VYV * CVn No. 2168. Annual Series. { ii-.i A , (M \ CHINA. DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR REPORTS. m. TRADE OF WUCHO W FOR THE YEAR 1897. FOREIGN OFFICE, August, 1898. I i No, 2168 Annual Series DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR REPORTS. CHINA. REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1897 ON THE TRADE OF WUCHOW. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty^ A UGUST, 1898. LONDON: PRINTED FOR HER MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN’S LANE, PEINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HER MAJESTY. And to be purchased, either directly or through any Bookseller, from EYRE & SPOTTISWOODE, East Harding Street, Fleet Street, E.C., and 32, Abingdon Street, Westminster, S.W. ; or JOHN MENZIES & Co., 12, Hanover Street, Edinburgh, and 90, West Nile Street, Glasgow; or HODGES, FIGGIS, & Co., Limited, 104, Grafton Street, Dublin, [ C. 8648—190.] 1898. Price Three Halfpence. CONTENTS Page Inti’ocliietiou — The province of K^vangsi ; its alleged poverty ; compared with other provinces ; area and population ; the opening of Lnngchow and the West Siver ; Wuchow, its position and prospects; the West Eiver, its navigability and the importance of its tributaries 3-7 Total trade— Imj^orts and exports 7 Foreign imports — Yarn, cottons, vroollens, and sundries 8 iNative imports — Table no guide to trade ; unable to bear tariff duties ; carried in junks, subject to native customs 8 Exports — Owing to the infancy of Wuchow as a port, export table insufficient guide to potentialities of Ewangsi ; rhea, hides, indigo, cassia-leaf oil, ■wood oil, silk, sugar, and timber 9 Transit trade — Kerosene and match syndicate established and abolished ; transit pass system ■working smoothly ; inward transit trade and its area of supply ; outward transit trade and the chief centres of export ; the West Eiver the future trade highway of Southern China 9-10 Shipping — Its nature and variety ; comparison of the percentages of tonnage and trade under the different flags ; freights ; passengers ; special steamers and lighters ordered for the trade of the West Eiver 10 Miscellaneous — Wuchow and its industries ; fire engine setup; Chinese school for the teaching of English ; number of foreign hongs 11 The products and resoui’ces of Kwangsi ; — 1. Animal products — Cow and water-buffalo liides, horns, tallow, sinews, glue, and leather; lizards; cat-gut; pigs; silk; skins 12 2. Vegetable products — . Aniseed ; cardamoms ; cassia ; cereals ; dyes ; fibres ; fruits, vegetables, and roots; grains; grasses; medicines; molasses; moxa; nut- galls; oils; opium; paper; preserves; seeds; sugar; tea; timber 13-18 3. Mineral products and resources — Grold ; silver; copper; tin; antimony; iron; coal — and their places of production 18-19 Tables — Eeturn of imports 21 ,, exports 22 „ trade with foreign countries 22 „ shipping 23 No, 2168. Annual Series. Ecport on the Trade of Wuchoio, June 4 to December 31, 1897 By Mr Alexander Hosie. (Received at Foreign Office, July 11, 1898.) Introduction. Kwangsi is classed by the Chinese Government as one of the Introduction, three poor provinces of the 18 which are generally held to comprise ^"’angsi China proper. The other two are her neighbours — Kueichow and poor^an!i Yiinnan — and the three look annually to richer provinces such require as Ssu-ch’uan, Hunan, and Hupeh, for financial assistance to enable financial aid. them to balance their official accounts. Kansuh is also a recipient of relief, but not so much for herself as for the support and protection of the Hsin Chiang or New Dominion in Central Asia. That the three provinces should still be poor is not matter for Cause of surprise. Kwangsi was ravaged by the T’ai-p’ings and by boat poverty ; but rebels who even captured and held for a couple of years (1857-59) the city of Wuchow (in which I am writing this report) only 5 miles to the west of the Kwangtung-Kwangsi frontier ; Yunnan was laid in ruins during the Mohammedan rebellion, and Kueichow was devastated in the sanguinary conflict with its aborigines, the Kliao-tzu. Fourteen years ago — I speak from personal experience — Kuei- chow and Yunnan were still in ruins, and recent travellers in these provinces .continue to tell the same tale ; but Kwangsi, which recovcrinpf. suffered less, is rapidly recovering lost ground. The ruin of to fine ■n'aterway. Yiinnan Avas in itself a severe blow to the prosperity of Kwangsi, for the former province poured a great part of its wealth down the Sikiang or West Eiver, the great commercial artery of the south- eastern provinces of China. To this waterway Avhich crosses the province from Avest to east Recovery and is navigable by junks at least as far west as Po-se, a two attributable days’ journey from the Yiinnan frontier, is attributable KAvangsi’s more rapid recovery, for not only does the river itself floAV tlirough a prosperous country, but it possesses tributaries connecting it with the chief centres of agriculture and industry as Avell as with the great lumber regions of the province. Yiinnan and Kueichow, on the other hand, possess waterways of little com- mercial value within the provinces themselves. Kwangsi, which is much smaller than Yunnan and larger than Area and Kueichow, is credited with an area of 78,250 square miles and a popi^iation of (246) A 2 Kwangsi. Tlie official balance she et of Kwangsi ’efeefive. 4 WUCIIOW. l^opiilation of 10,000,000, equal, in fact, to the combined populations of the other two provinces. The population of China, however, has always formed a favourite subject for debate, and so many different estimates have been arrived at that the above figures must be accepted with caution and considered as merely approximate. Mr. Consul-General Jamieson in his Eeport on the Eevenue and Expenditure of the Chinese Empire, published in 1897, gives the following balance-sheet of the province of Kwangsi. These figures are, of course, derived from official sources, and are, as I shall show immediately, very much understated so far as revenue is concerned : — Eevemue. Amount. Land tax . . Salt duty and likin Likin on goods . . . . . . Miscellaneous .. .. .. •• •• Taels. 500.000 300.000 585.000 200.000 Total Aids from other provinces . . •• •• 1,585,000 344,000 Grand total •• •• 1,929,000 " Expenditure. Amount. ExjDenditure in hands of Ee-organisation Board, sea- defence, forts, &c. . . Genera', civil, and military administration of the province. . Taels. 985.000 944.000 Total . . . . 1,929,000 These figures look very well on paper and balance admirably, but the receipts from the native custom-houses are not included in this return, nor ai’e tliey classed under the head of miscellaneous. Now, 1 propose to take one city as an example. Previous to the opening of AVuchow as a treaty port the receipts from the native or prefectural custom-house amounted annually to between 130,000 and 140,000 taels, of which only 70,000 taels had to be accounted for to the Provincial Treasury. My authority is the prefect himself who bewailed the falling-off in his receipts since the establishment of the Imperial Maritime Customs under foreign control. As few cities in the province are not blessed with a native custom-house, it will be readily understood that the receipts under this head must be very considerable. So with the tax WUCIIOW. 0 known as likin. There are four likin stations round Wuchow, in addition to a salt station, and the annual receipts from these four are estimated to amount roughly to 240,000 taels, that is, to nearly one-half of the total collection for the whole province. It may be assumed, therefore, that Kwangsi is not so poor as it is officially made out to be. When, after the Franco-Chinese War (1883- 85), France The opening become conterminous with Kwangsi in Tonquin, it was impossible that the Chinese province could remain isolated from, foreign ti-ade. commercial intercourse. By Article II of the additional conven- tion between the two powers signed at Peking on June 26, 1887, the city of Lungchow, in the south-west of Kwangsi — 35 miles by Luugcliow. road from the Tonquin frontier and 46 miles from tlie town of Railway from Langson — was opened to foreign trade, aud a railway is in course Tonqum to of construction between Langson- and Lungchow. L^p to the xrade^of present the trade of Lungchow has been insignificaut, the highest Lungchow- value since the establishment of a foreign custom-house there in insignificant. 1889 being reached in the year 1894 where it amounted, in spite ■ of differential duties, to only 153,133 Haikwan taels, principally imports. Whether the railway when completed to Lungchow will affect the trade, through Pakhoi, rvitlr South-western Kwangsi remains to be seen ; but one thing is certain, aud it is the Sikiang’ Tlie West or West Kiver is the natural trade highway of the province of , ^ UfLfcu.P3.1 Ll'fi.ClS Kwangsi, and the only tiling that diverted part of the trade jaghway of overland was excessive taxation on the river itself. Kw-angsi. For many years the attention of merchants had been directed Reports on towards the West Eiver, and travellers had from time to time ascended and reported upon it. Of these latter Mr. Michael Kloss, who reached Hanning from Hong-Kong in 1870, presented to the Hong-Kong Chamber of Commerce his “ Harrative and Commercial Eeport of an Exploration of the M^est Eiver,"’ the most compre- hensive of all the reports I have seen, embracing as it does a very full account of imports and exports and minute details of the various kinds of taxation to which they were subjected en route. It was not, however, till December 30, 1896, that the Chinese The opening Government agreed to the opening of the river, and no time was ^ then lost, for the Convention between Great Britain and China relating to Burmah, signed at Peking on February 4, 1897, contains the following special article : — “ It has now been agreed that the following places, namely, Wuchow Fu, in Kwangsi, and Samshui city and Kongkun markec in Kwangtung, shall be opened as treaty ports and Consular stations, with freedom of navigation for steamers between Samshui and Wuchow, and Hong-Kong and Canton, by a route from each of these latter places to be selected and notified in advance by the Maritime Customs, and that the following four places shall be established as ports of call for goods and passengers under the same regulations as the ports of call on the Yangtze Eiver, namely, Kongmoon, Kumchuk, Shin-hiug, and Takhing. “ It is agreed that the present agreement, together with the special article, shall come into force ■within four montlis of the (246) 6 '.VI30H0W. Wuchow, its position, population, and pi’ospects. West Rirer and its navigability at different The T a Kiver an important tributary. Tlic liiglier brandies of the West Kiver. date Oi sigiiatare, and that the ratifications thereof shall be exchanged at Peking as soon as possible.” Provisional regulations for trade on the West Eiver were accordingly drawn up, and the above-mentioned ports and places of call were, in terms of the special article, opened to foreign trade on June 4, 1897. Of the above, Wuchow is the only place which lies within the province of Kwangsi. It is an old city (592 A.D.) on the left bank of the West Kiver, at its junction with the Fu or Kuei Eiver, in lat. 23° 28' FT. and long. 111° 20' E. It is surrounded by a high brick wall about 14 mile in circumference, enclosing the south- western face of a low hill, one of the foothills of the T’ai-Yiin Shan (Wuchow Peak) which rises to a height of 1,150 feet three miles to the east. The upper face of the hill is not built upon and tire lower ]:'art consists of mean filthy streets and official residences, for it is the seat of a prefect (Wuchow Fu), of a district magistrate (Ts’ang wm Hsien), and in the near future of a superintendent of customs whose yamen has recently been built. The business quarter lies between the city wall and the left banks of the West and Fu Elvers. It, is not as yet imposing, but new buildings are everywhere in course of construction to meet the requirements of trade wduch, owing to the opening of the West Eiver and to its natural position as a depot and place of tran- shipment, is bound to become of very considerable importance at no distant date. The population of the city and suburbs is estimated at about 50,000, and, owing to the growing importance of the port, there is a steady increase, due to immigration from the Canton province. In winter the West Eiver opposite the city has a breadth of 800 to 900 yards, vvhile in summer when it overflows its sloping left bank (on the right bank there is a range of sparsely-wooded hills 400 to 500 feet high) it lias a breadth of about three-quarters of a mile. The difference between the summer and winter levels exceeds 60 feet, so that while at the time of low water vessels drawing more than 7 feet ran the risk of grounding in several places between Canton and Wuchow, at high-water the biggest ship afloat could visit the latter place. So far as danger from rocks at low water is concerned, the British Admiralty charts are excellent authorities ; but I am given to understand by tlie masters of steamers trading to Wuchow that considerable taken place in the sandy bed of the river. Although the Fu or Kuei is much smaller than the West Eiver it is navigable by junks as far as Kuei-lin, the capital of the province, and by boats of light draught as far as the Yangtze, for the Fuand Hsiang Ei vers of the Hunan province are connected by a canal to the north-east of Kuei-lin. Indeed, the source of the Hsiang Eiver is in the province of Kwangsi. At Hsiin-chow Fu, 90 miles to the west of Wuchow, the two great branches of the West Eiver meet — the southern branch (usually called the West Eiver by foreigners) made up of the is situated, and the Yu Chiang changes have Tso Chiang on wdiich Lungchow AA^UCHOW. 7 Avhicli passes Po-se, and the northern branch known as the Hung- shni or Wn-ni Chiang, Avhich, although less important from a commercial point of vieAV, is called on recent maps the main branch of the West River. Its length may entitle it to this desig- nation, bnt even with its tributary, made np of the Lnng Chiang and Tu Chiang, which rise in the south of KneichoAv, unite, and join it 60 miles to the north-west of Hsun-choAv Fu, it brings down a much less volume of Avater than the southern branch. This tributary has several important cities on its hanks, while the so-called main branch flows through a sparsely peopled and forest-clad region. The above is a brief, if rough, introduction to Kwangsi, and I noAV proceed to deal Avith the trade of WuchoAV — the commercial gate of the province- — Avhich, as stated above, was opened on June 4 of last year. The following figures, therefore, refer to the trade under the cognisance of the Imperial Maritime Customs from that date to Ifecember 31, 1897, a period of nearly seven months. The gross value of the trade of WuchoAv (June 4 to December 31, Total trade. 1897) was 1,916,172 Haikwan taels (285,429^.) made up as folloAvs : — Foreign goods imported from Hong-Koug 1,368,983 foreign Haikwan taels (203,9211), and from Chinese ports 26,893 Haikwan taels (4,0061), or a total of 1,395,876 HaikAvan taels (207,9271). Goods, however, of the value of 3,461 HaikAvan taels (5151) Avere re-exported, making the net value of foreign goods . imported 1,392,415 Haikwan taels (207,4121). The Amine of natwe produce imported, chiefly from Canton Native goods and Samshui, Avas only -17,394 HailcAvan taels (7,0601), making the net total Amine of the imports of all kinds 1,439,809 HaikAAmn taels . (214,4721). As regards exports, tlie Amine of native produce exported to Native goods Hong-Kong Avms 398,329 HaikAAmn taels (59,3341), and to Chinese exported, ports — Ningpo, Canton, Samshui, Shinking, Kongmoon, and Kumchnk (the last three being places of call on the West lliAmr) — 74,573 HaikAvan taels (11,1081), or a total of 472,902 HaikAAvan taels (70,4421). The net grand total value of the trade of WuchoAv for seAmn months in 1897 aa’us, therefore, 1,91 2,711 HaikAAmn taels (28-1,9141) ; but 1897 being the flrst year of the port, data for comparison Avith previous years are not available. Not many years ago Indian ojuium used to head the list of Foreign foreign imports at all the open ports of China, but not a single chest Avas brought to Wuchow during the period under revieAAA This, of course, is no proof that WuchoAV and the province of llAvangsi are more aAIuous or abstemious than other cities and provinces; it means that their source of supply — KAvangsi itself produces very little opium — must be sought eiseAvhere. Yiinnan, Ssu-ch’uan, and KueichoAV are that source, and it is estimated, that 10,000 piculs of Yunnan, 6,000 to 7,000 piculs of Ssu-ch’uan, . and several hundred piculs of HueichoAv opium pass annually doAvn tiie West River through KAvangsi in addition to Avhat is consumed 8 AVUGIIOW. Yarn. Indian raw cotton. Cotton gooda. Shirtings, damashs, and Telvets. Woollen gooda. Sundries. Native im porta. Native import trade in foreign vessels hampered by coast trade duty. Trade done in junks. Amount of taxes a matter of arrange- ment. Exports. Export table no guide to potentialities of Ewangsi. in the province itself. As the drug passes through the native custom-house exact statistics on the export are uuobtainahle. Indian yarn now heads the list and accounts for nearly one-half the value of foreign imports — 27,141 piculs valued at 624,251 Haikwan taels (92,987^.). Besides yarn, 1,324 piculs of Indian raw cotton valued at 35,741 Haikwan taels (5,324/.) found their way to Wuchow. I shall refer later to the transit trade of the port, and may simply mention here that, for overland carriage, these bales of yarn have to be divided up into packages weighing 65 catties, two packages going to each pack animal’s load. Of manufactured cotton goods, grey and white shirtings, 32-inch and 36-inch cloths, damasks, and velvets were most in demand. In woollen goods, English camlets, plain lastings, long ells, Spanish stripes, and broad cloth w^ere the chief imports. The total value of metals amounted to only 2,345/., made up chiefly of rod, bar, and old iron and steel bars. In sundries, betel- nuts, cuttle-fish, llama braid, lily flowers, kerosene oil (American, 749,410 gallons; Sumatra, 279,710 gallons; and Eussian, 133,455 gallons), matches (Japanese), dried prawns, sandalwood, silk piece-goods, and vermicelli were the most prominent imports. The large import of kerosene oil is alleged to have been due to a partial failure of the ground nut crop, this native oil being extensively used in the country districts for lighting as well as for culinary purposes. Were the table of native imports an index to the requirements of Kwangsi, it might be assumed that this province depends very little on the products of other provinces. Such a conclusion would be altogether fallacious. Two British steamers run regularly between Canton and Wuchow ; but, with the exception of a little transhipment; cargo occasionally, they carry passengers only. The reason is not far to seek. They are under the Imperial Maritime Customs, and, if they ship goods at Canton, a full export duty has to be paid there, and on arrival at Wuchow an additional half or coast trade duty is levied. The goods cannot bear this excessive taxa- tion, and the consequence is that they are carried in Chinese vessels under the native custom-house, towed by Chinese steam launches, which are sulqect to the Imperial Customs at the ports and places of call. The native custom-houses have no doubt a fixed tariff, but it is well-known that the amount of duty and likin is a matter of arrangement, and it is very unlikely that the native stations would raise their rates high enough to drive the trade to foreign vessels. The native inqoort table of tlie Imperial Maritime Customs consists of a few items of the value of 7,060/. The capacity of a province to buy depends upon the quantity and value of its exports, raw and manufactured, and a reference to the export table annexed to this report shows that Kwangsi is a manufacturer as well as a producer. This table, however, is not a sufficient guide to the capabilities of the province, for the space of seven months which it covers was inadequate for a compre- hensive knowledge of its potentialities. Much has been gleaned WUCIIOW. 9 in this respect since the end of 1897, and I shall endeavour later in this report to present, to the best of my ability, a summary of the products of Kwangsi. It will not he complete, but it can be added to as a more intimate acquaintance with the province is acquired. Meantime, I shall deal with the exports in 1897. The total value of the exports amounted to 472,902 Haikwan taels (70,442/.), Hong-Kong taking goods to the value of 59,334/., and the balance goiug to Ningpo, Canton, Samshui, Shinking, Kongmoon, and Kumchuk, principally to Samshui (for tranship- ment to Fatshan) and Kongmoon, a great manufacturing centre famed for its fans and grass-cloth, and the most important of the four places of call on the West Elver. > The chief exports were star ani:eed (5,108/.), rhea fibre Nature of (2,783/.), hides (cow and buffalo, 13,937/.), liquid indig© (6,916/.), cassia-leaf oil (2,186/.), wood oil (5,646/.), raw white silk (4,957/.), white sugar (2,339/.), and wood planks (17,688/.). A complete list of the exports, their quantity and value, will be found in Annex II. Soon after the opening of the porta grant to collect at Wuchow Transit trade, a tso-li — a destination or terminal tax — on kerosene oil and Attempted matches on their way inland, whether certificated or not, was made ^^eTeTOJene by the provincial government to a Chinese syndicate which itself oil and match began to trade in these very articles, thereby constituting a trade, monopoly which, under foreign pressure, was quickly abolished. Since the withdrawal of the grant, the transit pass system, both inward and outward, has worked remarkably well. There have been occasional complaints of delay in the examination of goods at the barriers, against which I have found it necessary to protest ; hut, on the whole, the passes are duly respected by the Transit local authorities and the system has worked and is working system ,1 1 worbincr smoothly. smoothly. There have been cases, however, where attempts have been made to lay on the native authorities blame, which rightly attached to the Chinese representatives of the fcrreign firms concerned. The total value of the inward transit trade during the period Value of under review was 1,026,676 Haikwan taels (152,932/.) of 'which 145,155/. was British, 209/. German, 10/. Japanese, and 7,558/. Chinese ; while the whole of the outward transit trade was OutwarJ British, of the value of 13,450/., representing native produce brought down under 71 passes. 200 passes Avere issued to British hands, merchants ; but, owing to the remoteness of the places of ]jro- duction, there was no time to bring the goods to the port before the end of the year. These goods will fall into the returns for 1898. This outward trade is greatly on the increase, for, while as stated above, 200 passes were issued between the opening of the port and the end of December, 1897, as many as 522" were issued through this Consulate to British merchants from Great interest January 1 to April 30, 1898, and since that date I have applied lor aiid issued oo passe.s iii one day. Tlie area which Wuchow, under present conditions, is likely to Tire transit trade area 10 WXJCHOW, from Wuchow. Centres of supply for out want transit trade. Shipping. Yariety of craft under foreign customs. Distance from Wuchow to Hong-Kong and Canton. Different flags engaged in the trade. feed, may be gathered from the fact that transit passes covering goods of the value of 223,510 Ilaikwan taels for ISTan-ning — the supposed objective of the Langson-Lungchow railway — were issued in 1897. Tliis sum is more than double the value of the total trade of Lungchow in 1896, which amounted to 111,328 Haikwan taels, made up of foreign imports, 68,162 Haikwan taels, and exports, 43,166 Haikwan taels. The total value of the inward transit trade in Kwangsi from Wuchow was 889,306 Haikwan taels (132,4707). But Wuchow does more; it supplies part of Eastern Kwangtung (1,862/.), and theWe.stof Kueichow (10,9637), and it is bidding strongly for the import trade of Yunnan, which was supplied with foreign goods of. the value of 51,269 Haikwan taels (7,6377). It is scarcely matter for surprise that goods are being sent under transit pass to Lin-an Eu, in which prefecture the port of Kieng-tzu is situated, and to Ta-li Fu in the north- west of Yunnan. It is a simple commentary on the cost of tran- sit by the Bed Eiver and the difficulties of the Bhamo-Yiinnan route. At the end of 1897 the outward transit trade was still in its infancy. At that time Han-ning, 360 miles west by south of Wuchow, was the chief feeder of this port. It is still the most important sora-ce of supply ; but since the beginning of the present year much new ground has been opened, and transit passes have been issued to cover produce from Lungchow itself. This, added to the fact that Bakhoi merchants are settling in Wuchow, would imply that the West Eiver is beginning to be recognised as the future trade highway of Southern China. There was a time when tlie Imperial Maritime Customs exer- cised control over vessels of foreign type only. All this is changed, and probably in no port in China is there a greater variety of craft xrnder the foreign customs than at Wuchow. Steamers, steam- launches, sailing vessels, and foreign-o wired junks and lighters visit this port and are subject to its jurisdiction. Tlie distance from Hong-Kong to Wuchow by way of Moto- moon is 240 miles, and by v/ay of Wangmoou 255 miles ; but, if Kongmoon is not visited, 30 miles may be struck off the latter distance. From Canton, by the route laid down in tlie Provisional Eegulations of Trade on the West Eiver, the distance is approxi- mately 220 miles. On and after the opening of the port, three British steamers ran regularly between Hong-Kong and Wuchow ; but the charters of two of them expired towards the end of the year and they were withdrawn. In their ]4ace lighters, three in number, ore towed by steam launch from Hong-Kong to Samshui, whence they are towed to Wuchow and rdee versa by two steamers, which run regularly between Canton, Samshui, and Wuchow. British owned sailing vessels and junks are towed between Hong-Kong and this port, and a British steam launch carries passengers between Canton and Wuchow. Towards the end of the year a steamer under the American hag put in an appearance and still continues to run to Hong-Kong, and two sailing vessels under the American and Ger- WUCHOW. 11 man flags, respectively, also visited this port for a time. The follo'wing table gives the percentage of tonnage and of coast and foreign trade under the various flags during the year : — Flag. Percentage of Tonnage. Percentage of Percentage of Trade. tonnage and trade under Eoreign. Coast. various flags. Total Foreign and Coast. British . . 79-83 82-71 98 -34 83-93 American 4-75 6-74 0-49 6-25 Grerman.. 5-11 10-20 9-41 Chinese . . 10-81 0 -35 1-17 0-41 Total . 100 100 100 100 At the opening of the port there was a great inrush of cargo Freights, from Hong-Kong, and freights ruled high, 1 dol. 20 c. was the charge on a bale of yarn and 20 c. per case of kerosene oil. The present freights are 1 dol. and 15 c. respectively, and there has been a similar reduction all round. The number of native passengers arriving by steamer was Passenger 13,284 and the number departing 9,530. traffic. The experience gained in navigating the West Eiver has, I Suitable understand, led one British firm to order a new class of steamers steamers ami and lighters in England. These will be put together in Hong- Kong, and may be expected, to commence running towards the end of the present, or early next, year. As an industrial centre Wuchov/ is of little importance. With Miscel- the exception of dyeing, tanning, and the manufacture of thin laueous.^ leather, there is no local employment of labour on a large scale. Wuchow * ° The manufacture of this leather is somewhat peculiar. The hides, having been cleaned, are boiled until they are almost white. They are then spread on tables and tlie workmen, each armed with a sharp chisel-shaped knife, proceed slowly and laboriously to split the hides in two. The leather is then hung up to dry and after- wards smoothed by rubbing with stones. Wuchow has taken a lesson from Canton. A fire-engine was Fire engine set lip near the left bank of the En Eiver at the west end of the setup, city ; hut difficulty was experienced in raising the water to the necessary height, and the engine was removed to the east end of the town and erected alongside a pond, whence it now draivs its water supply. Pipes are laid under the streets in the business quarter of the suburbs and there are numerous hydrants. The shopkeepers and house-proprietors contribute to its up-keep. A school for the teaching of Eugiish has been established at Cbinese Wuchow with Chinese teachers from Canton. Boys are taught during the day, and there are evening classes for men. En°Fslf At the end of the year there were 11 foreign firms in Wuchow estabJished. — 10 British and one German— all, with the exception of two of foreign firms. 12 WUCHOW. British, represented by Chinese agents. Since that date the nnmher of British firms has increased. The products and resources ol Ewangsi. 1. Animal ^3 products. Cows and water buffaloes. Gut. Lizards. Pus. Silk. Skins. (^Thc Products and Resources of Kwangsi. I stated above that the export list annexed to this report gives hut a poor idea of the products and potentialities of Kwangsi, and I propose to give here a summary of tlie present and future trade products and manufactures of the province. Cows and water buffaloes yield hides, horns, tallow, sinews, glue, and leather. Hides and leather are already exported to Hong-Kong in very considerable quantities. It is estimated that from 200 to 300 piculs of cat-gut are annually manufactured in tlie P’ing-lo prefecture, and in the dis- tricts of Kuei, Ts’en-ch’i and Jung, and exported principally to Japan to be used for fishing-lines. It is valued at from 250 to 260 taels a picul (1331 lbs.). It is made from the liquid silk secretion of a silkworm which feeds on the leaves of the camplior tree. When the worm is ready to spin its cocoon it is removed from the tree, cut in two, and steeped in vinegar for a quarter of an hour. By this means the secretion is sufficiently hardened to be drawn out into strings from 3 to 5 feet in length. Lizards are very numerous on the hills round Wuchow, and are caught and exported, living and dried, for use in Chinese medicine. Pigs are more abundant than dogs on the streets of Wuchow, and become exceedingly fat. They are sent eastwards in large numbers to the Canton province. Sericulture is a comparatively new industry in Kwangsi, so new, indeed, that to encourage its extension likin has not yet been imposed upon the silk, and tliat ex]Derts have still to be imported from the Canton province for reeling and other purposes. Tlie rumour that a likin tax is about to be imposed, and the fact that outward transit passes for raw silk are now being applied for show that, in the opinion of the local authorities, the industry has at last had a fair start and may be looked to for revenue. The banks of the West Liver in the Canton province are dotted with mulberry plantations, which become less numerous as Kwangsi is entered. Here the mulberry is not allowed to grow into a tree : the sprouts which rise to a height of 3 to 4 feet and bear fruit are cut down in November and fresh sprouts appear in spring and summer. The silkworm eggs are annually brought to Kwangsi from the Shuntak district of Kwangtung. Both white and yellow silk are produced. The best white raw silk is estimated to be worth 350 dol. a picul, and there is every reason to predict that the industry is likely to expand. Heer- skins are brought down in thousands frojn the west of the province and exported. They are of a tawny colour, and derived from the moose-deer. They are used in the manufacture of tobacco pouches and other small articles of daily use, Ireing WUCIIOAV. 2. Vegetable products. Aniseed, star. more durable than ordinary leather. Tiger-skins — tigers abound in the province — are occasionally to be seen in the market. Star aniseed is called Pa Chioh (“ eight horns or corners ”) by the Chinese from the shape of the fruit which consists of eight seed-capsules arranged to form a star. The tree {Illicium verum, Hook. /.) which produces this fruit occupies a comparatively small area, being confined, so far as is yet known, to Tonquin and the south-west of Kwangsi. The bulk of this trade has hitherto passed through the port of Pakhoi. In 1896 — the latest figures available — Pakhoi exported 6,691 piculs of the value of 133,817 Haikwan taels, 'fhis, as well as aniseed oil extracted from the amber- coloured seeds (2,053 piculs valued at 410,692 Haikwan taels), was sent to Hong-Kong, while 69 piculs of oil of the value of 15,552 Haikwan taels passed Lungchow in the same year for Tonquin. It is allegscl that, owing to the destructive method of collecting the fruit, there is a good crop only once in three years. An attempt is being made to divert at least a share of the trade to Wuchow, where transit (passes covering both fruit and oil have been issued. Complaints are made that the oil is frequently adulterated with kerosene. The ovoid cardamom, the fruit of Amonmm medicine, Lovj, like aniseed, is a native of South-Western Kwangsi as well as of Tonquin. The centres of export by the West Paver are Nan-ning and Po-se. Cardamoms are used chiefly in medicine. The cassia-producing districts of China are situated in the southern borderlands of Kwangtung and Kwangsi provinces in the south of the West Eiver. The cassia of commerce is the bark of cinnarnomum cassia, Blume ; but twigs and buds of the tree are also articles of trade. Although a thicker bark is exported under the name of cinnamon there can be no doubt that it is really the bark of old trees. The market-town of Ta-wu in the P’ing-nan district west by south of Wuchow is the great centre of the trade where 50,000 to 60,000 piculs are annually disposed of. It is exported, packed in matting, entirely by junk to Canton, for there is a powerful cassia ring at that port which has an arrangement with the native custom-house and likin offices, and virtually controls the whole trade of Kwangtung and Kwangsi. The former province is said to produce three times the export from the latter. The total export of cassia (including cassia lignea, buds, twigs, twig bark, and broken cassia) by junk and steamer from the tw'o provinces, through Canton, in 1896 amounted to 102,810 piculs valued at 590,798 Haikwan taels. Of so-called cinnamon 99 piculs (4,801 Haikwan taels) were also exported, as well as 398 piculs of leaf-oil of the value of 56,484 Haikwan taels, making a total value of cassia and cassia products of 653,083 Haikwan taels. But China consumes very much more than she exports, so that the total value of the cassia trade must be very considerable. (^Eice, barley, wheat, Indian corji, and millet (Holciis sorghum, Cereals. L.) are all cultivated in Kwangsi, but, as in the southern provinces generally, rice is by far the most important crop not only as being the staple food of the people, but also as an article of export to Cardamoms (Ts’ao Kuo). Cassia (Kuei P-i). 14 WUCHOW. Pjes, litres. the Canton province. My predecessor, Mr. J. W. Jamieson, estimated the export of rice from Wnchow at 1,200,000 piculs, I am informed that in good years 1 .500.00 0 piculs, and in bad years 1_,000.000 piculs are exported, so that 1,200,000 piculs may be taken as a fair average animal export. Rice comes down both the West and Fu Rivers, and is transhipped at Wuchow into Canton junks. One is startled by the statement that transhipment is effected by the rice-brokers free of charge, in other words, that the rice is carried a couple of miles from the up-country boats to the Canton junks for nothing, passing on the way two native tax offices. But the explanation is simple enough. The brokers own a large number of duck-shaped boats with narrow decks and bulging sides and sterns. When loaded, only the narrow deck of a boat is above water, and while the owner pays the broker, who arranges the payment of taxes,, the amount due on the whole quantity carried, the latter pays the tax offices on the measurement of depth of hold and length and breadth of deck. The broker is well paid for his work. It cannot he main- tained that the brokers actually deceive the tax-gatherers, for the river foreshore becomes a series of ship-building yards in winter and spring where these duck-shaped boats are built and repaired, and to fail to notice their extraordinary shape would be to feign actual blindness. No, it has become an established custom, and any change would be considered a revolution by owner, broker, and tax-gatherer. Barley and Indian corn are cultivated throughout Kwangsi, while wheat and millet are grown in the west and north respectively. They are mostly consumed in the province itself. The dye-plants of Kwangsi are (1) indigo, probably from Iiidiijofera tinctoria, Z., and (2) the dye-yarn (Shu-liang) the so- called “ false gambier,” the tuberous root of Bioscorea rhipognoides, Oliver. Both are very widely grown. The former is exported in a liquid state in wooden tubs mostly by junk to the Canton province ; but shipments have been made to Hong-Kong, and a growing trade is expected. Dye-yarns are also largely exported, and they are used in this and the Canton province for tanning and for dyeing native and foreign cottons, grass-cloth, and silk that lustrous brown to dark brown and black waterproof-looking colour so much affected by the Southern Chinese in summer. The natural dye is brown, and if a darker shade is required alum or nutgalls are added, and in Canton the juice of green or unripe persimmons is frequently applied as a varnish to the outside of the cloth. 'That it possesses a waterproofing quality may be gathered from the fact that perspiration does not show upon it, and that to remove dirt only superficial washing is necessary, as the cloth does not absorb the water. The most important fibre-yielding plant grown in Kwangsi is Boehmeria nivea, L., from which rhea, ramie, or china-grass is derived. The chief centre of cultivation lies between Wuchow and Kuei-lin, the capital of the province. Eight years ago I forwarded to the Foreign Office and to the Government of India a WUCHOW, 15 report on the cultivation of rhea in China and on [^the extraction and preparation of the fibre. This was published in the journal of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India (Vol. IX, Part I, Calcutta, 1891 ). I mention this publication because I have received numerous letters from Europe requesting copies of this report, which I have been unable to supply. I have nothing new to add to the report ; but since its publication, great progress has been made in Europe in inventing processes for extracting and preparing the fibre, and a Manchester house in forwarding to me samples ranging from the raw material to beautiful dress fabrics of silk and rhea and wool and rhea mixtures, and of rhea plushes, tapestries, damasks, and sail-cloths, explains that what is now required is not the fibre as prepared in China, but the raw ribbons, that is, the ribbons as stripped from the stems without any further preparation except drying. I am informed that these raw ribbons can be laid down in London from India, &c., at from 8/. 9s. a ton. Xow, tlie price here of the cleaned fibre is from 9 to 10 taels per picul, equal to 12^ to 13-i% doL, or at an exchange of Is. llcl. per dol. to 11. 4s. to 1^. 6s. 8(i. per picul, or 20/. Is. to 22/. 8s. per ton. Add 21. 10s. per ton freight from Wuchow to London and the cost (without charges for commission and packing) would thus be 22/. 11s. to 24/. 18s. per ton in the London market. But the extraction of the fibre from the raw ribbons is the most expensive part of the whole process in China, and they should be procurable at less than half the cost of the cleaned fibre. I hope to be able to put a price on this raw material during the present year.J Jute (Corchorus capstdaris, L.) is also cultivated, but not to the same extent as rhea. It is used for making rope and twine. The cotton plant {Gossypicens lierhaceuni, L.) is grown in the north of Kwangsi but in small quantity, and the province generally, like the western provinces of China, would appear to be unsuited to its cultivation. The cotton tree {Eriodendron anfrachiosum D.C.) is very common in this neighbourhood, but although the fiowers are used in medicine, I am informed that the kapok or white silk cotton is not used even for stuffing. In the Canton province it is utilised for that purpose. Garyota ocMandre, Hoioe, is not so prominent a tree in Kwangsi as in Kwangtung. Here, as there, the coir is made into ropes and coarse string. Eice straw is used for the same purpose, but it lacks strength. The fibre of Pueraria Thunhergiana, Benth., wliich grows here, is not prepared and made into cloth. In the Yangtze Valley this is a considerable industry. In this province, however, the creeper is grown only for its bulbous roots, which are an article of food. ' Kwangsi produces a considerable variety of fruits, but they are of little value commercially. They include lichees {Nephelmm litchi, Camb.), peaches, pears, plums, pumeloes (Citrus demmana, L), dates {Ziz^jplms vulgaris, Lam.), loquats {Eriobatrya japonica. Fruits, vegetables, and roots. IG WUCHOW. Grains. Grasses. Medicines. Molasses. Moxa. Nutgalls. Oils. Ldl.), walnuts, white nuts (Gingko biloba, L.), lohaiis {Poclocarpus macruphyUa, Don.), papaws {Carica papaya, L.), bananas caram- bolas {Averrhoa carambola, L.), oranges (Citrus nobilis, Loio.), lung-ugans (N'epheliuvi longana, Camb.), wbampees (Clausena. vximpi. Olio.), melons, &c. There is a great variety of vegetables in the cultivation of which remarkable ingenuity is displayed, and there is a number of interesting roots used for food, but I have not yet had the leisure necessary for their investigation. In addition to cereals there are other grain plants cultivated in Kwangsi, such as buckwheat, rape, and sesamum, but they are of little importance. Twm kinds of grasses are grown in Kwangsi and utilised for perfumery purposes. (1) Lemon grass (Hsiang mao-ts’ao — Andropogon Aclmnanthus, L.), from which a sweet-scented oil is distilled, and (2) Hsiang-ts’ao (Lysimacliia feenum greemm, Howe), which is mostly used, dried, for steeping in and scenting tea-oil, wherewith women in the south of China dress their hair before adding bandoline. The former is exported for distillation. Nothing comes amiss to the Chinese pharmacopoeia, and it W'ould be idle to give here a long list of the so-called medicinal products of Kwangsi, suffice it to say that they find their way to Hong-Koug and Chinese ports,, and are likely to continue to afford freight to shipowners. Molasses come down to Wuchow from the sugar-producing centres of Kwmngsi, principally from Liu-chou Tu and Ch’iug- Ylian Fu, and is used here and in the Canton province for pre- serving fruits and vegetables, such as dates, ginger, &c. Numbers of transit passes have been taken out to cover molasses for export to Hong-Kong. OMoxa is frequently described as crude camphor, but although it is a greyish-white powder, smelling strongly of camphor, it is not derived from cinnamomuin camphora, Fr. Nees, wdiich is fairly abundant in this province. It is distilled from Blumea balsami- fera, D.C., and the centres of export are Nan-ning and Po-se. It is a valuable product, costing as much as 200 taels a picul (133;y lbs.), and is used in medicine, perfumery, and in Hong-Kong it is, I understand, converted into camphor oil. ( Nutgalls are derived from Wins semialata, Murr., and are used in tanning and dyeing. The centres of export are Nan-ning and Liu-chou. I understand they are exported for use in foreign countries, and it seems to me that there would be a considerable saving in freight if they were crushed by machinery before ship- ment. At least the crushed material would occupy probably less than half the space required by the entire hollow galls. The tw'o essential and most valuable oils of Kwangsi are aniseed and cassia, already referred to ; but there are other oils produced in the province which are of no mean importance. They are castor (Ficimts communis, L.), ground-nut (Aracliis hypogcea, L.), rape (Brassica Chinensis, L.), sesamum (indicum, L), tea (Camellia sasanqua, Thunb.), and wood oil (Aleurites cordata, M. Arg.). Of these tea and wood oil are the most important from a commercial wucnow. 17 point of view, tlie former beino- used principally as a hair oil, the latter universally in China, where painting, varnishiiig, and water- proofing have to Ije done. A coating of the latter is always applied to junks and native craft generally. Wood oil is now being carried di)’ect from Vyhichow to Hong-Kong for distribution in the southern provinces of China, and the West lliver bids fair to compete with the Yangtze for this trade, ^lumbers of transit passes have been taken out for this oil and they point to P’ing-lo Fu, between Wuchow and Kuei-lin, the capital, and Liu-choir Fu farther west, as the chief centres of production and export. It i.s also brought down from Kan-ning and Po-se, so that the Aku r'dcs corduta is well distriljuted throughout the province. The poppy is grown in Kwangsi, but not, I am assured, to an Opium, extent to admit of the export of opium. The drug is consumeil in the province and is supplemented by opium of superior quality from Yunnan and Ssir-ch’uan. Yunnan, Ssii-ch’uan, and Kuei- chow opium is brought here annually to the amount of about 17,000 piculs for export to the Canton province. tOThe materials for the manufacture of paper in Kwangsi are paper, very plentiful, and there is a considerable export of paper from the province. There are two kinds — (1) Sha-chili, or " gauze paper,” made from the inner fibrous bark of the paper mulberry {Bvoussonctia papyrifera, Vent.) wdhch maybe seen on every hand. This is the P’i-chih (bark paper) of Kuei-chow. There are several qualities manufactured, but even the best is poor compared w’ith the itroduct of the same material in Japan. A reference to Eein’s “ Industries of Japan/’ pages 396-7, will show the excellence of the Japanese Broussonetia paper, compared with which the Kwangsi product is coarse. The chief centres of manufacture are the districts of Ch’ien-chiang and Wu-hstian and the department of Pin-chow. (2) Ts’ao-chih, or Chu-chih — straw or bamboo paper— from the rotted fibres of bamboo and rice straw, is manu- factirred in the Wuchow prefecture in the districts of Ts’en-chi and Jung. This is the ordinary coarse wrapping-paper of China, and its manufacture has been described elsewhere. Preserves appear in the customs returns, and they are practi- Pi-esei-vcs. cally Chinese dates (Pai-ts’ao) which are preserved by boiling in molasses and diied. Tliey are the fruit of Zizyplms 'cidficnis, Lam., which grows very extensively in the neighbourhood of AVuchow. They are called white dates to distinguish them frou' the black and red dates of Canton which are imported into this province. Olt is the general belief among foreigners that the melon seeds Scefts, melon vliich they are a.sked to partake of at the commencement of a Chinese dinner are the seeds of the water-melon. Such, however, is not the case. In Manchuria — the chief producer and exporter Oi melon seeds — a special melon is growm for tire seed only ; it contains little but seeds, and is cultivated in fields on a very huge scale. I am not yet in a position to say whence the melon see Is exported from this province are derived. Sugar-cane is very widelv cultivated in Kwangsi, and three Sugnv. (246) ■' B 18 WUCHOW. Tea. Timber. 3, Mineral products and resources. Gold. Silver. Copper. Tin. kinds of sugar are manufactured ; udiite, brown and candy. The great centres of export are Po-se, Ltingcliow, T’ien-chou, Nan-ning, and Yung-shun, which utilises the southern branch of the West River, and Ch’ing-yiian and Liu-chow on the Lung Chiang, the northern tributary of the Hung-shui or Wu-ni River, which joins the southern branch at Hsun-chou. It is a remarkable fact that this sugar is too expensive for use in the sugar refineries at Hong- Kong, which draw their supplies of raw material from Java. Previous to 1894 the quantity of tea annually exported by Kwangsi to foreign countries through the Canton province exceeded 20,000 piculs. To-day it amounts to only 15,000, and the cause of the decline is, no doubt, the same as in other parts of China. The tea districts of Kwangsi lie 60 miles south by west of Wuchow in the districts of Ts’en-ch’e and Jung, which are also the great centres of cassia and indigo production in the province. This is one of the most valuable exports from Kwangsi. Large numbers of rafts pass AYuchow on their way to the Canton province. They are often manned by Miao-tzii, for much of the timber comes from the borderlands of Kuei-chow and Kwangsi which are peopled by these aborigines. Timber felled in Kuei-chow is floated down the Tu Chiang to the city of Yung Hsien where it is made up into rafts. And so on the Lung Chiang and Hung- shui Rivers which flow through forest clad regions. These rafts are made up of barked logs, beams, planks, and firewood of pine (Shan Mu) ; but no scientific investigation of these woods has yet been made, and the probability is that the export is not confined to pine. As a matter of fact, camphor wood is also exported from AVuchow. Green bamboos likewise leave the port in large quantities lashed in bundles to the sides of junks. The precious metal is found and worked in two places in this district (Ts’ang-wu Hsien in which the city of AA’’uchow is situated), namely Chin-hsiug-’wei and Tung-an. It is also known to exist at An-p’ing-ssu, likewise in this district, and on the borders of this and the neighbouring district of K’ai-chien in the Kwangtnug province. It is washed on the banks of the Fu Iiiver and at Ho-p’ing and T’ai-p’ing on the banks of the stream which enters the AAYst River at Meng-chiang in the T’eng Hsien district. It exists in the district of Chao-p’ing and in the sub-department of En-yang. Silver is worked at two places in the Kuei Hsien district of the Hsiln-chou prefecture, namely T’ien-p’ing-shan and San- ch’a-shan, at both of which foreign plant is employed. My informant is part proprietor of the mine at the latter place, and he tells me that the silver produced used to be sent to Yunnan to purchase opium but is now forwarded to Canton. Silver mines were formerly worked within the Ho and Fu-chTian districts of the P’ing-lo prefecture, but work there has been suspended. Copper exists in the department of Yulin in the south-east, and at Hsiang-wn-chow in the Ssu-ch’eng prefecture in the west of the province. Tin is found in the Ho and Fu-ch’uan districts of the P’ing-lo prefecture. WUCHOW. 19 Sulphide of antimony is abundant in the Nan-ning, Ssu-ch’eng, Antimony. Chen-an, and T’ai-p’ing prefectures in the west and south-west of the province, particularly in the district of Hsi-lin near the Yunnan border where there are whole mountains full of the ore. A small shipment of this ore has recently been sent to Hong-Kong. Iron is found in the districts of Ts’en-ch’e and Jung in the iron. AYuchow prefecture ; in Poi-lin Hsien in the department of Ytilin, and in the AAbi-yuan district of Ssu-en Pu. Coal is widely distributed and mined throughout the province, Coal, from Po-se in the west to Fu-ch’uan in the east. It is used by the steamers running between AA^uchow and Canton and Hong- Kong. Its high price, owing to the recent rise in Japanese coal, has up to the present militated against its export. The above does not pretend to be an exhaustive list of the minerals of Kwangsi or their centres of production ; but I am assured by a Chinese gentleman who has made a study of the minerals of this and the western provinces of China that, so far as it goes, it is perfectly reliable. I am indebted to the courtesy of Mr. James Acheson, Acting Commissioner of Customs, for early access to the returns compiled in his office. In converting currency into sterling it has been assumed that Excliange. the demand value of the Haikwan tael during 1897 averaged 2s. ll|d I 20 AVUCHOW. Annex I. — RETUiiiSr of Principal Articles of Import at AVucliow from June 1 to December 31, 1897. Articles. Quantity. Yalue. £ Foreign imports Cotton goods — Shirtings, grey, plain „ white Pieces 23,492 10,607 15,266 7,277 „ figured, brocaded, and spotted.. )) 791 354 „ dyed, plain, 20 yards . . ,, „ figured, brocaded. 55 » ' 2,198 687 3,629 1,297 spotted . . 55 • • 1,052 376 Cloths, 32 inches 55 • * 12,916 6,094 „ 36 „ 5,797 1,731 Drills, English 287 118 ,, Dutch.. 12 7 ,, American 191 85 Chintzes and furnitures 1.246 780 Tinted cotton balzarincs . . ■ 278 116 „ lenos . . 60S 217 Turhey red shirtings >5 • • 1,579 706 Damasks, dved 1,281 1,527 - Yelvets 2,028 1,510 Cambrics, plain and printed 467 256 M uslins . . , . . . . . 1,682 111 Handkerchiefs Dozens 7,909 288 Spanish stripes Pieces 165 103 Cotton flannel 769 292 „ cretonne . . 456 328 „ cloth, Japanese 55 • • 833 82 ,, crape.. .• 55 517 76 Yarn, English Lbs. 36,400 955 ,, Indian . . 3,618,848 92,987 ,, Japanese .. 55 • • 55,200 1,233 Thread Pieces 5,300 190 Crimp. . . . . . . . . . 353 174 Blankets .. .. .. 1,214 285 Unclassed . , . . . . . . 279 Woollen goods — Camlets, English Pieces 526 1,095 Lastings, iilain . . . . 55 • • 1,072 1,916 „ figured 55 • • 14 28 „ imitation . , , . 55 72 64 Long ells 4,216 3,140 Spanish stripes 55 « • 620 3,879 Cloth, broad, medium, and habit . . 447 5,993 Lustres and Orleans, plain . , 244 364 „ „ figured 55 • • 55 98 Blankets . . . . . . Pair 304 215 Union or poncho cloth Pieces 47 140 Fflannel . . . . . . Lbs. 65 271 Yarn and cord . , 2,823 174 Unclassed , , 107 Metals — Iron, nail-rod Lbs. 97,544 305 „ bar 55 • * 166,229 161,447 446 „ old 362 ,, nails Ironware, unclassed. . 29,316 165 115 Copper, sheets and plates . , Lbs. 3,225 50 Steel bars 145,169 762 Unclassed .. .. 140 WUCHOW. 21 liETUBN of Principal Articles of Import at Wucliow from June 4 to December 31, 1897 — coutiiiued. Articles, Quantity. Value. £ Foreign imports — continued Simclries — Almonds, sweet Lbs. 4,469 150 Alum, white . . 63,644 220 Aniseed, star 1,791 45 ,, broken 371 2 Awabi . , 8,233 228 Betel-nuts 311,181 2,812 Beohe de mer, black. . 24,131 997 „ „ ■white 7,779 174 Clocks Pieces 816 245 Cotton, raw, Indian . . Lbs. 176,501 5,324 Cuttle-fish . . 181,813 2,114 Dates, blick . . 40,951 252 „ red 19,257 64 Fish, salt 178,860 440 „ dried . . 656 3 ,, raw 3,384 210 Flour . 98,520 389 Grlass, window . . Boxes 372 211 Lamps . . . . Pieces 13,179 162 Lily tlov/ers, dried . , Lbs. 103,920 824 Llama braid . . 9,612 938 Matches, wooden Japanese.. dross 84,999 3,163 Medicines Lbs. 56,183 705 Mussels, dried . . 72,069 604 Oil, kerosene — American . . Gallons 749,410 14,847 Sumatra . . 299,710 5,491 Russian . . . , Lbs. 133,455 2,544 Oil, ground-nut 14,256 167 Paper, 1st quality . . >J 28,312 176 Peppei’, black , , JJ 64,621 578 Prawns, dried 56,971 1,846 Raisins, Chinese 28,356 170 Sandalwood . . . . 133,595 1,045 Sapanwood . . 46,940 210 Seavpeed, Japanese . . 36,064 161 Sharks’ fins, black . . 515 17 „ white . . 3,781 222 ,, clarified 727 88 Silk piece-goods )) 4,468 2,496 Tobacco, prepared . . 21,432 551 Umbrellas, silk Pieces 18 8 „ cotton . • 3,460 180 „ camlet . . 660 49 „ frames . . 1,436 431 Vermicelli • f Lbs. 91,900 719 Wax 5,097 182 Unenumerated , , 4,002 Kative imports; — Cloth, native and nankeens Lbs. 7,593 233 Medicines 9,971 484 Oysters, dried . . 19,763 563 Paper, 1st quality „ 104,899 1,053 Prawns, dried . . 32,900 1,066 Tobacco, prepared 79,650 2,046 Unenumerated.. •• • • 1,631 ^2 WUCHO-\V. Annex 11. — EF/ruitN of Principal Articles of Export from Wuchow, from June 4 to December 31, 1897. Articles. Qiianlity. Value. Aniseed, star .. .. Ihs. 152,420 £ 5,108 Coal • • Tons 553 371 Firewood .. Lbs. 1,759,880 382 Glue, cow 67,015 973 Hide.«, cow and buffalo • • 832,127 13,937 Horns, cow ■ « 32,079 179 Indigo, liquid . . • • >) 825,369 6,916 Leather . . . . 153,897 1,978 Lung-ngan pulp 10,076 168 Medicin* s . . . . jj 15,905 398 Nutgalls.. )) 25,657 487 Oil- Aniseed 1,552 378 Cassia-leaf 10,299 2,186 Ground-nut . . . . 3,531 40 Tea 21,805 275 W ood . . 631,685 5,646 Paper, 1st quality )5 9,183 92 „ 2nd „ 32,925 110 Preserves 37,391 276 Kliea fibre 325,499 2,783 394 Seeds, melon . . 65,361 Silk, raw, wdiite Sugar, brown , . , . 22,187 4,957 99,044 276 „ white . . Tallow, animal . . 452,479 2,339 • • 20,947 164 Timber — Beams, soft wood . . • • Pieces 2,047 71 Planks „ 59,479 17,688 Poles ,, 467 139 Wood, camphor . . Lbs. 32,480 30 Unenumerated , , • • • • 1,141 Annex III. — Table showing Total A^alue of all Articles Exported from and Imported to Wuchow from and to Eoreign Countries, from June 4 to December 31, 1897. Country. Value. Exports. Imports. £ £ Uong-Kong • > • < . . 59,334 2C3,92l wucHow. 23 Annex IV, — PiKTUHX of all Sliipping at tlie Port of 'Wucliow from June 4 to December 31, 1897. Entekeu. Nationality. Sailing. Steam. i Total. Number of Vessels. Tons. Number of Vessels. Tons. Number of Vessels. Tons. British 29 3,123 182 17,573 211 20,701 Ameiican 11 671 9 567 20 1,2.38 German 10 1,334 10 1,.334 Chinese 1 39 171 2,782 172 2,821 Total 61 5, 1 72 362 20,922 1 413 26,094 Cleared. Sailing. Steam. Total. Nationality. Number of Vessels, Tons. Number of Vessels. Tons. Number of Vessels. Tom. British 29 3,128 182 17,573 211 20,701 1,238 American 11 671 . 9 567 20 German 10 1,334 10 1,331 Chinese 1 39 i7i 2,782 172 2,821 Total 51 5,172 362 20,922 413 2 ',094 LONDON : Printed for Her Majesty’s Stationery Ofliee, By PIAEEISON AND SONS, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty. (Wt. 20003 250 12 | 98 -H & S 2230) NEW SERIES OF ANNUAL REPORTS, Reports of the Ann ual Series have been issued from Her Majesty’s Diplomatic and Consular OflScers at the following places, and may be obtained from the sources indicated on the title-page : — No. 2048. Tripoli Price. 1 .. Id. i No. 2108. Samshui . . Price. .. 2id. 2049. Samoa , , .. Id. i 2109. Japan .. . . 2d, 2050. Jerusalem . . , , .. Id. 2110. Barcelona .. , , .. 2id. 2051. Bordeaux . . .. 2^d. 2111. Salonica .. 2d. 2052. Suakin .. Id. 2112. Malaga , , .. 3d, 2053. Ancona .. Id. 2113. Sardinia , , .. Id. 2054. Amsterdam . . .. Id. 2114. .Montenegro.. .. id.- 2055. Patras • • .. Id. 2115. Portland .. 2id. 2056. Callao .. .. Id. 2116. Beirut .. Hd. 2057. Beira .. Id. 2117. Peru.. , , Hd, 2058. Eio de Janeiro .. 2id. 2118. Congo Independent State .. Id, 2059. Chungking ., Hd. 2119. Norway .. 3d. 2060. Saigon . . 2t 6 1 . Corunna .. Id. 2120. Sicily .. 2id. .. 2K 2121. Paraguay , , .. Id. 2062. Stockholm , . .. 2id. 2122. Frankfort .. , * .. 3d. 2063. Brest. . .. Id. 2123. Svvatow .. Id. 2064. Stettin . . .. 2id. 2124. Elba . .. id. 2065. Spain .. 2K 2125. Tripoli • • .. Hd. 2066. Trieste .. Id. 2126. Hankow « • .. Id. 2067. Batoum .. 2d. 2127. Tahiti . Id. 2068. The Piraeus . . , .. 14 d. 2128. Eesht . . 4d, 2069. Trebizond . . .. Hd. 2129. Zanzibar .. Hd. 2070. Pondicherry .. Id. 2130. Germany • • .. 2d. 2071. Mozambique • • .. Id. 2131. Tangier • • .. 2d. 2072. Foochow . , . . Id. 2132. Corea , , .. Hd. 2073. Ningpo .. id. 2133. Philippine Islands • « .. 5id. 2074. Pernambuco .. 2d. 2134. Vera Cruz .. .. 2d. 2075. Leghorn Hd. 2135. Warsaw .. .. 3d. 2076. Taganrog .. • • .. 2d. 2136. Nicaragua . . .. Id. 2077. Marseilles . . .. Id. 2137. Antwerp .. Id. 2078. Bilbao .. 2d. 2138. Germany .. Id. 2079. Pakhoi .. .. Id. 2139. Guatemala .. , , .. 2id. 2080. Eio Grande do Svd. . .. 5d. 2140. Para . . .. 3id, 2081. New York .. .. 2id. 2141. Denmark .. .. 3id. 2982. Baltimore . . . . 2id. 2142. Fiume .. Id, 2083. Aleppo .. Hd. 2143. Cadiz .. 2d. 2084. Marmagao . . .. id. 2144. Amoy , , .. Hd. 2085. Chicago .. lid. 2145. Chefoo .. Id. 2086. Shashih .. 5id. 2146. Brindisi .. 2id. 2087. Ghent .. id. 2147. Boston .. 2id. 2088. Panama , , .. 2d, 2118. North Formosa .. Id. 2089. Madeira .. Id. 2149. Tainan , , .. Id. 2090. Kiukiang .. Id. 215' 1 . Kiungchow . . • • .. Id. 2091. Lombardy .. • • .. Id. 2151. New Caledonia .. Id. 2092. Dunkirk .. Hd. 2152. California .. 3d. 2093. Baden .. Id. 2153. Bengasi .. Id. 2094. Caracas * , .. Hd. 2154. Denmark .. Hd. 2095. Java.. .. Hd. 2155. Belgium .. id. 2096. Switzerland • • .. Hd. 2156. Shanghai .. 2d. 2097. Uruguay .. • • .. Id. 2157. Germany .. Id. 2098. Baghdad and Basrah .. Id. 2158. Bavaria .. Hd. 2099. Calais . . • • .. 2d. 2159. Bulgaria . . 2100. Galatz % » .. Hd. 2160. Austria-Hungary , , .. 2d. 2101. Quito • • .. id. 2161. Gothenburg.. .. 2id. 2102. Syra . . • • .. 2id. 2162. Lourenco Marques. . .. id. 2103. Nice . . • « .. Hd. 2163. Erzeroum . . .. Id. 2104. Hamburg . . , . 5d. 2164. Algeria .. .. 2id. 2105. Ionian Islands .. 2d. 2165. Yokohama .. .. 14d. 2106 Chinde .. • • 2id. 2166. Angora . . .. Id. 2107. Genoa . . «• .. 2id. 2167. Bosnia ,. • • .. Id.