight and 20-cent subsidiary silver coins minted in Canton form the principal medium of exchange, supplemented by 1-cent copper coins. According to researches made by the South Manchuria Railway Company, the number of Chinese working-people and labourers earning their living in the Leased Territory and the Railway Zone totalled 909,133 in September 1929. Remittances made annually by them to their native provinces must reach a considerable sum, but no estimate for this section of the populace can be hazarded. However, the same authority roughly estimates the annual aggregate savings brought back from Manchuria to their native places by hard-working Shantung and Hopeh emigrants at from $17,000,000 to $28,000,000 for the decade under review (this estimate is for Manchuria as a whole, including the Japanese-controlled area). In addition to the Yokohama Specie Bank a branch of the Bank of China has been functioning as a Customs bank since 1919; both of these institutions work on a different basis from Customs banks at other ports in that they receive no commission for the collection of dues and duties. Every sixth day the Bank of China hands over the total collection to date to the Yokohama Specie Bank, who in turn make regular remittances to the Inspector General's Revenue Account, Shanghai, every five days. Presumably they recoup themselves for services rendered from the accrued interest on funds in their possession during these intervals. Owing to anticipated objections from the Kwantung Government, Central Bank of China gold unit notes have never been introduced at this port. 5. Agriculture.—The use of modern farming machinery to open up undeveloped land in Manchuria on a large scale is still in an experimental stage. It is said that Mr. Li Yun-shu, of Shanghai, first introduced an American tractor in 1915 at Hanho, North Heilungkiang, with which he experimented on his land, covering about 100,000 acres. Since there is but little rain in Manchuria, dry-farming methods, which are widely practised in North America, have been employed, and agricultural machinery has been mostly imported from such firms as the International Harvester Export Company, the John Deere Plough Company, the Caterpillar Tractor Company, J. K. Case T. M. Company, Ford Motor Company, etc., in North America. It is reported that more than 200 tractors are in use in North Manchuria. 286 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Besides tractors, the principal agricultural machinery imported has been tillage imple- ments specially suitable for dry farming, such as ploughs, harrows, etc. Other implements imported through Dairen during the past 10 years are as follows:— Corn Machines: planters, drills, cultivators, ensilage cutters, shellers, etc. Grain Harvesting Machines: binders, reapers, threshers, etc. Planting and Seeding Machines: corn-planters, broadcast-seeders, sowers, etc. Other farm machines and equipment: gasolene and kerosene engines, feed grinders, checkers, ditchers, hay presses, hay-rakes, hay tedders, mowers, rollers, farm wagons and trucks, manure spreaders, etc. Latterly, on account of the fall of silver, the importation of foreign machinery has of necessity decreased to a large extent. The following figures show the market value in London of, say, 1 ton of beans, and transport charges from Tsitsihar to Europe via Dairen, and indicate how difficult it is to import such an expensive article as a tractor, which is valued at approximately £300, c.i.f., Dairen:— Market value, c.i.f., London £5 0 0 Rail freight per ton £2 14 0 Dairen wharf charges 0 2 0 Steamer freight to Europe 1 5 0 Insurance and banking fee 0 3 0 Profit for dealer 0 80 4 12 0 Balance to farmer £0 8 0 The total area under cultivation in the Kwantung Leased Territory in 1921 was about 42,400 acres, but since then it has greatly increased until at the end of 1930 more than 505,000 acres were being tilled. The Kwantung Government has done much to assist irrigation by sinking wells and establishing reservoirs. With the object of introducing new methods of cultivation, the South Manchuria Railway Company in 1930 started using modern machinery to develop about 500 acres of paddy field at Chengtzutuan, near Pitzuwo, engaging Japanese farmers with many years experience in America; two caterpillar tractors (30 horse-power), two MacCormic tractors (15 horse-power), a Fordson tractor (15 horse-power), and other machinery is being used. The live stock in the Kwantung Leased Territory includes cattle, horses, donkeys, mules, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys. The Kwantung Government has done good work in importing foreign strains and crossing them with native stock, the breeds most generally employed for this purpose being— Cows: Korean breeds since 1916; Holsteins, as milch cows, since 1915. Pigs: Berkshire breed; the local pigs had been of poor quality, weighing only 135 pounds on an average, but after crossing with Berkshires since 1915 they were greatly improved; the cross-bred scales up to 180 pounds at 1 year and over 200 pounds when full-grown. Horses: small Hackney and Anglo-Arab breeds since 1922. DAIREN. 287 The Kwantung Government has taken special pains to improve the breed of horses by establishing an experimental stud farm at Chinchow in 1926, where cross-breeding between Mongolian mares and stallions of foreign origin, which have been raised in Japan, is carried on, and by permitting horse-races since 1923 so as to improve the standard of mares. The South Manchuria Railway Company has succeeded in improving the breed of sheep at the Agricultural Experimental Station, Kungchuling, by crossing a superior Merino imported from abroad with the native Mongolian animal. For increased egg production the Agricultural Experimental Farm at Chinchow has been using Leghorns and also Nagoya, Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, and Orpington chickens since 1916 and has attained a considerable degree of success. The Kwantung Leased Territory possesses rather a poor, gravelly soil, which the farmers improve principally by an admixture of excrement and animal manure. The consumption of other fertilisers during 1930 was:— The principal agricultural exports from the Leased Territory are indian corn, kaoliang (the staple food of the Chinese), millet, beans, and peanuts. No adulteration of these articles has been noticed during the past 10 years. Afforestation.—In order to obtain saplings, nursery farms have been established by the Kwantung Government at Port Arthur, Chinchow, and Dairen, and 3 million young trees are supplied annually; moreover, forest lands—totalling 32,045 acres at the end of 1930—have been let out free of charge to those desiring to afforest them, seeds and young trees being supplied gratis; regulations have also been issued for the protection of trees. These measures have had the desired effect: in addition to 112,406 acres of private land, at the end of 1930 the total afforested area reached 66,166 acres, of which 24,706 acres had been planted by the Kwantung Government and 41,460 acres by hui or villages; and Chinese own 35 nursery farms covering an aggregate area of about 500 acres. The trees planted are mostly pine, larch, acacia, scrub- oak (Quercus serrata), maple, and bush-clover. 6. Industrial Development.—The industries in the Kwantung Leased Territory, which developed rapidly during the latter years of the Great War, were seriously affected by the general depression after the cessation of hostilities. According to statistics of the Dairen Civil Administration Office the total output of the various factories under its control amounted to G. Yen 85,128,149 in 1922 and, following the subsequent trade recovery, to G. Yen 128,375,011 in 1925, which was the maximum during the past decade. However, during the last few years local industrial development has been again hampered by the fall of silver and by the general trade depression till the total output decreased to only G. Yen 60,376,854 in 1930, which was Value. Beancake Dried manure . . . Superphosphate of lime Rice bran Other materials . . Catties. 4,817,919 3,500,486 2,547,159 1,649,419 11,740,910 Gold Yen 108,205 27,679 74,276 11,291 44,190 288 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. the minimum figure for the period under review, and but half of the 1925 record. Even allowing for a 30 per cent. drop in prices between these two dates, the actual decrease may still be reckoned at approximately 30 per cent. The principal factories in the Leased Territory were each affected differently according to the special conditions prevailing:— (1) The Shahokou Iron Works, which are the biggest in Manchuria and operated by the South Manchuria Railway Company, have made no significant expansion during the period under review. (2) The Dairen Machine Manufacturing Company, which was established in 1917 with capital of G. Yen 2,000,000, has made no significant advance since 1921. (3) Kawasaki Dock and Nishimori Dock were established at Dairen in 1916 and amalgamated in 1923, with capacity increased from 3,000 to 6,000 tons. (4) The Onoda Cement Company, of Choushuitzu, which was the only portland cement company in the Leased Territory, has made great progress, as the following table of annual output shows: The sudden decrease in 1930 is considered to be due to a falling off in the demand from Manchuria and China, caused by the drop in the value of silver. (5) The South Manchuria Electricity Company (of South Manchuria Railway Company) in Dairen and Port Arthur: (6) The South Manchuria Gas Company (of South Manchuria Railway Company) in Dairen only: 1921 1927 1929 1930 220,000 barrels. 750,000 „ 1,500,000 „ 1,052,480 „ Power supplied. No. of Lamps. 1921 1930 . 28,609,374 kilowatt hours 205,350 98,810,470 „ „ 296,408 Quantity supplied. 1921 1930 221,796,610 cubic feet. 383,892,439 „ „ These two essential enterprises are not so much affected by economical conditions and have made rapid progress as the Leased Territory has been developed. DAIREN. 289 Prices and Wages.—The following table shows the average wholesale market prices at Dairen in gold yen for the past 10 years:— 1922. 1923. 1924. 1925. 1926. 1927. 1928. 1929. 1930. 1931. G.Yen. G.Yen. G.Yen. G.Yen. G.Yen. G.Yen. G.Yen. G.Yen. G.Yen. G.Yen Rice 12.16 13.00 14.46 15.33 16.96 12.98 10.56 9.94 8.74 5.12 White sugar . 11.20 15.20 16.94 12.67 10.31 10.01 9.02 7.65 5.73 4.35 Table salt .. .Dozen large bottles 9.00 7.60 7.55 7.50 6.50 5.20 5.08 5.00 4.85 4.20 Beef ., 80.00 79.20 85.75 88.64 78.72 56.96 56.32 49.00 55.36 40.00 3.00 3.50 3.19 3.29 5.53 5.26 5.02 3.48 2.80 1.80 14.00 13.50 13.25 13.50 14.63 15.96 14.83 14.42 11.54 7.50 8.30 8.00 5.65 5.85 5.58 4.94 5.36 5.40 4.63 4.50 - Total 137.66 140.00 146.79 146.78 138.23 111.31 106.19 94.89 93.65 67.47 The following table shows the average daily wages in gold yen of the principal labourers in Dairen:— 1922. 1923. 1924. 1925. 1926. 1927. 1928. 1929. 1930. 1931. G.Yen. G.Yen. G.Yen. G.Yen. G.Yen. G.Yen. G.Yen. G. Yen. G. Yen. G.Yen. Carpenter: 3.30 3.40 3.70 3.00 3.22 3.18 3.38 3.35 3.20 2.55 1.50 1.35 1.20 1.00 1.14 1.14 1.20 1.20 1.00 0.67 Stonemason: 3.50 3.90 3.90 3.30 3.60 3.51 3.59 3.68 3.00 2.50 1.60 1.50 1.60 1.00 1.35 1.41 1.40 1.43 1.30 0.72 Painter: 3.20 2.80 3.00 2.80 3.06 2.97 2.95 3.00 2.80 2.30 1.40 1.10 1.30 0.90 1.14 1.09 1.18 1.10 1.00 0.80 Blacksmith: 3.50 3.40 3.40 2.70 2.95 2.88 2.95 2.95 3.00 2.30 1.50 1.20 1.30 1.00 1.16 1.10 1.10 1.10 1.10 0.62 Coolie: 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 1.82 1.80 1.70 1.50 1.50 1.50 0.60 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.51 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.35 The working day for Chinese labourers is 11£ hours and for Japanese 10 hours. It is said that although the working hours of the Chinese are longer than those of the Japanese, the latter's efficiency and reliability are the main factors justifying the employment of Japanese labourers at comparatively higher wages as compared with the cheap labour of the Chinese. Labour Unions and Strikes.—The Japanese labourers in the Leased Territory are not very many, and most of them are foremen or technical experts supervising Chinese labour. Accordingly, their sentiments are not so much anti-capitalistic as pro-capitalistic, and no union has been organised by them with the exception of their mutual relief associations. But in 1930 a branch union of the Japan Seamen's Association was established in Dairen with 108 members, and this was the first extension of the labour movement proper of Japan to this Territory. 19 290 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. As regards the Chinese, although large in number they are too primitive to organise any powerful union to promote their own interests against their employers. However, in 1923 there appeared a union called "The Dairen Chinese Technical Society," which was organised by the Chinese workers of the South Manchuria Railway's Shahokou Iron Works, but this was soon dissolved by the Kwantung Government on account of its intrigue for a general strike in the Leased Territory and the South Manchuria Railway Zone and for having secret connexions with communistic unions in South China. The following are the representative unions of the Chinese labourers in the Leased Territory:— (1) The Dairen Builders' Union, organised in 1927 with 549 members. (2) The Chinese Young Men's Association of the Dairen Tram Car Service, established in 1923 with 400 members. (3) The Tatami Makers' Union of the Leased Territory, organised by 83 members. (4) The Seamen's Association of the Leased Territory, organised in 1928 by 120 members. (5) The Fishermen's Union of the Leased Territory was organised in 1930 by 350 Chinese, Korean, and Japanese members. Although they are called unions, these associations are very primitive in organisation, consisting of untrained members with little funds, and consequently they are not powerful enough to protect their own interests against their employers in the face of severe police restrictions. As the Labour Union Act has not come into force in this Territory, no labour unions in the ordinary sense have been officially recognised, and the above-mentioned associations are therefore classified as relief societies. From 1921 to 1930 there were only 75 cases of strikes or other labour disputes, on such a small scale that the largest number of labourers involved in any one case was only 200. In ordinary cases the disputes were generally settled by police arbitration, usually with un- favourable results to the labourers. Use of Foreign-style Machinery to make Goods previously imported:— (1) Cotton Mills: (a) A branch of the Naigaimen Company was established in 1924 at Chinchow, with 54,000 spindles. Its annual output in 1930 was 15,017 bales of cotton yarn. (6) A branch of the Fukushima Cotton Mill of Osaka was established in 1924 in the suburbs of Dairen, with 19,584 spindles. Its annual output in 1930 was 12,419 bales of cotton yarn. (2) Paper Mills: The Manchuria Paper Mill was established in 1920; its annual output in 1930 was valued at G. Yen 65,463. (3) Match Factories: A branch of the Japan Match Company was established in 1925; its production in 1930 was 17,400 cases, valued at G. Yen 135,221. DAIREN. 291 (4) Paint Factories: The Manchuria Paint Company was established in 1921 in order to utilise the abundant bean oil produced in Manchuria. In 1930, 10,613,628 pounds, valued at G. Yen 782,259, were manufactured. The paint produced is not only used locally, but is also imported into the interior and exported to China. (5) Soap: Manchuria Soap Manufacturing Company was established in 1921; its annual output in 1930 was G. Yen 111,800. (6) Glass: (a) The Shoko Glass Manufacturing Company was established in 1925; it produces only window glass, which during 1930 was valued at G. Yen 1,558,937. (b) The South Manchuria Glass Company was established in 1928 with capital chiefly subscribed by the South Manchuria Railway Company to produce higher grade glassware for table use and decorative purposes; its output in 1930 was valued at G. Yen 204,000. The glass manufacturing industry flourishes exceedingly, since both salt and silex are found locally in abundance. (7) Ajinomoto: The Showa Kogyo Company was established in 1927; its annual output in 1930 was 1,108 piculs, valued at G. Yen 195,195. (8) Confectionery: A branch of the Morinaga Confectionery Company of Tokio was established in 1927 principally to produce biscuits. Its output in 1930 was valued at G. Yen 152,032. Use of Foreign-style Machinery to make Goods previously made by Native Methods:— (1) Bean Oil and Cake: Most of the Japanese oil mills in Dairen have adopted the hydraulic pressure system, by which a far bigger percentage of oil can be extracted than by the use of native methods. An even more efficient scientific method which was developed by the Central Laboratory of the South Manchuria Railway—namely, the chemical extraction of oil by the use of benzine or benzol—has been adopted by only one mill in Dairen. By this method, more than 14 per cent. of oil can be extracted as against only 10 to 12 per cent. by the pressure system. The following table shows the annual production of beancake by the mills belonging to the Dairen Bean Mills Confederation: Pieces. Pieces. • 1921 . . 28,236,000 1926 . . 36,219,000 1922 . 26,772,000 1927 . 29,664,000 1923 . . 30,940,000 1928 . . 22,575,000 1924 . 27,530,000 1929 . 17,763,000 1925 . . 27,336,000 1930 . . 17,254,000 Note.—Bean oil is extracted in the proportion of approximately 5 eatlj<*s to each piece of beancake. 292 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. (2) Fire Bricks and Other Pottery: The Dairen Pottery Company, which was established in 1925, is the only factory which has replaced native methods by foreign, and its output for 1929 was 15,811 tons, valued at G. Yen 401,205. 7. Mines and Minerals.—Mines and Minerals in the Leased Territory.—Little progress has been made during the past 10 years, and although many experimental mines were opened in various districts, they were usually abandoned after a time, either because of poor deposits or as a result of the decreased demand due to unfavourable trade conditions. The following were some of the trial workings undertaken:— Gold: at Fuchiatun and Yuanchiatun, in the Pulantien district, and at Laotiehshan, in the Port Arthur district; Coal: at Tungchiakou, in the Chinchow district; and attempts were also made to mine iron, barite, and fluorspar, etc., but without much success. The only success worth noting from an economical point of view was in the production of dolomite and silica stone, while some progress was made with asbestos and fireclay. Dolomite, produced in the Dairen, Chinchow, and Port Arthur districts, is the chief mineral product of the Leased Territory, the output of which increased from 4,010 tons in 1921 to 88,336 tons in 1926 and 116,925 tons in 1930; the demand for this metal from the Yawata Iron Works has developed greatly during recent years, while more than 60,000 tons annually are used by factories in Japan and locally for making fire-bricks, cement compound, dolomitic cement, etc.; there is also some export to China and Korea. Silica stone, of which there are ample reserves in the Dairen .and Port Arthur districts, is used in the production of fire-bricks and for making glass, and its output has increased from 8,988 tons in 1921 to 19,724 in 1926 and an estimated 20,000 tons in 1930; in latter years about half the production is exported abroad, chiefly to Yawata Iron Works. Asbestos of superior quality is produced in the Chinchow district and has increased from 72 tons in 1921 to 110 tons during 1930. Fireclay has increased from 9,715 tons in 1921 to 52,544 tons during 1930, the demand from Yawata steadily developing on account of the cheap price of the local product as compared with Japan. The only other mineral to show any progress is limestone, which now has a yearly out- put of 292,068 tons as compared with only 47,050 tons 10 years ago. Coal.—Next to the railway, the most important South Manchuria Railway Company's undertaking is coal-mining at Fushun and Yentai. When the programme of mine develop- ment was first started in 1912 the Railway Company improved three old pits at Fushun and opened two new ones—the Oyama and the Togo pits—and increased the daily output from 360 to 5,000 tons. The second stage consisted in introducing open-cut workings at two places and opening three new pits; new sand-flushing methods were adopted, and DAIREN. 293 an electric railway constructed and supplied with power from a Mond gas-power plant. The result was that in 1918 the average daily output had risen to 7,000 tons, or 3 million tons annually. In order to meet the ever-increasing demand due to industrial expansion in Manchuria and Korea and to the development of the Anshan Iron Works, the so-called "Ten-year Programme" was drawn up in 1919 and modified in 1924. This constituted the third stage of development and called for the excavation of a large shaft at Lungfeng, an open cut to work the remaining seam extending from Kuchengtzu and Higashigaoka to the Yangpaipu rivulet, and the extension of the open cut at Chienchinchai to connect with the Kuchengtzu seam. With the completion of this scheme the annual output from Fushun, excluding Yentai, is expected to be over 8 million tons in 1933. The total production of the Fushun and Yentai mines has risen from 2.8 million tons in 1921 to 7 million tons in 1930, while sales in Manchuria, which increased from 2.2 million tons in 1921 to 3.5 million tons in 1928, fell to 3 million tons in 1930, due to the fall of silver and poor trade conditions and also largely to the strong competition afforded by Chinese coal, which was only countered by a positive selling policy introduced by the South Manchuria Railway Company during the last few years. Shale Oil Plant.—The European War demonstrated the importance of the fuel question in the life of a nation; in Japan the annual consumption of petroleum had risen from 350,000 tons in 1919 to a million tons in 1928, more than two-thirds of which was imported from abroad. To remedy this state of affairs the question of extracting shale oil by the dry distillation process was carefully studied at Fushun, and a shale oil plant was finally completed in November 1929. The first results came to hand in 1930, and show that 58,805 tons of fuel oil—as well as numerous bye-products, such as heavy oil, crude paraffin, and ammonia sulphate, etc.,—were produced from 1.1 million tons of oil-bearing shale. This production is likely to be greatly increased in the next few years, with the Japanese Navy as the chief customer. Iron.—In 1909 officials of the South Manchuria Railway Geological Institute discovered the presence of iron deposits near Anshan, and six years later development was made possible through a treaty with China. The first pig iron was produced in 1919, but great disappoint- ment was felt at the fall of the price level which had been abnormally high during the War. However, as only small quantities of this mineral are found in Japan, and her needs are great, the South Manchuria Railway Company continued to work the mines, although at a loss, and to the two blast furnaces—each with a daily capacity of 250 tons of pig iron—there was added a 500-ton furnace in 1930. At Penhsihu only one of the two 150-ton furnaces was in use up till 1929, when the other was also brought into service. The production of pig iron from these two works was increased from 88,000 tons in 1921 to 348,000 tons in 1930, while sales increased correspondingly from 87,804 tons to 200,091 tons in 1929, due to the positive selling policy adopted by the South Manchuria Railway Company, expom bting extended to Tientsin and Shanghai, and sales increased in Manchuria and Korea. During 1930, however, sales declined to only 162,492 tons, due to the industrial depression in Japan. 294 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 8. Communications.—Railways.—The lines operated by the South Manchuria Railway Company at present are as follows:— The Dairen-Changchun main line 707.2 kilometres. The Moukden-Antung main line 260.2 „ The Port Arthur branch line 50.8 The Yingkow branch line 22.4 The Yentai Colliery branch line 15.6 „ The Fushun branch line 52.9 „ The Hunho-Yushutai line 4.1 The Kanchingtzu line 11.9 „ Liushutun-Tafangshen (not yet opened to traffic) . 5.8 Total 1,130.9 kilometres. In September 1929 the whole line between Dairen and Changchun was double tracked. The resultant increase in business may be seen from the following figures:— 1921. 1930. Length of line open to traffic . . Kilometres 1,103.8 1,125.1 Passengers carried 6,926,619 8,115,808 Goods transported .... Kilogrammes 9,435,009 15,193,272 The rolling-stock has been increased by more than 36 per cent. during the past 10 years, as shown in the accompanying table:— 1921. 1930. Locomotives 347 466 Passenger cars 349 554 Freight cars 6,028 8,134 Total 6,724 9,154 The railway workshops at Shahokou, near Dairen, can repair simultaneously 27 locomotives, 36 passenger cars, and 130 freight cars, while at the same time constructing or repairing other railway material, mining machinery, etc. Another repair shop on a small scale, located at Liaoyang, was abolished on the 16th January 1930. The private railway line between Chinchow and Chengtzutuan, via Pitzuwo, is 102.1 kilometres in length and was opened to the public in October 1927. Rails laid down in the wharf compound increased in length from 72 kilometres in 1921 to 121 kilometres in 1931. Roads and Motor Transport.—In Dairen there are seven classes of wagon roads, namely, 150 feet (special road), 108 feet (1st class), 84 feet (2nd class), 60 feet (3rd class), 48 feet (4th class), 36 feet (5th class), and 18 feet and under (6th class). The sidewalks are usually paved with concrete blocks. Avenues have been constructed lined with trees, such as elms, poplars, acacias, etc., which, with flower beds, evergreens, and grass plots in the public squares, do much to beautify the city. In 1921 the Kwantung Government authorities drew up a general plan for the construction of roads throughout the Leased Territory, which was practically completed DAIREN. 295 within three years. To-day a team of two or three mules can draw a heavily laden cart which formerly needed four to eight mules. The construction of the Port Arthur-Suishiyei (Shuishih- ying) Road, which is a part of the main road between Port Arthur and Moukden, via Shusuishi (Choushuitzu), Kinshu (Chinchow), Pulantien, etc., was completed in 1928; it is 3,647 metres long and 13 metres wide, 7.4 metres being for motor-cars and 5.6 metres for carts. The coast road between Dairen and Port Arthur, which runs along the southern coast of the Leased Territory, is 28 miles in length and 9 metres wide, and was completed in October 1924. Motor transport between Pitzuwo and Pulantien (39.7 kilometres) was established in December 1923 under the direct control of the Kwantung Government. With the opening of the Kimpuku Railway in October 1927 causing a decrease in the number of passengers, the service between Pitzuwo and Chengtzutuan was abolished in April 1929, and the bus lines between Pitzuwo and Chiaohomiao (21.6 kilometres) in the Pulantien district were also abolished in August 1930. Bus services also run daily to Port Arthur, and about the city and suburbs, and the former run is very popular in summer. Aviation.—The Japan Air Transport Company opened a tri-weekly air-mail service between Dairen and Urusan, via Heijo (Pingyang) and Keijo (Seoul), in April 1929, and in September improved the line into a mail and passenger service between Dairen and Tokio (also on a tri-weekly schedule), the despatches taking place on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and the arrivals on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Fokker eight-seaters are the machines used. Since October 1930 this line has developed into a daily (except Sundays) mail and passenger service between Dairen and Tokio. Post Office.—The private courier guild system, though officially abolished in 1921, still remains in many districts to-day. The Japanese postal service functioning outside the Railway Zone, at places such as Sinmintun, Kirin, and elsewhere, was transferred in 1922 to the postal system of the Chinese Government as a result of the Washington Conference, and foreign postal agencies maintained in treaty ports by Britain, France, Japan, and the United States were abolished in conformity with the resolutions of the Washington Conference. The Republic of China was divided into 24 postal districts, and in the Manchurian area two districts were created, viz., Moukden and Kirin-Amur. The Communications Bureau of the Kwantung Government at Dairen stands at the head of 385 subordinate offices, controlling and conducting the postal, telegraph, and telephone systems together with money orders, postal savings, transfer savings, post office insurance, postal annuities, and the distribution of pensions. It also supervises the telegraphic and telephonic system for the use of the Government offices and those used by private parties, wireless telegraphs, wireless telephones, and other electric enterprises, and controls aviation. The progress made in postal matters in the Leased Territory and the Railway Zone under Japanese rule may be seen in the following table:— Ordinary Mails. Parcel Post. Despatched. Received. Despatched. Received. 1921 45,261,990 41,656,134 56,316,492 50,470,004 48,410,573 63,061,800 396,993 334,681 421,275 827,118 739,941 1,070,906 1926 1930 296 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The subscribers to post office insurance, which was established in November 1923, number 210,300, representing deposits totalling nearly G. Yen 39,767,000. Telegraphs and Telephones.—In 1930 Russia handed over all Russian telegraph lines in Manchuria outside the Chinese Eastern Railway Zone to China, receiving reimbursement to the amount of Mexican $120,000. By a decree issued on the 16th December 1929 by the Nanking Government the control of railways and telegraphs in Manchuria was entrusted to the Three Eastern Provinces Communications Bureau. In 1926 direct telegraphic connexion between Moukden and Shimonoseki was completed. As a result of negotiations between the Moukden authorities and the Kwantung Government, connexion between Chinese telephones at Tientsin, Peiping, Taonan, and Moukden and Japanese telephones at Dairen, Port Arthur, Antung, and Moukden was opened in 1926. Long-distance telephones between Moukden and Heijo (Korea) and between Antung and Chinnampo (Korea) were installed in October 1924, and between Moukden and Seoul in November 1925, and between principal places in Kwantung Leased Territory and places in Korea in June 1928. An automatic telephone system was installed in Dairen in April 1923, at Shahokou in April 1927, at Fushun in February 1929, in Moukden in July 1929, and in Changchun in September 1931. The number of local telephone subscribers in 1930 was 19,460. Wireless.—A wireless station (35 kilowatts) was installed in June 1922 at Liushutun, on the far side of the bay, for land communication. As the wireless station at Shatotzu, which had been established for communicating with vessels, was inconvenient in many respects, it was removed to Shahokou in May 1925, and the Dairen Bay Wireless Station was removed from Liushutun to Dairen in June 1926 and renamed the "Dairen Wireless Station"; the latter remains the despatching station, with Shahokou as the receiving station. Since the instalment of broadcasting equipment in Dairen in August 1925 the public have been daily enjoying both Japanese and foreign music, lectures, market and weather bulletins, and current news, at small expense. Due to the reasonable prices of radio receiving sets, the number of subscribers now totals 4,200. The improvement of radio programmes and receiving sets and the increasing skill in the art of broadcasting have also contributed to the popularity of the radio. 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—Lights, buoys, and beacons installed during the last 10 years are as follows:— Light on Gugan, approach to Dairen, installed in 1925. Light on Yento, approach to Dairen, installed in 1925. Light at Kohakushi on West Entry Point, Dairen Bay, installed in 1925. Night Anchorage Beacon Lights, about 1,350 yards eastward of East Wharf, Dairen Harbour (two fixed red lights, the rear light being about 1,420 feet inshore from the front light), installed in 1910 and altered in 1924. Light at the extreme end of the Kanseishi Breakwater, installed in 1930. Beacon Light on Kensho, Outer Bay, installed in 1928. Southern Light of East Entrance, northern extremity of East Breakwater, Dairen Harbour, installed in 1912 and altered in 1924. Northern Light of East Entrance, eastern extremity of North Breakwater, Dairen Harbour, installed in 1913 and altered in 1924. DAIREN. 297 Kanseishi No. 1 Lighted Buoy, installed in 1930. 2 3 4 ,i ,i 5 „ jj M n Beacon on KenshS, Outer Bay, installed in 1924. To-day the breakwaters total 3,981 metres in length, enclosing a harbour area of 9,850,000 square metres, with a depth of from 7 to 10.5 metres, while the quay and wharf lines total 4,941 metres and can accommodate at one time 37 vessels of an aggregate tonnage of 190,000 tons. In addition to this, the Junk Wharf can berth at one time about 100 junks. The equipment of the Port of Dairen includes 17 vessels (2,162 tons) for supplying coal and water, a coal-loading plant capable of handling 900 tons per hour, 75 warehouses and sheds of various kinds, with a total floor space of 378,000 square metres and a capacity of 500,000 tons, 12 1,500-ton bean-oil tanks, about 324,000 square metres of open storage ground, and 121,000 metres of railway sidings. The new coal pier at Kanseishi (Kanchingtzu), which was completed in July 1930, has mooring capacity for four 10,000-ton vessels, and is equipped as follows:— Breakwater, 980 metres. Berthing quay walls, 600 metres. Highway bridge, 345 metres. One car dumper (capacity 18,000 tons per hour). Four loaders (capacity 600 tons per hour). Two weigh bridges (capacity 90 tons). Six pier cars (capacity 65 tons). Two bridge transporters (capacity 280 tons per hour). Four electric locomotives (hauling capacity 40 cars). Railway lines in the compound, 32,000 metres. Coaling depot, 130,000 square metres. Coal storage capacity, 300,000 tons. This plant can handle four 10,000-ton ships at one time, and it is estimated that 3,800,000 tons of coal will be loaded annually. The construction and equipment of an extensive and commodious wharf pavilion with waiting-rooms for passengers, etc., was completed in October 1924. 10. Administration.—With the creation of the Japanese Colonial Ministry in 1929, supervision over the Kwantung Government with regard to general administration passed from the Prime Minister to the Colonial Minister; however, it was rumoured that in the interests of national economy the Colonial Ministry would be abolished as from the 16th December 1931, and that the Home Minister would be invested with powers of direct supervision over the Colonial Government, except in matters relating to international affairs—which would remain under the direct supervision of the Foreign Minister, as heretofore. This change has not as yet taken place, however. Another event of importance to the administration of the Kwantung 298 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Government occurred in December 1923, when the office of Chief of General Affairs—being virtually that of a Vice-Governor—fell a victim to the axe of national retrenchment; as a result the Governor was made responsible for all bureaux, departments, offices, etc., under him. The functions of the Governor are as follows:— Administration of the Kwantung Leased Territory; Police control over the South Manchuria Railway Area; Supervision of the South Manchuria Railway Company's business. The self-governing administration of the Kwantung Leased Territory is divided amongst two municipalities—Port Arthur and Dairen—and 69 villages. Although young in experience, both the former function smoothly and have charge of public hygiene, schools, welfare works, markets, slaughter-houses, public works, streets, and parks. The revenue of the Kwantung Government is derived from the land tax, salt tax, income tax, excise on liquor and tobacco, etc., supplemented by a tax on business and various miscellaneous levies, including a tax on increased land value. These are assessed and levied by the Civil Administrator's Office, and in 1928 amounted to the sum of 4.5 million yen. Administration expenses are paid from the Kwantung Government Special Account (appropriated from the National Treasury) and from the Local Account. There are so many items of expenditure involved in the administration of the Leased Territory and the Railway Area that the revenue from local sources is insufficient, and in addition to public levies, loans, and the grant from the General Account, assistance is also necessary to make good any deficit. Thus the budget for the year 1929 amounted to 24 million yen, with a deficit of 1.8 million yen, as regards the Special Account; as regards the Local List—administered by the Governor for the promotion of public welfare—the budget was 6 million yen, with a deficit of 1.4 million yen. 11. Justice and Police.—By virtue of the Treaty of Portsmouth concluded in 1905, Japan assumed the lease of the Kwantung Territory and took over the management of what is now the South Manchuria Railway from Russia. Japanese jurisdiction is therefore enforced not only in the Leased Territory but also in the Railway Zone, and the civil code of Japan is applied, with the necessary modifications to meet local conditions. Moreover, certain legislation of minor importance is entrusted to the Governor. The legal system of the Leased Territory is complete in itself, and a verdict in a civil or criminal case cannot be appealed against before another tribunal in Japan. In May 1923 the Public Procurator's Office was opened in the judicial courts with the Chief Public Procurator placed under the direct control of the Governor. The Leased Territory courts of law as at present constituted are as follows: District Court: Appellate Department (Court of Appeal); Cassation Department (Court of Cassation); Supreme Court. The number of civil cases handled by the local law courts during the past 10 years was 2,847 in 1921 and 3,123 in 1931 (January-June); while criminal cases totalled 843 in 1921 and 1,034 in 1931 (January-June). A comparatively small police force, totalling 2,942 men, efficiently maintains law and order in the Leased Territory and in the Railway Zone; of this number 1,292—consisting of 912 Japanese and 380 Chinese—are on duty in the Leased Territory, while 1,650—1,280 Japanese and 370 Chinese—are responsible for the Railway Area. At present there are eight police- DAIREN. 299 stations and 165 police-boxes within the Leased Territory, and 20 police-stations and 255 police- boxes outside, the latter including those attached to the Japanese Consulates throughout Manchuria. In 1921 there were 4,790 cases calling for either police examination or arrest, and in 1929 this number had risen to 10,175. 12. Military and Naval Changes.—Japan has always contended that in accordance with the stipulations of the Treaty of Portsmouth she is entitled to maintain a force with a maximum strength of 16,500 men as railway guards in Manchuria—15 men per kilometre— although actually this was the maximum figure, and both Japan and Russia agreed to limit the number of such guards to the minimum actual requirement; on the other hand China has refused to recognise the justice of this claim. In point of fact the Japanese forces in Manchuria, prior to the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese dispute on the 18th September 1931 at Moukden, consisted of one division with headquarters at Liaoyang, an independent garrison of six battalions at Kungchuling, a battalion of heavy artillery at Port Arthur, and a certain number of gendarmerie. At the end of 1922 two of the six independent battalions had been with- drawn in accordance with a policy of military retrenchment, but were restored in September 1929. The Liaoyang division is replaced every two years. The office of Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army—at present held by General Honjo—was instituted when the military supervision was abandoned. To preserve peace and safeguard the railway the Governor of the Kwantung Leased Territory can call upon the Commander-in-Chief to mobilise his troops, but in all other respects the latter is independent of civil control. Port Arthur is being relegated to the background and losing its place as an important naval base as years go by. The Eastern, or Inner, Harbour was retained as a secondary naval station until December 1922 when, consequent upon the calling of the Washington Conference, it was reduced into merely a naval defence force base, and as a result of financial stringency in Japan this corps was abolished in 1925. Consequently, the Japanese Navy to-day main- tains at Port Arthur only one light cruiser, one destroyer flotilla of four ships, and a wireless station. 13. Health and Sanitation.—The Kwantung Government maintains the Government hospital at Port Arthur, isolation hospitals at Dairen and Port Arthur, as well as hospitals exclusively for female patients. The South Manchuria Railway Company maintains 15 hospitals and six branch hospitals at Dairen, Moukden, and other cities along the railway. Especially noteworthy is the Dairen South Manchuria Railway Hospital, which can accommodate 600 patients in its magnificent buildings (the work commenced in 1923 and was completed in 1926 at a cost of over Yen 6,000,000); an average of more than 1,200 out-patients are treated daily. While each city has its quota of medical practitioners, the Kwantung Government maintains public physicians in the Leased Territory and the South Manchuria Railway Company does likewise in the Railway Zone, in order to meet public needs. The Red Cross Society of Japan has also been doing splendid work in both the Leased Territory and the Railway Zone, particularly among the Chinese. It maintains two hospitals, one in Dairen, established in 1929, and one in Moukden, and several branches. 300 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. In 1928 the South Manchuria Railway Company decided to establish a tuberculosis sanatorium at Hsiaopingtao, which is situated between Dairen and Port Arthur. Land for the use of the sanatorium covers about 30 acres. Construction was commenced in 1930 and is nearly completed. South Manchuria is generally a remarkably healthy region and free from endemic disease; nevertheless, considerable work has been done to ensure observation of ordinary measures of sanitation and to prevent introduction of epidemics, especially from other ports. The Kwantung Government and the South Manchuria Railway Company attend to the annual free vaccination of the inhabitants, inoculation against epidemics whenever such is deemed necessary, and inspection of drinking water and meat. Administration and quarantine regulations are enforced by the police and by the municipal or village authorities in the Leased Territory and by the South Manchuria Railway Company in the Railway Zone. Quarantine and other hygienic regulations in the harbours of Dairen and Port Arthur come under the jurisdiction of the Marine Bureau of the Kwantung Government. A modern sewage system is established at Dairen and Port Arthur, and the Kwantung Government and the South Manchuria Railway Company have spent over Yen 3,000,000 on its construction and maintenance. The Kwantung Government and the South Manchuria Railway Company have spent Yen 3,350,000 on the construction and improvement of highways, and as a result the roads to-day are in most cases well paved in modern style and are always kept clean. The new coast road between Dairen and Port Arthur, which runs along the southern coast of the Liaotung Peninsula, affords one of the most charming drives in the Leased Territory; it is 28 miles long and 30 feet wide and was completed in October 1924 at a cost of Yen 1,350,000. Waterworks at Dairen, Port Arthur, Chinchow, and Pitzuwo have been constructed and maintained by the Kwantung Government. The third stage in the programme was taken up in 1920 with the construction of the new reservoir at Lungwangtang, which was completed in 1925 at an estimated cost of Yen 4,680,000. The present total supply has been increased to 24,600 tons a day. In Port Arthur the daily average supply capacity is 3,200 tons, and at Chinchow, where the construction of the waterworks was completed in January 1926, the daily capacity is 2,200 tons. The Pitzuwo waterworks were completed in 1930 and have an output of about 400 tons. 14. Education.—From the beginning the educational system in the Leased Territory and the Railway Zone has been uniformly founded on the general educational scheme in force in Japan. Primary general education for young people starts at the age of 6 or 7 years, and lasts for five or six years; they then enter middle schools for higher general instruction, which normally lasts five years, after which they are admitted to the university preparatory course for two or three years, and finally graduate from the university course itself, which normally takes from three to four years to complete. Preliminary education is compulsory in Japan, but not in the Kwantung Leased Territory and the Railway Zone, where all children of school age attend voluntarily. Generally speaking, the same system is in force for Chinese, and the higher school grades are open to both Japanese and Chinese. In the junior grades, in consideration of language difficulties and other requirements, Japanese and Chinese children are educated separately. For those who wish to complete their education at an earlier age easier grade schools are provided for commercial, technical, and agricultural training. DAIREN. 301 In 1921 the number of primary schools for Japanese established locally was 15, with an attendance of 8,612; to-day there are 21, with an attendance of 14,753. There are also three boys' middle schools and four girls' high schools, with an attendance of 2,312 and 2,382 respectively. Of the above, the Dairen Second Middle School was opened in 1925 and the Hagoromo Girls' School in 1930. In the South Manchuria Railway Zone (including the Antung-Moukden line) there are (1931) 36 primary schools, with an attendance of 29,975, and four middle schools, with 1,720 boys. Three of the middle schools were established during the past decade, at Anshan (1923), Antung (1925), and Fushun (1923). There are also four girls' high schools for 1,665 girls. The Fushun Girls' High School was established in 1922, another at Changchun in 1923, and one at Antung during the same year. Schools for young people in the Leased Territory and the Railway Zone providing practical training for commercial and industrial professions are as follows:— The Kwantung Government Blind and Dumb School was opened at Dairen in 1929, and at present there are 19 dumb and two blind Japanese children being cared for. For the primary education of Chinese children there are 11 public schools, with an attendance of 9,227, in the Leased Territory, while in the Railway Zone there are 10 such schools for 3,139 children. The education imparted is similar to that in the primary schools for Japanese and opens the way for graduation to higher grades in middle schools, technical schools, etc. For Chinese children who prefer a simpler and more practical education there are 110 common public schools attended by 24,682 children. At these institutions more importance is attached to instruction in farming and business routine for boys and needlework, etc., for girls, and the schools are maintained at the expense of the village communities. The Kwantung Government established the Port Arthur Middle School in 1924 specially for Chinese boys, and there are 243 students. There is a similar institution at Moukden, called the "Nan Man Middle School," which was established by the South Manchuria Railway Company in 1917, and 394 Chinese boys are receiving instruction. Chinese boys are at liberty to enter other middle schools. Schools providing commercial and industrial training for Chinese in the Leased Territory and the Railway Zone are as follows:— Established. Students. Dairen Commercial School Dairen Girls' Commercial School. . . Dairen Commercial and Technical School Changchun Commercial School . . . 1910 1930 1922 1921 1,028 212 367 409 Established. Students. Leased Territory: Dairen Commercial School 1923 1923 78 89 Chinchow Agricultural School Railway Zone: Liaoyang Commercial School Yingkow Commercial School 1921 1913 20 31 302 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The South Manchuria Technical College at Dairen was established in 1922 by the South Manchuria Railway Company and has two departments—Constructive and Mechanical Engineering. The former is divided into four sections: architecture, civil engineering, mining, and agricultural engineering; the latter is similarly split up: electrical, machine construction, railway mechanical, and mining mechanical engineering. On the 1st May 1930 there were 229 students studying under 52 instructors. The Port Arthur Technical University was opened in 1926; entrants who are graduates of Japanese middle schools must first take up the preparatory course for three years. For the benefit of Chinese there is a class for the study of the Japanese language lasting one year, which must be attended previous to enrolment in the preparatory class. The University has three departments, namely, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mining and Metallurgy. On the 1st May 1930 there were 316 Japanese and 59 Chinese students under 100 faculties. The Manchurian Medical University—the former South Manchuria Medical College enlarged and promoted to the university standard in 1925—still maintains a college course of four years' duration for those who prefer a shorter and practical medical training to the full university course. Entrants to the latter must first take the preparatory course for three years. Chinese students receive instruction in the Japanese language for one year before enrolment in the preparatory class. On the 1st May 1930 there were 452 Japanese and 225 Chinese students in the University, which is financed by the South Manchuria Railway Company. The following table shows the expenditure on education by the Kwantung Government, the South Manchuria Railway Company, and the Dairen Municipality during the period 1922-31:— Kwantung South Manchuria Dairen Government. Railway Company. Municipality. G. Yen. G. Yen. G. Yen. 1922 1,734,672 3,603,085 191,671 1923 ....... 1,903,029 3,976,265 201,751 1924 2,113,209 4,729,618 234,905 1925 2,126,472 6,079,429 247,344 1926 2,293,382 5,688,910 261,597 1927 2,487,162 4,805,751 291,608 1928 2,601,932 4,178,849 291,691 1929 2,704,274 4,399,608 312,860 1930 2,991,564 4,654,001 299,859 1931 2,954,120 4,168,578 315,894 Total G. Yen 23,909,816 46,284,094 2,649,180 The figures of expenditure of other public and private educational institutions were unobtainable, but are, comparatively speaking, negligible. DAIREN. 303 15. Literature.—The following table of statistics shows the newspapers and periodicals in circulation in the Kwantung Leased Territory and the Railway Zone during June 1930:— General. Special. (i.e., Technical, Commercial, Religious, etc.). Daily. Weekly. Tri- monthly Other. Daily. Weekly. Tri- monthly Other. 11 3 1 18 4 25 9 4 4 6 2 131 41 23 34 3 1 22 34 8 8 172 The above include two published in English, seven in Chinese, and one in Korean, the remainder being in Japanese. 16. Population.—The Research Office of the South Manchuria Railway Company gives the following estimate of the area, population, and density of population of Manchuria according to provinces:— Area in Square Miles. Liaoning 90,224 Kirin 81,018 Heilungkiang 211,385 Total .... 382,627 Population. 14,988,560 9,075,630 5,133,730 29,197,920 Population per Square Mile, 31st December 1929. 166 112 24 76 (average). In addition to the above, the Jehol Special District—the eastern division of Inner Mongolia,—which was under the influence of the Manchurian authorities, has been converted into Jehol province, so that to-day Manchuria is called the "Four North-eastern Provinces"; the area of Jehol province is estimated at about 60,000 square miles, and its population at about 4,500,000. Although the indigenous peoples of Manchuria are Manchu and Mongolian, 90 per cent. of the present population of 29,000,000 are Chinese; the population in 1907 was estimated at from 16 to 22 millions, and the increase is in great measure due to the constant inflow of Chinese immigrants, and especially to the arrival of refugees in recent years. The average per square mile is 76, or about the same as in European Russia. According to the South Manchuria Railway Company's estimates made in 1929, the alien population of Manchuria includes 768,280 Koreans, 240,108 Japanese, 140,554 Russians, and 529 British, 384 Germans, 322 French, 290 American, and 1,733 other nationals. The Kwantung Leased Territory lies at the tail end of the Liaotung Peninsula, in which the Chien Shan Mountain Range ends. It possesses practically no plains and no large rivers, but the coast is greatly indented and provides two harbours with considerable natural advantages, Ryojun (Port Arthur) and Dairen. 304 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The area and population of the Kwantung Government District (the Leased Territory and South Manchuria Railway Area) at the end of July 1929 were as under:— Kwantung Leased Territory . South Manchuria Railway Area (Outside Leased Territory) Area in Square Miles. . 1,337 101 Total 1,438 Population. 862,662* 337,314 l,199,976t Density per Square Mile. 644 3,340 834 (average). *At the end of July 1929. t Not including 42,578 residing under Japanese jurisdiction. Immigration.—Many centuries ago Chinese and Koreans migrated to Manchuria, and especially after the Mings drove out the last great Mongol ruler in 1368 and occupied the southern part of Manchuria, hundreds of thousands of Chinese settled in the Liao Valley. The Manchu dynasty, after it had destroyed and superseded the Mings, adopted a drastic policy of excluding the Chinese from Manchuria by issuing a primitive form of passport, called lu-p'iao, without which no person could cross the border at Shanhaikwan. Although this and other exclusion laws existed nominally until 1905, when they were nullified by the military governor of Moukden, many Chinese, mainly from Shantung and Hopeh provinces, managed to enter Manchuria by sea, landing on the coast at points now occupied by Newchwang and Port Arthur, or sailing up the Yalu River by junk. It is quite natural that Manchuria, with its vast fertile plains but thinly settled, has attracted immigrants from the over-populated provinces of Hopeh and Shantung, to which remain but few resources capable of exploitation. After the Russo-Japanese War the extension of railways followed by agricultural and industrial development encouraged further immigration. The number of Chinese landed at Dairen, Newchwang, and Antung, or transported by the Peking-Moukden Railway during the period 1922-25 was estimated at from 400,000 to 500,000 a year, but the total increased considerably from 1926 onwards, as is shown by the following statistics supplied by the South Manchuria Railway Company's Research Office:— Dairen. YlnGKoW. Antung. Peiping-Moukden Railway. Total. No. Per cent. No. Per cent. No. Per cent. No. Per cent. No. 1923 172,014 40 77,087 18 46,577 11 138,011 31 433,689 1924 167,206 34 61,904 13 42,641 9 210,719 44 482,470 1925 197,392 37 96,647 18 40,740 8 197,991 37 532,770 1926 267,062 44 124,743 20 48,287 8 167,260 28 607,352 1927 599,452 51 182,558 15 68,599 6 327,645 28 1,178,254 1928 506,553 54 152,556 16 52,703 6 226,660 24 938,472 1929 512,947 49 148,557 14 53,557 5 331,210 32 1,046,271 1930 388,046 52 116,800 15 49,575 7 193,792 26 748,213 The decrease during 1930 was due to improved conditions in Shantung and to uneasiness in North Manchuria after the Sino-Russian conflict in 1929. DAIREN. 305 Of the immigrants arriving during the 1922-25 period more than 50 per cent. were merely seasonal labourers who returned to their homes in the late autumn, when the harvest work was finished, and rather less than half remained as permanent settlers in Manchuria; but the civil war and disturbances in China during 1926, 1927, and 1928 resulted in an enormous influx of refugees, most of whom arrived practically destitute and with no definite destination, but urged on by the hope of finding safety in the North. Everything possible is done to assist the immigrants; the railways provide transportation at reduced rates, while Chinese guilds and other charitable institutions assist them while they are finding their feet. The South Manchuria Railway Company's Fushun collieries encouraged Chinese immigration immediately after the European War by establishing recruiting offices in Shantung and at Shanhaikwan, and in 1925 the South Manchuria Railway offered Chinese immigrants reduced fares of but 40 per cent. of the ordinary tariff, and since the 1st April 1927 has given free passages to children under the age of 15 and to persons over 60. The Chinese Eastern Railway also provided free transportation to children under the age of 10 and persons above the age of 60, while the Peking-Moukden Railway gave free transportation to children under the age of 12. 17. Civil Disorders.—In spite of the enforcement of stringent regulations by the Kwantung Government smuggling of arms and ammunition flourished in this district during the period from 1925 to 1929. The police authorities from time to time carried out a forcible and wholesale examination of suspicious cargoes arriving by steamer, and also instituted house- to-house searches, with the result that a large amount of contraband was seized; but even greater quantities appear to have escaped discovery by the police. Moreover, despite the vigilance of the Customs, smuggling into the interior was constantly attempted, encouraged by the large profit when successful. However, since the latter part of 1930, the smuggling of arms has abated considerably and only a few cases have come to light recently. The seizures of arms and ammunition made by this office during the decade under review were as follows:— Arms Ammunition (Chiefly Pistols). (Chiefly Pistol Cartridges). Pieces. Rounds. 1922 73 5,573 1923 42 2,931 1924 1925 630 56,414 1926 508 49,883 1927 736 123,581 1928 815 77,479 1929 873 88,975 1930 145 11,100 1931 2 500 Total 3,824 416,436 Of the above amount, about one half was discovered on the persons and in the baggage of rail- way travellers, and the remainder was found concealed in railway cargoes for the interior. 20 306 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Except during 1924, the traffic in narcotics was not very noticeable during the past 10 years, though petty cases were occasionally reported, and the total amount of narcotics seized by the Customs was: morphia and cocaine, 6,878.79 taels; opium, 7,111.20 taels. As mentioned in the Annual Report for 1930, Pulantien, the terminal railway town on the frontier of the Kwantung Leased Territory, was long the headquarters of the illicit traffic in piece goods, which were carried to Pulantien from Dairen by rail, and thence taken to Wafangtien, a railway town in the interior, across the border by horse-drawn carts under cover of night. In May 1927 this office, assisted by the local police authorities, was successful in seizing an enormous quantity of cotton textiles in this border region. This was a severe set-back to the smugglers, and, in consequence, smuggling on a large scale ceased for a time; however, after March 1928 increased activity was noticed, and after February 1929, when the Revised Import Tariff was introduced, it became conspicuously active, as could be inferred from the South Manchuria Railway Company's statistics of goods traffic at the two railway stations, Pulantien and Wafangtien. In December 1929 the Chief of Police of the Kwantung Government took up the matter at the request of the Customs and called a meeting of merchants, the head of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, local forwarding agents, and police officers stationed at the frontier at the Pulantien police office, and declared that any one who should subsequently be proved to be engaged in smuggling would be deported from the Leased Territory. Thanks to this vigorous measure, smuggling across the frontier by carts has declined considerably, but smuggling by sea appears to have taken its place to a great extent. Frequent reports have been received of the clandestine landing from junks of large quantities of native copper cents at Laohutan, and of the illegal shipping of foreign sugar and oil by junks from Hsiaopingtao and Lungwangtang. There is good reason to believe that a proportion of these smuggled goods were carried to Shantung, while a large quantity were landed at Yenchang, on the western coast of Fuchow, and then carried overland to Hsungyuehcheng and Luchiatun on the South Manchuria Railway Company's main line, whence they were imported to Chang- chun by rail. The above places being beyond the Customs control the matter was reported to the Chief of Police of the Kwantung Government, who eventually decided to take some measures for the prevention of this irregular trade. The Leased Territory coast-line being exclusively under the control of the Kwantung Government, the Dairen Customs have not been permitted to introduce any preventive system. As regards the maintenance of peace and order on the coast, there are 44 police-boxes in addition to the Marine Police Office. These police-boxes are established in the principal villages on the coast and are under the control of the land police stations. For the purpose of checking piracy and carrying out rescue work, the Marine Police Office has two armed cruising launches equipped with wireless, one of 110 tons stationed at Dairen, and the other of 70 tons at Port Arthur. Until recently these launches used to patrol the territorial waters, but in view of the absence of piracy at present, they are moored at their respective stations and kept ready for commission at a moment's notice. Unlike other parts of the Leased Territory, the Pitzuwo district, on the coast at the north-eastern extremity of the frontier, was long infested by bandits, who mostly had their DAIREN. 307 haunts in Hsiaochiapo, a native village on the other side of the Pili River, which forms the boundary, and plundered merchants in this region; the Changshan Islands also harboured pirates. In 1922 a gang of some 40 men, under the leadership of the notorious bandit, T'ang Tzu-ming, made their appearance at the mouth of the Pili River, and, although attacked by the Pitzuwo police assisted by an armed launch, succeeded in escaping. In 1923 64 cases of robbery with violence were reported, and during the spring two police-boxes near Pitzuwo were attacked and the offices of a salt company raided, one policeman being killed and three Japanese kidnapped. In June T'ang Tzu-ming was reported to be hiding in a house near Pitzuwo and, after the place had been surrounded, the police attacked it in force, and in the ensuing battle T'ang Tzu-ming and seven of his men were killed and five policemen injured. This news proved a severe shock to other bandits, and a company of troops having been again stationed at Pitzuwo, order was restored for the time. However, in the same month bandits looted the home of a wealthy merchant at Changchiatun, 40 li west of Pitzuwo, seizing eight rifles and taking away 13 members of the family as hostages. The police gave chase in motor- cars, and, overtaking them south of Fuhsien, they promptly opened fire, killing eight bandits and rescuing all the hostages. 1925 was also a bad year, though nothing outstanding occurred. In the spring of 1926 a patrol boat and several junks manned by police cruised in coastal waters looking for pirates, but saw none; a further patrol was carried out in the following month, also without success. In 1927 and 1928 brigandage was rife at Chengtzutuan and Tunglaotan, many shops being sacked and several wealthy merchants receiving threatening letters. During 1929, while Chief Judge Anju of the Dairen District Court and party were inspecting a house not far from Chuangho in connexion with a criminal case, they were suddenly fired on by five bandits hiding in the house, the judge being killed outright and a policeman wounded. In 1930 the police force was augmented, and a great improvement took place in communications, so that brigandage gradually died out and this year was entirely peaceful. Dairen, 31*r December 1931. J. FUKUMOTO, Commissioner of Customs. NEWCHWANG 1. Trade.—The fall of exchange during the decade under review had the effect on the trade of the port of ruining, for some time past, any chance of competition with the ports of Antung and Dairen, where the currency is gold yen. The currency depreciation after the Great War in Europe, with its aftermath of surplus of stocks and financial restrictions of credit and circulation, seriously impaired trade. The continuous hostilities between the provinces of Liaoning and Hopeh brought about the chaotic state of the local money market, especially with regard to feng-p'iao (Ifsi IH), which is the currency of South Manchuria, and which is covered by little or practically no silver reserve. Thus the business of the port was brought practically to a standstill for the greater part of the year 1922. The feng-p'iao at this time was Feng-p'iao $190 = Mexican $100. The local exchanges were badly affected by the excessive rains and floods in South Manchuria in 1923 and by the outbreak of hostilities in September 1924. From this time on feng-p'iao notes fluctuated very widely, until finally, in 1929, financial dealings were conducted more and more in Mexican dollars. This was largely due to the new circulation of bank-notes issued by the Frontier Bank. The face value of these notes was well maintained. During the latter part of the year the Banking Syndicate of Moukden considered ways and means of relieving the tightness of money generally. Finally, it was decided that the banks should undertake the advance of loans. The exchange tael, which made possible the purchasing of goods on credit, was restored somewhat to its former usefulness by the super- vision, during 1929, of a special bureau, but, in spite of this, inland merchants were afraid to avail themselves of this means of conducting their business. The bank-notes issued by the Frontier Bank, the Joint Deposit Treasury of the Four Banks, and the Bank of the Three Eastern Provinces, though acceptable at par on the market, have to pay a premium of $10 per mille if negotiated for silver through the local exchange mediums. It is reported that the Frontier Bank and the Joint Deposit Treasury of the Four Banks have each issued bank-notes to the value of $15,000,000. The amount issued by the Bank of the Three Eastern Provinces is not ascertainable. No notes are issued by the Bank of China in Yingkow, but notes of the Tientsin issue are not only accepted at par, but are sometimes at a premium over silver dollars. These Tientsin notes are highly valued by the local public, who not only hoard them in preference to any other silver currency note, but are reluctant to release them for circulation. As the gold yen is employed as the principal currency in the Eastern Provinces for trading with Japan, it is very widely used. The lifting of the gold embargo in Japan, which was followed by the unprecedented surplus of silver on the European money markets, has forced the gold price of silver exchange up to an unprecedentedly high rate. The gold yen rose from its normal exchange of G. Yen 75.60 = Mexican $100 to a point where it fluctuated around G. Yen 50 = Mexican $100. On the reimposition of the gold embargo, however, in December 1931, the gold yen again fell, and the year ended with it standing at 75. The numbers of Japanese notes in circulation in the Eastern Provinces are as follows: the Chosen Bank notes amount to about G. Yen 30,000,000, and the silver yen notes of the Yokohama Specie Bank to about Silver Yen 20,000,000. Only gold yen and silver yen notes are used locally, and there is no other foreign currency in circulation. The former amount to G.Yen 1,000,000, and the latter to Silver Yen 300,000. In 1925 the trade of the port began to 310 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. revive. The establishment of new weaving factories and dye-houses caused an increase in the amount of foreign dyes used locally. Among other commodities, a greater demand was shown in woollen piece goods for the wealthier Chinese in the inland places. The demand for metals and minerals for the Moukden Arsenal increased considerably. In spite of foreign tobacco companies growing the plant in China to suit the Chinese taste, quite a number of Chinese brands of cigarettes, manufactured locally by the Japanese Toa Tobacco Company and by the Nanyang Brothers, are on sale. The anti-British movement in Shanghai, which started at the end of May 1925, hampered trade considerably. Shipments by British steamers were practically impossible, and a temporary deadlock in the trade of the port ensued. The time has not yet arrived for native goods entirely to take the place of foreign imported commodities. The direct foreign trade of Newchwang was principally with Japan and was mostly in the hands of Japanese merchants. In 1930, however, a few prominent Chinese merchants got together and tried to start direct business transactions with imports from Japan, but found the fluctuations in the gold yen exchange beyond them. This attempt, therefore, to do without the intermediary foreign firms was futile. It will be seen how hopeless trade conditions became by the fact that the average rate of exchange for gold yen during the year 1931—until the political crisis in September—was G. Yen 1 = Mexican $2.20. This bad exchange hit the South Manchuria Railway Company very hard, as, owing to the fall of silver, merchants ceased to send their goods by the Japanese railway and changed over to the Peiping-Liaoning Railway. This brought the receipts of this line up from practically nothing to some millions a month, much to the detriment of the port of Dairen. 2. Shipping.—The number of vessels entered and cleared under General Regulations increased by some 62 per cent. as compared with the previous decade. This increase was due to the development of the Shaw Hsing Steamship Company putting on four steamers on the Shanghai-Newchwang run and to other companies doing the same owing to the enhanced export of cereals, beans, beancake, and Fushun coal to Hongkong, Japan, and coast ports. Japanese shipping, which showed the highest percentage for the previous decade, fell off very slightly to 34 per cent., giving Chinese shipping the highest percentage, i.e., 36 per cent., and the British 22 per cent. The two strikes experienced by the China Navigation Company handicapped the company considerably. After the European War no German steamer entered this port until the year 1924. The largest vessel to enter this port during the past 10 years was the American steamer Radnor, 5,598 tons, loaded with general cargo. The number of steamers entered and cleared under Inland Waters Steam Navigation Rules was satisfactory, showing a 25 per cent. increase over that for the preceding decade. This increase was due to the Chinese steamship companies putting more steamers on the Tengchow (Shantung)-Newchwang run. Moreover, many of the Chinese steamers which visited the port during the last two years carried beans and beancake for inland places situated in the South (Fukien and Kwangtung). The passenger traffic between inland places and Newchwang has increased considerably. 3. Revenue.—The principal feature of the revenue collection at the Maritime Customs during the decade under review has been its violent fluctuations in the first half of the period and the steady increase in the following years. The collection jumped from Hk.Tls. 965,979 in the opening year of the decade to Hk.Tls. 1,199,638 in the next. This increase was attribut- able to the general peaceful conditions in the district and more particularly to the Revised Import Tariff which came into force in January of that year. In 1924 the collection fell to Hk.Tls. 930,641, in sympathy with the civil war that broke out in this part of the country in NEWCHWANG. 311 September. The resumption of trade after the civil war, coupled with a good harvest, brought up the collection in 1925 to Hk.Tls. 1,289,735, while 1926, with such reverse conditions as the failure of crops and fluctuation in the money market, contributed only Hk.Tls. 1,086,103. With the exception of a slight drop in 1927, the revenue collection has since followed an upward trend. Famine relief surtaxes have been excluded in the above figures. By far the most important event, from the point of view of revenue, of these 10 years, if not of the whole past history of the Maritime Customs Service also, was the introduction from the 1st February 1929, of the first National Import Tariff and simultaneously of the Customs gold units as the basis for the collection of import duties, being the outcome of a series of treaties regulating the tariff concluded between China and the leading Powers of the world from 1928 to 1930. Until the 1st August 1931 gold unit import duties were all collected in local silver currencies at current rates of exchange, while thereafter part of such revenue was actually collected in gold units of the Central Bank of China. The total revenue collection in 1931 (excluding flood relief surtax) was Hk.Tls. 3,792,466 (to which the new interport duties contributed 43 per cent.), an advance of 209 per cent. on the figures of 1922. 4. Currency and Finance.—The financial conditions in Newchwang during the decade have been very bad. The continued issue of unlimited feng-p'iao by the Provincial Bank of the Three Eastern Provinces with a very small silver reserve had a most detrimental effect on the port financially. Naturally, the face value of the feng-p'iao fell considerably. The average exchange rate in 1922 was feng-p'iao notes $155 = 8100, with a tendency to fall violently. At last the provincial authorities in 1929 were obliged to rule that the rate was to stand at Feng-p'iao $6,000 = $100. These notes were used in the place of subsidiary coins, as there were no silver coins to be had on the market. However, conditions became so bad at last, from the issue of feng-p'iao at such a low face value, that the provincial banks lost no time in putting into circulation their big dollar notes, which appeared on the market in the winter of 1929. These notes were at par with silver dollars. Although both the Provincial Bank of the Three Eastern Provinces and the Frontier Bank had their branch offices in Newchwang, the notes issued by them could only be nominally cashed into silver dollars at their head offices in Shenyang, as there was a restriction on hard dollars leaving the last named place. These notes are, however, accepted by the Government institutions in payment of duties and taxes. This being so, these notes were certain to depreciate on the market. The Japanese gold yen notes play a very prominent part in the finance of Newchwang, and, indeed, in the finances of the whole of the Three Eastern Provinces, as it is the currency in which business is transacted between the Chinese and Japanese merchants. Moreover, the major part of the imports and exports of Newchwang are handled by the Japanese merchants. For a time after the great earthquake in Japan in 1923 gold yen notes depreciated in an unprecedented way and reached the lowest recorded figure of G. Yen 149 = $100. This did not last very long—the rise in gold yen has already been referred to. It should also be taken into account that the liquidation of the Russo-Asiatic Bank at this port in 1927 caused the Japanese currency to become a very influential financial factor in business circles in the port. In 1931 the number of yin-lu was five. The Tung Kee Yin Lu, which started its business in 1924, was declared bankrupt in 1930, with the result that a great number of concerns declared themselves also bankrupt or carried on in a precarious way. The Chinese Chamber of Commerce exerted every effort in their power to save the Tung Kee Yin Lu from bankruptcy, but without avail. During the decade under review the tael exchange did not play an important part in the business 312 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. transactions of the port, as was the case heretofore. Merchants in the interior were reluctant to take advantage of the benefits offered by the yin-lu on account of the violent fluctuations of the market. The highest rate ever recorded was Taels 4,500 = Shanghai Tls. 1,000. 5. Agriculture.—Generally speaking, no changes have taken place in agricultural methods in Manchuria. The methods of cultivation are still very primitive. The farmers, the most conservative of a conservative people, find it very difficult to adopt new methods of cultivation. During the decade under review attempts were made to adopt modern methods of agriculture, but the people were satisfied to allow things to remain as they had been for generations past and were content with their primitive agricultural implements: the simple plough, with one handle and a rough, steel-tipped tiller, drawn by a quaintly mixed team of oxen, mules, and donkeys. A great deal of land still remains to be broken, which could be turned to good account. The main crops-produced in Manchuria are: wheat, kaoliang, rice, millet, maize, perilla seeds, cotton seeds, hemp seeds, beans, and peas. The one outstanding feature is the bean industry, which has developed during the decade by leaps and bounds. In South Manchuria beans are cultivated almost entirely by hand methods. New methods have been adopted farther north in Manchuria in the preparation of bean oil and beancake. In Yingkow there is one Japanese hydraulic bean mill, and many large Chinese steam-mills, and oil-motor mills, besides the crush-stone mills, which are worked by animals. With the reduced tariff rates on bean oil and beancake, the export trade in these products has increased enormously. Owing to the greater prosperity of the Manchurian farmers, due to better profits in recent years from good harvests, import trade has on the whole been stimulated to an extraordinary degree, although the last years of the decade witnessed a slump owing to the world-wide depression. 6. Industrial Development.—During the decade under review there is very little to report under this heading. Owing to the high cost of foreign goods, due to the depreciation of silver in the last couple of years, a large quantity of fadeless cloth has been manufactured locally. Dye-works and a weaving mill for turning out striped shirtings, part dyed, have been established. The general index figures for commodities show a decrease of 40 to 45 per cent. as compared with the same period in 1930. The wages for labourers and skilled workmen have fallen to a third of the wages paid in 1930, viz., the daily wage for carpenters and masons is now $0.90 as compared with $1.20 last year. Labour unions and strikes are as yet unknown. The old system of "guilds" is still in existence and controls the various trades. The mills for the weaving of grey shirtings, towels, and ankle-bands have foreign machinery installed. It is practically all Shanghai-made. The old-established institutions are using Japanese-made plants. Hand-machines for the making of socks and ankle-bands are gradually being supplanted by electrically driven motors, with the result that there is a much larger output. It is interesting to note that the mule-worked rollers in all crushing and grinding mills, which have been in use for generations, have been superseded by electric machinery. This is more noticeable in bean mills, where electrical power is the order of the day, and where old- fashioned cauldrons for steaming the beans, and hand-screw presses are no longer to be seen. The cotton-spinning mill, the building of which was planned for last year, was completed, and the installation of the machinery began at the end of 1931. The only cigarette factory is the Toa Cigarette Factory, a Japanese concern. The company manufactures 17 brands of cigarettes, for sale in China, and one brand, valued at Hk.Tls. 80 per picul, sold only in Japan. The daily average output of the factory is 2,714,400 pieces. The prices range from $0.02 per NEWCHWANG. 313 10 pieces to $0.06 per 10 pieces, and from G. Yen 0.01 per 10 pieces to G. Yen 0.14 per 20 pieces. The number of hands employed is 714. In order to finish up the materials which were not used in 1929, the match factories reopened on the 22nd February 1930 under most unfavourable conditions, which were caused by the competition of the Swedish Match Factory, Kirin. The opening market price was G. Yen 6 per box of 240 packets The profit on this is only 20 or 30 cents. Owing to the gradual reduction in price of these Swedish matches, the native-made article had to follow suit, and it was found that all demand for the latter article would soon cease. In such circumstances it was agreed among the managers of the Newchwang factories that work should cease at the end of June. On the 29th December the three local match companies, the Kwantung, Sheng Sheng, and Sanming, lost still more of their business to the Swedish Match Factory Company, Kirin. This loss of business was aggravated by the unprecedentedly bad state of the silver market. Further, these companies still had on hand stocks amounting to 35,000 packages of matches, with no prospect of selling them. The total number of hands thrown out of work was 1,500 male and female, and, to make matters worse, this occurred just before China New Year 1931. With the establishment of the Provincial Government Match Monopoly early in the same year, however, the sale of Swedish matches was much curtailed. 7. Mines and Minerals.—Under this heading coal takes the first place of importance, and during the decade under review the output has increased tremendously. The principal coal mine is the Fushun, situated about 20 miles from Moukden, on a branch line running to the mines from Suchiatun station on the South Manchuria Railway main line. The second mine of importance is the Peipiao, situated about 20 miles to the north-east of Chaoyang prefecture in Jehol province, on a branch line from Chinchow, on the Pei-Xing Railway. Iron, in recent years, has come to the fore. Gold, silver, lead, copper, and clay are also found. With the exception of clay, it does not pay to work these deposits, owing to the small amount of deposit and the heavy cost of transport. The early history of the Fushun mines is an interesting one. In the fourteenth century we find the deposits being worked by Koreans, who were later superseded by Chinese and Russians. Finally, after the Russo-Japanese War, the mines came into Japanese possession. They are the largest in the East. The coal seam is interbedded for a length of 10 miles from east to west, and, for a breadth of 1.5 miles from south to north, covering altogether an area of 23 square miles. The seam at its thickest part is about 437 feet, and at its thinnest part is about 60 feet, the average thickness being 130 feet. The interbedded coal is estimated at 1,000,000,000 tons. It is interesting to note that the hanging wall of the coal seam consists of bituminous oil-shale of a dark brown colour, 300 feet thick, containing 2 to 14 per cent. of oil, which serves as an excellent material for the petroleum industry'. The output of coal at the Fushun mines, at the time of their transfer to the Japanese hands, was only 300 tons per day. Since this time the output has reached 7,300,000 tons in the year 1929. The exports to China alone amounted to 1,224,733 tons. Fushun coal has a massive form, with a fine black lustre; it contains few impure matters and is generally uniform in quality. The coal is bituminous, and was formed in the tertiary period. It is rich in volatile matter; burns slowly and well, with a long flame; is rich in nitrogen, but sulphur and ash are scarce. It has been, above all, well recognised that the ash is quite fire-proof and that the coal does not form clinkers. It will be seen, therefore, that Fushun coal, having earned fame both in Japan and abroad, is in great demand. The ports of shipment are Kangchingtze, opposite the port of Dairen, Port Arthur, and Yingkow. Peipiao coal has also come to the fore, although not nearly to so great an extent as Fushun coal. 314 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Iron Mines.—The principal mines are those about Anshan, where the Anshan Iron and Steel Works of the South Manchuria Railway Company and the Kung Chang Ling Pass are situated. The mines are 12 miles south of Liaoyang and within 5 miles of the iron foundry. The Miaoerhkou belt is situated 5 miles from the Nanfen station, on the Moukden line. The iron ore is transported by a light railway for a distance of 20 miles to the Penhsihu Iron Foundry. There is an automatic endless-rope system installed at the mine to convey the ore to the terminus of the light railway. These are not the only mines. There are some in the north-eastern part of the Yalu Valley, along the Upper Taitzu, east of Penhsihu, and also in the Kwantung Leased Territory, but on account of the lack of transportation facilities and limited quantity of the mineral, which is of but poor quality, it does not pay to work these mines. Lead and copper are found in different districts, but the deposits found are small, and it would not be a paying proposition to try to work them on a large scale. Fire-clay is found in Yentai, on the South Manchuria Railway line, and is worked by the South Manchuria Railway Company. There are also deposits at Fuchowwan, on the east coast of the Gulf of Liaotung. Gold is found in the Heilungkiang province in fairly large quantities. Work can be carried out only during the summer months, on account of the cold in the winter. Manganese is found near the Tungyiianpu station, on the Antung-Moukden line; also at Hsingcheng, on the Peiping-Moukden line. Magnesite is found at Tashihkiao and Tapingshan and is worked by Japanese and exported to Japan. Mining has developed very considerably in Manchuria during the past decade, mainly under Japanese and Sino-Japanese management. 8. Communications.—The South Manchuria Railway and the Peiping-Liaoning Railway are the two main railways. The South Manchuria Railway, originally the southern portion of the Chinese Eastern Railway, was begun in 1897 and was surrendered by Russia to Japan in 1905, after the Russo-Japanese War. The main line runs from Changchun to Dairen, a distance of 437.5 miles, and has a branch line from Tashihkiao to Newchwang, 14 miles long. The ports of Dairen and Newchwang, both situated on the sea, play a very important part in the exportation of beans, kaoliang, and other grains brought down by the South Manchuria Railway from the interior. However, the rise of the gold yen—the currency used on the South Manchuria Railway—in the early part of 1931 brought about a large falling off in freights. This greatly benefited the Pei-Ning Railway, much to the detriment of the former railway. This state of prosperity lasted until about the middle of September 1931, when the Japanese occupied both sides of the Liao River, owing to the critical situation in Moukden on and after the 19th September 1931. During recent years the following branch lines have been built: Feng-Hai, Fengtien to Hailung City; Sze-Tao, Szepingkai to Taonanfu; Tao-Ang, Taonanfu to Angangki; Ta-Tung, Tahushan to Tungliao. These branch lines helped very considerably when merchants could no longer afford to send their goods by the South Manchuria Railway, on account of the high rate of the gold yen as compared with the silver dollar rate for freight on the Pei-Ning Railway. A new branch line of the Moukden- Hailungcheng Line is contemplated, to run from Chaoyangchen to Fushun, via Hwaian and NEWCHWANG. 315 Mengkiang. Surveys have been already completed, and work was put in hand in the spring of 1930. Judging by present circumstances, it seems as though it would not be very long before a system of railways, such as the line from Changchun eastwards to Tunhua, via Kirin, consisting of the Kirin-Changchun and the Kirin-Tunhua line, is completed. When these two Chinese railways are connected up with the three other lines, viz., the Kirin-Hailungcheng, the Moukden-Hailungcheng, and the Peiping-Moukden lines, they will together constitute a line competing with the South Manchuria Railway lines. These lines run through the province of Kirin. The staple product of this province is lumber, cereals and minerals coming next in importance. It so happens that the Kirin Provincial Bank, having control over two-thirds of the entire forest area of the province and holding this as security for the Kirin notes, has enforced a ban on the felling of timber, thus causing a great decrease in timber freights carried by the Chinese and by the South Manchuria Railway lines. In Newchwang there are only two good roads of any importance in the business centre. One is the Tou Tao Kai (Yung Shih Kai), and the other the Erh Tao Kai. The Tou Tao Kai road has recently been remade and compares quite well with the one in the Japanese Concession, which is a continuation of it. The Tou Tao Kai road is the best in the business centre. The Erh Tao Kai is a paved road, having been built some 20 years ago for heavy traffic. This last-mentioned road was also repaired in the autumn of 1931. There is a so-called motor road from Newchwang to the country places of Tienchwangtai, Kaiping, and Newchwang old city, at a distance of 40 li, 70 li, and 100 li respectively. This road is only a very roughly made one, although motor-buses run daily. In 1924 an aerodrome was erected in the southern part of Newchwang, at a place called Wutaitzu. The object was to fly an aeroplane to carry mails between this place and Moukden, but, on account of the heavy expenditure entailed and for want of enough support, the scheme was soon given up. There are two post offices in Newchwang, the Chinese Post Office, situated near the Custom House, and the Japanese Post Office in the Japanese Concession. The Parcel Post Service as far as Moukden and places beyond the South Manchuria Railway is dealt with by the Chinese Post Office. International parcels from Japan to places within the Kwantung Leased Territory are handled by the Japanese Post Office. During the decade under review commercial goods sent by parcel post increased considerably. 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—Light-vessel.—The characteristics of the light- vessel Newchwang remain the same. This vessel was moved from its old position on the 18th April 1931. The new position being: Bar Signal Station bears N. 57£° E., magnetic, distance (approximate) 10.2 miles. Buoys.—The three 6-foot iron buoys which formerly marked the channel over the bar were discontinued on the 23rd September 1928, and three Aga acetylene gas buoys were placed in positions so as to enable shipping to cross the bar at night. Particulars as follows:— (1) Entrance Buoy, gas-lighted, painted black, showing a white flash light every 3 seconds. In 10 feet of water. (2) Middle Buoy, gas-lighted, painted red, showing a red flash light every 3 seconds. , In 10 feet of water. (3) Inner Buoy, gas-lighted, painted black, showing a white flash light every 3 seconds. In 13 feet of water. 316 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The Middle Bank is marked by a 6-foot iron buoy (red) as formerly, moored in 15 feet of water. All the above four buoys are taken in during the close season, and spar buoys, of the same colours as the iron buoys, placed in same positions. Beacons.—The fixed beacons are as before. There are six beacons marking the training- wall. These beacons are taken down during the close season and spar buoys are placed inside and abreast of these positions to mark the same danger. Conservancy.—During the past 10 years a great deal of valuable work has been carried out by the Conservancy engineers. Upper Liao.—In 1924 it was decided to cut a channel from the Shwangtaitze at Erhtaokiao to the Liao at Kiahsintze, placing a control weir across the Shwangtaitze at Erhtaokiao. The weir is provided with a lock for navigation and consists of seven sluice-gates, giving a total opening width of 260 feet. The cutting is 14 miles long. Originally intended to be 180 feet wide at the bottom, lack of funds did not allow of such a large cross-section, but it was hoped that, by judicious operation of the gates, the cross-section would gradually be increased. During the past two years the weir and cutting have been in operation, with the result that junks can again navigate the Upper Liao, but so far no improvement in the cross-section of the cutting has been effected. Lower Liao.—The part of the river known as Duck Island Neck was the cause of considerable anxiety, as it was feared that the river might find a passage through the neck, which was only 1,600 feet wide, and isolate from the sea Newchwang with its harbour and railway connexions. In 1912 Mr. Hughes constructed a fascine mattress joining the island to the mainland, with the result that the whole of the channel between the island and the main- land rapidly silted up to the level of the surrounding country. However, this work, although obviating an immediate cut-off in that neighbourhood, does not entirely do away with the possibility, as the neck is at present only 2,000 feet wide and erodes at the rate of 30 feet per year. The erosion in the vicinity of Sankiatze Bend, except for a very short length, has been stopped by stone protection above low-water level, the work of the South Manchuria Railway, whose wharves have been built on this bend. Everlasting Bend is the last sharp curve of the Liao before reaching the sea. The erosion at this bend also is at the rate of about 30 feet each year, but here again there are hopes that this will be stopped completely during the next few years, as it is the intention of the Peiping-Moukden Railway authorities to build wharves on the bend where the depth of the river at low water is about 40 feet. Conservancy Works on the Lower River.—The East Training-wall referred to in the last Decennial Report is now about 1\ miles long and of an average height of 2 feet above low water, thus confining the scour of both flood and ebb tides to one channel, and so eroding the Bar gradually. In 1920 the lowest depth of water across the Bar was 5 feet, in 1929 just before the dredger commenced work a lowest depth of 9£ feet had been obtained through the action of the currents confined by the single training-wall. The amount of stone used in the building and maintenance of this training-wall is 172,000 fang, or about 700,000 tons. * Dredging.—It had long been recognised that a dredger was a necessity if Newchwang was to hold her own against the increasing prosperity of Dairen, and with the beginning of ( 臺船至鍋島間詳圖 ​O RIVER JAN ISLAND, 1931. Swan Island Goose Island 上疊椅 ​UPPER SECTOR BEACON 臺塘 ​Reed Island PEIPING-MOUKDEN RAILWAY 11 mney UCLE Duck Ísland 牛莊 ​EWCHWANG 亞細亞火油公司 ​Asiatic Petroleum Co. 3 East Customs 東海關​(即海關​) Flagstaff te 0高烟英 ​High Chimney ICH. 8000 12000 民國二十年測量遼河由 ​SURVEY OF LIA FROM LIGHTSHIP TO SW 317 T he LOWER SECTOR BEACON 19 hoe dat het te Magnetic North The e the iction b was The , this gth of with width cross r the ather had to3 21 12... 24 pg WEST: CHANNEL: CLOSURE e silt 15 23 No. 2 BEACON Doa ously gh to the those e are vhich ylene O FORT EW No. 3 BEACON # Road to Fort # # # # SIGNAL STATION No. 4 BEACON - A ten te PERMANENT DREDGING BEACON High Chi tered and efore (aiho and pour. | was n to been N: feet, ssing total tons. ; the aded Hair OR D SCALE: 4000 FEET TO I IN 4000 sible btain 4000 2000 t of y at 2. Lightship, 1931 ws * » NORTH-WBST BEAO The following Signals are the Bar Signal Station to ind N depth of water on the 1 Depth of water on Bar. Wat Yard- arm. Ea9t Yard- arm. Depth of water on Bar. Ft* BR 8 i * Fat nj{ 17 9 t i 18 10 6 19 11 4 20' 21 12 13 • • 22 14 4 23 • • I 15 4 4 24 16 4 4 4 25 ICON it i at « * \ A ball at the masthead indie the tide is rising. Newchwang Decennial Report, 1922-31. NEWCHWANG. 317 work on the new harbour at Hulutao the procuring of such a vessel was urgent. The Engineer-in-Chief, Mr. P. N. Fawcett, had been trying hard for many years to induce the Board to invest in a dredger. In 1929 a loan was negotiated for the purchase of the suction dredger Java from the Netherlands Government representatives at Batavia, and the ship was brought up here under her own steam, arriving in Newchwang at the end of the season. The primary object in purchasing the dredger was the dredging of a channel across the bar, this channel to have a low-water depth of 14 feet, with a width of 400 feet over the entire length of the bar. However, it was decided in the first place to make the channel 200 feet wide, with a least depth of 12 feet, and when this had been obtained to increase it to the desired width and depth. By the end of September 1930 a depth of almost 11 feet had been obtained across the bar, but this silted up to 10 feet before the end of the season. The total dredging for the season was 200,000 fang. During the 1931 season more than the usual amount of bad weather was experienced, stoppages on this account being numerous. In spite of this, 12 feet had been obtained across the bar by the end of August. It was expected, however, that the silt would again encroach to a depth of 6 inches or 1 foot. The dredger works continuously night and day, only stopping for such time as the water on the bar is not deep enough to accommodate her draught. Beacons have been erected on the dredging lines, two on the inner line and two on the outer line, those on the inner line being steel structures and those on the outer line being wooden erections. At present only the beacons on the outer line are supplied with lamps for night work; the lamps in use are oil burning, 1,000-c.p., which have been found unsatisfactory. It is intended in 1932 to replace these with "Aga" acetylene lamps, which do not require so much attention, and which are much more visible. Ice-breaking.—At the beginning of the season of 1931 two ice-breakers were chartered from the Haiho Conservancy, and an attempt was made to break up the ice in the river and disperse the drift ice. It had been intended to bring the two ice-breakers to this port before the end of February, but owing to severe ice conditions in the Gulf of Chihli, the Haiho Conservancy was unable to let the ice-breakers go before the beginning of March, and consequently it was the 6th March before the work began of breaking a way into the harbour. Adverse winds held the broken ice in the river for several days, but after a week the river was sufficiently clear to allow of ships entering the harbour. Thus the harbour was open to shipping from 7 to 10 days earlier than it would have been had the usual natural course been followed. Benefits to Shipping.—10 years ago the low-tide level on Newchwang Bar was 5 feet, to-day it is 9 feet, with a 200-feet-wide channel.of 11 feet depth. In 1922 the tonnage crossing the bar was about 1 million tons, which increased to 1£ million in 1928, and in 1931 the total was 2,836,000 tons. In 1922 the average tonnage of vessels was 920 tons and in 1931 1,220 tons. With the cutting of a channel across the bar it is hoped that new records will be set up as the depth in the dredged channel is increased. A chart of the Lower Liao, showing the extended training-wall and the soundings taken, accompanies this report. 10. Administration.—Owing to the political situation, it has been absolutely impossible to obtain any reliable information under this heading. Special efforts were made to obtain figures, or any useful data, concerning likin and other non-Customs taxes, but without avail. 11. Justice and Police.—The Newchwang House of Legislation and the Court of Procuration were inaugurated by mandate in the reign of Hsuan T'ung in the Ch'ing dynasty at 318 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. the request of the then Governor of Moukden, and the present designations were given them in 1929. The House of Legislation gives verdicts and makes decisions for both civil and criminal cases, and consists of a judge, one secretary, and three jurists. The Court of Procuration goes into a case and tries a prisoner for any misdemeanour of which he has been accused, and the verdict is later pronounced by the House of Legislation. The officials attached to this court are a procurator, a secretary, and three inspectors. To each court is attached a number of ordinary policemen, known as court police. The highest number of cases tried in any one year is 2,000 cases, civil and criminal. In the Court of Procuration statistics show an average number of 750 civil and 800 criminal cases during the last 10 years. The House of Legislation and the Court of Procuration have jurisdiction over some of the neighbouring districts, such as Kaiping, Hsiuyen, and Panshan. Cases which cannot be settled at these places are brought to the Newchwang Courts of Justice. 12. Military and Naval Changes.—There is very little to report under this heading since the last decade. The Newchwang Patrol, with a normal strength of 550 men, has main- tained law and order until the last few years, when the regulars had to be called upon to help owing to the increase in banditry. In the year 1929 the Newchwang Water Police was reorganised into six sections. In 1928 an office for the Tsingtao Navy was established here, but in the following year was closed and reopened in Tsingtao. 13. Health and Sanitation.—The period has been uneventful, and there is little of interest to place on record. The health of the town as a whole has been good, and the port has maintained its claim to be freer from major epidemics than any in China. This is due to its excellent climate, especially to the bracing winter, rather than to any sanitary efforts on the part of the town authorities. Enteric—once very bad here—has been banished since the introduction of a water supply, at any rate as regards foreigners. In the past 15 years no white resident but one has developed typhoid fever, and he only through bathing in a pond into which sewage ran. In this connexion it seems pertinent to inquire why Customs employees are not required to submit to periodical anti-typhoid inoculations, as is the practice of most foreign firms, with mutually advantageous results. As regards sanitatoin, this is most primitive. There is no public system of sewage disposal in Newchwang. Carts remove garbage from the main streets. All excreta, even from the public latrines, are removed by hand, under the control of contractors who farm the collection from the police, the proceeds being part of police revenue. I am not sure that in a town like this, so little above high water, this system, properly supervised, is not as good as any. All sanitary measures are in the hands of the police—and practically do not exist. There is no notification of infectious disease, except in a temporary emergency, and no registration of births. In the case of a death, no body can be buried with- out a certificate from the Quarantine Hospital. But as the official is not notified until after death, and there are no postmortems, the examination can only be perfunctory and the cause of death, unsupported by a medical certificate, more or less a guess. That this could be otherwise was shown by the very satisfactory arrangements made between the police and the Quarantine Hospital during the last two outbreaks of cholera. But it is not very satisfactory that the only municipal health officer should be a policeman. A few years ago the nucleus of a promising Health Office was in being—but the whole thing has perished and had no successor. The only relic that survived is the examination of public prostitutes by the Quarantine Hospital. And until there is a proper municipal budget, with a fixed appropriation for sanitary purposes, NEWCHWANG. 319 nothing else can be expected. It is significant that the only body doing public health work is the Quarantine Hospital supported by Customs grants, which no local authority can divert to other purposes. Hospitals remain as before. There are four Japanese hospitals, two under the South Manchuria Railway, two private. There are infectious wards in the Nan Man Hospitals, which in addition do a general medical and surgical practice. The two private institutions are mainly for venereal diseases. The Chinese hospitals are two—the Quarantine Hospital of the Manchurian Plague Bureau, supported as stated by Customs grants, but entirely controlled by the Bureau. It acts as an infectious diseases hospital for the port health work, and in addition has a large medical and general practice. In 1927 an examination block was added, and now, with its wards and detention camp, it is, with the possible exception of the new station at Woosung, the best of its kind in China, and a model of what such an institution should be. The other Chinese hospital is the Fang I Yuan, originally an infectious diseases hospital, now an institution turning out rather indifferent midwives. Finally, there is the Irish Mission Hospital, with a large attendance and a practice mainly surgical. Of course there are as well a number of so-called hospitals under private Chinese management which are no more than drug stores for the sale of foreign medicines. Medical practice is still mainly of the old style. I understand that native practitioners, either of foreign or Chinese medicine, must satisfy the police of their qualifications, but the Medical Regulations of the Nanking Government are here only a dead letter. Of qualified doctors, there are three Japanese, two Chinese, and one British in private practice. Free inoculation against cholera was offered as required by the Quarantine Hospital, and also by the South Manchuria Railway Hospital. No other free prophylactic inoculations have been available. The usual infectious diseases have been present from season to season, but there have been no real epidemics of these. Besides measles, mumps, scarlet fever, smallpox, diphtheria, typhoid, and typhus, there have been a few cases of cerebro-spinal meningitis and encephalitis. Cholera was epidemic in 1922 and 1926. There were sporadic cases in 1927 and 1929. The source of infection in every case but one was Shanghai. The usual measures of medical inspection of passengers and, when required, quarantine of ships, passengers being landed into the detention camp, were instituted. Cases treated in the hospital during the 10 years amounted to 133, with 38 deaths, mostly victims brought in too late. Treatment was by hypertonic saline. As regards the town sanitation, this has been touched on already. Up to the present, the port health work has been carried on under the aegis of the Customs, and the Port Medical Officer has been appointed by the Superintendent of Customs. The Quarantine Regulations for the port were drawn up by the Commissioner of Customs and had the approval of the Board of Foreign Consuls. I understand that next spring all these duties and activities will be taken over by the National Quarantine Board and will pass entirely from the control of the Customs. So far the Medical Officer has been a foreigner, and also Customs Medical Officer, and was thus enabled to use the Customs launch in boarding work. Presumably, the Quarantine Board will be obliged to provide a special launch for its officers, as without a launch it will be difficult, if not impossible, to safely board and examine ships in this tidal river. Furthermore, there is no wharf opposite the Quarantine Hospital, where presumably the Port Health Officer will reside, and provision will have to be made for this, to obviate delay and inconvenience. But no doubt these difficulties have been foreseen and can be met. 320 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. By order of the Public Health Department of Nanking, the National Quarantine Service was established on the 1st July 1930 at Shanghai. Since then the port health work, which formerly formed an integral part of the Chinese Maritime Custom Service, was being gradually taken over by the National Quarantine Service, with Dr. Wu Lien Teh as Director. With the help of Dr C. L. Park, Chief of the Epidemiological Division of the League of Nations Health Section, a new set of Quarantine Regulations 1930 was published and promulgated, so that the most up-to-date and practical methods might be applied at the ports of this country with a view to better international co-operation in quarantine matters. The new regulations are practically the same in principle with those of the old ones, being merely simplified and improved, in that obsolete rules were all cut out and more practical methods substituted. Thus, for example, the quarantinable diseases are reduced to the five following major infectious diseases: plague, cholera, smallpox, typhus fever, and yellow fever. The other minor infectious diseases, such as chicken-pox, scarlet fever, etc., beyond steps taken to remove the patient for isolation and disinfection of the vessel, do not render a vessel liable to quarantine. There are at present only about 73 houses fitted with modern flushing sewage system, out of a total of about 10,000 houses comprising the Chinese City of Yingkow. There is as yet no provision of a septic tank for the biological treatment of the sewage before it is got rid of, such as one finds in Europe. The local disposal of the sewage consists of simply emptying it into the Liaoho. Street widening and repairing fall to the office of the Public Municipality, a department of the District Government. Funds for this purpose are derived from revenue obtained from land tax. It was not until the beginning of 1924 that the movement for better roads was inaugurated. Up to date there was completed only about 10 li of a modern, wide, metalled, and tarred boulevard, running from the Japanese Concession in the east, through the main business centre, ending in the west near the Quarantine Hospital. This road is named the Ta Chia Mahloo. There is still much to be done. The city water supply is operated by a private company called the "Japanese Water Supply Company." This was established in 1911. As its name indicates, it is purely a Japanese concern, although when started it was at first a Sino-Japanese joint concern. But through clever manipulation the Japanese now form the principal shareholders. The source of water supply is in a lake turned into reservoirs at Tienchwangtai, about 90 li from the city. There are about 22 public water-stands in the city distributed in different parts, where people, whose homes have no pipe connexion, can buy water at 1\ sen (gold) per 28 catties of water. 14. Education.—There are 14 primary and middle schools in Newchwang, with a total attendance of over 3,000 pupils. The oldest established school is the Hsien Li Third Primary School, which was established as far back as 1903. The number of students is 178. A school named the Yingkow Fishery and Sea-products School is very well attended. Established in the year 1918, it has a students' roll numbering 362. There are no American institutions in Yingkow. The only Japanese institution was closed on the 18th September 1931, owing to the critical situation. Since the National Government's prohibition of all religious teaching in schools it appears, speaking generally, that more students than heretofore have been enrolled in schools founded by foreign missions. There is, however, still a great number of people who recognise that without religious teaching the moral education is sure to deteriorate considerably. It is satisfactory to note that under strict suppression by the local authorities no sign of communistic propaganda has been seen. Owing to the political situation in Manchuria, NEWCHWANG. 321 which came to a head on the 19th September. 1931 at Moukden, schools were closed temporarily, and the students sent home. The Japanese authorities, after some time, managed to persuade the school authorities to reopen the schools, but the school life was very much impaired. 15. Literature.—The only paper in Newchwang is the "Ying Shang Jih Pao," a commercial organ established in 1907, which confines itself to the publication of items of local news and selected cuttings from newspapers received from Shanghai and other ports. It has not a very large circulation. In December 1930 a library was inaugurated by the Educational Bureau, and 25 elementary schools for poor people were founded. Most of the teachers are working voluntarily. At the end of 1929 nine Executive Committees were formed to expedite the advancement of the phonetic system in all the primary schools, both inside and outside Newchwang City. 16. Population.—Estimates enumerating the population of Newchwang before 1926 are unobtainable, but from that year on the figures have remained at* about 106,000. Since 1927 a large influx of refugees has poured into this port each year, owing to hostilities caused by the Cantonese expedition from the South. The greater number came from Shantung. In 1929, when the Yellow River overflowed its banks, devastating thousands of square miles, a large number of refugees reached this port from the districts in North China. These refugees either journeyed farther north or remained here until the following year, when conditions improved. In 1925—the worst year during the decade—the crops here only yielded, on an average, 10 to 20 per cent. of that of a normal year. The years 1926 and 1931 were record years, and it is estimated that the harvests in these years were 30 to 40 per cent. higher than usual. In other years the crops were normal. Reliable statistics of immigration can be quoted only from 1923. It is estimated that five million Chinese immigrants have entered Manchuria during the past eight years. It is interesting to note that previous to the year 1925 the number of immigrants into Manchuria was only half a million, while two years later the number had increased to over a million. In 1930 there was a considerable falling off. Only 653,000 immigrants arrived in Manchuria via Dairen, Newchwang, Antung, and Moukden. These figures show a falling off of about 40 per cent. as compared with the same period of the previous year. This decrease was partly due to the recovery of conditions in the provinces of Shantung and Chihli, but more especially to the Sino-Russian conflict in the winter of 1929, the general depression in Manchuria due to the fall in the bean market, and the unprecedented slump in silver. The character of the movement into Manchuria has changed considerably from what it was originally. In the early days Chinese who migrated to Manchuria did so temporarily in order to find work. Before the year 1927 only 20 per cent. of the immigrants stayed in Manchuria as permanent settlers there. Now they settle down there and remain. The demand for agricultural labourers has been always very large. The landowners have much larger land holdings than those in China. 17. Civil Disorder.—The smuggling done by sea is very small, due mostly to the geographical position of the port and also that two railways are running with no Customs supervision at this end. No cases of piracy have been reported in this locality. Banditry has always been rampant in Manchuria, and the decade under review has shown no improvement. Especially after the great flood on the Liao in 1930, coupled with the bad trade conditions which have existed since 1929, bandits have become bolder, and many villages in the neigh- bourhood have been raided, wealthy inhabitants being kidnapped and held to ransom. 21 322 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. This report, prepared before my arrival here, but revised and edited by myself, has been written by the following members of the staff and others: sections 1 and 5, Messrs. R. A. May, Senior Chief Assistant, A, and Luk Wing Kue, 4th Assistant, A; section 2, Messrs. G. E. Cross, Harbour Master, and J. D. Jones, Boat Officer, B, in collaboration with Mr. Li Ting Giek, Chief Clerk, B; section 3, Mr. Liu E Lo, 3rd Assistant, A; section 4, Mr. Tan Chi Lin, 2nd Clerk, A; section 6, Mr. O. R. J. Koenig, Chief Examiner, A; section 7, Mr. T. Morozumi, Examiner, B; section 8, Messrs. Lo Pak Hung, Examiner, A, and Sung Kai-kwan, Examiner, B; section 9, Lights and Aids to Navigation by Mr. Cross, Conservancy by Mr. L. H. Barnes, A.M.I.C.E., A.M.I.M.E., Chief Engineer to the Lower Liao Conservancy; section 12, Mr. Pao Chun, Writer; section 13, first five paragraphs by Dr. W. Phillips, Customs Medical Officer, last four paragraphs by Dr. C. C. Wen; section 14, Mr. Tang Hsi Chung, 2nd Clerk, B; section 15, Mr. Sung Shih Lin, 1st Clerk, B; section 16, Mr. May and Mr. Wu Hsou Yeh, 1st Clerk, B; section 17, Mr. May. N. R. M. SHAW, Acting Commissioner of Customs, temporarily. Newchwang, 31 st December 1931. 22nd February 1932. UNEL Cow ANNA S OR 20 * * GULF OF LI Hulutao Decennial Report, 1922-31, HULUTAO. Hulutao is situated in the Liaotung Gulf, 40° 44' N. by 121° 2' E., immediately opposite Newchwang, and about 1\ miles from Lienshan on the Peiping-Liaoning Railway. Work was begun there in 1910 on the creation of an artificial harbour by means of a breakwater and dredging. The harbour was to provide ice-free accommodation for a number of deep-draught ships, and when, a year later, work on it was suspended, close on half a million dollars had been spent upon the project. Four permanent two-storied buildings, including an hotel, were erected. A railway was built connecting the port with Lienshan, and telegraph and telephone lines laid. A good road was made to Wanghaiszu, which, with its picturesque situation and good water supply, was expected to become the residential section. Then, at the end of 1911, the first revolution broke out and the whole scheme was abandoned. Several projects have since been mooted but none materialised until in December 1930 a contract was signed between the Chinese Government and the Netherlands Harbour Works Company of Amsterdam for the completion, in the space of five years, of the Hulutao Harbour project for a sum of Gold $6,400,000, to be paid out of the surplus earnings of the Peiping-Liaoning Railway. Work was begun the same spring and has been carried on according to schedule until late in the autumn of 1931, when it was suspended for the winter season. A labour force of 2,500 to 3,000 men has been employed. To date, work has consisted mainly in blasting and filling in. About 900 feet of the breakwater have been partially built. Much preparatory work has had to be done. A 10-mile pipe-line furnishes water from a point about half way to Lienshan. A power plant, workshops of various kinds, a smithy, a carpenter's shop, concrete-mixing plant, and some supply godowns have been erected. A steel tower has been constructed, well over 200 feet high, for the distribution of concrete, and to the top of this tower an electric lift brings the ready mixed concrete, whence it is distributed by means of long, movable steel tubes, fitted with joints on ball bearings, to the moulds in which the concrete blocks, weighing 60 tons each, are cast. The future of Hulutao is linked up with the Sino-Japanese conflict, and whether or not work on the construction of the harbour will be continued next spring depends on the outcome thereof. Hulutao was opened as a sub-office of the Newchwang Customs in August 1930, but from the 1st January 1931 the control was placed under the Chinwangtao Commissioner. The port has not been declared open officially, only vessels carrying material for harbour construction are allowed to enter and discharge their cargo there.* An exception to this ruling was made in December 1931 when the Government gave permission for the exportation of coal and the importation and exportation of general cargo by vessels chartered by the Peipiao Coal Mining Company to carry its coal. Up to the end of the year, however, no such trade had taken place. During the summer of 1931 the revenue steamer Chuentiao surveyed the harbour and its approaches. Chinwangtao, Z\st December 1931. 23rd March 1932. C. G. C. ASKER, Commissioner of Customs. CHINWANGTAO. 1. Trade.—In reviewing this decade, a feature which is forced on one is the recurring unrest due to civil war. But, although this naturally must have hampered commercial developments, trade and industry in this district have steadily grown. In 1922 the net value of the trade amounted to Hk.Tls. 16,265,000, while in 1931 it had increased to Hk.Tls. 36,716,000, which advance was due mainly to growth of trade but also to greatly enhanced values of commodities. As coal was the beginning of Chinwangtao, so it has remained its mainstay, and during these 10 years the annual exportation has grown from 1,399,150 to 2,674,003 tons, an increase of almost 100 per cent. In 1922 trade with Germany began to revive after the European War, and considerable quantities of aniline dyes and 102,511 piculs of gypsum were imported direct from this country. Then also the export trade in groundnuts and yellow and black beans, which had been adversely affected by the same war, took a great leap forward, and when in 1931 the Peiping-Liaoning Railway established through traffic with the other lines in Manchuria that tap the bean-producing districts, especially Taonan, a new impetus was given to this trade. The fall in the value of silver in recent years has of course had its effect on trade, but owing to the peculiar conditions prevailing here, where imports consist mainly of machinery and materials for well-established institutions, and must be procured irrespective of cost, the decline in the volume of the import trade was probably considerably less than elsewhere, while, at the same time, the main exports, coal and groundnuts, benefited by the state of the exchange. The gradual industrialisation of China, together with the low price of silver, and, perhaps, to a certain extent a growing sense of nationality, have combined to foster, wherever possible, a demand for Chinese goods at the expense of foreign imports. The following table of just a few items gives a striking example of this:— • 1922. 1931. Native. Foreign. Native. Foreign. Pieces 39,840 3,023 8,690 27,670 8,190 213 143,051 11,464 18,277 4,114 490 „ yarn Piculs Many other articles are now manufactured in China, such as beer, rubber shoes, soap and toilet articles, biscuits, canned goods, enamelledware, and lately also electric-lamp bulbs, all finding a ready market. That certain items, like kerosene oil and cigarettes, have almost disappeared from the statistics, or show a startling decrease, is explained by the fact that this port fills its requirements thereof from Tientsin, and goods arriving by rail from there are not included in the Customs returns. It is estimated that of foreign and foreign-styled goods appearing in the local market in 1931, 20 per cent. were made in China, 40 per cent. in Japan, and the remaining 40 per cent. in other foreign countries. 326 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 2. Shipping.—The total tonnage of vessels entering and clearing almost doubled during the decade, the number of vessels in 1931 being 1,477, aggregating 3,335,066 tons. The division of the shipping among the different flags is shown in the table below:— Flac Japanese . . British ... Chinese .. Norwegian Others ... 1922. No. of Vessels. 425 188 212 107 44 Tonnage. 738,129 357,818 343,562 98,621 184,896 Flag. Norwegian Japanese .. British .. . Chinese .. Others ... 1931. No. of Vessels. 550 337 238 232 120 Tonnage. 1,236,163 704,024 648,713 272,349 473,817 Most of the ships running on the coast were chartered by the Kailan Mining Administration for their coal trade, and among them the Norwegian flag has gradually come to take a predominating place. Of late years many ocean vessels, whereof some very fine modern motor ships, coming direct or via Chinese ports from other continents, have called here, and from being a small coaling port, known only to a limited number of coasting companies interested in the coal trade, Chinwangtao has made such strides during the last 10 years as now to merit the distinction of being one of the better known of the deep-water ports of the Far East. In 1925 a tourist ship, the British s.s. Carinthia, 12,088 tons, on a round-the-world cruise, for the first time visited Chinwangtao to land and disembark visitors to Peiping. Since then this traffic has yearly grown until in 1931 seven such vessels under American, British, German, and Japanese flags, among them being some of the largest and finest ships touring the Orient, called here. The tourists, on landing on the Chinwangtao wharf, step right into a special luxurious train which takes them to Peiping and brings them back after their visit to the ancient city. The backward trend of Vladivostock as a shipping port has caused some vessels to call here instead for the shipment of Manchurian produce. Thus, since December 1931, the Swedish East Asiatic Company intend having one of its motor ships trading here once a month. 3. Revenue.—The introduction of the Customs gold unit, on which basis import duties are uniformly paid from the 1st February 1930, had little effect on the trading in this port, as most of the staple imports, such as machinery, electrical, railway, and building materials, etc., were brought in by well-established concerns, such as the Kailan Mining Administration; Yao Hua Glass Works, Chinwangtao; Ch'i Hsin Cement Company, Tongshan; and the Peiping-Liaoning • Railway, for their necessary maintenance and/or manufacturing purposes irrespective of cost and the higher rates of duties to be paid. As a result of tariff autonomy, attained by China in 1929, followed by the enforcement of the Import Tariff of the same year and the collection of additional duties and surtaxes, the revenue collection showed a considerable increase, jumping from Hk.Tls. 603,441 in 1928 to Hk.Tls. 1,066,530 in 1929, Hk.Tls. 1,001,908 in 1930, and Hk.Tls. 1,380,656 in 1931. The increased taxes were, however, not a new burden on trade, as the Inland Surtax office had since February 1927 made similar levies, and only ceased functioning simultaneously with the introduction of the new tariff. With the abolition of transit dues, inward and outward, and coast trade duties, as well as the extra-50-li Native CHINWANGTAO 327 Customs establishment from the 1st January 1931, merchants were greatly benefited, and a serious obstacle to the local trade, the levying of double duty on exports owing to* the operation of the Native Customs office established at the railway station by the Shanhaikwan Superintendent in September 1930 was automatically removed. The local sub-office of the Tientsin Native Customs simultaneously ceased functioning. The Import Tariff promulgated on the 29th December 1930 and enforced from the 1st January 1931 again benefited the importers here, as it reduced the duty rates from 10 to 1\ and 5 per cent. on most of the principal imports, such as machinery, electrical machinery, railway materials, etc. 4. Currency and Finance.—The tiao (fift), mentioned in the last Decennial Report, 1912-21, has entirely disappeared from the market, and the feng-p'iao ($t H) notes, issued by the banks of Manchuria, which were formerly accepted at par in this province for remittance or transfer to the Three Eastern Provinces, are no longer in use here though this port has close connexions with the trade marts in Manchuria. Replacing the tiao, Tientsin bank-notes, with a small percentage of clean silver dollars—" dragon," Yuan Shih-k'ai and Sun Yat-sen,—have become the sole medium of exchange at Chinwangtao. The value of 2-cent copper coins ranged between 180 and 200 pieces to the dollar. The Tientsin bank-notes of the Bank of China and the National Industrial Bank of China are most popular. The former bank established an agency here in 1923 and later a branch office in 1929, and the latter established an agency in 1929. Both cash at par and to any amount bank-notes of their Tientsin office. Other notes, such as those issued by the Bank of Communications, the China and South Sea Bank, and foreign banks in Tientsin, are also freely circulated here. The bank-notes of the Frontier Bank and Provincial Bank of the Three Eastern Provinces, Moukden, formerly had a good standing in the local market, but since the political crisis in Manchuria in September 1931 these notes are rapidly disappearing. Following the introduction of the Customs gold unit, the Central Bank of China has issued, since May 1931, Customs gold unit notes of $10, $5, $1, 20-cent, and 10-cent denominations. They are, of course, legal tender in payment of import duties and all other charges payable in Customs gold units, but otherwise they are not dealt in by the local banks and merchants. Silver coins of 20-cent, 10-cent, and S-cent denominations, mostly minted in Kiangnan, Hupeh, and the Three Eastern Provinces, are in use as subsidiaries; their value fluctuates a little but stands around $1.15 to the "big dollar." 20-cent and 10-cent notes of late years issued by the Central Bank of China are widely accepted, and similar notes of the Chinese Industrial Bank and Hopeh Provincial Bank are also circulated at par. 5. Agriculture.—Perhaps the most important agricultural development in this region is the attitude of the farmers toward new methods. While they retain much of their past scepticism toward unproved innovations, there is a distinct anticipation of something new. Unfortunately, the farmers are expecting new methods and materials to suddenly transform Chinese agriculture from its present toilsome status to one of easy prosperity. It is much more important that emphasis be laid upon the several methods by which small gains can be assured to each farmer, thereby securing large gains for the whole country. One opportunity of this kind is the use of copper carbonate to control the smut of kaoliang and millet. This is a simple, inexpensive method which was discovered in China. Farmers who have carefully used 328 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. this control are enthusiastic in commending it, and while many farmers feel that the loss of from 10 to 20 per cent. of'their crop from smut is not important, when considered nationally, it is a tremendous loss. The readiness of farmers everywhere to try methods which promise better results than they now obtain is indicated by the fact that foreign commercial fertilisers are sold in most of the market towns. In most cases thus far observed, the results have been sufficient to induce other farmers to buy. The unfortunate aspect of the situation is that this country has so long burned every leaf, root, and stick that should have gone back into the soil for fertiliser. Only one community in this district is known where grass, leaves, and other plant waste are properly used. There, everything of that nature is put into holes which have been dug to collect and hold some of the summer rain, and by the next spring a good supply of humus is ready to mix with the soil. A significant forward step in agricultural extension this year has been the order from the provincial authorities that each hsien hold an agricultural fair. Certain agricultural experiment stations have for several years been holding these fairs with good results, but it is a tremendous forward step for the magistrates of the various hsien to take over the work. The benefits of the agricultural fairs can thus reach a much larger number of people. Some change of crops is to be noticed in this area, though it may be merely a rhythmic change following climatic conditions. Upland rice was planted in greater quantity this past year than previously, possibly due to the favourable season for planting. Corn appears to be increasing in this region, which has had kaoliang for its main grain crop. In this connexion it is interesting to note that in recent years the population has gone over from kaoliang as its » principal food to wheat flour, with the result that the importation of this latter product has risen from 32,653 piculs in 1922 to 1,002,713 piculs in 1931. There is an increasing demand for good seeds of all kinds. The most important development around Changli has been the great increase in fruit orchards. It is claimed by those who have watched this development that the fruit industry of Changli has developed during the. past half century. Until recently, however, most of the fruit was grown on hillside terraces or other poor land. In the past five years many young orchards have been set on good farm land, an indication that the income from fruit is sufficient to justify giving up grainland for fruit. If under present conditions this is true, with only inferior varieties available for planting and the fruit from them badly damaged from insects and disease, certainly there is hope for the fruit production here if good varieties can be planted and protected from disease and insects, which is the aim of those working in fruit experimentation. Fruit is an important crop for China, since the yield of a unit area of soil planted in fruit is greater than if planted in any other crop. Forestry is one of the greatest needs of the country. Most of the lumber now imported in great quantities could be grown in China if protection could be given to trees. Trees are being cut faster than new ones are planted, and the results of such practices are to be seen on most of the hills, where erosion is robbing the hilltops of the soil built up during the past centuries. Once the soil is lost there is little chance to get even trees to grow, not to mention the grain crops. There are a few splendid experiments in tree planting in this region. The Kailan Mining Administration have some good plantations at and in the neighbourhood of Chinwangtao along the seashore and in other places which would otherwise be unproductive. CHINWANGTAO. 329 By planting trees, roadsides, stream-beds, and hillsides could be made to produce a pood income. The pine trees on the Lotus Hills at Peitaiho are a good example of what could be produced if protection is given. It is to be hoped that many such plantings will be made, for China must bring every mtm of land into use if possible. 6. Industrial Development.—That the port of Chinwangtao has developed nr.:?T have been apparent to those who have passed through it from time to time, but the effect of this development, which has been gradually accomplished by the Kailan Mining Administration without the flow of commerce through this port being held up even for one day, can be illustrated by the fact that, when the last Decennial Report was written, 10,000 tons of coal loaded into steamers at berth during a 24-hour day was the record, while with the same limited berthing facilities this figure to-day % erges on 18,000 tons, with a still higher figure in sight- The Kailan Mining Administration in 1930 completed a new coal-yard, planned on modern lines and capable of stocking 600,000 tons of coal. This yard is made up of two identical yards, known as the north and south yards, bisected by a central grid capable of holding 6 main-line trains, each of 1,200 tons capacity. Coal trains arriving from the mines are hauled direct into the yard by the Administration's main-line locomotives which work their traffic between Kuyeh and Chinwangtao. In order to accelerate the rate of loading and to decrease the turn-round of the Administration's rolling-stock, it was decided to install electric haulage. The scheme provides for complete electrification from the harbour to the Peiping-Liaoning railway station in three sections, the first of which, from the wharf to the coal-yard, was completed in November 1931. When electrification is completed, steam shunting locomotives will no longer be employed here and will be transferred, as they are replaced, to the mines where additional power is required. To provide for the ever increasing requirements of the port a new electric power-house was built in 1929-30, equipped with two Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers supplying steam to two turbines, each developing 1,250 kilowatts. The Yao Hua Glass Works, owned by the Yao Hua Mechanical Glass Company, Limited, a Sino-Belgian enterprise, which was formed in 1921 with a capital of $2,500,000, erected a factory here in 1923-24 under the protecting wing of the Kailan Mining Administration who in May 1924 took over the management of the company. Glass is produced at this factory by the "Fourcault" process, and is used almost exclusively for window glazing. The factory draws its raw materials almost entirely from China, sand from South China, quartzite and coal from the Kaiping mining district, and chemicals mainly from the chemical works at Tangku. Wood for box-making, soda ash, and general stores for the maintenance of the plant are ordered from the best and most economical markets abroad. In 1931 the daily capacity of the factory was approximately 750 cases, each of 100 square feet. A ready market for Yao Hua glass is found in Northern and Central China, and the increasing demand for this product has led the directors of the company to sanction the extension and modernisation of the factory. These improvements on the old factory will be completed in the autumn of 1932, when the output of the glass works will be no less than 1,800 cases of 100 square feet per day, which should be sufficient to meet present day requirements. The Yao Hua Glass Works employs 600 men, of whom five are foreigners who, with a number of Chinese, represent the executive and technical staff. 330 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The Chin Yu Electric Company is a concern fostered by a number of local merchants. In the autumn of 1930 the articles of the company were formally approved by the Nanking Government. The plant, which is located immediately north of the Peiping-Liaoning railway station at Chinwangtao, was supplied by the Kailan Mining Administration, and the output of power for lighting houses, shops, streets, etc., in the Chinwangtao village was commenced in July 1931. The capital of the company is $85,000, and power is provided at a cost of $0.22 per unit. The cost of living has increased a good deal but not to the same extent as during the last decade. The following table of comparison, comprising the most important necessities, is instructive:— 1922. 1931. $ $ . 3.36 • Bag 3.00 Kaoliang Catty 0.045 0.062 Cabbage 0.010 0.021 Millet 0.057 0.09 Rent * 3.00 4.00 n » 4.00 6.50 Clothing (yearly outlay divided up) * . 2.50 7.00 * For family of two adults and four children. In consequence of the high cost of living, wages have increased correspondingly. For manual labour 80 cents (small coin) a day is paid nowadays, while ten years ago 50 to 60 cents represented a good day's earnings. During the year 1922 a strike of the Kailan Mining Administration labourers occurred. It was undoubtedly engineered by agitators and did not arise out of any action on the part of the Administration; this incident was of short duration. On the 1st May 1929 an agreement was for the first time signed between the Labour Union and the Kailan Mining Administration, whereby all daily paid men and clerical staff received an increase in the ratio of 10 per cent. for those drawing a monthly salary of $50 or less and 5 per cent. for those drawing over $50 and under $100 per month. A second agreement was concluded in 1931, all minor staff being granted an increase of $0.08 per day. The Labour Union, a representative body of the Administration's labourers, has countless times proved its worth, and its relations with the Administration seem cordial to an extent not usually found between labour and capital. 7. Mines and Minerals.—The Kailan Mining Administration has opened a new coal mine during this period, at Tangchiachwang, from which production of coal commenced in 1925. The present rate of output from this mine approximates to 1,250,000 tons per annum. In the old mines great developments have taken place and in several of them electric haulage has replaced the mule and pony of bygone days. The Kailan Mining Administration depend entirely on the Peiping-Liaoning Railway to freight their coal from the mines to Chinwangtao for shipment, but the railway has often had to contend with the automatic dislocation of traffic consequent upon any military operations. Rolling-stock has been entirely at the whim of the military authorities in the district, who CHINWANGTAO. 331 commandeered whatever tonnage they required. In order, therefore, to minimise the effect of such fluctuations in tonnage, the Kailan Mining Administration have gradually purchased their own main-line tonnage, at present amounting to some 600 40-ton cars, 18 Pacific-type locomotives, and 12 brake vans capable of transporting from the mines approximately 4 million tons per annum, which is hired to the railway under a hire-purchase agreement, whereby the rolling-stock eventually becomes the property of the railway. The Chang Cheng Coal Mining Company began operation in 1921 and did not make much headway to begin with, but in the year 1925, after overcoming many difficulties, the greatest of which were undoubtedly the continued civil wars which raged in this district, this company finally completed their narrow-gauge railway from Chinwangtao to their mines at Shihmenchai and commenced stocking coal in preparation for export overseas. The company has passed from crisis to crisis but now appears to be reasonably well established. Their products are, like those of their local competitor, the Liu Chiang Mining Company, shipped for them by the Kailan Mining Administration. During the year ending 30th June 1931 the Chang Cheng Company exported from Chinwangtao 62,000 tons, as compared with 200,000 tons by the Liu Chiang Company over the same period. 8. Communications.—Progress and maintenance of the Peiping-Liaoning (formerly Peking-Moukden) Railway have been greatly handicapped by civil war. In 1923, however, the double-tracking of the line between Tangshan and Chinwangtao was completed in anticipation, and with the object of, assisting an appreciable increase in the volume of coal traffic from the Kailan Mining Administration's mines. During the struggle between the Hopeh (then Chihli) and Shenyang (then Moukden) parties in 1922 ordinary traffic was disorganised and the line entirely utilised for military purposes. Control of the section outside the Great Wall passed into the hands of the Manchurian authorities and remained so after the hostilities for nearly three years until the 15th May 1925. Again, at the time the Nationalist Revolutionary Army started its expedition against the North in 1928 the Shenyang office was in control of the whole line, but gradually as the Manchurian armies retreated the head office in Tientsin resumed section by section control, and after the 1st October 1929 normal conditions obtained again. Toward the end of 1931 all traffic on the Shanhaikwan-Chinchow section ceased, owing to the Japanese military operations in Manchuria. A table showing the earnings, expenses, and net earnings for the years 1922-30 is given below:— Earnings. Operating Expenses. Net Earnings. * $ $ 1922 20,690,448 12,933,498 7,756,950 1923 18,288,123 11,336,677 6,951,446 1924 17,509,533 11,912,900 5,596,633 1925 24,047,676 13,218,204 10,829,472 1926 23,487,168 13,598,979 9,888,189 1927 34,720,465 15,941,157 18,779,308 1928 21,821,544 10,958,3% 10,863,148 1929 37,514,591 18,512,682 19,001,909 1930 38,819,626 22,136,528 16,683,098 332 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Roads within Chinwangtao have gradually been extended and improved. The old Imperial high road from Peiping, via Fengjunhsien, to Manchuria was repaired towards the end of 1931 on instructions from the provincial authorities. Each magistrate was responsible for the work within his district, and public subscriptions were taken up to meet the expenses. Although only a dirt road, it is intended for motor traffic. It is wide enough for two cars to pass and is in good condition, but can only be used in dry weather. A telephone line has been set up between Shanhaikwan and Chinwangtao to facilitate the transmission of telegrams to and from outlying districts. From the yearly reports issued by the Post Office it may be observed that the Postal Service has experienced the most difficult period since its inception, during which great exertion was made in combating all the difficulties arising from the internecine war and its aftermath— banditry. With the frequent, though not permanent, disorganisation of railway and overland communications, the handling of mail matter, light or heavy, was not an easy task. Yet the post offices in North China, as a whole, had spared no efforts in effecting the despatch and delivery of mails by every possible means and with least possible delay. Though a number of postal men had, from time to time, been molested, wounded, or killed in the execution of their duties in the war-ravaged and bandit-infested zones, the unfailing loyalty and courage of the postal employees demonstrated that the Postal Administration is a comparatively safe forwarding agency for letters and parcels. A steady expansion has been recorded in all branches of postal business. When the foreign post offices at Tientsin, Peiping, Tangku, and Shanhaikwan were closed at the end of 1922, in accordance with the decisions taken at the Washington Conference, their duties and responsibilities were taken over by the Chinese Post Office, and this additional volume of work has been handled to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. The postal savings banks started in 1931 to accept fixed deposits from the public. The service has enjoyed growing popularity. The number of depositors and the amount of deposits have steadily increased throughout North China. Air-mail services between Peiping and Tientsin and between Peiping, Tientsin, and Peitaiho functioned for a short period during the summer of 1924. 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—There is a minimum depth of 25 feet in the fairway leading into the harbour. Soundings taken during the latter end of 1931 show a minimum depth of 21 feet at the outside of the pier (No. 1 berth) and 20 feet on the inside (No. 2 berth). Alongside the breakwater the minimum depth of water ranges from 23 feet at the inner berth (No. 3) to 30 feet at the outer berth (No. 7). Two single-grab dredgers have been continuously employed dredging the harbour and its approaches since 1921, and in 1928 one of the old single-grab dredgers was replaced by a new twin-grab dredger, which came out from England under her own steam. An ice-breaking tug, the Fuping, copes with the ice under normal conditions, but during severe winters the s.s. Kaiping is used as an ice-breaker. This vessel is specially constructed for this purpose. A slipway for hauling up the dredging craft and tug is located at the inner end of the harbour. In 1926 the Kailan Mining Administration started at the inner end to replace the wooden structure on the inside of the breakwater with reinforced concrete and at the same time widened it 9 feet all along. It was also lengthened 50 feet, the work being completed at the end of 1931. CHINWANGTAO. 333 The Customs maintain and control a sixth order fixed white light with a 1,000 candle- power electric lamp, which is hoisted daily on a cement beacon, 38 feet high, situated on the , bluff overlooking the harbour. The height of the light above high-water mark is 87 feet, and its normal visibility 15 miles. The harbour entrance is marked by red and green electric lights at the end of the breakwater and pier respectively, and the 18 electric wharf lamps (of 1,000 candle-power each) materially assist the safe working and berthing of vessels throughout the night. An unofficial light at Rocky Point is still maintained by fishing and trading junks and is looked after by the bonzes from the adjoining temple. 10. Administration.—With the abolition early in the decade of the tao, or circuits, the Linyiihsien—since 1928 styled "Hsien Government"—came under direct control of the Civil Affairs Department of the Hopeh Provincial Government. The hsien consists of four bureaux, namely, the Public Safety Bureau, the Educational Bureau, the Reconstruction Bureau, and the Finance Bureau. The heads of these establishments meet once a week, and any resolution passed can only be enforced under orders of the Magistrate. In 1930 Linyiihsien was divided into eight sections, of which Chinwangtao is Section No. 7. Sectional offices are each in charge of a head appointed by the Civil Affairs Department for the period of tutelage. It is considered that in three years time the district self-government will be well established and thereafter the Governor, the magistrates, and the sectional chiefs will all be elected by the citizens. 11. Justice and Police.—The district government, with the Magistrate as the chief judge, has jurisdiction over both civil and criminal law cases in the first instance. Appeal may be made at the Local Court at Lanhsien and then at the High Court in Tientsin. Final appeal may be made at the Supreme Court in Nanking. The gaols remain as of old with but slight improvement, and there is none on modern lines. Since the establishment of the National Government in 1928 the Linyii Police Department at Shanhaikwan has been changed into a Special Public Safety Bureau, with five sub-offices, three in Shanhaikwan consisting of together about 160 policemen, and one each at Chinwangtao and Peitaiho, with 120 and 30 men respectively. The funds for the upkeep of these offices are derived from local taxes, such as house, mule and horse cart, and ricsha taxes, etc. At Chinwangtao there is, in addition to the above police force, an extra body of 40 men with a commanding officer, supported financially by the Kailan Mining Administration for the policing of their property. > 12. Military and Naval Changes.—Since 1924 the Manchurian troops have been wholly or partly in occupation of Hopeh province. In 1928 the greater part of them was withdrawn outside the Great Wall under pressure of the North Punitive Expedition conducted by the National Government, but the five districts to the east of Lanho remained under the control of the Manchurian army in command of General Yii Hsiieh-chung. When in 1930 Marshal Chang Hsueh-liang again brought his troops into Hopeh and himself went to Peiping, General Yii was transferred there as Garrison Commissioner. He was succeeded by General Ho Chu-kuo, the Commander of the North-eastern Independent 9th Brigade, who established 334 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. his headquarters at Shanhaikwan. Owing to the political crisis in Manchuria which broke out on the 18th September 1931, the Manchurian troops began to retreat toward Hopeh, and at the end of the year, when Chinchow, the final seat of the Manchurian Government, fell into the hands of the Japanese troops the withdrawal was completed to within the Great Wall and most of the Manchurian troops concentrated in and around Lanhsien. Prior to 1928 Chinese gun-boats of the Central Government often visited this port, and lately those of the North-eastern Squadron also cruised the waters here. 13. Health and Sanitation.—Chinwangtao is a healthy place, and children, specially, thrive here. In 1927 and 1929 there were a few cases of cholera, and in the latter years also some of variola, but there have been no epidemics. Free vaccination has been given in the local hospital, and the number of people injected, though not large, is on the increase. The Kailan Mining Administration maintain an efficient and rapid sanitary service. This service deals with the refuse, liquid and solid, from an area populated by approximately 20,000 people, which is handled by motor-trucks in such an efficient manner, due to the network of excellent roads and approaches to the various staff quarters, that there are no signs of the refuse and squalour so noticeable in large communities in China. The Kailan Mining Administration provide houses for the majority of their staff and intend, when time and conditions permit, to provide houses for all. Senior staff members are provided with model houses fitted with central heating and provided with up-to-date conveniences, whilst other members of the staff are provided with houses according to their grade, down to the labourers who handle the Administration's products on the wharves and in the yards and who are direct employees of the Administration. These labourers are housed in compounds designed for the accommodation of gangs of 40 men or for two gangs of 20 men. In each compound there is an excellently ventilated cookhouse, a bathroom where hot water is provided, a room for the foreman of the gang, a storeroom, and a latrine. The main house of the compound is built in two wings, each section accommodating 20 men, with a central mess hall connecting the two. The quarters are constructed with attractive yellow stone, with floors, roofs, benches, and kongs of concrete. In the native village no progress worthy of notice has been made. 14. Education.—The Educational Department of the Linyii district has since 1923 been reorganised and is now called the Educational Bureau. With it are registered 24 primary and two middle schools at Shanhaikwan, while at Chinwangtao the numbers are four and one respectively. Of these, the Fu Lun Primary School is owned and conducted by the Peiping- Liaoning Railway, and two primary schools, one for boys and the other for girls, by the Kailan Mining Administration. The last two provide free education for children of the Administration's employees. In the mines area the Administration has also established higher primary and middle schools, giving education for some 3,750 children. Altogether there are now 10 middle schools in this district, five having been opened in recent years, and one university, the Chiao T'ung, at Tangshan. 15. Literature.—No newspaper is printed at Chinwangtao. The proximity of Tientsin affords, however, great convenience in receiving newspapers on the day of issue there. Those most read are " Social Welfare," " L'Impartial," " Yung Pao," and " Commercial Daily News." CHINWANGTAO. 3:5 16. Population.—The greater part of the population at Chinwangtao is engaged in industrial work. The Kailan Mining Administration alone employ nearly 6,000 labourers, the Yao Hua Glass Factory 600, and the Liu Chiang and Chang Cheng Mining Companies together 300 men. About 60 per cent. of the population are immigrants from other districts and provinces. According to the records of the Kung An Chii, the population of Chinwangtao it at present 20,000. Mention of the American army summer camp cannot be omitted from this report, as "Camp Burrowes" will rank equal to summer training camps in any part of the world. On ground leased at a nominal rental from the Kailan Mining Administration, lying approximately 2 miles west of Chinwangtao, the 15th U.S. Infantry Regiment have laid out a camp providing during the summer months accommodation for close on 2,000 men, women, and children. The camp has its own radio station, telephone service, cinema show, hospital, mess and recreation halls, rifle, pistol, and machine-gun ranges, as well as its own water supply and sanitary service. Light is drawn from the main power lines of the Kailan Mining Administration. ai>d a good road connects the camp with Chinwangtao. Small French and Japanese military camps are also maintained at Chinwangtao. A prolonged drought in the spring of 1929 caused scarcity in food supplies. Floods are not common in this district, but in 1930 a large area near Pertaiho »i- inundated, which caused a reduction of the normal yield of the harvest of 60 per cent. 17. Civil Disorder.—Since the Native Customs office at Shanhaikwan and the various t'ungshui offices along the coast from Chinwangtao to Tangku were abolished at the end of 1930, smuggling to various points along this coast by junks coming from the Kwantung Leased Territory has become very rife. Kerosene oil, sugar, and piece goods are the principal articles brought in. Measures to combat this illegal trade are under consideration at the time of the preparation of this report. Owing to the political situation, this Custom House, then a sub-office of the Tientsin Customs, was closed for a short period towards the end of June 1930, whereafter it was reopened as a sub-office of Newchwang. From the beginning of the following year Chinwangtao was made an independent port, with Hulutao as its sub-office. Sections 3, 4, and 12 have been written by Mr. Chen Shao, 1st Assistant, B; section 9 by Mr. J. D. Cush, Acting Tidesurveyor; and I am indebted to Mr. Huang Chap-fang. 3rd Clerk, A, and Mr. Ku Jung-wu, Ho-shui-yGan, for information which assisted in the preparation of this report. I have also to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. W. B. Chilton, local a?ent of the Kailan Mining Administration, for contributing notes referring to sections 6, 7, arid 13. and id Dr. W. J. Simpson for notes for section 5. C. O C. ASKER, 31rf hecember 1931. Hrd March VrtZ C'/mndizi'/ner >jj Cvrt'jmi Chi.vwanctao, TIENTSIN. 1. TRADE.—A review of the trade under the cognizance of the Tientsin Customs during the present decade evinces that although disturbing factors were legion, the value as expressed in Haikwan taels has shown an upward trend. Internecine wars with attendant dislocation of transportation facilities, successive years of dearth caused by droughts and floods, brigandage waxing rife in the interior, the silting of the Haiho above Tangku, the sensational slump in the exchange of silver, the general depression suffered by the trade of the world, all have told adversely on the trade of this port. In its position of distributing centre for North China and Mongolia, Tientsin has also suffered loss of trade owing to the widespread famine and loss of life in Shensi during the three years' drought (1928–30), and to the monopoly that Soviet Russia has practically enjoyed in Outer Mongolia since 1929. Yet, despite all the adversities, trade statistics have shown on the whole a tendency to advance, as would appear in the following table: FOREIGN IMPORTS (NET). CHINESE EXPORTS. CHINESE IMPORTS (NET). TOTAL. From Abroad. Coastwise. To Foreign Countries. Coastwise. 1922..... 1923.... 1924..... 1925.. 1926... 1927... 1928..... 1929..... 1930. Hk.Tls. 94,963,989 75,593,115 75,715,578 84,525,205 83,818,393 99,897,093 111,994,571 113,349,084 103,641,015 108,778,678 Hk.Tls. 27,476,050 26,748,224 27,544,875 23,183,883 22,023,446 28,595,825 24,126,493 31,746,469 29,605,176 25,924,019 Hk. Tls. 47,014,868 49,646,387 60,868,408 80,057,725 76,103,282 76,849,196 98,469,955 89,250,857 71,642,482 82,563,190 Hk.Tls. 45,969,506 49,720,421 47,472,628 61,704,132 60.075.119 88,129,050 81,051,198 81,400,118 78,280,220 87,901,861 Hk.Tls. 29,091,919 36,699,791 40,094,110 38,233,821 35,554,513 31.868.059 32,608,438 26,884,621 31,944,993 45,062,189 Hk.Tls. 244,516,332 238,407,938 251,695,599 287,704,766 277,574,753 325,339,223 348,250,655 342,631,149 315,113,886 350,229,937 1931. This apparent anomaly might lead the casual observer to be sceptical about the correctness of the Customs figures as a criterion of the trade conditions actually obtaining. In fact, it should be borne in mind that with the rise in the value of gold, especially during the last three years, the value of imports has been unduly swollen in terms of silver. It is therefore difficult to reconcile Customs returns with conditions of import trade. As an attempt to arrive at a somewhat nearer and truer picture of the foreign import trade carried during the decade, when the exchange rate between gold and silver played a prominent part, the following table is given to show the trade value as it would appear if expressed in Customs gold units. The conclusion to be drawn from a study of these figures is that the volume of the foreign import trade has not followed the upward trend, which its silver value, unduly inflated by exchange rates, would lead one to believe. 22 338 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Equivalent in Value of Net Average Rate Value of Net Gold Units at Foreign Imports of Exchange Foreign Imports the Rate of in Haikwan Taels. on London. in Sterling. 19.7265 Pence = 1 Gold Unit. Hk.Tls. s. d. £ G. Units. 1922 122,440,039 3 9 22,957,507 279,309,647 1923 102,341,339 3 5} 17,803,129 216,599,544 1924 103,260,453 3 l\l 18,904,192 229,995,496 192*. 107,709,088 3 51 18,792,992 228,642,590 1926 105,841,839 3 1| 16,482,661 200,534,242 1927 128,492,918 2 9H 18,102,778 220,245,193 1928 136,121,064 2 11A 19,886,437 241,945,850 1929 145,095,553 2 711 19,232,718 233,992,461 1930 133,246,191 1 10H 12,595,929 153,246,798 134,702,697 1 6ft 10,348,254 125,900,741 On the other hand, as unfavourable conditions do not warrant undertakings on a large scale, small trading firms, satisfied with a narrow margin of profit, have grown up, and their activities have contributed to keep up, at least, the normal volume of trade. Furthermore, the demand for daily necessaries must be gratified at any cost. When it has been reduced to a minimum, it cannot fall any farther, thereby causing import activities despite trade depressions. As to exports, the Customs figures point most decidedly to an expansion of trade, the steadily rising exchange of gold having acted as an impetus. The following is a brief summary of the trade conditions for each year of the decade under review. The decade opened in the year 1922 with bright prospects. The Washington Conference having been brought to a successful issue, general conditions were more or less stabilised throughout the world. Locally, the good autumn crops of 1921 had helped to dissipate the remaining traces of suffering from the great famine of 1920 and stimulated merchants to place large orders for 1922. Bank rates were steady, and foreign exchange was stable. Production was at a high level, while business showed promises of a general expansion. Unfortunately, subsequent events shattered these hopes altogether. A spring drought drove optimists into a panic, and the situation was aggravated by the armed conflict which broke out between Generals Wu Pei-fu and Chang Tso-lin in April. Although the decisive battle was fought on the 4th May, and hostilities on the Peking-Hankow and Tientsin-Pukow Railways were terminated on the 8th, skirmishes lasted for many weeks in the neighbourhood of Shanhaikwan. Trade with the interior was rendered almost an impossibility until the middle of August on account of the disruption of railway communications. Thus, a great part of the year having been passed in the midst of the horrors of war, many importers found it difficult to extricate themselves from the effects of over-trading. Export trade, however, was prosperous, especially after August, when communications became normal and supplies could be easily replenished from the interior. The general features of the trade of 1923 were disappointing for imports and satisfactory for exports. Of the principal imports, piece goods suffered owing to the high prices ruling 1 TIENTSIN. 339 in Manchester and the destruction by earthquake of 25 per cent. of Japan's spindles. Internally, the political outlook attending the coup d'itat staged against President Li Yuan-hung and the election campaign for General Ts'ao K'un was far from reassuring. Import trade was, there- fore, characterised by a state of wavering. As to the shares of various nationalities in the import trade of the port, Germany advanced, while Japan receded. Large importations of arms and ammunition accounted partly for this advance on the part of Germany. The anti-Japanese boycott, an outcome of the occupation of Tsingtao at the time of the World War, which was not called off until the end of August, and the collapse of the mushroom factories which had sprung up in Japan during the Great War with the rapidity of the prophet's gourd, were responsible for the decline of Japan's share. The index numbers given by the British Board of Trade for average import and export values of Europe in spring 1923 showed an increase of 46 per cent. for import prices and 94 per cent. for export prices, compared with those ruling on the eve of the Great War. Consequently, there was a diminution of the purchasing power of China and, comparatively speaking, a stimulus to her export trade. A tendency was discernible towards the ultimate establishment of a balance of trade for Tientsin favourable within the meaning of the mercantile theory. But for the crisis in the cotton market during the December quarter, in connexion with the repudiation of cotton contracts by the Chinese dealers on account of good demand from Japan for spot cargo, the success of the export trade would have been far more pronounced. Disturbed as it was by flood and civil war, the trade of 1924 showed an advance in value over that of 1923. But the slight increase should not be taken to mean a wider range of commercial activities. Bright hopes entertained during the early months were not realised, and the mercantile community was filled with consternation during the latter part of the year. The menace of drought in the interior during May had in its train the devastation of the flood in the south-eastern districts of Chihli, which inundated an extensive area of land. Worse followed. The recrudescence of civil strife between the Chihli and Fengtien factions and the comman- deering of rolling-stock put a stop to all trade activities. Although the war was brought to an end by General Feng Yii-hsiang's coup d'itat in October, railway transportation was not yet restored to normal by the end of the year. The depression in trade, therefore, can be easily imagined. It was only the rise in prices of imports and exports which brought about an increase in the value of trade. Then came the year 1925, a memorable year in the history of the Tientsin Customs. It witnessed an all-round increase in Customs revenue, shipping, and value of trade—an increase which was so conspicuous as to overshadow all previous achievements. Several reasons might be adduced. First, the considerable rise in market prices led to a wholesale 1 revision and increase of Customs values for duty-paying and returns purposes. Then the tendency became manifest towards the growth of a class of small traders, contributing to wider activities and greater volume of trade. The rise of Chinese concerns run on foreign lines also played an important role in the trade of the port. This change in the method of; trading merits attention. It deviates from the old system of doing business through "foreign middlemen" and compradors and deals directly with agencies abroad. With the increase in the number of trading firms, however, competition became keen and profits decreased. Merchants, moreover, were beset with two factors detrimental to trade: unsettled political conditions and military interference with railway transportation. The latter had been going on more or less continually throughout the year and culminated, in December, in an outbreak between 340 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. General Feng Yii-hsiang's Kuominchiin troops and the Fengtien forces. The resultant confusion gave rise to unfavourable reports on trade from the point of view of the mercantile interests, in spite of the progress recorded in the Customs returns. The year 1926 was doomed to be the most deplorable during the decade under review. Early in January 1926 a concerted attack was launched on the Kuominchiin by Generals Chang Tso-lin, Wu Pei-fu, and Chang Tsung-chang. The war raged on the Peking-Moukden, Peking-Hankow, and Tientsin-Pukow lines. The allies pressed on. After a stubborn resistance, Tientsin was evacuated on the 22nd March, and Peking opened its gates on the 16th April. The stronghold of the Nankow Pass held out till the 14th July, when the allied forces penetrated into Chahar. The Kuominchiin retreated westward towards Shensi and Kansu, where hostilities did not cease until the 28th November. Therefore the hinterland to which Tientsin caters was in disturbed conditions all the year round, and merchants were cautious of entering into forward contracts. Since railways were put out of commission as regards trade, a considerable amount of Mongolian products were diverted from the Kalgan— Tientsin route to the route via bridges spanning the Kerulon and Urson Rivers and the Chinese Eastern Railway. Another serious factor was labour agitation, strikes breaking out among cotton miljs and carpet industries during the early months of the year. It is little wonder that the achievements of 1926 fell short of the level of 1925 in all respects. A recovery, however, from the depression of 1926 was effected in 1927 from the Customs point of view. A new record was set in Customs revenue and value of trade. This success may be attributed to improvement in railway communications with the interior, to freedom from active warfare in the hinterland except the Chihli-Shansi struggle during the last quarter, and to the diversion of trade to this port due to the disturbances on the Yangtze. But the year was not altogether satisfactory from the standpoint of the mercantile community, trade being handicapped by the considerable increase in the cost of railway transportation through higher freight tariffs and military surcharges. After March the Haiho silted up with the inrush of sand from the Yungtingho. As the shoaling of the upper reaches rendered the river unnavi- gable for deep-draught steamers, an additional burden was borne by merchants in the form of lighterage between Tientsin and Tangku or Hsinho. Lastly, the bankruptcy of the Union Trading Company, a leading Chinese corporation run along foreign lines, shocked the money market, and in turn affected the trade of the port. The eventful year 1928 followed. It was the year in which the anti-Northern expedition of the Nationalist forces was crowned with final success. It was the year in which Generalissimo Chang Tso-lin withdrew his troops beyond the Great Wall and met death from the outrage perpetrated at Huangkutun. It was the year in which Peking, the metropolis of China from the reign of Yunglo, was relegated to the seat of a mayoral government under the name of Peiping and in which the province of Chihli was renamed Hopeh. With such revolutionary changes came the interruption of railway communications, entailing a set-back to business. As most of the rolling-stock was carried away by the retreating forces, that available for trade fell off to only 5 per cent. of normal. The deplorable state of the Haiho continued to cause anxiety. Instead of being scoured away by summer freshets, the silt continued to accumulate. Another event which should not pass unnoticed was the poor harvest of wheat. Crops suffered partly from being laid waste by military operations and partly from drought, followed by excessive rains. It is a pleasant surprise to note, however, that notwithstanding the obstacles described above, the total value of trade exceeded the record of the previous year. The TIENTSIN. 341 explanation of the anomaly is to be found in the huge importation of foodstuffs and kerosene oil. The influx of foodstuffs was necessitated by the lean year, while kerosene oil was imported to anticipate the imposition of the special tax on the product in August. The prospect of the introduction of the special flour tax which had been in force in Shanghai since July, and which actually did go into force locally in October, was partly answerable for the enormous importation of wheat flour. The enforcement of the national Import Tariff on the 1st February 1929 was a landmark in the tariff history of China. This epoch-making event synchronised with the collection of surtaxes hitherto entrusted to the Surtax Bureau, and suddenly swelled the Customs revenue as indicated under section "3. Revenue." As to trade, several factors combined to produce a salutary effect. First, Hopeh was not contaminated by the civil war into which its neigh- bouring provinces were plunged. Secondly, the Haiho showed a considerable improvement, the silting having been gradually washed out to sea by summer freshets. Steamers drawing 13 feet could come up to the Bund. Lastly, the steady fall in silver encouraged exportation to foreign countries. These advantages, however, were counter-balanced by inadequate means of transportation due to the lack of available rolling-stock and by promiscuous taxation varying from 35 per cent. to 100 per cent. ad valorem on rail-borne goods. Famine conditions had lasted for years in the north-west, and Tientsin was denied the opportunity to meet the demand from the famine-stricken area. Another grave menace to the trade of this port was the Soviet embargo on the Outer Mongolian market. High-handed measures were taken to make that region commercially independent from this port and divert the valuable skin and wool trade to non-Chinese ports. The anti-Japanese boycott instituted late in the previous year as a protest against the invasion of Shantung went on rigorously during the March quarter and brought about a heavy slump in Japanese imports. The trade of 1930 was handicapped by civil commotion, silver depreciation, and world- wide commercial depression. Following the " Paper War" between certain Northern generals and the Nanking Government in the early part of the year, actual fighting commenced late in April and lasted for four months. In order to finance the war and the coalition government in the North, a number of irregular levies were instituted and the Tientsin Customs was seized and held by the rebel faction until the end of September, when the war was lost to the Northern side. Owing to the embargo on the export of Shanghai flour to the North during the war, local dealers had placed heavy orders for foreign flour. Through the sensational rise in gold exchange, together with an exceptionally good harvest in this province, the equilibrium in cost and selling price of this commodity was shattered, and the dealers attempted to evade their contractual obligations at the expense of the importers. Fortunately, the conditions improved later on, and the crisis, somewhat similar to the piece goods debacle of 1921, was eventually averted. Foreign importers, especially those trading in cotton piece goods, suffered severely as soaring prices, attendant to the high silver value, reduced the purchasing power of the up-country folks. On the other hand, export of native produce to foreign countries did not show any improvement, the world-wide trade depression having the effect of curtailing inquiries from abroad for most of the native products even at the low gold price prevailing. However, the dislocation and complete closing of certain inland routes as a result of the internal war proved advantageous to the coastwise trade of this port. During the September quarter, when the railway traffic to the South was interrupted, many commodities formerly conveyed direct by railway were brought to Tientsin for sea transportation, 342 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The decade closed with the year 1931, which augured wejl but ended in disappointment. The peace reigning in the early part of the year together with the comparatively steady exchange rates, though silver still remained abnormally low, had given rise to a fair proportion of trade, which, if undisturbed, would have had every prospect of expanding in the near future. Unfortunately, the situation took a sharp turn in the third quarter, and was further aggravated by new developments during the last two months of the year, so that all hopes for a recovery were crushed. General Shih Yu-san's rebellion in July, the boycott movement against the Japanese goods following the Korean riot, and the subsequent military occupation of the Manchurian provinces by the Japanese had bearings on the trade of this port. But the effect of these events amounted to only a fraction of that resulting from the ensuing local trouble of the 8th November, which almost completely paralysed the movement of merchandise through this focal point of the commerce of North China. The value of silver, which fell to such a low level in 1930, failed to recover materially in 1931. This drop in silver has resulted in an easier disposal, if not with larger profit, of the native produce on foreign markets, which has enabled the Chinese to have more money available for purchases abroad. So, while the abnormal rise in the gold may have acted as an adverse factor to foreign imports, it has given at the same time an impetus to the import trade, proving the commercial theory that when there is export there is room for import. In fact, the key-note of import and export trade does not lie so much in the exchange rates as in the uncertainty, created by abnormal or sensational fluctuation in these rates, which is the real disturbing factor influencing and restricting trade. According to the ordinary course of events, the low silver value should have greatly benefited native produce, but, probably owing to the world-wide economical depression, the gold prices offered in the foreign markets for local products were not such that when converted into silver a good margin of profit would be accrued. Therefore, when the value of silver mounted the export trade was adversely affected unless there happened to be an incidental or urgent demand to force up prices. Though the cost of native produce was much reduced by the abolition of likin and Native Customs duty, this reduction was somewhat counterbalanced by the intro- duction of the new Export Tariff and the high cost of production in the interior. Furthermore, most of the principal products still have to pay the yashui, originally the commission fees for licensed brokers, imposed to meet the local administrative expenses. The trade of this port, moreover, has had to bear the additional weight of handling charges caused by the re-silting of the Haiho above Tangku since July. As a consequence of the good harvest in this part of the country this year, followed by the anti-Japanese boycott movement, the abolition of the gold standard in most of the gold currency countries, and the favourable cross- rate, a lot of accumulated non-Japanese articles has changed hands, while a large quantity of Japanese goods imported during the closing quarter of the year has remained in godowns undelivered. But the importers generally complained of a bad year, business having been done on little or no profit at all. Imports.—The remarkable feature of the decade under review was the tremendous advance in the import of foreign and native wheat flour and grain, of which rice took the principal part. This augmentation, however, cannot be taken as a sign of healthy expansion of the trade of the port; for, according to the theory of economy, the more foodstuffs are imported the less the purchasing power of the populace for other commercial commodities will be. Foreign wheat flour imported averaged 1,780,000 piculs and rice 1,160,000 piculs a year, as opposed to the respective yearly averages of 225,000 and 62,900 piculs in the last decennial period. The importation of native wheat flour and rice was also heavy, averaging TIENTSIN. 343 respectively 2,600,000 and 467,000 piculs a year. Compared with the figures of the previous decade, the former has tripled, while the latter has dropped by 12 per cent. in favour of the foreign stuff. The cause attributed to this huge influx of foodstuffs will be dealt with under section "5. Agriculture." A cursory study of the major items of piece goods reveals that cheaper foreign cotton piece goods were largely supplanted by native ones, which not only compared favourably with foreign products but also were sold at such a low price as to defeat most competitors. The more expensive foreign worked cottons, such as prints, dyed goods, fancies, and those with special finish were, however, able to hold ground, as the native manufactures in this line were not fully developed. The following table is purported to show the extent to which the lower- grade foreign cotton piece goods were affected by the growth of the weaving industry in China during the current period:— Foreign. Native. Pieces. Pieces. . . . 7,223,200 5,211,000 478,857 4,502,629 Drills, „ „ ... . . . 562,618 2,616,929 . . . 1,338,490 649,425 Total .... . . . 9,603,165 . 12,979,983 In spite of the above tendency and the spasmodic boycott movements, Japanese cotton piece goods in general held tenaciously on the local market, on account of their comparatively cheaper price and prompter delivery when compared to those from other countries. Only when quality, not price, is of paramount importance can European and American goods successfully compete with the Japanese articles. Foreign cotton yarn has gradually lost its former signifi- cance; from 199,000 piculs in 1922, it fell to only 133 piculs in 1931, showing an average of 57,000 piculs a year. On the other hand, the importation of native cotton yarn steadily increased to the amount of 2 million piculs for the whole decade. On account of the popularity among the well-to-do Chinese of foreign-style apparel, woollens and woollen mixtures, despite their soaring prices, maintained a yearly average of 2 million taels in value. Under miscellaneous piece goods, foreign artificial silk yarn played a prominent part. It grew in importance in the year 1925, when 4,445 piculs, valued at 576,560 taels, were imported, and continued to expand till 1929, in which year a total of 58,338 piculs, to the value of 6£ million taels, was reached. However, in the last two years of the decade it fell to half the 1929 amount, in sympathy with the failure in the native rayon-weaving industry, the reason for which will be explained under section "6. Industrial Development." Metals, dyes, chemical products, and electrical materials, though undergoing ups and downs during the decade, showed satisfactory yearly averages of 6, 4.4, 2.3, and 1 million taels respectively. German articles have partly, though not entirely, recovered the market lost on account of the War. Foreign sugar averaged about 1.2 million piculs and native sugar 95,000 piculs a year, as opposed to the corresponding figures of 620,000 and 84,000 piculs for the last decade. At first a greater portion of this commodity came from Hongkong, and then the cheap Java product found its way to the market, while towards the close of the decade Japanese sugar 344 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. showed a tendency threatening to both. Kerosene oil reached the climax of 44 million American gallons in 1925. Since then it was subject to a reverse, and in 1931 only 22 millions were recorded, undoubtedly due to the abnormally high price. Nevertheless, it showed an average of 31 million gallons a year, as against the yearly average of 25 £ millions in the last decade. The motor road improvement, particularly in Shansi, and the heavy military transportation combined to create an increased demand on motor cars and trucks, averaging an importation of 580 pieces a year. Parallel to this expansion was the importation of gasolene and benzine, aggregating 23.5 million American gallons for the present decade. The average importation of foreign-made cigarettes was 800,000 mille, valued at 2.6 million taels, and that of native- made 62,000 piculs, to the value of 6.4 million taels, the cheapest varieties being always able to find a ready market. In late years the decline in both native and foreign cigarettes was most noticeable owing to high taxation. Foreign wines followed the same trend as foreign cigarettes: from 600,000 taels in 1922, the importation in 1928 rose to 980,000 taels in value and then sagged away to 370,000 taels in 1931. Some of the foreign wine and beer, especially the latter, were replaced to a certain extent by the native beverage. Native beer imported by steamers during the decade amounted to 298,000 dozen, irrespective of the quantity conveyed here by railways. Of the 24.5 million taels worth of machines and machinery imported during the decade, the first year alone accounted for 5.5 million taels, a greater portion of which amount represented large consignments of cotton-spinning machinery. Since then no value of any significance was recorded, though a few of the later years witnessed the inflow of some machinery for soda-making, carpet spinning and weaving. Timber, both native and foreign, advanced by leaps and bounds in importation, mainly due to the busy building operations in the port. 2 million taels of foreign and 3 million taels worth of native timber were the yearly averages of the decade. The Japanese match trade has been totally killed by the local article, though Swedish matches seemed likely at one time to take the place of the Japanese import. Native cotton socks, candles, and common window glass outnumbered the foreign articles in importation. In the case of window glass, the product of the Yao Hua Glass Factory, Chinwangtao, began to arrive in 1924 with 2,000 cases of 100 square feet each and then proceeded to 46,000 cases in 1931, the total number of cases imported during these eight years being 318,000 cases, a gain of 59,000 cases over the foreign article imported during the same period. Foreign candles and cotton socks averaged respectively 1,200 piculs and 20,600 taels a year, while the corresponding native imports reached 14,000 piculs and 280,000 taels yearly. Exports.—The export trade of the port developed most satisfactorily during the decade, although the balance was still in favour of the import trade, as is shown in the value table appearing under the section now dealt with. Almost every important item of the staple exports showed an increase when compared with the last decade. Raw cotton, the most important of the staples, averaged 668,000 piculs a year, representing an increase of about 100 per cent. Carpets, exported in 1922, amounted to 3 million taels in value, in 1926, 6.6 millions, and in 1931, 4.7 millions, the average of the whole decade being 5 million taels. Lately, most of the carpets have been made from machine-spun yarn and with chemical dyes, but the beauty and characteristics of the old Chinese carpet industry in respect to designs and colouring has so far been preserved. Pig and sheep intestines came into prominence during the present decade. Beginning with 580,000 taels in 1922, the export value of this article swelled to 1.7 million taels in 1931, though in the latter year the trade was somewhat hampered by the enforcement of the Food Act in the United States, a heavy buyer of this commodity. Hemp dropped year by year, but jute rose up in its place. The yearly quantity of hemp TIENTSIN. 345 exported fell within 5,000 piculs, while that of jute exceeded 80,000 piculs. Eggs, egg products, beans, groundnuts, walnuts, apricot seeds, horsehair, hides, straw braid, and liquorice all did well, the respective average quantities exported annually being:— In the first part of the decade bristles fetched an exceedingly good price, which, however, did not prevail in the latter part, due, in addition to the world trade depression, to the use abroad of spraying guns for enamelling and painting where brushes were previously necessary. The average quantity of bristles exported was 20,000 piculs. Linseed and cotton seeds showed poorly, with export averages of 112,000 and 196,000 piculs respectively. The high initial cost and low market price have discouraged the planting of the former seeds, while the latter, though abundant in production, have been held up in the interior for pressing oil rather than for marketing at a loss. The export of cement made a remarkable improvement, averaging 1.2 million piculs a year. Soda ash and artificial silk piece goods and mixtures were the new exports of the decade, the aggregate for the former being around 1 million piculs, mostly for Japan, and that for the latter, 46,000 piculs, valued at 3 million taels, nearly all for Chinese ports. A considerable quantity, in addition to the above amount, of this new fabric has been distributed through the parcel post and thus escaped our records. The value of skins and wool exported during the decade amounted to 254 million taels, or approximately 25 per cent. of the total export value. To the above-mentioned figure, goat skins contributed 23 million taels; goat mats and rugs, 3.3 millions; imitation moufflons (plucked goat skins), 5.5 millions; lamb skins and crosses, 20.3 millions; marmot skins, 18.2 millions; kid skins and crosses, 9.4 millions; sheep skins, 1.3 millions; dog skins, 18 millions; dog skin mats and rugs, 1.2 millions; fox skins, 8.2 millions; hare and rabbit skins, 3.2 millions; squirrel skins, 1.1 millions; weasel skins, 1.3 millions; wolf, 1.8 millions; other skins, 7.2 millions; camels' wool, 27 millions; goats' wool, 13 millions; and sheep's wool, 91 millions. Since the World War the skin and wool market has been shifted from England and Germany to the United States of America, to which country the yearly export used to surpass that of the last decade. But after the American stock exchange crisis in the autumn of 1929, and the subsequent world trade depression, this line of trade has been hard hit, though the low silver exchange has some- what acted as a relief to avert a total collapse. The Soviet monopoly of the Mongolian market, where skins are the principal products, and the preferential duty treatment accorded to the Argentine wool by the American Government have also been a deterrent to the skin and wool trade of this port. Although the export trade in general showed a satisfactory advance in this decade, there was constant complaint from the foreign markets with regard to quality and price. Unless Eggs . . Egg products Beans . . Groundnuts Walnuts . Apricot seeds Horsehair Hides . . Straw braid . Liquorice . . . . Mille 200,000 Value, Hk.Tls. 5,000,000 Piculs 800,000 200,000 100,000 40,000 7,600 22,000 31,000 34,000 346 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922–31. the price of the Chinese produce is adjusted to a reasonable level, coupled with an improvement in the quality, its standing in foreign markets will no doubt be affected, in view of the keen competition prevailing. 2. SHIPPING.—The tonnage of the port was on an upward trend during the first eight years, but a tendency to decline is to be noted for the last two as a consequence of the world trade depression. The highest peak was reached in 1929, when a total of 5,627,031 tons was registered. Though the tonnage dropped in 1930 and 1931, yet an increase of 1,661,618 and 1,371,701 tons respectively can be observed when compared with 1922. A tabulated list is given below:- AMERICAN. BRITISH GERMAN. JAPANESE. CHINESE. OTHER FLAGS. TOTAL. Tons. 1922 1923.... 1924.. 1925. 1926. 1927. 1928. 1929.. 1930.... 1931............. 266,869 390,396 319,144 370,446 372,198 347,862 448,347 393,005 389,689 335,852 Tons. 1,187,520 | 1,220,741 1,228,115 1,264,107 1,301,424 1,234,012 1,573,529 1,514,907 1,445,511 1,379,857 Tons. Tons. 77.216 1,257,992 207,844 | 1,202,564 259,852 ; 1,297,416 284,019 1,840,500 304,612 1,802,057 359,316 1,855,931 397,856 2,028,665 478,926 2,124,113 450,384 2,097,438 439,598 1,785,686 Tons. 650,194 714,427 760,960 721,423 913,284 727,376 917,341 840,471 745,838 744,706 Tons. 188,839 117,859 184,578 159,696 332,200 68,370 226,048 275,609 161,388 314,632 Tons. 3,628,630 3,853,831 4,050,065 4,840,191 4,825,775 4,592,867 5,591,786 5,627,031 5,290,248 5,000,331 From the above list it will be seen that the Japanese flag was closely followed by the British flag. The Chinese took the third place, the American, the fourth, and the German, the fifth. Then came the other flags. Japan's geographical proximity to China and the addition of many steamers to the Tientsin run, consequent on the dullness in the freight market elsewhere, had swelled the tonnage of the Japanese flag at an amazing rate since 1925, when the British shipping was placed in a difficult position on account of the Shanghai shipping strike following the “May 30th affair.” The strike of the foreign officers of the China Navigation Company in 1927 also restricted the activities of the British shipping. However, in the carrying of coast trade, British steamers still retained the predominating share over others. The following is a table showing the percentage of the direct and coast trade carried under different flags during the decade:- Flag. DIRECT TRADE. COAST TRADE TOTAL. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. American .. British German........ Japanese ...... Chinese Other flags Tons. 988,685 1,429,412 917,231 5,903,502 109,965 600,721 Tons. 2,645,123 11,920,311 2,342,392 11,388,860 7,626,055 1,428,498 Tons. 3,633,808 13,349,723 3,259,623 17,292,362 7,736,020 2,029,219 TOTAL ....... 9,949,516 37,351,239 47,300,755 100 TIENTSIN. 347 It is interesting to note that the total value of the direct trade of this port represented 55 per cent. of the whole trade, while the shipping for direct trade only showed 21 per cent. of the whole tonnage, in the decade. This big difference or unequal proportion lies in the fact that most steamers carrying direct trade called at other treaty ports and consequently were treated here as coastwise steamers. The one remarkable feature of the decade was the reappearance since the War of the German merchantmen, which attained such rapid progress that the pre-War figures were surpassed in both tonnage and trade carried. The direct trade carried by American steamers experienced a great advance over any decade in the past, though still lagging behind the British and Japanese flags. Competition between Conference and non-Conference steamers was so tense in 1923 that the former were constrained to reduce their freight rates to America from Gold $11 to $9.50 per ton, and as since 1927 the supply of tonnage on the American run was more than sufficient for the need of the port, the rate was further forced down to Gold $9 per ton. The Chinese tonnage would have somewhat improved had a number of steamers not been commandeered for military transportation from time to time. It benefited, however, by the shipping strike in Shanghai in 1925, when Chinese tonnage suddenly expanded to 921,423 tons, representing 1,160 entries and clearances, the highest figure ever recorded under the flag during the decade. Through the constant disorganisation of railways, steamship companies received a fillip in passenger traffic between coastal ports during the greater part of the decade. The silting of the Haiho from August 1927 to September 1929 and again since July 1931 has prevented deep-draught vessels from coming to the Tientsin Bund, causing a great inconvenience to the shipping interest. The extent to which the shipping was affected during different periods is shown in the following table:— Arrivals at Tangku. Arrivals at Tientsin. Total. Vessels. Tonnage. Vessels. Tonnage. Vessels. Tonnage. 37 279 1,123 1,071 96 823 37,679 315,632 1,251,301 1,211,684 124,987 845,017 1,665 1,239 668 544 1,460 802 1,566,386 1,114,533 443,892 448,479 1,453,096 727,955 1,702 1,518 1,791 1,615 1,556 1,625 1,604,065 1,430,165 1,695,193 1,660,163 1,578,083 1,572,972 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 During the decade many coasters were installed with wireless, taking advantage of the wireless station erected at Taku in 1923. During the latter part of the decade several motor vessels appeared on the regular run between Japan and Tientsin, most of them being specially built for this line by the Osaka Shosen Kaisha. Though proving a success from the point of view of economy, cargo carrying capacity, and navigation in the ice season, the lines of their hulls, which cause considerable suction and wash in the narrow river, have given ground for a number of accidents. 348 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Steam and motor launch traffic have not undergone any noticeable changes, whilst, on the other hand, the number of steam-tugs and steel lighters plying between Tientsin, Tangku, and Taku Bar has considerably increased. The harbour limits of the port of Tientsin were extended on the 6th June 1930 from the International Bridge to the ex-Austrian Bridge (Chin T'ang Ch'iao), crossing from the end of the Japanese Bund to the ex-Austrian Concession. In 1929 a Japanese destroyer visited Tientsin, anchoring off the Japanese Bund. The purpose of this visit was to demonstrate the desirability of the Japanese shipping using this section of the harbour. The tourist traffic has come into vogue in late years. So far as can be ascertained, 20 American and European tourist parties, representing 6,020 persons, passed through Tientsin on their way to Peiping and Nankow since the beginning of 1927. Most of them were by steamers to Chinwangtao and thence to Tientsin or Peiping by train. There were only two occasions in which the travellers directly embarked at Tangku. Taking it for granted that each tourist spent, say, $200 for railway fare, hotel charges, and other expenses, a handsome amount of 1.2 million dollars must have been spent in China. Besides Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son and the Japanese Tourist Bureau, which have offices at Tientsin, the China Travel Service opened in 1925 a branch office here as well as in other important centres of North China, affording many facilities to the travelling public. 3. Revenue.—It may be recollected that the dawn of this decade was heralded amidst a general prospect of restoration of tariff autonomy to China, and this movement of restoration was subsequently destined to play the chief role in the history of the Customs during this period. Immediately after the adjournment of the Washington Conference there was the promulgation of the Import Tariff of 1922, which, as a first step provided for by the Conference, brought the rates to an effective 5 per cent. basis. The second step, namely, the holding of a conference in Peking to discuss the details in regard to the imposition of a surtax, the abolition of likin, and the final restoration of tariff autonomy, was not carried out until October 1925. Two years later, in 1927, the so-called Washington surtax at 2\ per cent. for ordinary goods and at 5 per cent. for luxuries was levied in this port for the first time. Up to the 15th February 1929 this surtax was collected by a separate Surtax Bureau independent of the Customs, which from February 1927 to June 1928 operated under the orders of the then Peking Government and subsequently came under the control of the new Government at Nanking. Thus the Customs revenue figures were not affected by this new imposition until the promulgation of China's first National Tariff, the Import Tariff of 1929. Since then there have been two more revisions of the Import Tariff and one of the Export Tariff, which naturally account for many of the remarkable increases shown in the revenue table appearing farther down. Another important change during this decade was the adoption of the Customs gold unit currency for Customs purposes, which was first introduced in February 1930, followed by the establishment at Tientsin, in May 1931, of a branch of the Central Bank of China. This bank, which functions as the Customs bank, is authorised by the Ministry of Finance to issue gold unit bank-notes and transacts business in gold units, thereby offering merchants greater facilities for the payment of Customs duties. TIENTSIN. 349 The comparative figures for the last 10 years are shown in the following table:— Import Export Coast Transit Dues. Tonnage ToTaL.f Duty. Duty. Trade Dues. Duty. Inwards. Outwards. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. 1922 2,807,275 1,826,001 201,737 971,175 630,234 141,988 6,578,410 1923 2,752,965 2,114,336 207,821 982,237 550,618 123,616 6,731,593 1924 3,021,788 2,203,950 218,362 942,707 424,239 111,532 6,922,578 1925 3,492,117 2,631,213 241,017 1,348,068 562,658 182,866 8,457,939 1926 3,429,384 2,589,854 227,936 1,274,621 240,330 160,638 7,922,763 1927 3,612,141 3,078,445 242,253 1,402,973 178,090 123,999 8,637,901 1928 3,998,766 2,964,935 261,535 1,546,351 58,393 150,366 8,980,346 1929 9,319,839 4,296,545 356,035 1,069,221 98,538 144,782 15,284,960 1930 9,027,084 3,135,439 230,686 651,667 99,554 81,217 13,225,647 1931 18,326,739 4,916,313* 97,145 23,340,197 • Including Interport Duty, amounting to Hk.Tls. 464,557, introduced from the 1st June 1931. t Excluding Famine and Flood Relief Surtax, Hk.TU. 486,866.165, collected in 1922, 1925, 1926, 1927, and 1932. From the above table it will be seen that the annual totals kept below 10 millions until 1929, when the first momentous increase was recorded, the total revenue for that year being 15 millions. The ostensible decrease for 1930 is explained by the fact that for three and a half months of the year the Tientsin Customs were out of our control and the revenue then collected was not accounted for. But, if the amount of Hk.Tls. 4,818,538 said to have been collected during that usurpation period is added to the total, there would be an increase of approximately 3 millions instead of a decrease of 2 millions. The result for 1931 is indeed remarkable. This advance, however, should not be too happily accepted as an indication of prosperity, nor should it be interpreted as a token of complaint against an exorbitant tariff. The cause is simply that the silver Haikwan tael expression of the actual gold unit amount has been unduly swollen by the high gold exchange. While the exchange rate between Haikwan taels and Hongp'ing taels remained fixed at 105, the first gold unit rate for Tientsin in 1930 was G.U. 100 = Hp.Tls. 81, but in 1931 the same amount of gold units was worth about Hp.Tls. 125. This alone contributed about a 50 per cent. increase over 1930 in import duty. The export duty, on the other hand, remained fluctuating within a margin of 5 lacs till 1929. The 1931 record was apparently due to the revision of the Export Tariff, which brought the 1858 rates to a more effective 5 per cent. basis. Given better conditions, it certainly should have yielded more for the year. 4. Currency and Finance.—It is gratifying to note that, despite the chaotic financial conditions experienced during the decade under review, banking circles in this port have been able to cope with many a critical storm, which, if not properly tided over, would have seriously affected the pecuniary market of Tientsin, the gate of North China. The superabundant issue of unredeemable bank-notes by the Chihli Provincial Bank, the successive bankruptcy of a number of long-standing local banks, and the failure of the Union Trading Company, all tended to shatter the money market and disturb the stability of the financial situation. Never- theless, all the leading banks have managed to hold their ground and to maintain the confidence of the public. Slack trade and lack of big industrial investments having restricted the activities of the bankers, who found themselves with more money in hand than was required by the 350 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. market, a conservative policy has been adopted by most, though not all, of the banks in Tientsin during the latter part of the decade, adequate reserves being held and business done on a sounder basis. Nearly every bank here possesses godowns for storage of export cotton and other commodities negotiated on the credit of the bank. The benefit is twofold, because apart from the earning of storage fees, the loan made is secured by the custody of the cargo. The Central Bank of China, a national bank, opened its branch office here on the 10th April 1931, when the function of the Customs duty collection was taken over from the Bank of Communications. Since its inauguration both the Bank of China and the Bank of Communications have been put on the status of semi-Government banks under new charters. To the former is assigned the particular task of developing foreign and domestic commerce, and to the latter that of promoting home industries. All the principal Chinese banks, particularly the Bank of China, the Bank of Commu- . nications, and the China and South Sea Bank, Ltd., with large resources at their disposal, have been successful in the development and expansion of their business and serve the financial market well. The foreign banks, on the other hand, have not expanded their operations to any great extent, in view of general unfavourable conditions. The Banque Industrielle de Chine, closed in July 1921, reopened its office here in January 1923, first under the name of Societe Francaise de Gerance de la Banque Industrielle de Chine and then under the present name of Banque Franco-Chinoise pour le Commerce et l'lndustrie. The "Bons de Repartition" in the hands of the Far Eastern creditors of the bank were changed with new bonds in gold francs, bearing interest at the rate of 5 per cent., and redeemable in 23 years by means of the portion of the Boxer Indemnity still due to France. The Russo-Asiatic Bank, an old established banking concern, failed and went into liquidation in September 1926, as a consequence of which the clients have so far received a dividend of 50 per cent. Runs on the banks were frequent occurences during the decade. There was almost a yearly run on the Chihli Provincial Bank, which eventually stopped the cashing of its notes, amounting to $16,000,000. The moratorium is said to have been officially ordered by General Ch'u Yu-pu, the then Tupan of the Chihli province. Up to the present these notes are still unredeemed. The direct sufferers are mostly poor people whose hard-earned savings comprised the major part of the 10 and 20 cent notes issued by that bank. Other banks who failed to redeem their bank-notes after bankruptcy were the Honan and Shantung Provincial Banks, the Great North-western Bank, the Industrial Development Bank of China, the Silk and Tea Industry Bank, the Sino-Scandinavian Bank, the Exchange Bank of China, and the Chinese-American Bank of Commerce. The total amount of notes unredeemed, though not ascertained, must have been an amazing sum. It may be worthy of mentioning that the Tientsin office of the Shansi Provincial Bank, which at one time circulated its bank-notes here, left not a single note uncashed on its withdrawal in 1930. But in its own province there has been a financial panic caused by the over-circulating of paper money, said to amount to $63,000,000 in face value. The want of reserve or specie has made these drop down to $0.20 per dollar. Through the permission of the Central Government, a financial rehabilitation loan of $24,000,000 will be floated, whereby the depreciated notes will be redeemed at 15 cents for a dollar. TIENTSIN. 351 At present six foreign and 11 Chinese banks at Tientsin are issuing bank-notes. The notes issued by the Bank of China, the Bank of Communications, and the China and South Sea Bank, Ltd., are readily accepted and widely circulated in the port as well as in the interior. Notes bearing the name of Tientsin or Peiping are indiscriminately accepted everywhere within the borders of Hopeh. A great number of gold yen notes issued by the Japanese Bank of Chosen changed hands daily, largely for speculation purpose. Many native cash shops and silversmith shops were engaged in the buying and selling of gold bars towards the close of the decade, when sensational fluctuations in the exchange induced them to run all possible risk. The Chinese Bankers' Association, Tientsin, has become a powerful organisation, only banks of good standing being admitted as members. As against 27 in the last decade, there are now only 15 members, viz., the Bank of China, the Bank of Communications, the China and South Sea Bank, Ltd., the Yenyieh Commercial Bank, the Continental Bank, Ltd., the Kincheng Banking Corporation, the Dah Sun Bank, the Chih Yeh Bank of China, the National Industrial Bank of China, the National Commercial Bank, Ltd., the Commercial Guarantee Bank of Chihli, the Sin Hua Trust and Savings Bank, the Chung Foo Union Bank, the Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank, Ltd., and the Tung Lai Bank. The number of non-associates is 13 in all. They are: the Dah Chun Bank, the Agricultural and Industrial Bank of China, Ltd., the Ming Wha Commercial and Savings Bank, the Central Bank of China, the Frontier Bank, the Jehol Hsing Yeh Bank, the Manufacturers Bank of China, the Feng Yeh Bank, the Hopeh Provincial Bank, the Yi Fa Bank, the Yii Tsin Bank, the National Commercial and Savings Bank, Ltd., and the Land Bank of China, Ltd. When any member of the association meets with an unexpected difficulty the whole body comes to his rescue, thus avoiding develop- ment of an untoward situation likely to affect the money market. The number of foreign banks now functioning in Tientsin is 17. Their names are: the American Express Company, Inc., the American Oriental Banking Corporation, the Banque Franco-Chinoise pour le Commerce et l'lndustrie, the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China, the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank, the Equitable Eastern Banking Corporation, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the Italian Bank for China, the National City Bank of New York, the Bank of Chosen, the Great Eastern Bank, the Seiryu Ginko (Chenglung Bank), the Tientsin Bank, the Yokohama Specie Bank, Ltd., the Banque de l'lndo-Chine, the Banque Sino-Francaise, and the Banque Beige pour l'fitranger. In 1927 the failure of the Union Trading Company, involving a loss of some 8 million dollars, created a panic in the money market. It was one of the largest Chinese firms in Tientsin, carrying direct trade with foreign countries. Happily, the concerted action of the bankers saved the precarious situation. In 1923 the Tientsin Mint turned out subsidiary silver coins of 10, 20, and 50 cent. denominations, bearing the design of dragon and phoenix; but the work was discontinued in the following year, when it devoted its attention to the coining of 20-cash coppers, which is said to yield more profit than the minting of silver coins or 10-cash coins, as the face value of 20-cash coppers is far above its intrinsic value. Owing to over-production, these coppers gradually depreciated from an average of 110 pieces to a dollar in 1922 to 190 pieces in 1931. The 10-cash and 1-cent coppers have practically disappeared from the market. The silver dollars in circulation are Peiyang, Hupeh, Kiangnan, Dragon, Hongkong, Mexican, and those 352 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. bearing the images of Dr. Sun Yat-sen and ex-President Yuan Shih-k'ai. The last two kinds are more popular in use than the others. There are two grades of subsidiary silver coins on the market, viz., 10 and 20 cent pieces. They are of numerous designs, and their exchange rates vary according to their fineness. On account of the unsettled state of affairs, a great quantity of silver dollars has been absorbed by individuals for hoarding purposes. The rate of a dollar reached in 1931 a minimum of Hp.Tls. 0.687625 and a maximum of Hp.Tls. 0.715, as compared to a minimum of Hp.Tls. 0.693125 and a maximum of Hp.Tls. 0.699750, respectively, in 1922. To effect a remedy in checking the unusual rise in the dollar rate, the Hopeh Provincial Government planned towards the end of 1931 to reopen the Tientsin Mint, but this device has been hampered by the "November 8th incident." There is no gold standard adopted in North China as elsewhere, the tael being still taken as the medium for business transactions. In August 1918 a scheme for issue of gold currency notes and for the organisation of a Currency Bureau was submitted by the then Minister of Finance, Mr. Tsao Ju-lin, and sanctioned by the then Peking Government. But, as an opposition was raised against the scheme, it has remained in abeyance ever since. Recently, the Central Bank and several others have been authorised to issue Customs gold unit notes, cheques, and orders to meet the requirements of the mercantile community in the payment of Customs import duty. A Customs gold unit is fixed at 60.1866 centigrammes of pure gold. It has been working smoothly and, therefore, may be taken as a prelude to the nation-wide adoption of gold standard. In North China no remittances have ever been received from emigrants. In fact, the only emigrants from this part of China go to Manchuria and earn just enough for self-sustaining purposes. 5. Agriculture.—China has faced a big problem in her food production, because, although ranking as one of the leading agricultural countries, she has been largely dependent upon foreign sources for her food supply. In this respect North China, which comprises Hopeh, Honan, Kansu, Shensi, and Shansi, lying partly or wholly in the fertile basin of the Yellow River, is no exception. The quantity of cereals and wheat flour, both foreign and native, imported in this decade assumed a greater proportion than in any other decade in the past. The agricultural methods have shown little advance on the primitive forms of centuries ago, and no modern machinery of any kind has been employed in cultivation, in striking contrast to the Western countries, where machines are being invented in profusion for every kind of agricultural enterprise. The only power employed, besides human labour, has been supplied by animals, and these, unfortunately, were commandeered on many occasions by the troops for military operations during the strifes which occurred in nearly every year of the decade. The productivity of the land was thus reduced to a minimum. In addition to the heavy burden of the increased land tax with its various surcharges, the farmers, who constitute about 80 per cent. of the whole population, had to shoulder the major part of the enhanced and special levies on such daily necessities as salt, sugar, and kerosene oil. Moreover, the dislocation of transportation facilities and the very high rates of taxation imposed en route on the products, which only ceased in the last year of the decade, had restricted the outlet for agricultural and pastoral produce to the markets, while the lack of scientific measures subjected the poor peasants continually to such reverses of nature as droughts, floods, and insect pests, TIENTSIN. 353 which were only too frequent in this part of the country. The famine of 1920-21 had already created food shortage, but the big flood in 1924 and the three years' continuous drought in the north-western provinces, particularly in the provinces of Shensi and Kansu, together with the constant stationing of large military forces, drained almost all the surplus stocks accumulated in North China. Under these deplorable conditions the rural populace can hardly be expected to raise the standard of their social and economical life, which is of paramount importance for achieving modernisation and industrialisation in the agricultural field. However, an advance was shown in the growing of cotton, particularly in Hopeh and Shansi. In the province of Hopeh the average annual production is estimated at 3 million piculs, and the average yearly export, at 668,000 piculs. The difference of 2.4 million piculs may be considered as the quantity partly consumed locally in cotton mills, by the hand-weaving industry, and for other purposes, and partly conveyed to the neighbouring provinces through exits not under the cognizance of the Tientsin Customs. Cotton produced in Hopeh may be classified into three kinds according to its districts of production, viz., Hsiho, Yuho, and Tungpeiho, among which the Hsiho variety predominates both in quantity and in quality. The Hsiho long staple cotton, originated from the American imported seeds, compares favourably with the American cotton, while the short staple produced in the same region has also a good reputation and commands the market for its fitness in the manufacture of woollen mixtures. The total area of land under cotton cultivation is a little over 8.3 million mou, while about 78 million mou is under the cultivation of other crops, such as wheat, maize, kaoliang, and millet, which are the principal diet for the mass of the people in the North. The market price of the land suitable for cotton-growing is from $70 to $100 per mou, and land for other crops can be bought from $30 to $70 per mou. From these figures it may be deduced that cotton-growing is more lucrative than the cultivation of other crops, and the fact is borne out by a report kindly supplied by the Cotton Testing Department of the Bureau of Inspection and Testing for Commercial Commodities, Tientsin, which reads as follows:— Comparison of profit between cotton and other crops: In Hopeh: Gross receipts from cotton production, per mou . . . . $16.70 Total expenses for „ „ „ „ 12.50 Net profit from „ „ „ . . . . $ 4.20 Gross receipts from growing other crops, per mou . . . $12.30 Total expenses for „ „ „ „ „ .... 10.00 Net profit from „ „ „ „ „ ... $ 2.30 Excess of cotton profit over other crops, per mou . . . . $ 1.90 23 354 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. In Shansi: Gross receipts from cotton production, per mou .... $14.40 Total expenses for „ „ „ „ 9.70 Net profit from „ „ „ „ . . . . $ 4.70 Gross receipts from growing other crops, per mou . . $10.75 Total expenses for „ „ „ , 8.00 Net profit from „ „ „ „ $2.75 Excess of cotton profit over other crops, per mou . . . . $ 1.95 The rate of land tax is not uniform in this province; in some districts it has been raised 53 per cent. over that of 1912. The average tax per mou is $1, including surcharges for various purposes. Probably on account of the depletion of farm labour caused by war, banditry, etc., the terms for rental have recently been more favourable for the tenants. The old basis of a 2:8 ratio no longer exists. According to the statistics published by the Hopeh Provincial Govern- ment in 1928, the average scale for 1 mou of wholly rented farm (i.e., the tenant being solely responsible for the farm) is $6 for first-class land; $5 for second; $4 for third; $3 for fourth; $2.50 for fifth; $2 for sixth; and $1 for seventh. The rent may also be paid in kind equal in value to the amount prescribed. For partly rented farms (i.e., on purely a "crop contract" basis) an equal proportion of products is made between owner and tenant for the first, second, third, and fourth class land, and in the case of the fifth, sixth, and seventh classes the 4:6 ratio is maintained, that is to say, 40 per cent. of the total yield goes to the owner and the remaining 60 per cent. to the tenant. The average yearly receipts of a farming family working on a land less than 50 mou are $271; over 50 mou, $417; and over 100 mou, $779; while their respective estimated expenditure is $302, $468, and $870, leaving a deficit to them in each and every case. They have to eke out their living by undertaking a secondary or side industry, such as hand-weaving, braiding, fowl-farming, stock-raising, bee-keeping, and silkworm-breeding, which brings them a little surplus profit, after making up the deficit, of say $28, $20, and $7 for each family, in the above order. From this it may also be deduced that the greater the area of land worked the less the profit gained. This paradox lies in the fact that farmers working on larger tracts of land are oftentimes called on to pay more taxes than those on smaller ones and that their expenditure for the maintenance of the farm and cost of living is far higher. In the yearly outlay of a farmer fertilisers occupy an important place second only to rent. As the application of organic animal refuse is both costly and elaborate in process, the inorganic chemical fertiliser has stepped into the farming field. The statistics kept by the Customs show that the import of sulphate of ammonia has been rapidly growing in quantity, from 13,782 piculs in 1925 to 174,482 piculs in 1931. But whether or not it is a boon to the agricultural TIENTSIN. 355 community cannot be ascertained, for there still exists a divergence of opinions among theusers. Most Chinese farmers here are still ignorant of the importance, or at least unaccustomed to the use, of animal bones, which, when made into dust, are a valuable fertiliser, generally containing 20 to 30 per cent. phosphorus and 1 to 4 per cent. nitrogen. There are two Japanese factories in the vicinity of Tientsin engaged in the manufacturing of this dust to be exported to their home country. The average yearly export of this commodity has exceeded 300,000 piculs in quantity. As the soil in Hopeh is of a porous nature, requiring much water to make it productive, and as the irrigation system is inadequate, the well-digging scheme, originally launched by the International Famine Relief Commission, has been extensively carried out in South Hopeh. 40,000 wells have already been dug, and more are under way. At the instance of the Hopeh Provincial Government, the Engineering Department of the said Commission has made a technical survey as to the possibility of irrigation by wells. In the year 1926 a demonstration farm was started by the Hopeh International Famine Relief Commission at Chienying village, about 30 miles from Tientsin. The purpose of this farm is not to experiment or make research, but to demonstrate methods which have already proved to be valuable to Chinese agriculture. Different kinds of farm machinery, superior to the traditional and primitive implements and thoroughly adapted to local conditions, have been loaned or rented extensively; improved wheat and corn seeds have been distributed; methods of combating plant disease have been explained; poultry of foreign stock have been raised, while eggs for hatching have been sold widely. Furthermore, lectures, illustrated by charts and exhibits, are a regular part of the programme. The rural co-operative credit system introduced into Hopeh in 1923 by the China International Famine Relief Commission has been working very successfully. Beginning with eight organised and unorganised societies in 1924, it developed in 1930 to 946 societies, of which 277 were recognised by the Commission and thereby entitled to its assistance. The total amount of capital of the two kinds of societies has been accordingly increased to $231,820 from an initial capital of $286. Loans also have been issued at very low interest to farmers unable to raise the necessary funds for buying seeds and other essentials for agricultural operations. In addition to the Cotton Experimental Station at Chengting, under the control of the former Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, now the Ministry of Industry, whose past efforts and exertions in improving the planting of cotton deserve a special mention, four new stations along the same line have been established by the Hopeh Provincial Bureau of Industry at Tientsin, Peiping, Taming, and Tsaohsien. More recently, three different offices, viz., the Bureau of Manufacturing of Agricultural Implements, the Bureau of Exchange of Agricultural Seeds, and the Bureau of Entomology, have been attached to each of the six agricultural experimental farms stationed at Tientsin, Peiping, Taming, Tsaohsien, Ihsien, and Hsinglunghsien. It is the object of the first-named office to improve and renovate old-fashioned farming tools or implements along semi-western lines so as to adapt them to practical use as well as to the economical condition of the average farmer. At the time of writing the Tientsin Agricultural Implements Bureau has been turning out a testing set of new thrashers, run by a small motor, deeper plows, and water-treading 356 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. propeller with rubber leaves. Another official institution newly formed is the Hopeh Food Control Commission, whose duty it is to arrange and adjust for an adequate supply and consumption of foodstuffs in the province, with a view to checking further influx of cereals and wheat flour from the outside world. No modern or scientific methods have been introduced as far as fowl-farming and stock- raising are generally concerned. In the First Agricultural Experimental Farm in Hsinglung- hsien, a number of Merino and best Chinese sheep have been kept for improvement in the species. In other farms Leghorn hens and Berkshire pigs are bred for the same end. Bee- keeping, however, is rapidly assuming importance in Hopeh, with Peiping as its centre, where quite a number of apiculture farms, operated by scientific methods, have been established in both the city and the suburbs like the Western Hill. The importation of these insects was increased to the amount of Hk.Tls. 1.2 million in value in 1930, but since then the bee industry has proved a failure owing to the misconception on the part of the keepers that the immediate sale of bees was taken as the medium for profit rather than the honey reaped. As a natural consequence, the flora food gradually became insufficient to meet the need of the ever-growing number of hives and virgin queen bees, and old non-fertile queen bees were found everywhere for sale. In 1931 only Hk.Tls. 27,452 worth of bees was imported. In North China nearly every hillside is becoming barren and bare on account of the continued deforestation, which is one cause among others of the devastating floods and droughts visiting this region from time to time. In Shansi an elaborate programme for afforestation had been carried out for many years. The organisation of the "Forestry Training School" was started as far back as in 1919. The entire province was divided into seven Agricultural Districts, for each of which nurseries were put in operation and officers appointed to take charge of tree-planting. As a result of this movement there were, in the year 1924, 41,352,332 seedlings in the nurseries and 7,791,395 trees grown directly from the seeds sown at the forestry stations, or a total of 49,143,727. It was intended to cover 182 million mou of hill country (about 26 per cent. of the total area of the province) with trees in a period of 30 years. In the province of Hopeh only 796,038 trees, mostly elm and willow, covering an area of 2,343 mou, are in existence. In order to promote the interest of the people in the forest industry, the provincial authorities concerned have fostered five nurseries at five different places, viz., Hsinglungshan, Ihsien, Hulu, Changping, and Hsingtai. The "Arbour Day" in the North is observed as part of the general afforestation move- ment now in progress throughout the country. A new forest, known as the "Tungyi (Unification) Forest," was laid out outside Chao Yang Men, Peiping, on the 6th April 1931. Five thousand young willow trees were planted in the area on that day by representatives of different organs. Raw cotton and animal products have constituted a greater part of the export trade of this port. Wool usually arrives here in a very dirty condition, being often made weighty with sand, dung, refuse hair, pieces of old hides, etc., while foreign and dirty substances are always found in the arrivals of bristles, so that before export a cleaning process has invariably to be done by a winnowing machine or by hand. At the same time a lot of foreign and native bristles, hairs, and wool have been specially imported here for the purpose of reconditioning. TIENTSIN. 357 Formerly, in the case of cotton, watering was practised on a large scale; but since the establish- ment, during the last decade, of the Cotton Testing House, under the auspices of the Tientsin Anti-Adulteration Association, no cotton containing more than 12 per cent. moisture has been found in the market. Beyond these measures no official steps were taken for the examination and inspection of other farming and veterinary products before export and, consequently, some foreign governments have prohibited the import of Chinese animal products on hygenic grounds. Fully realising, therefore, the necessity for examining animal products and other commodities destined for foreign countries, the Ministry of Industries organised at Tientsin, in August 1929, the Bureau of Inspection and Testing of Commercial Commodities, in which the Department of Animal Products and the Department of Cotton Testing function in accordance with the duties assigned to them. Cotton, wool, skins, and other animal products are subject to inspection before shipment abroad, which is denied by the Customs if the certificate of such inspection is not produced. In respect of meat, the inspection is entrusted to the local modern abattoir, where the ante-mortem and postmortem examination is usually done. The function of the Cotton Testing House has been taken over by the Cotton Testing Department of the Bureau since the 10th September 1929. All the old practices or procedures in the testing of cotton have been followed, with the only exception that the testing fee is charged by weight instead of by bales. Of late, two additional Departments of Agricultural Products and of Chemistry have also been inaugurated in the Bureau in order to widen the scope of its activities. Under the supervision of these departments, the inspection of the imported chemical fertiliser, honey-bees, and sugar is made. 6. Industrial Development.—The industrial situation in the decade under review, though more or less improved in comparison with the previous one, is still not free from its stage of infancy, most native industries continuing to operate by hand and applying the system of indentured apprentices, the incessant internecine warfare and labour strikes being jointly responsible for the failure to attain a timely progress. There have been, of course, other factors impeding the development, such as the rapid increase in the cost of living, high taxation, dislocation of transport facilities, lack of technical skill and scientific knowledge on the part of native manufacturers, etc. Nevertheless, these latter features did not have so fatal an effect as the first two causes, which created not only serious obstacles to trade but also a financial crisis whereby capitalists refrained from making large investments. Labouring under this state of affairs, Tientsin, the metropolitan market of North China, though rich in materials and cheap in labour, has, without any exception, suffered and undergone the same embarrass- ments as many other industrial centres. Above all, the cotton industry, one of the most well- known enterprises of Hopeh, has fallen short of expectation, only a few mills being established during the decade. There were introduced in the first half of the period some new industries, namely, rayon and cotton weaving, soda making, and hosiery knitting; but they have not been developed to any extent, as few of them are being modelled after modern devices. Cotton Spinning.—Some cotton mills inaugurated before 1918 benefited by the so-called War boom, but those established later have not been able to obtain the success anticipated, partly because of a renewal of the usual keen competition in the cotton yarn market and partly on account of the rise in price of raw cotton resulting from high taxation and insecurity in the interior. There are reported to be eight cotton mills in this province, four in Honan and three in Shansi, all of them employing up-to-date methods. Prior to 1929, the best yarn spun scarcely exceeded 20 counts. Lately, however, with a view to checking the influx of the foreign 358 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. imported article, a few of the Tientsin factories—the Yii Yuan, the Heng Yuan, and the Pao Ch'eng—have been endeavouring to turn out yarn of higher counts, i.e., 32 to 42. In compliance with the new Factory Law, the Pao Ch'eng Factory first started, in 1928, the three-shifts system—eight working hours daily, which procedure, owing to some difficulty or other, has not yet been adopted by its contemporaries, who are still observing the old practice of 11 to 12 hours work a day. The average number of working days in a year is to the utmost 300, and the average wage per day varies between 40 to 60 cents according to the efficiency of the individual labourer. The following is a list of cotton factories located in this part of the country, giving full particulars as to their capital investments, productive capacity, the number of workmen employed, and the machinery used. Some of the names have already been mentioned in the report of the last decade, nevertheless, they are being repeated here in a more comprehensive manner, with the object of revealing their gradual growth and expansion. The different mills are being arranged and enumerated according to their location. Cotton Mills in Hopeh. The Yii Yuan and Heng Yuan, with a respective capital of $5,600,000 and $4,000,000, and carrying on simultaneously the work of both spinning and weaving, have now in operation 71,360 and 35,440 yarn and 976 and 3,320 thread spindles, and 1,000 and 310 looms respectively. The former possesses an electric generator of 3,650 kilowatts, and the latter, one of 1,225 kilo- watts. Their respective yearly outputs are 54,500 and 26,835 bales of yarn and 641,982 and 149,459 pieces of cloth, consisting chiefly of shirtings, sheetings, drills and heavy canvas, and the cotton consumed, in aggregate, amounts to approximately 298,647 piculs a year. The number of workmen in employment by the Yii Yuan is 5,600 and that by the Heng Yuan, 2,600. Each bale of yarn weighs on the average 320 piculs. The Peiyang Commercial Spinning and Weaving Factory, with a capital of $3,000,000 and a reserve of $169,500, operates 27,000 spindles, worked by 1,640 labourers. With a power- plant of 1,800 kilowatts, it produces 19,000 bales of yarn and consumes 600,000 piculs of cotton a year. Then come the Pao Ch'eng and Yii Ta, each being capitalised at $3,000,000. The former, with an electric generator of 1,500 kilowatts, works 27,000 spindles, and the latter, with one of 1,800 kilowatts, 35,712 spindles, yielding respectively 12,000 and 25,000 bales of yarn and consuming collectively 90,400 piculs of cotton per annum. The number of operatives engaged by each is 1,700. Capitalised with $2,421,900, and equipped with 27,000 spindles, the Hwa Sin, Tientsin, whose annual production is 20,000 bales of yarn and consumption is 70,000 piculs of cotton, has in actual employment 2,348 workmen. The power-plant in use is of 1,800 kilowatts. The Hwa Sin, Tangshan, and Dah Sin, Shihkiachwang, are the two factories opened in the decade under review—established in the same year, 1922—with a respective capital of $2,200,000 and $2,100,000. They combine spinning with weaving, and are installed with 24,700 and 24,768 spindles and 250 and 300 looms respectively. Their annual production is 17,702 and 23,796 bales of yarn and 160,000 and 123,792 pieces of shirtings and sheetings. The former has in possession a generating power of 1,050 kilowatts, employing 2,200 hands, and the latter, one of 1,500 kilowatts, engaging 3,300 workers. TIENTSIN. 359 Cotton Mills in Honan. YO Hsin. Y0 Feng. Ch'eng Hsing. Hwa Sin (Honan). 1910 1920 1919 1922 Capital 81,500,000 S2.000.000 560,000 S2,000,000 1 steam generator 1 electric generator 1 steam generator 2 generators: (800 horse-power). (3,000 kilowatts). (300 horse-power). steam (800 h.p.), electric(445 kw.). 29,000 53,000 2,800 23,400 Annual output: 200 9,000 35,000 1,171 18,480 Raw materials: 30,860 31,000 130,000 4,293 64,000 1,800 3,900 260 1,790 Cotton Mills in Shansi. Chin Hua Nos. 1 and 2. Ta Yi Cheng. Yung Y0. 1924 for No. 1 1927 1930. 1930 for No. 2 Capital SI ,500,000 $470,000 $540,000 1 electric generator 1 steam generator 1 electric generator (1,400 kilowatts). (433 horse-power). (1,500 kilowatts). 1 steam generator (500 horse-power). 33,600 6,048 10,000 Annual output: 9,000 3,570 6,500 31,000 Piculs. 12,750 Piculs. 18,000 Piculs. 1,000 451 680 Cotton-weaving.—During the decade four canvas-weaving factories, namely, the Hua Fa, Li Hsing, Hua Mei, and Chii Hsing Cheng, were founded here, with a collective output of about 23,500 pieces at 50 yards each per annum. The aggregate number of looms in operation amounts to 130, and that of workmen to 250. Besides these and the above-mentioned cotton mills, which combine spinning with weaving, there are in Tientsin and vicinity numerous small workshops or village industries engaged in the weaving of "patriotism cloth," nankeens, etc. According to the statistics published by the Hopeh Provincial Government, the average annual output of these cloths amounts to 20 million pieces of different dimensions. Of the reported 87 cloth-manufacturing hsien, Kaoyang comes first, producing alone 3,000,000 pieces each year, the inhabitants of the whole district being interested in this industry. The hand-looms used by them are mostly of local make after the Japanese style. Formerly they employed native-spun yarn as raw material, but recently they have preferred locally manufactured yarn as well as that turned out by the Shanghai mills. The weavers are generally members of peasant families who carry on this subsidiary work on slack days, when the agricultural season is over. Most farmers weave and market themselves, only a minor percentage entertaining the piece-work system by which they receive a certain amount of 360 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. wages counted by piece. Some of the skilled hands are sometimes able to make, in addition to their legitimate remunerations, a handsome profit out of the surplus materials distributed to them by the middlemen or dealers of the weaving trade. Cotton-knitting.—The knitting industry, which is the smallest among the textile industries in Tientsin, made its appearance here as early as 1912, in which year an English company by the name of Chieh Tsu Hong first introduced the knitting-frame. In a few years Chinese workers were trained up to this industry and learned to produce not only native hosiery but also native knitting-frames. Mr. Wang Chi-chung, the pioneer of the industry, organised the first knitting establishment in 1913 and the first knitting-frame workshop in the succeeding year, giving the industry an opportune start. Other establishments soon followed suit, and the industry went through a period of rapid development, especially during the late European War, with the imported goods shut off from the market. In 1929 the hosiery industry had so developed as to claim 154 establishments, employing a total number of 1,610 operatives. However, this marked advancement was handicapped in the latter part of the same year on account of the unsettled conditions prevailing in one of the chief markets, Manchuria, arising from the Sino-Russian controversy over the Chinese Eastern Railway. Up to the present this enterprise has been at a standstill and nearly all the comparatively smaller shops have been thrown out of existence. Those which continue to operate are 78 in number, with an aggregate invested capital ranging between $60,000 and $80,000. The total number Oi workers is said to have also been reduced to 1,295, which figure indicates a decrease of 30 per cent. in comparison with previous years. There are now 1,265 knitting-frames in actual use here, of which 1,135 are circular and 130 linear ones, partly automatic and partly semi-automatic. The possible annual output is 454,186 dozen of cotton, woollen, and rayon hose, 6,245 dozen sweaters, 2,330 dozen pants, 6,060 dozen vests, 4,137 dozen scarfs, 17,780 dozen gloves, and 5,040 dozen caps, making a grand total of 495,778 dozen hosiery articles. Rayon and Cotton Weaving.—This industry is a new institution of the decade, brought to light in 1925 by Mr. Yao Shu-ch'un, who first introduced rayon as the raw material for weaving in Tientsin. In May of that year Mr. Yao established a weaving factory by the name of Hua Chang, producing many kinds of fabrics, woven of mixed rayon and cotton. A year later Mr. Ch'en Chin-t'ang, proprietor of the Ming Sheng Factory, following Mr. Yao's lead, devised a new fabric purely woven of rayon called "Ming Hua Ke." This fancy fabric was in the very beginning sold at $26 per piece of 24 yards, returning a remuneration to the inventor which ultimately induced and attracted a large number of merchants to enter into the field of this promising enterprise. In the years 1927 and 1928 the number of such weaving factories was increased to 328, each of which being run with a capital varying between $100 and $10,000 and a number of workmen between 5 and 50. The total number of looms in operation was collectively 4,805, and the annual output was estimated in aggregate at 600,000 pieces. This over-production, together with the loss of the Manchurian market since 1929, has been the cause of a tremendous decline in the industry, and to date the highest price per piece of such fabric has scarcely been exceeding $7 or $8. This rapid falling of price is undoubtedly the result of a strong competition among smaller manufacturers, who, being desirous of effecting a prompt disposal, have lowered the price to such a level that the cost of production can only be barely covered. Furthermore, the recent silver depreciation and increased tariff have also had a bearing on future prospects, for they have deprived dealers of any reasonable margin of profit. As a result of the above-mentioned unfavourable conditions, TIENTSIN. 361 some 170 of such weaving establishments have, of late, been compelled to suspend wcrk and close down. The survivers, mostly medium and large factories, about 158 in number, are now operating on a limited scale. Even among these, a majority have been partially engaged in the weaving of cotton cloth, which industry is said not only to involve less capital and risk but also to yield better and surer profit. On the whole, rayon and cotton weaving is no longer a popular enterprise in the local industrial field and has shown a considerable decline in comparison with former years, the productive capacity having now decreased by 40 per cent. Cigarette Industry.—Prior to 1922, when the Government tax on rolled tobacco was lighter than nowadays, most of the cigarettes consumed locally were imported from other Chinese ports or from abroad; but of late years the burden of increased tariff and high cost of transportation has been most keenly felt by the cigarette merchants, and, in consequence, the four local cigarette companies, viz., the Karatzas Bros., the Tientsin Tobacco Company, the Toa Tobacco Company, and the British Tobacco Company, have increased their production and greatly extended their manufacturing plant. Of the four, the British Tobacco Company, with 60 machines in full operation and 4,000 workers in actual employment, produces the most,— 600,000 cases of 50,000 cigarettes each per annum, the aggregate annual output of the first three only amounting to 4,500 cases, operating 11 machines and employing 180 workmen in all. Each cigarette maker receives 35 to 40 cents a day. Flour-milling.—In addition to the three wheat flour mills of Shou Feng, formerly Shou Hsing, Fu Hsing, and Ta Feng, which were founded and reported on in the last decade, three new mills have been established in the present decade, in the years 1922 and 1923: the Min Feng, the Ka Jui, and the King Feng Flour Mills. Their business activities are given as follows:— Number of Number of Name. Capital. Machines or Annual Output. Operatives. S Rollers. Bags of 40 catties. 50,000 25 2,520,000 160 300,000 18 900,000 150 650,000 22 2,520,000 170 600,000 18 1,500,000 160 500,000 27 1,560,000 160 King Feng 600,000 17 1,000,000 120 Besides the above, there are quite a number of small factories producing machine-milled flour, but none of them has a capital over $10,000. In the above table a disproportionate ratio appears between capital and output in some of the factories. This unevenness is mainly due to the fact that these mills have often changed ownership and have been disturbed by labour unrest, which two factors, having constantly tied up their operations and prevented them from working all the year round, have reduced the number of working days in one year to merely 200. Moreover, high cost of wheat, shortage of supply, lack of transport facilities, and, what is more, strong competition by the foreign and also the native imported article have contributed their share to impede the development of the industry. Nevertheless, those mills which have been able to combat, through foresight, perseverance, or good management, the difficulties which others have failed to overcome have met with good prospects and have been enabled to transact a fair volume of business. The average wage for a miller is 35 cents a day. 362 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. There exists a peculiar feature in the marketing of the locally milled flour. It is that despite the fact that its price per bag is always 10 to 20 cents higher than that of the imported commodity, the sale is not affected. The sole reason for this is that it is considered to have more strength and better flavour. Though the incoming product has its special quality of refinement and fineness of colour, yet these qualifications combined with the cheapness of price do not make it enjoy better popularity. Asbestos.—The manufacture of asbestos products has been developing most rapidly this decade on account of the increasing demand in the market. The mines are principally located at Laiyiian, in Hopeh, and Pingyuan, in Shantung. The majority of the products manufactured here comprise asbestos cords, paper, cloth, and powder. The factories dealing in this trade here are enumerated hereunder:— Chun Hua. Jui Chi. Date of establishment Capital Machines Annual output Workmen Monthly wage 1920 810,000 10 cord-making and 1 spinning. 60,000 pounds. 101 S7.00 to $8.00. 1926 810,000 2 weaving and 2 spinning with 1 motor. 30,000 pounds. 60 $7.00 . -The Tientsin Asbestos Company. 1916 $5,000 1 electric grinder, 3 spin- ning, and 1 cord-making. 27,000 pounds. 20 $8.00 ! Athletic Implements and Sporting Goods.—There are two factories in Tientsin engaged in the manufacture of physical apparatus, namely, the Lee Sang and the Ch'un Ho factories. The chief products of the two companies are tennis rackets, footballs, and basket-balls, each employing some 15 hands receiving monthly wages ranging from $10 to $15. In 1931 the total tennis rackets exported from this port to U.S.A. amounted to 1,974 pieces, valued at Gold $1,010. Bricks and Tiles.—The manufacturers of bricks and tiles in Hopeh may be classed into four groups, in accordance with the articles produced, which are: (1) glazed and encaustic tiles, (2) blue bricks, (3) red bricks, and (4) roofing tiles. Factories or kilns of the last three categories have increased in number, due to the brisk house-building activities in the foreign concessions within these 10 years, though the majority of them have still been following the old method of producing hand-made bricks. Besides the Belgian Kiln, which is financed with foreign capital and run along modern lines, there are three Chinese-owned factories equipped with machinery and worked after new devices, namely, the Chen Hsiang, the Yu Feng, and the Yung Ho Factories. The output from each charge of the largest kiln of the old type amounts to 60,000 pieces, and the number of charges in a year varies according to the market demand. The machine-equipped kilns are generally of the continuous type, turning out 10,000 pieces or more a day each. The making of glazed and encaustic tiles is a new enterprise at Tientsin, which was started during the decade under review and has met with considerable success in these few years. Dealing in this variety are the Hung Mou and the Chen Ya Factories, inaugurated in 1923 and 1927 respectively and capitalised with an equal sum of $5,000. The former possesses seven kilns and three pressing and moulding machines, engages 27 operatives, of whom the TIENTSIN. 363 most skilled are composed of the following four classes: (1) kiln burners, (2) tile moulders, (3) painters and glazers, and (4) puggers and mixers, and turns out annually 100,000 pieces. The latter has three kilns, one moulding machine, and one pressing machine, worked by 10 hands only, yielding 25,000 pieces a year. The skilled labour is remunerated with $30 a month and the unskilled with $10 a month. Candle-making.—After the destruction by fire of the Standard Oil Company's candle factory in 1927, involving a loss of almost 1 million dollars, the only candle manufactory existing in this port is the China Industrial Factory, operated since 1922 and capitalised at $2,000. With 20 workmen and 15 moulding machines, it produces 1,400 piculs of red and white candles yearly. Working 10 hours a day, the highest wage per man is $15 and the lowest $7 a month. Carpet-weaving.—Formerly, the number of Chinese carpet factories operating in Tientsin was 303, but recently it has been reduced to 161. This was due, in the first place, to the fact that quite a number of foreign exporters have now set up factories of their own, using machinery and chemical dyes, in competition with the Chinese manufacturers. In the second place, lack of capital on the part of the latter has restricted their business expansion, and, thirdly, inferior material and colour have greatly hampered the selling power of the native product, most foreign buyers being of the opinion that Chinese colour cannot stand the wash and that the yarn spun by native methods does not compare so favourably with that made by machinery. Handicapped by these unfavourable features, the carpet trade in North China has not been able to acquire its due prosperity, though the high gold exchange rate prevailing since 1930 has attracted a greater demand from U.S.A. Of the 161 carpet factories in Tientsin, only one is installed with machinery, and it is the Tai Lung Factory, the biggest of all, investing a capital of $10,000 and producing 20,000 square feet a year. The remaining 160 establishments, with an aggregate capital of $253,688 and a total number of 825 looms, produce collectively 2,533,560 square feet each year, the workers engaged in this industry totalling about 11,568, of whom 3,262 are apprentices. The carpet industry in Peiping has also shown a decline, leaving merely 100 manufacturers with a collective productivity of approximately 1,000,000 square feet per annum. In addition to the above-mentioned Chinese manufacturers there are four American- owned carpet factories: the Elbrook, the Nicholas, the Karagheusian, and the Tavshanjian, whose aggregate capital is reported to be $2,000,000, and of which the first-mentioned is the largest and most modernised. The Elbrook, Incorporated, has 24 electrically driven looms, 2,000 spindles for spinning, and 200 spindles for twisting. The full force of labour is 700 all told. Its possible annual output of carpets is 200,000 to 300,000 square feet, in addition to the production of other woollen goods such as yarn, cloth, blankets, etc. Chemical Works.—There are four factories engaged in this industry, namely, the Pacific Alkali Company, at Tangku, the Pohai Chemical Works, at Hanku, the Lau Tien Li, at Tientsin and Peiping, and the Teli Acid Factory, at Tangshan. All were established in the present decade. The Pacific Alkali Company, the largest of the four, was founded in 1924 with a capital of $2,000,000. In addition to this commercial capital actually paid in, the Ministry of Industry has promised to invest a further amount of $2,000,000, but for lack of ready cash to fulfill this promise it has finally authorised the Company to float debentures for the same amount as a temporary measure. Besides a number of boilers and generators, it 364 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. possesses three complete units of soda-making machinery and employs 667 hands, who work eight hours daily and receive wages from $6.50 to $10 a month according to their efficiency. The Company is now employing the "Solvoy Process" in the manufacturing of soda, and its products are chiefly soda ash, sodium bicarbonate, caustic soda, calcium carbonate, and calcium chloride. The annual production of soda ash alone is some 25,000 tons, the major part being shipped to Japan. The Pohai Chemical Works, capitalised at $300,000 and equipped with three 100 horse- power boilers and two 120-kilowatt generators, was opened in the year 1926. With 280 workmen in actual employment, its yearly production consists of 25,000 piculs of sulphide of soda, 500 tons of sulphate of soda, 2,000 tons of silicate of soda, 600 tons of magnesium carbonate, and 600 tons of hydrochloric acid. Besides the salt, bittern liquor, and sulphate earth, which are obtained from the salt depot in Hanku, the other necessary material, i.e., soda, is supplied by the Pacific Alkali Company from Tangku. The maximum turnover is put at 1 million dollars yearly. The Lau Tien Li Company has two factories, one here and the other in Peiping. Both were inaugurated in 1927. The Tientsin factory is installed with two motors and four grinders, worked by some 40 labourers. The principal product of the company is silicate of soda, with an annual output of 1,400,000 pounds. There are also yields, in small quantities, of such by- products as potassium cyanicum, magnesium carbonate, and sodium sulphide. The Teli Acid Factory is a comparatively smaller concern, operated by 20 workmen, and with a capital of $65,000. It began with two lead chambers and one gas-producing furnace, and it was the intention of the company to produce three kinds of acids to meet the requirements of the industrial world. But, at present, it has merely been able to turn out 720,000 pounds of sulphuric acid a year, the manufacture of hydrochloric and nitric acids, for some reason or other, having not been started yet. The cost of production of the sulphuric acid is said to be dearer than the imported article, owing to the monopoly of sulphur by the Government. Cement-manufacturing.—The Chee Hsin Cement Works, Ltd., at Tangshan, is the only cement factory and one of the biggest Chinese-owned enterprises in North China. With its capital increased to $12,000,000, the concern has made rapid progress in these 10 years. Though its advancement was somewhat handicapped in the middle of the period, owing to the dislocation of traffic and especially to the lack of transport facilities on the Pei-Ning Railway caused by civil warfare and political upheavals, yet the business expansion in later years has sufficiently counteracted the past failure. 1931 was a record year, in which 1,559,587 barrels were produced, while the productive capacity of 1922 only reached 764,892 barrels. The power-plant has, of late, been enlarged with five boilers and two turbo-generators, so that all the power required by the works may be adequately supplied. The company has now in employment 5,000 workmen, including a considerable number of apprentices, the maximum monthly wage for a foreman being $80 and that for an ordinary labourer ranging between $9 and $15. Enamelledware.—There is only one factory here engaged in this industry, the Chung Cheng Factory, opened in 1928 and capitalised at $10,000. Employing 60 operatives and equipped with one 3-h.p. and one 7-h.p. motor, 5-h.p. cutters and hammers, five pressing- machines, and some hand tools, it is capable of yielding an annual output to the value of $50,000. TIENTSIN. 365 Match-making.–There are five match factories in Tientsin, of which two were founded in the latter half of the decade. All of them have made remarkable improvement in recent years. Throughout the period Japanese matches have met with adversity and set-backs through constant boycott activities, to the advantage of Swedish matches, which have come forward to supersede them and have proved themselves serious competitors, Japanese matches finding it very difficult to hold their own. In July 1925 an embargo on the importation of white and yellow phosphorus was announced by the Government, with the view to protecting the welfare of the workmen in match factories, whereupon all the local factories experienced difficulties, and it took quite some time before they could get accustomed to the use of new chemicals for the manufacture of matches. Lucifer matches are still largely used in inland districts, whereas in the larger towns safety matches are more popular, although they pay a heavier tax than the former—$15 as against $10 per box of 100 gross. The following is a list of the match factories located in this port:- PEIYANG. TAN HUA. CHUNG HUA. YUNG CHANG. SAN YU. 1918 $1,000,000 1921 $1,000,000 1930 $50,000 1927 Unknown Date of establishment ......... Capital ...... Annual output: Gross.......... Number of workmen .......... 1909 $600,000 1,668,000 750 1,780,000 1,200 3,500,000 1,500 60,000 200 100,000 100 Of the above factories, the most well-developed is the Tan Hua Match Factory, which possesses four sets of splint-peeling and cutting machines, four box veneer-making machines, eight sets of splint-levelling machines, 50 sets of frame-filling machines, 30 sets of frame- emptying machines, and five sets of shifting machines. Affected by the recent persistent and country-wide boycott movement, the Chung Hua and San Yu factories, being Japanese-owned, temporarily suspended business towards the close of the decade, the former being eventually incorporated with the Tao Match Factory. There has recently been introduced here a general veneer factory, a French-owned enterprise, which produces wood splints with its surplus or waste ply-wood to the amount of 100 tons a year. Paint-manufacturing.-In Tientsin there are two factories interested in this industry, namely, the China Paints, Enamel, and Varnish Manufacturing Company and the East Asiatic Paint and Varnish Company. The former has operated since 1929 with a capital of $200,000, employing 50 operatives and turning out yearly about 44,800 piculs of paints, enamel, and varnish packed in tins. Besides two steam generators, it employs three large and 10 small boiling pans. Though the East Asiatic Paint and Varnish Company was instituted as early as 1921, its annual production merely amounts to 2,250 piculs of paints and varnish. It employs 40 workmen and operates four grinders and one motor. Paper-manufacturing.-Engaged in this industry is the Chen Hua Strawboard Paper Mill, Ltd., a branch of the Shanghai mill, started here in 1923 with an initial invested capital of $100,000. With one steam-power engine in operation and 130 workmen in full employment, 2,000 tons of strawboard paper is turned out each year. The recent boycott activities have greatly benefited its business condition, as previously it had to face a bitter competition with the Japanese imported commodity. 366 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Salt-refining.—The Chiu Ta Salt Refinery, founded in 1915 and capitalised at $2,100,000, is one of the well-known Chinese enterprises in Tientsin and has made great improvement ever since its establishment. The importance of its business development may be judged by the fact that in 1928 it refined a total of 600,000 piculs of salt, which represented 40.5 per cent. of the total production for China in that year (1,480,000 piculs). In addition to the usual boilers and generators, it is installed with eight sets of machinery for salt-refining. The total employees are 652, of which 452 are regular workmen and 200 short-time hands. With eight hours work a day, the maximum monthly wage per man is $58 and the minimum $6.50. The average output per annum is 332,640 piculs of refined salt and 67,200 piculs of crude salt. In addition to these two kinds of salt, the company also produces the following by-products of calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, and dental cream and powder. The price of the refined salt varies according to the duty it is required to pay in the territory in which it is sold. The market selling price here generally ranges between $9 and $10 a picul, though the ex- godown price is only $4.50. It is estimated that the yearly payment of the salt tax by this company alone amounts to nearly 4 million dollars. Besides the Chiu Ta, the only other salt refinery in this province is the Tung Ta, situated at Tangfang, and capitalised at $500,000. It is said that the company is being reorganised, having incurred a heavy loss caused by a strong competition from its rival, the Chiu Ta Refinery, whose historical as well as financial standing gives it a greater command of the market. The number of workmen has been reduced to 70, and its annual output in these few years has scarcely averaged 60,000 piculs. Soap-manufacturing.—\2 soap factories are now operating in this port, producing either laundry or toilet soap, with capitals varying from $500 to $100,000. The total investment in this industry, however, hardly exceeds $147,000. Soap-makers usually receive higher wages than other factory workers, the maximum being $20 and the minimum $10 a month. There are four leading soap factories at Tientsin. The Tientsin Soap Factory, operated since 1911, has a capital of $100,000 and produces annually 40,000 dozen of toilet soap and 50,000 cases of washing soap in bars and in doublets. Besides, it is capable of manufacturing a fair quantity of florida water, amounting to 27,372 dozen bottles a year. The machinery in use consists of two steam boilers and four crushing and pressing machines, and the number of workmen in actual employment is 50. Then comes the Chung Chang Soap Factory, opened in 1919 with a capital of $12,500. Possessing 30 workers, one boiler, and four sets of soap-making machines, it manufactures toilet soap only, with an annual output of approximately 80,000 dozen. Equipped with four electric and five hand machines and capitalised at $10,000, the Kuang Jun Factory was established in 1920. It has 30 labourers in employment, and its yearly production is estimated at 20,000 cases of laundry soap in both bars and doublets. The Yu-hsing Chemical Works are the most modern of the factories, having been founded in the last year of the decade. Employing eight hands and installed with one steam boiler and two moulding machines, they turn out 6,000 cases of bar soap a year. The capital investment of this company is unknown. i TIENTSIN. 367 Tanneries.—There are reported to be altogether 13 tanneries in Tientsin. Apart from having limited capitals, most of them are old-styled or only semi-modern concerns, in which a part of the work, such as the unhairing, fleshing, and sunning of the skins, is still being done by hand. The two larger ones, working entirely by up-to-date processes, are the Yu Tsin and the Hua Pei Tanneries, which were inaugurated in the last decade. The former, a Sino- Japanese concern, which was reorganised in 1924, when its capital was increased to 81,000,000, operates two steam engines, one for chrome tanning and the other for bark tanning, and yields an annual output of 4,000 piculs of sole leather. The Hua Pei Tannery, on the other hand, though with a smaller capital, said to be $200,000, has been able to expand its business activities, producing, in addition to 2,500 piculs of sole leather, an appreciable quantity of leather for making trunks, wallets, footballs, and basket-balls. The number of workmen engaged by the Yu Tsin Tannery is 100 and that by the Hua Pei 35. The highest daily wage obtainable is 40 cents. Engineering Works.—In Tientsin there is only one factory engaged in this enterprise, the Eastern Engineering Works, Ltd., a purely British-owned concern. Equipped with a large number of electric machine tools and employing 300 workmen, it deals largely in repair work, construction being made only to order. There are, however, some 62 ironworks or machinery shops, with capital investments ranging from $400 to $5,500. Most of them, besides effecting repair work, are well versed in making stoves and hand-weaving looms, and their goods always find an easy market in Tientsin as well as in the interior. Only a few of them are able to turn out, although to an insignificant amount, crude machines of different types, which are, in most cases, copied from or designed after foreign models, while, as regards machinery accessories and parts, the majority of them are quite capable of producing them. The following is a tabulated list of ironworks in Tientsin run on modern lines:— Name. Capital. Kind of Output. Annual Business. No. oF Workmen. S S 5,500 Hand looms, cotton gins, 10,000 20 safes, etc. Kuo Tien Cheng 2,500 Hand looms, vermicelli 60,000 30 machines, etc. Sung En Chi 2,000 Weaving looms, oil press- 5,000 7 ing machines, etc. 2,000 Hand looms, stoves, etc. 10,000 30 The decade under review has marked great fluctuations and increases in the prices of daily necessities, while rents have more than doubled in comparison with those ruling in the last decade. As can be observed from the two tables appearing overleaf, though this enormous and rapid increase in the cost of living has been followed by a rise in wages, yet the increased scales of pay are not at all commensurate with the high cost of living, there still remaining a wide range between the two which needs a fairer adjustment if a closer relationship is expected to exist between capital and labour and if there is any idea of eliminating labour disputes. In fact, to this lack of equilibrium should be attributed the greater part of the numerous strikes and other kinds of labour agitations which have occurred in the decade under review. 368 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922–31. PRICES IN THE ORDINARY ESSENTIALS OF LIFE. 1927. 1928. 1929. 1930. 1931. 1925. | 1926. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. 1922. 1923. 1924. Cents. Cents. Cents. Rice ...... .... Per catty 1 Millet ....... Maize.... Flour .......... Pork .......... Salt ......... Sesamum seed oil Kerosene oil .... Cotton, raw...... Cotton cloth ..... .... Per foot ... w weet I am to varvão + ఈ రేసుల I BOB a toma 0653 norogor game ៖ នីឧឹះ៖ . . మరి LABOUR WAGES. 1922. 1923. 1924. | 1925. 1926. i 1927. 1928. 1929. 1930. 1931. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. .....Per day | 58 Skilled ..... Unskilled ... Mason ...... Carpenter ..... Untrained servant ..Per month Previous to 1928, when the Nationalist regime had not been ushered in, labour in North China had been unorganised. But, since the formation of labour unions under the guidance of the Kuo-min-tang, labourers have begun to realise the value and strength of collective bargaining. According to the report of the Social Welfare Bureau, there are now in Tientsin 87 labour unions, with a total number of 28,406 members. These unions are generally divided into two categories, one being termed the Factory Labour Unions and the other the Vocational Labour Unions. All formal unions must be registered at the District Kuo-min-tang Headquarters, though it remains optional whether or not they apply for registration to the Bureau of Social Affairs. However, minor unions of a temporary character which are only called into being to meet some immediate emergencies are regarded as exceptional cases and therefore excluded from the list of registration. The following are the comparatively bigger unions under the aforesaid two classes :- FACTORY LABOUR UNIONS. VOCATIONAL LABOUR UNIONS. Match Factory Workmen's Haiho Conservancy Workmen's Union. Union. Flour Mill Workmen's Union. Cart Drivers' Union. Carpet Industry Workmen's Porters' Union. Union. Chemical Works Workmen's Railway Workmen's Union. Union. Cotton Spinning and Weaving Electric and Tramway Company Workmen's Union. Workmen's Union. Engineering Works Workmen's Waterworks Workmen's Union. Union. TIENTSIN. 369 The Federation of Labour Unions in Tientsin was not inaugurated until 1928, since which year it has been receiving a monthly subsidy of $600 from the local "Tang Pu." When disputes between labourers and capitalists arise, this Tang Pu and the Bureau of Social Affairs concurrently act as mediators, investigators, and settlers of the case. It is only when the controversy is developing into a serious and uncompromising nature that either coercion or arbitration is applied or resorted to. An epidemic of strikes broke out in the autumn of 1922. The first in the field were the workmen of the Peking-Hankow and the Peking-Suiyuan Railways, quickly followed by those of the Tangshan Works of the Peking-Moukden Line. Among their demands, the most important were increases of pay, liberal periods of leave, reduction of working hours, and pensions on full pay after 25 years' service. After repeated negotiations the strikers finally met with success, as the majority of their claims or terms were agreed to. Again, on the 8th August 1925 more than 1,000 workmen employed by the Pao Cheng Spinning and Weaving Factory went out on strike on the grounds that the national holidays were granted not with full pay, and that whilst the working period was so lengthy (11 to 12 hours a day at that time), the wages received were too inadequate and low to cover the increased cost of living. They were subsequendy joined by the workmen of the neighbouring mills. Three days later, on the 11th, a gang of labourers from the Peiyang Cotton Mill suddenly attacked the Yu Ta Mill, and throwing stones, compelled the workmen of the latter to strike. The situation gradually became more serious, eventually developing into a riot, in the course of which the telephone and electric wires of the affected or molested mills were broken and a part of their machinery destroyed. Thanks to the exertions of the Chinese police force no further acts of violence were done, though one of the rioters was shot dead and more than 10 of them were badly wounded. In fact, the dispute ended shortly upon a partial acceptance of the demands of the workmen. The British Tobacco Company's strike, involving about 4,000 workmen, occurred on the 1st January 1928. Among the claims set forth, the more essential were the improved treatment and the betterment of the economic conditions of the labourers. The strike was effected in the form of a walk-out, which did not come to a satisfactory conclusion till after one month's time, during which the Bureaux of Public Safety and Social Affairs together with the District Kuo-min-tang exerted their utmost in mediating for both sides. On the 11th June 1929 a strike lasting 12 days occurred amongst the employees of the Tientsin Tramway Company, who threatened to create serious consequences in case their newly-established labour union, the recognition of which was at first objected to, did not meet with the approval of the Company. During the disturbance the system was partially paralysed, only a skeleton service being maintained. The strike came to an end after the Company had agreed to recognise the union and promised the reinstatement of two dismissed employees, said to be the ringleaders of the strike. Also worthy of note is the Yuta Cotton Mill strike, which started on the 18th and ended on the 19th March 1931. The cause of it was two-fold, namely, (1) the unreasonable imposition of a heavy fine on poor workmanship by the Laboratory of the Company, and (2) the unsatisfactory issue of wages in respect of work rendered. The workmen limited themselves to a "go slow" strike, by which they remained idle at their posts and did not leave the mill until their case was settled. 24 370 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The City Waterworks strike was started on the 21st March 1931 and consisted of a partial walk-out, as some of the workmen remained on duty to attend to the water supply. Though its duration was only seven days, a satisfactory result was not arrived at until the 25th May of the same year. The strike was called off on the acknowledgment by the works of the following points:— (1) Recognition of the labour union. (2) An increase of 30 per cent. for wages of $15 or under a month and of 25 per cent. for those above $15 but not over $37. (3) Pensions after 25 years in service, issuable at 75 per cent. of the last year's pay. (4) Issue of compensations in case of deaths and injuries at half of the monthly pay for each year served. In the case of decease, a water shop valued at $700 to $800 in lieu of a pecuniary compensation may be received at the option of the deceased family. (5) The establishment of a school for the children of the workmen, which institution is given a monthly allowance of $50. The Yu Yuan Cotton Mill strike of the 18th June 1931 was called off five days after- ward. Discontented with the proportion of wages issuable between workmen and apprentices, the former, without first presenting any formal demands, went on strike and, having occupied some of the engine-rooms, stopped the working of the loyal employees. Many of them even threatened to create a hunger strike. But their inconsiderate movement was suppressed by the Kung-an Chu, which despatched a detachment of police to maintain order and force an unconditional resumption of work. The National Factory Law promulgated in December 1929 has so far not been enforced here, partly because of special local conditions and partly on account of the reluctance on the part of the employers or capitalists to sustain a possible loss through the execution of the new law, which comprises the main items of Sunday rest, prohibition of night work, limitation of working period, and non-employment of child labour. Prior to the inauguration of the said law, all the factories in this province were governed by the Hopeh Provisional Factory Law, which has now been repealed. 7. Mines and Minerals.—North China is rich in mineral resources, particularly coal. In accordance with the new mining law promulgated by the National Government in May 1930, all mining concerns are required to register or re-register their mines at the different Provincial Bureaux of Industries. The 1931 record of the Hopeh Provincial Bureau shows that the total conceded area either for operation or exploitation in this province is 2,608,407 ares of land. Of these, coal covers 2,458,250 ares, representing no less than 146 mines, large and small, not including those possessed by the Kailan Mining Administration, which is under a special contract with the Government. The remaining portion of the conceded area is shared by 10 gold, three silver, two iron, one manganese, two wolfram, one sulphur, two asbestos, two graphite, two chalk, one china clay, and two rock crystal mines. From the above it will be seen that coal is the principal mining industry of Hopeh, its fields extending from Linyiihsien in the north-east to Pinghsi in the west and Tsuhsien in the south. According to the estimates made by the China Geological Survey, the coal reserve TIENTSIN. 371 in Hopeh is 2,828; in Shansi, 127,115; in Honan, 7,449; in Shensi, 90,448; and in Kansu, 500 million tons, making a total of 228,340 millions. With such rich coal resources it would seem that the need of the whole country for this fuel could be well satisfied or, at least, that there should be a sufficient quantity to meet requirements in the North. However, this supposition is by no means according to facts, and it is amazing to remark that during the greater part of the decade the output of the mines in operation could not even satisfy the demand of the provinces in which they are located. In the first place, their activities were hampered by the lack of modern methods, railway interruption, and scarcity of rolling-stocks, while, in the second place, high taxation and transportation charges affected the selling power, with the result that there was almost a complete stagnation in the coal market. In fact, while coal mines are largely dependent on the expansion of manufacturing industries for their development, a vital and essential factor for their prosperity is economic and continued transportation. Before 1925 the general railway freight for 100 tons of coal had been $0.6825 per kilometre, which rate was raised in that year to nearly 3i times by the Ping-Han Line. In June 1926 the Pei-Ning Railway followed suit. Speaking generally, the best Shansi hard coal costs only $4.50 per ton at the mining end; but, when it is conveyed by the Ping-Sui Railway from Kouchuan to Fengtai and thence to Tangku, the freight alone amounts to more than $9 per ton. If it is to be shipped farther, say to Shanghai, the cost per ton will be estimated at $21, excluding duty and tax. The recent coal famine in the south, attendant on the boycott of Japanese coal, has induced the Ministries of Finance and Railway to issue orders to the various local authorities to charge tax within the prescribed limit and to reduce the freight to its original rate for three months beginning from the 1st November 1931. However, the coal situation has not been cleared by these orders, on account of the lack of rolling-stock and shipping tonnage. Another difficulty the mines have encountered is labour trouble, which has caused suspension of work in not a few mines. It is commonly acknowledged that the Chinese mining labour is the cheapest in the world, but if the efficiency of labour is taken into con- sideration it would prove otherwise. The traditional contract system has been responsible for inefficiency and lack of skilled labour. This system deprives the miners and the management of the mine of the vitally needed direct touch, and makes the latter formally irresponsible towards the miners for the low wages, the ill-treatment, and all the hard working and living conditions imposed upon them by the contractors. So long as this practice exists even the modern mine-owners are powerless to train labour, and have to encounter difficulties when attempting to increase the efficiency of the miners. The mines operated in North China may be divided into three kinds, namely, modern, semi-modern, and native. Even in the mines of the first type, usually equipped with modern machinery, underground work is mostly done by manual labour, while in the native mines machinery is almost entirely unknown, everything being handled with manual labour, and the coal and ore dug out being carried to the surface by the same individual miners. The following is a list of the leading mines in North China:— Kaxlan Mining Administration.—This administration, a Sino-British concern, has five mines, namely, Tangshan, 3 li north-east of the Tangshan railway station; Makiakow, 6 li north- west of the Kaiping railway station; Linsi, 8 li south-west, Chaokochwang, 7 li north, and Tangchiachwang, 3 li east of the Kuyeh railway station. The last-named mine was opened during this period, commencing to operate in 1925. Practically all the mines are now worked 372 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. with modern equipment, employing a total number of 35,000 workmen and producing a yearly average of 4,403,700 tons of bituminous coal. The output for 1922 was 2,660,000 and that for 1931 5,356,000 tons. The miners are divided into two classes, the "inside workmen" being hired by the Administration for conveying coal and the "outside workmen" being engaged by labour contractors for digging coal in the mines. They are again divided into three groups, each working eight hours a day. There is a coke kiln at Linsi and also an iron- works, a carpentry shop, and a brick factory at Tangshan, the coke and bricks produced being for the Administration's own use as well as for the market. For the welfare of the labour employed, housing, educational, medical, and provident schemes have been devised by the Administration. 143 communal quarters or barracks for unmarried workmen and for those living apart from their families, 2,450 quarters for married workmen, and 775 quarters for employees of higher grades have been built. Primary and middle schools have been established, giving education to some 3,750 children. Hospitals have been opened at all the mines under first-class supervision, with free medical attention. Besides, there is an asylum for the destitute and disabled, tendering practical and useful instruction to some 300 inmates. Encouragement in thrift, self-respect, and recreation has also been carefully contrived and provided for by introducing savings bank accounts, bath houses, workmen's clubs, co-operative stores, etc. This gradual betterment of labour conditions, through the well-ordered benevolence of the Administration, has not, however, been carried out without interference. The most serious strike in the history of the Administration occurred in October 1922 and lasted for one month. It followed on a period of general labour unrest instigated by professional agitators through- out China and Hongkong. The Administration, which had at that time already done a great deal for the betterment of the labour class, further agreed to grant a general increase in wages of 10 per cent. in order to meet the increasing cost of living. The ostensible success which labour had obtained elsewhere, however, led to the refusal of the Administration's offer, and it was only acquiesced to later after elaborate negotiations. Demands put forward again in the spring of 1929 led in May of the same year to the conclusion of an agreement between the Administration and the labour union respecting minimum rates of pay, allowances, compensations, holidays, etc. Nevertheless, this agreement had to be modified in June 1931, whereby the rate of pay was increased by 8 cents per day to a total of 48 cents for newly- engaged labourers working underground and 46 cents for those working on the surface. Additional benefits were also granted in respect to compensation for death or injury—for which the maximum is $300, increased distribution of cheap coal and New Year bonus. The most important feature of the 1931 agreement is the acceptance of the principle that the long- standing practice of operating the mines through contract labour be abolished and replaced by labour directly employed, controlled, and paid by the Administration. In 1923 the Peking-Moukden Railway made railway sidings connecting with the pit-head at Tangshan and also completed the double track between Tangshan and Chinwangtao, in anticipation of an appreciable increase in the volume of the Administration's coal traffic. The potential benefit thus gained was, however, more than offset by the disorganisation, penury, and loss or deterioration of rolling-stock resulting to the railway from constant civil warfare. The Kailan Mining Administration was compelled, therefore, to safeguard its own future by investing some capital in the rolling-stock necessary for its minimum requirements and by supplying it to the railway on the hire-purchase system. The rolling-stock, which, at present, TIENTSIN. 373 forms a part of the property of the Administration and which by agreement is operated by the railway for the benefit of the Administration's traffic until such time as all hire-purchase pay- ments have been met, comprises 600 40-ton coal wagons, 18 locomotives, and 12 brake vans, capable of transporting from the mines approximately 4 million tons per annum. The output of the mines is mostly conveyed to Chinwangtao for export, and from there it is carried by a fleet of 21 steamers owned or chartered by the Administration. Chinghsing Mining Administration.—This Administration is a Sino-German concern, having in possession three mines all situated in the Chirtghsing district, Hopeh, along the Chengtai line. By an agreement concluded in 1922 between the Chihli (now Hopeh) Provincial Government and the Chinghsing Mining Company, these mines have been put under the control and management of the former. The property of the old company was taken over as one-fourth of the whole investment originally valued at $4,500,000. The total area of the mines is 113,504 ares, having 119 million tons of bituminous coal in reserve. There are now three shafts in operation, one of which did not commence to operate till 1924. In 1922, when only two mines were actually working, the annual production was 483,000 tons. Despite the increase of one more mine, the output in 1926 merely reached 390,000 tons, the lowest level having been touched in 1928, when only 153,000 tons were turned out. These huge decreases were chiefly due to military interference and activities on the Chengtai line. However, since 1929 a gradual recovery has been effected, and the productivity of the mines is reported to have increased from 700,000 to 800,000 tons a year. The Administration employs modern machinery at every pit-head, consisting of three boilers, four electric generators, seven pumps, and seven cranes, and employing 4,000 hands in terms of daily, monthly, contract, and temporary employment. Employees of the first category who work in shifts are sorted into three groups working eight hours each. The average daily wage for surface labour is 30 cents, and that for underground service 50 cents. Workers of the other three grades are paid according to terms previously arranged for. As regards the betterment of labour conditions, every attention has been paid by the Administration. New projects are being planned for the near future, such as an evening school, a larger club, a savings bank, and a co-operative consumption society for the benefit of the labourers. Three locomotives and 59 wagons, with a full capacity of 1,785 tons, are in possession of the Administration. It takes five or six days to complete a round trip between the mines and Tientsin, which means that only 10,000 tons of coal can be conveyed in one month, leaving behind, in the Paoting-Shunteh district, a large surplus of coal which, in face of the keen competition from the neighbouring rival mines, cannot be easily disposed of. Owing to lack of transportation facilities, the freight per ton for Chinghsing coal sent to Hankow by rail is $7, while that for Kailan coal is only $3, the latter having the advantage of conveyance by its own freighters. This dearer freight charge has become a difficult problem for the Chinghsing Administration, and it is said that efforts are being made to arrange for a reduction in freight charges with the Ping-Han and Pei-Ning Railways. A coking plant with 12 small distillers was erected at Shihkiachwang in 1924, with the result that a fair quantity of coke was produced in the following year. No remarkable improve- ments were made until 1930, when a large distiller was added to the plant, which is now capable of turning out 3,000 tons of coke per annum. Besides coke, there are also produced, in small quantities, the by-products of tar, black paint, red oil, fertiliser, lubricating oil, naphthalene, and gasolene. 374 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. If, as it is hoped, the long-contemplated construction of the Tsangchow-Shihkiachwang Railway is carried out in the near future, the transportation problem of this Administration will be easier to solve. The Chengfeng Mining Company.—This Company has four mines located in the same district as those pertaining to the Chinghsing Administration, and has been functioning since 1924, with a capital of $6,800,000. Its licensed area is 93,347 ares of land. Having suffered severely from the effect of civil war, it now employs only 600 workmen. Its monthly output is estimated at 8,000 tons of bituminous coal, which is usually sold at a very cheap price to the coal merchants who are, in reality, creditors of the Company. The Changcheng Coal Mining Company.—The Changcheng Company arose in 1927 from the ashes of the defunct Hsing Yeh Mining Company, having its head office at Tientsin. Its two mines are located at Shihling, about 20 li north of Shihmenchai, in Linyiihsien, Hopeh, and are connected with Chinwangtao by a light railway from Shihmenchai. The mines are equipped with steam-power cranes and pumps and produce 400 tons of bituminous coa! daily. The light railway, having in possession five locomotives and 70 goods vans for transportation of the Company's coal, was completed in 1925, before which coal had been conveyed to Chinwangtao by mule carts at a cost of $4 per ton. Now the freight per ton by rail amounts to only $1, greatly lessening the burden of the Company, whose mining area covers 53,500 ares. The Liukiang Coal Mining Company.—Capitalised at $720,000, it works an area of 26,849 ares. It was established in 1920, but did not begin to turn out coal till the opening of the decade. Its daily output is about 600 tons of semi-anthracite coal, chiefly exported to Chefoo, Newchwang, Dairen, Antung, Shanghai, and the Yangtze ports. It is equipped with motor-operated pumps and steam-power cranes for lifting coal from the pits. Recently a narrow-gauge railway has been built from the mines at Liukiang, in Linyiihsien, to Chinwangtao, covering a distance of 45 li, with a rolling-stock of five locomotives and 104 goods vans. In addition to a number of chartered steamers, the Company has a tonnage of 6,500 tons of its own. It employs 900 labourers with an average daily wage of 37 cents each. The one peculiarity of the Company is that it works even on Sundays, for which it pays double wages. The miners in direct employment of the Company, after a number of years service, are allowed one month's leave, during which they receive no pay but are guaranteed retention of their job. The Lincheng Coal Mining Bureau.—This was originally a Sino-Belgian concern, capitalised at 3,000,000 francs. In 1927 it suspended operations on account of water in the two pits then existing. Shortly afterwards it was confronted with a labour strike which the shareholders could find no means to avert and pacify. Perceiving this awkward situation, the Hopeh Provincial Government formally took over the property in the autumn of 1929 by investing an additional capital of $300,000 to keep the mines in operation. The northern pit, having been filled with water, was abandoned, its cranes and boiler being removed to the southern pit. Now the estimated annual output amounts to approximately 7,000 tons of bituminous coal. The Fu-chung Corporation, Honan.—This was a combination of the Peking Syndicate, Ltd., a British firm, and the Chungyuan Company, a purely Chinese-owned enterprise. They combined in sale but not in production. On account of the continued labour trouble the former suspended business in 1928, leaving the latter to work independently. Since that year the Corporation has been put under the sole control of the Honan Provincial Government, by whom a supervisor has, of late, been appointed to look after the management. Its average yearly output is 216,027 tons of anthracite coal. TIENTSIN. 375 In addition to the foregoing, there are some modern style or semi-modern style mines which have no offices here and which, in the absence of more complete data, are merely enumerated below:— Name. Locality. Capital. Kind of Coal. Annual Output. Yili Company Tzuhsien, Hopeh. Chungho Company | Liuhokou Company Pao Chin Company Tatung Company Anyang, Honan Pingting and Yangchuan, Shansi. Tatung, Shansi S 3,000,000 480,000 3,000,000 3,000,000 3,000,000 Bituminous Anthracite. . Tons. 260,000 70,000 560,000 420,000 200,000 Ranked according to the actual production statistics available, the province of Hopeh comes first, producing a total of 8,000,000 tons of coal; Shansi, second, with 2,300,000 tons; and Honan, third, with 2,000,000 tons. The Lungyen Mining Company, Shihchingshan, Peiping, has ordered two blast furnaces for smelting purposes but a part of the machinery is said to have been allowed to deteriorate in the importer's godown; therefore no smelting operations have, as yet, taken place. The Pao Chin Company, Yangchuan, Shansi, equipped with one blast furnace, is able to turn out a yearly output of 5,400 tons of pig iron. Besides the above-mentioned coal and iron mines which are run along modern lines, there are quite a considerable number of small ones, with various mineral resources scattered, in North China. For lack of transportation facilities most of them are operated on a small scale, producing just enough for local consumption. Only small quantities of wolfram and asbestos from mines at Funing and Laiyuan, Hopeh, have found their way to Tientsin for either export or manufacture locally. In some mines no shafts are sunk—all the working is done in open excavations only a few fathoms deep, and no machinery of any kind, such as winding-drums and pit-props, is used, as most of the owners consider that small mines involve a minimum outlay, and therefore prefer to exploit their mine as best suits them. This state of affairs has been a hindrance to mining expansion. Fully realising this situation, the Ministry of Industries, however, has issued an order to the various provincial bureaux urging the amalgamation of the small mines whose terms of concession have expired and which have not been satisfactorily developed in accordance with the New Mining Law. Among the stipulations contained in the New Mining Law are those ruling that foreign capital may be admitted but must be limited to less than half of the total capital invested by any joint-stock company; that iron, copper, oil, and the bituminous coal good for distilling metallurgical coke, which are regarded as a State monopoly, may only be operated by private individuals under a special permit; and that the time limit for working large mines is 20 years and that for small ones 10 years, after expiry of which terms permits or concessions may be renewed for another 20 and 5 years respectively. At the same time the time limit for small mines is granted with some difficulty, as these are considered to be an obstacle to the develop- ment of the mining industry. 376 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 8. Communications.—During the decade under review every means of communication seems to have attained progress with the exception of railways. It is an undeniable fact that the continued civil war has all but completely denuded the railways of their rolling-stock for commercial transportation, and that locomotives and cars once commandeered have found their way back to their normal stations only too slowly. According to the report submitted to the Government by the Minister of Railways, there were 79 locomotives and 1,453 passenger and freight cars detained by various military units up to the end of 1930, only a part of which was released at different intervals in 1931. At the same time the prohibitive rates of railway freight had caused unceasing complaints from the merchants, and though it was well understood by the railway authorities that it was a cut-throat policy, yet nothing could be done to effect a reduction. It is said that the monthly appropriation to military funds from the railways running in the North amounted, as a rule, to no less than 2 million dollars. Since the uni- fication of the country the conditions on the railways have somewhat returned to normalcy, but their full development is still a question of the future, as all the lines are in such a state of deterioration that the expenditure required to effect the extensive repairs and replacements which are necessary is estimated at 60 million dollars. Roads, though many of them are not in good condition, have increased in mileage. Prompted by the efforts of the China Inter- national Famine Relief Commission and the American Red Cross Society, who have laid out numerous roads for famine relief work, road construction here has become popular. Some roads, built to facilitate military transportation, have at the same time been utilised for commercial purposes. From the political and social points of view the development of good roads is as important if not more so than that of the railways, and this applies more particularly to China's vast territory and immense population, which can only be united by multiplied means of communication. Railway construction is generally a State enterprise, and it is impossible to link every rural town or village with the costly railways, while it can be done with good roads at a small outlay. One of China's outstanding problems is that of economical transportation in remote inland districts. If an extensive road system is worked out, in conjunction with the railways, no difficulties should be encountered by the farmer in marketing his products and by the merchant in arranging for exports from, and imports to, the interior. In the case of telegraphs and telephones, a rapid advance is noticed in the latter means of communication, old machines having been mostly replaced by automatic ones. Long-distance messages can now be exchanged at important centres—a great boon to the public. Commercial aviation has opened a new epoch in the history of communications in North China, regular passenger and mail services having been recently inaugurated. Wireless telegraphs and broad- casting have also been operated with good returns. The Post Office has made great strides amid unprecedented difficulties arising from intermittent war and banditry. The following are notes dealing with each branch of the aforesaid communications:— Railways.—During the last ten years no expansion has taken place in railway construction; on the contrary, the existing lines running in North China have been going from bad to worse, frequent interruption of traffic and shortage of rolling-stock being the common lot of all these lines. Whenever civil war broke out, the railway was always the first to suffer. The fighting might be terminated in a few months or even weeks, but the railway communi- cations would be paralysed for a much longer period on account of pre-war and post-war military movements. In the wake of retreating soldiers, damage was always done to bridge works and other equipments; to set them up again required a heavy item of expenditure and long space of time. Combined with the above was the abnormally high freight rate which placed the railway, as a carrier of trade, in an unfavourable position. Thus its predominance TIENTSIN. 377 in the carrying trade was lost in certain years of the decade, and the public resorted to the primitive and slow means of transportation by native boats. The following table shows the percentage of the inland trade shared by each of the under-mentioned routes:— Rail. Boat. Cart. Percentage. Total 1922 74 23 3 100 1923 74 23 3 100 1924 74 23 3 100 1925 66 31 3 100 1926 43 54 3 100 1927 50 46 4 100 1928 49 46 5 100 1929 54 42 4 100 1930 47 50 3 100 1931 • • No figures are available since the abolition of the Tientsin Native Customs in that year. In the present decade the highest point in the percentage of carrying trade attained by the railway had been 74, from which it gradually dwindled to 43 in 1926 and 47 in 1930, the riverine traffic having benefited in proportion. Of the four railways operating in North China—the Peiping-Hankow; the Peiping- Liaoning; the Peiping-Suiyuan; and the Peiping-Pukow—the Peiping-Hankow Railway, being the centre of many wars, has suffered the most in commercial transportation, while the Peiping- Pukow line has sustained tremendous loss in rolling-stock, most of its locomotives and cars having been either detained or damaged through successive regimes of militarism. The cars de luxe, known as the " Blue Express," installed in 1923, are no longer a complete unit, being scattered on different lines. The Peiping-Suiyuan Railway, though comparatively less affected by actual warfare, was of little use to trade, taxation of all kinds being exceptionally high along the line. The monopoly of Soviet Russia on the Mongolian market has deviated the route of the skins and wool trade which was formerly carried on this line. Since the abolition of likin in 1931, however, the income of the railway has about doubled, the average monthly earning being $600,000. After paying all current expenditure, a net monthly surplus of $150,000 is available for improvements or extensions. It is gratifying to note that in comparison with the other lines the Peiping-Liaoning Railway was in better condition, materially and financially. Notwithstanding the separation of the section beyond the Great Wall due to political strifes and heavy military transportation, it yielded a net earning in each year, as follows:— Earnings. Operating Expenses. Net Earnings. 8 S S 1922 20,690,449 12,933,499 7,756,950 1923 18,288,124 11,336,677 6,951,447 1924 17,509,533 11,912,901 5,596,632 1925 24,047,676 13,218,204 10,829,472 1926 23,487,169 13,598,980 9,888,189 1927 34,720,466 15,941,157 18,779,309 1928 21,821,545 10,958,396 10,863,149 1929 37,514,591 18,512,682 19,001,909 1930 38,819,627 22,136,529 16,683,098 1931 40,203,000 21,020,000 19,183,000 378 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. From the foregoing table one would deduce that the expansion and shrinkage in this railway's earnings were in direct relation to the conditions prevailing in this part of the country. In the normal years of 1927, 1929, and 1930, when the line worked undisturbed, the receipts advanced. On the other hand, the receipts of other years met with a general set-back, especially in the year 1924, when the receipts receded to the lowest ebb. However, it should not be forgotten that in that and other years a part or the whole of the income earned by the section beyond the Wall is not included in the above tabulated totals. The high increase in the operating expenses for the last two years was due either to extensive repairs to the old rolling-stock or to maintenance of two separate administrative forces in Tientsin and Shenyang. In 1931 the earnings set up a record, still they fell short of expectations on account of the Sino-Japanese incidents in Manchuria. The work of doubling the track between Tangshan and Shanhaikwan was started in 1921 and completed in June 1925. To carry out the plan, a loan of $2,000,000 and £500,000 was contracted on the 22nd April 1921 with the British and Chinese Corporation. The loan was issued at par, bearing 8 per cent. interest and repayable in five years. At the end of 1931 only a small portion of the loan remained outstanding. The through-cargo traffic between the Peiping-Liaoning Railway and the South Manchuria line was inaugurated at the opening of the decade, and the system of loading cargo at the railway's risk lately introduced on the Peiping-Liaoning line has greatly facilitated trade by eliminating the employment of watchmen or guards to escort the cargo. The Peiping-Liaoning Railway Commercial Conference, held in December 1929 under the auspices of the Managing Director, Mr. C. Y. Kao, was attended by representatives of various commercial bodies. Its object was to solve problems concerning the improvement of railway transportation. Among the proposals submitted by the delegates were questions concerning the reduction of freight rates, just allotment of freight cars, and provision of godown facilities, all of which received special attention from the railway authorities. Road and Motor Transport.—Since the "Good Road Movement" of China was launched in Shanghai in the year 1921, various provincial authorities in North China have been gradually realising the importance of road building. Shansi leads in good roads, despite the fact that it is not a wealthy province. More roads are found there than in any other province in China. It is reported that at present there are 4,000 odd li of roads already completed and 1,213 li under construction. These excellent roads have greatly encouraged business and brought time- saving benefits to many sections. For instance, the well-conditioned road that connects Hungtung and Taiyiian makes the trip by motor-bus possible in two days, or by private car in one. Formerly, six days were considered a fast time for the heavy wooden and springless carts, which were the only means of transportation between these towns. There are now 2,000 motor vehicles, of which a few hundred are freight lorries. The province of Honan claims to have 2,579 li of roads, which are mostly of dirt, heaped up by the farmers. Motor-bus services are operated on a number of these dirt roads and also on some of the military roads. At present a total of 2,060 li of roads have been rebuilt by modern methods. In Shensi there are only 685 li of roads suitable for motor traffic. A regular motor-bus service operates upon the principal road between Sian and Tungkwan, a distance of 290 li. TIENTSIN. 379 Roads have been surveyed between Sian and Lanchow, in Kansu, by two different routes, aggregating 3,299 li in total length, but the work has not been started. A new motor road from Sian to Sanyuan, about 90 li apart, has recently been built by the Shensi authorities. A wooden bridge crossing the Wei River at Molutu, good for motor traffic, has also been constructed. Kansu, the province neighbouring on the west of Shensi, formerly had but one road of any consequence, extending 1,010 li from Lanchow to Ningsia. During the control of General Fêng Yü-hsiang, another road was constructed from Pingliang to Changwu, in Shensi, about 210 li in length. The newly built road between Kaolan and Chinhsien, some 90 li, reduces the distance between Kantsaotien and Lanchow by some 54 li. As the former place in normal times is a large grain market, this road is expected to prove of very distinct benefit in the near future. Hopeh to-day may be proud of having many motor roads with busy motor-bus services in operation. The statistics obtained from the Hopeh Provincial Reconstruction Bureau show that 23 roads, aggregating 2,758 li, have been completed and that some 1,500 li of roads are either in contemplation or under construction. Every completed road has regular bus services of commercial importance. At present there are more than 200 motor cars and trucks running on these roads. As a rule, the winter season, when the rivers are closed by ice, brings them good profit. Also the frequent dislocation of railway traffic and the high railway freight have, at times, benefited this business of long-distance motor service. The roads here are controlled by two Provincial Roads Offices, which collect motor-car licence fees and taxes for the upkeep of the roads. Among these roads, that from Tientsin to Peiping is particularly worthy of mention. In the year 1922 traffic on the complete road was formally opened. The journey was comfortably negotiated in from three and a half to four hours; high speed was not possible, as the surface of the road was mud. But through the recent co-operation of the American Marine Corps with the Chinese soldiers under General Fu Tso-yi, this road has been improved in such a way that high speed becomes possible. In memory of the good work done, a stone monument, with the inscription "Sino-American Highway, opened the 10th November 1928,” was erected in the town of Yangtsun. The town-dwellers presented silk-embroidered parasols, etc., to the American Marine Corps in recognition of their friendly service. The ceremony of reopening the road was a memorable and impressive one in the history of road-building in North China. Aviation. Following the departure in July 1922 of Colonel F. V. Holt, Technical Adviser on Aeronautics to the Chinese Government, the Nanyian Flying School was closed and all the flying machines and equipments in Peiping and Tsingho, near Peiping, were, from time to time, appropriated by various Tuchüns. There was no activity in aviation, except for military purposes. It was not until December 1928, when the Cantonese monoplane, called the “Spirit of Canton," commanded by General Chang Hui-chang, arrived at Tientsin and Peiping on her maiden trip, that public interest was aroused. Through the efforts of the China National Aviation Corporation, a Sino-American concern under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications, a regular mail service between Nanking and Peiping was inaugurated in March 1931, with intermediate stations at Hsüchow, Tsinan, and Tientsin. Up to the time of writing, the planes have not stopped at Tientsin, because the aerodrome is not yet completed. The machines used on this line are of “Stinson” type, capable of carrying four passengers and 600 pounds of mail matter each. According to the schedule, it takes only seven hours and 380 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 40 minutes for a complete trip, and half an hour from Tientsin to Peiping. The flying was suspended on the 6th June, for some reason or other, and was resumed on the 17th September. Beginning from the 17th October, passenger tickets have been put on sale, but again flying had to be suspended from the 24th December on account of unfavourable weather in the North. There is another air line, operated by the Eurasia Aviation Corporation, a Chinese and German enterprise, carrying only foreign-destined mails. The termini of this line were Shanghai and Manchouli, with non-stop at Tientsin. It started a test flight in the month of May 1931, but unfortunately met with a hitch on the Manchurian border, with the result that the machine, with one German pilot and one German mechanic, was detained by the Mongolian Government. Through diplomatic intervention, the two German officers were ultimately released in September on forfeiture of the machine. It maintained a partial flying service from Shanghai to Peiping, where a daily round-the-city flight was made to demonstrate the safety and comfort of the "Junkers" metallic planes of the latest type engaged in this line. From the 1st December this partial flight was officially stopped, and a new route from Shanghai to Hi, in Sinkiang, via Nanking, Tsinan, Peiping, Kalgan, Suiyiian, Ningsia, and Tihwa, is now under consideration. Post Office.—From the yearly reports published by the Post Office it may be observed that the Postal Service has experienced, since its inception, great hardship in combating all the difficulties arising from internecine wars and their aftermath—banditry. With the frequent, if only temporary, disorganisation of railway and overland communications, the handling of mail matters, light or heavy, was not an easy task, yet the Post Offices in North China, as a whole, have spared no efforts in effecting the despatch and delivery of mails by every possible means and with the least possible delay. Though a number of postmen have, from time to time, been molested, wounded, or killed in the execution of their duty in the war-ravaged and bandit- infested zones, the unfailing loyalty and courage of the postal employees has gone far to prove that the Postal Administration is comparatively the safest forwarding agency for letters and parcels. A steady expansion has been recorded in all branches of the Postal Service. A new feature of the period was the shipment through the post of quite a lot of skins and furs to Tientsin from the North-western provinces. For cotton and camel wool, which could be exported and transported with equal speed and as cheaply in large bales by camel caravans, the parcel post system was also extensively utilised. When the foreign post offices at Tientsin, Peiping, Tangku, and Shanhaikwan were closed at the end of 1922, in accordance with the decisions taken at the Washington Conference, their duties and responsibilities were taken over by the Chinese Post Office, and this additional volume of work has been handled to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. The field post offices of the Indian Postal Administration in North China were also withdrawn on the departure of the Indian troops in 1923. In 1928 the Directorate General of Posts at Peiping was removed to Nanking in consequence of the removal of the capital from north to south. For the convenience of the public an experimental domestic money order system was introduced from the 1st July 1925 between the Tientsin, Harbin, Peiping, and Tsinan District Head Offices and their sub-offices. The maximum of a single order is $30, which may be cashed either at the principal office or at any of its sub-offices. Another new system of postal orders was introduced in 1930 in the Hopeh district. These orders are only issuable in remote or rural places and may be cashed at any post office TIENTSIN. 381 by merely presenting the orders with their accompanying envelopes, which are supplied free by the postal establishments selling the orders. The maximum amount purchasable cannot exceed $10. The simplicity of the procedure greatly facilitates matters for the rural populace. A telautograph service was inaugurated between Tientsin, Peiping, Moukden, and Harbin District Head Offices on the 1st September 1927 and suspended on the 18th July 1931. At Tientsin and Peiping Head Offices the postal savings banks started since 1931 to accept fixed deposits from the public, and such facilities have been extended to inland offices in both districts during the same year. This service has enjoyed growing popularity. The number of depositors and the amount of deposits have steadily increased throughout North China. Telegraphs and Telephones.—According to the latest report the Tientsin Telegraph Office shows an advancement in its yearly revenue from a gross receipt of $1,116,288 in 1922 to $1,953,285 in 1931, an increase of 71 per cent. Against these increased receipts there is a corresponding inflated outlay incurred in the increase of staff pay and replacement of field materials damaged during military operations, while the unusual strain of free official telegrams has deprived the Telegraph Office of an appreciable part of its income. The average yearly commercial telegrams handled reached 248,791 in number, representing 4,539,631 words, as compared to the official telegrams, which were no less than 31,472, covering 3,195,960 words. In 1925 it had its own new building in the French Concession, where extensive reorganisation was effected. Since the departure of the foreign Superintendent on the expiry of his tenure in 1930, his functions have been taken over by the Chinese Superintendent, who is an immediate subordinate to the General Director. The Telegraph Office is now solely under Chinese management. The offices of the Great Northern, Great Eastern, and Commercial Pacific Companies, formerly attached to the Chinese Telegraph Office, were abolished on the 26th February 1931, and their work put under the direct control of the Chinese Administration. On the other hand, the growing popularity of the wireless telegraphy operating in Tientsin has been somewhat felt by the Telegraph Office. The Tientsin Telephone Administration has made remarkable development, as shown by the healthy increase in the capacity and number of lines in operation. From 6,000 lines, with a full capacity of 8,200 lines, in 1922, it has now 10,900 lines in operation, with a total capacity of 15,000 lines, which are controlled by four offices, namely, the Central Office representing Stations 2 and 5, the South Office representing Station 3, and the East and North Offices representing Stations 4 and 6 respectively. In Stations 5 and 6, the manual common battery system is in operation, while in Stations 2, 3, and 4 the automatic Strowger system is in use. The automatic Strowger machine was introduced in 1926 for subscribers in all concessions, the three Special Areas, and some parts in the city. Tientsin may be proud of being the pioneer in the installation of automatic telephones throughout China. The number of subscribers has considerably increased since the introduction of the automatic system and the extension of the manual service in the city. The annual average rate of increase is approximately 900 numbers. The monthly revenue advanced from $80,000 in 1926 to $110,000 in 1931, which latter amount, however, is still not sufficient to meet the operating expenses and loan obligations due to the banking group who have financed the installation of the new system. There are 11 long-distance lines operating between Tientsin and Peiping, Tangshan, Tangku, Yangliutsing, Hsiaotsan, Hsiikochwang, Hsienshuiku, Shenyang, Shanhaikwan, and Peitaiho. The last-mentioned line operates in the 382 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. summer season only. A relay service has been established between Tientsin and Antung, Dairen, Port Arthur, and other places in the South Manchuria Railway Zone. These long- distance lines are under the control of the Hopeh Provincial Government. Wireless.—Wireless was not a new thing in North China. Early in 1908 there was a long-wave wireless station of the vacuum tube system erected at the Temple of Heaven, Peiping, by the then Ministry of Communications, for receiving and sending telegrams. In the first year of the decade the same Ministry started a long-wave spark system station at Taku for ships' service. The call signal of this station is XOQ; power, 1.5 kilowatts; and wave- lengths, 600, 1,200, and 1,600 metres. In 1924 the Tientsin station, equipped with 0.5 kw. vacuum tube type of 900 and 1,000 metre lengths, was completed, and has been used for all purposes under the call signal of XOV. In the same year a broadcasting service was inaugurated in both Tientsin and Peking (Peiping), receiving public support from the start. COTN and COPK are the present signals for the Tientsin and Peiping broadcasting respectively. Both stations transmit daily programmes of songs, news, stock quotations, Shanghai Customs time, etc., on a wave length of 330 and 480 metres. Each office collects fees from the licences issued to the firms dealing in wireless apparatus and the houses which are installed with the same, and also from the issue of Huchao to import wireless machines and materials. The total receipt of the Tientsin station is about $4,000 a month. Under the direction of the Reconstruction Committee of the National Government, a short-wave wireless telegraph station was established on the 1st August 1928 at Tientsin for commercial purposes. Two machines have been in operation, one under the signal of XKE and the other under XKF, transmitting direct communications with Shanghai, Taiyuan, and Harbin. Inter- national radiograms are received here for transmission through Shanghai. In the case of domestic messages, the same rates are charged as those applicable to the ordinary wire telegrams, but a special tariff is applied to telegrams destined for foreign countries. During the first year of its inception the wireless telegraph office here handled 30,000 radiograms, covering 400,000 words, while in 1931 the work was more than doubled, to wit, 70,000 telegrams, representing 1,000,000 words. Its average yearly expenditure is $80,000 against an earning of $120,000. The large Mitisui station at Shuangchiao, between Peiping and Tungchow, was completed in 1925, but the Chinese Government refused to take it over because the masts were 40 metres shorter than called for by the specifications of the contract and also because of an international complication in connexion with the Federal and Marconi wireless loans, which is awaiting an amicable settlement. At present the station is nothing but an idle institution. 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—In March 1922 the temporary beacon lights marking the position of the Peishan wreck were discontinued and the wreck was marked by a green-painted buoy, moored about half a cable to the northward of the wreck and showing an occulting green light every 3 seconds, thus, light 0.3 second, eclipse 2.7 seconds. In April 1923 the Entrance Gas-lighted Buoy was replaced with an acetylene-lighted black conical buoy, showing a white flashing light every 3 seconds, thus, light 0.3 second, eclipse 2.7 seconds. In June 1925 the group-flashing light at Tsaofeitien, Shaluitien Island, was replaced with an unattended acetylene flashing light, exhibited from the existing octagonal black tower, with the following characteristics: light 0.3 second, eclipse 2.7 seconds, and visible in clear weather for a distance of 10 miles. TIENTSIN. 383 On the 30th September 1925 the new light-beacon was erected on Tsaofeitien, Shaluitien Island, 800 yards north-west from the existing tower. The beacon is a trestle structure, painted black, and surmounted by an illuminating apparatus, dioptric, fourth order, showing a white light (acetylene) flashing every 3 seconds, thus, light 0.3 second, eclipse 2.7 seconds. The light is unwatched, elevated 42 feet above high water, and visible in clear weather for 12 nautical miles. The temporary light exhibited from the existing octagonal tower was discontinued. On the 20th September 1926 the green gas-lit buoy marking the position of Peishan wreck was removed. On the 1st June 1929 the unclassed South Dike green light was discontinued and a sixth order light exhibited from a beacon placed on the extremity of the South Dike, approximately 200 feet from the edge of the south bank at low water ordinary spring tides. The centre of the lamp is 15 feet above high water, showing at night a green light, visible in clear weather, all round the horizon, for a distance of about 4 nautical miles. In March 1931: (1) The River Mouth Leading Marks were transferred from the north bank of the river to the south bank. The front pyramidal beacon is situated on an iron jetty, from which the North Fort Cavalier bears N. 89° E., distant 0.27 miles. The light was changed from a fixed red oil lamp to a red Aga light, flashing every 0.6 second: light 0.2 second, eclipse 0.4 second. The centre of the light is 37 feet above high water and visible in clear weather for a distance of 7 miles. The rear pyramidal beacon is placed 1,670 feet in the rear, from where the North Fort Cavalier bears S. 59° E., distant 0.44 miles. The light was changed from a fixed oil lamp to a white Aga light, flashing every 4 seconds: light 2 seconds, eclipse 2 seconds. The centre of the light is 53 feet above high water and visible in clear weather for a distance of 10 miles. These beacon lights, in transit, mark the channel from the point where the Taku Bar Leading Marks cut the River Mouth Leading Marks until Central Fort is abeam. Both lights are exhibited throughout the year. (2) The old wooden Bar Light-boat was replaced by a new steel light-boat, having one mast surmounted by a black spherical daymark, painted red, with "Bar Light-boat" painted in white on her sides. The light, which is unclassed, shows a fixed red light, visible in clear weather for a distance of 4 miles. During foggy or thick weather a gong is sounded at intervals of 1 minute when the fog signal of a vessel under way is heard. The usual tide signals are exhibited from sunrise to sunset. (3) The Spit Light-boat, moored at the northern side of the channel approach to the Haiho, was permanently withdrawn from her position and replaced by a red can buoy, which is called the Spit Buoy. In September 1931: (1) The three beacons marking inward and outward turning transits in the Deep Hole have been disestablished. (2) The rewiring of the Tangku Signal Station, at which a new "Petter" generator has been installed in lieu of the old "Delco" plant, has been completed in conformity with the Lisbon Conference recommendations, which have been adopted by the Chinese Government. (3) The characteristics of the River Mouth Leading Marks front light were altered to have the red light flashing every 0.8 second, thus, light 0.4 second, eclipse 0.4 second. 384 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Haiho Conservancy.—During the first half of the decade under review the condition of the Haiho and of the Taku Bar Channel continued to improve beyond all expectations. During 1927 and 1928 a very severe set-back was experienced in the Haiho, and, although conditions improved in the latter half of 1929 and during 1930, the improvement was completely undone in 1931. It is recognised that no lasting improvement of the river or bar channel can be achieved until the damaging effect of the Yungtingho has been removed. The works for the diversion of the silt-laden water of the Yungtingho into a settling-basin and for the reversion from the settling-basin to the Haiho of the clarified water are approaching completion. The condition of the river in 1922 was excellent, and the record draught from Tientsin to the deep sea was 17 feet 4 inches. The river continued good throughout 1923, the freshets being again very mild. The year 1924 was visited by the heaviest floods on record (see also section "16. Popula- tion."). Before breaking its banks the Yungtingho succeeded in discharging a load of silt into the Haiho, temporarily shoaling the river to —7 feet, Taku datum, at one point. Subsequently the bed of the river scoured to a depth incompatible with the safety of its banks, reaching 28 feet below Taku datum in Tientsin Reach. The output of the Haiho gradually attained the colossal figure of 53,000 cubic feet per second. The Red Bridge, the Japanese bunding, and a part of the French bunding collapsed. Tientsin has never been so seriously threatened by disaster and was only saved by the tremendous drainage capacity of the Haiho due to unprecedented scour, by the early breach of the Yungtingho dike, and by the costly maintenance of the south dike of the Nanyunho. On the 13th July the reported outputs of the various tributaries became alarming. The output of the Yungtingho at Lukowkiao was 3,500 cubic metres per second; of the Chaopeiho, over 3,000 cubic metres per second (a record for this river); of the Tachingho system, 8,500 cubic metres per second. The Yungtingho burst its south dike 16 kilometres south of Lukowkiao on the 13th July, and on the following day the reported output through the breach on to the western plain was 19,900 cubic metres per second. Under these conditions, and in consideration of the fact that thousands of men were working to prevent the Wenanwa (a depression capable of storing several billion cubic metres of water) from being filled, the port of Tientsin was dangerously exposed to disaster, more especially as the Haiho was considered incapable of accommodating more than 1,000 cubic metres per second without serious effect on its bed and banks. The local authorities were, consequently, advised to make a provisional flood relief by breaching the Hsiho and Nanyunho dikes and so allowing the water to escape through the plains west of Tientsin. The local authorities found it impossible to adopt the recommendation, and elected to bank up the flood water above Tientsin by raising and stiffening the south dike of the Nanyunho—the last defence of the city against flood. The situation was very precarious. The water-levels continued to rise, registering +26.12 feet, Taku datum, at Liliupu; +21.10 feet, Taku datum, at the Red Bridge and the Hsinkaiho; and +22.60 feet, Taku datum, at the Tientsin City Waterworks station. Altogether an area approximating 3,500 square kilometres lay under flood at a level nearly 14 feet higher than many places in Tientsin. TIENTSIN. 387 scoured from the river by the heavy freshets succeeded in gradually reducing the signalled depth to —6 feet, Taku datum, on the 29th November, and the improvement that followed allowed a recovery of 1 foot at the close of the year. During 1925 the bar dredger was fouled on two occasions, which put her out of commission for three months. These misfortunes, coupled with the evacuation of a heavy load of silt from the river, as a result of exceptionally heavy freshets for the second year in succession, seldom allowed the signalled depth to exceed —6 feet, Taku datum. Although dredging in 1926 was commenced as early as the 15th February, bad weather, local disturbances, and coal shortage prevented any headway being made until the month of May. From that time onward steady improvement is recorded, the signalled depth being increased from —6 feet, Taku datum, in April to —8 feet 6 inches in November. Considering the huge volume of silt that was deposited in the Haiho by the Yungtingho in 1927, a good deal of which worked its way out on to the Bar, it is satisfactory to note that the dredger succeeded in maintaining a signalled depth of —9 feet, Taku datum, from the middle of May to the end of that year. It was only to be expected that, in 1928, the disastrous silting of the harbour for the second year in succession would have repercussions on the Bar Channel. It is, however, fortunate that the summer freshets of that year were not strong enough to flush more than a small percentage of the silt accumulation on to the bar, as otherwise the channel would have been lost. As it was, the signalled depth was reduced from —9 feet to —7 feet, Taku datum, in July, restored to —8 feet, Taku datum, in September and to —8 feet 6 inches in the following month. Another foot was added to the Bar Channel before the onset of the strong freshet in the summer of 1929; but the silt flushed from the river by the freshet reduced the signalled depth to —7 feet, Taku datum, on the 2nd October, and it was only by dint of intensive dredging that the bed level of —8 feet, Taku datum, was hoisted in December. The fluctuation during 1930 was slight. 1 foot was added to the signalled depth in the spring, and this was lost again as a result of the very slight freshet in the summer. Rough weather hampered the work of the dredger in the autumn, but a gain of 6 inches was obtained in the end. Very little dredging was done by the bar dredger during the first half of 1931. Boiler trouble necessitated the dredger being laid up for repairs in April, and, before the repairs were completed, a strike of the Conservancy employees broke out in June. The reductions in the signalled depth that resulted read as follows: —8 feet, Taku datum, on the 3rd June; —7 feet 6 inches, Taku datum, on the 8th July; and —7 feet, Taku datum, on the 28th August. It was not until December that —7 feet 6 inches, Taku datum, could be signalled again. Although the freshets were very light, the silt content of the water was exceptionally heavy. In 1924 a programme of works was adopted for the construction of a permanent channel over Taku Bar, the purchase of a second bar dredger, and the provision of a suitable repair shop and dock accommodation for Conservancy plant. Difficulties arose in 1929 in connexion with the construction of the new channel across the bar, which necessitated a recomideration of the scheme. The difficulties lay in the vast accumulation of wit on the flat» through which the course of the new channel had been plotted; the consequent alteration of the contour lines 388 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. in the estuary; the return, by wave action during storms, of the silt excavated from the new channel; the weakening of the wood structure of the dikes owing to the ravages of sea-borers known as teredos; and the risks attendant upon the transfer of navigation from the old to the new channel. The difficulties were not insuperable, but the additional expenditure required to overcome them was not considered commensurate with the benefits to be obtained. It was accordingly decided to abandon the project and to establish the existing channel as the permanent channel over the Taku Bar. Two ice-breakers were added to the fleet during the decade, bringing the total number to six. With the exception of the year 1922, the Commission has succeeded in keeping the port open to winter navigation from Tientsin to the open sea throughout the period under review. Very difficult periods were experienced in 1927, 1929, and 1930, and the winter season of 1930-31 was one of the severest on record. An experimental length of ice-dike, measuring 4,500 feet and with the top at a level of +16 feet, Taku datum, has been constructed on the North Flat and has given very satisfactory results. Wireless apparatus has been installed in the two large ice-breakers and on one of the Commission's craft stationed at Tientsin, thereby establishing a means of broadcasting ice conditions to shipping and of maintaining communi- cation with the Conservancy offices. The following plant and property were acquired by the Commission during the decade:— Plant: The motor inspection launch Haiho. „ motor-boat Yiiho. „ ice-breaker Kungling. „ „ Feiling (in replacement of the tug Hunho). „ stationary bucket dredger, 300 centimetres, Kaolin. „ hopper barges Nos. VIII and IX, each of 130 centimetres capacity. Property: In 1924 the Commission purchased their dockyard at Hsinho, 1\ miles from the river mouth. The property embraces an area of 120 mow, with a foreshore of nearly 1,000 feet, and, in addition to a workshop, boiler- house, forge, drying-shed, dock pump-house, sheer-legs, jetty, manager's house, and sundry buildings, has a dry-dock in reinforced concrete measuring 125 metres by 16 metres. An extension of the Hsinho property, measuring 195 mou, was acquired for the erection of staff quarters in 1926. A gate caisson for opening and closing the dock was purchased in 1926 from Messrs. Cammell, Laird & Co. The caisson was assembled at the Commission's works and has proved most satisfactory. An artesian well was sunk on the Hsinho property in 1926. Owing to the inadequacy, both for river and land traffic, of the old International Bridge, the Consular Body decided in July 1923 to entrust to the Haiho Conservancy Board the scheme for the erection of a new bridge over the Haiho to replace the International Bridge. The project was financed by the levy of a temporary Bridge Tax of 2 per cent. of Customs duties enforced on the 1st October 1923. TIENTSIN. 389 The bridge selected was a Scherzer rolling-lift bridge, which fulfils all requirements in regard to traffic both by land and by water. The new bridge was opened on the 18th October 1927 by the representative of His Excellency, the Ta Yuan Shuai (Generalissimo Chang Tso-lin), and the closing of the old bridge immediately followed. The demolition of the old International Bridge was completed on the 30th November 1928. The Haiho Conservancy Labour Union was formed in October 1929. The danger of the existence of a labour union in a public utility service such as the Conservancy was recognised by the Board. In the endeavour to postpone the inevitable chaos anticipated, the Haiho Conservancy Board suspended recognition of the union until the receipt of assurance that the formation of the union had the consent of the Central Government. This assurance was never received. The labour union, from the time of its inception until June 1930, endeavoured to interfere with the Commission's prerogative; but the activities of the union were successfully countered until they ceased with the dissolution of the Tang Pu by the Shansi faction in June 1930. With the return of the Tang Pu to Tientsin, labour troubles recommenced in the spring of 1931. Following the strikes that took place in the Native City Waterworks and in the Kailan Mining Administration, agitation was again started by the Conservancy Labour Union. Upon the question of recognising the union, the representative of the Government on the Commission decided that the union would have to be recognised, seeing that similar unions in the Govern- ment Railways were recognised. On the 9th April the union submitted a petition embodying seven demands. Of these demands five were refused as unreasonable. The reaction of the union to the Board's reply was a succession of arguments to press their demands. The arguments were patiently answered but did not satisfy the union leaders. It was obvious from the outset that there was no dissatisfaction in the staff as a whole, but the staff was intimidated by a handful of ringleaders. On the 7th June a strike was declared. On the 9th June the Board invited the chairman of the provincial government and the mayor of Tientsin to mediate in the matter. Mediation commenced on the 18th June, and the strike was eventually settled on the 29th June by compromise, work being resumed on the following day. North China River Commission.—This Commission is the former Chihli River Commission, reorganised in September 1928 by order of the National Government. It is now under the direct control of the Ministry of Interior, and its scope of activities has been much widened, as its present name indicates. It has devised many plans for the improvement of the river system in North China. But, on account of civil disturbances and financial difficulties, nothing can be done except carrying on hydraulic improvements, topographical and hydrological surveys, various investigations and studies. The Chihli River Commission continued survey work during 1922, but the work was hampered by military operations in the northern part of Chihli province and by the bandit menace in the south. The scheme for the extension of the Tientsin dike by constructing an embankment on the south and alongside the Chentangchwang-Liangwangchwang Railway line unfortunately met with a deadlock in connexion with the acquisition of the land required to carry out the scheme. As a consequence, the additional embankment plan was dropped. Through the efforts of Admiral Wu Yu-lin, in his capacity as then Director General of River Affairs of the Eastern Metropolitan Area, 80 per cent. of the land required for the partial reversion of the Peiho was acquired. 390 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. In the spring of 1923 the Peiho reversion work was well under way, but on account of objections raised by the local people, the first-planned reversion at Niumutun had to be changed to the place of Shuchuang, a village near the original breach in the east dike of the Peiho. This new project included the excavation of a channel about 5 miles long with 115 feet bottom width, with at least 650 feet between the two dikes built with the excavated material. This channel connects a point on the present river with the old course, cutting off a very large bend. Regulating gates were to be constructed at the head of this channel and also at the cross of the present river. In this way the low-water discharge can be delivered to the old river course for the benefit of navigation both above and below Tientsin, while the flood discharge can be divided between the old and new courses. The new channel and about one-fourth of the regulating works were completed in the year. The topographic survey of Chihli was also continued, and the area mapped during the year was 10,800 square kilometres. In addition to surveys and construction, the Commission gathered information as to the height, volume, and frequency of floods on the various rivers of the province. The reversion work of the Peiho at Suchwang made excellent progress in the year 1924. In connexion with this reversion scheme it was deemed necessary to improve the Chinglung- wanho, an existing escape channel of the Peiho, but floods and civil war interfered with this work. The experience gained from the floods of the year demonstrated the necessity for a new flood channel to the sea in the neighbourhood of Tientsin, and it was hoped that funds would be made available for this important work. The area surveyed in the year amounted to 67,900 square kilometres. The reversion work at Suchwang was completed before the flood season of 1925. No further progress was made, however, in connexion with the improvement of the Chinglung- wanho, as it was found impossible to secure the co-operation of the civil authorities in Peking and Tientsin, the channel lying partly in the then metropolitan area and partly in Chihli province. The Tumenlou Weir, however, was repaired and provided with gates to regulate the supply of water into the Chinglungwanho, so as to prevent any residue passing into it. The four serious breaches of the Yungtingho, caused by the floods of 1924, were repaired before the flood season under the supervision of the Commission. On account of this supervision work, the topographic survey was below the average, only 17,100 square kilometres being achieved. The proposal for reverting the Yungtingho to its old course was accepted by the President of the Commission, Mr. Hsiung Hsi-ling, and the work was entrusted to a Directorate General, of which Mr. Hsiung was appointed director. In 1926 the rebuilding of the Yungtingho first groyne was begun with the Director General and the Commission's engineers as supervisors. Extensive repairs to several dike systems and the regulating work at Suchwang, on the Chaopaiho, for diverting water into the Peiyunho, were also finished during the year. Property surveys were made preparatory to the purchase of the necessary land for the 20-miles long extension of the Chinglungwanho flood escape channel. The topographic survey work was much handicapped by the civil war. However, an area of 8,500 square kilometres was mapped, which made a grand total of 71,500 square kilometres surveyed since the beginning of this work in March 1920. On account of military operations in 1927, the surveying parties were withdrawn from the fields and utilised in preparing maps of the executed field work. Hydrometric parties for TIENTSIN. 391 measuring flood flow and silt of the Chihli rivers were maintained on all the rivers in the northern area during the summer. In the southern part of the province the work was interfered with by the war, but in spite of the disturbances, a good deal was accomplished. Since 1928 the reorganised North China River Commission, composed of 11 executive members with two foreign advisers, continued the work of the former Chihli River Commission. Besides the topographic survey of 12,836 square kilometres in the various river basins or valleys and mapping out the surveyed areas, the Commission has also kept 19 discharging recording stations, 54 stage gauging stations, 83 rainfall recording stations and meteorological observations. Investigations of different river systems have been made from time to time and detailed reports prepared. Lack of necessary funds has confined the Commission to the work of surveying, mapping, and preparation of plans and schemes, and no construction work has been effected since its reorganisation. 10. Administration.—The unification of China in 1928 has constituted a line of demarcation in the history of the provincial administration in North China in respect of its organisations and functions. In the early part of the decade the highest authorities of the provincial government were the two governors, civil and military, functioning on an equal and co-operative basis. The former (the Sheng-chang) administered civil affairs, while the latter (the Tuchiin) was entrusted with the charge of the military and, theoretically, had no say in the management of the Civil Service. Nevertheless, with the breakdown of the Central Government, through conspiracy and insubordination on the part of some of the provincial functionaries, the power of the Tuchiin became so great that, like the feudal barons of old, he interfered with every matter in his province. Following the dictatorship of Marshal Chang Tso-lin in 1926, the Tuchiinate was abolished in this province and replaced by the Tupan system, whereby the control of both civil and military matters in the province was concentrated and vested in one person, the provincial governor. Since the Nationalist regime there has been introduced the Committee system composed of nine members, exercising all provincial functions and appointed by the Central Government. One of them is nominated Chairman, under whose direction the various executive organs run, namely, a Secretariat and five departments of Civil Affairs, Finance, Education, Construction, and Industry. The first Chairman of this province was General Shang Chen, who was succeeded by General Hsu Yung-chang. At present the post is held by General Wang Shu-chang. During the control of this province by General Yen Hsi-shan, the famous model governor of Shansi, a preliminary scheme for self-government modelled after the one in force in that province was adopted in Hopeh. It subsequently received the sanction of the Central Government and has become a nation-wide project, followed during the period of political tutelage. In this province there are 130 districts, each of which is divided into different sections. A section is composed of at least 10 villages. When a rural area has 500 houses or over, it is called a village; and the corresponding number of houses in a town or city is termed a fang. Five houses form a lin and five lin constitute a lit. Thus a village, or fang, must necessarily comprise 20 Hi or 100 lin. At the head of each of these public organisations there is a chief or elder, elected by the inhabitants themselves. It is his duty to carry out the district government's orders, to call meetings, and to decide matters within his own spheres and submit the decisions reached, if necessary, to the district government concerned for approval and execution. Excluding those in the two municipalities of Tientsin and Peiping, this province consists of 783 sections, or an equivalent of 11,960 villages and 608 fang. 392 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. In accordance with the revised administrative law of May 1930, the system of municipal governments has been modified as follows:— (1) Those under the direct jurisdiction of the Executive Yuan, formerly known as special municipalities. (2) Those under the control of the provincial government, previously designated ordinary municipalities. To come under the first category, one of the following qualifications is necessary:— (a) It must be located in the capital of the republic, (b) It must have a population of over 1 million inhabitants, or (c) It must adduce special circumstances. The second category includes the following:— (a) Those districts located in the capitals of various provinces, (b) Those having a population under 1 million but not less than 300,000, (c) Those with a population varying between 200,000 and 300,000 but whose aggregate municipal revenue, derived from various licence fees and the land tax, exceeds one-half of the total income. The Tientsin Municipal Government is under the control of the Hopeh Provincial Government, as it conforms to every qualification of the second grade. With the mayor as its head, it consists of the following bureaux and departments:— Secretariat, Social Welfare Bureau, Public Safety Bureau, Public Works Bureau, Educational Bureau, Local Tax Department, Financial Bureau, Public Utility Department. Besides the above offices, there is also a Self-government Supervision Office, inaugurated under the auspices of the mayor. The whole municipal area is divided into eight sections, with a corresponding number of police-stations. The chief of each section is at present selected by the mayor, with the approval of the provincial government. When the period of political tutelage is over, this section chief will then be elected by the people, and in due course a municipal council or assembly will be instituted. It may be of interest to illustrate the basic organisation of the self-government now in operation in this municipality by giving the following table:— Fang. LO. Lin. Hu (Houses). No. No. No. No. 32 528 2,591 14,839 45 606 2,850 21,753 3rd 29 480 2,190 14,615 4th 21 324 1,619 8,110 5th 39 696 3,308 18,425 6th 6 92 462 2,312 5 73 362 1,809 8th 5 91 450 2,344 TIENTSIN. 393 Along with the municipal government there is also a hsien, or district, government in Tientsin. As their sphere of jurisdiction has not been definitely established, conflicts frequently have arisen in connexion with taxation, policing, etc. The management of the Peiping Municipality is similar to that of Tientsin, though it comes under the control of the Central Government as being under special circumstances. In both localities the District Kuo-min-tang Headquarters are established. The members of the Tang Pu usually play an active part in the politics of various governmental as well as municipal organisations, assuming a supervisory attitude towards the conduct of their employees. In every governmental office the weekly memorial service must be observed, failing which disciplinary measures will ensue. It is generally admitted that the party activity has been a successful check to the so-called "mandarin corruption" and has been rendering worthy services towards the creation of a purified and clean government. The freedom from disturbances and the more or less safety afforded in the Concessions here has attracted more Chinese residents during the decade. To cope with the vast demand for housing facilities numerous new houses have been constructed, and the once desolate, isolated, and unoccupied marshes outside the Weitze Creek have been filled up and made use of. In the British Extramural Extension magnificent buildings owned by wealthy Chinese are now to be found. The development and prosperity of this port may be further indicated by the erection, in the middle of the decade, of a number of new godowns along the Bund. Indeed, not until recent years, when the world-wide trade depression has prevailed, have building operations in Tientsin abated or become less active. On the whole, the construction work taken up in the Concessions during the decade under review shows an improvement never witnessed in previous decades. One event worthy of special mention is the reorganisation of the British Municipal Council. Formerly, Chinese residing in that Concession had little voice over its administration, though they form a greater part of the ratepayers. In 1928, at the Annual General Meeting of Electors, Mr. P. C. Young, Chairman of the Council, proposed the following three amend- ments to the franchise:— (1) The membership of the Council is to be increased from nine to ten, half of whom will be British subjects while the other half will be composed of people of other nationalities. (2) Any person of whatsoever nationality over 21 years of age who pays a yearly land tax of 200 taels or more should be entitled to a vote. (3) Any person of whatsoever nationality over 21 years of age paying 600 taels rent a year should also be allowed to have a vote. With the putting into force of these suggestions, Chinese are now on absolutely equal footing and begin to take more interest in municipal affairs, having had now five seats in the Council. This is a sign of a closer co-operation between the British and Chinese, which will not only strengthen the tie between the two peoples, but will also lead to a material prosperity and development of the said area. Another important matter to be noticed is the rendition of the Belgian Concession. Negotiations on this question were started in the early part of 1929, and the agreement was signed on the 31st August by Dr. Ling Ping for China and Baron J. Guillaume for Belgium. TIENTSIN. 395 Yen, but was reverted to the old rate shortly after his retirement from Government service. Since February 1931 foreign and native rolled tobacco have been subject to the consolidated tax at new rates fixed by the Consolidated Tax Administration. The local Wine and Tobacco Bureau levied in August 1926 a special tax on foreign wine at 15 per cent., and in March 1927 a surtax of 60 per cent. of the regular tax on native wine and tobacco. This Bureau has, of late, been combined with the Revenue Stamp Office, and its activity confined to native wine and tobacco only. A 2.5 per cent. surtax was imposed on all Chinese factory products in April 1927, but was abolished in November 1930. In May 1927 native carpets were charged a special tax of 10 per cent., which was suspended only a few months later. The parcel post tax at the rate of 2.50 per cent. and the special tax on coal at $1 per ton were introduced respectively in April and October 1927, but both automatically ceased to exist with the abolition of t'ungshui. In 1927 the collection of t'ungshui on seven commodities, viz., eggs, jute, straw braid, hair and skins of pigs, cattle, horses, and asses, was under the monopoly of a special tax office. In the same year six kinds of skins and furs were called upon to pay yashui in addition to the t'ungshui. Only a partial abolition has been effected since the suppression of the t'ungshui. Eggs, skins, wool, and furs of all kinds, as well as silk, are now subject only to the yashui collected by the Tientsin Municipal Government at the old rates. In February 1927 the Washington surtax of 2.5 per cent. on all foreign imports was started and levied by the local Surtax Bureau, and in August of the same year a special rate of 5 per cent. was charged on luxuries. In November 1928 a surtax of half the transit dues was imposed on all native produce brought from the interior under a transit pass. Upon the introduction of the new Import Tariff in February 1929 the said Bureau stopped functioning. From December 1928 to the 31st January 1931 the consolidated tax on wheat flour, both native and foreign, was collected by the Wheat Flour Special Tax Bureau at the rate of $0.10 per bag. Now it is being collected by the Consolidated Tax Administration at the same rate. In May 1930 native and foreign sugar was called upon to pay, in place of the t'ungshui, a special tax ranging from $0.30 to $3 per picul according to various classifications. This tax terminated with the t'ungshui abolition. Salt, sulphur, and saltpetre are, as usual, liable to yiinchao or huchao fees of different denominations. The Bureau of Inspection and Testing of Commercial Commodities, Tientsin, under the auspices of the Ministry of Industries since August 1929, has been collecting fees according to a specified scale. The extra and intra 50-// Native Customs were abolished in January and June 1931 respectively, and the historic Ha Ta Men octroi of Peiping, or the loti tax, ceased simultaneously with the former. 396 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. In the various hsien, or districts, the yashui and other taxes on principal native products transported or sold have been independently levied with such specific rates as requisite to meet the local expenditure for education, police, self-government, etc. Since the general abolition of likin, or t'ungshui, the consolidated tax has been enforced on matches, cement, cotton yarn, and direct products of cotton yarn, as well as on wheat flour and rolled tobacco. This tax is levied according to the regulations and tariff promulgated by the Consolidated Tax Administration. Cargo entering and leaving this port by steamers has been subject to wharfage and Haiho Conservancy dues. The latter consist of three kinds, viz., river dues, bridge tax, and Haiho Improvement Scheme surtax, amounting collectively to 14 per cent. of the Customs 1922 Import Tariff and 1858 Export Tariff rates. The bridge tax and the Haiho Improvement Scheme tax, instituted in October 1923 and in June 1929 respectively, are collected only as a temporary measure. As soon as the authorised full quota, i.e., $1,752,810 for the former and $4,000,000 for the latter, will have been realised the collection will cease. 11. Justice and Police.—During the greater part of the decade China was in the throes of political strife; all civil administrations were either controlled or interfered with by the war- lords, with perhaps the sole exception of the judiciary, who comparatively stood compact and retained a certain amount of integrity. The only difficulty experienced was the want of funds to keep the legal machine in working order. Many courts had to rely entirely on the legal proceeds for their maintenance. This financial difficulty probably restricted the development in judicial reform. Since the inauguration of the National Government, however, the progress made along this line is quite noteworthy. New laws have been enacted and promulgated to suit the existing conditions and changes in the judicial administration introduced. All the procuratorates, or Chien-ch'ia-t'ing, which formerly functioned side by side with the courts known as Shen-p'an- t'ing, have now been abolished throughout North China, though the procurators still continue to function as members of the said courts. These amalgamated courts are known as Fayuan. The abolition of the procuratorates may be attributed to the following reasons. Firstly, the maintenance of two organs entailed a heavy budget. Secondly, the system of separate organs dealing with the same case proved too complicated a procedure for the litigants. Thirdly, the existence of two officers on the same footing, but set one against the other, was deemed productive of conflicts of authority. For the convenience of litigants, the number of regular courts has been increased. In the past there were only one Supreme Court, two High Courts with one Divisional High Court, and four District Courts with three branches. Since the removal of the Supreme Court from Peiping to Nanking, there exist one High Court at Tientsin with two branches, one at Peiping and one at Taming, and eight District Courts at Tientsin, Peiping, Paoting, Shihmen, Luanhsien, Hsingtai, Hochien, and Yungnien. Three Divisional District Courts have also been established at Chohsien, Shunyi, and Wuching under the control of the Peiping District Court, and one similar court at Tangshan, under that of Luanhsien. A Divisional District Court at Tangku- Taku district is under contemplation. There are also Summary Courts where cases of a minor nature are tried. Before receiving the case, private compromise is resorted to if possible. Preparations are being pushed ahead for the establishment of various " Hsien" courts, and the programme will be completed in a course of two years. For the time being the judicial function of such courts is vested in the hsien magistrates, with a trial officer and prison warden. TIENTSIN. 397 In order to be in readiness to take over consular jurisdiction and extraterritoriality, a special court has been planned to be attached to each of the two courts (i.e., the High Court and the District Court) at Tientsin. There are four modern prisons in Hopeh province, the First and Second Prisons being at Peiping, the Third at Tientsin, and the Fourth at Paoting. In these modern prisons the work assigned to the convicts is of such nature as will qualify them for earning their livelihood after the sentence has been served. Prisons in other places of the province have also been improved, but, through lack of funds, an extensive improvement as carried out in the above four prisons is impossible. Each District Court has its own detention house. A ward for political and communist convicts is attached to the Tientsin and Peiping prisons. In the Tientsin District Court, 364 civil and 374 criminal cases were registered for 1928; 770 civil and 208 criminal for 1929; 732 civil and 293 criminal for 1930, before which no record is obtainable. In the port of Tientsin there is no mixed court existing, and foreigners who enjoy extraterritorial rights are under consular jurisdiction. Great Britain, the United States of America, France, and Italy have circuit courts or assizes in Tientsin outside the consular jurisdiction. Their judges make periodical visits to this port for hearing cases. All nationals of non-Treaty Powers, or of Treaty Powers whose consular jurisdiction has been abandoned, have to attend the Chinese court in legal cases. Before the reorganisation of the District Courts, all cases involving foreigners were tried by the Hua Yang Ch'eng-shen-ch'u, under the auspices of the Tientsin Magistrate. Since the 1st November 1928, summonses or warrants issued by the Tientsin District Court for witnesses in Concessions have been recognised by the Consular Body. Sealing and auctioning of estates involved in a lawsuit have also been executed in the Concessions without hindrance. Efficiency, loyalty, and bravery have marked the characteristics of the police force in the port of Tientsin. During civil disorders, many have acted bravely and many perished in the execution of their duties. In the Chinese city the name of the police administration was changed in the year 1928 to Public Safety Bureau, or Kung-an Chii, from its old name of Ch'ing-ch'a-t'ing. It is under the control of the City Municipal Government. There are altogether 2,659 persons in the forces, including 120 in the fire-brigade. In addition to the above, 2,154 men are organised as Pao-an-tui, equipped with modern arms, and divided into three companies with a detachment of horsemen. The river police, 300 all told, are controlled by an independent office called the Hopeh Water Police Office, under the auspices of the Hopeh Provincial Government, and their duty is to patrol and maintain order in the waterways of the five important rivers converging at Tientsin. They possess a fleet of one motor-launch and 23 guard-boats for patrolling purposes. The Judicial Courts, the Salt Office, and the Railway Administration have their own police. 12. Military and Naval Changes.—The decade under review may be considered as a period marking the downfall of the Northern militarists and the expansion of the Nationalist influence into the North. The collapse of the "Peiyang Army," which was originally organised by the ex-President Yuan Shih-k'ai, once Governor of the Chihli (Hopeh) province, was mainly due to disconcertion of the Northern leaders. In order to serve as a general review of the 398 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. politico-military changes in North China, where the seat of the Central Government was located before the unification of the country, the following brief summary of events may not be out of place. The armed conflict between Marshal Chang Tso-lin and Marshal Wu Pei-fu in the spring of 1922, the opening year of the decade, ended in the victory of the latter. With this military success, the " Chihli Party," under the leadership of Marshal Tsao Kun, had stronger hold of the situation, which led to the removal from the Presidency of General Li Yuan-hung and the election of Marshal Tsao Kun, who assumed the post on the 10th October 1923. In September 1924 the armed dispute between General Lu Yung-hsiang, Tuchiin of Chekiang province, and General Chi Hsieh-yiian, Tuchiin of Kiangsu, over the control of the Shanghai district was the signal for a renewal of the conflict between the two old rival generals in the North. Marshal Chang Tso-lin pushed fonvard his forces in the direction of Shanhaikwan and Marshal Wu Pei-fu mobilised his troops towards the neighbouring districts of the Great Wall, in order to repel the Moukden invasion. Before a decisive battle could be fought, however, General Feng Yii-hsiang, who had been entrusted with the defence of Chihli in the Jehol region, unexpectedly launched a coup d'etat in Peking, which brought about the defeat of the Chihli Army on the front and the consequent departure of Marshal Wu Pei-fu to Yochow. In the meantime, while General Feng Yii-hsiang was reorganising his forces, together with those left behind by Marshal Wu, into several army corps, known as Kuominchiin, or the People's Army, the Moukden forces made a long drive, reaching as far down south as Nanking and Shanghai. The helm of the Ship of the State was at that juncture under the dual control of Marshals Feng and Chang, with Marshal Tuan Chi-jui at the head of the Central Government under the nominal title of Provisional Chief Executive. On the 22nd November of the same year Dr. Sun Yat-sen was invited to come to the North to confer with the Northern leaders. He arrived at Tientsin on the 3rd December and was taken ill there. However, he was able to proceed to Peking on the 31st December, but he became again very ill and passed away at Peking on the 12th March 1925. His famous will was issued from his bedside, enjoining the Kuo-min-tang to continue to work with doubled efforts. The Feng-Chang combine had been elaborately maintained by Marshal Tuan until the middle of October 1925, when General Sun Chuan-fang, who had established himself at Chekiang in 1924 through the defeat of General Lu Yung-hsiang, raised an attack on the Moukden forces stationed in Kiangsu. The latter fell back to Shantung, while General Feng, having come to an understanding with General Sun, cut off their rear at Tientsin. Prior to the withdrawal from Tientsin to Shantung of General Li Ching-lin, Moukden's nominee as Tupan of Chihli, General Kuo Sung-ling, one of Marshal Chang Tso-lin's most trusted lieutenants, stationed at Lanchow with the pick of the Moukden Army, revolted against his chief and advanced on Moukden, only to be routed and killed by General Chang Hsiieh-liang, the son of Marshal Chang Tso-lin. The allied forces of Moukden, Chihli, and Shantung, having thereby a clear field, brought pressure upon the Kuominchiin, who evacuated Tientsin towards the end of March 1926. In the following month Peking was also evacuated as a consequence of Marshal Wu's movement of troops from Hupeh towards the capital. The garrison of Peking was handed to the Moukden Army, and Marshal Tuan retired from his post of Provisional Chief Executive. It appeared then as if some sort of alliance existed between Marshals Wu and Chang, but difference in opinion soon arose between them as to the procedure to be adopted in recon- stituting the Central Government. For several weeks Peking was without a government, a Committee of Public Safety functioning in the capital and preserving order. As a compromise, TIENTSIN. 399 a Regent Cabinet was formed, first with Admiral Tu Hsi-kuei and then with Dr. Wellington Koo as acting premier, both being Marshal Wu's nominees. Dr. Koo continued to hold his post till the 2nd December, when Marshal Chang Tso-lin took the office of Commander-in- chief of the Ankuochiin (Tranquillity Restoration Army), with Peking as his headquarters. But the Nationalist advance on the Upper Yangtze could not be checked. With the quick action of the Nationalist Army and the subsequent inclusion of General Feng Yii-hsiang and General Yen Hsi-shan into the revolutionary forces, the year 1927 saw the Moukden Government at Peking surrounded by enemies on all sides. In spite of these unfavourable circumstances, Marshal Chang Tso-lin transformed the Central Government into a Ta Yuan- shuai Fu and declared himself as Generalissimo of the new Government on the 17th June 1927. It was on the 19th February 1928 that Generals Feng and Yen were officially appointed by the Nationalist Government at Nanking as Commanders of the 2nd and 3rd Army Groups respectively, while General Chiang Kai-shek took personal charge of the 1st Army Group and directed the Northern Punitive Expedition. The struggle between the Nationalist and Moukden Armies commenced at the end of March and lasted till the 3rd June 1928, when Generalissimo Chang Tso-lin evacuated the then capital and returned to Moukden. Upon his arrival at the Huangkutun railway station, on the 4th June, he met with a bomb outrage to which he sub- sequently succumbed. From that time Peking ceased to be the seat of the Central Government and General Yen was put in control of North China under the title of Garrison Commissioner of Peiping and Tientsin and later of Vice-Commander-in-Chief of National Forces. The year 1929 passed away with peace and tranquillity, which was again broken by the Yen-Feng clique's military manoeuvres against Nanking in 1930, during which time a Coalition Government was established at Peiping with General Yen at the head. The timely intervention of Marshal Chang Hsiieh-liang prevented the war from being prolonged and the defence of the North has been vested in him since October 1930, as Vice-Commander-in-Chief of the National Forces at first and as Peace-preserving Commissioner of the North since November 1931. From the above it may be seen that North China has undergone many changes of regime, both political and military. Many changes in the organisation and armament of the army were experienced during the decade. The standard unit of the army is the division, which is made up of two infantry brigades of two regiments each, one cavalry regiment of three battalions, one artillery regiment of three battalions, one company of engineers, one company of transport, four or more companies of machine guns, military police, a sanitary detachment, a field hospital, and a band, altogether about 12,000 strong. The Chihli Army, when under the control of Marshal Wu Pei-fu, was organised in mixed brigades, which were considered more mobile and elastic in number of men. The number of men organised in a mixed brigade was usually greater than the total number in a division. This system was followed also by the Moukden Army. Now the Moukden Army stationed inside the Wall has been re-organised into brigades. A brigade of the "A" type has three infantry regiments of three battalions each, one company of machine guns, one company of artillery, one company of trench-mortars, and one company of cavalry, while that of the "B" type is short of one infantry regiment. There are now eight brigades divided up into two army groups, known as 1st and 2nd and commanded by General Yii Hsiieh- chung and General Wang Shu-ch'ang respectively. There are altogether 120,000 men, including body-guards, military police, and other detachments. The troops of Generals Shang Chen, Sung Che-yuan, and Kao Kuei-tzu, coming under the allegiance of the Peace-preserving Commissioner of the North, are stationed along the Peiping-Hankow line. 400 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The most famous weapons used by the Moukden Army are the trench-mortars manufactured by the Moukden Arsenal. The Kuominchun, or North-western Army, are characterised for their Big Sword Corps. The hand-grenades produced by the Taiyiian Arsenal are much depended upon by the Shansi troops. Both the Military Middle School at Chingho, near Peiping, and the Cadet Academy at Paoting have been closed for lack of funds and support. In fact, the frequent government changes and the inter-party feuds have undermined the foundation of these two long-standing establishments, from which many prominent military officers of to-day graduated. In Peiping there are at present a War College, an Army Medical College, an Army Veterinary College, a Cadet Academy, and a branch of the Moukden Gendarmerie College. There is no naval base at the Tientsin harbour. Only a few cruisers from the Pohai Squadrons, stationed in Kiaochow and Lienshan Bays, make occasional visits here. 13. Health and Sanitation.—Prior to the fall of Peking into Nationalist hands, the highest organ controlling the administration of public health of the whole country had been vested with the Wei-sheng-ssu, under the Ministry of Interior, whereas district public health work had been attended to by the different police departments. Upon the removal of the capital to Nanking and the subsequent establishment of the independent Ministry of Health in 1928, Bureaux of Public Health were organised by various municipal governments. Accordingly, the Tientsin Bureau was formed in that same year with four departments, namely, Department of General Administration, Department of Medical Inspection, Department of Health Protection, and Department of Epidemic Prevention, each with two or three sub- divisions for carrying out the necessary duties assigned to them. Their scope of activities was wider than that performed formerly. But, as a result of the recent retrenchment policy of the local municipal government, the said bureau has been amalgamated with the Bureau of Social Welfare. During its existence of nearly three years the Bureau of Public Health, with Dr. Ch'iian Shao-ching at the head, achieved a great deal for the betterment of public health. Among the most noteworthy improvements were the street-cleaning movement, hygiene and disease demonstration, infant health competition, registration and examination of practitioners and pharmacists of both Western and Chinese medicines, the establishment of municipal hospitals and schools for medical and midwifery training, and the provision of a municipal laboratory in which food, beverages, and water have been inspected and bacteriological analyses carried out. In Tientsin there are altogether several scores of hospitals, among which the following are the more important ones:— Hospitals located in the British Concession: (1) The Queen Victoria Hospital, possessing medical, surgical, and X-ray departments. (2) The Wellington Nursing Home, specialised for maternity cases. (3) The Isolation Hospital, receiving only contagious cases, and engaging a number of competent and devoted nurses. Hospitals situated in the French Concession: (4) The Mackenzie Memorial Hospital, previously the London Mission Hospital, enlarged and modernised, treating free and on payment of fees outside as well as inside patients, and having accommodation for the isolation of infectious diseases. TIENTSIN. 401 (5) The Peiyang Hospital, connected with the recently closed Naval Medical College, formerly attending to free patients but now charging a trivial fee for upkeeping purposes. (6) The Oriental Hospital (Japanese-owned), for paying patients only. (7) The French General Hospital, in charge of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, comprising a department for paying patients and a special section for Chinese, including a service for emergencies arising from accidents. Affiliated with it are a hospital for old Chinese people and a nursery for foundling babies. (8) In the Italian Concession is the Italian Catholic Hospital, provided with modern equipment and having an isolation quarter for contagious patients, this institution being solely for paying patients. (9) In the First Special Area (ex-German Concession) is located the German- American Hospital, well equipped and with an X-ray department. (10) The Russian Hospital stands in the Third Special Area (ex-Russian Concession). (11) The Isabella Fisher Hospital (belonging to the American Methodist Mission) and (12) The Chinese Municipal Hospital are both situated in the city. (13) At a good distance from the city exists an Isolation Hospital founded and run by the local municipal government. In the year 1922 the French Municipal Council and the Naval Medical College created a Pasteur laboratory where Pasteur anti-rabic treatment has been given free of charge to people of different nationalities in need of such curing process. The average number of patients treated each year is 100. The "Laboratorie Pasteur" carries out the bacteriological analysis of drinking water from the Native City waterworks as well as from different artesian wells, enforcing the application of chemical sterilisation of these waters when necessary. Besides, it also effects bacteriological researches for clinical purposes and serum examination for syphilis through the latest methods. More than 2,500 serums were tested during 1931. The Quarantine Station at Taku, under the supervision of the Port Health Officer, has been regularly performing the task of medical inspection of vessels coming from infected ports. In Peiping there are more than 20 hospitals, with the Peking Union Medical College Hospital at the head. This hospital is an integral part of the Peking Union Medical College, an institution established by the Rockefeller Foundation, and is designed for the treatment of acute and sub-acute diseases, accidents, and maternity cases. Patients suffering from incurably chronic diseases, insanity, or delirium tremens are not admitted. It is known as the largest medical institution in China. The total number of beds is 244. There is a small block of private and semi-private wards, two large blocks of public wards, and a maternity ward. An isolation block has recently been completed and opened. The average of ward patients treated and discharged is estimated at 5,000 a year. About 30 per cent. of them are free cases, and the medical and social service does a large amount of follow-up work among them, assisting them to become self-supporting if possible. There is a large out-patient department, where 26 402 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. clinics, both public and private, are held daily. Over 100,000 patients pass through the public clinics yearly. There are eight clinical departments in the hospital, viz., medicine, neurology, surgery, obstetrics, gynaecology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology and rontgenology, with a total staff of 100 physicians, both Chinese and foreign. The members of the college teaching staff are also members of the clinical staff. The house staff numbers from 40 to 50, and the fifth year medical students of the college form the interne staff of the hospital. In the nursing department there are 120 women and men nurses, both Chinese and foreign. There is also a large administrative staff of 400 employees. Before the year 1931 all duly qualified doctors of Western medicine who desired to practise medicine in Tientsin were required to register at the Bureau of Public Health, whilst at present the same procedure may be applied for at the Bureau of Public Welfare. The registration fee is, as usual, $2; the certificate fee is 88; and the stamp duty $1. Doctors holding no diplomas, or diplomas issued by schools not recognised by the Government, may not be registered without first passing an examination. Candidates desirous of entering their name for examination must pay a fee of $10. In the large cities Western medicine is popular, but in the smaller centres, and especially for internal ailments, physicians using the old Chinese remedies are more in demand, foreign surgeons being only resorted to in cases of external troubles. Free inoculation is universal, in large as well as small districts, against smallpox and other infectious diseases. It is now a common occurrence to see Government employees, students, merchants, labourers, and various classes of citizens undergoing the requisite process of vaccination or injection. Nevertheless, the sanitary establishments in Tientsin are not altogether satisfactory. The two following defects may be pointed out. First, the isolation of Chinese patients suffering from communicable diseases is still very inadequate, and, secondly, there is no hospital for mental diseases and lunatics, not even a special section set apart for such patients in the already existing hospitals. During the period under review Tientsin was rather fortunate, no epidemics of real importance being registered; but contagious diseases were more or less prevalent. Returns of infectious diseases reported during this period show that scarlet fever was a serious matter in North China, with 237 cases out of 1,030 notifications of communicable diseases. There were about the same number of cases of measles reported. Whilst measles were generally mild, scarlet fever was somewhat acute and responsible for many deaths. The year 1931 was a severe one in regard to the latter pestilence. Diarrhoea and dysentery, occurring chiefly during the summer, caused 360 deaths in the British area and 392 in the French Concession. Typhoid fever was reported chiefly from the Japanese Concession and less frequently in the British Concession, which is supplied with water from artesian wells. Although this epidemic was not severe during the decade, the mortality amounted to 83 for the French Concession alone. Cerebro-spinal meningitis appeared from time to time, especially in the years 1922 to 1929, but each time, at the onset, the disease was quickly checked. Diphtheria, however, according to reports, showed only a low record of mortality. Smallpox did not offer any serious offset during the decade, though there were sporadic cases to be noticed. A few cases of cholera occurred in 1922 and 1927 among the French contingent at the East Arsenal. TIENTSIN. 403 One point deserving special mention is that respiratory diseases constituted the gravest danger to life among the population. The rate of mortality from tuberculosis and other lung diseases was far higher than that from any other disease. In the British and French Concessions the total figures during the decade were 1,772 and 2,073 deaths out of 3,406 and 5,093 cases respectively. In Shensi and Shansi, bubonic plague was prevalent two years ago. In fact, the long and continous famine in Shensi had first given rise to a severe plague which, after a short length of time, became widely spread in Shansi. In 1931 alarming reports were repeatedly received from these two plague-suffering provinces; and the death rate was so high that as a prompt remedy Dr. Heinrich von Jettman, of Vienna, was sent out by the Government with three other doctors to function in the districts affected. Headquarters for Shansi-Shensi plague prevention was accordingly established on the 1st November of the same year at Linhsien, Shansi, and Dr. Percy T. Watson of the Fenchow Hospital was put in charge of the work. At the urgent call of the Shensi Provincial Government, the North-eastern Epidemic Prevention Bureau also sent two doctors to participate in the plague suppression. With the combined efforts of different field parties, the plague was finally subdued towards the close of 1931. According to report, 5,400 deaths occurred in Shensi and nearly 10,000 in Shansi, largely from bubonic plague with pneumonic type, making the situation much more serious. The symptom of the plague was the sudden stop of the pulse, with loss of vitality of the whole body, and death followed after a day or two. The most affected regions were Linhsien and Hsinghsien, in Shansi, and Hengshanhsien and Antinghsien, in Shensi, where hundreds of victims were recorded. The Peiyang Sanitary Office, with its head office in Tientsin, which had long been in existence, was superseded by the Bureau of Public Health upon the inauguration of the local municipal government in 1928. The only institution on this line now existing is the National Epidemic Prevention Bureau at Peiping, founded in 1919 by the then Ministry of Interior on the surplus of the fund raised to suppress the previous plague. Now controlled by the Ministry of Health, it has two departments: one for the preparation of vaccines and serums and the other for conducting the diagnostic work of a public health laboratory and for the study of epidemiology. The technical members of the staff are all full-time men, most of whom have received special training for their work in America. The annual budget is over 8100,000, obtained from the Ministry of Finance out of the Customs surplus. The vaccines and serums prepared by the Bureau have been extensively circulated. In the late plague suppression in Shansi and Shensi, much of these preparations was used with good result. In the North the dust nuisance is the most vexatious problem. Ten years ago there was not a single asphalt road, even in large cities such as Tientsin and Peiping. At present, roads in both localities have been well paved and are by far better than formerly. Here, all the main roads both in the Concessions and in the city have been widened, asphalted, and constructed in a modern way. Since the Nationalist regime was ushered in, various schemes have been devised for the improvement of roads or streets in the Chinese city. The road around the city has been widened and part of it asphalted, with brick layers as foundation. Two other roads, one leading from the Chin Kang Bridge to the Central Railway Station and the other from the International Bridge to Wantechuang, along the Bund in the Third Special Area, have also been widened and tarred. Many wide avenues have been planned wherever possible, but, on account of the prevailing disturbed conditions, the plans have not been extensively carried out. 404 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The road improvement in Peiping is also worthy of mentioning. To-day, not one of the principal roads is in the filthy and muddy condition it was several years ago. There is in the West City a Bureau of Public Works, which has been devoting its sole attention to the construction and widening of roads, similar to the one existing in Tientsin. In both Tientsin and Peiping the expenses incurred in the widening of streets are usually apportioned between the landlords and occupants of the houses erected along them, only a portion of the fund being defrayed by the municipal government. The drainage system in these two cities, however, is still poor, only a few of the main roads having been laid with concrete pipes during the course of widening. In the British area there were in the last decade only half a dozen roads provided with footpaths, the rest being constructed with open drains between the road and the building, which formed a convenient receptacle for garbage and a danger to the unwary pedestrian; nor was the sewerage system adopted in any one of the Concessions. This primitive system of sanitation, which was a menace to health and a nightly offence to the nose, has now been replaced by modern systems, open drains having disappeared and underground sewerage having been laid throughout. The water supply for the whole of Tientsin, with the only exception of that for the British Concession and part of the First Special Area, is from the two tanks of the "Chi An Native City waterworks, a Sino-British enterprise. The daily supply capacity in the summer is 3 to 3£ million gallons and that in the winter about 3 million gallons. The source of the water supply is the Nanyiinho and the Tzeyaho. The water pumped from these two rivers is always chemically sterilised and filtered by different processes. The number of filters in use is 35. Formerly, the British Concession had its own waterworks run by a private company, but since 1920 these works have been taken over by the British Municipal Council. Originally, the source of water supply of the works was the Haiho, but as the state of the river, both as regards its saline and sewerage content, was annually becoming worse and as the bacteria even in the filtered water were far too numerous, a system of artesian wells has been specially designed and carried out to meet the particular need. The works have now one tank and nine filters, capable of supplying 200,000 gallons daily from the wells. When the new well, which is being sunk at Parkes Road, will have been completed, the supply of water to the British Concession and in a part of the First Special Area will be more adequate. As regards the plant and the general outlay, they are models of compactness and neatness. From the health standpoint, the quality of the water is irreproachable, the only complaint being that the taste is a little salty. 14. Education.—At the opening of the decade, education in North China with Peking as its centre was in a state of quiescence, lack of funds for educational purposes being, above all, cause of impediment to its progress. Throughout the term of President Hsu Shih-chang, all the educational institutions in the capital were so underpaid that many of their professors and other persons in charge of these institutions were compelled to depart and seek subsistence elsewhere. However, the coup d'etat of General Feng Yu-hsiang in 1924 paved the way for scholars and literati and offered an opportunity for a solid revival of education in North China, whereby a change in thoughts, habits, and daily routine of life penetrated into the minds of the average Northerners. The Mass Education Association, under the lead of Mr. James Y. C. Yen, was established in 1925 at Tinghsien, a city about 150 miles south-west of Peiping, where, unmolested and free from outside turmoils, 200 college graduates attended peacefully to the task of improving village culture. These educators were fully aware of the unusually high percentage of illiterates in this province, which was estimated to be 83 per cent. Further- 406 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Council, with funds derived from municipal taxes. It is said that the school building alone has cost about 400,000 taels, and is capable of accommodating more than 600 students, which number has nearly been reached at present. There is also a school for the blind established in 1926 by the Rotary Club, an international philanthropic society. The athletic advancement during the decade in both Tientsin and Peiping is also note- worthy. There are 3,000 boy scouts in Tientsin and about an equal number in Peiping, all of them being neatly dressed and trained by up-to-date methods. For all students, beginning from those in the senior middle school, military training is compulsory. The art of boxing has also been largely introduced of late in various schools in the North. In Hopeh, in fact, every school pays due attention to physical training, which forms a part of the regular curriculum. In the whole province of Hopeh there are, in addition to 6,277 old-fashioned family schools teaching approximately 72,414 pupils, 20,880 primary and 52 middle schools, with a respective enrolment of 659,735 and 12,929 students, of whom about 85 per cent. pertain to provincial institutions. The annual educational funds for Hopeh amount to S3,533,963, which sum is derived from different local sources allotted for educational purposes. The Provincial Bureau of Education is in charge of all the district educational bureaux, each of which is financed with a certain portion of the said allotment according to the size of the hsien, or district. It does not, however, concern itself (administratively or financially) with the schools established by the two municipalities of Peiping and Tientsin or with the National Universities and Colleges, the control and maintenance of the latter resting solely with the Ministry of Education. A great obstacle to educational evolution in North China were the students' demonstra- tions and strikes organised as protests against incidents arising out of national or international complications. It was not until the latter half of 1928 that the students' agitations subsided altogether, or were reduced to a smouldering condition, as a result of the instructions issued by the National Government that student activities should be confined to moral, intellectual, and athletic spheres and all political propaganda should cease forthwith. Under the restrictions of the Registration Act, promulgated by the National Government in 1928, most of the foreign institutions being private and missionary schools, have been reorganised and changed to Chinese directorship. In compliance with the new law, the majority of them have been duly registered; for without registration the diplomas or credentials issued by them will not be considered valid and accepted by any Government organisation. The following is a list of the foreign institutions in the above-mentioned two educational centres:— Tientsin. American: Chiu Chen Middle School; Yang Shan (Stanley Memorial) Girls' School; The Keen School; Hui Wen Academy and High School; Isabel Fisher Nurse Training School. British: Anglo-Chinese College. French: Hautes Etudes Industrielle et Commerciales. Peiping and Vicinity. American: Yenching University; Catholic University; Union Medical College; Bridgman Academy; Yu Ying Middle School; Pei Yuan Girls' School; Chung Shih Middle School; Hui Wen Academy and High School; Mary Porter Gamewell School; Sleeper Davis Memorial Nurse Training School; Jefferson (Lu Ho) Academy; Fu Yu Girls' School. British: Ch'ung Te School; Pei Hua School. French: Maison Provinciale des Freres Maristes Pekin. TIENTSIN. 407 Of the foregoing foreign missionary schools, the Yenching University, with the American Methodist Episcopal Mission, the Presbyterian (North) Mission, the American Board Mission, and the London Missionary Society as the constituent boards, is the largest and most well-known foreign institution in North China, its rapid growth and advanced learning having brought about a stupendous enrolment of 690 students. Another famous institute is the Union Medical College, under the auspices of the Rockefeller Foundation, enlisting 113 students, and provided with the best and latest medical facilities. It has recently been aiming at preventive rather than curative courses. The Catholic University was founded in 1927 and has been enjoying a steady growth. In most missionary schools the teaching of Christian doctrines has been made optional, and in some it has been replaced with the teaching of the San Min Chu Yi, in order to comply with the National educational programme. In the middle of the decade educational circles in Peking were tainted with the scourge of communistic doctrines in the shape, more especially, of Marxism. Aided by external influences and propaganda, communism spread itself and invaded nearly every school in the old capital. It was very fortunate, therefore, that this deplorable evil should have been extirpated in the year 1927, when the leader of the movement, Professor Li Ta-chao, of the Peking University, was sentenced to death and many of his followers were imprisoned, while vigorous steps were taken to suppress all red propaganda. Since that year no communistic uprisings have occurred in this part of China, although there may still exist a latent force among ultra-progressive members of the proletariat and hot-headed youngsters ever ready to be misguided. 15. Literature.—Ever since the year 1916 a movement to revolutionise literature had begun to manifest itself under two main aspects: the re-study and re-valuation of the old culture of China, and the use of the spoken language in prose and poetry, as against the literary language, with new punctuations. It was Dr. Hu Shih, with the co-operation of his fellow professors of the Peking University, who led the way. Their objective was to emancipate Chinese literature from the old and conservative scholarly mind, and to introduce a medium for expressing ideas and things in a more vivid manner. There resulted a fundamental revolution in the literary world in the period under review. In the year 1922 it was decided by the Chinese Educational Conference that all classes of the primary schools should, in future, adopt the national language in their lessons instead of the literary style, as heretofore taught. At the same time the leading newspapers began publishing supplements and sometimes even leading articles in the spoken language, thus rendering millions of people capable of expressing their thoughts in writing, a result which had never been realised in the long period of Chinese history. A review of the following facts concerning newspapers, printing business, and propaganda work, which are closely related to cultural development, will help to understand the literary progress during the decade. Peiping and Tientsin are regarded as places in North China where the Press is very progressive and prosperous. In the case of Peiping, China's former capital, it is a cultural centre and the origin of numerous cultural movements. In 1922 there were no less than 71 Chinese newspapers, all of which reached a remarkable extent of circulation, irrespective of their sizes and affiliations. TIENTSIN. 409 with their own printing press and, therefore, must depend on outside printing houses. In some instances the printing houses themselves are owners of newspapers. During the most pros- perous period there were more than 80 printing establishments in Peiping and over 60 in Tientsin, among the biggest of which are the Printing and Engraving Bureau of the Ministry of Finance and the Ching Hua Press, in Peiping, and the Tientsin Press, the Chihli Press, Inc., the Caxton Press, and Peiyang Press, in Tientsin, which are well known for the large volume of their business. They have helped immensely toward cultural development in both cities. Owing to the slump of silver and the prevailing general depression since 1929, from which the presses have greatly suffered, the smaller ones have been forced to close down. The following diagram shows the printing business during the recent 10 years:— 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 100 100 90 v •0 ■0 i ) to V 70 V 70 to ri .—' 60 / SO j ' 50 40 f 40 s y 30 30 20 20 10 10 Since the expansion of revolutionary thought to the North, as a result of the unification achieved by the Kuo-min-tang in 1927, the first task of the party has been to enable the people to fully understand the party's principles, toward which end propaganda has played and plays an important part. The party on one side, administrative and military organs on the other, all have concentrated on propaganda work and provided handbills and pamphlets. More recently, statistics of their achievements have been compiled so as to extend their propaganda activities. Among these publications are to be noted the "She Hui Monthly," published by the Bureau of Social Affairs, and the " Kung An Monthly," by the Bureau of Public Safety. Among the propaganda organs of the Central Kuo-min-tang Headquarters in the North are the Peiping branch of the Central News Agency, the "Hua Pei Jih Pao," and the "Min Kuo Jih Pao." These are directly under the control of the Central Party Office and undertake to train the people along party lines. In China, as in every civilised country, the Press is a powerful agent for propagating ideas and educating the populace. When directed into the right channels it is of great help to the Government in the control and education of the people. It is equally but dangerously 410 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. powerful when in the hands of unscrupulous individuals who use it to poison the minds of the ignorant and uncultured classes. 16. Population.—Towards the latter part of 1928 an extensive and exhaustive survey of population was made by the Min-cheng-t'ing of the Hopeh Provincial Government with the object of organising a village and town system which forms the basis of local self-government in accordance with the programme to be developed during the political tutelage. As a result of this survey, the population of this province was put at 29,341,679, covering an area of 115,830 square miles, or an average of 253 persons per square mile. This census, the only one available from the official sources, may be considered to be authentic and correct. When compared with the estimate made by the Post Office in 1922, there appears a wide range of 830,413 persons in difference. In comparison with the Customs figure of 1922, only a decrease of 58,321 persons is shown. But at any rate both tend to indicate that the population of this province was on the decrease, due to high death rate rather than slow birth rate. According to the monthly bulletin issued by the Social Welfare Bureau of the Tientsin Municipality, the only issue of its kind in North China, the average birth rate in 1930 was 0.14 per thousand while the death rate was as high as 0.52 in the same year. The birth rate given seems too low, in so far as births are seldom reported and are apt to be overlooked in the official bulletin. Nevertheless, it shows that there were more deaths than births. Such was the case in the city of Tientsin, and the theory applies equally to the whole province. The rural populace were already living on a bare margin of subsistence, so that when crop failure befell them they had to pay heavy toll of lives. The hardships arising from civil war and banditry drove them from their homes, many youths enrolled in the army never returned, while others attracted by the facilities afforded by various transport offices and the Emigration Bureau (Recruiting Office) established by the Moukden authorities at Tientsin, joined the forces of the Shantung emigrants to Manchuria, where they at first intended to settle down temporarily. Having found their conditions much improved by the change of place, the majority of them became permanent settlers. The new railway enterprises outside the Wall, together with the reclamation of the Hingan Range, have opened a vast field for the stricken on this side of the Wall. The following table, showing the steadily growing number of emigrants passing through Tientsin to Manchuria by the Pei-Ning Railway, may be taken as an indication of this emigration movement; but it must be remembered that in addition to these railway passengers, quite a large batch of refugees found their way into Manchuria by sea:— 1922. 1924. 1926. 1928. 1930. 1931. 8,304 21,346 3,358 13,224 98,201 55,649 In considering the above figures, it must be borne in mind that one ticket is good for a whole family up to eight members. The decrease of 1931 is explained by the grave issue of the Manchurian affairs. There is a variance in the estimates of yearly emigration to Manchuria by various statisticians, but if we take the conservative estimate of 400,000 persons a year and make an allowance of 60 per cent. for the Shantung part, the number of emigrants from other provinces in North China would be 160,000 annually. TIENTSIN. 411 The removal of the capital from Peking to Nanking is a further cause for the exodus of a big body of officials and Government employees to the south, thereby depleting the population of this province. The only immigration in North China has been that of the wealthy families, who flocked to the large cities, such as Tientsin and Peiping, to seek refuge from the war area and the bandit- infested regions. A small percentage of the poorer classes, under the pressure of hardships in the rural districts, had also to flee to the industrial centres to seek work. Thus the city of Tientsin, amidst the general decline in the population of the whole province, became much more densely populated: to wit, from 800,000 souls in 1922 to 1,388,747 in 1931. The number of foreign residents in the whole province is estimated at 13,806. According to the latest estimates published in the China Economical Bulletin, the population of Shansi is 12,230,000; of Shensi, 11,802,000; of Honan, 30,566,000; and of Kansu, 7,731,000, including 1,400,000 for Ninghsia. There were constant occurrences of flood and famine during the decade, of which only the most calamitous are described here. In the year 1924 the province of Hopeh experienced one. of the worst floods ever recorded. During the spring there was very little rainfall, with the result that the early wheat crop was adversely affected in several localities. This drought was followed in July and August by unprecedented torrential rains which destroyed more than half of the later crop. On account of the very heavy downpour, the dike system on all the important rivers of Hopeh province was practically destroyed and approximately 11,500 square miles of agricultural land flooded. The level of the water in the district between Paotingfu and Tientsin, 7 to 8 feet in depth, was higher than in the big flood of 1917, and the territory inundated was even greater. Tientsin was for weeks in imminent danger of inundation, but the dikes surrounding the city, thanks to incessant labour on the part of the local authorities through an anxious period of six weeks, held the water back, though much damage was done to the bridges and bunding works of Tientsin. The Hung Ch'iao Bridge, erected by the Tientsin Provisional Government in 1901 at the junction of the Hsiho with the main stream, was swept away. This damage was insignificant when compared with the loss to the whole province, which is estimated to be no less than 100 million dollars, rendering some 1,500,000 persons destitute. On about 8,800 square miles of land the crops were totally destroyed. In the early part of 1925 there were 2,000 square miles of land west of Tientsin still under water. The effect of this disastrous flood had been felt for a considerable length of time. When conditions began to improve in 1927, another famine prevailed in the southern part of Chihli, as a result of excessive drought and locusts. By the autumn of 1928 one of the most wide-spread and severe famines that had ever occurred in many decades was developing in North China. With the exception of comparatively small localised areas, where irrigation was possible or where rains had fallen, both the spring and autumn crops had failed throughout most of the vast Yellow River Basin and in the region north of the Great Wall but west of Manchuria. Kansu, Honan, Shansi, Shensi, and Hopeh were all involved. The total number of sufferers severely affected was estimated at 20,000,000. In Shensi and Kansu, as a result of continued drought, which extended to the year 1930, the number of victims ran into millions. The seriousness of the famine had invited the sympathetic activities of General Chu Ch'ing-lan, who took personal charge of the relief work in the region 412 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. of distress for a period of one year. Over the western half of Shensi the famine was so severe that the population began migrating in desperation; in the autumn of 1928 and by the following May that region had become depleted of about 40 per cent. of its population. Death was claiming not only the weaker among those who remained but strong men as well. Every possible food substitute was in use—seeds and leaves of wild plants, the coarsest winnowings from the blighted grain, leaves and bark of trees. To make relief work more permanent and effective, unless free relief is urgently and expressly needed, the China International Famine Relief Commission has adopted an extensive scheme of irrigation, diking, well-sinking, and road-building with famine-stricken labour. Its successful achievements were greatly appreciated by the agricultural community. Recently, since 1930, a project for famine prevention has been carried out by which drought-resistant seeds have been extensively distributed to many rural points by the said Commission. The seeds were imported from America and, after test, found suitable for the arid land in North China. The advantage of this new variety is that it may be planted much later than the Chinese kaoliang, thus enabling the peasant to take advantage of the late rains. Despite this delayed plantation, its maturity may be assured before the frost sets in. 17. Civil Disorder.—In looking back through the decade, it may be recollected that in May 1922 a severe battle was fought at Machang between the Fengtien and Chihli armies. At one time both foreign and Chinese residents were alike in a state of consternation and apprehension as to how the discipline of the two contending forces could be maintained. For weeks there was a constant stream of refugees from the Chinese city bringing with them portable belongings and taking shelter in the Concessions. As a precautionary measure, the British and American Volunteer Corps were called out on the 5th and demobilised on the 9th. In the early part of 1926, when the Kuominchun had not yet evacuated the city of Tientsin, the so-called "plain-clothes" men, or rather vanguards of the Chihli-Shantung forces, created great agitation in the port. It was not until the arrival of the regular army that the city was restored to normalcy. It was, indeed, the first time in the decade that most of the shops and houses in the city were ostensibly protected with barbed wire at all their openings; some even blockaded their entrances with bricks, allowing only a narrow passage accessible by no more than one person. Then followed the transition period, during which the control of the Tientsin city passed to the nationalist regime. Once more, in the month of June 1928, Tientsin became terror- stricken, because previous to the settlement of the affair a number of armed "plain-clothes" men, styling themselves as Pieh-tung-tui, appeared in the important thoroughfares and searched every passer-by on the pretext of combing out counter-revolutionists. This illegal action, however, was stopped at once, and these self-styled soldiers were at length surrounded and disarmed by the regular police. On the 22nd October 1929 the full force of ricsha coolies in Peiping started a riot. The mob smashed tramcars and destroyed tracks, holding that they had caused depression in their pulling trade, and overlooking the fact that through the removal of the capital to Nanking a general depression was being felt in every line of business. The uprising was subsequently subdued by the police force, but the Peiping Tramcar Company, established in February 1924, sustained a great loss which required years to recover. TIENTSIN. 413 Finally, mention should be made of the outrage of the 8th November 1931, when so- called "long-gown" men, alleged to emanate from the Japanese Concession and equipped with arms, suddenly attacked the police in the native city. Their surprise attack was successfully repulsed, and the insurrection was eventually quenched. Immediately after the outbreak of the trouble, strict martial law was declared throughout day and night in the native city and pedestrians were hardly allowed to move even in the small lanes, so that every establishment experienced the difficulty of being short-staffed. In consequence, business transactions of all kinds had to be suspended. Moreover, when on the 11th November martial law was somewhat relaxed, a great number of panic-stricken people made their exodus from the city into the foreign Concessions, where every hotel and vacant house was taxed to full capacity. After the recurrence of the trouble on the 26th, the poorer families also took refuge in the Concessions. The city remained all but deserted. In the Italian and French Concessions, owing to their proximity to the disturbed areas, early curfew was also declared for a few days, full garrison forces being called out in readiness for possible emergencies. The cruel and evil practice of kidnapping, widespread in the South, has now been carried out also in the North. In recent years a good number of cases occurred in the port, and in most cases heavy ransoms were believed to have been paid through secret dealings. In the interior conditions were even worse; disorder and banditry were rampant every- where. Besides banditry, a lot of secret societies sprang into existence, the most notorious of which was the "Red Spear" Society, which had more than 100,000 followers in the province of Hopeh and 600,000 in Honan. Some of the societies were originally organised by country people for the purpose of safe-guarding against the extortion and violence of soldiery and banditry, but as time dragged on, bad characters and disbanded soldiers stepped into them so that they eventually lost their initial conception. In time of war they were absorbed into the army, and when their services were no longer required they became bandits again. In fact, it was their profession to become soldiers and bandits in rotation. Honan, the stage of many wars, suffered the most. In addition to pillage and depredation, which were nothing but common occurrences, inhabitants of the slightest opulence were often taken for ransom. The provincial government in Honan is intending to follow the steps taken in this province, where Bandit Suppression Bureaux have been extensively established and Pao-wei-t'uan organised for public safety. The coast of this province was luckily free from high-sea robbery of any serious nature. However, on the rivers freebooters were still prevailing. The traffic on the Peitang River was, among other causes, hampered by piracy, and sea-going junks coming into and departing from it have dwindled year by year to an insignificant amount. Along the Haiho robbery was so persistent that it was generally acknowledged as one of the "Ten Great Evils" clutching upon the port. On other rivers cargo has of late been conveyed at the owner's risk, the majority of the boatmen refusing to take any responsibility. The Coast-guard Defence Bureau of Hopeh, under the direct control of the provincial government and with the main administrative office at Taku, is responsible for the safety of steamers and junks plying along the coast and for the suppression of pirates. This Bureau maintains at present a fleet of six armed steam launches, Puwei, the largest, about 150 feet in length, and armed with two machine-guns and one six-pounder gun; Anhat, Kaihai, and Hsian, each 120 feet long, armed with two machine-guns and a one-pounder gun; Haian and Feilung, 60 and 86 feet long respectively, each armed with the same equipment as mentioned in the 414 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. second group. The officers and crews wear semi-naval uniforms. Whilst the Puwei usually remains at anchor in the near vicinity of Tangku, the other launches are engaged in coast patrol, junks and launches being boarded and passengers, cargo, and baggage searched, not only of such vessels as may be encountered in the pursuit of their coastal patrol, but also occasionally of vessels berthed along the Tangku and Taku shore and of those at the wharves. In conclusion, I wish to express my acknowledgments to the following: Editors of the "Chinese Economic Bulletin," the "Chinese Economic Journal," the "China Weekly Review," and the "Eastern Miscellany" for information culled from their publications; the Nankai University and various Government Bureaux for the data collected from their periodicals and statistics; Mr. R. S. Campbell, Secretary of the Haiho Conservancy Commission, for data under section "Haiho Conservancy"; Mr. P. I. Tirbak, Acting Harbour Master, for section "Lights and Aids to Navigation"; Dr. E. Benjamin, Port Health Officer, for information concerning health and sanitation; and above all, Mr. Chang Wai-sung, Assistant in charge of the Returns Office, for his valuable and painstaking collaboration. Tientsin, 6th June 1932. L. de LUCA, Commissioner of Customs. LUNGKOW. 1. Trade.—Measured by the value of goods passing under the cognizance of the Customs, the trade of Lungkow for the decade under review shows on the whole a steady advance. The net value of trade for 1922 was Hk.Tls. 5,961,426 and for 1927, a record year, reached Hk.Tls. 11,803,880. Since 1927 and up till the close of the decade, the 10 to 11 million Haikwan tael level was well maintained. These figures, which are practically double those at the beginning of the decade, are sufficient indication of the growing importance of this small port as a natural place of entry and exit for the trade of Hwanghsien, Chaoyuanhsien, and other neighbouring districts. The rise of Dairen into importance as a distributing centre has con- tributed, in recent years, to almost half of the total value of trade; most of the foreign imports, particularly Japanese goods, have been supplied from that port. The Japanese boycott in 1924, although short in duration, had a severe effect on trade from the Leased Territory, and again in August 1931 the boycott organised as a result of the Korean incident virtually brought this trade to a standstill. Further, it was in connexion with the Dairen trade that the silver crises of 1930 and 1931 were most felt. A reaction to the unprecedented low rate of silver was the sudden change in demand for native products, particularly native piece goods and wheat flour, which commodities have almost replaced the foreign article. There is great cause for congratulation in the expansion of trade, and sight must not be lost of the improve- ment in the export of vermicelli. This item is the most important staple of the port, contributing practically 40 per cent. of the total value of trade during the last three years of the decade, or an increase of from 141,000 piculs in 1922 to over 262,000 piculs in 1927, the record year. The port was seldom affected by outside disturbances. The one item of local interest was the looting of part of the town in January 1929, which affected trade for some time. The closing of the local Native Customs on the 1st January 1931 and the assumption of control of the junk-borne foreign trade by the Maritime Customs added to the value figures for trade during the last year of the decade. With the exception of the new bund and buildings constructed at the north side of the harbour in 1930, the port itself has undergone no change during the decade. 2. Shipping.—The old theory that Lungkow was not capable of much development that would serve to feed deep-draught vessels at Chefoo, of which Lungkow is a sub-port, has, contrary to expectations, taken the opposite course. Steamers trading under Inland Waters Steam Navigation Rules have not materially changed, but the increase in the number of fairiy large vessels, including several motor vessels, visiting the port direct from I>airen. Shanghai, and Hongkong, and the large increase in the tonnage of vessels plying under General Regulations, is further evidence of the growing trade of the port. Native junks dealt with during 1931 numbered 3,369, of which 554 were to *z£ fr-.cn abroad. This traffic came under the control of I he Customs on the 9th Jin-uary i'y'l. xiA the 416 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. figures are additional to those contained in the following table, which illustrates conditions prevailing for the last decade:— Under General Regulations. Inland Waters Steam Navigation Rules. No. of Vessels No. of Vessels Entered and Net Tonnage. Entered and Net Tonnage. Cleared. Cleared. No. Tons. No. Tom. 1922 119 89,596 1483 380,782 1923 121 105,041 1501 421,771 1924 121 113,150 1263 378,382 1925 146 145,004 1294 403,400 1926 225 242,600 1115 374,064 1927 269 210,536 1175 371,352 1928 222 196,087 1227 408,275 1929 281 253,563 1372 474,576 1930 272 252,825 1470 497,206 1931 202 204,768 1342 462,623 3. —Revenue.—Substantial increases are to be recorded in the revenue of the port. As compared with the total collection of Hk.Tls. 61,330 in 1922, the revenue for 1931, which is the best on record, shows an increase of Hk.Tls. 157,771, while in 1929, the second record year, it shows an increase of Hk.Tls. 125,109. The unusual influx of goods during the early part of 1929 accounted for a large increase, but this was later augmented by the new additional duties and surtaxes, Hk.Tls. 30,308 and Hk.Tls. 28,887 respectively, as a result of the revision of the Import Tariff in February of the same year. Despite the falling away of the foreign trade of the port, due to the low silver exchange, the revenue for 1930 amounted to Hk.Tls. 175,019, including additional duty, Hk.Tls. 32,449, and surtaxes, Hk.Tls. 36,071, and that for 1931 was Hk.Tls. 219,101, including additional duty, Hk.Tls. 69,614, and surtaxes, Hk.Tls. 20,597. These figures lend themselves with difficulty to comparison with those of 1929 or with other more normal years of the decade. The revenue for 1930 was considerably supported by the introduction of the gold unit method of calculation on the 1st February of the same year, and that for 1931, despite the abolition of coast trade duty and transit dues and the intro- duction of the gold unit, by the increased tariff on the 1st January and the new and effective 5 per cent. tariff on exports to abroad on the 1st June of the same year. Further, the substantial increase in the revenue of 1931 is greatly attributed to the additional dues and duties collected on junk-borne foreign imports and native exports to abroad, Hk.Tls. 42,541, which trade came completely under the cognizance of the Maritime Customs at the beginning of the same year. 4. Finance and Ccrrency.—The currency of the port has undergone very little change. The sycee shoes, or kao-pao-yin, used during the early part of the decade have completely vanished from the market. The Huangp'ing tael, although it has somewhat fallen into disuse, is still a factor in local currency. According to the Bank of Communications, its exchange value is as follows:— Shanghai Tls. 1,000 = Huangp'ing Tls. 987.78 Chefoo „ 1,000 - „ „ 1,032.23 Tientsin „ 1,000= „ „ 1,040.58 Haikwan „ 1,000 = „ „ 1,105.00 LUNGKOW. 417 Chinese silver dollars, mostly of Yuan Shih-k'ai and Sun Yat Sen variety, held the paramount position in all local commercial and banking transactions and have forced out of circulation most of the small tokenage used in the local markets. These dollars are accepted at par by bankers and dealers alike. The only reliable banking institution established at Lungkow is the small sub-office of the Bank of Communications at Chefoo, whose business is buying and selling drafts and remittances to and from most of the principal northern centres and Shanghai. This bank has in circulation local bank-notes of very recent issue to the amount of $60,000, in denominations of $10, $1, $0.20, and $0.10. These notes, which are at par with the silver dollar, have not gained an extensive circulation in the interior and are mainly confined to the local market for convenience of trade. Records of any accuracy are unobtainable regarding remittances of immigrants to and from this port. According to the Bank of Communications, their share of such remittances is very small, and the major part of this business is conducted either through local cash shops, who have direct dealings with Dairen and Manchuria, or by the shipment of silver dollars. The low price of silver during 1930 and 1931 proved an obstacle to foreign trade and had the effect of raising the cost of imported commodities from countries under the gold standard to unprecedented high levels, but it has been an asset to native products and to the vermicelli trade in particular, enabling the exporter to receive much above local currency in the markets at Singapore and Manila. The only foreign currency quoted at Lungkow that was affected by the low silver rates is the Japanese gold yen, which is used more for adjusting prices and values of foreign goods arriving from Dairen. The large shipments of subsidiary coins to Dairen in 1922 and 1925 has brought about a scarcity of small silver coins in this part of the province. Small quantities have made their appearance from Manchuria, but are accepted at a substantial discount in the local market. Copper cents of 20 and 10 cash pieces are in circulation at Lungkow. These coins have a daily fluctuating rate, averaging from 160 to 168 20-cash pieces, and 300 to 376 10-cash pieces to the silver dollar. These coins also form the fractional part of small note issues and imported subsidiary coins. There is no mint at Lungkow. 5. Agriculture.—The land in the immediate vicinity of Lungkow is considered poor and yields comparatively few crops, the soil consisting for the greater part of sand. With this one exception, the whole of the Hwanghsien district is, with its abundant supply of cheap labour and water, essentially adapted to agriculture. Despite this fact the total production of the district, even at 100 per cent. harvest, is barely sufficient to meet the demands of this densely populated area, which shortage is mostly made good by importations from Manchuria, but it must be understood that the large importations of green beans go out again in the form of vermicelli. The land in the vicinity of the port, though sandy in nature, is most suitable for the cultivation of peanuts, sha-shin, and for fruit-growing, particularly grapes. Among the various kinds of cereals produced within the district are wheat, kaoliang, millet, maize, and yellow beans, while the numerous vegetables extensively cultivated are the celebrated Shantung 27 418 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. cabbage, sweet potatoes, ginger, cucumbers, turnips, carrots, garlic, and leeks. Of the various fruits produced within the district, mostly at Nanshan, some 10 li from Lungkow, are pears, apples, apricots, grapes, and crab-apples. Modern agricultural machinery is not used in this part of Shantung. The methods of cultivation are very primitive and depend solely on human labour. The implements used in the tilling of the soil are the locally made hoe, fork, spade, and a light kind of plough called " li." Draught animals consist of asses and mules. Chemical manures, beancake, and human excreta constitute the principal fertilisers employed in cultivation. Poultry-raising, on a fairly prosperous scale, exists in this and the neighbouring hsien, but no modern methods have been introduced to improve the quality of poultry. 6. Industrial Development.—Prices show marked increases during the decade. The cost of staple articles have risen substantially in comparison with the early part of this period. Abnormal conditions, increased freights, and unfavourable rates of exchange, particularly during the last three years, have contributed to the enhanced cost of living, while, in addition, the internal disorders and local heavy taxation have greatly added to the cost of most of the necessary articles of life. The following figures, obtained from dealers, illustrate the rise in retail prices for the decade:— 1922. 1931. Staple foodstuffs: Copper Cents- Copper Cents- Pork Per Catty 30 90 Maize flour „ 7 17 Wheat „ 12 27 Fuel: Twigs PerPicul 180 420 Firewood „ 190 500 Coal , I5O 450 Building materials: Timber 40 sq.ft. 325 650 Tiles Per Thousand 900 3,000 Bricks , 2,260 6,500 Lime ....... PerPicul 200 440 Agricultural products: Kaoliang 40 Catties 275 400 Indian corn , 300 520 Wheat „ 430 710 The above conditions, naturally, have influenced wages. The wages of artisans and coolies have more than doubled, but the greatest sufferers are the merchants' assistants and clerks, whose salaries have not risen in proportion to the increased cost of living. The following is an example of the increased wages during the decade:— 1922. 1931. Wages. Copper CenU. Copper Cents. Unskilled labour . . . Per Day 40-150 90-160 Carpenters and bricklayers „ 60 225 LUNGKOW. 419 The port has experienced no trouble in the way of industrial disturbances or labour or union strikes. There is only one guild, the local shipping guild, which is mainly responsible for the maintenance of the trade of the port. There has been little or no foreign-styled machinery imported at Lungkow. One small recent change, worthy of mention, is the intro- duction of the hand-press-packing machine, used in the packing of vermicelli. This system of packing has brought about a more hygienic treatment of vermicelli and is gradually dispensing with the old rope and mat packing. The local electric light company, established in 1924, was formerly a private enterprise but has since come under the control of the local Chamber of Commerce. A most efficient and creditable light service is maintained throughout the city. This company has a capital of $80,000 and a monthly income of approximately $3,000. 7. Mines and Minerals.—There are no mines in this district. The gold mine frequently referred to as the Chao Yuan Ling Lung Shan Gold Mine, situated in the Chaoyuan district, some 30 miles from Lungkow, is perhaps worthy of mention. Repeated attempts have been made to operate this mine, but they have not been successful. Recent tests of the few ship- ments of the ore to Japan revealed gold and silver of equal proportions, varying from 0.001 to 0.002 per cent. The ore is purchased at the mine-head and transported to Lungkow by mule-cart at a cost of approximately $18 per ton. An excellent quality of grey granite, used extensively for building purposes in this and neighbouring districts, is mined at Ko Shan, or Dog Mountain, in the district of Shienjenchiao, some 10 miles south of Lungkow. Fairly large quantities of this granite are exported to many of the gulf ports and Tientsin. Small quantities of very fine white granite, which is also used for building purposes, have made their appearance from the districts of Laichowfu. 8. Communications.—There are no railways connecting this port. The projected railway from Weihsien to Chefoo, via Lungkow, planned in the early part of the decade, has so far not materialised. Resurveys of this route by the Board of Communications were carried out in 1927 and again late in October 1930. With railways connecting Lungkow it would not be unreasonable to state that the trade of this port would more than double. The Weihsien-Lungkow-Chefoo highway is the only land communication, which is fairly reliable, connecting this port with Weihsien and Chefoo and the interior villages. This road was open to traffic early in 1922 by the Ministry of Communications, the head office of the road being established at Lungkow. In the autumn of 1923 this highway was leased to the Chefoo-Weihsien Motor-bus Company, with headquarters at Chefoo, for a term of 10 years at a fixed rental of $72,000 per annum, but, owing to political reasons, control of this road again reverted to the provincial authorities in 1927. Since this date the Provincial Construction Bureau has controlled matters and has maintained a fairly reliable service. The number of buses and trucks have gradually increased and at present total 40 in all. According to the local statistics the yearly passenger traffic for Lungkow alone, inward and outward, is approximately 61,000, and the monthly income of this station, according to season, averages $8,000. This highway is well patronised in favourable weather, both summer and winter, but it becomes useless for some time after the slightest fall of rain owing to its unprotected surface and the 420 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. friable nature of the soil of which the road-bed is built. There are other roads connecting Hwanghsien and Tsingtao and Laichowfu and Tsingtao, and although motor traffic, on a small scale, exists, these roads do not bear comparison. The Chinese Postal Administration maintains a fairly reliable service at Lungkow. Regular mails are received from and despatched to places north and south of this port, usually by motor-bus, via Chefoo, and by direct steamer to Dairen and Tientsin. Connexions may also be made with Shanghai and Tientsin, via Weihsien and Tsinanfu, providing conditions are normal and regular railway and bus services are offering. The following postal statistics give an interesting indication of the volume of postal work at this port:— 1922. 1931. Inward and outward: 381,815 801,594 . . . 1,625 5,591 18,475 28,346 1,372 4,093 $67,294 $116,465 Sale of postage stamps . . . . . . $7,842 $14,681 The Telegraph Administration likewise maintains reliable and regular communication with all places in China. According to the statistics of this Administration, the number of telegrams received and sent has greatly increased, from 16,835 in 1922 to 24,876 in 1931. Lungkow was connected with Chefoo and Weihsien by long-distance telephone in 1927, which service is under the control of the Telegraph Administration. Since its establishment the number of calls received and sent has increased from 3,925 in 1927 to 5,285 in 1931. This telephone has been of great value commercially and is used extensively in preference to telegrams. The port is not connected by either wireless or aeroplane service. 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—On the 1st October 1927 two seventh order red lights were exhibited, experimentally, from the Bar Leading Marks on the South Beach, the rear light being 18 feet higher than the front light. These lights are clearly visible for 3 miles and have proved very valuable to steamers entering the harbour at night. They were per- manently established on the 19th April 1928. Vessels entering the harbour at night are required to keep these lights in line or slightly open to the southward, or starboard, which course should lead, with fairly good water, into the Inner Harbour. Simultaneously, two transit marks were erected on the North Beach, with an ordinary fixed light on each, red in colour, so that these lights, when brought into line, should aid a vessel to alter her course into the Inner Harbour. They have also proved very useful to navigation. The new position of the Customs flagstaff was fixed on the 13th September 1930. The bearings now read as follows: Entrance Buoy, N. 75° E., distant 1.87 miles; Bar Spar Buoy, N. 64° E., distant 1.19 miles; Inner Spar Buoy, N. 61° E., distant 1.01 miles. All bearings are magnetic. Harbour, etc.—The Outer and Inner Harbours were surveyed in 1922. According to seafaring men the port retains a maximum depth of 9 feet at the bar and at least a depth of 10 feet in the Inner Harbour during low water spring tides. a « « « « » Motor Road to Chefoo- jnnnn===mmnc==^zmL CONVENTIONAL SIGNS. Extension of Motor Road to New Settlement. Newly Populated Area a a ^ ^ ° ° New Houses. *f 36 n » m New Motor Road. ■ Old City. Lungkow Decennial R, eport 4 f I s I b a a 8 v t< I s n t. li r. a n tl 1( e li 'I b n Si 1 422 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. There are no naval changes to be recorded. The port has had occasional visits from the Pei Hai Squadron, mostly on patrol service. 13. Health and Sanitation.—The Warren Memorial Hospital of the South Baptist Convention of America, at Hwanghsien, established in 1900, is the only reliable hospital in this district. It has a foreign doctor in control and deals with all medical and surgical cases and has accommodation for 70 patients. Some 40,000 persons (including out-patients) are treated yearly. It is well supplied with trained Chinese nurses with a knowledge of foreign medicine, diagnosis, and minor surgery. Many of these nurses have established themselves throughout the province, in market towns principally, and carry out considerable clinic work. A small amount of medical work is done at Lungkow, mostly by Chinese doctors or graduates of mission medical colleges. There is no free inoculation against disease either at Lungkow or within the district. The epidemic most feared by Chinese is cholera, but there has been no serious outbreak of this disease since 1919. There is no health administration or quarantine regulations at Lungkow. The Public Safety Bureau enforces street cleaning by providing receptacles for refuse and small tanks to contain water for laying the dust on the streets. Many of the thoroughfares of the city have recently been paved with granite slabs—a distinct improvement on the old dusty streets. The public water supply comes exclusively from deep-drilled wells, of which Lungkow has a considerable number, the supply being abundant throughout the year and is apparently sufficient for the present population. 14. Education.—Recent attempts have been made by the local Chamber of Commerce to inaugurate a primary school, but the success of this undertaking depends on the amount of support forthcoming from the residents of the city. Great success in educational work is attributed to the American South Baptist Convention at Hwanghsien, but the progress of their schools has been hampered by lack of financial support. Since the recent Government prohibition of religious teaching in schools, this institution, which is registered, has been able to maintain its students, but the opportunity of carrying on religious work has been greatly curtailed. It is the general opinion that, since there is no recognition of the work done by non-registered schools, students will eventually revert to those which are registered. There are no outward signs of communism in this part of the province. 15. Literature.—The decade has witnessed a large growth in the demand for native newspapers, magazines, and periodicals. Not any of this literature is of local origin; it mainly constitutes the regular daily papers of the larger ports such as Tientsin, Dairen, and Shanghai. The number of people who read and keep fairly well posted on the current events, both at home and abroad, is very large. There are two small shops at Lungkow and two also at Hwanghsien who undertake small printing jobs, and the amount of advertisement and propaganda that is carried on by leaflet and pamphlet is considerable. 16. Population.—The population of the Hwanghsien district is very dense, and while the locally produced food is considered to be barely sufficient, there has never been any out- ward appearance of really deep-felt want. Perhaps the close proximity to Manchuria, where the multitudes of Shantung have business or labour, makes provisioning an easy matter. The LUNGKOW. 423 surplus population is mostly migratory, and the steady ant-like procession of pilgrims from Manchuria, Dairen, and Tientsin never ends. The total yearly departures average 100,000, but, owing to the unsettled and insecure conditions in the interior of Shantung, this figure rose to 120,000 in 1927, 147,000 in 1928, and 149,000 in 1929. The influx of passengers, mostly from Dairen and Newchwang, averaged throughout the decade 50,000 to 60,000 yearly. It has been impossible to obtain records, with any accuracy, of this thickly populated district. According to the latest statistics of the local Public Safety Bureau the population of the small town of Lungkow totals 11,524 people, which is more than double that of 1922, while within a radius of 5 miles of the town it is estimated that the population has risen from approximately 65,000 to 130,000. The foreign population is estimated at over 100 Japanese and three of other nationalities. • 17. Civil Disorder.—With the exception of the trouble mentioned in the preceding paragraphs of this report, Lungkow has been free from civil disturbances. Since the end of 1930 banditry has largely disappeared, yet remnants make themselves felt during the summer months in districts south of this port. The military and police are highly commended for their work in the suppression of this evil in the district. There is no coast-guard service at Lungkow, except the light cruisers of the Pei Hai Squadron, which patrol the open sea in the vicinity of this port, mostly for the protection of the fishing industry. There has been no smuggling on a large scale at Lungkow. Letters of an anonymous nature frequently report smuggling along the coast from Lungkow, but such information has been impossible to verify. For the information and assistance given in the compilation of this report I have to express my indebtedness to Mr. Yu I-cheng, 4th Assistant, A; Mr. Jen Chin Ming, 1st Clerk, A; Mr. G. W. Davis, Boat Officer, B; Dr. W. B. Glass, South Baptist Mission at Hwanghsien; Mr. Tai Chao Loong, Bank of Communications; Mr. Liang Ying Chow, Chefoo-Lungkow- Weihsien Motor-bus Company; Mr. Chiu Jen Lien, Chinese Postal Service; and Mr. Yang Yun Chen, Telegraph and Telephone Administration; and also to Mr. Chang Pao Lin, Chief of the Public Safety Bureau. E. H. HUNTER, Acting Deputy Commissioner. Approved: N. H. SCHREGARDUS, Acting Commissioner of Customs. Lungkow, 31st December 1931. CHEFOO. 1. Trade.—The trade of this port during the years immediately before the close of the decennial period 1912-21 was shown in the report for that period to be suffering from a depression which continued during the first few years of the decennial period under review, culminating in the prolonged boycott of British and Japanese goods and shipping that began in 1925 and was carried on more or less effectively until 1927. Domestic trade, which might have been expected to reap some benefit from the boycott, was hampered by a succession of civil wars in the North which brought in their train their usual concomitants of banditry and excessive taxation, which made the recovery of trade all the more difficult. Principally for these causes the collapse of the silver exchange in 1929 did not make itself immediately felt in a resuscitation of export trade, but by the end of the decennial period many of the local staple products were enjoying increased demand as the result of favourable rates of exchange. The construction of motor roads has done much to foster local industries, but it is noticeable that products tend to gravitate towards the railway connecting the provincial capital with the port of Kiaochow in preference to being forwarded by the longer road journeys to the northern Shantung coast ports. The existence of the roads has created a steady demand for motor cars and trucks, chiefly of American manufacture, while the construction of new buildings in towns in the interior as well as in Chefoo has resulted in increasing importations of cement, timber, and other construction materials. During the period a tendency has been noted for foreign goods to be increasingly imported direct from abroad, partly, at first, owing to a desire to avoid taxation at port of transhipment and at destination, and partly as a result of the increased number of ocean steamers calling at this port. During the year 1931 there was a very noticeable increase in the foreign trade of the port as the result of the rendition of Weihaiwei to the Chinese authorities. As soon as the latter port ceased to be a free port for the import of foreign goods trade began to revert to the normal channels of import, which is reflected in the greatly increased annual trade statistics. This happy result, which seemed to point to a new era of prosperity for the port, was partly discounted towards the end of the same year by a renewal of the Japanese boycott, caused by the Japanese occupation of the Manchurian provinces, but apart from this set-back to local trade the period ended with good expectations for the future trade prosperity of Chefoo. 2. Shipping.—Each year in the past decennial period, with the exception of the years 1925 and 1927, has shown an increase in the total amount of shipping visiting this port. In 1925 there was a slight decrease owing to the boycott of British and Japanese ships, while the decrease in 1927 was mainly due to a strike of the employees of the China Navigation Company. The number and tonnage of ocean and coasting steamers calling at the port thus shows a healthy increase since the end of the last decennial period, which may be attributed in great part to the construction of the harbour works in 1921 and to subsequent improvements that have been carried out attracting more ocean-going vessels to make use of the harbour. In the first year of the period under review 3,276 ocean-going vessels, aggregating 2,950,119 tons, entered and cleared at Chefoo, while the figures for the year 1931 were 3,835 vessels, aggregating 4,073,429 tons. The great majority of ocean-going vessels visiting the port are coal-burners, but a certain number of motor vessels have begun to be seen. During 1931 426 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 54 motor vessels entered the port, half of this number being Japanese and the rest German, Norwegian, Italian, Danish, and Swedish vessels engaged in trade with Europe. Their total tonnage amounted to 150,125 tons. Judging from the statistics of inland waters navigation vessels in the first and last years of the decade, a considerably smaller class of vessel is now generally employed in this trade. The figures for 1922 and 1931 for entrances and clearances of inland waters vessels were 779 vessels, of 228,735 tons, and 1,255 vessels, aggregating 236,806 tons, respectively. 3. Revenue.—During the first years of the decade, though occasionally small increases appeared as compared with lean preceding years, revenue collected continued substantially on the down grade until the revision of the Import Tariff in 1929 resulted in a recovery, and each year thereafter, under the stimulus first of the introduction of the Customs gold unit and its application to the payment of import duties in 1930, and again in the succeeding year with a further revision of the Import Tariff, the revenue returns of the port showed largely increased figures. In addition to the beneficial results of tariff revision, the revival of the import trade of Chefoo that followed the rendition of Weihaiwei resulted in further increase to the revenue, so that the striking increase is shown in the total import duty collection in 1922 of Hk.Tls. 195,737.904 to a total of Hk.Tls. 1,257,775.301 collected in the last year of the decennial period. The total revenue collected from all sources rose from Hk.Tls. 455,095 collected in 1922 to Hk.Tls. 1,597,557 collected in 1931. Since the payment of import duties by means of actual gold units was introduced, this method of payment has proved very popular amongst both Chinese and foreign merchants, nearly 70 per cent. of import duties now being received in this manner. During the years 1922, 1925, and 1926 a famine relief surtax was collected in addition to Customs duties, the total so collected amounting to Hk.Tls. 23,975.781. Also, in the last month of the decennial period, a flood relief surtax of 10 per cent. on all duties levied on goods going to or coming from abroad began to be collected. 4. Currency and Finance.—Besides the two principal banks in Chefoo, the Bank of Communications and the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, there are some 80 native banks in operation, the majority of which are small exchange shops. Two of these small native concerns closed last year. The use of sycee is somewhat restricted, owing to the small amount available for circulation, and the native banks transact most of their business, the principal part of which is the financing of the native coastal trade, on a credit system. Silver dollars chiefly current are the Yuan Shih-k'ai and Sun Wen. "Dragon" dollars disappeared some five or six years ago owing to the fact that, though inferior in fineness to the Yuan dollar, theire xchange value in Shanghai was on a par with other silver dollars, and they were all gradually transferred to the Shanghai market. The Hongkong and Shanghai Bank withdrew its issue of bank-notes in 1925, and at the present time the only bank-notes in local use are those of the Bank of China and the Bank of Communications. With the exception of a small quantity of Mexican dollars, no foreign money can be said actually to pass current in Chefoo, though Japanese paper money and silver yen and U.S.A. money are accepted in shops in payment of goods purchased at the day's rate of exchange. Of recent years Mexican dollars have been less commonly used and Japanese money not accepted. Paper subsidiary coinage was introduced here in 1929, the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce authorising the issue of these notes by native banks to a maximum of 20,000 10-cent notes each. These notes enjoy increasing popularity, as they exchange at par, while the silver subsidiary coins exchange at a discount of 10 per cent. with the silver dollar. CHEFOO. 427 5. Agriculture.—Little actual change in the methods of cultivation are noticeable in farming in the Chefoo district, though there have been improvements and extension of groundnut cultivation and substitution of crops, with the result that groundnuts have been exported abroad in increasing quantities each year and large vessels now call regularly at Chefoo purposely to load this commodity for places abroad. The profit yielded from groundnuts is said to be more lucrative to the farmer than that of any other crop, and one-third of the farm lands is used for their production. The increase in the quantities of this article in the first and last years of the decade may be seen from the following table:— 1922. 1931. Piculs. Piculs. Groundnuts, in shell 56,837 186,435 Groundnut kernels 85,168 93,769 In 1931 an experimental poultry-farm was organised with a limited amount of capital, but, owing to lack of scientific methods in rearing stock, the business was closed down and the experiment was a total failure. 6. Industrial Development.—It is estimated that during the 10 years under review the prices of articles of daily necessity, such as firewood, vegetables, fish, eggs, chickens, etc., have increased in price by at least 100 per cent. The origin of the rise in prices is attributed to the period of civil war that the countryside underwent, during which heavy taxes on both land and goods were levied by military authorities to provide for war expenses. The following table shows the prices, per 100 catties, of the ordinary necessities of life ruling at Chefoo during the period:— Articles. 1922. 1923. 1924. 1925. 1926. 1927. 1928. 1929. 1930. 1931. Tls. Tls. Tls. Tls. Tls. Tls. Tls. Tls. Tls. Tls. 3.83 4.14 4.51 4.35 4.76 5.42 5.13 5.51 5.78 6.00 Wheat 2.86 2.90 3.03 3.50 3.63 3.74 3.96 4.31 4.73 5.72 1.56 1.85 2.09 2.37 2.47 2.60 2.51 2.56 2.83 3.25 Millet 2.65 2.75 3.01 3.30 3.42 3.92 3.65 3.70 3.87 4.65 8.49 9.46 9.46 10.94 10.45 12.21 15.84 14.40 11.33 16.23 7.14 8.66 8.84 10.00 9.46 10.30 11.30 10.79 12.25 13.28 2.86 3.08 3.52 3.02 2.96 3.04 2.53 2.76 2.82 4.02 Wages were formerly paid in coppers, but, owing to high prices and the great depreciation of coppers, the wages of the different classes of labourers, not including ordinary coolies and farmers, are now paid in silver dollars. The following table shows the various rates of wages for labourers at the beginning and close of the decade:— 1922. 1931. Ordinary coolie . Per day, without food Cash 600 Cash 3,000 Carpenter and mason „ „ „ $0.30 $ 0.80 Blacksmith Per month $3.00 $ 7.00 Silk spinner „ $ 7-8 $ 14-16 Personal servant „ $2.00 $ 8.00 Farmer Per year Tiao 40-50 Tiao 250-350 428 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The following is a summary of industrial enterprise in the Chefoo district since 1921. The Yuan Cheng Tai Soap Factory was started in 1922 with a capital of $50,000 and is still in operation, though the demand for its products is restricted to the local market owing to their being of rather inferior quality. Raw materials are imported by this firm from Germany, while the supply of animal tallow is obtained from Tsingtao. The average yearly output that this factory is credited with amounts to 15,000 dozens of toilet soap and 500 piculs of laundry soap. A clock factory named Yung Kong, similar to the Pao Sse Clock Factory established in 1913, began production in 1927 with a capital of $35,000. The annual output of this factory is given as 15,000 clocks, which are distributed in the North China, Canton, Foochow, and also Singapore markets. The cases are made in the factory, while the clockwork, mainsprings, parts, and accessories are put together from parts imported from Germany. The clocks produced are good and durable and compete successfully with imported clocks. A few weaving factories have been established in recent years, working with wooden looms, and each employing a dozen or more workers. The daily output of these small factories is about 10 pieces of nankeens or a few dozen ankle-bands, and the profits made by them are stated to be small owing to the high cost of labour. To the two canned goods factories already established in Chefoo there were added two more in 1923 and 1927, named Foo Hsing Kung and Chin Tung factories respectively. The goods produced consist of fruits, chicken, meat, fish, and vegetables put up in 1-pound tins which are manufactured by electric machinery in the factories themselves from imported tin-plates. The annual output of these firms is stated to be 3,000 cases of 4 dozen tins each, and, in spite of the fact that their products only find a market in North China, their business is run in quite a practical manner. In 1924 an amalgamation of the two match factories under the name of Chang Hsing Match Factory was arranged. The product of this concern is consumed chiefly in the local and interior markets and amounts to 400,000 gross boxes annually. In 1921 a factory for the making of aerated waters and beer was founded under the name of Li Chuan Beer and Aerated Waters Company. Owing to the employment of too small capital and its products proving somewhat unsatisfactory, this concern was in danger of becoming insolvent until, in 1931, a reorganisation was effected and noticeable improvements introduced, such as the increase of the capital to $200,000 and the engagement of an expert brewer, with the result that sales were largely increased and the business put on a sound footing. During 1931 the production of this factory amounted to 9,000 cases of beer, an increase of 4,000 cases as compared with previous years. The Chang Yii Wine Company continued to be successfully operated during the decade but met with a serious set-back in the last month of 1931, when a disastrous fire occurred in their premises which destroyed a great deal of their plant. The stocks of wine and brandy were saved from the conflagration, and it is expected that the firm will soon regain its old prosperity. The Sung Fung Flour Mill was established in 1923 with a capital of $297,000, and produces annually some 150,000 bags of flour of 40 catties each. The price of their product is generally higher than that of Shanghai, and it does not find so much demand in the interior as it does locally. CHEFOO. 429 During the 10 years under review the number of silk filatures in Chefoo has been reduced to eight, owing to the pressure of Japanese competition causing the removal of filatures to the Three Eastern Provinces, where the lower prices of cocoons enable work to be carried on under more favourable conditions. Hair-nets.—Demand for hair-nets has been gradually decreasing of late years owing to change of fashion and foreign markets being over-stocked. The export of this commodity, however, to America has been fairly satisfactory during the last half of the decade. Lace.—A certain amount of depression has been noticeable in this industry but, of late, with favourable exchange, demand for this product from abroad has improved. Embroideries.—Demand has been very satisfactory for embroideries and drawn-thread work, especially of late years, and factories connected with this industry have been on the increase in the district. Pongees.—During the past decennial period demand for pongees has remained good. There have been no noticeable improvements in the methods of weaving but some in the way of bleaching, nearly all pongee factories having engaged experts for this purpose. Machine looms have been introduced in some factories but without very satisfactory results, and the wooden loom retains its popularity with the weavers. The best pongee is produced at Changi, where there are more than a hundred factories established, each employing from 30 to 80 workers. The next important centre of production is at Chihsia, also with over a hundred factories, while in the Mouping district the pongee factories number 30. In the last-named two centres the quality of pongee produced is inferior to that produced at Changi. 7. Mines and Minerals.—The district in which the principal mining industry is situated is traversed by the railway line running from Tsingtao to Tsinan, and little of its products finds its way to Chefoo or its immediate district. One or two ventures have been made in the past to open mines in the Chefoo vicinity, but not any have resulted in commercial profit. There is little encouragement for backers of such schemes, owing to the ease with which such minerals as are in demand locally for construction or manufacturing purposes can be imported from the neighbouring ports of Dairen and Tientsin. 8. Communications.—The proved utility of the Kiaochow-Tsinan Railway, running from east to west through the centre of the province, in providing an easy means of communication with other provinces in China and for the ingress and egress of trade engendered hopes that an extension of the railway would ultimately be made to link Chefoo with the national railway lines. It was, primarily, with this object that the construction of what is now known as the Chefoo-Weihsien motor road was begun as a famine relief measure shortly before the close of the last decennial period. The object, however, was never completely fulfilled, and though a road was completed by the year 1924, with gradients suitable for the laying of railway tracks, the full intention of the scheme was not realised owing to lack of funds, and what was intended as the permanent way for a railway was opened to motor traffic without even an attempt at laying a metalled surface on the road. In 1926 the provincial government made a contract with local merchants whereby the road was rented for a period of 10 years for an annual payment of $100,000. In 1928 the military leader Chang Tsung Ch'ang usurped control of the road and all motor vehicles then employed on it until his departure some 12 months 430 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. or so later, since when it has been under the control of the Reconstruction Bureau, which has allotted a certain percentage of the profits gained from the road to the shareholders. Although the road surface has remained unmetalled it is kept in good repair, but, as might be expected, the road is rendered impassable for motor traffic whenever there is any considerable rainfall. Regular bus services are run on this road, connecting towns and villages with each other and with the railway at Weihsien. A motor-truck company named Chen Yeh Kung Sze started business with eight trucks in 1930, carrying freight along this road for which dues are paid to the Reconstruction Bureau, and their business is reported to be prosperous. The Chefoo-Jungcheng motor road was constructed during the years 1928 and 1929, the first section as far as Ninghai being made by soldiers, while the extension to Jungcheng was completed by village labour. A prosperous business was done on this road prior to the rendition of Weihaiwei to China in 1930, but since then it has naturally declined. Work on the Chefoo-Laiyang motor road was begun in the spring of 1930 and completed in the autumn of the same year by the combined work of soldiers and villagers. It may be interesting to note that motor traffic on this road system was started without reliance on any funds previously arranged for, as the purchase of cars for the road was financed by well-to-do private persons by order of the local authorities, the contributors being made shareholders in exchange for their cash. The construction of a road from Chefoo via Siatsun and Haiyang city to Tsingtao is under contemplation, as well as a short road from Chefoo to Taotsun, in the Chihsia district, where pongees are produced in large quantities. The following comparative figures show the progress and expansion of post office business between the opening and closing years of the decade:— 1922. 1931. Letter and pillar boxes 29 32 Mail matter posted 1,930,000 2,810,500 Parcels posted 31,400 66,600 Money orders issued and cashed . $598,400 $1,364,950 Mail lines controlled by the Chief Office: Courier lines 350 li 490 U Motor-bus lines ... 600 li All foreign postal agencies were withdrawn from Chefoo in 1922. The Great Northern Telegraph Company, Limited, The Eastern Extension, Australasia and China Telegraph Company, Ltd., jointly operate three cables on behalf of China. One cable is worked with Shanghai, where it is connected with the Chinese land-line system and through cables to Japan, Hongkong, and the Philippines with all places in the world. The remaining two cables are worked with Tientsin and Peiping. During 1931 approximately 755,000 telegrams were dealt with at the Companies' Chefoo station, of which about 54,000 were for, or from, Chefoo. Besides the above-mentioned cables there are three more, one to Shanghai, one to Weihaiwei, and one to Dairen, all of which are operated by the Chinese Telegraph Administration (the one to Dairen in conjunction with the Imperial Japanese Telegraph Administration). CHEFOO. 431 The local telephone system is greatly in need of renovation, and a considerable increase in the number of subscribers would probably result if an automatic system were introduced. The number of subscribers in 1922 was 400, while by the end of 1931 this had only increased to 600. The long-distance telephone service which was inaugurated in 1926 is only available for the various stations along the Chefoo-Weihsien motor road line. The transmitting apparatus is said to be only capable of rendering messages clearly audible between Chefoo and Weihsien during the night, while in daytime the Chefoo telephone can only be heard as far as Lungkow. 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—In October 1930 the Customs, acting under the instructions of the Government, assumed control of harbour affairs at Weihaiwei and took over all aids to navigation in the port from the British Naval authorities. These consisted of a number of buoys, two light-stations on the mainland, and a fog-gun signal station on Liukungtao. The most important buoys taken over were three navigation buoys and three sloop-mooring buoys. These latter three were eventually handed over to the Chinese Navy through the High Commissioner's Office on orders received from the Government. The two light-stations taken over—Chaopeitsui and Flagstaff Point light-stations—are fourth order lights; they are attended to by the Weihaiwei office but come under the Chefoo lights district. Chaopeitsui light can be picked up in clear weather by steamers after passing and before losing the North-east Promontory light, whilst Flagstaff Point light-station marks the entrance to the harbour. This light has a red and white sector; shipping entering the harbour must follow the white sector. At South-east Promontory the installation of a new powerful 7-inch siren fog-signal, operated by compressed air, was completed in 1929. This signal replaced the old steam- operated signal erected in 1882 and is one of the most powerful on the China coast. At Howki light-station in 1922 a new lantern and light were erected, replacing the original first order installation erected in 1882. The new apparatus at Howki is dioptric, of the second order, showing one white flash every 20 seconds. The intensity of the flash is 440,000 candle- power, as against 148,000 of the old fight. The Chance 85-m.m. incandescent petroleum vapour burners of the former installation have been retained. 10. Administration.—Provincial administration is at present in the hands of a committee, of which the Garrison Commander or the highest military authority in the province is usually the chairman. Although recently a decision was made that military officers should be debarred from holding civil posts, the Garrison Commander still remains the de facto power at the head of the administration. The prefecture of Kiaotung, in which Chefoo is situated, is now under the control of General Liu Chen Nien, in whose hands the appointment of all civil officials virtually rests, though all such appointments receive the so-called sanction of the provincial government at Tsinan. The municipal administration of the section of Chefoo in which the principal foreign firms and private residences are situated remained in the hands of an international committee until 1930, when a Municipal Authority under a Mayor was inaugurated. Later in the same year, however, it was abolished by order of the Central Government, on the ground that the population of the town was below the figure of 200,000, which is a requirement for the establishment of any special municipality. Since then the Police Bureau has been respon»:ble for such duties as upkeep of roads and sanitation, while in the purely Chinese sections of the town the same matters are attended to by the Public Safety Bureau. 432 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Rendition of Foreign Concessions.—On the 1st October 1930 the British Leased Territory of Weihaiwei was restored to China in accordance with the conditions set forth in the "Convention for the Rendition of Weihaiwei" and the Agreement attached thereto, both of which were signed on the 18th April 1930 by the Plenipotentiaries of the two countries, Sir Miles Wedderburn Lampson, K.C.M.G., C.B., M.V.O., His Britannic Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of China and Dr. Chengting T. Wang, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China; the ratifications being exchanged on the 1st October 1930, the date of rendition, at Nanking. At 9 o'clock on that date the Chinese delegates, Mr. Wang Chia-ching and Captain Hsu Tsu Shan, the latter being appointed High Commissioner of the Weihaiwei Municipal Government, were met at the Port Edward Pier by British officials headed by Sir Reginald Johnston, K.C.M.G., C.B.E., Commissioner of Weihaiwei. During the rendition ceremonies the Chinese national flag was hoisted level with the British Union Jack at Government House, this marking the first time in the history of the two nations when their respective flags had flown side by side, and they remained in this position until sundown, when they were hauled down, the British flag not to be hoisted again. On the 2nd October the British garrison, consisting of one company of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, marched for the last time through and then out of Weihaiwei to their transport. Thus ended the British lease of Weihaiwei, which had been in force since the 24th May 1898, the date on which the British flag was first hoisted in this district. On the 9th October a Custom House was formally opened and placed under the control of the Chefoo Commissioner as a sub-office of the Chefoo Customs. The Customs were granted offices (by the High Commissioner) at the Wu-k'ou Pier which had been used previously by the British Shipping Dues office. The Native Customs establishment that formerly functioned in the city was abolished and the control of junk-borne traffic passed to the Maritime Customs on the 8th December 1930. 11. Justice and Police.—The administration of justice in Chefoo is confined to the two following courts, the Local Law Court, where civil cases are heard, and the Police Procurator's Court, where criminal cases are tried or, at least, have a preliminary hearing pending final decision in the Local Court. Appeals in both civil and criminal cases can be made to the High Court at Tsinan or to the Local Law Court of Fushan in Chefoo. The police force of from some 400 to 600 members is divided between five police areas. In the summer months its numbers are augmented by the enlistment of temporary police. In addition, there is a Detective Bureau, with an establishment of about 100 police and soldiers. The police are supported by the Chamber of Commerce and are satisfactorily trained; though somewhat inadequately paid they well carry out their duties of preserving order and quiet in the town. The Shantung Second Model Prison, established in 1917, received much damage during the civil war in 1929, as a result of which all the prisoners managed to make good their escape. The prison was re-conditioned and now houses some 400 prisoners who receive instruction in various trades to enable them to earn an honest living upon release. 12. Military and Naval Changes.—Brigadier-General Chang Huai-pin, an adherent of the Chihli faction, remained in control of Chefoo and district until the end of 1926, when he was replaced by a nominee of Tu-pan Chang Tsung Ch'ang. In 1928 Tu-pan Chang was CHEFOO. 433 defeated by the Southern Expeditionary Force, and the blue field and white sun flag was hoisted at Chefoo for the first time on the 14th June in that year. On the morning of the 23rd April 1929 the Nationalist flag was hoisted for the third time, and General Liu Chen-nien has since maintained rule in this district. 13. Health and Sanitation.—The four principal hospitals in Chefoo are the Temple Hill Hospital, the China Inland Mission Hospital, the Catholic Mission Hospital, and the Fu Min Hospital. The Temple Hill Hospital is probably the best equipped of these four and has the services of not only foreign but also Chinese doctors of excellent repute. The Fu Min Hospital was established in 1931 entirely with Chinese capital and is much resorted to by the local people. In addition to the above about 10 other smaller hospitals have been established during the decade, testifying to the preference of the people to being treated according to modern medical methods. Until the Y.M.C.A. took the initiative in 1927 in advocating the necessity of vaccination for the general public, little had been heard of free inoculation against disease. By means of regular advertisements and the contributions of benefactors the work of vaccination has been carried on successfully, and the number of persons vaccinated in this manner is said to be in the neighbourhood of 5,000. A Health Department of the Public Safety Bureau was instituted in 1924, which issued regulations for the examination of Chinese doctors, with the result that the number of unqualified practitioners has been substantially reduced of late years. In 1927 a Health Officer was appointed to each police area to attend to sanitary administration, and this innovation has contributed much to the cleanliness of the town. In addition, a set of regulations was issued for the control of restaurants, bath-houses, and the like, but the effectiveness of these regulations still remains to be proved. Little or no street-widening has been attempted in Chefoo, but the streets of the town have been much improved in recent years by concrete surfaces being laid on the greater part of the roads, the cost of this work being defrayed from the levy of a house-property tax on householders. In practically everv- year of the past decade quarantine regulations have been enforced against ports declared as infected, but no quarantine station has yet been established here, which has been a source of much inconvenience to the sanitary authorities. The Isolation Hospital on the West Beach, even if the use of it could be obtained from the military authorities who have had possession of it for the past few years, would be an unsuitable place for a quarantine station owing to its situation in the midst of a densely populated section of the town, and a proposal was put forward in 1930 to acquire the ground on the east side of the Chefoo Bluff, where the Netherlands Harbour Works formerly were situated, for the purpose. While all interested parties were agreed that this site would be a suitable one for the quarantine station, the project has had, temporarily at least, to be dropped owing to financial considerations. 14. Education.—The principal educational establishments in Chefoo consist of four middle schools and two vocational schools. The two latter establishments consist of a commercial college supported by American missions and the training college founded by the Silk Improvement Commission, and both are well carrying out the objects for which they were formed. Of the 20 or more primary schools existing in Chefoo, three are conducted by missionary endeavour. Prohibition of religious teaching in schools has had little effect locally. 434 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. In those schools where the object is to provide education for children of Christian parents the establishments have been changed into Christian institutes and have forfeited the right to be registered schools. In cases where registration was desired schools have changed their curricula to meet the requirements of the Ministry of Education, and attendance at religious classes or at chapel have been made completely voluntary. During the period under review there has been a notable absence of radical agitation among the student class, or, if there has been agitation, the student body has remained unimpressionable and apparently little sensible to external changes. 15. Literature.—Five daily newspapers, including one evening paper, are published in Chefoo. They are as follows: The "Chefoo Daily News," published in English; the "Chung Hsin," "Ai Kuo," and "Tung Hai" daily papers; and the "Ming Hsin" evening paper. The "Chefoo Daily News" publishes Reuter telegrams, but the Chinese newspapers, with the exception of the last-named, which prints wireless broadcast news, rely entirely on reprints of telegrams and editorials from Shanghai and Tientsin papers. Too much space is usually given in the vernacular press to trivial matters, such as street accidents and local gossip, while topics of wider interest receive too scant attention. While there is good demand locally for magazines and periodicals published in larger places, no periodicals are published locally, with the exception of a small periodical that is published at irregular intervals by one of the middle schools containing news of sports and other school activities. There are 14 printing- presses in operation in Chefoo, but the majority of them print only such articles as labels and office forms. Three presses print matter in the English language as well as Chinese, while publications in French also are issued by the Catholic Mission Printing Office. Beyond occasional pamphlets distributed by the Kuo-min-tang, the effect of which is hardly appreciable, propaganda is confined to the giving of lectures by members of the Tang Pu. These lectures are only infrequently given, and the activities of this body are more or less dormant in this district. 16. Population.—According to the annual census conducted by the Kung-an Chii the population of Chefoo continues steadily to increase. In the year 1929 the figure stood at 119,305, in the following year it was 130,575, and in 1931, the last year of the decennial period, the number was given as 131,659. The foreign population in 1931, as given in the consular returns, numbered 750. There is considerable yearly migration of the coolie and farmer classes of this district to and from Manchuria, where the demand for labour at the time of harvesting the bean crops is always good. The effect of this movement on the population of the country-side is difficult to estimate, owing to insufficiency of data, but it is probably small, as the number of returning emigrants is generally regarded as being more or less equal to the number going out. 17. Civil Disorder.—The civil strife that has broken out from time to time during the past 10 years in parts of the province has undoubtedly supplied hundreds of recruits to the bandits who have operated in the mountain districts of the border where the neighbouring provinces of Honan and Hopeh adjoin Shantung. The activities of these bandits have been mostly confined to the western districts, where their suppression must always be a matter of extreme difficulty. Piracy along the coasts is seldom or never heard of, as at the present time smuggling affords a safer and more lucrative means of livelihood. Clandestine trade along the northern coast-line of the province has grown to an alarming extent during the past two years CHEFOO. 435 since the high tariff duties on imports were instituted. Cargoes are landed and stored on the numerous islets that fringe this coast, whence they are transported, as opportunity serves, to the mainland in small craft that easily evade the surveillance of the Customs sub-stations under cover of darkness. Bolder methods are also practised at times, as, with the large funds at their disposal, the smugglers manage to procure the protection of the local authorities or village militia at the places where the goods are landed, so that interference with their actions cannot be attempted by the sub-station staffs. Provision is now being made for the employment of sufficient Customs preventive craft to put an end to this clandestine trade. During the period since 1929 the north-eastern districts of this province have enjoyed a period of peace and quiet under the rule of General Liu Chen-nien, whose control has resulted in the suppression of the "red spears," communists, and other reactionary bodies. Discipline has been strictly maintained, and cities and towns well policed. This report has been written by the following members of the office staff at Chefoo: Messrs. H. W. Hosking, Chief Assistant, A (sections 1 to 3, 7, 17, and part of 10); Wang Ki Ming, 2nd Assistant, A (sections 8 and 13); Kung Fu Tse, 2nd Assistant, A (sections 5 and 6); J. H. P. Perry, 2nd Assistant, B (section 9); Tseng Chao Hua, 4th Assistant, B (sections 14 to 16, and part of 10); Wang Tsu Yi, 3rd Clerk, B (section 4); and Liu Tsin, 4th Clerk, B (section 11). The part of section 10 dealing with the rendition of Weihaiwei was contributed by Mr. A. J. Hope, Acting Deputy Commissioner in charge of that port. N. H. SCHREGARDUS, Acting Commissioner of Customs. 3\st December 1931. Chefoo, '31st March 1932. KIAOCHOW. 1 and 2. Trade and Shipping.—The outstanding event in the history of Tsingtao in the decade under review was the restoration of the port after 25 years of alien control to the full sovereignty of China by the treaty concluded between China and Japan at Washington in February 1922. The ratifications of the treaty were exchanged at Peiping (then Peking) in June 1922. In accordance with Article 2 of that treaty a Sino-Japanese Joint Commission was appointed to make and carry out detailed arrangements for the transfer which was to take place on the 2nd December. In September numerous sub-committees of the Chinese Commission arrived from Peiping to inspect and assess the value of public properties, salt-fields, etc. Time was short and the work was big, but on the 1st December the Joint Commission signed at Peiping the Supplementary Agreement settling the details of transfer. The formal transfer of the former German Leased Territory of Kiaochow from Japan to China took place in the Government Building on the 10th December, when Dr. Akiyama, Civil Governor, representing Japan, handed over the administration to Dr. C. T. Wang, Director General of the Rehabili- tation of Shantung Rights, representing China. Dr. Wang then handed over the administration to General Hsiung Ping-chi, Civil Governor of Shantung, who was appointed by Presidential Mandate Director General of the Commercial Port of Kiaochow. The Railway Transfer Agreement was signed at Peiping on the 5th December, the formal date of transfer being fixed for the 1st January 1923. The Postal Agreement was signed on the 8th December, and the Chinese Post Office established itself in Tsingtao on the 10th December. The transfer of the coal mines wharves, and godowns, the telegraph and telephone services, and the power-station was also completed in December 1922. The constant tendency of the trade of Tsingtao during the past decade has ever been towards steady and remarkable expansion, and the total net value of imports and exports as recorded in 1931 (Hk.Tls. 218,275,000) shows an increase of 120 per cent. over that for 1922 (Hk.Tls. 97,590,000). The following table is of interest as showing the trend:— Net Foreign Imports. Net Chinese Imports. Net Chinese Exports. Total. Hk.TU. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. Hk.Th. 1922 44,122,135 18,516,701 34,952,092 97,590,928 1923 41,978,031 23,249,896 42,232,330 107,460,257 1924 44,917,266 31,937,276 55,352,316 132,206,858 42,782,187 24,042,886 59,433,833 126,258,906 1926 46,296,441 27,399,855 61,997,968 135,694,264 1927 46,905,591 27,890,240 74,704,028 149,499,859 1928 44,497,488 33,102,086 64,694,024 142,293,598 1929 58,220,200 28,246,534 80,334,594 166,801,328 1930 64,468,121 35,343,767 86,006,148 185,818,036 1931 75,041,663 37,375,776 105,857,748 218,275,187 This increase is accounted for partly by the rise in tael prices, partly by the increase of local consumption, and chiefly by the remarkable development of the local cotton industry, 438 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. which has called for heavy importations of raw material and machinery and equipment, the corresponding exports reappearing as exports of local origin, and by the increased production of staple agricultural produce for export. The change in the status of the port necessarily involved a change in the conditions of trade, and its effect has been evidenced throughout the period under review. When Tsingtao was in the occupation of Germany and subsequently of Japan, foreign trade was naturally conducted by Chinese merchants mainly with German and then Japanese firms, though firms of other foreign nations were not excluded. Since Tsingtao has become a commercial port of China, the field was open to all nationalities, and Chinese merchants no longer have any special reason or inducement to deal exclusively with the merchants of any one nation. The wider scope thus afforded has no doubt conferred benefits on all concerned, and this is shown by the fact that a striking advance was made during the decade in the volume of trade with the United States of America, Hongkong, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Canada, and Australia, while the share taken by Japan decreased from 70 to 43 per cent. of the total, although still retaining her premier—but not preponderant—position. Thus in 1922 the volume of direct trade of this port with foreign countries in millions of Haikwan taels was in the following order: Japan, 39.07; U.S.A., 5.59; Hongkong, 4.30; Great Britain, 2.45; France, 1.23; Germany, 1.01; Korea, 1.04; Russian Pacific Ports, 0.45; the Netherlands India, 0.50; the Netherlands, 0.30; British India, 0.10. In 1931, with the vastly increased volume of trade (Hk.Tls. 94,230,000), the share taken by different principal countries in millions of Haikwan taels was as follows: Japan, 40.50; U.S.A., 14.55; Hongkong, 9.83; Great Britain, 8.52; Germany, 6.17; the Netherlands, 4.35; France, 2.06; the Netherlands India, 1.63; British India, 1.38; Italy, 0.83; Korea, 0.81; Canada, 0.72; Denmark, 0.61; Australia, 0.44; Russian Pacific Ports, 0.20. A more or less similar trend is noticeable with regard to shipping. In 1922 the Japanese flag covered 60 per cent. of the tonnage of the port, while the British, American, German, and Chinese took 22, 4.50, 1.9, and 5.5 per cent. respectively. In 1930 the Japanese flag was 47.50 per cent.; the British came next with 23.8 per cent.; Germany, 9.2 per cent.; China, 6.8 per cent.; and the United States, 4.5 per cent.; the balance being shared between the Dutch, Norwegian, and other flags. The total tonnage of vessels entered and cleared in 1931 showed an increase of 105 per cent. over that of 1922. Boycotts.—From 1919 to 1922 Japanese goods in China were boycotted as a result of the anti-Japanese troubles arising out of the Shantung settlement. This impediment to trade almost disappeared during the greater part of the decade under review, and, if we take as comparison what happened in other ports of China, trade in Tsingtao has been very fortunate in this respect. Boycotts have generally been closely connected in this country with labour troubles, which are described in section 6: "Labour Unions and Strikes." This port experienced more labour troubles—in the Japanese-owned factories and mills—than boycotts, particularly after the outbreak at Shanghai in February 1925, when the atmosphere in the local factories became very tense. In 1927 Tsingtao escaped the troubles which occurred in the ports of the Yangtze Valley, though there were some cases of unrest of minor importance. In 1928 the strong anti-Japanese feeling after the Tsinan incident in May of that year resulted in a boycott, and cargo which under normal conditions would have reached the port KIAOCHOW. 439 for shipment was either held up in the interior or diverted to Shanghai via Pukow. The boycott was carried on in the interior, outside the Kiao-Tsi Railway Zone, which was guarded by Japanese troops; the conveyance of cargo by rail both inwards and outwards worked smoothly. In the middle of May 1929, with the withdrawal of Japanese troops from the province, normal conditions began to return. After the Sino-Japanese incident in Manchuria and during the last quarter of 1931 an anti-Japanese boycott again began, but it did not show signs of any notable increase as the year came to a close. 3. Revenue.—In consequence of the repeated revisions of the Import Tariff in 1922, 1928, and 1931, and of the introduction, from the 1st February 1930, of a Customs gold unit as the basis for payment of import duties, the annual revenue collections have shown a remarkable upward tendency throughout the whole decade with the exception of the years 1925 and 1926, particularly during the last few years, rising from Hk.Tls. 2,323,400 in 1921, the record year of the last decade, to Hk.Tls. 11,500,000 in 1931, which is this decade's record. In fact, had it not been for the Manchurian dispute, which generally and seriously affected the direct import and export trade between China and Japan, the record of the present decade would have been in the neighbourhood of 13 millions. In spite of the unfavourable conditions obtaining during the years 1924 to 1927 in the Shantung province, resulting in constant fluctuations in the yearly revenue collections, all duties under the various headings—Import, Export, and Coast Trade—showed progressive increases over the figures of each preceding year of the decade under review and outstripped those of any year of the previous decade. The rapid rise in the latter years of the decade under review was what had been anticipated when the new National Import Tariff of 1928 was introduced, and was due to the following causes:— (a) The collection of additional import duties under the new National Import Tariff of 1928 from the 1st February 1929; (A) The collection of surtaxes on all Chinese goods moved within China from the 10th February 1929; (c) The collection of import and additional import duties on the gold unit basis from the 1st February 1930; and (d) The collection of import and additional import duties at the increased gold unit rates of the first revised National Import Tariff of 1931. Finally, it is gratifying to note that since 1927 the total revenue collection of each year, calculated on the basis of the 1922 Tariff, that is, exclusive of additional import duties and surtaxes, has also been progressively on the increase, contrary to the apprehensions that were generally entertained that, in view of the general unrest prevailing throughout the whole province, the revenue returns would not be as satisfactory as might be hoped. The totals of these collections for the years 1929 to 1931 amounted to Hk.Tls. 3,754,500, Hk.Tls. 4,535,100, and Hk.Tls. 5,612,600 respectively, while the additional import duties and surtaxes were correspondingly returned at Hk.Tls. 2,916,900, Hk.Tls. 4,645,900, and Hk.Tls. 5,887,300. 440 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Junk duties assume a somewhat different aspect. As the conditions aforesaid did not affect junk trade in any way, the Junk Office collection went quite the usual course, except with greater fluctuations between the years 1922 and 1928. It was only after 1928 that the junk duties collection began to show steady progress, which was apparently due to the levy of surtaxes. Seeing that the abolition of junk duties came into force from the 1st June 1931, revenue being collected from the 1st January to the 31st May 1931 only, the 1931 figures must be taken as a record for the present decade. In this connexion, perhaps, it may not be out of place to remark that if no surtaxes had been collected, thus bringing up the collection to the record figures Hk.Tls. 322,000, the returns of 1926 would have by far surpassed the 1930 figures. 4. Currency and Finance.—One of the most outstanding features of the decade under review was the long-desired abolition, in 1929, with the unanimous support of the local mercantile community, of what was known as the "Kiaoping" tael, which was until then extensively used as the unit of accounts and the standard of value in every line of wholesale business. The "Kiaoping" tael was a cumbersome, nominal currency, and its adoption as the basis on which wholesale business transactions were negotiated seriously handicapped the trade of Tsingtao generally and the cotton goods and cotton yarn trade in particular, principally on account of the constant fluctuations in tael-dollar exchange or in interport exchange, which sometimes even exceeded the limits set by ordinary variations of supply and demand. There is no doubt that the drastic elimination of the "Kiaoping" tael and the substitution of the national coined dollar as the silver standard of value, which fulfilled all currency and exchange requirements, produced the best results. The sudden increase during the last few years in the number of Chinese banks run on modern lines is a sufficient proof of the increasing financial activities which have rendered the expansion of the local trade possible. Another striking feature that has taken place during the decade has been the wholesale, if not complete, with- drawal from the money market, except among the Japanese community, of the silver yen notes issued by the Yokohama Specie Bank, which were the only notes circulated in Tsingtao and along the Kiao-Tsi Railway before the opening of the Bank of China in the autumn of 1922, that is, three months before the rendition of Tsingtao to China, which took place in December of the same year. These notes had an extensive circulation, amounting to, roughly, $10,000,000. The displacement of the Yokohama Specie Bank notes by the Chinese issues, particularly those of the Bank of China and the Bank of Communications, may be attributed principally to political reasons. The new Chinese banks which have come into existence are in all cases merely branches with their head offices either at Tsinan or at Shanghai. The most noteworthy of these banks are the following: the Bank of Communications, the Continental Bank, the Central Bank of China, the Min Hua Bank, the Industrial Bank of China, and the Commercial Bank of Shanghai. In addition to these banks a number of money shops, or yin hao, have also been established locally, such as Chti Feng, I Tung, Tung Chu, etc., which transact banking business on rather an extensive scale, and a few of them have a very good reputation for stability. The Bank of China, being the oldest in standing in the Shantung province and having its branches at Tsinan, Chefoo, Weihsien, Tsining, and Linching, is the most prosperous and popular banking institution. This bank also extends its ordinary banking business to under- taking international remittances. The next in importance is the Bank of Communications, which is particularly interested in financing industrial enterprises. It possesses an imposing building, which was completed in the spring of 1931. As regards the Central Bank of China, which opened on the 24th September 1929, it may be said that its establishment was fruitful KIAOCHOW. 441 of financial activities which were conducive to the equilibrium of the money market at Tsingtao. In the strict sense the Central Bank of China is a national bank acting as a national treasury for all official moneys and collections of the Government's offices. The bank took over from the Bank of China the duties of collecting the Kiaochow Customs revenue on the 2nd November 1929. Owing to the political conditions prevailing in the middle of 1930 the collection of Customs revenue by the bank was suspended from the 11th June and the Customs undertook to collect the revenue itself until, on the 21st October 1930, the Central Bank of China resumed ts collection. Dollar Note Issue.—At present three Chinese banks issue silver notes of $1, $5, and $10 denominations. They are the Bank of China, the Bank of Communications, and the Industrial Bank of China. It is estimated that the note issues of these banks stand at $5,000,000, $3,000,000, and $500,000 respectively. The notes of the first two banks have an extensive circulation, not only in the towns but also in the hinterland. The notes issued by the Industrial Bank of China are not so popular as the notes of other banks. The bank has now withdrawn a part of its issue to the amount of about $200,000. The total amount of notes issued by the Chinese and foreign banks now in circulation in the Shantung province is estimated at $35,000,000, which is distributed as follows: Tsinan, $11,000,000; Tsingtao, $8,000,000; Chefoo, Lungkow, and Weihaiwei, $6,000,000. Subsidiary Note Issue.—The issue of subsidiary notes was at one time monopolised by the Yokohama Specie Bank and the Shantung Provincial Bank; but later, as the latter bank was on the verge of bankruptcy, its notes were not so acceptable as before and were usually at a discount. In consequence, the greater quantity of the notes of the bank in question were destroyed, thereby causing a scarcity of notes on the Tsingtao money market. With a view to meeting the actual requirements of the general public, the Bank of China and the Bank of Communications decided to replenish the old supply by a combined issue of 10-cent and 20-cent denominations to the amount of $500,000. The subsidiary note issue is not a paying proposition, and the banks would have issued more notes of their own had it not been for the fact that the notes are too easily defaced after being put into circulation and that the cost of printing is too high. At the opening of 1931 the Central Bank of China issued a big quantity of subsidiary notes of 10-cent and 20-cent denominations to meet the increasing demand. The total subsidiary note issue at present in circulation in the whole province is estimated at $3,000,000, of which the Central Bank of China's share is about 70 per cent. Copper Coins.—Here the economic law "bad money drives out good money" applies. Almost all single copper coins (i.e., 10-cash coppers) have disappeared from this port, with the result that the value of double copper coins (i.e., 20-cash pieces) has much depreciated. In former times 250 20-cash pieces exchanged for 1 dollar, but at present 1 dollar can buy 350 coppers. On the other hand, the value of single coppers has gone up from 280 to 200 to a dollar. This state of affairs has been caused by the melting of a large quantity of single coppers for subsequent exportation to Japan in the form of copper slabs, also by the smuggling of such coppers to Shanghai or Canton, where a good profit can be made out of this business. With the depreciation of the double coppers the price of goods, especially of daily necessaries, has gone up considerably, which, indeed, is a great hardship on that class of people whose wages are paid in coppers. 442 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Different Tael Standards.—Though the "Kiaoping" tael has been abolished at Tsingtao, the different tael standards adopted at the different towns or places in the Shantung province still hold good in business transactions. The following is a complete list of tael standards at present in use in the Shantung province, with their fixed ratios to the Shanghai tael:— ^p.„, 0 Fixed Ratio to the Tael Standard. Shanghai Tael. Sh.Tls. Tsinan Tsi-p'ing Tls. 1,000 1,078.50 Chefoo Tsao-ku Tls. 1,000 1,045.00 Tsining Ning-p'ing Tls. 1,000 1,057.55 Tenghsien TSng-p'ing Tls. 1,000 1,100.34 Chowtsun . . . Tsun-k'u-p'ing Tls. 1,000 1,100.30 Weihsien Wei-p'ing Tls. 1,000 1,081.08 Remittances from Chinese Emigrants.—During the decade Shantung has been greatly enriched by the fortunes made by thousands of emigrants to Manchuria, Mongolia, and other north-western places. A very considerable amount of money was remitted annually from these parts, particularly from Heilungkiang and Kirin, a small portion coming from Liaoning. These remittances either took the form of drafts on the banks at Tsinan, Chefoo, or Tsingtao, or found their way through the post offices. The latter method of remittance was preferred to buying bank drafts. The total amount thus remitted annually is estimated at $5,000,000. 5. Agriculture.—Growth of Co-operation.—During the decade under review the province of Shantung has undergone a series of natural and political calamities; most of the gentry fled to the cities to find a temporary refuge, while the poorer class emigrated to Manchuria. The middle class remained in the country, and, finding themselves exposed to a common danger, readily co-operated with each other to find a means of livelihood and self-protection. Farm stock and implements were generally either bought jointly for common use or severally pur- chased and interchanged when required. Marketing of products was carried out by barter conducted by the village elders. Introduction of Machinery.—The prospect of introducing modern mechanical methods into agriculture is still remote; no progress has been made apart from the growing popularity of the South China system of wells and water-wheels to overcome the difficulties of irrigation. Rotation of Crops.—The common method used in Shantung is to cultivate three crops every two years, i.e., kaoliang in spring and wheat in autumn of the first year, beans or tobacco in summer of the next year. Ample margin is left for agriculturists to adopt rotation on scientific principles, a necessary measure if the soil, already too much impoverished, is to be relieved. Choice of Seeds.—Splendid results have been obtained by the Litsun Experimental Station by selecting the best native seeds and distributing them to farmers at a nominal price. Exhibitions on a small scale were frequently held to show the public the benefits derived from a discriminatory assorting of seeds. A rudimentary process was also adopted by the farmers of soaking seeds in salt water before sowing in order to get rid of harmful sub- stances. Cotton cultivation with American seeds found gradual adoption during the decade both in the north-western part of the province and in districts along the Kiao-Tsi Railway 444 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. beef went to Japan, Vladivostock, Hongkong, and the Philippines; but as soon as the War was concluded and competition from Australia began, all of these markets, with the single exception of Japan, vanished. Conditions during the decade remained as heretofore; while the farmers themselves were barely able to eke out a living, cattle were left to subsist on such grass as they could find. Matters were made still worse on account of heavy taxation, the amount of which was estimated at $39 on a single head of cattle on its way from Tsinan to Tsingtao, according to a recent petition to the local authorities from the dealers concerned. Thus, in spite of the fall in the value of silver and consequent favourable foreign exchange, no strength could be registered in this line of trade. The obvious thing is to keep farm cattle and ranch cattle apart, so that while giving due attention to foreign markets the interests of agriculture are still upheld. Tobacco.—Mention has been made in previous reports that after the introduction of the American plant, tobacco cultivation has greatly progressed. The British-American Tobacco Company established stations in Fangtze and Erhshihlipao in 1913 and 1917 respectively. The Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company established a similar station at Fangtze in 1923. It seemed as if this branch of agriculture could be developed indefinitely. Facts, however, refuted this expectation. During the decade the area devoted to tobacco had not increased, indicating that the industry had probably expanded about as much as had been found profit- able at prices obtainable and had been fitted into the rotation system. Cotton seems to have gradually taken the place of tobacco, and its cultivation is likely to extend, as tobacco-planting requires a greater outlay in the form of imported artificial fertilisers, has to bear heavier taxation, and is more susceptible than cotton to climatic conditions. Adulteration.—Owing to improved communications and general enlightenment of merchants concerned, an awakening to the fatal effect of dishonest practices has been observed during the decade. The sad history of the decline of the foreign tea and silk trade, due to this lack of far-sightedness, was often quoted in periodicals issued by the experimental stations. In 1929 an Inspection Bureau of Commercial Products of the Ministry of Industry was established in Tsingtao, and in the course of two years all principal products exported from this port were required to be inspected before export was permitted. In Tsinan a branch office of the Bureau was performing excellent work by periodical inspection of cotton, silk, and bee farms. Whenever possible, efforts were made not merely to stamp out adulteration but also to improve the products, so that a ready foreign market could be obtained. Afforestation.—In the beginning of the Republic (1912), three forestry bureaux were in existence in Shantung—at Tsinan, Taian, and Tsingchow. For the sake of centralisation a head office was formed in Tsinan in 1919. A semblance of work was maintained from 1920 to 1926, when the bureaux disappeared during the civil war. In 1929, under the National Government, the work of afforestation of the province, excluding Tsingtao, was divided into four districts, each of which was managed by a forestry bureau consisting of three departments—expert, publicity, and executive,—with a total staff of about 10 members. The first district, with its bureau at Tsinan, comprises 51 hsien in the north-western part of the province; the second, with its bureau at Taian, comprises 24 hsien in the south-western part along the Tientsin- Pukow Railway; the third, with its bureau at Tsingchow, comprises 18 hsien along the Kiao-Tsi Railway; and the fourth, with its bureau at Chefoo, comprises 13 hsien in the north-eastern part of the province. They are returned as having afforested in 1930 areas of 1,879, 951, 514, and 580 mou respectively. Tsingtao afforestation was wholly under the control of an efficient authority, the Tsingtao Agriculture and Forestry Bureau. Apart from the beautiful tree-lined KIAOCHOW. 445 boulevards for which Tsingtao is well known and 19 parks of more than 2,000 mou, the Bureau has at present a total area of 38,780 mou of forest land, of which only 1,462 mou have been cultivated during the last two years. Three nurseries were maintained, one at Taitung, of 107 mou; one at Litsun, of 99 mou; and one at Laoshan, of 85 mou. During the spring season young plants were offered to the public free of charge on signing an application guaranteeing to observe some simple regulations. Excellent educational work was done also by the Bureau in the free distribution of pamphlets detailing methods of planting and maintenance. Experimental Stations.—There are two experimental stations in Shantung, one at Tsinan and the other at Litsun, the latter being under the Tsingtao Agriculture and Forestry Bureau, to which reference has already been made. The former was established in 1915 with an area of 200 mou and a monthly maintenance allowance of $1,800. The latter, covering an area of 357 mou, was far more prosperous; it was established in German times, augmented during the Japanese occupation, and continued with unabated vigour by the Chinese administration. The three principal functions performed by the station are agriculture, stock-raising, and gardening. In its first function the station confined its efforts to those products which were being cultivated by the farmers in the vicinity, such as cotton, wheat, tobacco, beans, etc., with a view to introducing good seeds and new methods of cultivation. Practical benefits, as distinct from academical, were thus gained. With regard to the second function, namely, stock-raising, the choice of breeds occupied first attention; at present the station possesses 35 head of cattle, mostly of Dutch origin, 32 pigs, eight of which are of Berkshire breed, nine head of Merino sheep, seven head of Saanen goats, and a number of chickens. Efforts were made to introduce these breeds gradually to the general farmyards. In its third function—gardening—there are now 30 mou devoted to this purpose with apples, pears, peaches, etc., as the principal fruits under experiment. Like agriculture, choice of seeds, method of cultivation, and means of protection against disease and pests are the subjects to which keen attention is devoted. 6. Industrial Development.—Although the city of Tsingtao is essentially a potential industrial centre by virtue of a rich hinterland, facilities of communication, and the financial resources at its command, the development of its industry has not yet reached such a stage as to enable it to vie with Shanghai or Tientsin in economic importance; but, on the other hand, its comparatively detached position has enabled it to make steady progress during all the years of civil turmoil that has so often crippled the industry of the other manufacturing centres of China. During the 16 years of their occupation, i.e., between 1898 and 1914, the preoccupations of the Germans in founding the harbour and wharves, the electricity works, and the road and water systems left them little energy for fostering industry, one aerated water factory, one brewery, one silk filature, one egg factory, and two foreign-style kilns being the only notable undertakings achieved. The outbreak of the Great War in 1914 put a temporary check on the then budding industries. From 1917 there began the constructive period of the industry of Tsingtao, for 80 per cent. of the city's principal factories, mostly Japanese-owned, were then established. Near the end of 1923 Japanese investments came to a halt and were followed up by the Chinese, who have, during the decade under review, established several flour and match factories, though mostly on a small scale. In fact, the introduction of foreign-style machinery for large-scale manufacture in Tsingtao may be said to have been completed between 1918 and 1923. Taking the city's industry as a whole, Japanese enterprise dominates the situation, there being more than 20 Japanese factories of §500,000 capital and over: the number of private Chinese factories reaching this amount of capital does not exceed three. 446 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. During the last 10 years the production of the local factories has been pushed to its full capacity and has contributed much in swelling the volume of the export trade of Tsingtao. Prices and Wages.—(a) Prices.—In the city of Tsingtao the cost of living is higher than in the other principal ports of China. After the restoration of the Kiaochow Leased Territory to China in 1922 a general rise in prices, contrary to expectation, was registered on account of the depreciation of the local dollar and the institution of numerous new taxes; but what caused more concern was the hardship entailed on the working people by the rise extending to daily necessaries. Since the summer of 1928, however, prices have been showing a downward tendency. With imported goods, compared with the years preceding the decade under review, the rise ranges from 30 to 50 per cent. higher in the case of native foodstuffs and from 100 to over 200 per cent. in the case of foreign goods: the growth of the export trade of such staples as eggs and egg products and beef largely accounts for the big rise in local produce prices. Among those commodities the prices of which have frequently fluctuated are cotton, yarn, and coal. Shantung silk and pongee and salt are the few articles which have fallen in price. Grain prices, on the other hand, while generally ascending, have depended much on the harvests; the price of fruit and vegetables varies in different seasons and in different years. (b) Wages.—Owing to the ever abundant supply of unskilled labour local wages have not shown any marked increase amid the increasing cost of living of the last decade. In fact, investigations conducted by the local municipality show that for the five years 1924-28 wages remained practically stationary. In 1930, as a result of strikes, most of the cotton mills increased their wages from 5 to 10 per cent. The normal wages of the cotton mill workers, who constitute about 50 per cent. of the local labourers, is from $15 to $20 a month. The minimum and maximum wages are around $10 and $30 a month respectively. Among the cotton mill workers, while two-thirds are able to maintain themselves and even effect some savings, the remaining third, like the 4,000 ricsha coolies of Tsingtao, live in perpetual debt. The question of wages being a fruitful source of labour disputes, the local municipality has legislated ordinances aimed at its regulation; but in the present circumstances the excessive supply of cheap labour allows little possibility of amelioration in existing conditions. The approximate wages of the principal trades are as follows:— $ Carpenter per day 0.90- 1.00 Mason 0.90- 1.00 Blacksmith 0.90-1.90 Match-worker (board and lodgings supplied) . „ 0.35 Soap-maker „ 0.60 Kiln workman 0.80 Printing boy 0.70-1.20 Coolie » 0-35 Oil mill workman 0.50-0.80 Beer-brewer ,, 0.45 Mat-maker per month 20.00-30.00 Ricsha coolie's gross receipts „ 27.00-30.00 KIAOCHOW. 447 Wages at the principal factories:— Kiao-Tsi Railway Ssufang Works Department: $ Mechanic per day 0.57- 1.40 Journeyman (lodgings supplied) . . . . „ 0.35-0.70 Cotton mills: Workers per month 10.00-30.00 Average ,, 15.00-16.00 Foreman „ 20.00-45.00 Mechanic „ 30.00-70.00 Yung Yii Salt Company: Salt workman „ 7.00-10.00 Carpenter and mechanic „ 17.00-24.00 British Cigarette Company: Mechanic: maximum per day 1.60 Workers ,. 0.50-1.00 Labour Unions and Strikes.—Although most factories at Tsingtao were established before and in the first two years of the decade under review, labour troubles were not a problem until recent years. In 1924 only three important strikes were reported although such troubles had become quite prevalent in Shanghai. In 1925, after the outbreak of labour upheavals in Shanghai, the atmosphere here became very tense. At the end of April a general strike was declared in the three Japanese mills at Ssufang. It lasted till the end of May, when the local authorities stopped it by force. By the middle of June all the mills had resumed work with a full complement of workers. With the advent of the National Government in April 1929, labour unions, a natural outgrowth of modern capitalism, sprang up like mushrooms. Almost every trade now has its union, and the total number registered is nearly 50. Under the complex revolutionary spirit prevailing in the last three or four years it is only to have been expected that there would be many labour upheavals. Thus in 1928 there were a five months' strike at the Japanese cotton mills and disturbances of shorter duration at the other big Japanese factories. The number of workers suffering thereby amounted to 20,000. The year 1930 had a record number of strikes. During that year protracted labour agitations caused the closing of 38 of the 50 coal- pits in the Poshan district, while at Tsingtao the first 10 months of the year witnessed 81 cases of labour disputes involving 25,000 workers and 40 factories, in which all the Japanese cotton mills were included. In June the 4,000 ricsha coolies of the city struck for 17 days as a protest against the increase of hire charges by the ricsha shops. For the settlement of these disputes the local municipality has made untiring efforts at mediation and arbitration. A deep sense of sympathy is felt for those who have no means of defence except by resort to strikes, and the local administration has enforced many measures within the last three years with a view to promoting good relations between labour and capital. It has reorganised and been exercising a super- visory control over the labour unions, and has appointed a Board of Mediation and Arbitration. Use of Foreign-style Machinery to make (a) Goods previously imported, and (b) Goods previously made by Native Methods.—The goods which are now made by machinery comprise cotton yarn and grey cotton piece goods, raw silk, wheat flour, matches, egg products, groundnut oil and cakes, beer, refined salt, ice, bricks, motors and simple machine tools, household chemicals, and some secondary textile products. Of these, cotton yarn and grey cotton piece ■ KIAOCHOW. 449 Refined Salt.—During the Japanese regime there were at Tsingtao 19 salt factories carrying on an active industry in crude and refined salt. Early in 1923, after the rendition of the Kiaochow Leased Territory to China, they were sold and incorporated into the Yung Yii Salt Company. Owing to the Chinese and Japanese Governments failing to reach an agreement, most of the factories fell into disrepair, and their equipment, with a total annual capacity of producing 3,000,000 piculs of refined salt, lay idle for almost six years. From 139,000 piculs in 1926 the amount of refined salt shipped to domestic ports sank to 27,000 piculs in 1928 and nil in 1929. As to foreign export, instead of 800,000 or 900,000 piculs being sold to Japan as in former years, only crude salt is now shipped thither for refining. While failure has been the fate common to all salt refineries in China, probably nowhere has the industry suffered so much as at Tsingtao. There has been a revival of the salt-refining industry during the last two years. Two modern-style Japanese kilns at Kushan and Tsangkow employ 400 workmen and every year consume 2,000 tons of coal and turn out 6,000,000 bricks, part of which is exported to Shanghai and Dairen. According to a reliable estimate there are approximately 200 factories and workshops in Tsingtao, with a total capital of $200,000,000 and employing 40,000 labourers. A general idea of the industrial development of Tsingtao may be gathered from the following supplementary list, the figures given being approximate only:— Industry. Factories. Capital. Operatives. Remarks. Cotton mills Silk steam filature Other textile works Electric power-station . .. Match factories Iron and metal works . . . Kilns Chemical works Printing-shops Sawmills and upholsterers Waterworks Wheat flour mills Salt refinery Groundnut oil mills Egg factories Beer brewery Cigarette factories Cold storage 23 1 15 47 Y. 155,880,000 and 82,900,000. 85,200,000 8100,000 82,000,000 82,120,000 82,800,000 7 8800,000 790 14 8300,000 280 17 8137,500 350 11 8260,000 417 1 83,000,000 152 4 81,120,000 100 1 83,300,000 169 25 83,000,000- 525 84,000,000 5 Over 83,000,000 1,126 1 81,000,000 150 3 8160,000 for two 3,500 Chinese factories. 1 8100,000 24 20,100 1,100 500 198 3,550 2,800 5 for spinning, 2 for spinning and weaving, 1 for weaving and dyeing. Annual production, 1,500 piculs. Business: 1923, 83,700,000; 1925, 84,200,000. Products: hosiery, lace, carpets, etc. Sino-Japanese joint ownership. Japanese-owned, two. Capital, 81,210,000. Majority Chinese-owned. Pro- ducts: simple machinery, engines of 4-85 h.p. Including Kiao-Tsi Railway Ssufang Iron Works. Capital, 82,271,900. Including two Japanese modern- style kilns. Total capital, 8760,000. Products: soap, dyes, and leather. Including two Japanese sawmills. Capital, $250,000. Municipal-owned. Capacity of sup- ply, 330,000 tons a month. Producing 8,000 bags a day. Machine-extracted albumen and yolk surpass manual products. Annual production, 400,000 dozens; coal consumed, 1,800 tons. Machines: British Cigarette Com- pany, 70; two Chinese factories, 7. Japanese-owned. 29 450 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 7. Mines and Minerals.—The only mined product of any importance to the Tsingtao district is coal, the iron mines of Tiehshan and the glass (silica) mines of Poshan being operated on a comparatively small scale. The Hwangshan anthracite coal mines are operated by the Luta Mining Company, a Sino-Japanese corporation. Nine pits, with a total mining area of 418 square kilometres, are at work at Penkeng, Nanwang, Shihlichwang, and Shihhu, the pits at Penkeng being the deepest and most productive. The daily rate of production has lately increased from 1,000 to 2,000 tons. The highest production was reached in 1924 with an average daily output of 2,555 tons. The coal is practically smokeless and suitable for railway and factory use. The cost of production is about $3.80 per ton, an advance of 20 cents having recently been caused by the fall in exchange. At Tsingtao the prices per 10 tons of lump coal, coal-dust, and "washnuts" are respectively $160, $97, and $177, the corresponding pithead prices being $110, $47, and $127. About 70 per cent. of the output is consumed locally and in the interior, the remainder being exported to Shanghai and Japan. The Wangpoku mines, some 6 miles from the Hwangshan railway station, are operated by Chinese and have a total area of nearly 3 square kilometres. The daily output is about 300 tons. About 800 tons of coal per month are produced by certain pits which are independ- ently operated in the Hwangshan district. Of the 50 pits in the Poshan district, 38 have had to be closed on account of labour troubles, brigandage, and the insufficiency of the rolling-stock available on the Kiao-Tsi Railway. The daily production has fallen from 2,500 to 2,000 tons. It is estimated that if all the pits could be operated and enough goods trains provided the total daily output would rise to 3,000 tons. Two grades of coal are mined. The cost per ton of production is $2 and that of freight $2.50; 60 per cent. of the output is consumed either locally or in the interior and 40 per cent. exported to Shanghai and Japan. The Takunlun mines in the Tzechwan district, seven in number, are operated by Chinese merchants. The mining area is 809 square kilometres and the daily output is 1,000 tons. The quality is better than that of the Poshan coal, while the cost of production is about the same. Selling prices at the pithead of lump coal, coal-dust, and coke are respectively $12, $7, and $14 per ton; 30 per cent. of the coal is exported. The Kiao-Tsi Railway is the principal consumer and transporter of the coal, on the purchase of which it expends yearly some $500,000, while 50 per cent. of its freight is derived from the output of the coal mines. The total quantity of native coal exported from Tsingtao during 1931 amounted to 322,000 tons, of which 52,000 tons went to Japan and 270,000 tons to coast ports. The amount consumed as bunkers during the year was 180,000 tons, of which 70,000 tons were shipped on board vessels proceeding direct to foreign ports. 8. Communications.—Railways.—The Kiaochow-Tsinan Railway forms the main artery of goods traffic in Shantung, feeding the port of Tsingtao. Running 245 miles from Tsingtao to Tsinan, there is a branch line of 24 miles to the Poshan Colliery and one of just over 4 miles to the Tiehshan iron mine. In order to have an exact idea of the state of the railway when the rendition took place it is necessary to review the conditions prevailing in 1923. Increased traffic had made it necessary for the Japanese authorities to augment the equipment of the Shantung Railway by placing contracts 452 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. there. Unfortunately, a clash occurred with the Nationalist forces shortly after the latter had occupied Tsinan, and so serious did the situation become that large Japanese reinforcements were hurried to the scene of conflict and occupied Tsinan, the Kiao-Tsi Railway, and Tsingtao early in May 1928, and a neutral zone of 20 li all round the occupied area was declared. Cargo, which under normal conditions would have reached Tsingtao, was either held up in the interior or diverted to Shanghai via Pukow. At the beginning of 1929, and since May 1928, through-traffic on the Tsin-Pu Railway had ceased: Japanese troops patrolled the Kiao-Tsi Railway area. In the middle of May 1929, with the withdrawal of Japanese troops, normal conditions began to return. The warfare during 1930, besides hindering the traffic, was the cause of much damage to bridges; almost all were repaired at the beginning of 1931, when a period of calm, which continued throughout the year, allowed the railway to recuperate from the difficult times it had experienced during the previous years. The following table shows the passenger and goods traffic as well as the revenue collection of the Railway:— No. of Passengers. Tonnage of Goods. Total Revenue. S 3,777,054 2,093,815 8,826,000 3,664,721 2,013,477 8,777,293 3,992,994 2,284,935 9,924,033 1925 3,650,300 2,063,367 9,053,026 3,435,939 1,635,355 7,907,523 3,550,875 2,128,274 10,993,865 3,070,194 2,460,500 12,609,608 3,671,134 2,214,125 12,280,673 3,734,731 2,052,206 12,685,769 3,272,454 2,599,308 14,357,304 Roads and Motor Transport.—The roads at Tsingtao are surfaced with either asphalt or macadam. The latter preponderates, whilst the former is to be found in the business and residential sections of the town. Country roads within the municipal confines are macadamised. Throughout the Leased Territory the German authorities maintained the very highest grade of macadam roads, which was rendered easy by the proximity and abundance of road- building material. During the period of Japanese administration roads were kept in good condition and, with the expansion of the city, new ones were laid. Since the rendition of Tsingtao to China the Administration has devoted a good deal of attention to road upkeep, also to road extension in the city and surrounding districts. There are at present about 140 miles of urban roads and 110 miles of suburban roads. In March 1924 the Chefoo-Weihsien motor-car road was opened to traffic, and daily passenger services were maintained from both ends. The distance between the two termini is 180 miles, and nine to ten hours are taken for the journey, including a half-hour stop at Lungkow. The roads are used solely for motor traffic, the cars, about 80 in number, being owned by the Chefoo-Weihsien Motor-car Company. During the years 1925 to 1928 stone bridges were built across the Peishaho, the Hanho, the Wulungho, and the Lungkowho Rivers. Stone culverts and pipe culverts across the roads and stone tracks for wagons were also laid. KIAOCHOW. 453 The following tables will give an idea of the work done during the decade:- 1923. 1924 1925 1926 1927. 1928. 1929. 1930. 1931. 195 600 .. 5,955 44,862 586 5,771 1,595 12,752 1,585 14,865 2,540 34,466 8,840 4,562 46,150 25,901 2,383 | 15,443 16,174 110,395 57,920 1,680 13,437 1,940 15,524 2,933 40,433 :: 320 5,120 11,881 62,277 - :: 795 4,257 1,167 5,087 Culverts ......... Road surface converted from macadam to asphalt: Length .........Metres Area ..........Sq. metres New road-beds: Length ..........Metres Area ..........Sq. metres Macadamised roads repaved: Length ..........Metres Area ..........Sq. metres Concrete side-walks: Length ..........Metres Area ..........Sq. metres Bridges and culverts: Bridges ........ Length ..........Metres Width Pipes, underground: Drainage ......... Metres Sewerage ........ ” Mixed sink ...... » Brick roads: Length ..........Metres Area ..........Sq. metres Channel and stone steps: Channel .........Metres Steps ........... Sections Stone tracks for wagons: Length ..........Metres Stone slab roads : Length ..........Metres Area ..........Sq. metres HEHE 108 98 :::: 3.15 376 2,506 3,169 886 2,285 3,731 933 100 165 966 :: 600 1,350 8,262 10 1,500 249 8,514 782 11,858 1,115 600 4,874 In fact the roads in general have been kept in a good state of repair and form one of the principal attractions of the port. The following motor-bus lines were opened during 1929:- ROUTE. LENGTH. Via OPENED. Miles. 80 193 20 80 Hotseh-Tsining ...... Kaomi-Tancheng ...... Chefoo-Ninghai ..... Lantsun-Yehsien .... Taian-Poshan ......... Yitu-Yangkiokow ..... Taierhchwang-Weihsien Ninghai-Weihaiwei ..... Weihaiwei-Jungcheng .. Weihaiwei-Shihtao ... Kinsiang and Küyeh ........... October Chucheng, Chüchow, and Ichow.. Liukiatan ...... February Lanti and Liaolan .............. June Laiwu and Patow....... Tsingchow and Showkwang ..... June (part of route) Ichow and Weihsien ... Shangchwang and Kiukwan...... September Puliutsun Yaitowtsi.... 230 July 1 " 60 454 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The estimated number of motor vehicles circulating in Tsingtao at the end of 1931 was: passenger-cars, 600; motor-trucks, 127; motor-buses, 102; motor-cycles, 92; against 156 passenger-cars, 9 motor trucks and buses, and 36 motor-cycles at the end of 1922. At the end of the decade under review the sale of cars was greatly reduced owing to fluctuations in exchange. With its good roads Tsingtao is bound to become an excellent market for motor vehicles when exchange settles and general trade conditions improve. Aviation.—The Chinese Navy (North-eastern Squadron) possesses a number of hydro- planes, but commercial aviation has not yet been started. A service of hydroplanes between Shanghai, Tsingtao, and Tientsin is being considered by the naval and civil authorities. Post Office.—In 1922, of the 25 Japanese post offices in Shantung, 12 in the Railway Zone and 12 in the Leased Territory of Kiaochow were closed at noon on the 10th December, the remaining office, namely, that at Chefoo, ceasing to function on the 31st December. As the Chinese Post Office was not established in the Leased Territory of Kiaochow, the withdrawal of the Japanese entailed the provision of a special Chinese postal staff, numbering 148 employees, to take up the work discontinued by the Japanese post offices in that area. Full reports on the working and administration of the Chinese Post Office have been published by the Directorate General of Posts. The following table shows the progress made in Shantung during the decade under review:— 1925. 1926. 1927. 1928. 1929. 1930. 1st half year 1931. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 second class offices ... 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 „ stamp sales agencies .. 11 12 12 13 13 13 14 Mail matter: 2,929,865 3,093,800 3,357,986 3,440,577 3,649,500 4,246,400 2,506,800 139,410 150,435 158,484 160,558 179,100 216,100 116,200 Local delivery: Ordinary 492,799 408,963 476,018 987,246 1,816,100 1,034,800 572,600 Registered .... 1,313 947 859 1,062 1,400 2,900 1,300 Express mail matter: 389 160 127 83 100 Transmission to other places .. 59,706 67,681 62,099 54,451 55,900 81,000 44,600 Parcels Posted. Amount of Money Orders. No. Weight. Issued. Cashed. Kilos. S 1925 17,717 39,684 972,610 . 328,533 1926 25,359 97,420 1,142,167 581,641 1927 14,650 32,488 1,345,401 494,461 1928 15,862 36,871 1,204,186 559,458 1929 38,350 254,828 1,343,453 664,823 1930 18,240 57,594 1,669,798 638,226 1931 (1st half year) 11,456 28,149 957,143 469,075 KIAOCHOW. 455 Telegraphs.—The Telegraph Office was taken over from the Japanese by the Chinese authorities on the 11th December. At the time of the rendition the Japanese explained that the Germans had laid two telegraph cables—one between Tsingtao and Chefoo, and the other between Tsingtao and Shanghai. During the War the Japanese cut these cables, using portions of them to construct a line 530 miles in length between Tsingtao and Sasebo (Japan). About 130 miles of German cable remained in the sea. The question of the landing and operation of this cable was settled by the Japanese Commissioners agreeing to a proposal that one-half of the title to the Tsingtao-Sasebo cable service was to be transferred to China without compensation on condition that China would not grant any further monopoly to any company or national after the 31st December 1930, when the monopoly now enjoyed by the Great Northern and Great Eastern Telegraph Companies in China expired. Before such expiration China was to entrust the management of the Tsingtao end of the cable to Japan. The Chinese Commissioners agreed to the Japanese proposal. The Japanese delegates presented two claims in connexion with the telegraph service:— (a) The establishment of telegraph stations along the Tsingtao-Tsinanfu Railway to be opened for public use. (b) To have the use of the Japanese alphabet (kana) permitted by both the telegraph stations in Tsingtao and those along the railway. The Chinese Commissioners agreed to the opening of a telegraph service at the principal stations along the railway; also to limit the use of the Japanese alphabet to Tsingtao alone and to its use at Ssufang and Tsangkow, where the Japanese mills are, on condition that an additional charge should be paid, which was recognised by the Japanese Commissioners. Since the rendition the head office has been removed to Kwangsi Road, the old head office, situated in Chungshan Road, being made into a sub-office. Owing to the growth of the port, the Tsingtao Telegraph Office was elevated from a third class to a first class office in 1925; and at the same time another sub-office was established at Taitungchen. Receipts for the year 1930, despite the completion of a world-wide radiogram service during the previous year, which affected them somewhat, constituted a record and amounted to some $600,000, made up as follows: the Tsingtao-Sasebo line, $400,000; the Great Northern Telegraph Company, Ltd., $5,000; the Eastern Extension of Australasia and China Telegraph Company, Ltd., $5,000; and the main line, $190,000. Telephones.—The Tsingtao Telephone Administration was formally taken over by China on the 20th December 1922. During the handing-over negotiations, the question of the use of the Japanese language in the exchange by operators was raised, and, after much discussion between the Japanese Commissioners and the Chinese Authorities, the latter agreed to the use of the Japanese language in the exchange for a period of six months, beginning from the date of signature of the agreement on the 1st December 1922. Another question raised was the opening to public use of the Tsingtao-Tsinanfu long- distance telephone, which the Japanese Commissioners were very eager to see continued, in addition to the establishment of a telephone service along the railway. The Chinese Commissioners agreed to the first point; but, though convinced of the advantages of the second, the long-distance telephone service between Tsingtao and the principal 456 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. towns along the Kiao-Tsi Railway, as far as Tsinan, began to operate only from the 1st April 1925. The charge for the use of the line from Tsingtao and Tsinan was $2 for every five minutes or fraction thereof. During the years 1922-31 the number of telephones in use in Tsingtao increased gradually from 2,380 to 3,280; three additional sets of batteries were purchased by the electric company; 650 out of a total of 2,300 telephone-poles were renewed and another 600 were recently ordered. The lines in Tsingtao have been rearranged and new lines of a total length of 3,028 yards laid. The lines between Tsingtao and Tsangkow have been increased from six to ten pairs. There are at present more than 20 subscribers for private lines. Under Japanese control there were three sub-offices: Tsangkow, Ssufang, and Litsun, but the last two were abolished after 1922. A training class in the English language has recently been established for the operators. On the 1st January 1930 the automatic system was introduced and 75 per cent. of the female operators were discharged; an improvement in service and an expansion in demand for telephones have resulted. The total receipts for 1930 were the highest, amounting to $430,000. The total number of telephones in use at the end of the decade was: Tsingtao, 3,200, and Tsangkow (suburb of Tsingtao), 81. Wireless.—When discussing the rendition of Tsingtao to China, the Japanese Commissioners claimed that the wireless service should be used as follows:— (a) Between Tsingtao and steamers on the seas; (b) Between Tsingtao and Tsinan wireless stations; (c) Between Tsingtao and Dairen wireless stations; (d) Use of the Japanese alphabet by the wireless stations at Tsingtao and Tsinan. The Chinese Commissioners agreed to the first point. To the second point they made the following restrictions: that the Tsingtao-Tsinan wireless service will be opened to public use as long as the Tsinan station exists. As to the question of the Tsingtao-Dairen wireless service, the Chinese Commissioners agreed to it on the condition that the Chinese Government would be allowed to establish telegraph stations along the South Manchuria Railway and, if possible, Dairen itself, which was refused by the Japanese Commissioners. As to the Japanese alphabet, the Chinese agreed to limit its use to the Tsingtao wireless service alone. Finally it was agreed that "the Japanese wireless stations at Tsingtao and Tsinan shall be transferred to China on the withdrawal of the Japanese troops at these two places (Tsingtao and Tsinan) respectively, with fair compensation for the value of these stations." The wireless telegraph station at Taihsichen was authorised from the 15th May 1922, when it was opened to public service, under a Governor's Ordinance, to broadcast to ships under way, free of charge, meteorological telegrams twice a day at 8 a.m. and 6 P.M., and typhoon warnings as supplied by the local observatory. In May 1929 two wireless telegraph stations were established, one under the control of the Ministry of Communications and the other under the Reconstruction Commission of the National Government. In August of the KIAOCHOW. 457 same year these two organisations were combined under the sole control of the Ministry of Communications, under the name of the Chinese Government Radio Service, Tsingtao. The particulars of the installations are as follows:— Machine No. 1. Short-wave Machine No. 2. Short-wave Coast Machine. XKM XKN XST 1,000 1,000 2,000 D.C. continuous wave D.C. continuous wave Musical spark 47 52 600-1,000 Fr. 0.50 Land line charge Per Chinese character SO. 10 .. Fr. 0.50 SO. 20 Fr. 0.40 The monthly average number of radiograms for the year 1931 was 3,585 inwards and 3,851 outwards, with 40,420 and 49,264 words respectively. The radio service is getting more and more popular and has entered into serious competition with the Telegraph Administration. There are in Tsingtao also two wireless stations, installed by the local naval authorities and the Municipal Government and operated only for official purposes. 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—Waterways: Conservancy.—In December 1922 the administration of the Tsingtao harbour, waterways, lights, and aids to navigation was taken over by the Chinese Government and became a part of the Shantung Provincial Government. During 1931 an unwatched acetylene light with a visibility of 11 miles was erected on Hsiaokungtao Island. Great Harbour,—With the exception of necessary dredging where silting has interfered with berthing and swinging of vessels, no material change has taken place during the decade under review. A new wharf godown, with a floor space of 7,182 square feet, was completed during 1931; this godown is to be used for outstanding cargo in order to relieve the congestion of the original import godowns. Small Harbour.—New wharf godowns, with a floor space of 3,393 square feet, were erected during 1931. General.—In 1931 work commenced on the new pier running south from Pacific Road, a distance of 1,560 feet. The original intention was that this pier should be used exclusively as a pleasure pier; now, however, it is more than likely that, in time to come, this pier may be the main landing place for passengers arriving at the port of Tsingtao. At the time of writing, a contract is under consideration for the construction of a new mole between Nos. 2 and 3 Moles. The intention is that this new mole, which will take four years to complete, is to be used exclusively for coaling purposes. 10. Administration.—Local and Provincial.—The administrative history of Tsingtao during the last decade covers the whole eventful period of the Chinese regime which succeeded the German and Japanese occupations. In the first two years after the restoration the city came under the sway of General Wu Pei-fu, when General Tsao Kun and he were at the 458 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. national helm. From November 1924 to March 1929 General Chang Chung-chang was in control. In April 1929 Tsingtao came under the authority of the National Government. During the first two periods little municipal progress was made, nor did much development take place during the third period, which was marked by numerous gubernatorial changes. Nevertheless, the city has weathered the vicissitudes of political fortune. Based on the Shantung Treaty contracted on the 4th February 1922 at the Washington Conference, a Sino-Japanese Joint Commission was appointed to make detailed arrangements for the settlement of the Shantung question. It sat from the 26th June to the 5th December of that year. On the 10th December 1922 the former German Leased Territory of Kiaochow was formally restored to China. General Hsiung Ping-chi, then Civil Governor of Shantung, was appointed by the Central Government to be concurrently the Governor of the port. In April 1924 he was succeeded by Mr. Kao En-hung. Governor Kao soon showed himself to be a public-spirited official who, though not exempt from the task of raising military funds, endeavoured to maintain and develop the city. He abolished the obnoxious monopoly of wharf coolies, promoted the establishment of a city bank, modernised some parts of the public utilities, and fostered especially education. One instance of his efforts was the removal of the garrison troops from Tsingtao and the conversion of the vacated Bismarck Barracks into the present Tsingtao University, maintaining the latter partly with the funds thus saved. His work was, however, hampered by the monthly disbursement of $120,000 to the naval squadron stationed in the Kiaochow Bay. On the 5th November 1924, consequent on the collapse of the Tsao Kun regime, Governor Kao was ousted by General Wang Han-chang. Ten days later, Admiral Wen Shu-teh, Commander of the above squadron, assumed charge as the new Governor. Too much occupied with his naval duties he left the administration to his subordinates, under whom public works deteriorated and municipal finances verged on bank- ruptcy, so much so, that when Mr. Chao Chi succeeded him in July 1925 he found the pay of the municipal employees to be four or five months in arrears and that a sum of $1,500,000 was outstanding on the debit side of the accounts. The departure of Admiral Wen marks the end of the first period of the Chinese Administration. Hitherto the jurisdiction of Tsingtao had been under the Central Government; but when General Chang Chung-chang appointed Mr. Chao as the Director General of the Administration, it passed into the hands of the Shantung Provincial Government. Mr. Chao's tenure of office lasted from July 1925 to March 1929, being the longest and the most vigorous one before the advent of the national regime. He reorganised the municipality according to its original status and effected thereby a yearly economy of $600,000. He succeeded, despite the conventional burden of raising military funds, in liquidating the old debts and setting the municipality on a solvent basis. From powerful vandals he rescued the renowned forests of Tsingtao. Tribute is due to his upholding of justice and national rights, to his maintenance of peace and order, especially during the span of the city's political isolation between May 1928 and April 1929, when the territory was under Japanese occupation. When he abandoned his post in April 1929 he left behind a balance of $400,000 in the municipal coffers. Upon the settlement of the Tsinan case early in 1929 the administration of Tsingtao came under the National Government, and its history enters upon the third and the last period. Under orders of the National Government, Mr. Chen Chung-fu assumed charge on the 15th April as the Special Commissioner. In July the city was constituted a Special Municipality under the direct control of the National Government, and General Wu Ssu-yii was appointed as the KIAOCHOW. 459 Mayor, only to be succeeded by General Ma Fu-hsiang (November 1929) and Mr. Ku Ching-en (March 1930) within one year's time. Naturally, changes of such frequency were not conducive to the achievement of lasting improvements. In August 1930 Mr. Hu Jo-yii succeeded Mr. Ku as the fourth Mayor since 1929. Mr. Hu was often called away from the port, but municipal work made steady and extensive progress. Improvements, though not unqualified, in the road system, in parks, in street lighting, in waterworks and bridge repairs, and other lines of public and social enterprise have been noticeable. A supervising committee for a fund of 3 or 4 millions to be raised in four or five years for wharf extension has been formed. On the 16th December 1931 Admiral Shen Hung-li, Commander of the North-eastern Naval Fleet stationed in the Bay, assumed charge as Acting Mayor. Compared with conditions obtaining 10 years ago, all the public works of Tsingtao, with the exception of the harbour administration, have registered general progress. It is true that the potentialities of the port have been prejudiced by the repercussions of civil war, but the steady growth of the city bespeaks also the security which has been inspiring general enterprise. Thus the necessity for foreign participation in the municipal administration, once pressed, has been eliminated and, with the prospect of continued national peace, a great future for Tsingtao is assured. The provincial chairman at present is General Han Fu-chu. The municipal government consists of six bureaux, controlling the harbour, public safety, finance, public works, educational affairs, and social affairs respectively. Four other organisations under the direct control of the municipality are the Observatory, the " Forestry Affairs Office," and the Purchase and Projects Committees composed of its leading officials. Non-Customs Taxes.—Although the province of Shantung, thanks to the existence of the Kiao-Tsi Railway, had the lightest likin system in China, its trade during the last decade was nevertheless fettered by many other kinds of local or practically local taxes. Of these the principal ones were the Kiao-Tsi Railway cargo tax, Shantung province consolidated tax, Shantung province goods tax, wine and tobacco tax, military tax, Yellow River conservancy tax, and the 2\ per cent. surtax. The Kiao-Tsi Railway cargo tax was imposed by the provincial government through the Kiao-Tsi Railway Administration for the purpose of maintaining the Pohai Squadron, then stationed in the Kiaochow Bay. It was leviable on all kinds of rail-borne cargo except those for non-commercial use. The rates varied from 6 to 80 per cent. of the railway freight. The collection was begun in September 1924, interrupted during the summer of 1928, resumed in May 1929, and finally abolished at the end of 1930, when the National Government decreed the general abolition of the likin system. The Shantung province consolidated tax did not figure prominently. The provincial bureau for the collection of it was established in October 1925 and closed in 1926, when the goods tax came in its stead. The Shantung province goods tax was another provincial tax imposed by General Chang Chung-chang when he was in control of this province. The collection, after its beginning in September 1926, ran the same course as the Kiao-Tsi Railway cargo tax. It was leviable at the rate from 2 to 10 per cent. ad valorem on all goods imported, exported, and re-exported, except wine and tobacco and articles for official use. As it constituted an onerous burden on trade the collection met with continual strong opposition. 460 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. In the Kiaochow territory the collection of the national wine and tobacco tax was not begun until July 1926. The collecting offices at Tsinan and Tsingtao have been combined, but they are still independent of the Consolidated Tax Administration. The military tax was levied in 1925 and 1926 in addition to the railway cargo tax. It was collected at the rate of from $50 to $100 per ton of freight. Its revenue in 1926 alone amounted to $2,000,000. The Yellow River conservancy tax was levied again through the Kiao-Tsi Railway Administration at the rate of 10 per cent. on passenger fares and cargo freight. The collection began in 1926 and ceased in 1927. The 2\ per cent. surtax was the last major non-Customs tax. In 1927 General Chang Chung-chang, after the example of General Sun Chuan-fang, of Kiangsu, began to levy this surtax at the Superintendent's yamen on all dutiable goods passing through the Customs. The monthly yield was around $100,000. In February 1929 the collection of the tax was handed over to the Kiaochow Customs. Besides the above taxes there were some minor impositions, such as the alcohol-testing fee, the production and consumption tax of August 1923, the fishing tax of 1925 and 1927, and the factory products tax of May 1927, but they were either abortive or insignificant and are now all extinct. Those that are still in force, together with the new taxes, are the consolidated tax, wine and tobacco tax, cured tobacco tax, salt gabelle, and the testing fee. The consolidated tax, instituted by the National Government in February 1931 as a compensation for the abolition of likin and leviable on certain foreign and native products, incorporated the rolled tobacco consolidated tax and the wheat flour special tax, till then separately collected. The tax is collected partly at the factories and partly on the goods passing through the Customs, the collection of the latter part having been entrusted to the Kiaochow Customs from the 16th May 1931. This new tax system seems to be running smoothly. The wine and tobacco tax is described above. The national cured tobacco tax is levied on leaf tobacco, a staple product of this province. The central office of the Honan, Shantung, and Anhwei Cured Tobacco Tax Bureau is situated in Tsingtao. The collection, begun in the summer of 1931, amounts so far to $600,000. The salt gabelle is leviable on all kinds of salt, whether crude or refined, for cooking or industrial use, for local consumption or foreign export, a limited quantity for export to Japan being permitted. It is only in the last three or four years that the collection has reached 1 million dollars. As regards the testing fee, the Tsingtao office of the Kungshang Pu Commercial Articles Testing Bureau began to function in August 1929. The testing was applicable at first to certain kinds of animals and animal products, later to bee and vegetable products, and, finally, to imported sugar. As a consequence of the strong opposition raised against the Bureau's insisting on testing coastwise exports and imported sugar, the fees therefor have been waived. In addition to the above taxes there are the stamp fee and the slaughtered cattle fee levied at $22 per head. KIAOCHOW. 461 The foregoing comprise practically all the non-Customs taxes leviable on the local trade. The introduction of the business tax or excise, long authorised by the Government as compensation to provincial treasuries, was enforced from October 1931, but the amount due in this city has not been collected. The monthly gross collection exceeds $100,000, the collecting expenditure of which is about one-third. As the monthly expenditure for the Third Route Army alone is $900,000 the proceeds from this new tax are disappointing. 11. Justice and Police.—During the Japanese occupation judicial matters, both civil and criminal, were dealt with by a special court formed in 1917 under the control of the civil administration, with no provision for cases of appeal. Since the retrocession of Tsingtao to China on the 10th December 1922 the District Court was established and, one year later, a branch court was also formed at Litsun for the convenience of that locality. The District Court tries both civil and criminal cases, the latter being in the hands of the Public Prosecutor. The principal judicial authority in the province is the Shantung High Court at Tsinan. Attached to the local court is the Court of Appeal, which hears cases from litigants who do not receive legal satisfaction from the 10 hsien courts, i.e., Kiaohsien, Tsimo, Kaomi, Ankiu, Weihsien, Chucheng, Changlo, Changyi, Jihchao, and Pingtu, controlled by the Tsingtao District Court. The gaol at Litsun is the 6th Prison of the Shantung province and is partly reserved for the keeping of convicts of Tsingtao, while the Detention House, situated on the Changchow Road, is for the temporary custody of those awaiting trial. The quite efficient police force at Tsingtao was first trained in 1922 by the newly established Police Training School at Fangtze for the purpose of taking over successfully the administration from the Japanese authorities. Despite the bandit activities then existing in the Leased Territory and its neighbouring districts, the aim was well accomplished with the assistance of the Peace Preservation Corps when Tsingtao was formally transferred back to China on the 10th December of that year. With a view to avoiding pillaging and fighting, about 1,000 bandits under the chief- tainship of Sun Pei-wan were, however, enlisted as Government troops and quartered in the Kiaochow territory shortly after the transfer. This naturally gave cause for considerable anxiety among the residents at the time, and order in the city was only restored by the speedy removal of these undesirable elements to Fangtze. Since then, and despite the frequent political changes, both the police force and the Peace Preservation Corps have maintained their efficiency and have so effectively checked and reduced lawlessness that Tsingtao may indeed be proud of the rapidly diminishing number of robberies. 12. Military and Naval Changes.—At the beginning of the decade under review, Tuchiin Tien Chung-yu was at the head of military affairs of the provincial government; he was succeeded in October 1923 by General Tseng Shih-chi as Tuli for Rehabilitation of Shantung Military Affairs. At the time of the retrocession, Brigadier-General Sun Tsung- hsien was the Kiao-ao Garrison Commander, his soldiers being stationed at Tsingtao and supported by the local government. When he was promoted to the command of the well- known 5th Division in April of 1924, General Wang Han-chang took his place. In June of 462 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. the same year, Mr. Kao En-hung, Tupan of Kiao-ao, represented to Marshal Wu Pei-fu the undesirability of having troops stationed at this commercial centre, and succeeded in securing his consent to the moving of the garrison, together with its headquarters, to Weihsien, dis- continuing at the same time the monthly contribution towards their maintenance. Only five months later Mr. Kao himself was ousted by General Wang, consequent upon the declaration of armed neutrality of Shantung by the Military Governor General Tseng in the Fengtien- Chihli conflict. In January 1925 General Chang Chung-chang was appointed Bandit Suppression Commander for Kiangsu, Anhwei, and Shantung. He being a native of this province, the people at the outset welcomed him to succeed General Tseng as Tupan for Rehabilitation of Shantung Military Affairs. In October of that year General Wang Han-chang, the Kiao-ao Garrison Commander, having been promoted to the command of the 5th Division, left Tsingtao with his soldiers. General Pi Shu-chen, favourite general of Chang Chung-chang, then held three important offices; that of Defence Commissioner of Kiaotung and, concurrently, the command of the North-eastern Pohai Squadron and the command of the 8th Army. During the Manchurian crisis, in which General Kuo Sung-lin challenged the authority of Marshal Chang Tso-lin, General Chang Chung-chang suffered disastrous defeats near Tsinan, and he, naming himself as Pao An Tsung Ssu Ling, declared as a temporary measure the independence of Shantung province on the 10th December 1925. For a time the local situation became very gloomy, and excitement was only lulled through the defeat and death of General Kuo. Under orders of General Chang Chung-chang, both General Pi Shu-chen and General Chii Yu-pu had been successful in their efforts to recapture Chihli province. Towards the close of 1926 Marshal Chang Tso-lin was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the An-kuo-chun and General Chang Chung-chang as Vice-Commander. During 1927, on the advent of the Nationalist invaders, two well-known figures, General Pi Shu-chen, who lost his battle in Kiangsu, and Admiral Wu Chih-hsing, suspected of having been connected with the revolt of General Chen Yi-shen which took place at Kiaochow on the 4th July, were executed by General Chang at Tsinan. After the death of General Pi, whose soldiers of the 8th Army were disbanded, General Cho Hsiang-peng succeeded him as Garrison Commander of Kiaotung. His troops were, however, obliged to evacuate Tsingtao in June of 1928. It is noteworthy that, due to the rapid advance of the Nationalist Army, some 2,000 Japanese troops were landed at Tsingtao in May 1927; and their withdrawal was completed on the 8th September as a result of repeated protests registered by the local government. The year 1928 witnessed the final successful drive by the Nationalist forces in their Northern Expedition, as well as the collapse of General Chang Chung-chang. When the former had captured Tsinan in May the unfortunate Tsinan incident occurred, in which the troops sent for the second time by the Japanese Government to protect their nationals clashed with the advancing soldiers. The negotiations for the settlement of this affair covered a long period and it was not till May of the following year that they were concluded, whereupon General Wu Ssu-yii led two regiments of gendarmes from Nanking for the taking over of Tsinan, he being charged with the duty of maintaining peace and order in the districts between Tsingtao and the provincial capital. Previous to the arrival of General Wu, General Sun Liang-chen, the then chairman of the provincial government, who had done good work in curbing the activities of bandits in the province, suddenly left Shantung with his troops for Honan. In his place the Nanking Government appointed General Chen Tiao-yuan. KIAOCHOW. 463 The year 1930 was another eventful year for Shantung. At the end of February General Yen Hsi-shan led what he called a punitive expedition against the National Government and, by virtue of its important geographical position, Shantung was at once drawn into the war. In addition to the National forces under the commands of Generals Chen Tiao-yuan, Ma Hung- kwei, and Koo Tso-tung, the Government appointed General Han Fu-chu as Bandit Suppression Commander for Chihli, Shantung, and Honan, and on the 19th April the latter assumed command of the Government units stationed in Northern Shantung. Tsinan was, however, evacuated on the 25th June without fighting and the Government forces under General Han retreated eastward to Weihsien on the Kiao-Tsi Railway. The provincial capital was therefore occupied for a time by Shansi soldiers, and it was not until the middle of August that it once more came into the possession of the Government forces. On the 5th September General Han Fu-chu was appointed Chairman of the Shantung Provincial Government. For the year 1931 Shantung was immune from civil strife and chaos, but banditry was rife in certain districts of the province. Towards the end of the year General Han found it necessary to enlist certain groups of organised bandits into his army. The naval forces played an important role in local politics. At the time of the rendition, Admiral Tu Hsi-kwei despatched here two gun-boats, Haishou and Yungchi, which suddenly left for Shanghai on the 5th April 1923. In January 1924 six gun-boats, including the Haichi, which supported hitherto the south-western provinces against the Peking Government, arrived at Tsingtao under the command of Admiral Wen Shu-teh. Admiral Wen was appointed, in May, Commander of the Pohai Squadron, and was named the Tupan of Kiao-ao in November, during the Fengtien-Chihli conflict. In 1925, when General Chang Chung-chang came into power, he assumed personal command of the naval forces and appointed Wu Chih-hsing as vice-commander. General Pi Shu-chen was for some time commander of the navy, but both he and Admiral Wu were executed by order of General Chang in 1927. Since the downfall of Chang Chung-chang Admiral Shen Hung-lieh has been, and still is, the Commander of the North-eastern Fleet, whose land forces were also entrusted by the Government in December 1929 to take over the defence of the Kiao-Tsi Railway when the Government troops were busily engaged in fighting against the Shansi soldiers. Admiral Shen finally succeeded Mr. Hu Jo-yu as Acting Mayor on the 16th December 1931. 13. Health and Sanitation.—The biggest hospital—the Tsingtao Hospital—which was originally built by the Germans, was reserved by Japan in the Treaty of Rendition. It was left, for a time, in the hands of the Japanese Residents' Association and was subsequently handed over to a semi-official organisation called Tung Jen Hui, which is chiefly interested in carrying on hospital work and other charitable activities. This institution, which was carefully designed by the Germans and has been well maintained by the Japanese, has rendered valuable services to the Japanese residents as well as to the other foreign and Chinese communities. There are 15 doctors, 13 assistant doctors, 50 nurses, and one midwife. Among these are one Chinese doctor, 13 Chinese assistant doctors, and a number of Chinese nurses. The number of patients treated annually increased from 86,450 in 1923 to 135,943 in 1928, including 21,648 and 41,206 in-patients respectively. The in-patients are accommodated in six separate wards in various buildings with 100 beds as a normal capacity. The hospital receives a subsidy of Yen 140,000 per annum from the Japanese Government and an average annual income of Yen 200,000 from fees paid by patients. The other two hospitals built by the Germans and handed over to China at the time of rendition were the Pu Chi Hospital in Shanghai Road and the Isolation Hospital 464 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. in Taishichen. Both of them were under the administration of the Municipality and were in the nature of charity institutions, giving free medical treatment to poor people. In January 1931, however, they were reorganised. The two institutions were amalgamated under the name of the City Public Hospital, with the original Pu Chi Hospital as the head and the Isolation Hospital as a branch. The Litsun Hospital, which had hitherto remained independent under the Municipality, was also made a branch of the City Hospital. Infectious diseases and leprosy cases are treated in the Isolation Hospital (now the first branch hospital), while other cases are attended to by the head hospital and the Litsun branch hospital. A number of wards are provided in all three institutions. The number of patients registered by the three hospitals monthly often exceeds 10,000. There are at present 30 doctors and assistant doctors, and about 30 nurses, and as the hospital receives only a small income from medical fees, it is chiefly financed by the Municipality, which issues a monthly allowance of $6,000. There are also some private hospitals, such as the Chiang Tsii Hospital, the Konglo Women's Hospital, and the Haitien Hospital, all run by Chinese. Chinese doctors who practise medicine in the old way are examined from time to time. Those who fail to pass the examination are forbidden to give prescriptions. It is an established practice that all houses are to be examined twice a year: once on the 15th May and again on the 15th October. All houses, according to rule, have to be thoroughly cleaned and all furniture taken out periodically and exposed to the sun. Fines are sometimes inflicted on the inmates if examinations prove that their houses are below the standard of cleanli- ness, and in all such cases recleaning is invariably enjoined. This has a very salutary effect on the health of local residents. The drainage system in Tsingtao has long been known for its high state of perfection. This reputation the Municipality has strenuously maintained throughout the period under review. The drainpipes that have been laid underground during the decade amount to 14,416 metres in length, costing a total of $80,000. The various pipes which form a network of channels underground are accessible to nearly every building. The main drains under the streets are laid by the Municipality. The small drains connecting the buildings to the main are installed by prospective house-owners after their specifications and designs have been approved by the Municipality. The mains consist of earthenware pipes about 1 metre in length, each with a diameter varying from 45 to 75 centimetres. Following the declivity of the land the drainage flows and concentrates into four central collecting wells, where the sediment is taken out and sold as fertiliser, and the liquid is pumped out to be carried far into the sea at Tantao and Hueichun Cape. 14. Education.—Although no exact comparison can be made, owing to the lack of statistics for 1921, it is safe to say that the most significant feature in the field of education during the decade under review is the enormous growth of national schools of various grades and the popularity and confidence which such schools have inspired among the reputedly conservative populace within the provincial boundaries. Ten years ago many well-to-do parents would prefer to have their children taught by personal tutors, or, if they could not afford to engage one, to send their children to one of the private schools. At present children are usually sent to regular schools for instruction, and private schools as a competitive force have disappeared almost entirely. As a matter of fact, there is now a tendency to overcrowding of students in all schools, especially in those of the middle grade. Hundreds have to be refused admission every year due to lack of accommodation. In September 1931 there were 695,026 KIAOCHOW. 465 students attending 20,020 national schools within the province of Shantung (excluding Tsingtao, which has been a Municipality independent of the provincial government and which will be treated separately) as follows:— (a) Schools established with government (provincial, hsien, and district) funds: 37 middle, with a total attendance of 5,486 students; 46 normal, with 4,072 students; 46 vocational, with 3,536 students; 794 complete primary, with 76,209 students; 17,690 lower primary, with 556,021 students. (b) Schools established by private persons: 1,407 middle and primary, with a total attendance of 49,702 students. Progress has not been confined to regular schools. The Provincial Educational Bureau has established in Tsinan one public library, one mass education institute, one mass cinema, and one mass athletic ground. In the different hsien there are 81 popular lecture halls, 74 public libraries, 24 mass athletic grounds, and four mass education institutes. The provincial treasury appropriated, in the fiscal year 1930-31, $2,142,664 for education; $588,564 to middle schools; $413,904 to normal schools, with an additional $162,000 for free boarding of students; $115,308 to vocational schools; $170,544 to primary schools; and $692,344 to miscellaneous items. The different hsien governments during the same year spent a total of $4,106,038, making the yearly expenditure for educational purposes $6,248,702. According to the 1931 statistics there are in Shantung 3,071,343 children of school age: 1,744,477 boys and 1,326,866 girls, representing roughly 57 and 43 per cent. respectively. Of the 1,744,477 boys, 565,556 are attending schools, while 1,178,921 remain idle. In other words, of every three boys of school age a little more than two are denied educational facilities. Of the 1,326,866 girls, only 39,124 are actually receiving school education, while those who are not so privileged number 1,287,742, making the proportion approximately as 1 to 33. The enormous growth of national schools in recent years has had the most beneficial effect on the population. It is to the removal of popular superstition and ignorance that one must look for progress; and it is the universalisation of elementary education that must form the solid and permanent foundation of the country. It may be premature to expect the enforcement of free and compulsory elementary education in the near future, but the lowering of fees and the increase of schools of all grades, especially the primary, should do a great deal to minimise illiteracy among the rising generation. It is to be hoped that with the more peaceful conditions now obtaining in Shantung the provincial authorities will see their way to make great strides in this direction. Missionary schools in Shantung have decreased during the last 10 years, due to the action of the T'ang Pu and the making of religious courses optional. Some schools have been closed; but those which keep open have flourished on the whole, proving the great demand of society for educational facilities. There are 153 missionary schools of different grades as follows: one university (Cheeloo, in Tsinan); one college (Yih Wen Commercial, in Chefoo); two senior middle schools; 17 junior middle schools for boys; seven junior middle schools for girls; 31 complete primary schools for boys; eight complete primary schools for girls; 63 lower primary schools for boys; 16 lower primary schools for girls; five kindergartens; and two schools for 30 466 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. adult education; 58 schools are established and administered by Americans, 32 by British, 14 by Germans, six by French, one by Swedish, one by Dutch, and 41 jointly by Chinese and foreigners. There are altogether 9,879 Chinese students, comprising 6,683 boys and 3,196 girls. As far as can be judged communism has made little headway among the youths of Shantung, thanks to the conservatism of the people. It is true that recently several cases of alleged communistic activities have been reported, but, generally speaking, the students are well disposed and have been remarkably free from this influence. Having given a general description of the educational conditions of the Shantung province, we may now turn to those of the district of Tsingtao itself. The type of education in the port has undergone a fundamental change since the retrocession of Tsingtao to Chinese administration in 1922. During the German lease and the Japanese occupation Chinese national schools as such did not exist. At present there is, first of all, the National Tsingtao University, which is co- educational and has 110 students. This University commands a beautiful site and a congenial environment, and is gaining increasing popularity. Two middle schools have been established by the Municipal Government and one by private individuals, with a total attendance of 617 boys and 16 girls. For the exclusive education of girls there is a middle school with 190 pupils, established by the Municipality, and another, with 165 pupils, by private individuals. As against 37 primary schools with a total attendance of 3,356 Chinese children in 1921, there are now 106 schools with a total attendance of 17,478 children. At the beginning of the present decade the educational fund per annum was $103,800, while in 1931 it increased to $471,840. Besides the regular schools three societies have been recently instituted to promote mass education. They have opened 10 free schools with some 900 attendants. It is hoped that their efforts will bear fruit in the near future. Missionary educational conditions in Tsingtao seem to have remained more or less stationary. A boys' middle school was established in 1926 by the American Presbyterian Mission and was reorganised in 1929 to suit the requirements of the Chinese authorities. It has now 140 students. Special mention should also be made of the St. Joseph Middle School for girls. This school has been established by the School Sisters of the Catholic Mission of St. Francis of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A. The building was begun in the spring of 1930 and was completed in the summer of 1931. The school was officially opened on the 14th September 1931. It has a Chinese principal and has applied for registration, but is practically administered by three American sisters. It has enrolled a student body of 78 girls. It is claimed that no other girls' middle school in North China can be compared with it as far as building and equipment are concerned. Japanese education in Tsingtao has shown considerable retrogression during the past 10 years. Attendance has shrunk by about 35 per cent. as compared with that of 1921, due to the decrease in the number of Japanese residents. The attendances at the Japanese schools in 1921 and 1929 (latest available statistics) were as follows:— 1921. 1929. Four ordinary high primary schools 2,640 1,813 One boys'middle school 737 420 One girls' high school 318 351 One commercial school 558 264 Total 4,253 2,848 KIAOCHOW. 467 The commercial school was established by Japanese private individuals and has some Chinese students. The expenses of the primary schools, amounting to Yen 141,400 in 1929, are defrayed from taxes collected from local Japanese residents by the Japanese Residents' Association. The expenses for the boys' middle school and the girls' high school—Yen 111,000 and Yen 84,620 respectively in 1929—are covered partly by tuition fees and partly by a Japanese Government subsidy. For the education of European and American children there are the British Redcroft School with 80 students, boys and girls being in equal proportion; the American Tsingtao School with some 50 attendants, there being more boys than girls; the German Deutsche Schule with some 40 pupils; and the Holy Ghost Convent (exclusively for girls) with 100 girls of different nationalities, including six or seven Chinese and a few Japanese. 15. Literature.—Newspapers, Periodicals, etc.—Within the last decade, one after another, 17 news agencies were added to those already in existence. Most prominent among these were the "Ming Kuo Daily News," propagating party principles; the "Colloquial Newspaper," aiming at the education of the illiterate; the "Kung Shan Pao," conveying commercial news for the benefit of labourers and traders; and the "Evening News" and the "Express News," both competing in publishing first-hand information. Besides these, the "Tsingtao Times" and the "Cheng Pao" meet with equal favour from the public in view of their impartial criticism. Ten years ago there were in existence only two papers—one Chinese and one Japanese; during the period now under review the number of newspapers and printing-presses at this port increased nearly tenfold. The following two tables show the newspapers, periodicals, propaganda sheets, and pamphlets now in publication at Tsingtao under various headings:— A.—Newspapers. Name. Date of First Issue. Daily Circulation. Ming Kuo Daily News Tsingtao Times Cheng Pao People's Colloquial Newspaper Ming Pao Chung Hwa Pao Kung Shan Pao Ta Chung Daily News Kiao-Tsi Daily News Kung Pao Wan Pao Kuei Pao Lei Pao Ta Tsingtao Pao Tsingtao Shimpo (Japanese) . . Tsingtao Times (English) June 1929 September 1924 . March 1929 August 1925 . . . February 1930 . July 1926 July 1929 December 1930 . July 1931 May 1930 September 1931 August 1929 September 1931 1914 1914 September 1912 3,500 3,200 3,000 700 2,500 1,600 800 1,000 700 1,000 1,000 800 700 2,000 3,000 1,000 468 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. B.—Periodicals, Pamphlets, and Propaganda. Name. Astronomical Observations Monthly Sea and Ocean Half-yearly Periodical Astronomical Reports Educational Half-yearly Periodical Half-yearly Review of Mass Education .... Kuo Ming Letter-learning Book Ten-day Report of Party Affairs Half-monthly Report of Party Affairs Tsingtao Society Goods Inspection Monthly | Serum Preparation A Study of Eggs Inspections on Animal Fat Methods of Chicken Nourishing T'i Chung Monthly { Railway Monthly Monthly Statistics of Transportation on Kiao-Tsi Railway- Tsingtao University Weekly An Outline of Three People's Principles . . Directions for Propagandists A Preliminary Learning of United Action . Principles for Promoting Native Products .. What Workmen Should be Aware of Direction for Enforcing National Calendar . Extracts of Three People's Principles A Survey of Rural Districts and Directions for Propaganda Forest Cultivation Union Movement Training of Carrier Pigeons How to Take Care of Babies Reports of People's Educational Association { Meteorological Records of Tsingtao The Fifth Anniversary of the Observatory . Index of Tsingtao Library Publisher. Observatory. Bureau of Education. Local T'ang Pu. Bureau of Social Affairs. Inspection and Testing Bureau of Commercial Goods. Kiao-Tsi Railway Administra- tion. Tsingtao University. Local T'ang Pu. Bureau of Public Safety. Chin Pu Hospital. Kiao-ao People's Educational Association. Observatory. Tsingtao Library. Among the leading periodicals may be mentioned the "Monthly Astronomical Obser- vations," the " Half-yearly Coast Report," and the " Reports on Astronomy," all published by the Tsingtao Observatory. The local Bureau of Education issues every six months a "Report on Education at Tsingtao," a " General View of Mass Education," and "The Kuo Ming Letter- learning Book." To encourage the study of party principles the local Kuo-min-tang head- quarters publish a "Ten-day Report of Party Affairs" and a "Half-monthly Magazine." The Bureau of Social Affairs reports its working by compiling a periodical headed with the Bureau's name. A general view of communications at Tsingtao may be obtained from various books published by the Kiao-Tsi Railway Administration, such as "The Railway Monthly," "The T'i Chung Monthly," "The Monthly Statistics of Transportation on the Kiao-Tsi Railway," and "The Railway Gazette." The Tsingtao University publishes a weekly known as "The Tsingtao University Weekly." KIAOCHOW. 469 As regards propaganda and pamphlets, they are generally issued by the T'ang Pu for propagating party principles by means of various writings with a view to effecting reformation in the political administration. 16. Population.—The decade under review has witnessed an enormous increase in the Chinese and foreign population. The increase in the former was partly due to a constant influx from the interior for the sake of protection from the bandits who have continually infested the different parts of the province, while the expansion of trade (as is clear from the fact of a progressive increase in the revenue collection as explained under "Revenue") has made it possible for foreigners to start all kinds of new business in anticipation of greater profits, as, for instance, building enterprises, which have been proceeding well lately and in which many foreigners have invested their capital. There has been a Russian influx into this port of late in the hope that they may make a living, which also accounts for the increase in the number of foreign residents. According to the official census taken lately by the local Bureau of Public Safety, which was carried out with the utmost care and thoroughness, the population, Chinese and foreigners, of the Tsingtao Municipality is recorded at 400,025, showing a density of 725 to the square kilometre. This compares with the record of the last decade, i.e., 240,220, and therefore shows an increase of 85.5 per cent. over the latter figures. The Japanese population has decreased from 24,551 to 14,319. The composition of the whole population is shown in the following table:— Chinese. Foreigners. Grand Total. Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Total. 1,304 62 1,366 148 6 154 1,520 1,102 1,102 1,102 Teachers, etc 2,123 "l86 2,123 25 25 2,148 844 1,030 34 19 53 1,083 2,936 1,602 4,538 312 316 628 5,166 54,723 14,821 69,544 69,544 24,262 13,291 37,553 693 330 1,023 38,576 38,625 3,914 42,539 3,040 564 3,604 46,143 1,132 20 "612 1,744 20 44 18 "26 62 1,744 82 Engine-drivers, chauffeurs, etc. 297 29 326 25 1 352 30 30 2 "23 2 32 Physicians 197 34 231 53 76 307 71 71 5 5 76 18,954 5,767 24,721 5 5 24,726 772 772 312 312 1,084 9,916 4,502 14,418 960 909 1,869 16,287 4,128 45,900 50,028 443 1,533 1,976 52,004 81,552 50,274 131,826 3,865 2,358 6,223 138,049 Total 242,216 141,766 383,982 9,654 6,389 16,043 400,025 Emigration and Migration.—Owing to the great success the Shantung emigrants were able to achieve in Manchuria, Mongolia, and other north-western areas, the exodus continued 470 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. in increasing numbers. Another cause for emigration was exorbitant taxation at home. As was stated in the last Decennial Report, the emigrants were mostly from Laichow, Kiaochow, Ichow, Tengchow, Tsingchow, and Chinchow, and certain western parts of the province. The recent movement, however, has been of a temporary nature, outward in the spring and inward in the winter. The migrants were usually accompanied by their families, who could work for additional earnings. Two routes are open to them: they go either by sea via Tsingtao, Chefoo, or Lungkow, or by land by taking the Tientsin-Pukow Railway and the Peiping— Liaoning Railway. In very rare cases did they go by junk. According to the latest information available the number of emigrants is returned as follows:— Persons. From Tsingtao 282,838 „ Chefoo 153,678 „ Lungkow 81,629 „ Tientsin-Pukow Railway 250,000 By junk 1,855 Minors 38,500 Total 808,500 A movement to send Shantung coolies to West Africa failed through local and Govern- ment opposition. Flood and Famine.—Inundations are of regular occurrence during the wet season of every year, more particularly in the districts along the Yellow River. Fortunately, in this part of the province no serious flood has occurred, except in August of 1925, when a heavy storm passed over the neighbourhood of Litsun, a village about 10 miles from Tsingtao, resulting in the inundation of hundreds of acres of land and the destruction of houses and property. A great number of people perished, while many others were rendered homeless. The place which suffered most from this storm was Chiushui. According to the report of the Police Office at Litsun the estimated casualties were 46 villages inundated and houses destroyed and 73 persons drowned. The Kiao-ao area and places in its neighbourhood did not suffer from any serious famine. 17. Civil Disorder.—Banditry.—Lulled by the peace and security which the city of Tsingtao has been enjoying in recent years, one can hardly imagine the rank banditry that once infested it and its surrounding regions. Throughout the German and Japanese regimes perfect civil order reigned until the spring of 1922, when the dissolution of the Japanese military government in Tsingtao and the restoration of the Kiaochow Territory to China came into effect. In that year 2,000 bandits assembled themselves in Tsimo and, pouring down from their lairs in the mountains of Laoshan, plundered the villages far and wide. Throughout a region 150 miles on each side of Tsingtao, and inland as far as Kaomi, the outlaws were permitted to operate practically unmolested. From June to December between 1,000 and 1,500 persons were kidnapped in the province. Governmental suppression failing, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce sued for peace. A dinner party for the purpose of negotiation was KIAOCHOW. 471 arranged on the 30th November, 10 days before the change of flag; but when the merchants failed to come to terms, they were snatched right away from the rendezvous—a busy hotel— and carried into Laoshan. To add to the embarrassment of the Chinese authorities, the arrival of the Japanese arms, previously ordered, was delayed. When the day of transfer approached the Chinese soldiery found themselves poorly equipped. Fortunately, nothing untoward happened. A few days later the authorities were forced to enlist the well-equipped freebooters as Government soldiers and to appoint their chieftain, Millionaire Sun, as their commander. Numbering 1,000, they continued to be unruly and constituted a constant source of terror to the populace of Tsingtao. Within two months, however, they were transferred elsewhere. Meanwhile, banditry at Shatzukou had grown so rampant that the Customs station there had to be closed in the middle of December. Thereafter the situation became gradually quieter. In March 1923 the post of "Bandit Suppression Commissioner" was abolished. No banditry has menaced the city since. So far as the city of Tsingtao and its surrounding districts are concerned it may be said that its restoration to China sealed the fate of the bandits, because the united regional authorities and the military and naval forces ever since maintained have been too strong for these roaming hordes. As to urban banditry, the city again has a great advantage in its geographical isolation, which affords no easy exit to malefactors. It is shown from police statistics that urban theft and banditry, never rife, are decreasing every year and that kidnapping has not been heard of in recent years; there have even been cases where bandits have fled from the hinterland into Tsingtao for protection, only to be caught in the net of the law. To the heights and valleys of Laoshan, once the dreaded abode of highwaymen, holiday-makers now flock every spring and summer. This at Tsingtao; elsewhere in the province it is otherwise. On the 7th May 1923 there occurred the Lincheng case. Over 70 Chinese and foreign passengers on the Tsin-Pu train were kidnapped and taken to an impregnable valley near Lincheng. The bandits along the Kiao-Tsi Railway became so inspired that the rail night service had -to be suspended for six months. In order to secure the release of the captives, the Government again were forced to recruit the Lincheng bandits into their service and to appoint their chieftain, Sun Mei-yao, as a brigadier. They were able, however, to disband them and bring Sun to justice in December when they attempted further sedition. This had a quieting effect on other marauders for some years. Late in 1928 a form of "big swords society" arose in the west of Kiaochow Bay. Its members, mostly villagers, refused to pay certain taxes and perpetrated many criminal acts, among which was the murder of over 20 salt police. This organisation looked, however, more like a misdirected union for recalcitrants than a professional band of pillagers. They soon dispersed. In South-east Shantung 3,000 bandits led by Liu Hei-tsi, and 1,200 by "Wasp Kwoh," harried the mountainous country-side from the summer of 1931. Provincial troops were sent against them but were of little avail. As the bandits committed no atrocities but merely requisitioned food and supplies wherever they went, and in order to avoid the havoc of war, General Han Fu-chu, Chairman of the Shantung Provincial Government, enlisted both bands under his banner in December and transferred them to North Shantung. So at the moment of writing peace reigns in the whole province. The following members of the staff have assisted in the compilation of this report: Messrs. Y. Akatani, Deputy Commissioner (sections 1 and 2); U. Matsubara, Chief Assistant, A 472 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922–31. (section 7); R. Cousturier, 1st Assistant, A (sections 1 and 8); Ma Gee Shien, 1st Assistant, B (sections 3, 4, and 16); Yu Chen Jee, 2nd Assistant, B (section 15); Chu Chu Rung, 3rd Assistant, B (sections 11 and 12); Chung Wei-chung, 4th Assistant, A (section 13); Chen Kuansoon, 4th Assistant, A (sections 6, 10, and 17); Fang Chia-chu, 4th Assistant, A (section 5); Lu Hwa Ching, 4th Assistant, B (section 14); and H. E. Olsen, Chief Tidesurveyor (section 9). W. R. MYERS, Commissioner of Customs. 31st December 1931. TSINGTAO, 16th June 1932. CHUNGKING. 1. Trade.—Following the success of experiments made in the closing years of the previous decade, steam navigation made rapid strides during the 10 years under review and assumed the leading role in riverine communication on the Upper Yangtze. Resulting from the success of steamer traffic, another feature in connexion with the carrying trade in Szechwan was the discontinuance of the use of chartered junks. The feelings of the junkmasters were embittered, as they were thrown out of work. It was, therefore, but natural that the steamship companies incurred strong opposition from the Junk Guild, which demanded in 1922 that cargoes of a certain nature, especially salt, should be reserved for freighting by junk and insisted that steamers should cease running during the whole of the low-water season. The former proposal was agreed to by some steamship companies at the time, but disputes frequently arose between the two classes of shipping. In the meantime the safer service rendered by steam and motor vessels proved a good recommendation in attracting freight, leading finally to the junk people giving up their opposition. Since 1924 no junks have come under the cognizance of the Customs at Chungking. For one reason or another the demand for certain native goods has advanced at the expense of foreign imports. By far the most striking change is noted in cotton yarn. From 10,000 to 12,000 bales of this article are required every year by countless weaving and/or dyeing factories in the province. The native variety has maintained its firm hold on a growing market owing to its lower price. Japanese and Indian yarn, starting from 53,885 piculs imported in 1921, fell to the insignificant figure of 95 piculs in 1929, then jumped to 3,552 piculs in 1930, but disappeared altogether in 1931. Against the steadily increasing demand for Chinese plain cottons, shirtings and sheetings of British and other nationalities have declined by two-thirds in the last 10 years. They were replaced by native-dyed cloth or foreign cloth native-dyed, which are preferred by the poorer classes. The market commanded by foreign drills and jeans has been lost to manufactures of Shanghai. This can be said also of candles, although they are still supplied by the Asiatic Petroleum Company and the Standard Oil Company, as was done in the preceding decade. There is an increasing tendency among the rural population to use seed and wood oil for illuminating purposes. The free use of kerosene in the hinterland is impeded as the price has been enhanced—partly by the slump in silver and partly by the imposition of numerous taxes at Chungking and en route to the interior. Korean ginseng is being replaced by the better known Kirin variety. But there are other changes which have taken place in the course of the decade. Such foreign printed cottons as cambrics, lawns, drills, jeans, satteens, and satteen drills have been in good demand, in spite of the set-back suffered during the last two years. Beginning from 1925, artificial silk goods have been favoured by the wealthier classes. Woollen Venetians have steadily advanced, while serges, twills, and gabardines are on the decrease. The demand for copper ingots has been considerably reduced owing to the Chengtu and Chungking Mints having limited their operations. The smoking of cigarettes has become popular and both foreign and native brands of all qualities find favour. Foreign wines and liquors have so far failed to compete successfully with the native samshu. White and refined sugar, being superior in quality to the sugar produced in the province, is in greater demand. The increase in motor 474 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. vessels has led to an increased consumption of liquid fuel and lubricating oil. The construction of roads and widening of streets have contributed to an expansion of the trade in gasolene, benzine, motor-cars and cycles. From 1925 to 1931 593 cars and 73 cycles were imported, about half of which are operated in and about Chengtu. The number of ricshas registered at the Chungking Social Affairs Bureau is about 800. Trucks have also appeared on the motor roads. The use of electric torches is constantly on the increase. In this poorly lighted city and the country-side every prudent pedestrian provides himself with one when walking abroad at night. Foreign clocks, watches, photographic materials, musical instruments, and sewing-needles have all found increasing buyers. The local dyeing factories consume aniline dyes in increasing quantities. German fast dyes have achieved better results than other varieties. Because of the difficulty and expense of transportation in mountainous regions, artificial indigo in grains is preferred to liquid or paste. As regards native imports, the demand for fancy cloth and nankeens has decreased markedly, owing to the activities of local factories. Raw cotton has declined as a result of the big quantities of yarn imported every year. The sharp fall in the silver exchange that set in from 1929 caused a decrease in the quantity of foreign goods imported but enhanced the returns value of the same in terms of silver in 1930 and 1931. Articles of European, American, and Japanese origin were particularly affected. Those imported from Hongkong suffered to a less extent. On the other hand, the silver slump benefited the 1930 exports of such staples as wood oil, goat skins, sheep's wool, and grasscloth, bringing about a record for the first-mentioned commodity. The impetus given to exports in the next year was, however, counterbalanced by the world-wide depression of trade. With respect to the exchange on Shanghai, adverse fluctuations were registered in 1924 when military operations were carried on between Kiangsu and Chekiang. In November the remittance rate stood at Szechwan Tls. 1,172 or Szechwan $1,650 for Shanghai Tls. 1,000. The importation of native goods was undoubtedly discouraged, more significantly in the case of cotton yarn, which item alone shrank by 3 J million Haikwan taels in value. Immediately following the news of the Manchurian imbroglio in 1931 the rate of exchange again fluctuated unfavourably up to the end of the year, dropping to Szechwan $1,610 on the 30th November. At this latter rate a loss of $144 would be sustained for every $1,000 remitted. Here the effect was once more to retard the trade in native imports, although stimulating, as it did, the export of silver dollars to the amount of some 25 lacs. Boycotts were staged on several occasions during the period under review. In 1923 the students were active in enforcing a campaign against the importation of Japanese goods. A case occurred in the spring where commodities imported by a certain Chinese firm from Japan valued at Szechwan Tls. 10,000 were all seized and confiscated. In 1925 the May 30th affair at Shanghai was followed by an anti-British and anti-Japanese boycott. The climax was reached on the 2nd July, when a clash occurred between the British naval guard and the boycotters. British residents were called in from the hills the next day. Women and children were evacuated and steamers were laid up from the middle of June till September. The feeling was further aggravated by the Wanhsien incident of the 5th September 1926. Activities of students in speech-making, demonstration, and parading were redoubled, not only in the open ports, but also up river at Luchow and Suifu. On the advice of the Consul British steamers ceased plying to the latter marts, and inland-waters vessels have since changed to the Chinese flag. During the last quarter of 1926 fracas between the boycott pickets and the employees of British firms were of frequent occurrence and British goods were often seized on board steamers and burnt. In the following year the staffs of British and American firms, as CHUNGKING. 475 well as British and Japanese vessels, were temporarily withdrawn from the port, resulting in a heavy decline in the shipping and imports of the nations concerned. Conditions quieted down in 1928, and the anti-Japanese boycott, which started in June and was caused by the Tsinan affair was not a success. In 1929 the anti-British boycott was resumed with the object of obtaining compensation for losses sustained in the Wanhsien case. The movement lacked official support, but was not called off until late in September. The Korean and Manchurian troubles of 1931 gave cause to another and more serious campaign against Japanese goods and shipping. All vessels flying the Japanese flag were withdrawn following the evacuation of the Japanese consular officials and residents on the 15th October. Imports of any nationality were subjected to examination by the Anti-Japanese Association. The importation of certain Japanese piece goods and fishery products ceased entirely during the last three months of the year. No innovation has been introduced by the Chinese mercantile community in their dealings with foreign markets. The traditional method of importing foreign goods from Shanghai and other ports has remained unchanged. It is to these same ports that exports for abroad are shipped in the first instance, awaiting there prospective buyers, for shipment to the final destination. Direct importation or exportation is almost invariably made by foreign firms, except in so far as Hongkong is concerned. Nevertheless, one noteworthy change should be put on record. Formerly Chungking served as an outlet for many products of Yunnan, Kweichow, Shensi, and Kansu, but owing to the creation of various local taxes in recent years this trade has ceased to pass through the city. For instance, "t'o-ch'a," a kind of Yunnan black tea, formerly exported via Chungking has, since 1925, been sent through Indo-China by sea to Shanghai and has become an import. The medicines of Shensi and Kansu, instead of coming first to Szechwan as before, now find their way by the Han River to Hankow. For similar reasons there is a growing tendency among dealers in the interior and neighbouring provinces to order their goods direct from Shanghai and elsewhere by parcel post—goods, such as diagonal twills, artificial silk and cotton mixtures, etc., which have hitherto been imported at Chungking and then sent inland. The number of foreign firms in this district is 24, as against 36 at the end of 1921. 2. Shipping.—The Upper Yangtze during the decade under review has witnessed a great increase in shipping both on the Ichang-Chungking section and on the section of the river above Chungking. On the lower section, i.e., Ichang-Chungking, the number of vessels grew rapidly until 1928 and 1929, when there were operating some 58 vessels, totalling approximately 18,000 registered tons, but for various reasons the figures declined by the end of 1931. Disturbed conditions from time to time adversely affected shipping, and boycotts of foreign vessels and commandeering of Chinese vessels for military purposes added to the difficulties of operation. On the upper section, i.e., Chungking-Suifu and Suifu-Kiating, the number of vessels also grew rapidly, but trade conditions were much more difficult on this section, owing to military interference and over-taxation. Towards the end of 1926 foreign-owned vessels were unable to operate, and Chinese shipping was almost entirely under military control until 1931. A notable feature of the increased tonnage was the number of motor vessels, mostly small boats designed for operations on the upper section but able to run on the lower section during the winter, or low-level, season. At the end of the decade there were 28 small vessels operating on the river above Chungking, 26 of which were motor vessels. On the lower section a larger type of motor vessel appeared, designed primarily for the low-level run, and two even larger 476 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. motor vessels intended for the Shanghai-Chungking through run. With their low overhead expenditure, larger carrying capacity, and independence of operations, motor vessels are very suitable for the Upper Yangtze provided they have sufficient power. A number of oil-burning steamers also appeared on the lower section. Certain coal-burning steamers were converted to oil fuel but, for various reasons, many of them were converted back to coal. The proportion of coal and oil burning vessels, including motor vessels, at the end of 1931 was about equal. Junk traffic decreased considerably with the development of steamer navigation, but there are still a large number of native craft plying on the river. 3. Revenue.—The total revenue collection for the decade 1922-31 amounted to Hk.Tls. 8,646,305 (including famine relief surtax, Hk.Tls. 47,765). It represents an increase of Hk.Tls. 3,731,172 as compared with that of the previous decade, the highest record being Hk.Tls. 1,530,734 in 1931, and the lowest, Hk.Tls. 589,000, in 1923. The introduction of the new National Import Tariff in 1929 and the assessment of import duties on a gold basis in 1930 did not affect in a marked degree the revenue of this port, inasmuch as imports of foreign origin arrived mostly via Shanghai under exemption certificates. The addition of a 2\ per cent, surtax on export and coast trade duties in 1929 resulted in a substantial increase under these two headings, and as a natural consequence export duties jumped from Hk.Tls. 610,087 in 1926 to Hk.Tls. 1,071,265 in 1930. The export duty, a part of which is now known as interport duty, amounted in 1931 to Hk.Tls. 1,040,108. The abolition of coast trade duty in 1931, which realised Hk.Tls. 72,772 in 1930, is amply covered by the 2\ per cent. surtax levied on interport trade. It is interesting to note the sudden rise in import duties in 1931 from Hk.Tls. 89,172 to Hk.Tls. 486,778. This advance is due partly to the increased tariff rate and partly to the extension of bonding privileges to bulk oil at this port. Duty on this item alone contributed in 1931 Hk.Tls. 351,537. As much as 80 per cent. of the total revenue collection is derived from local produce moved out of the province. Inward transit dues dropped from Hk.Tls. 55,975 in 1926—the record figure during the decade—to Hk.Tls. 7,251 in 1930, owing to the increasing activity of inland tax offices en route and the introduction of new taxes, reducing the usefulness of the Inward Transit Passes. Tonnage dues rose from Hk.Tls. 539 to Hk.Tls. 3,848, collected mostly from inland-waters vessels. Under additional duties and surtaxes, Hk.Tls. 362,535 was collected for 1929, Hk.Tls. 436,642 for 1930, and Hk.Tls. 722,494 for 1931. The collection of coast trade duty and transit dues was abolished on the 1st January 1931, while the new Export Tariff and interport duty came into force from the 1st June 1931. The following table shows the revenue collection for the decade under review:— 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 Import. Hk.Tls. 30,460 32,136 44,060 43,085 38,506 20,053 74,274 89,172 89,097 486,778 Export. Hk.Tls. 501,203 496,982 598,645 549,147 610,087 569,329 594,104 967,100 1,071,265 331,145 Transit. Interport. Hk. Th. Coast Trade. Inwards. 708,963 Hk.Tls. 29,833 28,320 32,876 41,018 45,419 25,367 35,138 80,043 72,772 Hk.Tls. 26,158 30,761 39,710 24,254 55,975 30,019 17,009 10,589 7,251 Outwards. Hk.Tls. 60 Tonnage. Hk.Tls. 539 801 1,221 990 3,594 3,452 3,265 1,119 1,548 3,848 Total. Hk.Tls. 594,621 589,000 716,512 670,112 781,094 650,486 723,790 1,148,023 1,241,933 1,530,734 CHUNGKING. 477 The foregoing figures include famine relief surtax: 1922, Hk.Tls. 6,368; 1925, Hk.Tls. 11,618; 1926, Hk.Tls. 27,513; 1927, Hk.Tls. 2,266. 4. Currency and Finance.—The changes in the monetary system of this province during the last decade can best be traced in the history of the two mints at Chengtu and Chungking. The former was established in the year 1898. It first produced silver dollars and half-dollars on a small scale and then copper cents of the 5-cash and 10-cash denominations. In the last few years of the Manchu regime copper cents of the 20-cash denomination began to be minted. Immediately after the revolution the Provisional Government felt the pressure of heavy expenditure and found relief in (1) the discontinuance of minting copper cents of small denominations, (2) the adoption of 50-cash and 100-cash coins, (3) the reduction in weight of silver dollars from K'u-p'ing Tls. 0.72 to 0.71, and (4) the issue of military notes. In 1914, when military notes depreciated so much that they could hardly be circulated in the province, the mint started to turn out copper cents of the 200-cash denomination and further reduced the weight of the dollar to K'u-p'ing Tls. 0.70 to redeem the depreciated notes. The people began to lose confidence in the provincial currency, which degenerated still more in 1926 with the decentralisation of the political administration and military control, and the subsequent disintegration of the whole province into several so-called autonomous garrison areas. In order to raise the necessary funds to maintain his army nearly every military leader had a mint of his own, which turned out silver and copper coins of various sizes, denominations, patterns, and composition. It was estimated that there were then not less than 40 mints established in this province, and it was said that about 70 varieties of coins had been collected by the Currency Department of the Ministry of Finance. After two years of such abnormality, General Teng Shih-hou, who controlled the Chengtu Mint, took the lead to reinstate the big dollar as legal tender in all business transactions and ordered, in 1928, the suspension of minting of debased and depreciated coins, which were remelted to produce good coins, with a view to relieving the loss and inconvenience suffered by the people. Other military leaders, .finding that the debased coins depreciated so much that there was no longer a margin of profit, followed the example set up by General Teng and closed their mints one after the other. The monetary system of this province was thus restandardised. A list of silver coins now in circulation at Chengtu, with their rates of exchange, is given below:— Description. Rate of Exchange. Remarks. Big dollars: Copper cash. "Dragon" dollar Republican dollar 16,200 16,200 16,200 16,200 12,800 Minted at Chengtu. Yuan Shih-k'ai dollar Sun Yat-sen dollar Defective dollars . . Debased dollars: Chungking dollar . . . Chin Tsau Pa dollar . Yunnan dollar Other debased dollars 14,000 11,000 7,200-11,200 4,200- 7,200 Minted at various district mints. Subsidiary coins: "Dragon " half-dollar . .. Yuan Shih-k'ai half-dollar Chengtu half-dollar Canton 20-cent piece 7,200 6,000 5,000 2,000 478 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The Chungking Mint was organised in 1905 but was not operated until after the revolution. At first it produced only copper cents of 50-cash denomination. In 1915 copper cents of 20-cash denomination were also minted. The 100-cash variety was turned out for circulation in 1922. A few years later, when the provincial monetary system was upset by the establishment of private mints by the military leaders and the coinage of debased money, the Chungking Mint followed suit and put into circulation debased copper cents of 100-cash and 200-cash denominations, also debased silver dollars. These debased coins, having an intrinsic value many times less than their face value, were accepted at such a big discount that the Mint found their minting no longer profitable. Consequently its operations were suspended and its plant converted for the manufacture of small arms under the name of the Chungking Manufacturing Works. At Chungking all the debased dollars disappeared from the market, the big dollar being the only standard money acceptable in all business transactions, with copper cents of 200-cash and 100-cash denomination as subsidiary coins. The following table of exchange shows the depreciation of copper cents during the decade as compared with the silver dollar:— 1922 2,300 1927 8,800 1923 3,000 1928 8,800 1924 3,300 1929 11,400 1925 4,800 1930 15,000 1926 6,700 1931 15,600 Sycee and copper cash are now rarely seen. The supply had long since been greatly reduced; the sycee was entirely absorbed by the mints, while copper cash, having an intrinsic value much greater than its face value, was clandestinely remelted either by the mints for coinage of copper cents or by individuals, who cast the cash into ingots and put them on the metal market as brass or bronze. However, in spite of the fact that there was not much silver bullion in actual existence, the tael was still recognised as the standard monetary unit in all business transactions; prices, exchange rates, etc., were quoted in taels until the year 1930, when the 21st Army Headquarters issued an'order abolishing the tael and designating the big dollar as legal tender. This action ended the long career of sycee in the money market in this centre. Since the moratorium declared in 1916 on the notes issued by the Bank of China and the Bank of Communications, the money market and the general public lost confidence in bank-notes as a medium of currency, and no more notes were in circulation until the Young Brothers Banking Corporation issued a note under the name of deposit receipt. In 1929 all notes were withdrawn, the issuing bank having suffered great loss through the circulation of counterfeit notes. The Chung Ho Bank suffered even more severely from the same evil, and it never recovered. There are still a number of unredeemed notes in the hands of the public. The notes printed in 1918 and issued in 1930 by the Bank of China and those printed in 1922 and issued in 1927 by the American-Oriental Bank of Szechwan are bank-notes in the strict sense of the term. In 1930 note-issuing became general with all banks except the Young Brothers Banking Corporation and the Salt Bank of Szechwan. The Cultivation Bank of Chwan Kong put into circulation deposit receipts of $1, $5, and $10 denominations with a total value of over 1 million dollars. The Central Treasury of the 21st Army issued a note under the name of "land tax certificate." It is claimed that the total amount is 1.5 million and that sufficient 480 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Besides the use of the time-honoured natural fertilisers in the form of manures, seed-cake, decomposed weeds, grain husks, etc., artificial fertilisers have recently been introduced and are growing in favour among the farmers. Trained men sent out by the Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. are travelling far and wide in the interior to show the farmers the use of sulphate of ammonia, etc., and a favourable market has already been established at Kiating. Among the principal agricultural products destined for abroad, special mention may be made of wood oil. Starting at the beginning of the decade at the modest figure of 64,021 piculs, the trade made rapid progress, and the year 1930 recorded a total export of 482,371 piculs. Demand was brisk and prices were good. Adulteration then became rampant as the result of which the trade suffered a serious set-back. During the following year (1931) an export of only 284,256 piculs was recorded. The authorities, realising the folly of this suicidal policy of the ignorant farmers, at once took steps to remedy matters and a well- equipped wood oil testing bureau under the charge of a qualified chemist was established in the autumn of 1931. Since then trade began to revive and is now well on its way to recovery. The years of civil war had unfortunately devastated, in no small degree, the vast forests along the borders of the province. Lectures dwelling on the advantages of forests to farms were given under the auspices of the Bureau of Reconstruction. Regulations for the preservation of forests were promulgated. In Chungking alone over 100,000 trees were planted in 1931, while at Neikiang and Weiyiian similar action was taken in 1930. Afforestation is growing into favour and it is expected that in another 50 years the province will possess numerous magnificent forests. 6. Industrial Development.—The cost of living at Chungking more than doubled during the decade. The price of rice increased from $2 to $3.20 per tou of 40 catties, but sometimes reached $5 and even $7, as in 1924, when famine conditions prevailed. Wages as well as house-rent advanced by 100 per cent. In 1922 a tailor received $0.35 a day, but cannot be engaged now for less than $0.70. A mechanic receives $20 to $50 per month now, as against $10 to $20 ten years ago. Collective bargaining was never seriously practised by Szechwan labourers until 1927, when, in consequence of agitation by students and others, labour unions sprang up like mushrooms. Shoemakers, printers, and bristle-cleaners went on strike for higher wages. In March 1927 timely action by the authorities averted serious trouble arising from the Nanking incident. Ringleaders and communistic agents were either brought to justice or chased away. Later, the Association of Labour Unions was dissolved by the local authorities, in pursuance of Government orders, after which strikes were of less frequent occurrence. On the other hand it is interesting to recall that strikes were staged more than once by merchants in protest against the introduction of new taxes. Labour unions are now restricted to trade clubs, of which the registered number is 47. The membership of each club varies from 50 to 2,600; in all about 20,000 labourers are enrolled. No remarkable industrial development has been made in Szechwan in the use of modern machinery. The spinning of cotton yarn is still a home industry. Cotton cloths are woven on wooden hand-looms to meet the demand of the locality. Many small factories and shops are scattered all over the province, and the fact that 80 per cent. of the cotton yarn imported is consumed in the interior serves to indicate the extent of their activities. Only one factory is equipped with foreign-style machines. There are 40 dyeing and weaving concerns operating 482 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. writing, its boiler and engine have been installed. Soap is produced by the Lo Shan Ch'ang. 4,000 cases of laundry soap at 100 cakes per case, and 1,000 dozen of toilet soap are manufactured per annum and are sold at the wholesale price of $10 and $1 per unit respectively. Among the raw materials used, coconut oil and caustic soda are imported, while animal tallow is obtained in the province. The products are in good demand throughout Szechwan. Locally produced towels find a ready market. They are made by six factories, the estimated output of which is 50,000 dozen a year. Soda ash is made by two factories established in 1922, one at Kiating and the other at Pengshan. In the manufacture of crude machinery and parts and in minor engineering repair work, the province has been rendered more independent than 10 years ago by a number of engineering works of which about 22 operate at Chungking and its vicinity. Some are furnished with the most rudimentary tools, and others with a better variety of machines. The total annual turnover is estimated at $600,000. Larger machine shops are also kept by the military at various places. There are 82 silk-reeling establishments in the province, of which 17 are installed with modern machinery and the rest with wooden or hand reels. There are nine steam filatures, as compared with 10 in 1921, conducted at Chungking and the neighbouring town Tzechikow, with a total capital of approximately $1,200,000, employing 4,100 hands and 2,800 machines. The Yu Hsin Factory, a Sino-Japanese concern, is the most successful in the whole industry. As is shown by the statistics of the Silk Merchants' Guild, 5,996 iron and 7,960 wooden reels are employed in the above 82 establishments. The number of imported machines has increased from 3,686 in 1926 to the present figure. Two-thirds are of Japanese style and the remaining one-third are of Italian type. There are also about 2,000 small factories, each with not more than 20 wooden reels. The annual output of the whole province is estimated at some 16,000 piculs, out of which 12,000 piculs are intended for export. The silk-weaving factories at Chengtu, Kiating, and Shunking have taken no forward strides in the use of modern machinery. Szechwan satins, crepes, pongees, and other silks consequently are still inferior to the products of Hangchow in quality and pattern. General conditions in the industry may be exemplified by those at Shunking, where only 45 iron looms are operated by hand in three major companies, producing in a month 270 pieces of crepe of 5 chang in length. The Chengtu Reconstruction Bureau has a plan for starting three factories with a joint capital of $300,000; one to be established for the weaving of silk piece goods, another for the manufacture of blankets, and the third for the making of gunny bags. No improvement has been made in the grasscloth and sugar industries. A small paper mill in which new methods will be adopted is being erected at Liangshan. A rice mill was founded in 1924 and is doing well. In some leather tanneries and factories which produce good articles, the process of machine-pressing is followed. Two ice-works, one started in 1922 and another in 1929, utilise modern machinery and produce daily about 12,500 pounds of ice in summer. Some scores of lifting-machines are used at Tzeliutsing to raise brine from salt wells. The Tsi Ho Hydraulic Electric Plant was established in 1926 at Luchow and is able to supply electric current for more than 50,000 lamps. Similar companies are under flotation at Peipei and Kwanhsien. There are 25 printing-houses functioning at this port. 7. Mines and Minerals.—Szechwan has long been known as the El Dorado of metallic minerals in China. It produces all kinds of minerals, including precious metals as well as iron and copper, but, owing to political unrest and to the lack of modern facilities for CHUNGKING. 483 transportation, practically no progress had been made in the exploitation of these hidden treasures during the decade under review. On the contrary, what were once prosperous mines either have been shut down altogether or have declined in activity. There may have been some isolated instances of new development, but, in the total absence of systematic investigation or an accurate record of statistics which can be consulted, treatment of this subject is difficult. Of all the mineral riches in this province, gold is the most important potentially. There are two kinds of gold produced in different parts of the province, viz., alluvial gold and gold in quartz veins. The former is found along the valley of the River Min, whereas the latter exists, sometimes together with the alluvial variety, in the region extending from Tienchiian through Ningyiian down to Hweili. In 1930 General Teng Hsi-hou sent two operating parties to the first gold-producing district: one party to resume operations at the rich mine at Changla, in the district of Sungpan, which was abandoned by its original owner on account of the uprising of the natives, and the other party to open up a new deposit at Erhkai in the same district. Recently it was reported that the work at the latter mine had been interrupted by the continual interference of the uncivilised tribesmen inhabiting that mountainous region. There was another gold mine situated at Lungta, in the second district mentioned above. It was found by two prospectors, who worked it for only two months and reaped a reward of 3,000 taels of gold for their courage and hard labour. But the superstitious and unfriendly aborigines obstructed further development and the mine was abandoned after one of the prospectors had lost his life. Since then no further attempt has been made to touch this hidden treasure. Silver had been known for a long time to exist in the ranges of Liangshan, the lair of the fierce tribesmen called nosu or, by some, lolo, who have resisted all attempts to open up the land. In 1925 some adventurers, driven by necessity, conceived the idea of organising a mining company, the capital of which would be partly subscribed in the form of arms and ammunition. With this combination of capital and protection, mining operations were started and carried on profitably in spite of the fact that large sums had been spent for preliminary work and for the maintenance of a large body of armed guards. These guards had encounters with the tribesmen all through the two years' existence of the mine and were finally overpowered by them and the mine was abandoned. Iron is a very common metal occurring in the form of hematite, siderite, and limonite in many parts of the province. Rich hematite deposits were reported to have been found in the districts of Nanchwan and Weiyiian; but up to the present no mine is known to be operated along modern lines. The ore is excavated by hand labour with pick and shovel and smelted in the ancient crude way, with the result that all the iron produced in this province and put on the market is mainly white pig iron, which is brittle and hard and consequently unfit for most purposes. Recently a modern blast furnace has been set up at Weiyiian for the manufacture of grey cast iron, a form of iron which finds much wider application in the field of industry. At the same time General Liu Hsiang, of Chungking, appointed a committee to organise an electric steel plant, utilising the machinery and electric furnace purchased in 1920 by his predecessor but still lying idle in their original packing. Preparations are now under way to assemble and install these machines. Coal is not mined on such an extensive scale as in other provinces, although Szechwan is potentially a large coal-producing country. This fact may be partly attributed to the lack of development of modern industries that obtain their motivating power from this form of fuel. 484 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Along the Yangtze Valley within the border of this province, coal-pits are a common sight on the hillside. Two big mines are located at Lungwantung and Kingkangpei in the district of Kiangpei. A railway 10 miles long has been built especially for the transportation of coal from the colliery to the waterfront. In the same district a big enterprise was undertaken jointly by the gentry and the municipal government of Chungking in the exploitation of the rich iron ore and coal deposit of Huayunshan. It was reported that six plants had been erected and that over 2,000 men, including experts and engineers, were engaged in the work. The main products at present are coal and sulphur. Presumably the iron ore is pyrite, which contains a high percentage of sulphur. Cinnabar, a variety of mercury ore, was reported recently to have been discovered in^ the district of Suishan. A mining company was immediately organised to exploit it. Although the mine is said to be still in operation, its development will be hindered by the action of the military authorities in limiting the movement of the liquid metal, which is an important material for the manufacture of detonating explosives. Occasional reports of the discovery of petroleum at such localities as Nanchwan, Ningching, and Tzeliutsing have appeared in the newspapers, but so far no attempt has ever been made to vouch for their authenticity either by the Government authorities concerned or by individual entrepreneurs. Without the support of proper geological evidence from a competent expert, these reports can be looked upon only as the propaganda of ambitious prospectors. 8. Communications.—The Pei-Chuan light railway running through the coal-mining district at Wenhsinchang, about 30 miles north-east of Chungking city, on the Kialing River, constructed under the supervision of Mr. J. Schultz, a German engineer, at a cost of $41,000 for a distance of 10 miles, was opened to traffic on the 3rd January 1930. The line is mainly employed for the conveyance of coal, while passengers are allowed only when circumstances permit. Owing to the limited scope of its activities, the line is running at a loss. Further extension is contemplated and the promoters are confident that the line will at least be self-supporting when the desired extension is completed. Motor road construction in the province featured prominently during the decade under review. The military authorities must be congratulated for taking the lead in this important constructive work. Needless to say, it is not an easy task to build hundreds of miles of well-laid roads over a hilly country intersected by deep valleys, high peaks, dangerous slopes, and perpendicular cliffs. Construction work to connect Chengtu, the provincial capital in the west, to Wanhsien in the east of the province is progressing satisfactorily. The first stretch, of 140 li, extending from Chengtu to Chienchow, started in the middle of the decade, has been completed and opened to traffic. The second stretch, from Chienchow to Chungking, which is divided into 10 sections, is in the hands of the Yu-chien-malu Chii and is still under construction, two-thirds having been completed at a cost of approximately 6 million dollars. The section between Chungking and Wanhsien, of a total length of 698 li, is handled by the Yu-wan-malu Chii, with headquarters at Wanhsien. Of this section only 90 li have so far been completed. The line is planned to pass through Liangshan, Tienkiang, Changshou and Kiangpeh. Another trunk line of 600 li, extending from Tungchwan to Paoning, in the northern district, has been completed and opened to traffic. The Kiachii Malu, covering a CHUNGKING. 485 distance of 385 li from Shunking to Chiihsien via Kwangan and Yochih, was completed and opened to traffic on the 1st October 1931. A number of short and less important motor roads have also been constructed and will eventually link up with the more important trunk lines. It is estimated that 1,000 miles of motor roads are now under construction and will be open to traffic in the near future. Aviation is a comparatively new innovation in this province. The first aeroplanes were brought up by General Ch'en I—who was appointed Chiangchun of Szechwan—from Peking in 1915. After a few trial flights the machines were left unused and more or less discarded. No serious efforts, however, were made to develop flying either militarily or commercially until 1927, when General Liu Hsiang, convinced by Mr. Wu Shu Ch'i, a returned engineer from France, took the matter in hand. In the following year a delegate was sent to Paris to purchase aeroplanes, accompanied by a batch of students to study aeronautics in France. Half a dozen aeroplanes were imported under the care of these students, who completed their course in the spring of 1929. An aerodrome was constructed at Kwangyangpa, about 20 miles below Chungking city. On the 21st February 1930 an experimental flight was made with one of the imported aeroplanes, piloted by Mr. August Hansel, a German aviator, much to the amazement of the local citizens. The Air Force has since been strengthened and the 21st Army now claims to have a couple of dozen machines at its disposal. As regards commercial flying, the China National Aviation Corporation inaugurated their half-weekly Hankow-Chungking service on the 22nd October 1931 after having first made a successful trial flight on the 11th of the same month. A regular mail and passenger service has since been maintained, completing the Shanghai-Chungking journey in two days, as against a fortnight by steamer. Steps have been taken to extend the line farther west to Chengtu. For a considerable period and especially during the time when the province maintained a sort of autonomous rule independent of the Central Government, the control of the telegraph system fell into the hands of the various military leaders. Communication with Ichang was not infrequently interrupted through the removal of telegraph poles and wire by bandits. Matters began to improve in 1929, when Mr. Huang Peng-hou, appointed by the Board of Communications, assumed office, and the Szechwan Telegraph Administration was again brought under the direct control of the Central Government. There are 52 branch telegraph offices in this province, with lines connecting the neighbouring provinces of Hupeh, Kweichow, and Yunnan. Until recently no public telephone system existed in Chungking city, but a limited exchange was installed in 1918 expressly for the use of the police force and the Government offices. A few privileged firms were included in the list of those allowed to use the system, but the service was poor and unsatisfactory. In 1929 the Municipal Bureau made serious efforts to introduce the telephone as a public utility undertaking. A municipal loan of $600,000 was floated and a contract was signed with the China Electric Company to supply the necessary equipment and expert labour for its installation. Over 300 telephones have been installed, while provision has been made for 3,000 subscribers. Preparations are now under way to extend lines across the river to Kiangpei and Nanan. Apart from the city exchange, almost all the rural districts and villages are connected by long-distance telephones. In Pahsien (Chungking) district alone 2,565 li of line, bringing 58 villages into touch with each other, are in operation and further extensions are being made. CHUNGKING. 487 the rival parties, very little has been accomplished. It was not until the 21st March 1929 that the present provincial government was formally organised at Chengtu, with General Liu Wen-huei as Chairman and 13 other military leaders as members. The actual power is still vested in the hands of the various military heads, whose authority is invariably respected in the area under their control. The provincial government is composed of a Chairman assisted by the following Departments: Department of Administrative Affairs; Department of Finance; Department of Reconstruction; and Department of Education. The Chungking Municipal Bureau was known at the beginning of the decade as the Chungking Port Administrative Bureau. General Yang Sen, who was then in charge, had planned a series of improvements. Work was taken in hand according to plan, but was interrupted by military operations. In 1922 General Teng Hsi-hou was appointed to take charge of the Bureau, which was reorganised under the name of the Chungking Municipal Bureau. Nothing specially worthy of mention was accomplished during his tenure of office. Actual constructive work only began in 1926, when General P'an Wen-hua took over charge. An area extending 15 kilometres above and 15 kilometres below the city of Chungking was marked as the sphere of municipal activities. After two years of steady progress, labouring under great financial difficulties, the Bureau was again reorganised and styled a municipal government in accordance with the laws promulgated by the National Government, with General P'an as the Mayor. The functions of the municipal government were executed by the following seven bureaux: Financial Bureau; Social Affairs Bureau; Works Bureau; Education Bureau; Public Safety Bureau; Land Bureau; and Militia Bureau. The district on the right bank of the main river opposite to the Chungking city and Kiangpei, on the Kialing River, are governed by two sub-departments of the Chungking municipal government under the direct control of the Mayor. During the last two years municipal improvements, such as the construction of new roads, building of wharves, laying out of parks, widening of existing roads, erection of waterworks, creation of business centres with buildings built on approved plans, etc., were pushed ahead at all costs. Steps are being taken to improve the electric lighting system. The first Chengtu Municipal Government was formed in 1925 with Brigadier-General Wang Chih-yi appointed as Tupan by General Yang Sen. Considerable improvements were accomplished, and the present wide roads, public gardens and parks, etc., were constructed by them, and the Chengtu residents owe much to these two generals for their welfare and comfort. Likin and other taxes levied by the local authorities remained unchanged, in spite of requests from the people for relief. The various taxes of the Chungking district were amalgamated on the 1st October 1929 under the Chungking General Tax Bureau which, on the 1st June 1931, was renamed The Eastern Szechwan General Tax Bureau. Sub-offices were established at Hochwan, Fouchow, and Yuyang, and the Wanhsien Tax Bureau, which was run hitherto under a separate chief, was also made into a sub-office of the Chungking Bureau. The following taxes are enforced: t'ungchuan, Chungking military escorting tax, river defence tax, revenue stamp tax, local surtax, malu surtax, waterworks surtax, municipal surtax, special tax on kerosene, metal, sugar, etc., and education surtax. 488 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 11. Justice and Police.—Extraterritorial rights enjoyed by foreign residents were generally respected, but in the absence of a mixed court Sino-foreign disputes were not infrequently settled diplomatically between the Chinese authorities and the Consul concerned, acting more in the capacity of arbitrators than judges. A system of official arbitration had thus been set up which proved to be convenient and satisfactory to both parties. Law and order in Chungking were maintained by four more or less separate organisations: the police, the city garrison, the militia, and the law courts. As the result of the revolution and the breaking down of the civil administration, the province was thrown into disorder. Previous to 1926 the province was in a state of confusion. The military were so busily engaged in civil wars that the people were left entirely to the mercy of bandits who infested the country. The people, realising the urgent need of mutual protection, formed themselves into militia. A conference of the representatives of 36 cities was called and met in Chungking in 1924, and a union for mutual assistance was formed. In time a powerful and useful new organisation was established assuming, especially in the country districts, the usual functions of police. As a matter of fact, peace and order in the outlying country villages are solely maintained, even to the present day, by the militia, who have established arbitration courts to settle minor disputes, inflict fines, and administer punishment. The organisation was originally financed by public subscription, which has now become a regular tax. Ordinary civil and criminal cases are attended to and adjudged by the Law Court, while kidnapping and robbery cases, which require more drastic action, are dealt with by the city garrison headquarters in accordance with martial law. The police are employed in regulating traffic, the prevention of petty thefts, and other civil functions, while the more important duties of rounding-up bad characters are entrusted to the garrison forces. 12. Military and Naval Changes.—Prior to the overthrow of the Manchu Government the province of Szechwan, in spite of its dense population, extensive area, and strategic importance, maintained only three divisions of soldiers of a total of 45,000 men. Since the establishment of the Republic and the general breaking up of the province into several garrison areas, the provincial high military commanders began to recruit large bodies of fresh troops for the maintenance of their respective spheres of influence and the extension of their area of control. According to recent reports from reliable sources, the present standing army of the province consists of 19 divisions and several mixed brigades with a total strength of about 300,000 men and officers, including the armed militia recently incorporated in the 20th Army by General Yang Sen; the 21st Army by Marshal Liu Hsiang; the 24th Army by General Liu Wen-huei; the 28th Army by General Teng Hsi-hou; and the 29th Army by General Tien Sung-yao. The withdrawal of the Kweichow troops under Tupan Yuan Tsu-ming in 1926 placed the province under the sole control of the Szechwan armies. Minor civil wars, however, continued to be waged among the Szechwan generals. As the result of one of these wars, General Yang Sen was forced to retreat from Wanhsien and its neighbourhood into the interior in January 1930, enabling Marshal Liu Hsiang to exercise undisputed control over the whole of the Upper Yangtze regions. CHUNGKING. 489 When General Wang Fang Chow, one of Marshal Liu's generals, took over charge of the district he at once dispersed the bandits and other undesirables. Bandit attacks on passing ships were successfully stopped. 13. Health and Sanitation.—No serious efforts had evidently been taken to improve public health and to educate the people regarding the need of public sanitation previous to 1927. The establishment of sanitation bureaux in various districts in that year and the elaborate campaign instituted to awaken the people to the necessity of public sanitation made a splendid start in the right direction. Official funds are appropriated for the support of the public hospital. Doctors, whether practising old-style or modern methods, are required to produce their certificates of competency or to pass an examination before they are allowed to practise their profession. With a view to preventing cholera, malaria, and other epidemics, residents are advised and encouraged to fight against flies, mosquitoes, rats, etc., and a reward has been offered for every dead rat brought to the receiving centres established by the bureau. No buildings are allowed to be put up unless the plans have been approved not only by the Municipal Works Department but also by the Sanitation Bureau; and a plan has been made to widen the streets up to 36 feet to afford better light and air, and remarkable progress has been made in this direction. Efforts have also been made to improve the drainage system, but on account of the rocky nature of the road-beds the work is difficult, expensive, and necessarily slow. A public water supply has recently been introduced to the upper section of the city while the lower section has still to depend upon the river for drinking-water. The Waterworks Company is in- stalled with a set of German machinery supplied and partly erected by Messrs. Siemens & Co., and the total undertaking, when completed, will cost the city approximately 3 million dollars. In spite of all these laudable efforts to improve matters, more has yet to be accomplished. It is, however, gratifying to note that such rapid progress has been made during the last few years, and the future is extremely promising. Given time and money, Chengtu, Chungking, Wanhsien, and other more important cities will soon assume a modern aspect and become splendid residential districts. 14. Education.—If the number of schools can be taken as a criterion of educational development, Szechwan may be considered to rank second in the whole of China. Besides the West China Union University mentioned in the last report, two additional universities have come into being during the decade: the National Szechwan University at Chengtu and the Chungking University. There are six provincial public middle schools, while those established and maintained by the hsien districts number over a hundred. The number of primary schools varies from 50 to 1,000 in the various districts. In Pahsien, which forms the main portion of the Chungking Municipality, primary schools have increased from 500 to 1,000 in the last 10 years and middle schools have advanced from 10 to 30. Three missionary schools of the latter grade produce the best results. One belongs to the Catholic Mission, and the other two are American institutions. As is the case with other parts of the country, religious studies are optional in these institutions. On the other hand, the inculcation of party principles has been introduced in all schools. The educational fund in Szechwan is derived solely from the meat tax. The proceeds, however, are far from being sufficient to cope with requirements. It is only in the 490 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. spheres of influence held by the 21st and 24th Armies that the full estimated amounts of expenditure are secured by the schools. The amount of 8200,000 yielded annually by this tax in Pahsien and earmarked for educational purposes is regarded as the biggest in the whole province. Thanks to the vigilance of the authorities, this province is comparatively free from communism. Agitators were active in 1927 in making inflammable street speeches and staging large demonstrations, but few overt acts of violence have been committed by communists, and conspirators are brought to justice from time to time. 15. Literature.—Since the revolution of 1911 the Press of this province made no headway until 1927, when conditions in general underwent a radical change. The importance of political propaganda and commercial publicity caused newspapers of different political affiliations to spring into existence. Before this period there were only two papers at Chungking; now there are 10 morning dailies and six evening papers. The "Shang Wu Jih Pao" and "Hsin Shu Pao" are the leading morning dailies, the former was founded in 1916 and the latter in 1921. Their continuous existence and large circulation vouch for their high standing among their contemporaries. The other morning dailies were published after the Kuo-min-tang came into power. Most of them have a circulation of a few hundred copies only. The "Szechwan Sheng Pao" and the "Chi Chuan Kung Pao" are prominent among them in that the first daily is a mouthpiece of the local Kuo-min-tang, whereas the second enjoys a circulation next only to the famous " Shang Wu Jih Pao." Formerly there were no evening papers of any kind in Chungking. The first to make its appearance was the "Chungking Wan Pao." Two years later five more were published. They are all issued in half-sheet size and their circulation is confined to the city. At Chengtu the progress of the Press is still more remarkable, as shown by the mushroom growth of some twenty-odd papers from 1929 to 1931. Most of these papers are more or less politically affiliated to different military camps, and serve rather as organs of publicity for their respective supporters than as newspapers. During the decade no less than 60 periodicals were published; nine before the eventful year 1926 and about 50 thereafter. These periodicals contained official reports, military and party propaganda, and school gazettes, and as most of them were political in nature, they were always co-existent with the party they supported. For this reason quite a number of them disappear whenever a political change takes place. Since the revolution of 1927 introduced the art of publicity and propaganda, printed matter, such as newspapers, periodicals, pamphlets, handbills, etc., was much in demand. According to the survey conducted by the Printers' Guild there are now in Chungking 12 large printing-shops equipped with typographic-presses and some 100 small shops with only lithographic apparatus. The Teh Hsin Press, the Yu Shang Press, and the Hsin Min Press are the "big three" which are run on modern lines. The first two were established long ago, while the last one is a new establishment. It is estimated that the total capital of these 12 large shops amounts to something like $300,000, and that of the 100 small shops, $100,000, while the yearly total of business done is estimated at $200,000. CHUNGKING. 491 16. Population.—-The Post Office List of 1928 estimated the population of this province at 25,980,466 for the East Szechwan district and 26,083,140 for the West Szechwan district, but it did not give data regarding the percentage of increase or decrease for each year during this decade. Chungking, being the metropolis of East Szechwan, is thickly populated. According to the latest official census, there are 499,693 inhabitants, while for Kiangpei, an adjoining city across the river, seven-tenths of this figure is recorded. The year 1925 witnessed an unprecedented famine in the East Szechwan district— Kikiang, Chunghsien, Shihchu, Kaihsien, Wanyiian, and Nanchwan. The principal agricultural products were almost a total failure, and the people were forced to live on white clay found at the foot of the hills, which was called kuan ying fen—"flour of the Goddess of Mercy." Szechwan also suffered from flood in 1931, but not to the same extent as in the down- river regions. 17. Civil Disorder.—Petty smuggling, primarily with the object of evading the pay- ment of freight, which was particularly heavy on the Upper Yangtze, was carried on by snips' compradors, crew, and servants. The chaotic state of the province in 1926, the presence of numerous bands of bandits and kidnappers, the lack of sufficient protection from the authorities, and the imminent danger to life made it difficult for the Customs to take effective action against the offenders. A golden opportunity was thus afforded to smugglers, who became increasingly active. Towards the summer of 1927 smuggling was so extensively carried on that approximately one-third of a ship's freight space was occupied by clandestine cargo. During the year likin was imposed by the local authorities on cargo carried by steamers which were hitherto controlled exclusively by the Customs. In order to prevent the evasion of likin and to curb the activities of bandits, the Chwankiang Navigation Bureau was established experimentally at Chungking with a company of armed men—about 500 strong—under its command. These armed men began to appear first on Chinese steamers, ostensibly for the prevention of lawlessness, and started to search passengers' luggage, etc. Their activities were later extended to foreign steamers, and gradually they took over a part of the duties of the Customs preventive staff, who were more or less impotent for the reasons stated above. Under the protection of the Bureau's armed guards the likin searchers became extremely active and instituted a system which made smuggling difficult. In 1928 this nefarious trade died down and very little smuggling is now practised by the ordinary trader or ships' employees. Banditry was particularly rampant during 1925 and 1926 at Chungking, Wanhsien, and in the Wushan Gorges, when the authorities were busily engaged in fighting with the Kweichow troops. Almost every ship, foreign and Chinese, was fired at on her way between Ichang and Chungking and nearly every funnel bore holes made by rifle shots. The situation along the river has improved since 1928, and after years of bandit suppression work the district under Marshal Liu Hsiang is now cleared of this menace; but in the northern part of the province travelling is still dangerous. 492 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The following members of the Chungking Customs staff contributed to the compilation of this report: Messrs. Tseng Kwang-chuh, 3rd Assistant, A, sections 1 and 6; Liu Min-chang, 4th Assistant, B, sections 4 and 7; R. G. Everest, River Inspector, sections 2 and 9; while the following members also contributed useful information for incorporation in the report: Messrs. Kiang Yu Ching, 1st Clerk, A, section 3; Shen Kangsti, 2nd Clerk, A, section 14; Sin Seu Chee, 2nd Clerk, A, sections 12 and 13; Chang Tsi Lu, 2nd Clerk, A, section 16; Wang Jen Tseh, 2nd Clerk, B, sections 11 and 15; Liu Pang-lin, 3rd Clerk, B, sections 8 and 10; Chii Yeo-ts'ai, 4th Clerk, B, section 5; and Ko Ping Chang, Acting Tidesurveyor, section 17. LI KWAY-YOONG, Acting Commissioner of Customs. Chungking, 31st December 1931. 6th April 1932. 494 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. even during the low-water season. There are at present on the Ichang-Chungking run some 45 steamers, ranging from 120 to 600 tons net, under the flags of five nationalities: 2 French, 7 Japanese, 9 American, 14 British, and the rest Chinese. 3. Revenue.—The collection for the first year of the decade was Hk.Tls. 186,328 and that for the last year Hk.Tls. 357,304 (not including Hk.Tls. 3,447, being flood relief surtax). The figures for 1931 are the highest on record, due to the increase in the tariff rate enforced from the 1st June on wood oil declared for export abroad, from which the port's revenue is mainly derived. The introduction of the Customs gold unit in 1929 has little or no effect on the revenue collection, as the volume of direct foreign imports is negligible. 4. Currency and Finance.—The silver coins now in circulation are limited to three kinds, known locally as Szechwan dollars, "dragon" dollars, and Yuan Shih-k'ai and Sun Yat-sen dollars, the last-mentioned, with obverses bearing no provincial inscriptions, being the most popular of the three, owing to their general acceptance without discount in all trade centres in the country. The only paper money generally accepted is that issued by the Wanhsien Citizens Bank since its opening in 1929, in denominations of $5, $10, and 1,000-cash notes. The Young Brothers Banking Corporation, established here since 1911, continues to enjoy the confidence of the public and transacts all kinds of banking business in the country. The most common copper coins in use are the 50-cash and, more particularly, the 100-cash pieces. Silver subsidiary coins of all denominations disappeared from the market together with sycee shoes. The value of copper coins depreciated considerably, one silver dollar being the equivalent of 2,450 cash in 1922 as compared with 6,700 cash in 1931. The Szechwan tael was abolished on the 25th March 1930 by order of the Wanhsien Municipality. 5. Agriculture.—No attempts seem to have been made in recent years to replace the primitive methods of agriculture by modern machinery. The Wanhsien Wood Oil Testing Sub-Department of the Hankow Bureau of Inspection and Testing of Commercial Commodities was established in April 1931 for the purpose of testing wood oil, the adulteration of which had seriously affected the trade in that commodity. No wood oil is now allowed to be exported without first being tested and covered by certificates issued by the said Department. With a view to standardising the qualities of this commodity, the Wanhsien Municipality, established in September of the same year, a similar but independent Bureau, with the object of exercising control over all kinds of wood oil brought to this port from producing districts in the interior and of acting as consulting chemist to all interested in the improvement and development of this important trade. Considerable interest has been shown by apiculturists here in the large importations of Italian or Ligurian bees, sometimes referred to as Apis Liguitica. An institute for the develop- ment of apiculture has recently been established at Pipaping at the upper end of the town, with an experimental apiary beside the Changyehmiao not far from the institute. 6. Industrial Development.—The Electricity Department of the Wanhsien Munici- pality was established in December 1931. The plant installed is capable of generating power for running 6,000 lamps. The monthly cost has been fixed at $1.50, $2.20, and $3 for lamps of 16, 25, and 32 candle-power respectively. WANHSIEN. 495 A small silk filature, the only establishment of its kind at this port, with some 4,000 hand- looms for weaving native cloth, had to close down in 1931 owing to business depression, thus throwing some 500 workers of both sexes out of employment. Sock and muffler knitting machines worked by hand are operated in a small way. The products are of inferior quality. The monthly wages of shopkeepers, skilled workmen, and labourers have increased from $8, $10, and $3.50 in 1922 to $16, $15, and $4 respectively in 1931. These figures do not include board and lodging, which are often provided by the employer. Comparative prices of the commoner kinds of foodstuffs are as follows:— 1922. 1931. $ Cash. * Cash. Rice . . . Per tou of 50 catties 2.14 4,700 4.35 28,700 Salt 0.08 180 0.13 860 Pork. . . 0.17 360 0.28 1,800 0.24 520 0.37 2,400 Vegetable oil 0.23 500 0.37 2,400 0.09 200 0.19 1,200 7. Mines and Minerals.—Owing mainly to the difficulties of communication, there has been no development under this heading during the decade. Bituminous coal and iron are still the only minerals known to exist in this district. The output of the mines shows no appreciable increase and was consumed locally in the manufacture of agricultural implements and large pans for cooking purposes. 8. Communications.—Railways are still non-existent. Much progress has, however, been made since 1925 in road-building, following the demolition of city walls. Ten new roads have already been constructed, which are lighted by electricity and open to vehicular traffic (confined at present almost entirely to ricshas). In the greater part of the city one has either to walk or be carried in a sedan-chair because of the frequency of long flights of steps. The Wan An Ch'iao spanning the torrential stream that separates the suburbs from the town has been completed since 1929, and is a monumental piece of architecture in both usefulness and design. It is a three-arched concrete bridge, about 250 feet in length and some 150 feet in height. Its construction cost $400,000 and covered a period of over three years. A highway for motor transport from Wanhsien to Liangshan has been under construction for some years, and the section between Wanhsien and Fengshui, covering a distance of 90 li, just half-way from Liangshan, was completed and opened to traffic in January 1931. The importance of such a highway cannot be over-estimated, as Wanhsien is merely a distributing centre for the interior points of which Liangshan is one of the most important. In October 1931 the Hankow- Ichang air mail and passenger service, at present doing two return trips each week by one plane (Leoning amphibian), was extended to this region by the China National Aviation Corporation, thus rendering possible a trip from Hankow to Chungking in seven hours, against at least seven days formerly, even during the high-water season. The introduction of aviation here as elsewhere has reduced the receipts of the local Telegraph Administration and the radio station. The Shanghai morning papers can now be read here at noon on the day following 496 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. that of publication, instead of two or three weeks later. In June 1930 the local Municipality introduced an automatic telephone system, the subscription rate being $5 a month, and, in view of the difficulty of walking up and down mountain paths and steps, confers a great boon on the subscribers. A public telephone has been installed in the police-station at Yangchiachiehko, where a very broad stone stairway leading from the foreshore to the main street has recently been constructed. The local post office continues to flourish, in spite of the decrease in the number of registered and express letters, due apparently to the growing confidence of the public in the Post Office in the matter of quick despatch and safe d .ivery. The following table shows the number of articles of mail matter and parcels posted in 1922 and 1931:— 1.' Ordinary. Registbi i< Express/' Parcels. 1922 514,169 137,61 - 14,833 21,801 1931 589,676 43 8,540 40,210 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—The collection of the Kunglingtan improvement tax was started here simultaneously with Chungking on the 15th July 1931. The receipts are devoted to the removal by blasting under expert supervision of the rock obstructions at Kunglingtan, the worst rapid—described by some as the "graveyard"—on the Upper Yangtze during the low-water season. 10. Administration.—The present Wanhsien Municipality was organised in 1926 and consists of, besides a Secretariat, four executive departments: Social Affairs, Public Safety, Finance, and Public Works. General Yang Sen, then Garrison Commander, was the founder and first Mayor of the Municipality. It is due mainly to his initiative and resourcefulness that the schemes for the modernisation of the city were introduced. In 1929 he was succeeded by General Wang Ling Chi, Commander of the 3rd Division of the 21st Army, who has taken a keen interest in the schemes conceived by his predecessor. Of all the improvements, apart from those to which reference has been made under sections 6 and 8, the most notable is the construction of the Chungshan Park, by far the largest on the Upper Yangtze, which contains a large clock-tower, a spacious recreation ground, and a modern gymnasium. In the matter of administration and taxation the powers of the Commander-in-Chief of the 21st Army now in control of this district reign supreme. The Garrison Commander, his most trusted subordinate, who concurrently acts as the Mayor of the Municipality, is virtual ruler of the district. The following taxes are collected at Wanhsien: (1) T'ungchiian, leviable on all junk and/or steamer-borne cargo. (2) Lochiian, levied by the military authorities. (3) Hushang- chuan, paid originally by junk-men in consideration of a military escort to pass through the bandit-infested areas on the river, is now a permanent tax on trade, though escorts are no longer provided. (4) Local surtax, formerly known as the 2\ per cent. surtax and then as inland tax, is virtually a double levy of Customs surtax, including special tax on wine, tobacco, kerosene oil, and sugar. (5) Wanliang maluchiian is a surcharge at 20 per cent. on t'ung- chiian, 100 per cent. on lochiian, and 40 per cent. on hushangchiian, which is devoted to the WANHSIEN. 497 construction of the motor road from Wanhsien to Liangshan as referred to in section 8. (6) Tungyuchienyenfei is a testing fee for wood oil chargeable at the time of export at $0.10 per picul by the Wanhsien Wood Oil Testing Sub-Department of the Hankow Bureau of Inspection and Testing of Commercial Commodities, and at the time of importation from the producing districts to this city at $0.30 per picul by the Wanhsien Municipal Testing Bureau (Wood Oil Department). The collection of the first f ve taxes mentioned has since January 1930 been centralised in one office known as the Wanhsien Shuichuan Chii, while the other taxes are collected by their respective independent offices. Al the officers in charge of such offices, except the Wanhsien Wood Oil Test;"- Sub-Departnuit of the Hankow Bureau of Inspection and Testing of Commercial Commodities, are apj jated by the military authorities. 11. Justice and Police.—T ".influence of the military predominates in this province, as all the territorial authorities are theii aominees. The judicial as distinct from the legal functions hitherto performed by the Magistrate have since February 1930 been detached to the District Court of Justice. The court now deals with ordinary civil and criminal cases. But when a state of emergency exists, which may mean, of course, any time, the Garrison Commander over- rules the decisions of everyone. For the preservation of peace there is a constabulary force, under control of the Bureau of Public Safety, of some 500 men, modelled on modern lines and divided into four sections, which force may be reinforced, when circumstances demand, by the local garrison and volunteers. No water police exist, but their functions are assumed by the Navigation Bureau. 12. Military and Naval Changes.—The military changes for the past 10 years may be divided into three periods. During the first period, from 1922 to 1925, Wanhsien was the bone of contention between the 1st and 2nd Szechwanese Armies led respectively by Generals Tan Mao-hsin and Liu Hsiang, with alternate ups and downs on both sides. There was general disorder and lawlessness. It was only when reinforcements from Hupeh factions came in during 1925 that General Liu succeeded eventually in inflicting a crushing defeat on his opponents. Conditions then returned to normal. The second period, from 1926 to 1928, saw General Yang Sen, Commander of the 20th Army of the National forces, the central figure at Wanhsien, making serious efforts to reconstruct the city, apparently as a base for his future military operations. Unfortunately, hostilities broke out through differences of opinion between him and his former chief, General Liu Hsiang, now Commander of the 21st Army of the National forces, which resulted in his eclipse in 1929 in this part of the political world. Since then and up to writing this report—the third period—Wanhsien has been under the effective control of General Wang Ling-chi, the most trusted subordinate of General Liu. Since assumption of office as Garrison Commander and Mayor in January 1929, General Wang has done in the course of two years more than all the other generals had accomplished for the past 20 years in the way of reconstruction of the port as mentioned elsewhere in this report. Not only have peace and order been well preserved locally, but through repeated campaigns against bandits, his influence, or rather that of the 21st Army, has gradually been extended to Shasi and beyond. 32 498 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. There are two Chinese gun-boats under control of the 21st Army, named Kincheng (vide section 2) and Payii, which occasionally visit this district. 13. Health and Sanitation.—Wanhsien has, as yet, no other water supply than the river. Much has been done in recent years in the way of road-widening, with a consequent improvement of the drains in the parts affected. There are at present two public hospitals—the Shih Min Hospital and the Red Cross Hospital, both of which leave much to be desired in the matter of personnel and equipment. Arrangements to reorganise the last-mentioned hospital are reported to have been made by the local Municipality with a Korean doctor educated in America, with a view to bringing it up to date in every way. There is no doubt but that the absence of qualified modern doctors at this port is a matter of grave concern to the community. Fortunately, the general health of the port during the period under review appears on the whole to have been good, as no epidemics of a serious nature have been reported. 14. Education.—In spite of political unrest in recent years the local authorities are not lagging behind others in the matter of promotion of education. There are at present 24 schools run on modern lines in this district with a total number of some 4,000 students. Of these, 19 are elementary schools which, except two maintained privately, are under the management either of the Municipality or of the District Magistrate. The remaining five schools consist of, in order of their grades, 4th Provincial Normal School, two Wanhsein Middle Schools for boys and girls respectively, Wanhsien Girls' Vocational School, and Wanhsien Rural Normal School. The expenses incurred for the annual upkeep of these schools—private ones excepted—were estimated for 1931 at $120,000, appropriated from different kinds of local levies. Most of the teachers in the middle and normal schools are graduates from Government universities at Peiping. With a view to raising the educational standard in this province, it is interesting to note that since 1931 resolutions have been passed by the authorities concerned to the effect that no graduates of any schools shall be given certificates by their principals, or that no such certificates, if given, shall be considered as valid, unless the graduates pass the final examinations conducted under a committee selected by the Mayor in his capacity as Chief Examiner. No missionary schools exist here at present. 15. Literature.—The "Wanchow Jih Pao" has since January 1929 been the only morning daily at the port. It receives its subsidy from, and serves as the official organ of, the Wanhsien Municipality. It is printed by hand-press and has a daily circulation of about 1,000 copies. The price is 250 cash per copy, the subscription rate being $1 per month. With the recent establishment of the radio station and the inauguration of aerial navigation in this district, much improvement has been noticeable in its editing, as regards both news and views. 16. Population.—Until very recently, no attempt to take a census has been made. According to the latest statistics available from the Municipality, Wanhsien has a population of 271,684 inhabitants, 178,466 being males and 93,218 females. It is estimated that out of the above population, no less than 58,801 inhabitants of both sexes are described under the category "of no fixed occupation." There are some 15 foreigners in the district: two Germans, one Norwegian, one Dane, and the rest American missionaries. WANHSIEN. 499 The scarcity of foodstuffs caused by prolonged drought in 1925 referred to in section 1 was unprecedented in the annals of the port. The price of rice for that year rose phenomenally from $2.50 per tou of 50 catties to $9 and lasted for a period of more than six months. The floods in the summer of 1931 did considerable damage both to lives and property in the area affected, but the damage was slight in comparison with the sorely-afflicted districts along the Middle and Lower Yangtze, Hwai River, and Grand Canal. The highest water-mark attained in 1931, also during the period under review, was 128 feet, the record height being 138 feet 8 inches in 1920. 17. Civil Disorder.—With the gradual increase in local levies and consequent increase of searching parties of the various offices concerned, smugglers, unless—and this is very important— acting with their collusion, have little or no chance on the Upper Yangtze. Through the firmness and promptness with which banditry has been tackled in recent years by the local authorities, the situation has considerably improved in this respect, although this cannot be said of inaccessible interior districts where brigandage has been and still is rampant. This report has been compiled from information gathered by the undermentioned members of the staff: Mr. Chang Shen-fu, 4th Assistant, B; Mr. Lo Chi Yong, 2nd Clerk, A; Mr. Chien Cu Kieng, 3rd Clerk, A; Mr. Liu Pee Chi, 4th Clerk, B; Mr. Feng Bai Kung, Acting Senior Out-door Officer (1st Class Tidewaiter); Mr. Chang Chen Lung, 3rd Class Tidewaiter; and Mr. Hsiao Tou-kuang, Ho-shui-yiian. 3 I*f December 1931. WANHSIEN, lmMarchmz CHIAO JU YUNG, Acting Deputy Commissioner of Customs, in charge of Wanhsien Branch Office. LI KWAY-YOONG, Acting Commissioner of Customs. ICHANG. 1. Trade.—The value of trade during the decade showed a satisfactory increase in both exports and foreign imports. Except for an acute rise in 1924 and an abrupt fall in 1927 the value of trade generally maintained an even course throughout the decade. The year 1922 was comparatively quiet, with little or no political turmoil, but in the following year there was a clash between the Northern troops and the Szechwanese Army. In 1924 this district enjoyed more or less uninterrupted peace, which reflected favourably upon trade. In 1925 Ichang escaped the effects of the Shanghai troubles and of the war in the North, thanks to the efforts of the military commander. With the exception of British and Japanese goods trade was good, and the addition of 25 new steamers stimulated local shipping interests. More than 150 licensed pilots were engaged in navigation between Ichang and Chungking. During the following year a political upheaval at Hankow and its adjacent cities, Wuchang and Hanyang, caused a panic in this port in consequence of military movements, commandeering of vessels, and enforcement of levies. Trade, however, was not much affected. In 1927 trade suffered to such an extent as a result of the Nanking incident that the value fell from 16 million to 1\ million Haikwan taels—the lowest figure during the decade. The depression, however, was only temporary, and in 1928 trade revived with an active money market and easy credit for business transactions. Two public wireless stations were completed during the year, and 1928 saw also the commence- ment of work on the telephone service, which was completed during the following year. In 1929 an attempt was made to ship cargo direct to Chungking from down-river ports without transhipment at Ichang. The attempt was frustrated by labour agitators, but partial success was achieved in 1931 (vide section 2). On the 1st February 1929 the Surtax Bureau, which was established in 1927, was taken over by the Ichang Customs and replaced by a Dike Tax Bureau under the provincial authorities of Hupeh. Throughout the year firing on the steamers running on the middle and lower sections of the Yangtze necessitated the placing of armed naval guards on the ships. At times the menace was so great that an escort of gun-boats was required. The year 1930 was peaceful. Trade was carried on normally and advanced beyond that of many previous years, the value reaching a total of nearly 14 million Haikwan taels. Upper River navigation was successfully maintained until February, when the pilots went on strike, due to dissatisfaction regarding their remuneration. For three months navigation was suspended, entailing considerable loss to some of the shipping companies. During this period a scheme was being considered for the improvement of the channel at Kunglingtan, and a survey of the rocks and surroundings was made by experts from Shanghai. If completed successfully, there should be a reduction of about 30 per cent. in the number of shipwrecks in the Upper Yangtze. In the autumn of 1930 the Szechwan Navigation Bureau was established, and in September of the same year an air-mail service between Shanghai and Ichang was commenced. In 1931 two events may be considered of special significance: the flood and the actual commencement of the Kunglingtan improvement scheme (vide section 9). Details of the flood in 1931 are well known. Ichang was inundated, but the damage done was insignificant compared with that of the down-river area. The water-mark on the 9th August 1931 was 50' 1", which was second to the highest mark (53' 2\" in 1896) on record. A feature of this year was the opening of the Chuan K'ang Bank of Chungking, the Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank, and an agency of the Bank of China. It is said that the reason for opening these 502 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. banks in such close succession was the high interest obtainable locally. The Manchurian crisis occurred at the end of the decade, and the boycott against Japanese goods, which had been started since the Wanpaoshan incident, was intensified, resulting in the closing of a few Japanese shops, the withdrawal of many Japanese ships, and the evacuation of the majority of Japanese residents. The staff of the Consulate and the Nisshin Kisen Kaisha remained. The failure of a certain money shop in November 1931 produced a temporary crisis in the money market, the loss sustained by the local community being estimated at about half a million dollars or so. 2. Shipping.—The decade under review covers a memorable period in the history of navigation on the Upper Yangtze. It commences immediately after the year Captain Plant died (1921), through whose patience and skill navigation through the gorges and rapids by modern steamers became possible (vide Ichang Decennial Report, 1912-21), and ends in 1931, when a scheme to improve the channel at Kunglingtan, 33 miles above Ichang, definitely materialised, the advance party having left Ichang on the 15th December 1931. Many modern steamers came into existence and trade activity followed, but the danger and strain experienced by these steamers could not be eliminated, the journey between Ichang and Chungking being by no means easily navigable even to-day. Variations in the number and tonnage of vessels naturally followed local activities, of which the Wanhsien incident was most known. The progress of shipping was much retarded by bandits and political upheavals, yet, generally speaking, a steady upward tendency was noted, new vessels being added each year to the run between Ichang and Chungking. In 1921 a small motor vessel was introduced, two more were added in 1922, followed by many others, culminating in 1925 with the record number of 3,116 vessels, aggregating 1,449,939 tons. In this connexion it is noteworthy that for various reasons many oil-burning steamers were converted to coal-burning; thus at the end of 1931 the numbers were equal. Development of steam navigation injured the junk trade to a great extent, though many native craft still ply on the river. A significant move at the end of the decade was made by a certain foreign shipping company towards direct communication between Chungking and the down-river ports, without transhipment at Ichang. As Ichang can only thrive as a transhipment port, the company became embroiled with a section of the labourers' society, the members of which depend solely on the transhipment trade for their livelihood. A compromise was finally effected and a certain portion of the through-cargo has been freed from the interference of the union. There appear to be many difficulties—financial, technical, and social—at this port yet to be overcome before direct shipment between the Upper and Lower Yangtze ports can be inaugurated successfully. 3. Revenue.—During the first five years of the decade there was a gradual increase of revenue, from Hk.Tls. 78,445 in 1922 to Hk.Tls. 154,445 in 1926. In 1927 there was a set-back in consequence of political troubles, agitation of the labour union, military operations, activity of banditti, etc. Except in 1929, when the revenue fell suddenly on account of military move- ments in and around Ichang, a steady rise continued until the end of the decade. The introduction of the gold unit in 1930 caused the import duty in that year to make a conspicuous jump, and although coast trade duty and transit dues were abolished in January 1931, the revenue of the last year of the decade was Hk.Tls. 218,950, the highest total except that for 1930. ICHANG. 503 It may be of interest to record that when the port was first opened in April 1877 the revenue collection for the nine months of that year was Hk.Tls. 375, while in 1901 the collection reached a total of Hk.Tls. 869,705, of which Hk.Tls. 845,194 was derived from trade in opium. The establishment of the Consolidated Tax Bureau in 1931 has not so far made any appreciable difference to the Customs revenue collection, as there is no steam factory in existence at this port. 4. Currency and Finance.—Silver dollars and copper cents are the two main mediums of exchange at Ichang, the former being represented by "head" dollars, i.e., Yuan Shih-k'ai dollars and Sun Yat-sen dollars, and mixed dollars, including Szechwan dollars, the latter being 50-cash pieces mostly. In the early part of the decade Ichang had a large quantity of Hupeh 20-cash pieces in circulation, but they have been replaced gradually by Szechwan 50-cash pieces, which now practically dominates this market together with the tiao note of the Hupeh Provincial Bank. During the decade it was noticed that "head" dollars were more popular than mixed dollars. The depreciation of copper cash is shown in the following table, the figures indicating the maximum and minimum number of cash required in exchange for Hk.Tls. 1. Maximum. Minimum. Maximum. Minimum. 1922 . . . . 2,980 2,940 1927 . . . . 6,500 6,100 1923 . . . 3,240 3,040 1928 . . . 6,500 6,200 1924 . . . . 3,800 3,700 1929 . . . . 7,250 7,000 1925 . . 4,700 4,160 1930 . . . 8,200 7,850 1926 . . . . 5,700 5,600 1931 . . . . 9,400 9,150 Banking facilities were reduced in 1927, when the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and the Bank of China withdrew their agencies. At the end of the decade the Bank of China resumed business and some native banks were opened (vide section 1). Generally speaking, financial conditions during the decade were not encouraging, although opium accounted for a very considerable income. 5. Agriculture.—Though various cereals are produced in its vicinity, agricultural products are not abundant in Ichang. Rice, about 350,000 piculs of which are reported to be harvested annually, hardly meets the demand of the population, and frequently huge quantities are imported from the adjoining provinces of Szechwan and Hunan. It is said that about 150,000 piculs of broad beans, 200,000 piculs of yellow beans, and 300,000 piculs of barley are produced annually in this locality, besides kaoliang and sweet potatoes, which are the main foodstuffs of the country people. Two staple exports are raw cotton and wood oil, the annual , yield of the former being roughly estimated at 180,000 piculs, out of which 40,000 piculs or thereabouts are shipped to Hankow, Shasi, Chungking, and Wanhsien. Wood oil finds a market at Shanghai and Hankow. At Itu, a place about 30 miles from Ichang, a small quantity of varnish is produced and conveyed to Ichang by junks for subsequent transhipment to Shanghai and Hankow, the greater part of which goes to Japan, where there is an active demand. Among sundry products may be mentioned nutgalls, black fungus, hemp and ramie, and black tea, the last named being produced at Shihnan, a place not far from Ichang. While most of the fruits imported are from Szechwan and down-river ports, plums, pears, lemons, water-chestnuts, etc., are produced locally. 504 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. 6. Industrial Developments.—Nothing of importance happened during the decade under this heading. In 1929 it was proposed to establish a cotton mill at Ichang, but the scheme failed owing to financial difficulty. With water power from the Upper Yangtze and abundant production of raw cotton in the neighbourhood, industrial undertakings should not be impossible in this district, but so far no attempt has been made in this direction. A ship- repairing yard, commenced in 1926 by a foreign firm, proved unsuccessful and was closed at the end of 1931, owing to strong opposition on the part of local competitors. 7. Mines and Minerals.—Soft coal is produced at Siangki, about 68 miles from Ichang, and its annual output is reported to be about 9,000 tons. Inferior to that from Szechwan and other places, this coal has only a limited market and is mostly conveyed to Ichang and Shasi, where it is used by steamers, oil mills, breweries, etc. Hard coal is found at Yehtan, 80 miles from this city, its annual output being estimated at 5,000 tons. About 40,000 piculs of lime come annually from Nanchinkwan, situated 5 miles westward. Lead and copper are also obtainable, and the district of Ichang is not destitute of mines and minerals. An enterprise was planned a few years ago for the purpose of mining lead and copper, but it was frustrated on account of the difficulty of transportation as well as the poor quality of the ores. 8. Communications.—In April 1931 the China National Aviation Corporation opened a branch station here, and an air service between Shanghai and Ichang was commenced, which was extended in October to Chungking. In addition to the air service, a radio service was introduced in July 1931. Regarding postal communication, the following table shows the quantity of mail matter dealt with during the decade:— Ordinary. Registered. Express. Insured. Parcels. Air-mails. 1922 461,381 56,939 19,058 442 4,654 1923 660,678 56,888 .16,435 443 4,797 1924 719,433 58,308 18,492 441 5,580 1925 950,651 54,046 16,764 519 5,400 1926 943,046 77,349 19,917 295 5,002 1927 692,570 68,037 24,756 323 5,503 1928 794,823 62,332 24,988 649 3,783 1929 806,395 83,249 24,895 1,242 3,986 433 1930 775,620 75,217 24,576 1,455 4,791 8,566 1931 771,230 74,205 23,321 1,326 4,787 24,265 For mails between Ichang and Wushan four post-boats are employed, but mails for other points are mostly taken by steamers under contract, though those bound east and west are delivered under the courier service, which operates day and night. 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—From a navigational point of view the opening up of low-level, or winter, navigation was the most notable feature of the period under review. Up to 1921 steamer navigation on this section of the river was maintained for about two-thirds of the year only, i.e., from April to December, no steamers running during the winter season. Earlier in the spring of 1922 several small steamers started operations at a much lower level of the river, and the following winter it was definitely proven that steamer navigation, with certain ICHANG. 505 types of vessels, could be successfully maintained throughout the winter season, thus establishing for the first time an all-the-year-round steamer service on the Ichang-Chungking section of the Yangtze River. Increased competition and the development of low-level navigation undoubtedly led to more risks being taken, and were the cause of a large number of accidents. It is a matter for regret that during this decennial period no less than 13 vessels were totally lost, two of which endangered the channel to such an extent that it was necessary to blow up one and remove the other piecemeal under the directions of the Upper Yangtze River Inspector. There are no lights on this section of the river, as night navigation is too dangerous in the rock-infested reaches of the Upper Yangtze. The discovery of many additional good and possible anchorages has been of immense value to vessels on the run, and it is nowadays rarely necessary for a ship to have to spar-moor. Additional signal stations and aids to navigation have been established and efficiently maintained, and more river gauges marked and painted at points along the river. Experience has enabled certain safe limits of operation to be well denned for different types of vessels. The Chinese Maritime Customs charts of the Ichang-Chungking section of the Yangtze River (reproduced from charts of the Hydrographic Department of the French Navy) were published in 1923 and have proved invaluable for reference purposes. Diagrams of river levels, strength of rapids, safe operation levels, etc., have been published and proved of great value to vessels on the river. Chinese pilots, upon whom depends to a very great extent the safe navigation of steamers on the Upper Yangtze, have been trained as apprentice pilots and examined and licensed as necessary. There are now 77 licensed 1st class pilots, 55 licensed 2nd class pilots, and 62 apprentices, sufficient to meet any demands that are likely to arise for some considerable time. The highest reading of the Ichang river gauge for the decennial period was obtained on the 9th August 1931, when a height of 50.7 feet above zero level was registered, and the lowest on the 13th February 1928, when the reading was 1.1 feet below zero level; the river again fell to this same low level on the 3rd April 1928. In the autumn of 1923 an inspection of the river from Woosung to Wanhsien was made by the Technical Committee of the "Commission for the Discussion of the Improvement of the Yangtze Waterway." In his report on the river from Ichang upwards, Mr. F. Palmer, the Consulting Engineer, states: "Many aids to navigation have been afforded and are being extended from time to time. It is useless ever to expect immunity from risk in taking vessels through these defiles, but at least some of the dangers will be obviated by the marking of channels and courses. Beyond these aids it is not possible to effect much improvement. The cost of removing obstructions, and thereby making navigation comparatively safe, would be colossal." Nevertheless, the number of disastrous accidents that have occurred at the Kunglingtan, 33 miles above Ichang, which presents the principal obstacle to low-level navigation, has rendered it necessary to make an attempt at conservancy work. Serious efforts were started in 1929 with a scheme to improve this very dangerous channel. The scheme slowly but surely made progress, and arrangements are now in hand to commence the removal of certain rocks during the low-level season of 1931-32. 10. Administration.—The Ichang Magistracy, which is the administrative organisation, has three bureaux and one commission, namely, Financial Bureau, Educational Bureau, Public 506 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Safety Bureau, and Constructive Commission. The Chu-chang, i.e., head officers of these bureaux, are appointed by the provincial authority at Wuchang and placed under the supervision of the Magistrate, who is also nominated by the provincial order. The Constructive Commission is composed of the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and the aforementioned three Chu- changs, with the Magistrate as its chief. The Tangpu is working side by side with the Magistracy, with the "political tutelage" as its immediate object. The office of the Com- missioner of Foreign Affairs for Ichang and Shasi was abolished in 1929, its function being performed now by the Magistrate. The principal financial source of the administration is taxation, of which over Ichang Tls. 4,000 per annum accrue from the land tax and about $300,000 from the title-deed tax. 11: Justice and Police.—Justice.—The present Ichang District Court is a combination of the District Court of Review and the District Procuratorate, and was reorganised in 1926. This Court has one chief judge, 10 judges, two assistant judges, one chief procurator, two procurators, and several clerks—in all, a staff of 106 members. Judges handle the civil and general criminal cases for Ichang and neighbouring 15 districts except criminal cases of a grave nature, which are invariably submitted to the Procuratorate first for investigation. The Magistrate no longer concerns himself in judicial cases nor is corporal torture inflicted, and lawyers are freely admitted to plead for defendants, thus recognising the principle of independ- ence of justice. There is also a sub-court of the Provincial High Court, which is headed by a chief judge and a chief procurator. These two courts are under the control of the Provincial High Court in Wuchang. This sub-court takes up cases for second trial submitted by the District Court and Judicial Deputies, who are appointed by the Board of Justice among the 15 western districts of the Hupeh province. The establishment of the sub-court was necessi- tated in order to do away with unnecessary delay in settling cases which require second trial arising out of a long journey to Wuchang, which litigants were compelled to make. The monthly expenditure, which is said to be about $5,700 for the district, was formerly derived from likin, but is now supplied by the Provincial Treasury at Wuchang, which also defrays the monthly expense of about $3,300 on account of the sub-court. Police.—The Ichang Police Force, which was formerly known by the name of Ichang Ching-cha Chii, was reformed and called Ichang Kung-an Chii (Public Safety Bureau), in 1926. There are four departments in the Bureau, i.e., general, executive, judicial, and detective, with a total staff of 21 officers and 42 guards. The city is divided into five sections, for each of which a police-station is provided, and altogether there are 307 policemen on duty in these stations, not including sergeants and other officials. The annual expenditure (said to be $118,000) is met by various fees, such as ricsha, building, marriage, hotel, restaurant, and brothel licences, etc., besides a monthly contribution of $4,500 by the Special Tax Liquidation Bureau. Under the control of the Public Safety Bureau there is a municipal institution named Shang-pu Chii, which looks after public sanitation. In addition to the police force Ichang has its own protective organ called the Ichang Defence Guard, which was inaugurated in 1911. The Defence Guard is run by 1,200 men, who are divided into 10 teams, each of which is stationed at different parts of the city and suburbs. This people's force proved highly useful and beneficial to the local community during the past troublous times, when this district was infested by bandits and communists. 508 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. considerable time it has been recognised that an isolation hospital ought to be provided in the vicinity of the city, and this question came up again in the autumn of 1931, when the cholera epidemic was reported at Hankow and quarantine was temporarily proclaimed by this port. With regard to sanitation, no sign of improvement has been evinced and most of the smaller streets are in a filthy state, the main streets only being fairly clean. With but few garbage-boxes placed at intervals along the main streets, and open urinals and several open markets here and there, Ichang is far from being a modern city from the sanitary point of view. The state of health during the decade was satisfactory generally. Till quite recently cerebro-spinal meningitis was not known in this locality, but it was first diagnosed in the spring of 1929 and cases have cropped up since annually. In 1926 there was a mild epidemic of cholera, and in 1930 and 1931 epidemics of malaria. Dysentery of the amoebic type was nearly always found among the people during the summer and autumn. Vaccination against smallpox was being recognised increasingly, and the consequence was a steady increase of those who were vaccinated during the past 10 years, though inoculation against typhoid and cholera was entirely limited to foreign residents. However, during September and October 1931 the whole Customs staff, including Chinese employees and their families, submitted themselves to inoculation against typhoid and cholera. The Rankine Memorial Hospital for men and the Buchanan Memorial Hospital for women, which are conducted by the Church of Scotland, have ever been doing excellent work, the former being provided with 84 beds for Chinese and six beds for foreigners, the latter with 42 beds for women. 14. Education.—It is obvious that during the 10 years 1922-31 the people, who were almost continuously suffering from the disastrous effects of civil warfare, banditry, and other calamities like drought and flood, could not be expected to employ sufficient means and strenuous efforts in the advancement of education. Chief among the numerous difficulties that had to be experienced by both the Government and private institutions was the inadequacy of financial resources, and it was only through the unabated energy of some of the local educators, together with propitious support from many wealthy individuals, that educational activities were maintained throughout this troublous period. However, in 1927, when this locality was dominated by the communistic influence which resulted in a chaotic state of affairs, nearly all schools, especially those run by the missions, were forced to close down on account of students' troubles. With the exception of the Huntington School of the American Church Mission which suspended work in 1927 and re-established only the primary course in 1931, all other missionary schools enumerated in the last Decennial Report (1912-21) were reopened in the following year, when normal conditions were gradually restored, and continued to render appreciable services to the community for the rest of the decade. With regard to Government schools, the establishment of the Fourth Provincial Middle School in 1928 and of the Rural Normal School in 1931 is noteworthy. The former has been generally regarded as the highest academy in the western part of Hupeh, and, as it is conducted under the co-educational system, is attended by 360 boys and 50 girls. Another institution adopting the co-educational system is the Szechwan Middle School with 300 students, male and female. The year 1926 witnessed the opening of a private middle school for girls under the title of Ichang Girls' Middle School, which has gradually gained the confidence of the public ICHANG. 509 and is now in a flourishing state. In 1931 the number of primary schools, both Government and private, was reported to be 37, with 7,600 pupils. In the absence of college or university at this port students are compelled to go to Hankow or Shanghai for their advanced studies. With a view to promoting general education an institution was established in 1927 under the direction of the Educational Bureau, known as T'ung-hsii-chiao-yu-kuan, and it is hoped that this will before long prove beneficial to the community as a whole. It is pleasant to observe that owing to the commendable management on the part of the educators as well as to the effective methods with which the local officials have been capable of preventing and suppressing communistic elements, the local students are not so easily moved and affected by propaganda and agitation as those in other parts of this country. Except in 1927, when the port was in the hands of communists, and in 1931, when the Manchurian affair took place, students' strikes and demonstrations were of rare occurrence. 15. Literature.—There were no literary productions in this district during the decade except newspapers, which were nearly all short-lived. At present there are three daily papers, namely, "Ngosi Chung Shan Jih Pao," "Kung Pao," and "Hsin Kuang Wan Pao." "Ngosi Chung Shan Jih Pao" is the local government organ, and during the regime of General P'eng Ch'i-piao, i.e., 1929, it was called "Ngosi Min Kuo Jih Pao," which was changed to the present name after General P'eng's transfer to another post. The "Kung Pao" is financed by the Magistrate and the local gentry, and the "Hsin Kuang Wan Pao" is patronised by the Szechwanese military authority. "Chih Shu," a book of the history of Ichang, is a valuable literary work, and endeavours were made many times to revise and bring it up to date, but in vain. In the early part of 1931 several local aged men of letters took up the work of revision of the book, to be rewarded with only partial success. 16. Population.—According to the latest figures obtainable from a reliable source, the Chinese population of Ichang city and suburbs is 107,940. There are about 150 foreign residents and 15 foreign firms. During the period 1922-27 the population remained nearly the same; but since 1929, when there were 112,309 people, a gradual decrease was noticed, and this can be explained by the fact that the city has never had its own industry to attract people from outside, and the transhipment trade here is more discouraging than before. 17. Civil Disorder.—In 1923 a Tobacco Tax Bureau was established here, but the people objected to the taxation so violently that the police force was powerless to resist the agitation which resulted in the demolition of the office. The Tobacco Tax Bureau disappeared later at the request of the Chamber of Commerce. In 1927 the anti-imperialist movement as well as the student and labour union demonstration prevailed for nearly half a year, when the foreigners evacuated {vide section 1). At one time during 1927 firms were forced to pay a certain amount in fees to bandits to procure immunity from their attack, and the feeling of uneasiness was naturally intense. Then occurred the case of holding up the British s.s. Siangtan by bandits in the same year, Captain Lalor having been held for ransom. This incident and intermittent firing on steamers in the river induced the Rear Admiral in command of the British Navy on the Yangtze to devise a protective method against the danger, and the con- sequence was the adoption of the gun-boat escort. SHASI. 1. Trade.—Notwithstanding political turmoil, internecine war, communism, boycott, banditry, and unprecedented flood, the trade of Shasi has made remarkable advances when compared with the previous decade. The total net value of Shasi's trade increased from Hk.Th. 11,193,503 in 1922 to Hk.Tls. 38,910,321 in 1928, and then tended to decline. The fall in the value of silver may be held responsible for the shrinkage in the import trade. The export trade has grown in importance and probably will continue to expand. Large and ever-widening areas have been devoted to the cultivation of such local staples as cotton, beans, etc., in order to meet the large demands from other ports. Of late, this branch of trade has amounted to from 65 to 75 per cent. of the whole volume of the trade of the port. Raw cotton, 704,420 piculs, valued at Hk.Tls. 22,541,440, in 1928 heads the list of the principal exports. Second to it come sesamum seed, 191,279 piculs, valued Hk.Tls. 1,147,674, in 1929; while yellow and broad beans, 238,789 piculs, valued Hk.Tls. 668,969, in 1928, wood oil, 40,979 piculs, valued Hk.Tls. 737,625, in 1925, and cotton seed, 665,494 piculs, valued Hk.Tls. 1,039,868, in 1929, all show appreciable increases. As long as peace and order prevail in this part of Hupeh with favourable climatic conditions the future prospects of Shasi trade should promise well. Of the Chinese imports, cotton yarn tops the list with 52,051 piculs, valued at Hk.Tls. 2,860,000, in 1923, and is followed by cigarettes, 16,031 piculs, valued Hk.Tls. 1,603,130, in 1925 as a close second. Salt, 179,074 piculs, valued at Hk.Tls. 1,081,662, in 1925 ranks third. In foreign imports, cotton piece goods of a total value of 2.7 million Haikwan taels in 1928 stand prominently in the list; with sugar of all kinds, 142,495 piculs, valued at Hk.Tls. 990,166, also in the same year, as second; and kerosene oil, 3,671,783 American gallons, valued Hk.Tls. 954,660, in 1923 as a close third. The Press-packing Factory formally opened in 1929 is bound to exercise an important influence in the development of Shasi's export trade. The total cost of construction is said to be about $1,000,000, 70 per cent. of which amount has been subscribed by Chinese in Hupeh province. The motive power is supplied by Diesel engines, and hydraulic machinery of the latest type has been installed. The factory has at present a maximum daily output of 900 press- packed bales and gives regular employment to over 1,000 persons. Another massive, four-storied, reinforced concrete godown is now in course of construction. The Shasi Cotton Mill, Ltd., with an $800,000 plant near the Pagoda, commenced operations in the early part of 1931. It turns out 36 bales of cotton yarn every 24 hours and employs nearly 750 hands. The cotton yarn produced by this mill, which is usually cheaper than that imported, is consumed locally and is also occasionally exported to Ichang. With the establishment of this mill, the importation of cotton yarn from other ports will naturally dwindle in the future. A new warehouse was erected outside Yangmato, below the Customs compound, in the latter half of 1931, and was leased to the Texas Oil Company as an oil godown. 512 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. On the 22nd January 1923 the landing pontoon, generally known as the "Gentry's Pontoon," was totally destroyed by fire and was replaced in May of the following year by a new pontoon entitled the Yungan. In the middle of 1931 Messrs. Butterfield & Swire's hulk was established at this port and moored below the Nisshin Kisen Kaisha's hulk off the Customs compound. All these hulks and pontoons have facilitated trade and accorded safety to the travelling public. 2. Shipping.—The total tonnage of vessels entered and cleared in each year but 1927 of the decade, as will be seen from the following table, reveals a general increase. That the year 1927 shows a decrease may be explained by the fact that owing to the disturbed conditions then existing, no British vessels, apart from a few oil steamers, ran on the Middle Yangtze from the 4th April to the 14th September, while Japanese ships were withdrawn for a period of six weeks in May and June. The tonnage showed striking increases between 1924 and 1926. This was due to a great number of foreign-type lighters and chartered junks in tow of steam- tugs being employed on the Shasi-Hankow run, principally for conveyance of cotton and grain in vigorous competition with river steamers. Vessels Entered and Cleared at the Maritime Customs under General Regulations, 1922-31. Launches Native Craft River Steamers. (including Tonnage (including Chartered Total. of Towed Boats). Junks). No. Tons. No. Tons. No. Tons. No. Tons. 1922 1,515 1,315,874 228 17,330 1,743 1,333,204 1923 1,697 1,296,007 395 28,047 2,092 1,324,054 1924 1,978 1,470,637 471 21,503 82 7,872 2,531 1,500,012 1925 1,691 1,462,801 1,483 65,071 449 42,904 3,623 1,570,776 1926 1,400 1,326,932 1,793 195,425 140 12,950 3,333 1,535,307 1927 586 472,050 663 105,324 1,249 557,392 1928 1,306 1,104,160 926 187,732 2,232 1,291,892 1929 1,448 1,211,174 836 179,189 2,284 1,390,363 1930 1,614 1,395,860 315 68,262 1,929 1,464,122 1931 1,628 1,395,696 208 52,956 1,836 1,448,652 There are also 12 steam and motor launches now operating at this port. Four of them are plying between Shasi and Ichang, calling at inland places en route, namely, Yuanshih, Kiangkow, Tungshih, Yangki, Paiyang, Chihkiang, and Itu, while the others run between Shasi and down-river inland places, such as Kwanyinsze, Towhuti, Makiasai, Sinchang, Hostieh, and Owchih. 3. Revenue.—The Maritime Customs revenue collection has revealed conspicuous advance throughout the entire decade. In 1929 the annual collection rose to its highest peak, viz., Hk.Tls. 545,312, or more than nine times that collected in 1921. Neither tariff autonomy nor the introduction of the gold unit has any tangible effect in the increase of revenue at this 514 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. The Young Brothers Banking Corporation opened a branch office at Shasi in 1928, whilst that of the Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank was brought into existence in 1930. After a cessation of nearly three years the Bank of China reopened its office here in the latter half of 1931. A suitable house was procured for the occupation of the Hupeh Provincial Bank, but up to the end of the decade it had not commenced to function. 5. Agriculture.—The method of farming in the districts round about Shasi is still primitive. Buffaloes and cows are extensively employed by the farmers in cultivating their fields. Since the farmers are mostly owners of small farms and the wages of their hirelings are quite low, it is a matter of course that they should consider the adaptation of modern machinery to be unprofitable. A fairly considerable quantity of German fertiliser, known as sulphate of ammonia, was imported, but had to be re-exported on account of the farmers' refusal to employ such highly expensive manure. Although fresh eggs may be counted as one of the principal exports of the port, the poultry-farming has been usually done on a rather small scale by individual families. But in the case of ducks it is on a comparatively larger scale, as large flocks of them are seen drifting here and there among the meadows and lakes. Cattle-raising is generally conducted by nomads coming from the North. The chief agricultural products are broad and yellow beans, sesamum seed, wheat, and cotton. Previous to 1924 the farmers cultivated most of their land for growing various kinds of cereals, but from that year onward they devoted the greater part of their farms to cotton plantation, owing to its being more lucrative. In order to check adulteration in cotton at the spot, the Hankow Bureau of Inspection and Testing of Commercial Commodities has set up a branch cotton-testing office at Shasi since the 26th September 1929. No doubt this has helped materially to improve the cotton trade, inasmuch as cotton of inferior standard is forbidden to be exported. Towards the end of the decade the farmers' hopes were greatly daunted by the activities of bandits as well as by the disastrous flood. An Experimental Farm of Agriculture and Forestry has been established in the city of Kiangling for a number of years, but without any appreciable results. 6. Industrial Development.—In spite of the prices of daily necessities and the scale of wages having gone up enormously—in some cases even as high as seven or eight times—Shasi still has been able to make remarkable progress toward industrial development. This acceler- ation of progress has been doubtless due to the ever appreciating value of gold, as a sequel to which, prices of all foreign goods have soared to such an unprecedented peak, rendering this line of trade almost prohibitive. The farmers who used to be ardent consumers of imported articles are now inclined to get cheap native-made substitutes, thus offering an unusual opportunity to ambitious industrialists. A labour union came into existence in 1927, but after a few months it was dissolved without any strikes being perpetrated. At the close of the decade Shasi was proud of its possession of one cotton press-packing factory, one cotton mill, two flour mills, and over a score of rice mills. Furthermore, a town electric light company was incorporated from a number of small concerns and the erection of a new power-house was in progress at the end of the decade. SHASI. 515 The following list shows the various industrial establishments operating in this port, with details regarding capital, product, daily output, etc.:— Name. Estab- lished. Capital. Product. Daily Output. Remarks. Hankow Press-packing Co., Ltd., Shasi Branch. 1929 $1,000,000 Press-packing cotton. 900 bales. 35,938 bales handled in 1929,84,749 bales in 1930, and 53,438 bales in 1931. Shasi Cotton Mill, Ltd. . . 1931 $800,000 Cotton yarn of 14, 16, and 20 counts. $80,000 Wheat flour. 36 bales @ 320 catties. Marketed locally and at Ichang. Ch£ng Ming Flour Mill.. Hsin I Fu Flour Mill, Ltd. 1929 1931 400 bags of 50 lbs. Consumed locally. $160,000 600 bags of 50 lbs. Consumed locally and at Ichang. Reorganised from the Yii Li 1927 1927 1926 1928 1930 1929 1931 1931 $1,000 Rice. 100 shih former Hsin I Flour Mill. For local consumption. Ch'u Feng $1,000 \5o"shih 100 shih 150 shih $2,000 $1,000 $2,000! Yu F6ng $2,000 M Yu K'ang $2,000 | $50,000 Electric current enough for 5,000 lamps. Shasi Electric Light Co. . In course of construction. 7. Mines and Minerals.—With the exception of coal mines, as mentioned in the previous report, no other mines have yet been unearthed near Shasi. The only metals now exported here are brass sheets and lead slabs remelted from old brass and lead. 8. Communications.—A Reconstruction Committee was formed in 1928 under the Chairmanship of General Yen Ching of the 18th Army, with the object of rebuilding the city roads on modern lines. But owing mainly to lack of funds no development has actually taken place. The Hsiang-Sha motor road, covering a distance of a little over 240 miles, starts from Shasi, passes Shihlipu, Kienyangyi, Kingmen, Ichen, and terminates at Siangyang. The motor service company was formally inaugurated in 1924 with a capital of $300,000. More than 20 cars, all of the Ford type, were operating between the two termini. Due to com- munists' activities the cars have ceased running since the latter part of 1929. The road is now in a very bad condition. In March 1931 the China National Aviation Corporation commenced to extend its service as far as Ichang, making Shasi a port of call. The aeroplanes plied from Shanghai on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and from Ichang on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In October of the same year the service was further extended to Chungking, but the number of voyages has since been reduced from three times to twice a week on account of the longer distance of the entire air route. The planes carry passengers and mails, but no merchandise. 516 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Slowly, yet steadily, the Shasi Post Office has been during the past 10 years making impressive progress in every branch of work, in spite of the unsettled general condition and the frequent interruption and disturbance of the means of communication. From 1922 to 1928 the average number of articles of mail matter posted varied between 500,000 and 600,000, as against 480,000 in 1921 recorded in the previous report. The figure was still surprisingly increased to about 1,100,000 in 1929 and 1930, which is almost treble that of 10 years ago. Though the advancement made in the parcels service was not so steady as mail matter, yet increase was after all recorded. In the year 1922 there were posted 9,800 parcels, weighing 81,400 kilos. During the following two years the number of parcels was increased to 14,000, and weight to 120,000 kilos. The highest figure reached was in the year 1926, when 19,000 parcels were accepted, weighing 182,000 kilos, and valued at $161,000. It then dropped to 15,600 and 144,000 kilos in 1927 and 1928. In 1929 and 1930, as a consequence of the general situation, a smaller figure was recorded: 11,000 parcels and 90,000 kilos, which, however, still showed a slight increase as compared with that of 1921. The increase in money order service was remarkable only during the last two years. The value of money orders issued was $360,000 in 1922 and 1926, $430,000 in 1923, $500,000 in 1924, and $660,000 in 1925. The poorest record was compiled in 1927, as only $79,000 worth of money orders were issued. The value was, however, raised again to $500,000 in 1928, and in 1929 and 1930 increased to as much as $710,000 and $830,000 respectively. The last figure was even more than double that of 10 years ago. The following table shows the financial results for the past nine years:— Receipts. Payments. Surplus. $ $ $ 1922 44,846 15,629 29,217 1923 50,456 19,892 30,564 1924 55,062 19,820 35,242 1925 50,922 23,499 27,423 1926 66,803 22,937 43,866 1927 49,697 33,270 16,427 1928 ..... 68,207 28,053 40,154 1929 69,499 31,422 38,077 1930 66,594 34,410 32,184 The Shasi Telegraph Office is under the control of one manager, with one supervisor, one engineer, and 27 operators. Nine Morse machines are being employed and the following figures show the receipts for the past 10 years:— Receipts. Receipts. $ $ 45,000 1927 58,000 47,000 1928 68,000 48,000 1929 55,000 50,000 1930 41,000 55,000 1931 35,000 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 518 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Yen Ching. General Chang Fa-k'uei's men, noted as the "Ironsides," came here in June 1929 and stayed only for a month. The district was then turned over to General P'eng Ch'i- piao, Commander of the 14th Independent Brigade. General P'eng was again succeeded by General Fan Shih-sheng, Commander of the 51st Division, who ruled Shasi from October 1929 to January 1930. He was then replaced by General Li Yun-lung, Commander of the new 3rd Division. From November 1930 to February 1931 the garrison duties were entrusted to a portion of the 21st Szechwan Army under Colonel T'ung I. After that General Hsu Yiian- ch'uan, Commander of the 10th Army, assumed charge as local Garrison Commander. In June 1931 he was again transferred and he handed over charge to the present Garrison Com- mander, General Kuo Hstin, a Brigadier-General of the 21st Szechwan Army. 13. Health and Sanitation.—The sanitary system of the city of Shasi is far below the modern standard, and no noteworthy improvement has been made during the decade. Its streets, which are narrow and damp, lie below the level of the river. No proper system of sewerage has been even contemplated, and practically all the drains have to discharge their sewage into the Pien Canal. During the summer the odour is particularly offensive and flies and mosquitoes flourish everywhere. The hospital established by the Swedish Missionary Society since 1919 was brought to a close in 1927 on account of anti-christian activities. The Chinese doctor in charge was, however, requested by the gentry to remain, and with their assistance the erection of another building was rendered possible. On the 10th May 1930 the new hospital was formally opened under the name of Kong Sheng Hospital. It has accommodation for 50 patients and its staff consists of three doctors—one of whom is a woman—a European matron, and two Chinese nurses. It owns also a nurse training school with 11 students. For the facilities of the public an auxiliary office has been set up in the main street of the town. The total number of cases treated by this hospital during 1931 is as follows: out-patients, 12,297; in-patients, 508; operations, 128; midwifery, 116; and gratis vaccination, 1,536. In the autumn of 1931, when cholera was prevalent in this place, 1,500 anti-cholera typhoid vaccine injections were made free of charge among the inhabitants living at Chingchow, Shasi, and Tsaoshih. In addition to the above, there are five other hospitals in Shasi; four of them are administered by foreign-trained Chinese doctors and one managed by the Catholic Mission Fathers. There are also six charitable institutions which give free treatment and medicine to the poor. Cases of smallpox, measles, meningitis, cholera, typhoid, diphtheria, and typhus have been a yearly occurrence. 14. Education.—Much activity was observed in 1924, when there existed in Shasi five primary and two middle schools with a total enrolment of some 1,000 students. Furthermore, at Chingchow a middle school was maintained by the Swedish Mission and another by the Government. All these educational establishments continued very well till the early part of 1927, when the aftermath of communistic influence from Hankow become apparent. Anti- christian activities were set in full motion and pressure was brought to bear upon the mission- aries to refrain from giving religious lessons to their students. Probably this was the reason for the closing of all the Mission middle schools since that time. At present Shasi has one professional, one higher primary, and five lower primary schools, with about 700 students CHANGSHA. 1. Trade.—The decade which terminated in 1931 can hardly be paralleled, even in Hunan's chequered history, for its record of trouble, turbulence, and economic disaster; and one might well believe that the most maleficent forces both of nature and man had conspired during the period to inflict by turns the greatest possible amount of damage upon this long- suffering province, and to utilise every baleful agency at their disposal for the retarding of its moral and material development. To the inevitable distress caused by recurrent outbreaks of civil war were added the horrors of flood and famine and, as a crowning evil, the subversive activities of communists, who actually succeeded in capturing and sacking the provincial capital, and who were a permanent menace to peace and the existing social order in the closing years of the period. The famine which occurred in the autumn of 1921, due to the partial failure of the rice crop through drought, became accentuated in the spring and summer of the following year, and starvation took a very heavy toll of lives, especially in the districts bordering upon the Tungting Lake—the area most affected—while the depredations incidental to several months' internal warfare added to the misery of the country-side. Fortunately, however, an excellent return was given by the rice crop in the autumn, and with a cessation of hostilities in the mean- while the outlook for trade considerably improved. An anti-Japanese boycott—the first of many similar anti-foreign movements which occurred here in the course of the decade—began in the spring of 1923 and, after being actively maintained for some months, was officially suppressed at the end of June. In September and October of the same year Hunan became the theatre of the military operations between North and South, with the result that great distress was caused in the province and the cost of living advanced by 50 per cent. In 1925, due to a prolonged drought in the spring and early summer, the rice crop was a total failure in 57 out of the 75 hsien in Hunan. The anti-British and anti-Japanese boycott which began at this time as a repercussion of the May 30th incident at Shanghai, though discouraged by the authorities, was carried on with very considerable success, and unfortunately had the effect of fanning the flame of anti-foreign feeling which was to persist here until 1927, to the great detriment of both Chinese and foreign trading interests. In the first half of the following year crops in many parts of the province were a total loss through floods, the Siang rising to the unprecedented level of 41 feet by the Changsha Customs water-mark. However, with an advent of better conditions in the autumn a sufficiency of rice became available, and it was even found possible to lift the embargo upon the export of cereals in the latter part of the year. Following upon the capture of Changsha by the Southern forces in July 1926 the anti-foreign boycott was carried on in a greatly intensified form. Chaotic conditions gradually developed and came to a head in the opening months of 1927, when labour unions and extreme communistic elements enjoyed unchecked control. Popular feeling reached such a pitch that practically all foreigners were obliged to remove to Shanghai for safety. It is hardly necessary to remark that this was the year in which trade touched its lowest level, the total net value, as recorded in the Customs Returns, being 15£ million taels lower than in 1926. The Hunan rice crop of 1927 was the best gathered for 20 years. The year 1928 saw the operation of the boycott restricted to Japanese goods and shipping, and although the movement was now carried on in an orderly 522 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. manner, it continued to inflict severe losses on Japanese trading interests. Nevertheless, local conditions showed a most marked improvement, and the whole atmosphere had changed out of recognition. The elements which had been responsible for the intensity of the anti-foreign feeling of the previous two years had either been eliminated or become quiescent, and the desire for a return to a normal state of things, under which trade could resume its wonted channels and friendly Sino-foreign relations be re-established, was very generally evident. Consulates were reopened; foreigners who had left the port returned to pursue their various avocations; factories, owing to labour showing a more reasonable spirit, were enabled to resume work, and the local authorities addressed themselves to the task of formulating an extensive scheme of urban development and plans for a greater Changsha. In 1929 the anti-Japanese boycott, after somewhat languishing in the early months, was renewed with vigour towards the close of the year. The province suffered from civil war and political vicissitudes in the spring, and, owing to an excessive rainfall, the rice crop was poor, giving only a five-tenths return. The embargo on the export of the staple, originally imposed in November 1928, was lifted for a few days only in the month of August, when 150,000 piculs were shipped from the port. The year 1930 opened with the brightest possible prospects. Peaceful conditions prevailed throughout the province; trade, owing to the termination of the long-drawn-out anti-Japanese boycott, no longer suffered from any artificial impediment; navigation on the Siang had reopened in the middle of February—an almost unprecedentedly early date, while heavy falls of snow in a winter of exceptional severity for this latitude gave the promise, in popular estimation, of a bumper rice crop in the succeeding months. In the latter particular expectations were wholly fulfilled, but in every other respect the year proved to be one of the most disastrous that Changsha had ever experienced. In May an army under the Kwangsi military leaders invaded Hunan from the south and, advancing through the province at great speed, captured Changsha on the 4th June. During the two weeks that they remained in possession of the city large sums of money were requisitioned and almost every available source was tapped for the sinews of war. This abortive invasion was the prelude to a disaster which was without parallel in the history of the province, and the origin of which was directly traceable to the period of social upheaval three years previously. For the indulgence unfortunately allowed to subversive tendencies in 1926 and 1927 had enabled the virus of communism to infiltrate deeply into the body politic of Hunan, whence, though temporarily hidden like a malignant cancer, it was presently to erupt with deadly and disastrous consequences. Already for some months past communists in the neighbouring province of Kiangsi had been showing marked activity, and armed bands had crossed the border from time to time and inflicted considerable damage. In May Liuyang and Pingchiang, large towns within 100 It of Changsha, were attacked and looted, and early in July a sensational raid was made upon Chenglingki, the port of Yochow. Encouraged by this success the communists resolved to advance upon the provincial capital itself, and on the 27th of that month intelligence was received that they were already almost within striking distance of the city. A general sauve qui peut of the panic-stricken inhabitants then ensued, the wealthier and more prominent residents taking refuge upon steamers and river craft of every description in order to escape to Hankow, and the local foreigners going on board the gun-boats lying in port for eventual con- veyance to the same destination. The communists entered Changsha on the 28th July and the losses inflicted upon the city and its inhabitants by incendiarism, looting, and financial levies during the nine days that they remained in control were of an appalling magnitude. Government offices and mission buildings were especially singled out for destruction. The headquarters of the provincial government were the first to be fired, after which the two Law CHANGSHA. 523 Courts and the various departmental offices of the provincial government—many of them large and imposing structures—were successively razed to the ground, involving in their loss that of a countless number of title-deeds, archives, and other irreplaceable records. Of the mission properties affected, the American Presbyterian Mission was by far the heaviest sufferer, and among foreign firms which sustained very serious losses from looting were Messrs. Jardine, Matheson, & Co. (whose hulk was also destroyed), the Standard Oil Company of New York, and the British-American Tobacco Company, heavy damage being also inflicted upon the latter company's recently completed office, the finest building of its kind in the province. While the local riff-raff confined itself to the looting of foreign property and the smaller Chinese shops, the communists proper, who had captured the city, conducted their depredations on system- atised lines, concentrating their attention on the shops of the gold and silver smiths and the silk stores, the valuable stocks of which they carried off when finally ejected by the Government forces. They also levied a sum equivalent to two months' rent from all householders, and exacted substantial amounts in cash from any well-to-do residents who remained on their premises. The loss suffered by Changsha during the few days of communist control has been estimated at 15 million dollars, to which must be added the losses of missions and foreign firms, amounting to half a million and a quarter of a million dollars respectively. Upon the Govern- ment troops' regaining control of the city martial law was rigidly enforced; many executions took place and every effort was made to comb out disaffected elements. Although the communists were driven from the city early in August, large numbers remained in the immediate neighbourhood for several weeks longer, frequent attempts being made to rush the defences under cover of darkness. This period was naturally one of extreme tension for the local inhabitants. Many of those who had been either unable or unwilling to leave before the capture of the city now made their way down river to Hankow or to the undisturbed area in the direction of Iyang, and it was estimated that as many as 100,000 persons fled from Changsha between the 26th July and the end of August. Even when the communist army finally withdrew from this neighbourhood at the beginning of September, bands of "reds " continued to terrorise the Tungting Lake area. Changteh, the chief city in North Hunan, though threatened on several occasions, was never actually attacked, but Tsingshih, Hwayung, and Nanhsien, flourishing towns to the north and east of the former city, were occupied by the communists and thoroughly looted, the total damage inflicted being estimated at some 4 million dollars. Immediately after the ejection of the communists the provincial authorities took active measures to prevent any possible repetition of the previous deplorable events by thoroughly reorganising the defences of the city, with the result that Changsha is now protected at vital points by an elaborate trench system strengthened by modern artillery and electric contact wires, and is considered to have been rendered impregnable against any ordinary attack. The feeling of general insecurity engendered by the chaos prevailing in July and August of 1930 not only completely disorganised trade at the time but rendered a speedy recovery impossible, even after the advent of more stable conditions. Banditry was rife throughout the country-side, and the authorities, in spite of their zeal and the necessarily drastic measures employed to eliminate subversive elements, came to realise that the seeds of communism, which had been propagated in the previous period of licence, had found in Hunan a receptive soil, and that the rank growth which had arisen and overrun the province was one which would render complete eradication a lengthy and difficult process. Comparative peace, if not prosperity, was enjoyed in Hunan during 1931. Following upon the establishment of an independent government in Kwangtung early in the year, and the adhesion thereto of the leaders of the Kwangsi military faction, an invasion of Hunan—with the Wu-Han cities as their ultimate objective—was planned by the 524 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Southern allies, who advanced up to the frontier of the province in August. The seriousness of the menace had, however, been earlier realised by the Central Government, which rushed large reinforcements, including a regiment of the National Guards, down to Hengchow, which they proceeded to fortify strongly as the first line of defence in the south. The invading troops, who had doubtless counted upon being able to march through the province and capture Changsha with no great difficulty, deemed it unadvisable to attempt to force the Hengchow sector, and the projected invasion was soon definitely abandoned. An extraordinarily heavy rainfall was experienced in the summer of this year, nearly 17 inches of rain being recorded at Changsha in the month of July. This had its unfortunate sequel in the most disastrous flood experienced in Central China for several hundred years. While 54 out of the 75 hsien in Hunan were affected to a greater or less extent, it was only in the north-east of the province that the inundation was of a calamitous nature. This area, where the resultant disaster was as serious as that experienced in the worst flooded districts in Hupeh, extended northwards from Siangyin and Iyang (110 li north and 160 li north-west of Changsha respectively) to the boundary of the province, and westwards as far as Taoyiian and Shihmen,—all these districts either bordering on, or being in the immediate neighbourhood of, the Tungting Lake. The official estimates of the losses and damage occasioned by this cataclysm are as follows: lives lost, 55,000; persons rendered homeless, 465,000; amount of damage caused to crops, $33,000,000. To relieve the ensuing distress active measures were taken by the provincial authorities, chambers of commerce, and local gentry, and large amounts of money and food were soon forthcoming either from official donations or collection from individuals. A disaster of this magnitude naturally reacted upon local trade, and the heavy falling off seen at this time in piece goods importations was largely due to economic conditions caused by the flood, consignments no longer going forward from Changsha, the usual distributing centre, to Changteh and other cities in the affected area round the Tungting Lake. In the autumn of this year occurred the last boycott in the decade— directed against Japanese goods and shipping,—and occasioned by the events which had recently occurred in Manchuria. It was conducted in a very orderly manner but with great effective- ness, with the result that the business of all local Japanese firms was brought to a complete standstill. The civil wars, famines, boycotts, and social and political upheavals with which the history of the 10 years under review is interspersed make a depressing catalogue, and when the inevitable reactions, to a greater or less extent, of each upon trade are considered it is indeed remarkable that the resultant business depression from time to time was not infinitely greater than that revealed in the statistics for the period, and it is gratifying that, in spite of these grave and successive drawbacks, whenever normal conditions obtained for a brief period, trade showed not only a recuperative capacity but even a tendency to expand. The net value of the trade of the port coming within the purview of the Customs, which amounted to nearly 30 million taels in 1922, had advanced to over 36 million taels in the last year of the decade. In four separate years of the period, however, the total had been from 1 to 2 million taels higher, the peak year being 1928. In 1927, when anarchic conditions prevailed for several months and labour unions had a free hand, local trade touched its nadir with less than 22\ million taels representing the year's total. As regards the import trade, no progressive expansion was possible owing to internal trouble, boycotts initiated from time to time against the products of one country or another and maintained with greater or less intensity for considerable periods, and a general decrease in purchasing power due, firstly, to the successive failure of crops and, secondly, to the low CHANGSHA. 525 exchange value of silver, the influence of the latter factor being especially felt in the closing years of the period. An examination of the Customs Returns for the decade shows that in foreign imports—the total net value of which decreased from 12\ million taels in 1922 to 101 million taels in 1931—there was a fairly general advance under the major headings up to 1926, and that the complete dislocation caused to trade by the events in 1927 was followed by a very large expansion in the next two years, which was, however, succeeded by a decline at the end of the decade. It was in foreign piece goods that this decline was especially marked, and was occasioned not merely by local causes but by the growing competition of native fabrics. The figures for kerosene oil illustrate the vicissitudes which foreign imports as a whole under- went during the decade under review. Importations of the above-mentioned product advanced steadily from 4f million gallons in 1922 to 13 million gallons in 1926, and, after the disastrous year of 1927, they recovered to 10^ and 12J million gallons in 1928 and 1929 respectively, relapsing to 7£ million gallons in the last two years of the decade. In gasolene, the demand for which—comparatively insignificant in 1922—increased rapidly in the following years owing to the building of roads and the development of motor traffic in the province, and also in sugar, further instances are provided of the trend in the import trade during these years. The demand for aniline dyes, and especially for sulphur black, showed a large increase during the period. It may be remarked that Changsha ranks as one of the principal centres of the dyeing industry in China, cloth being sent here for dyeing from points as far distant as Canton and shipped back on completion of the process, the recognised excellence of which, as carried out here, is supposed to be due to some peculiar virtue in the local water. It must be stated, however, that the total volume of the trade in artificial dyes cannot be precisely gauged by the figures shown under this heading in the Customs Returns—in which only steamer-borne cargo is included,—as a considerable quantity of these products have recently been entering the province by rail. Perhaps the most striking trade increase seen in any article of import during the decade is that under cigarettes, and as these are almost entirely rail-borne the totals appearing under this heading in the Customs statistics afford no clue to the large expansion in sales locally during the last 10 years. The total consumption of cigarettes in Hunan, which was estimated at 300,000 mille in 1922, had grown to 1,288,000 mille in 1931, the proportion of the native-made article in the respective totals advancing from 95 to 98 per cent. The value of Chinese imports passing through the Maritime Customs, which amounted to less than 4£ million taels in the first year of the decade, had risen to 15^ millions in 1931. Owing to the enormous advance made by native industries during the period, and the increase in the manufacture of foreign- type articles, native products in greater quantity and in vastly greater variety appeared on the market; and difference in price between these and competitive foreign imported goods became substantially greater in the closing years of the decade, owing to the decline in the exchange value of silver and the operation of higher tariffs. Also, the recurring anti-Japanese boycotts in recent years, combined with the growing patriotic demand for articles of Chinese manufacture, made for an increased use of the native article. While sales of piece goods and cigarettes especially illustrate this tendency, perfumery and minor articles de luxe of native manufacture became available in increased quantities, and, owing to the difference in price, largely sup- planted the foreign imported products. The value of the export trade coming within the cognizance of the Maritime Customs, which amounted to slightly over 13 million taels in 1922, showed a progressive increase up to 1925, when it reached the 16-million tael mark. A decline was seen in the next two years, followed by a recovery to 16£ million taels in 1928. Since then the trend has been steadily 526 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. downward, the total value of exports in 1931 amounting to Hk.Tls. 10,600,000 only. Cereals and mineral products are by far the most important articles in Hunan's export trade. The cultivation of rice is so extensive and the crops so prolific in this province that it has been called the granary of China, while its mineral wealth is so great as to render even approximate com- putation difficult. Unfortunately, the export trade had to contend with certain adverse factors during the decade which made impossible the steady expansion that might otherwise have been confidently looked for. As already mentioned in a previous paragraph, crops in successive years suffered severely either through flood or drought, necessitating from time to time, and often for considerable periods, the imposition of an embargo on the export of rice or other cereals; and far from there being a huge surplus available for the needs of other provinces, as was usually the case in the past, the quantity produced frequently proved insufficient for the actual needs of Hunan. The extent to which the trade in rice was affected may be gauged by the fact that, apart from a few days in August 1929, the export of the staple was either under an embargo or other restriction throughout the last three years of the decade; and that there was only one year in the period, namely, 1927, when exportation was possible during the whole of the 12 months. The heaviest shipments of the staple were made in the years 1924 and 1928, when they amounted to over 2\ and \ million piculs respectively. The export of minerals, Hunan's other main product, is governed by the demand from abroad, availability from other sources, and general trade conditions. In 1924 and 1925 there was a brisk demand for antimony for the manufacture of radio sets and electrical apparatus, with the result that, in spite of a large output from Mexico, where the mines can work at a profit only when the price is over $400, the price of regulus advanced beyond $750 a ton at the end of the latter year. This led to old mines in the Sinhwa district resuming work and, with over-production, prices soon fell rapidly, regulus being quoted in May 1926 as low as $268. The amount exported from Changsha in that year was the highest since the War boom of 1917, when Hunan held a practical world monopoly of the product. Antimony exports actually reached their highest figure in 1929, when 400,000 piculs of regulus, crude, and oxide were shipped from the port. Prices continued to rule low in the last two years of the decade and, owing to trade depression abroad, total exports of the metal had declined to 247,000 piculs in 1931. The amount of wolfram ore (tungsten) exported in 1931, namely, 7,600 piculs, while only slightly larger than the figure for the first year of the decade, was of a very much greater value owing to supplies being curtailed through the closing down of nearly all the mines in Kiangsi on account of communistic troubles. The peak year of activity in this highly valuable product was 1930, when 9,300 piculs were shipped from the port. Due to the demand for zinc ore in 1922 over 1 million piculs of the product were exported in that year. In 1924 exportations fell by two-thirds, but increased in the following year to 600,000 piculs owing to the high prices ruling on the London market; since that date the amount exported has never exceeded 400,000 piculs in any year. Exportations of lead ore increased early in the decade and up to 1926, in which year over 140,000 piculs were shipped away. Since then there has been a steady decline, only 17,000 piculs being exported in 1931. While exportations of pig lead, on the other hand, have increased in recent years, it is known that the deposits are rapidly becoming exhausted, and it is probable that henceforth the aggregate exported will become proportionally smaller; Heavy exportations of manganese ore—amounting in some years to half a million piculs—were made from 1922 to 1926. Just after this time, however, the mines were obliged to close down owing to labour troubles, practically no ore being exported until 1930, when 700,000 piculs were shipped, chiefly to Japan. Exportations dropped to a quarter of this figure in the last year of the decade, due partly to Japan's obtaining supplies from Russia and Mexico at cheaper rates and partly owing CHANGSHA. 527 to the economic boycott initiated locally in the closing months of the period. Exportations of coal and coke, which amounted to 100,000 and 270,000 tons respectively in 1922, had sunk to insignificant figures at the end of the decade, the work of the Pinghsiang Colliery being paralysed by labour troubles from the year 1926 onwards. The export of wood oil showed a progressive increase in the first half of the period, as much as 46,000 piculs being shipped in 1926. Since then the amount leaving this port has rapidly fallen, until in 1931 only 13,000 piculs were v exported—a total less than half that for the preceding year. This is directly due to trade depression abroad, the product being in the past shipped for the most part to the United States for use in the manufacture of paints. Broad beans were shipped from Changsha in large quantities from 1927 onwards, the peak year being 1929, when 247,000 piculs were exported, chiefly to North Europe for use in the manufacture of artificial fodder. The sharp decline recorded in 1930 was due chiefly to disturbances in the provinces preventing supplies reaching the port, and that in 1931 was caused by unfavourable climatic conditions, which made it impossible for the beans to be thoroughly dried, and thus rendered them useless for export abroad. Although local Chinese merchants began to do business direct with abroad in 1922, when a company started to export Hunan ores direct, such business was not permanently established until 1928, when four other firms began to make direct exportations of antimony, tungsten, and lead and zinc ores to Europe and America. Direct import business was also begun by two local Chinese firms in the same year and has since been carried on very success- fully, the articles dealt in being machinery, tools, and technical instruments. It may here be remarked that since 1928 the local fire insurance business has been almost exclusively handled by Chinese firms acting as the agents of foreign companies, and that only two of the latter companies have foreign representatives in this province at the present time. 2. Shipping.—The only oil-burning vessels in this district at present are those operated by the foreign oil companies. Motor vessels first began to ply on the Siang in 1925, and the number running at the end of the decade was seven in all, of which four were Chinese and three foreign. These are either engaged in passenger traffic or are used as tugs, and the average tonnage is 20 tons. The volume of local shipping in 1931 was practically identical with that at the beginning of the period under review. The total tonnage of steamers entered and cleared in the year 1922 was 485,417 tons, represented by 2,764 vessels entered and cleared. In 1931 there were 2,780 entries and clearances, aggregating 462,443 tons. As regards inland steam navigation traffic, the number of launches entered and cleared, which had decreased greatly during the disturbed period from 1926 onwards, advanced in 1931 to 9,323, averaging 55 tons—as compared with 10,040, averaging 41 tons, in 1922. 3. Revenue.—In view of Changsha's inland geographical situation by far the greater part of the foreign goods destined for this port pay duty at either Shanghai or Hankow, the bulk of the local revenue being therefore derived from exports. The total collection for 1922 was the lowest in the decade, amounting to only Hk.Tls. 360,000. Since then, although set-backs occurred from time to time owing to the failure of crops or disturbed conditions, there has been a fairly steady advance of some 30 per cent. every year. The collection, which had advanced in 1929 to Hk.Tls. 763,000—more than double the figure of seven years previously,—declined slightly in 1930, due to the complete disorganisation caused to trade for some months by com- munists, but more than recovered in the last year of the period under review when there was 528 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. an increase of over Hk.Tls. 300,000, and a total collection of over 1 million taels was recorded. The increases shown in previous years were due almost solely to expansion in the export trade, in which rice and Hunan ores are the most important articles. Movements of the former were irregular, owing to frequently imposed embargoes on the export of the staple; so that the revenue mainly depended, especially in 1929 and 1930, upon the trade in local ores, of which antimony is the most important. The fact that a record collection was made in 1931, a year in which rice was not permitted to be exported and when the demand for ores had generally declined, was solely due to the introduction of a higher import tariff and of the gold unit, and that these changes coincided with very large importations of kerosene oil through local with- drawals from bond. The increased duties derived from kerosene in this way—most of which, incidentally, was collected in the last month of the decade—represented about a quarter of a million taels, or approximately one-quarter of that year's total revenue collection. Provided that peaceful conditions continue to obtain in the province the practice of bonding oil locally and making direct importations of the product upon subsequent withdrawal will doubtless be carried on in the future on an even more extensive scale; and, with a revival in the demand for ores which may be looked for when the prevailing world depression termi- nates, a substantial increase in the revenue of the port may be confidently expected. 4. Currency and Finance.—There is little change to record in provincial currency, apart from the fact that the silver dollar has now become the regular medium of exchange, copper cents being used for small transactions only. Sycee is never seen in the local market. Hankow bank-notes, issued by the Bank of China and the Bank of Communications, circulated in the Changsha district up to 1926. Due to the political events which occurred in Central China in the latter year and in 1927, these notes became practically worthless and still remain unredeemed. Shanghai bank-notes first appeared in Changsha and other large com- mercial centres in Hunan early in the decade, but their circulation has always been on a strictly limited scale, though they are naturally keenly in demand and command a large premium whenever, as in 1924 and at the end of 1931, remittance rates on Hankow and Shanghai advance owing to either an embargo on the export of silver or disturbed conditions. The Hunan Mint, which had been established many years previously for the coining of 10-cash and 20-cash pieces, was farmed out to a leading merchant for some months in 1922, with the result that much suffering was caused to the poorer classes by the flooding of the market with inferior coins which promptly ensued. The exchange value of 10-cash pieces, which depreciated at that time from 186 to 212 to the dollar, dropped more and more in succeeding years, with the result that in 1926 the Mint closed down. At the end of 1931 the exchange rate for the 10-cash coins had fallen as low as 580 to the dollar. Since 1927 subsidiary notes in denominations of 10, 20, 30, and 50 cents (big money) have been issued by the Hunan Provincial Bank and two local industrial concerns. These notes, which are backed by a cash reserve which is examined by the authorities monthly, circulate only in Changsha, where they are readily accepted at par and prove a great convenience. 5. Agriculture.—Agriculture is still carried on in Hunan with old, primitive instruments and according to time-honoured methods. Modern equipment for use in the preparation of tea has, however, been extensively purchased of late, especially in the Anhwa district. In the cultivation of ginger an improvement has recently been made. This vegetable is now being CHANGSHA. 529 grown with water-melon, the leaves of the latter protecting the ginger shoots from the sun, while the ginger plant absorbs any excess of moisture in the soil and thus promotes the growth of the melon, for which comparative dryness is essential. There is practically no stock-raising in this province, and in spite of the excellent quality of the local pork—due to the animals being fed on rice and bran—pig-breeding has never developed into an industry of any importance. Duck-farming is carried on on an extensive scale, especially near the Tungting Lake. The Hunan duck is highly esteemed for its superior size and succulence, and the birds are exported to Hankow in considerable numbers. Attempts have frequently been made to conduct poultry-farming on modern methods, but owing to un- skilled management these have always been unsuccessful and financially disastrous. Foreign fertilisers were introduced into Hunan in 1924 but were found to be generally unsuited to the local soil, farmers alleging that their use rendered it quite unproductive after a few years. Native vegetable fertilisers are in consequence still chiefly utilised. An agricultural college, now controlled by the provincial Board of Education, was founded at Changsha as far back as 1902. There were three experimental farms attached to this institution at the end of 1931, and the number of students enrolled was 148. Instruction in agriculture is also given at Changsha in two privately owned schools and also at Yochow, where a model farm is conducted by the Reformed Church Mission. There are afforestation bureaux functioning under the Hunan Bureau of Reconstruction, at Changsha (where considerable progress in fruit cultivation has recently been made), Hengchow, and Changteh. Unsettled conditions have hitherto rendered impossible any great development in local afforestation, insufficiency of funds being an added handicap. 6. Industrial Development.—Disturbed conditions and labour strikes sadly retarded industrial development in Hunan during the decade. Not only were no new factories erected but old-established concerns were obliged to close down temporarily from time to time, and practically all were carrying on their business on a very reduced scale at the end of the period under review. The cost of living increased in the 10 years by 47 per cent., an advance which has been offset by an increase in the wages of factory hands from $12 to $18 a month. This, however, was conceded only after agitation by the workers. A labour union had been in existence for some years prior to 1922, and in the autumn of that year the employees of the Hunan No. 1 Cotton Mill, the Canton-Hankow Railway, and the Pingsiang Colliery, in unison with the workers in the various crafts and trades in Changsha, went on strike with the object of obtaining higher wages and better conditions—demands which were eventually conceded by the owners. No further strike occurred until 1926, when local labour succumbed to communistic propaganda, with the result that all industrial concerns were soon obliged to close down. Until the summer of 1927 there was a period of mob rule, the labour unions—now of" a distinctly bolshevist type—being allowed an entirely free hand. Finally, however, the authorities were obliged to take action and the unions were drastically suppressed; factories were gradually reopened and operatives resumed work, some slight concessions being accorded them. The Pingsiang Colliery, however, never recovered from the troubles of these years, when several shafts became flooded and, owing to continued labour disputes, work has since been paralysed, the output 34 CHANGSHA. 531 deposits, amounting to some 3 million tons, are being worked by modern methods, and the output is increasing. A light railway has been built to connect the mines with Liling, on the Changsha line, transportation to that point by junk being also possible throughout the year. Light railways convey antimony and lead and zinc ore from Sikwangshan to the Tze River and from Shuikowshan to the Siang respectively, for transportation to Changsha by junk, but other minerals are still carried by coolies from the place of production to the nearest river points. 8. Communications.—No railway construction took place in Hunan during the decade, and the trunk line of the Canton-Hankow Railway from Wuchang was not extended farther to the south from Chuchow, from which place a branch line runs to the Pingsiang mines in Kiangsi. The track is in poor condition, the express train occupying 13f hours to cover the 225 miles between Changsha and the northern terminus. Freight traffic has increased con- siderably, and In the second half of the year 1931 large quantities of goods were sent by rail from Hankow owing to a temporary increase in the dike dues imposed here on steamer-borne cargo. Three trains (express, ordinary, and freight respectively) run daily between Wuchang and Changsha in each direction, and a number of new Pullman cars have recently been purchased. The flood which occurred in the summer of 1931 washed away part of the track at Yiikiawan, in Hupeh, traffic being disorganised for several months in consequence. Through- communication has also been interrupted for considerable periods in recent years by the activities of bandits, especially in the area adjoining the Tungting Lake. While in 1922 there was not a single modern road in the province, there were six, of a total approximate length of 1,640 li, open to traffic at the end of the decade. The existing roads, which already link up most of the chief commercial centres of Hunan, are as follows: the main road from north to south, running from Changteh, on the Tungting Lake, to Chenchow and Liangtien, passing through Changsha, Siangtan, and Hengchow, 920 li; the Siangtan- Paoking Road in Central Hunan, 470 H; the Liling-Yuhsien Road, 190 li; and a road of 60 li connecting Changteh with Taoyiian. Other roads are at present under construction and will be completed shortly if sufficient funds are available. The extension of the first-named road to Liangtien brings it to within little more than 100 li from Lokchong, in Kwangtung province, the present northern terminus of a road running northward from Shaokwang; and, as the latter point is connected with Canton by rail, the completion of the short section from Liangtien will make direct communication possible by rail and road in the very near future from the Tungting Lake to the southern trade mart. The roads already open to traffic are excellently constructed throughout, and regular motor services are maintained, though at certain points, where rivers met with en route have not yet been spanned by bridges, a change of car is at present necessitated. The total number of cars maintained by the Hunan Road Bureau in 1931 was 175, the great majority of which were passenger vehicles. The Bureau's receipts for that year amounted to $2,166,000 (passenger and freight traffic contributing 85 and 15 per cent. respectively), an aggregate increase of $840,000 over the total for the previous 12 months. Facilities for the conveyance by air of mails and passengers are at present non-existent in this province, but the purchase of two machines for the linking up of Changsha with the Shanghai-Hankow-Chungking air line was under consideration at the end of 1931. Military aviation, however, has already made good progress. The Hunan Aviation Bureau was established by the provincial government in June of the above year, when an aerodrome was opened at Sinho 3 miles below the city, on the right bank of the Siang. The 10 machines in i 532 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. commission comprise eight "Moth" biplanes and two "Puss Moth" monoplanes. Under General Huang Fei, the energetic director of the Bureau, a high degree of efficiency is being attained. From 1926 to 1930 the work of the Postal Service in Hunan had to contend with grave difficulties through civil war and the activities of communists and banditti, and in 1927 certain minor establishments in disturbed districts were closed down in consequence. The number of offices and agencies operated in the province at the beginning and end of the decade respectively were as follows:— 1922. 1931. 79 88 .... 334 320 174 308 .... 1,196 959 114 137 Total 1,897 1,812 In spite of unfavourable conditions postal work in Hunan made excellent progress during the period, the following figures illustrating the very large expansion which has taken place:— 1922. 1931. Mail matter posted per capita . . . 0.033 0.53 Money orders issued S3,836,059 $5,897,976 Money orders cashed $4,292,047 $8,678,353 In 1930 the Postal Savings Bank was started and savings are now accepted at 10 offices in the province. Agencies were empowered to effect money order transactions from the same year. The Post Office has taken advantage of the recent great extension in motor roads in this province. These now feed a large number of connecting courier lines, thereby appreciably accelerating the transmission of mails to and from interior points. In 1916 telegraphic facilities were only available in Hunan at the chief commercial centres. In the succeeding years the number of offices of the Hunan Telegraph Administration was gradually increased, 63 having been opened in the province by 1926. Owing to the disturbances in 1927 a number of stations were closed, those functioning at the end of 1931 being 54 in all. The receipts of the Administration for the 10 years under review amounted to nearly 3 million dollars, while an approximately equal amount was due in addition for military telegrams despatched during the period. Changsha has had a telephone service since 1912, trunk (long-distance) calls to Siangtan— 80 It to the south—being made available three years later. In view of the imperfections, in certain Western countries, of telephone services established at a much earlier date, the Hunan Telephone Administration may be considered to function very creditably. Shui Lu Island, where most of the foreign residences are situated, is connected by telephone with Changsha city. A single exchange is in operation locally, and the total number of subscribers at the end of 1931 was 992, a 50 per cent. decrease as compared with 1929, and due to the destruction caused by communists in the intervening period. CHANGSHA. 533 The transmission of radio messages was made possible in Hunan in 1929 when a short- wave installation was set up at Changsha. The wireless facilities now available as a complement to the land wire service are especially valuable when the latter is interrupted owing to weather conditions or other causes. 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—While no conservancy work was attempted during the decade, navigation on the Siang was considerably facilitated by the many additions made to the aids previously existing and by the surveying and marking of channels by the Marine Department of the Customs, especially at the difficult stretches at Sanchachi and Sianingkang. In June 1923 signal stations were established at Haohokow and Pengtaochia; range beacons, of one low and one high white pole, were erected just above Siangyin, above Pengtaochia signal station (two sets) and at Sinkang respectively, and 14 direction beacons were set up between Changsha and the entrance to the Tungting Lake at Lulintan. The following table shows the lowest water recorded during the period:— Feet. , Inches. 1922 0 1923 0 1924 0 1925 - 0 1926 0 Date. 1st January. 27th and 28th January, 3rd and 4th February. 27th to 29th December. 22nd and 26th December. 1st to 3rd January. Feet. 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1 -0 - 0 2 1 Inches. Date. 31st December. 2nd and 7th November. 5th to 12th January. 15th to 18th January. 1st and 2nd December. 10. Administration.—A Provincial Assembly for Hunan was convened at Changsha early in 1922, when the following changes were made in the local government. The Civil Governor, who had hitherto also held the post of Commander-in-Chief, relinquished the latter title, all military officials being placed under the Bureau of Military Affairs. A Department of Provincial Affairs, a Board of Auditors, and a Bureau of Industry were created; and the Bureaux of Finance, Interior, Justice, Foreign Affairs, and Education were reorganised. The above form of administration was retained until 1926, when the Nationalist Government substituted the title of Chairman of the Provincial Government for that of Sheng-chang, and allotted Military Affairs to the Commander of the 4th Route Army (who is concurrently Chair- man of the Provincial Government and Justice to the newly reconstituted Hunan High Court); while the Bureau of Foreign Affairs and the post of Prefect were abolished, though that of Commissioner for Foreign Affairs was retained until 1929. Moreover, the Bureaux of Reconstruction, Finance, Education and Civil Administration replaced the corresponding departments previously functioning, and the Magistrate was re-named Hsien-chang. Finally the whole administration was placed under the supervision of the provincial Tangpu. The Changsha Municipal Council, inaugurated in 1916, did useful work early in the decade in enlarging a number of streets in the city. In 1924 plans were formulated for the construction of the Chungshan Road as the main artery of traffic from the Changsha East railway station to the Bund; for making a broad road on the site of the old city wall (with the exception of the west side, which was built over when the wall was demolished), and for widening the Bund. In 1927 the Municipal Council was reorganised under the name of 534 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Municipal Preparatory Council. The first-named road—a broad, asphalted thoroughfare along which a number of imposing buildings are now being erected—was completed in August 1930, and the other in the year following. The work on the Bund has not yet been taken in hand, but the widening of various streets in the city is being proceeded with. Prior to its abolition in 1931 the receipts from likin in this province amounted to the approximate annual total of 2k million dollars. Owing to protests from the public in view of the inconvenience in the method of collection the provincial government substituted a t'ungshui for likin in 1928, and the new tax was collected at the time of export only. A kerosene tax was levied in Hunan from 1926 until 1929, when it was incorporated in the new Customs tariff enforced from the 1st February of that year. On goods passing through the Customs at Changsha, in addition to wharfage dues (levied at the rate of 2 per cent. of the Customs 5 per cent. duty), dike dues, amounting to 10 times the wharfage dues paid, are also collected. The collection of dike dues was instituted in 1927 and was vested in the Superintendent of Customs until May 1931, when it was taken over by the provincial Reconstruction Bureau. The rate of the dues was increased on the 1st July 1931, when they began to be assessed on the basis of the new tariff, the original rate being, however, reverted to before the end of the year. A business tax was instituted in this province upon the abolition of likin at the beginning of the year 1931, and was still in force at the close of the decade. This is a tax levied on capital at the rate of from 0.10 to 1 per cent., according to the nature of the business concerned, and is paid annually by all merchants and shopkeepers, exception being accorded only to such importers and exporters who pay consumption tax on their goods. A special products tax was instituted in Hunan in July 1931 and was levied on certain staple exports, such as beans, paper, and timber. From November 1931 this tax was incorporated with the consumption tax alluded to above, which is levied on all imports and exports on which the new consolidated tax has not been paid. The following other taxes, each of which has been in force for many years, are still collected locally: the tobacco and wine tax paid by the purchasing of revenue stamps, which are affixed to the case or receptacle concerned; and the mining tax, collected at the mines upon all mineral products. 11. Justice and Police.—The judicial machinery in Hunan has undergone a number of changes during the last 10 years. In the provincial capital the Supreme Court of Assize and the collateral Court of Prosecution, each under the control of the Bureau of Justice, and the two District Courts subordinate to them, functioned satisfactorily until the reorganisation which took place in 1926. In that year the first-named two courts were amalgamated to form the Hunan High Court, and from the two District Courts the Changsha Local Court similarly emerged. Apart from the few cities in the province where a Local Court exists, the dispensing of justice is in the hands of the Magistrate, who is concurrently the presiding officer in court, where he is assisted by one or more judicial officers in adjudicating upon the cases heard. Owing to the subversive activities of communists here in 1926 and 1927, and the danger which they constituted to the province, a Special Assize Court for Communists was established in the latter year for the trial of these offenders. A Special Code for use in this Court was at the same time drawn up, its provisions being made more draconic after the sack of Changsha by communists in 1930. At Changsha there are two prisons belonging to the District Court. A modern prison, with workshops and exercise ground, is to be built shortly by the Hunan High Court. There is also a penitentiary, established in 1927, where criminals are confined with a view to their ultimate moral reformation. The Court for the Punishment of Corrupt Officials CHANGHSA. 535 was merged in the Hunan High Court in 1927. A Committee for Examining Laws in Hunan was instituted in 1929, its duty being to prevent the enacting of any regulation by the provincial authorities that is at variance with the laws passed by the Central Government. At the opening of the decade the department controlling all the police in the province was known as the Hunan Police Bureau, which was subordinate to the Board of Interior. In 1923 the Bureau's name was changed to Ching-ch'a-t'ing and in 1926, in the general reorganisation which took place after the revolution, it was renamed Bureau of Public Safety, and placed under the Civil Administration Bureau. Originally both the land and water police were under a single official, but owing to the increase in local trade, and the necessity of affording due protection on and along the river, the Water Police Department was made a separate entity with its own headquarters at the above period, though it remained subordinate to the same Bureau as its sister department on land. To secure convenience of control, Changsha in the early years of the Republic was divided into six police districts—the east, west, north, south, central, and Shang Pu respectively,—the police office controlling the last- named district, the area near the Bund, being created into an independent department under its own Chief of Police. The difficulty caused from time to time by the existence of two officials of this rank finally resulted in the Shang Pu department being incorporated in the western police district early in 1931. The local police force is a well-disciplined body of men, upon whose organisation considerable care has been expended by the authorities. The head of each police district is responsible to the Chief of the Bureau for the maintenance of order in the area under his control. A specially instituted sub-department is entrusted with the training of recruits, while the issue of pay is under strict supervision. A police gazette is issued three times a month to keep the public informed of the Bureau's activities, and a general report is also published from time to time. One of the responsibilities devolving on the Changsha police is the giving of the alarm whenever an outbreak of fire occurs in the city. A member of the force is always on duty on the summit of a seven-storied tower at the Central Police Station where the fire-bell is hung, and whenever a fire breaks out the fire department is at once notified of the occurrence, and also of the police district concerned, by the number of times the bell is struck. For the more effective suppression of communists a regulation was made in 1930 whereby all householders, in collective groups of five, hand in a statement guaranteeing that no communist is harboured on their premises. The enforcement of this very practical measure is attended to by the police, to whom all changes of residence must be immediately notified. The following were the fire departments maintained in Changsha at the end of the decade: a police fire brigade, a brigade organised by the Changsha Philanthropic Association, and a volunteer brigade. These three brigades have a total number of 23 engines, all of the manual type. Moreover, the various Chieh T'uan or associations formed in contiguous streets, each maintained one or more fire-engines in addition to the above. 12. Military and Naval Changes.—While, as recorded in a preceding section, the posts of Commander-in-Chief and Civil Governor were separated in 1922, and the various military officials were placed under the Bureau of Military Affairs, actually the direction of all troops in the province was retained by the Sheng-chang. From the above year until 1926 the military forces in Hunan amounted to five divisions, exclusive of a mixed brigade of Hupeh troops which was stationed at Changsha during these years. The Governorship, hitherto held 536 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. by General Chao Heng-ti, passed successively to General T'ang Sheng-chih, commanding the 4th Army, in 1926; to General Ch'eng Ch'ien, commanding the 6th Army, in 1927; to General Lu T'i-ping, commanding the 2nd Army, in 1928; and finally to General Ho Chien in 1929, when his troops were given the collective name of the 4th Route Army, the command of which he holds concurrently with the position of Chairman of the Provincial Government. Following upon the sack of Changsha by communists in August 1930 a large military force was based for some months upon Liuyang, a city midway between the provincial capital and the Kiangsi border, to ensure the restoration of order in that area. At the close of the decade the 4th Route Army consisted of five divisions, exclusive of a division of Szechwan troops in north-west Hunan under General Ho Chien's control. 13. Health and Sanitation.—In spite of the many troubles which occurred at Changsha during the decade public health has shown a remarkable improvement. A most striking feature of these years has been the steadily increasing trend of public opinion in favour of modern medical practice, and it is gratifying to medical practitioners to think that their efforts may in some measure have contributed to this growth of confidence. The hospitals carrying on work at Changsha (apart from the military hospital, to which the general public are not admitted) are four in number, viz., the Hunan-Yale Hospital (attached to which is the Hunan- Yale Medical College), the Changsha Union, or Red Cross, Hospital, the Hunan Community Hospital, and the Hudson-Taylor Memorial Hospital. The first-named, founded in 1915 by the provincial government in co-operation with the Yale Mission, is the chief medical centre in the province. From 1921 onwards a number of well-trained physicians were sent out from the college each year; but, owing to the chaotic conditions at the end of 1926 and the beginning of 1927, the hospital and college staffs were obliged to leave the port, both institutions temporarily ceasing to function. Due to the disorganisation caused and damage suffered during the disturbed period, and owing to the fact that very few of the original members of the staff returned to Changsha, the hospital found itself severely handicapped upon reopening in May 1927; while the medical college was unable to resume work until two and a half years later. The staff, however, gradually increased and work developed until July 1930, when the Hunan- Yale, with other of the local hospitals, was looted during the sack of the city by communists, the damage inflicted being far worse than in 1927, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that work was resumed after this second disaster. The Red Cross Hospital, in the centre of the city, was reorganised under the name of the Changsha Union Hospital in 1924. It has from the first been very closely connected with the Hunan-Yale Hospital and has always been staffed wholly by graduates of the latter's Medical College. Great progress has been made in recent years by this institution, which treats a very large number of patients. The Hunan Community Hospital was established in 1923, and an isolation hospital was added in 1928. Both are in charge of a Japanese medical man, but doctors from other local hospitals assist there whenever necessary. The Hudson-Taylor Memorial Hospital was established by the China Inland Mission in 1927. It is staffed by two German doctors and does excellent work. Mention should also be made of the Hunan Sanatorium for Tuberculosis, which, although built in 1917, was not opened until 1929 owing to lack of funds. It also is closely connected with the Hunan-Yale Hospital, whose staff has charge of the patients. The enormous growth in local medical work and the increased confidence of the public in modern medical treatment is seen by a comparison of the statistics for the years 1922 and 1931. In the former year 21 doctors at two hospitals treated 1,696 in-patients and 53,730 out-patients, whereas in 1931 28 doctors at four hospitals treated in-patients and out-patients numbering 4,732 and 245,371 respectively. CHANGSHA. 537 In order to ensure that all medical practitioners have attained a sufficiently high scientific standard, examinations are held from time to time in accordance with Government regulations. The great majority of practitioners are now registered at police headquarters. In the last 10 years there have been frequent outbreaks of cholera, while smallpox, measles, diphtheria, and typhoid were occasionally endemic in certain areas. In compliance with the request of the local authorities the Hunan-Yale Hospital gave free prophylactic treatment for typhoid and cholera in the summer of 1929. Four special stations were then established in the city, injections being given to 13,200 persons, with the result that the number of cases from these epidemics in that year was materially reduced. Also, when disease broke out at Hankow in the summer of 1931, due to the floods in the Yangtze Valley, the Hunan-Yale Hospital immediately began to give free inoculations against cholera and typhoid in the hospital clinic and in two other stations that were quickly opened in the city. In this work the Changsha Union and Hunan Community Hospitals collaborated, and the total number of persons to whom injections were given was 57,436. Of its own accord and in order to further the aims of the Government, the administration of the Hunan-Yale Hospital has initiated various activities, of which the following, the first of their kind in the province, deserve to be recorded. A pre-natal clinic was established in 1921 for the purpose of encouraging enceintes to have recourse to the hospital, and thereby reducing maternal and infantile mortality, a few beds in the maternity ward being offered to the poor without charge. Between 1927 and 1931 the number of obstetrical cases increased threefold. A school of midwifery was opened in 1928 with the object of supplying the community with the services of trained midwives. A two years' course was given, and 30 graduates of the school are now carrying on their vital work in various parts of Hunan. In compliance with the instructions of the Ministry of Health a vaccination training class was instituted in 1930 with the object of making vaccination against smallpox more general. A two months' course was offered and 120 students were sent to the hospital from various districts, where, having returned upon the completion of their training, they are now reported to be doing good work. Smallpox cases have only rarely been met with in recent years. There are no quarantine regulations at Changsha. When, in September 1931, the National Quarantine Service declared Hankow to be cholera-infected, arrangements were made whereby the necessary inspections were carried out by the Customs Medical Officer and pratique granted in the case of vessels coming from that port, so that the spread of the epidemic was in this way undoubtedly checked. Neither in Changsha nor any other city on the Siang is there any modern drainage system, all drainage being directly into the river, without segregation. In consequence, whenever an epidemic breaks out in this area, not only are the cities lower down liable to be affected by the water, but all, both above and below, become endangered by the unchecked passenger traffic. For the carrying out of the medical inspection and supervision required at such times quarantine regulations appear highly necessary. In spite of the numerous grave disturbances by which the decade is marked, very considerable progress has been made in both the construction of new thoroughfares and the widening of old, and the work carried out under this head has been detailed in a preceding section of this report. The provincial authorities are now planning to extend the boundaries 538 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. of the city, so that it may embrace all places lying within a radius of 3 miles from its present limits, and already there is a marked increase in the construction of new buildings in this future urban area. There is no modern system of water supply in Changsha, all drinking-water being obtained either from the river or from wells. The latter are of two kinds, those dug to a depth of from 10 to 20 feet, and natural surface springs, of which there is a number in the south part of the city. The water obtained from the latter is of good quality, but the other is generally impure owing to the wells being insufficiently protected from dirt and contamination,— a fault which explains the existence of various local endemics, such as typhoid fever and dysentery. The river water, on the other hand, is also naturally impure owing to the drainage which it receives throughout its course. The local government recently decided to drill a number of artesian wells in the city. One of these has already been completed, and work on the others will be commenced shortly. The public wells met with in the streets all over Changsha constitute one of the features of the city. The circular opening, of a diameter of 12 inches, is flush with the ground, and into this wooden buckets are lowered by rope and later withdrawn by the windlass which is erected over each. Health and sanitation in Changsha have shown a considerable improvement in the past decade. If stabilised government could be assured during the 10 years to come the attendant progress would be beyond belief. 14. Education.—To summarise educational development in Hunan during the past decade is rendered somewhat difficult owing to the fact that the greater part of the provincial records were destroyed during the communist occupation of Changsha in 1930. What may be regarded as the outstanding features in the period were, firstly, the swing of the students towards radicalism, which came to its height in 1926-27, and the reaction therefrom during the succeeding four years, when the students' sympathy with communism had largely disappeared. Borne along with the tide in 1926 the students were misled by the promises of agitators, which were sincerely believed in by many, and only later came to realise that such agitation had merely resulted in the closing of their schools and the interruption of their education for a prolonged period. The past 10 years have seen a slow development of education throughout the province, necessarily slow, owing to the various political changes with their resultant unrest and financial disorganisation. In the capital, however, the number of primary schools and students has shown a very large increase and, owing to the fact that more trained teachers have been available, the quality of the teaching has improved. Generally speaking, the financial administration of the schools has been carefully supervised. All Government and private schools are crowded and there is pressing need for an extension of the system of the former. In school buildings a great improvement is noticeable and all those now being built are of excellent type. There appears to be urgent need for the local government's plan for vocational education to be further developed and for financial support to be regular and adequate. The devotion of a number of Chinese educational leaders to their schools in times of political and financial difficulty has been very noteworthy. In Hunan at the close of the decade there were, for boys, six Government and six private higher middle schools, and 43 Government and 36 private lower middle schools; as well as nine middle schools for girls, of which two were conducted by the Government and seven were private institutions. The number of vocational schools for boys and girls was 41, and CHANGSHA. 539 normal schools, 47. Another type of school which should be mentioned, owing to the large number of students enrolled, is the supplementary school for children and adults who have not received a regular school education. This "people's education" is conducted on a large scale, practically every established school having one or more classes of this kind. Hunan University, situated at Yuloshan, opposite Changsha, on the west bank of the Siang, was founded in 1925 by an amalgamation of several Government institutions of higher learning. Although the University's development has been hindered by disturbed conditions and lack of adequate financial support, it has already begun to do excellent work. One of the most remarkable changes during the past 10 years in the educational complexion of Hunan has been that which has taken place in regard to missionary education. In 1921 there were seven higher middle schools in the province conducted by missions, as well as three colleges in which some 300 students were enrolled. Due to the agitation carried on by radical students and political leaders in 1926-27 all of these schools were forced to suspend and, as a result of these troubles, the finances of the mission boards were considerably curtailed. Advantage was taken of this suspension to restudy the situation in regard to needs, the possibility of support, and particularly the new Government regulations requiring the regis- tration of schools and the vetoing of compulsory religious courses. The consequence was that rom 1928 to the end of the decade only two higher middle schools were operating in Hunan with any mission connexion, viz., the Fu Siang Girls' School and the Yali Union Middle School for boys, both at Changsha, each of which has a complete college preparatory course and has been registered with the Government. There are, however, perhaps five schools in different parts of the province which are planning to carry the three years of the junior middle school. Of the three Missionary Colleges, none is carrying on work in Hunan at present. The Lutheran College at Iyang has been closed, while the Huping College at Yochow and the College of Yale-in-China at Changsha have combined with others to form the Central China College at Wuchang, which has been registered with the Central Government. All of these schools under mission auspices are operating completely in accord with Government requirements. Religious study or exercise is no longer compulsory in them, though voluntary exercises and classes are still conducted. It is generally felt that the schools have gained by these changes. Those that are open are open as integral parts of the national school system, not as "foreign schools." Their religious life is very much alive, depending on the religious interests and activities of the faculty and the Christian students themselves, and not on the enforcement of sundry regulations. This linking up with the national educational system has freed mission schools from much antagonism. Since 1928 the mission schools have not lacked students: their standards are recognised and their strict discipline is appreciated by parents who perhaps have no religious interests. At the present time students in Hunan are conservative for the most part, and there is a considerable group who, having had experience of political agitation in the past, would now avoid entanglement in any such movement. The number at present with leanings towards communism is quite insignificant. 15. Literature.—Owing to political upheavals and higher operating costs the number of newspapers and periodicals published in Changsha declined appreciably during the decade. In 1931 there were nine daily newspapers with a maximum individual circulation of 6,000 copies, and two monthly publications issued by the Hunan Industrial Association and the Hunan Mining Guild rspectively. No weekly periodical was published. Of the nine daily papers mentioned, five were produced by private concerns receiving a monthly subsidy from the local 540 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. government, and the remaining four were issued under the auspices of the provincial Kuo-min-tang, the provincial government, the Bureau of Education, and the Changsha Chamber of Commerce respectively. Only three of these papers obtain their news by telegraph or radio: the remainder merely copy extracts from newspapers published elsewhere. The number of printing presses in Changsha at the beginning of the decade, amounting to some 10 in all—of which only two or three were of the n'on-manual type—had by 1931 increased to nearly 40, of which eight were equipped with modern machinery. The years from 1926 onwards saw a remarkable increase in the production of pamphlets, this medium being used in particular for the dissemination of the doctrine of the San Min Chu I. 16. Population.—The most recent edition—that for 1930—of the Hunan Official Year Book, in which the population and households in each district are detailed, gives the total population of the province as 30,017,100. The Kung-an Chii states that the population of Changsha in 1931 was 381,204, as compared with 273,926 10 years previously. Comparative statistics illustrating the increase in the whole province during the same period are not available; but such increase would be due solely to the excess of births over deaths (to which the extension of modern medical work has of course contributed) and not to immigration. Heavy loss of life was caused by a severe famine which, due to insufficient rainfall, began in the autumn of 1921 and became accentuated in the spring and summer of the following year. In 1925 another famine, also caused by drought, affected 57 out of the 75 hsien in the province. Owing to a flood in the early summer of 1926 the crops in many parts of Hunan became a total loss. Another flood, far more serious but restricted almost wholly to a single area, occurred in the summer of 1931, when a large section of North-east Hunan was completely inundated, the total number of lives lost being 55,000. Apart from the above-mentioned years, when acute conditions prevailed, there were other periods of serious scarcity, an embargo on the export of rice being frequently imposed; and for no considerable length of time during the decade was Hunan in the position to make the usual heavy shipments of the staple to other provinces. 17. Civil Disorder.—The long distance separating Changsha from the coast renders impracticable any systematised smuggling from abroad. It is known that the evasion of domestic (export) duty by the expedient of forwarding native goods from treaty ports to Changsha via two inland places has been successfully carried on on an extensive scale, but large seizures recently effected locally of goods being so transported have checked this illegal practice. The imposing, from time to time, of an embargo on the export of rice has led to attempts being made to ship the staple clandestinely to Hankow, where it can be disposed of at a handsome profit. Special measures have now been taken for the prevention of this illegal traffic. The Salt Administration having recently averred that salt was being smuggled from Hankow in large quantities, appropriate joint preventive action has now been initiated. The frequent local disturbances which occurred during the decade and the lack of control, at such times, in outlying districts, were responsible for a serious increase in banditry, which became rife in many parts of the province, especially at times of economic distress due to failure of the crops. While the evil has not yet been completely stamped out, especially in the district between the Tungting Lake and the Kiangsi border, safety and order, owing to the energy of the authorities, is now more assured in the interior of Hunan than in any neighbouring province. CHANGSHA. 541 In conclusion I desire to express my acknowledgments to the following: Mr. F. S. Hutchins, Treasurer of the Hunan-Yale Mission, for the section on education, and Dr. K. Y. Wang, Customs Medical Officer, for that on health and sanitation; Mr. Chiang Yiin-feng, Postal Commissioner, for the paragraph on the Post Office; Mr. Y. H. Liu, Director of the Hunan Road Bureau, for data on roads and motor transport; and Messrs. Y. M. Ho, of the Hunan Reconstruction Bureau, and C. P. Liu, Director of Geological Survey in Hunan, for data on mining. I am indebted to the local official Bureaux for their courtesy in supplying sundry information, and to Messrs. F. Czarnetzki, A. Happold, and H. Hommell for important data on trade. My thanks are due to the following members of the staff for the undermentioned sections: Messrs. Ko I-hua (3, 10, and 11), Ko Tsoon (4), Tai Ngan Jeh (5), Liu Sheng Tung and Ho Ching Cheng (6 and 7), Chin Neng-chiu and Chang Hsiao-hsiin (8), Boyd and Strandvig (9), Kung I (15), and Liu Ching Jen and Chih Pen Chao (16 and 17), as well as to the whole staff for the ready co-operation afforded to me throughout. H. C. MORGAN, Acting Commissioner of Customs. Changsha, 3\st December 1931. 1th May 1932. YOCHOW. 1. Trade.—Yochow or, more strictly speaking, Chengling, where the Yochow Custom House is situated—some 4 miles from Yochow city—is the first Maritime Customs establish- ment touched by exports coming from, and the last passed by imports going to, the districts around the Tungting Lake and such ports as Changteh, Tsingshih, and Yiyang. In investi- gating the decennial trade of the port, therefore, conditions at the various lake ports must be taken into consideration. The picture obtained is one of almost unrelieved gloom, conditions, due to civil wars and banditry, growing steadily worse year by year with monotonous regularity and culminating in the sacking of both Yochow and Chengling, closely followed by that of Changsha in the last year of the decade but one by the 8th Division of the Red Army. A very unpleasant incident at this time was the looting of the Yochow Customs premises and the kidnapping of the Chinese Commissioner and several members of his staff, who were not released until ransom had been paid. As a result, it was decided to remove the Yochow Customs Offices to Hankow, where, at the moment of writing, they are still functioning, merely leaving at Yochow several Tidewaiters to deal with local shipping formalities, with a launch as a base in case a hasty evacuation should prove necessary. Throughout the decade the lake ports have suffered from civil wars and the depredations of bandits, who have during the last few years become well organised and now often call their bands divisions of the Red Army, fly their own flags with the hammer and sickle device of Soviet Russia, and placard river banks with communist, anti-Government, anti-imperialistic, and anti-foreign posters. Imports.—The years 1922, 1924, and 1930 show somewhat large values for imports of machinery and parts thereof, the figures respectively being Hk.Tls. 28,000, Hk.Tls. 20,000, and Hk.Tls. 42,000 odd. This machinery, however, was not imported so much for the erection of new factories and mines as to keep those in existence under repair. In 1931 the figure dropped to Hk.Tls. 7,000 odd. Needles dropped from 14,000 mille in 1922 to 1,750 mille in 1931, the reason being that native industry has adopted the use of machinery for knitting and sewing. Chinese cotton yarn shows a decline from 67,000 piculs in 1922 to 26,000 piculs in 1931. It is almost certain, however, that these last figures are misleading, as large quantities were imported to Yochow by rail and did not come under Customs control. A drop in the import of foreign shirtings and sheetings is attributed to the general use from a purely economical viewpoint of the Chinese articles. Cotton socks, foreign and Chinese, show a drop from 28,000 dozen in 1923 to 3,000 dozen Chinese-made (no foreign) in 1931. Small weaving factories have been established locally for the manufacture of these last commodities, and their products meet local needs. Factories for the manufacture of toilet soap have also been established, and a big decrease in soap imports is to be noted. The demand for kerosene oil has remained fairly steady in the neighbourhood of 2,500,000 American gallons per year. In 1926 a large stock was imported owing to the completion of an oil installation built by the Standard Oil Company at Chengling, but in the year 1927 there was an excess of re-exports over imports owing to political disturbances and local unrest. In 1928 nearly 61 million gallons were brought in to replenish stocks, but the year 1930 showed a big drop to 333,000 gallons owing again to unsettled conditions. 544 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. Exports.—A notable increase in the value of quicksilver occurred between 1928 and 1931, the amount jumping from Hk.Tls. 83,000 to Hk.Th. 531,000. The average price was Hk.Tls. 160 per picul, and it would appear that Japan, who formerly bought this metal from the United States, was the principal purchaser. The yearly exports of lotus-nuts for the decade have been steady, ranging from 12,000 to 16,000 piculs with the exception of 1931, when only some 4,000 piculs were exported, due to the disastrous flood of that year. The figures for ramie show a decrease, having dropped from 69,000 odd piculs in 1922 to 49,000 piculs in 1931. Wood oil remained steady at 400,000 piculs, with the exception of the troubled year of 1927, when it dropped to 247,000 odd piculs, and of the flood year of 1931 when 310,000 piculs were exported. In 1922 9,000 piculs of varnish were exported, in 1930 2,000 piculs, and in 1931 only 800 piculs. Owing to the restrictions on the movement of different kinds of rice, the export of this commodity has almost ceased, although in actual fact Hunan remains one of the principal rice producing centres in China. The following table gives the total value of the trade (imports and exports) of the port for the years 1922-31. While the flood of 1931 undoubtedly was an important factor explaining the decrease for the last year of the decade, when the low value of silver during the last years is taken into consideration, one may definitely state that the trade of the port and lake district has decreased during the 10-year period. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. 1922 19,529,241 1927 14,000,833 1923 . . . \ 27,045,429 1928 .... 24,831,662 1924 23,034,559 1929 21,289,993 1925 .... 22,658,612 1930 .... 19,741,021 1926 20,135,861 . 1931 13,881,508 2. Shipping.—The following table shows the yearly tonnage of vessels entered and cleared during the decade. The figures for vessels plying under General Regulations are largely made up of the tonnage of Ichang and Changsha steamers which only call at Yochow en route. They also include tonnage of ocean-going vessels, of which there were 33 calling at the port during the period, almost all of them oil tankers for the Standard Oil Installation. The tonnage figures for vessels plying under Inland Waters Steam Navigation Rules, mainly motor- launches and tows, refer almost entirely to shipping between Yochow and the lake ports. Under General Under I.W.S.N. Regulations. Rules. Tons. Tons. 1922 2,451,117 204,839 1923 2,274,514 212,046 1924 2,645,477 199,757 1925 2,459,792 177,448 1926 2,321,500 151,781 1927 816,609 85,420 1928 1,667,567 125,143 1929 1,820,517 165,909 1930 1,784,954 126,038 1931 2,237,153 97,429 YOCHOW. 545 3. Revenue.—Although the figures in the table (indicating total revenue collection) given below show how revenue has increased during the decade, they do not indicate an increase in the value of the trade of the port. It must be borne in mind that the figures for the years 1929-31 represent the revenue collected under the respective increased Import Tariffs of 1929, 1930, and 1931, the two latter on a gold unit basis, and the increased Export Tariff of 1931. The total collection for the period 1902-11 was Hk.Tls. 495,241; for 1912-21 it was Hk.Tls. 1,012,614; and for 1922-31 it was Hk.Tls. 3,259,816. Hk.Tls. Hk.Tls. 1922 218,530 1927 138,723 1923 224,632 1928 261,416 1924 200,982 1929 781,949 1925 221,943 1930 594,147 1926 261,074 1931 356,418 4. Currency and Finance.—As reported in the last Decennial Report, the copper cent remains the ordinary medium of exchange in this district, copper cash having disappeared. No further attempt has been made by any bank of importance to open branches at Yochow or at Changteh and Tsingshih, as experience has evidently convinced the directors that the business of the community does not justify the necessary outlay. Shanghai and Hankow bank-notes are in circulation and are freely accepted by shopkeepers. Silver dollars are little used and their value varies whether the dollar be "chopped" or "clean." During the last 10 years the market value fluctuated between 280 and 540 copper cents to the dollar. The rise commenced in 1926. Subsidiary silver coins are not in general use and are only accepted at a heavy discount. 5. Agriculture.—Notable progress or development of agriculture can hardly be said to have taken place during the decade. With banditry and civil wars prevalent throughout most of the period, the peasantry have been reduced to the lowest possible standard of living, with little incentive beyond providing for daily needs. Also there is the Chinese farmer's traditional conservatism against change and innovation. The intelligent use of artificial fertilisers, for example, would without doubt improve the yield of the fields and thus advance the farmer's economic position, but little business seems to have been done in the district as regards the sale of such products. What little has been imported has been shipped in by native junks, as no figures appear in the port returns. Foreign firms at Hankow dealing in fertilisers state, however, that if a few farmers in each locality could definitely be persuaded that their land would yield greater and more profitable returns through the use of artificial fertilisers, the business would gradually grow and take care of itself. They state, moreover, that a great difficulty in establishing markets in the first instance is the need of substantial guarantees from Chinese agents handling the product, who are reluctant to be left with slow-moving stocks on hand in a district notorious for brigandage and banditry. Modern machinery for agricultural purposes is not yet used in the district, as farmers are too poor to pay for these articles and farms are too small. Collective farming or co- operative purchase of such machines seems necessary before their use can be stimulated. Although timber and bamboo exported in rafts do not come under the control of the Customs, they remain important articles of export from Hunan and there seems to be little decrease in the quantities exported each year. While a considerable quantity of cotton is grown 35 546 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. around Changteh, it is of an inferior quality and the supply is insufficient for the needs of the population. The Chinese demand for cotton yarn is met by products of the Changsha and Wuchang spinning mills: the foreign article has entirely dropped from the Returns tables. During the decade large tracts of the Tungting Lake basin have been reclaimed by means of dikes, but the flood of 1931 seriously damaged the work that had been accomplished. As mentioned under section 14, the Huping Private Middle School at Yochow, supported by the China Mission of the Reformed Church in the United States, has in recent years placed particular emphasis on rural education and training in agriculture, and although the activity is a modest one, the effects no doubt will be felt in the years to come. 6. Industrial Development.—Yochow and vicinity do not recommend themselves as a centre for industry, and there is little of note to record in the way of development. Small weaving establishments with hand labour have increased in number, and also Chinese factories for the manufacture of soap. The following table shows the prices ruling at Yochow in 1931 for the principal necessities of life:— $ 9.25 Coal mn 1.20 Coke 1.60 0.35 Salt 0.17 0.18 Pork 0.30 Fish 0.20 Eggs 0.30 A skilled labourer earns about $1.20 per day, and the wage for unskilled labour is about $0.50. 7.' Mines and Minerals.—As already mentioned, the export of quicksilver for 1928 reached a value of Hk.Tls. 83,000, and for the last year of the decade this figure amounted to Hk.Tls. 531,000. Cinnabar first appears in our returns in 1924, when Hk.Tls. 40,000 in value was exported. This value rose to Hk.Tls. 62,000 in 1926, Hk.Tls. 57,000 in 1930, and dropped to Hk.Tls. 27,000 in 1931. Both these commodities come from the district of Fenghwangting, in West Hunan, on the border of Kweichow province. Other mines enumerated in the last Decennial Report cannot be said to have flourished—due largely to lack of capital, political disturbances, civil wars, and banditry. 8. Communications.—Telegraphs.—The last Decennial Report gave the number of telegraph offices in operation in Hunan as 56. There are now 60, with the head office at Changsha and sub-offices at Hingninghun, Ichanghun, Ninghsien and Wukang. Yochow, Changteh, Hengchowhun, Siangtan, and Hungkiang rank as second grade offices and the rest are small third class offices. YOCHOW. 547 « Post Office.—In spite of the disturbances throughout the decade, the Postal Service has continued to function and render its services on behalf of the public under the most trying conditions. For the year 1930 the postal establishments around Yochow and Changteh and the amount of mail matter dealt with in this section were as follows:— No. of No. of Rural Mail Matter No. of Parcels FI Agencies. Box Offices. Posted. Posted. Yoyang (Yochow) ... 8 2 249,362 355 Chengling 1 1 43,157 230 Changteh 3 13 877,350 5,911 The above figures were supplied through the courtesy of the Postal Commissioners at Changsha and Hankow. Roads.—The development of motor roads in the district is still in an infant stage, although there are projects for connecting Yochow with Wuchang and Changsha. Railroads.—The Yueh-Han Railway was open to traffic between Wuchang and Yochow in 1917 and through-traffic to Changsha was established in 1918. The ultimate destination was intended to be Canton, but the line is still incomplete on a section of 270 miles between Chuchow and Shiukwan. After years of delay the end of the decade saw a fresh attempt to resume the work of construction, and funds amounting to $6,500,000 have been earmarked from the Customs surplus and Boxer indemnities for this purpose. The completion of this railway would undoubtedly contribute to the development of Hunan, including Yochow and districts, provided there were an end to civil war and disorder; otherwise it would merely be of strategic value to contending military forces and bandits. 9. Lights and Aids to Navigation.—Acknowledgment is due to Mr. S. G. Loraine- Grews, Acting Assistant River Inspector, Middle Yangtze, for the information contained in the following summary of aids to navigation activities during the decade. As mentioned in the last Decennial Report, a new organisation for the control of the Middle Yangtze lights was inaugurated in December 1920 and a District River Inspector appointed to Yochow. In 1922 an additional Marine Officer was appointed to assist him, and five surveys were carried out during the year, but 1923 marks the real commencement of Middle Yangtze activities, when the River Inspector at Hankow took over control of the Middle Yangtze area with the District River Inspector and three officers to assist him; 26 surveys were made, also an examination of the creeks entering the Tungting Lake. In 1924 the River Inspectorate's control was gradually extended to include the Tungting Lake and creek routes, 20 new surveys in all being carried out, and in the following year two Japanese ocean steamers navigated the river, one to Ichang and one to Shasi. In 1925 and 1926 the survey of the river between Hankow and Ichang was continued, a new launch, the Hsiangyi, having been added to the fleet. At the latter end of this period, work was much hampered by indiscriminate firing on launches by soldiers from the river banks. The year 1927 opened inauspiciously, due to anti-foreign feeling, which culminated in the evacuation of the foreign staff to Hankow in the month of April. In June one launch returned to Yochow and attempts were periodically made to sound channels and keep the aids in position; but work was continually hampered by bandit and military interference and no new surveys were made that year. These conditions prevailed 548 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. into the year 1928, and in February it became necessary to withdraw the floating staff and craft from the region above Yochow, those between Yochow and Hankow, however, remaining. This situation continued for five months and had a most detrimental effect on the work, and it was not until the end of the year that all was in order again, although only at considerable expense to the Service. During this period 16 surveys were made. In 1929 the East Tungting Lake was triangulated and sounded from Chengling to Paiyuchi Pagoda, a distance of 44 miles, and, in addition, seven other new surveys were carried out. Towards the close of the year a continuous patrol of the Middle Yangtze was inaugurated, one launch being based on Shasi, another on Singti, and a third on Chengling, and this arrangement gave most satisfactory results. Between the 6th and 16th January 1930 the port of Chengling was closed to navigation by a large stationary ice-field, an event which had not occurred for 42 years. Many craft, including two Customs launches, were frozen in. The East Tungting Lake was re-marked on the 1st April, and in May the triangulation of the West Lake was commenced, but had to be abandoned on account of bandit activities. In June three of the channel staff were captured by bandits at Chanmado, and on the 3rd July, without warning, the port of Chengling was overrun and looted by troops of the Red Army, the three foreign residents escaping just in time by motor sampan. Conditions became so difficult that the staff was withdrawn to Hankow and the sounding and marking of channels on the Chengling-Ichang Section were discontinued. The Middle Yangtze River Office was moved to Hankow, and after the looting of Changsha in the month of July, work was also temporarily discontinued on that route, but was resumed in October. The year 1931 opened with enforced inactivity on the Chengling-Ichang route. In May the Hankow Commissioner, accompanied by the River Inspector, made a trip to Ichang by launch, and several direction beacons were erected en route. The launch remained up river to carry on aids work, and in July all beacons between Ichang and Yochow were in position; but many were subsequently removed by the bandits. In June a further survey of the Tungting Lake (East-cum-West Lake route) was carried out successfully. The abnormal floods were responsible for washing away numerous direction beacons, rendering it extremely difficult to carry on aids work. The staff, however, both foreign and Chinese, worked with commendable fortitude, and there is no record of a vessel stranding during this period. The end of the decade found the aids to navigation, in spite of continuous difficulties, in a satisfactory condition under the circumstances. All the light-stations had been renovated, boats overhauled and repainted, and all East and West Lake buoys put in serviceable condition. The decade closed with plans under way to move the District River Inspectorate headquarters from Chengling to Ichang. 10. Administration.—There is little to add to what was written in the Decennial Report for 1911-21. It depends entirely on which particular body of troops is stationed at Yochow whether administration is effective or otherwise. 11. Justice and Police.—No remarks. 12. Military and Naval Changes.—No remarks (see section 17). 13. Health and Sanitation and 14. Education.—As this report is written at Hankow, authoritative information regarding health and sanitation and education, in so far as they concern Chinese Government schools and Chinese medical work in Yochow and district, is not 550 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. amounted to some 1,500,000 piculs, representing more than half the grain cultivated yearly in the district, and 230,000 piculs of cotton-seed and 180,000 piculs of other agricultural products are estimated to have been lost. 17. Civil Disorder.—The last decade closed with General Wu P'ei-fu and the Northern troops in control of Yochow and vicinity, which had been evacuated by the Southern forces in August 1921. Although there were rumours during 1922 of another anti-North expedition from Kwangtung, which as usual would have had the capture of a strategically placed city such as Yochow as one of its objectives, the locality as a whole remained peaceful under the control of well disciplined Northern troops. An abundant harvest, followed by the lifting of an embargo on the export of beans and wheat in August 1922, and a large shipment of rice and paddy amounting to 3,000,000 shih in October 1922, made the economic and business conditions assume a cheerful aspect. Hope of continued peace and prosperity, however, was shattered in July 1923, when Generals Chao Heng-ti and Tan Yen-k'ai contested for the Governorship of the province. The victory of the latter led to the retreat of the defeated troops to Yochow, who, however, fortunately did little harm beyond extorting some $3,000 from the likin collec- torate. A reinforcement of Northern forces did much to maintain peace, although sniping at shipping was indulged in by miscellaneous soldiery and bandits, making necessary gun-boat escorts. During the latter half of the year anti-Japanese feeling became acute, but no organised movement materialised, and although Japanese shipping was seriously affected, by the end of December vessels flying this flag had resumed their normal activities. The year 1924 was a troublous period for the whole lake district, due to local fighting, banditry, and vexatious taxation, with a consequent serious loss to trade and business. An embargo on the export of rice was reimposed from August 1924, but "tribute" and/or "military" rice was allowed to be exported under huchao. Beyond disturbances due to the activities of Szechwan troops around the lake ports during the first quarter, 1925 was, comparatively speaking, a peaceful year, although brigandage was rife in many of the smaller towns and villages, Yochow continuing to be garrisoned by the troops of General Wu P'ei-fu. An unprecedented drought during the summer months, however, caused one of the worst famines on record throughout most of the province of Hunan. The year 1926 was characterised by political unrest and general anxiety. Bandits, irregular taxation, boycotts, strike movements, famine, and flood conditions obtained in spring and summer, and there was much indiscriminate firing on and interference with shipping. Yochow was occupied in August by the Nationalist forces from Kwangtung, and in September the so-called Chengling Settlement was turned into a fortified area, occasional firing between shore batteries and warships in the river causing consternation among the populace and a general exodus of the well-to-do to places of safety. From October to December the harbour was mined, and all navigation ceased at night; vessels, after undergoing military inspection, being guided during daylight through the danger zone. The control of Yochow and vicinity by the Nationalists did not at the time bring peace .and security, and the year 1927 opened with conditions more unfavourable and discouraging to trade than ever before in the annals of the port. Agitation of communistic, anti-imperialistic, and antj-capitalistic propagandists, preposterous demands of newly organised labour unions, persecution, and demonstrations caused a reign of terror during the first six months. The next three months saw an improvement, due to drastic measures adopted by the local authorities to suppress agitation and propaganda, but the close of the year found well-organised bandit gangs operating all over the waterways and preventing a recovery of business and trade. These YOCHOW. 551 conditions continued for the first half of 1928, all merchant vessels travelling either under convoy or with an armed guard on board. Efforts by the local authorities to cope with the bandit scourge brought a measure of success, and from August onwards to December the outlook for peace and order became brighter and trade revived. Unfortunately, in 1929 the menace from bandits steadily increased, many of the bands becoming communistic and joining up with the Red Army. The local culmination of the communist movement was the looting in July 1930 of Yochow and Chengling by the 8th Division of the Red Army, the Chinese Commissioner of Customs and four of his staff being captured and only released after payment of ransom. The situation continued so threatening that it was found necessary to transfer the Customs offices to Hankow, where arrangements were made to collect all duties. Although during the year 1931 the two cities of Yochow and Chengling were fairly well protected by Nationalist troops, the locality was constantly threatened by the Red Army, by bandits, and for a time by a new invasion of Cantonese. Added to uncertainty and disorder was the disastrous flood of that year, which affected a large part of the district. The close of the decade finds the Yochow Customs still functioning at Hankow with no indication that the personnel can in the near future be assured of that sense of security which is the essential prerequisite of a return to Chengling. In conclusion, I have to record that this report has been compiled by Messrs. C. M. Petterson, Chief Assistant, A; C. P. Hamilton, 1st Assistant, B; and H. R. J. W. Flanagan, 2nd Assistant, A, of the Hankow Customs staff. The information contained therein has been collected not without difficulties, and the incomplete development of certain sections is to be accounted for by the fact that the Yochow Customs has been functioning at Hankow since July 1930, and direct investigation of conditions in Yochow and vicinity has proved impossible. E. LEBAS, Commissioner of Customs, Hankow, {in charge of Yochow Customs, temporarily). Yochow, Hankow, 31rf December 1931. 554 DECENNIAL REPORTS, 1922-31. V of affairs, because the price of silver had fallen practically 100 per cent., viz., from an average of 6s. 4