Trade

Foreign trade began in China as exchange of presents with the tribes on the north, or as tribute from va als, both of which, as Parker observes, are merely trade in its earliest form. The Hsiung-nu Khans sent camels, horses, and carts, receiving in return silk, clothing, buckles, hair-pins, embroidei'y, etc. From Korea came pearls, sables, and wood, and flax and hemp from the Tunguses. Frontier fairs are mentioned as early as B.C. 140, and clandestine trade was carried on. In the reign of Wtj Ti, the great Emperor of the Early Hans, intercourse began with Parthia, Me so pot am i a, and the Greek dynasties of Bactria and Afghanistan. It was in Bactria that the famous traveller Chang Ch'ien (b.c. 160-110) saw Chinese goods in the markets, and from this time trade was carried on by the overland routes, reaching the country called by the Chinese Ta-ts'in (and in the Middle Ages Fu-lin), which according to Hirth was the oriental part of the Roman empire, viz., Syria, (and later Egypt and Asia Minor) with Antioch as the destination of the traders. Sca-Toute. — China first found herself with an unbroken line of coast under the Hans, and an active trade between Alexandria and the Far East had been in existence for some centuries before the 575 India at an early date. China sent to Ta-ts'in silk, furs, and iron, receiving in exchange gla ware, asbesto.«, woven fabrics and embroideries, drugs, dyes, metals and gems, which North China obtained overland through Parthia, while the ' Romans, to avoid pa ing through the territory of their enemies, sent them by sea. During the first five or six centuries of the Christian era the southern kingdoms traded with Ceylon, India, and the Red Sea ports, and about a.d. 450 the art of gla making was introduced to the Sung country by artisans from Ta-ts'in. Arabian merchants are first heard of in a.d. 628, and good accounts of the trade routes by sea are given by them in the middle of the Sth century. They established trading colonies in various ports along the southern coast of China, and developed a thriving commerce, with large Mahometan communities living in the midst of the Chinese. Trade was carried on for many centuries by the IMG:p575_1.png:Chinese characters and the Chinese, who under the Yiians extended their dominion into Indo-China, became familiar with the whole coast of Southern Asia, and with the neighbouring islands as far as Timor. The journeys of the Ming eunuchs in the 15th century show that an important commerce existed between the empire and these territories, the valuable musk, camphor, porcelain, copper, and taffetas of China being exchanged for precious stones from Ceylon, spices and perfumes of Arabia, cloves from the Moluccas, sandalwood and other valuable woods from Cambodia and Malaya, elephants' tusks and peacock feathers from India and Burma, and even foreign gauze, printed cottons and other clotlis. Under the Mings also trade continued with Sam ark and and Persia, which obtained silk and satins, musk and rhubarb from China. The Japanese too carried on clandestine commerce with China, using the islands adjacent to the coast as entrepots during the intervals of warfare which broke out after the abortive Mongol invasion. Unfortunately Mongol attacks by land and Japanese piratical raids by sea later on caused China to adopt a policy of exclusion, which was accentuated when Europe ans appeared on the scene early in the 16th century. The Portuguese were the first, under And bade, in 1517. Ningpo, Foochow, Amoy and some Kuangtung ports were opened for some time, but after trouble had arisen in 1557 trade became concentrated at Macao. The Spaniards traded with Fukien from Manila from 1575, and many Chinese settled in the Philippines, until their ma acre by the Spaniards. The Dutch were considerably later, having settled in Formosa in 1624, whence they traded with the Fukien ports until 1664, when trade was confiaed to Canton. The first English expedition was a little later, but no trade of any importance existed until 1684, when a footing was obtained at Canton, attempts to open at Amoy and Ningpc having failed. In 1702 a beginning was made at Canton of what was afterwards known as the "Hong" system, and in the 18th century trade developed under the aigis of the East India Company. The French came in 1728, the Americans in 1784, and Swedes, Danes and the Hanseatic towns gradually took a share in the trade. Bu ian E elation s.— The. first Ru ian visit to Pelcing was in 1567, but both this and a second visit in 1619 were repulsed because they brought no tribute. But in the 17th century the Ru ians advanced to the basin of the Amur, and, after years of frontier warfare, the Ru ians obtained the right to commercial intercourse by the Treaty of Nertchinsk in 1689. From 1694 on caravans went to China at regular intervals. The chief Ru ian goods sent to China appear to have been sables and other valuable Siberian furs, while China sent in exchange precious stones, damask, nankeens, besides rhubarb and tpbacco. Tea is first mentioned in 1715. This trade soon found favour with the Ru ians (as with the Tibetans in their still colder clime), and a century later it is recorded that 5 million pounds were sent by the overland route from Hankow up the Han River and thence acro Shensi to Mongolia. Ru ian trade was kept in the hands of the Ru ian Government for many years, but illicit competition ruined the Crown caravans, and Chinese and Ru ian merchants came into direct contact, to their mutual advantage. As IMG:p575_2.png:Chinese characters states in his Trade and Administration of the Chinese Empire, p. 282, the component elements of the old trade are not well-known, but China wanted very little that the West could supply. In cotton manufactures, which now constitute such a high proportion of the import trade, the West was only able to compete with cheap Asiatic labour after the development springing from the inventions of Arkwrigiit and Wiutney, and in the 18th and early 19th centuries the movement of cotton cloth was from China to Europe and America in the shape of nankeens to provide smallclothes for our grandfathers. Woollens were wanted, but only in small quantities, and quicksilver (for vermilion making, etc.), and lead (for tea-chests and bullets), the amount of which was not much greater. In 1820 the East India Company imported only the following articles: cotton (75,000 piculs); iron (10,000): lead (14,000); pepper (7,500); sandalwood (10,000); broadcloth (12,000 pieces); long ells and worleys (129,000 pieces); camlets (16,000 pieces), and cotton goods (5,000 pieces). Private traders imported mostly the same goods, and in addition opium, tin, steel, and Straits produce, such as spices, rattans, black and 576 red wood, myrrh, gums, etc., and a few occidental luxuries (clocks and watches are first found in the list for 1827). The value of tlie import trade varied from Spanish Dollars 14,000,000 to 23,000,000 from 1820 to 1834, gaining annually. The suppre ion of the E. I. Company's monopoly resulted in a trade boom, which was however only temporary, and was succeeded by a period of lo es and disappointment owing to exaggerated hopes being unrealised. The "adverse balance of trade" against China was the feature of this period, and excited alarm on the part both of the Chinese and of foreigners, the former seeing only the drain of silver and the latter feeling that much more busine might he done, to the profit of all concerned, if Chinese products were given a free outlet. In the decade after the first war this trouble was acute, but it adjusted itself thereafter with the, rapid growth of the silk trade at Shanghai, (hitherto siik had gone out exclusively from Canton), after the opening of that port. In a few years silver was flowing more copiously into the country than it had ever flowed out. The course of direct trade with Great Britain, of which records exist, is interesting. In 1837 the imports were valued at £900,000; the opening of the five ports (Canton, Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo and Shanghai) in 1843 and 1844 was the signal for a burst of energy, which resulted in overtrading. In 1845, £2,400,000 worth of goods were imported from England. The consequent depre ion of 1846 was inevitable, and in the four following years trade found its level, with imports of one and a half million. This was a disappointment to foreign merchants, but it was realised at last that no increase could be expected until freer intercourse with the interior had been obtained. In 1851, however, tlie northern markets participated more fully, and the effects of the opening of the northern ports began to be felt. This development of British trade in manufactures which seemed so hopeful in the years 1851-1852, received a severe check, at a time when hopes were very high, by the outbreak of the T'ai P'ing Rebellion in 1853. The effects of this great movement were felt in 1854, when British imports fell to one million, and the lost ground was not recovered until 1858, when the figure was £2,900,000, an increase of one million since 1850. Then came the opening of six new ports (Chinkiang, Newchwang, Chefoo, Taiwan, Swatow and Kiungchow) by the Treaty of Tientsin, followed by a remarkable increase of British exports to China, which rose to £4,500,000. This acce of prosperity led to exaggerated ideas being entertained of the immediate prospect of improved trade, as had been the case when the first ports were thrown open. There was again overtrading and disappointment. Eelief came from an unexpected quarter, viz. from the arrest of the supply of raw cotton by the American Civil War. Neverthele the glut of cotton goods, accumulated in the years 1859-1861, was not disposed of until late in 1862; and these events so threw the trade out of its accustomed channels that the genuine results of increased foreign intercourse were not realised until 1865. After this the course of trade was steady. In 1864 the Imperial Maritime Customs began the publication of statistics, and valuable Trade Be ports were i ued, which show the development of trade from that date. Up to 1872 the value of Imports far exceeded that of Exports, but in that year the tide turned in favour of the latter, owing to the great depreciation in the value of Imports. Besides this, another factor favoured Exports, viz., the revival of thel silk trade after the downfall of the T'ai P'ings, which checked the development of the foreign piece goods trade. The silk trade reached its zenith in 1876, when the value of silk exports reached £10,654,000. At the same time, as vast tracts devastated by the rebellion were recovered to cultivation, the cotton fields of the Lower Yangtze region were again opened up, and the price of native cotton cloth (which, though coarse, was more durable and warmer than its foreign rival) fell to its former level. The demand for the foreign article became restricted to the poor, who could not afford to pay the higher price for the native cloth, (which was ultimately, however, more economical), and to the wealthy, who preferred the more delicate texture of foreign cloth for underclothing. Distrust was also engendered for foreign cloth owing to wholesale adulteration of the latter at this time. The percentage of the various Imports and Exports for the first five years of the seventies was as follows: — Imports. Exports. Opium 39.07 Tea 53.32 Cotton Piece Goods 31.90 Silk -. 37.22 Woollens 6.72 Sugar 1.98 Metals 4.78 Sundries 7.48 Sundries 17.53 (Ca ia, matting, china crackers, etc.). ware, paper, fire- The expectation of vast profits referred to above was sadly disappointed. Prosperous years were followed by reaction, and trade underwent' fluctuations, which upset the over-sanguine calculations previously entertained. In 1879 it was pointed out that foreign trade had for years been steadily increasing: new articles of trade had been coming forward year by year and had established themselves in growing demand. A desire to take advantage of Western arts and sciences was surely gaining ground among the Chinese, and this was leading to the nece ity for 577 sequent appreciation of many ideas and appliances hitherto regarded with indifference or contempt. The establishment of Legations and Consulates abroad at this time gave opportunities to those best qualihed to judge of knowing what room there was for improvement in China. It was also at this time that a number of enlightened officials began to realize the usefulne of railways. Efforts were made even at considerable personal risk to introduce them into the country, but the Court above and the people below were as obstinate as before. Neverthele the germ of a desire for improvement had been planted, and before many years this innovation, so vital to the interests of the country, was actually introduced. The year 1879 was not only replete with commercial prosperity, but significant in promise for the future, and marks a stage in the forward progre of China. Unfortunately progre was not maintained in the next few years, but the elements were present, and in 1886 the volume of trade reached a record point: in cottons the turn of the tide had now come. It was in the late seventies that Sundry Exports began to attract notice. The chief of these was straw braid, which was coming into favour in the West for basket-work as well as for making hats. A demand for Chinese hides sprang up during the Eu o-Turkish war, for military use, and was fostered by the terrible famine in North China in 1876-1877, when you sands of cattle were killed for meat. Wood oil and nutgalls also claim attention, though the extension of trade in the latter did not a ume much importance until 1888, when the universal mourning in Germany caused exportation to that country, where the galls were used for dyeing black. These products continued to grow in importance as they were now sent out in a more convenient and portable form than in the past, and were prepared to some extent to resist the deterioration of the voyage by sea, being at the same time packed in reduced bulk by hydraulic machinery and so costing le in freight. The trade in hides and skins, wool, bristles, feathers and raw cotton was energetically pushed, and in the 1890's — a period of awakening in China— forged ahead, so that by 1897 "Sundries" provided half of the total export table, and in late years 70 per cent. An import in which remarkable progre was shown was that of kerosene oil, first introduced in 1863. Ten years later the oil was beginning to find a market, and by 1879 over 4 million gallons were imported. In 1886 nearly 23 million gallons were imported, the use of native vegetable oils for illuminating purposes having been largely superseded, especially after the Yangtze floods of 1884, which destroyed the oil-bearing crops. This import equalled that into India, but China soon began to take much greater quantities, the Ku ian import beginning in 1888, and soon reaching one-third of the total, and prices falling, while the oil was better packed in secure cans, which latter were also very acceptable to the Chinese poorer cla es. In 1896 Sumatra oil entered the field, and with the use of tank steamers, the trade developed with astonishing rapidity, although unfortunately for consumers prices increased. The establishment of tanks at the leading ports was not undertaken until the end of the 19th century, but the rival companies have now tanks installed at many ports. Figures of import: — 1903. 85 million gallons; 1904. 156 million gallons; 1911. 235.8 million gallons (valued at Tls. 34,800,000). A feature of the 'eighties was the rapid development of the import trade with Japan, which sent especially cotton piece goods, (often made of Chinese cotton) and cotton woven fabrics, matches, soap of foreign type, sulphuric acid, umbrellas, etc., all of which competed with other foreign goods. Japan also exported to China, in addition to the marine products which had long formed a staple of trade, coal, timber, copper, paper, medicines, fans, dye-stuffs, etc. China in return sent cotton and.sugar, and little else. In 1876 the total value of the trade with Japan was under Tls. 6,000,000; in 1882 the 6 million figure was reached and in 1887 the 7 million figure. 1889 was a year of great advance, China shipping much cotton and sugar to Japan, the trade with which (import and export) reached over 13 million taels. From 1895 the import figures were augmented by those of Formosa trade, and the advance made was very rapid, 1899 (the bumper year of Chinese trade) showing figures of Tls. 53,000,000, two-thirds being imports. The leading items among the latter were cotton yai-n, coal, matches, and fishery products, and, although the list of other imports was beginning to extend, no single article was as yet of importance. China's export trade was almost confined to raw cotton, beans and be an cakes, and a little wild silk and cocoons. With the turn of the century the trade with Japan began to a ume very important dimensions. In Imports 1903 saw an advance from 35 to 50 millions of taels, in 1910 the figure was 76 millions, which had increased to 119 millions in 1913, and reached 160 millions in 1916. In Exports 1902 exceeded 1901 by 12 millions (from 16 to 28); 37 millions was the total in 1908, rising to 77 in 1915 and ll2 in 1916. To the last figure beans and other oil-seeds, with oil and refuse cake, contribute 41 millions, metals (antimony, iron, and copper — the last melted-down cash), 26 millions, cotton 13 578 and hides and skins 7 millions, making about 70 per cent, of the whole export trade. Of the 160 million tae.ls of imports, cotton yarn has 33, cotton piece goods 30, (chiefly sheetings, shirtings, drills, jeans, and Japanese cotton cloth), IMG:p578_1.png:Chinese characters 11, timber 8, coal, fish and matches 18— almost equally divided. Thes3 seven items therefore take about two-thirds of the import trade, and are also long established on the list, but there are many other goods of le standing which are gradually growing in importance. Thus iron and steel manufactures are increasing, clothing (modern), drugs, umbrellas, mirrors, stationery, cigarettes, etc., which enter into competition with Chinese goods, and such items as chemical products, machinery, window gla , electrical, photographic, and telegraph materials, etc., which have hitherto been imported from Europe, but, owing to the war, are now being produced in Japan, for the Chinese market. The most remarkable development of the export trade in the early years of the present century was that which took place in tEe trade in oil-yielding seeds and in the oil extracted from them. There had been for many decades a coastal trade between Manchuria and Kuangtung in soya beans, while groundnuts were sent from Shantung to the same province, the refuse cake being used as fertiliser for the rice and sugar plantations. In the late 1890's trade in these seeds with foreign countries began, beans and be an cake going at first to Japan. Later on a European demand sprang up for soya beans, and groundnuts, rape-seed, and especially sesamum from Honan soon began to go out in great quantities. In 1896 the trade was still in its infancy, but by 1899, when railways were beginning to operate, ten million taels worth of beans and cake were sent out; in 1908 the value of exports of seeds and cake of all kinds was Tls. 34,000,000, and in the following year this figure was almost doubled. 1913 was the record year, with Tls. 83,000,000 for seeds and oils. Although there has been a slight set-back during the war, the trade will doubtle continue to develop in response to the ever-growing demand in Western countries for these valuable fertilisers, cattle-foods, and oils, which are used IMG:p578_2.png:Chinese characters many industries. Change in method of doing busine .— The early nineties were marked by alteration in the mode of conducting busine in China, due to the long continued fluctuations in exchange. This applied especially to the import trade. In 1891 there was a 12% fall in the gold value of silver, followed by a 9% fall in 1892: bank failures and general restriction of credit were a feature of this period, which introduced the system of indent, goods being no longer held on stock or ordered to meet the requirements of the market. The "merchant prince" gave way to the commi ion broker, and busine became modernised, fortunes being no longer made in a short time, and profits having to be contended for with greater keenne . Decline of the Tea Trade.— In the early years of the 19th century the amount of tea exported from China to W. Europe and America was about 2159,000 pieuls, worth about IMG:p578_3.png:Chinese characters million. At the time of the ending of the E. I. Company's monopoly the annual exportation had increased by about 80,000 pieuls; after the opening of the Treaty ports by the Treaty of Nanking the figure was soon almost doubled (600,000 pieuls in 1845) and ten years later, so great was the demand, there had been a further 60% increase. In 1857 (the date of the first Customs Reports), tea, with an exportation of one and a quarter million pieuls, contributed three-fifths of the value of all exports. In 1886 the record figure of almost two and a quarter million pieuls v/as reached, giving a value equal to 43% of all exports. But the proportion of Chinese tea consumed in England had decreased from 93% in 1865 to 59%, and Indian tea was beginning to supplant the Chinese product. Easy and sometimes fabulous returns stimulated over-production, which depre ed prices, and these further depre ed quality to a point where younger rivals could step in. Owing to lack of careful cultivation and preparation the quality rapidly degenerated, and many of the old famous districts became stocked with old used-up trees, grown at a time of prosperous over-production. Adulteration also bore its part in the decline, and such malpractices as cramming dust into chests. By 1890 tea had dropped greatly in value, and the decline was progre ive, although the American market took increased quantities. In 1901 the low water mark was reached with an exportation of only Pels. 1,157,000. In the next year, in response to appeals from merchants, the duty on tea exported was reduced by half, and since then there has been some recovery, Ru ia taking more and more tea. In 1911 Pels. 1,324,000 were exported, worth Tls. 37,000,000, and in 1915 Tls. 55,000,000 worth went out. But permanent revival will only follow on the introduction of improved methods of cultivation. Chinese sugar has suffered a similar fate; the exports up to the 1880's were very important, but primitive methods of cultivation, with resultant poor quality, led to the Kuangtung sugar being supplanted by the products of Java, Manila, and Formosa, and the sugar refined at Hong kong. Metals.— IMG:p578_4.png:Chinese characters China has never been a large importer of metals, for the native supply, though little developed, has sufiiced for the comparatively small needs of a country where manufactures on modern lines have been until recent years non-existent. Apart from lead for tea-chests, 579 quicksilver for mirrors, tin for "jo -paper," and old iron (the worn-out horse-shoes, nails, hoops, and scraps of Europe), no metals were formerly imported into the country. Most of the tin was, besides, merely Yiinnan tin transhipped at Hong kong, where it became technically "foreign." About the year 19D2, however, there was an increase in the metal import trade. In 1905 a large amount of copper (Tls. 31,000,000 worth) was imported, but this was almost all for the requirements of mintage, in which there was at the time great activity, and the trade afterwards subsided to the normal low figures. As is well known, China has very large copper deposits, mostly unworked. The imports of iron were in 1902 Tls. 4,000,000, but had risen by 1913 to Tls. 12,000,000, including some galvanised iron, which is coming into increasing use. Rails and some constructional iron and steel for the railways were also imported in increasing quantities for some years, but the Hanyang Ironworks now turn out rails for many of the lines, besides girders, bridgework, etc. The exportation of pig iron from China has been carried on for some years, and Japan is likely to take large amounts of ore in future years. Cotton Goods, — 1886 saw the turn of the tide in the cotton trade, which had not prospered hitherto as it should have done. The most notable feature was the rapid development of the importation of cotton yarn, which by 1887 contributed 30 per cent, of the whole trade, the article having become very popular with the Chinese weavers. Indian yarn increased from one million taels worth in 1885 to ten millions in 1891, and gradually ousted the Manchester yarn, but after this it began to find a formidable competitor in the Japanese product, which not only was favoured by lower freights, but was similar to the Chinese yarn. Besides, owing to proximity, orders for particular yarns could be carried out in the right time to suit the market. Figures of Yarn Import. (In millions of Taels). IMG:t579_1.png:Table (image of the original) China is now the largest yarn market in the world. In 1894 it was reported that the Chinese market was singularly in expansive owing to the high price of textiles caused by low exchange; a new feature was the increase of native cotton mills, which had first been established about 1890. When the right to import machinery was conceded by the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, an extraordinary impetus was given to native industries, especially to cotton spinning and weaving, which were aided by the fall in the gold price of silver. American goods, however, increased, having the advantage over English goods of lower freights and protection, which enabled American manufactui'ers to export the balance o£ their out-turn and sell it at attractive rates in China, the English manufactures having to use a lower cla of cotton, which required heavy size to spin. It was now becoming evident that, with the increased importation of yarn, and the establishment of mills in,' China, the lower grades were losing ground in the country, and that improvement must be looked for in the finer makes. In these the United States did not compete with Great Britain, and the quality of Japanese goods was poor. American goods reached their zenith in 1905, when, owing to the extraordinary conditions brought about by the Ru o-Japanese "War, there was a great demand for cotton goods for war equipment, and besides, the buying power of the Chinese was enhanced by the money spent by the armies. These abnormal conditions scon ceased, and there was a reaction, followed by recovery in 1909, when Japanese goods, whose quality had steadily improved, began to forge ahead, at the expense of the American, while British goods have remained steady for many years. Japanese grey and white goods increased nine-fold from 1902 to 1913; their sheetings now practically control the market in Manchuria and North China, and their imitation nankeens are steadily increasing. Among new features is the importation of Ru ian cotton prints, which have been pushed by the use of liberal methods; this trade may have great importance in the future. The following figures show the growth of the Piece Goods trade: — • Pl.\in Cotton Fabrics 1867 (Shirtings, sheetings, drills, jeans and T-cIoths). Pieces: 3,738,965 Value: Tls. 10,537,427 (72 per cent, of all cottons) 1905 Pieces: 28,702,693 Value: Tls. 90,484,885 (48 per cent, of all cottons) 1916 Value: Tls. 40,836,719 (30 per cent.) Fink Cotton Fabrics. 1867 Pieces: 781,359 Value: Tls. 2,467,075 (17 per cent, of all cottons) 1905 Pieces: 10,821,885 Value: Tls. 27,509,419 (15 per cent, of all cottons) 1916 Value: Tls. 31,872,758 (23 per cent.) In 1913 the per centage was as follows: — Yarn 39.8 (in 1916 46.8 per cent.) Plain Goods 37.6 Fine Goods 22.6 580 IMG:t580_1.png:Table (image of the original) 581 A simpler analysis of China's Exports is, however, given in the following summary of the chief Items: — Silk and Silk Products Tls. 111,012,000 Tea... 43,560,000... 81,204,000 Oil-seeds and products Metals and Minerals 45,248,000 Skins, Furs, and Leather (pre 28,885,000 pared or otherwise) 12,331,000 Eggs • Wool 12,208,000 Cotton 17,627,000 Other important articles are Bristles, Tls. 5.5 million, Tallow, Tls. 5 million; Straw Braid, Tobacco, Vegetable Tallow, Mats and Matting; each over Tls. 3 million. And for Imports: 10,300,000 I. — Opium 136,700,000 II.— Cotton Goods III. — Woollens, Mixtures and MisceL laneous 6,800,000 IV.— Metals 26,100,000 V. — Sundries: — a. Cereals 34,400,000 Sugar h. 36,300,000 c. Fish, etc. 27,400,000 98,100,000 d. Fuel, etc. Kerosene.. 31,800,000 Coal..... 9,000,000 Matches.. 8,500,000 49,300,000 Timber and Eailway and 32,000,000 •Building Materials Tobacco and Cigarettes... 31,000,000 Tls. 390,300,000 These leading items constitute three-quarters of the total imports (516 million taels, which are the net figures, excluding treasure imports). A comparison between the 1916 figures and those of 1913 (the last normal year) is of interest. In Imports there has been a decline, owing to the war, from Tls. 570,000,000 to Tls. 516,000,000. This falling-off is in the following goods: Opium (now extinguished) Tls. 31,000,000 Cotton Goods 46,000,000 Woollen Goods, etc 5,000,000 Dyes 14,000,000 Metals 3,000,000 On the other hand, the following articles increased: Railway Materials, Sleepers, etc. 18,000,000 Tobacco and Cigarettes 14,000,000 Cotton, Raw 6,000,000 Kerosene Oil* 6,000,000 Rice 16,000,000 72 Other articles which are wanted in increasing quantities every year are electrical materials and mathinery, photographic and printing materials, safes, soap (although soap factories are being built yearly), motor cars, safes, wines and spirits, showing the advance in the requirements of modern civilisation. The principal lo is, then, in cotton goods and in the material required for dyeing them, and there can be little doubt that these will revive after the war, and that China, whose export trade doubled in the ten years from 1906 to 1916, will become an ever-growing purchaser of foreign goods, especially when order has been re-established and the Government has set itself to the task of encouraging trade and extending communications, as has been done in India, whose export trade is treble that of China. [N.S.] Parker: China and China Past and Present; Morse: The Trade and Administration of the Chinese Empire; Cahen: Some Early Ru o-Chinese Relations (translated by Ridge); Wells Williams: The Middle Kingdom; Odell: Cotton Goods in China; Customs and Consular Reports.