Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/289

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF HONGKONG, SHANGHAI, ETC. 281 In order to make a proper comparison of the sterling values of trade in various years, it is necessary to bear in mind that the Haikwan, or Customs tael, the unit in which the Customs revenue and all values are stated, has a varying sterling equivalent carefully calculated on the average value of the tael each year. Thus the tael was worth 6s. 8d. in 1864; 6s. 4d. in 1874 ; 5s. yd. in 1884 ; 3s. 2d. in 1894; 2s. lojd. in 1898; 3s. ojd. in 1899; 2s. i^d. in 1900 ; 2s. ii-^gd. in 1901 ; 2s. 7^d. in 1902 ; 2s. 7^d. in 1903 ; 2s. lojd. in 1904; o^A. in 1905 ; 3s. 3jd. in 1906 ; and 3d. in 1907.

The development of the carrying trade since 1864 and the share borne by the various nations engaged in it, are shown in the following table : —

Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. British ,862,214 ,738,793 ,152,949 ,496,347 ,122,987 ,095,658 American ,609,390 ,184,360 ,140,741 ,127 .686 ,293,416 French .099 ,253 .963 ,291 ,178,200 ,699,121 German ,570 ,377 .765 ,983,605 .310,427 ,187,871 Japanese .IOS ,044 ,965.358 ,238,918 Norwegian ,195 ,507 ,455 ,051 ,136,056 ,922,826 Other foreign ,673 ,784 ,197 ,290 ,106,466 ,385 Chinese ,588 ,237 .993.613 .539.246 ,911,209 ,407,352 Total ,635485 ,305,801 ,806,788 ,622,001 ,290,389 ,755,547

The shipping statistics for 1907 show that of 217,932 entries and clearances, with a total tonnage of 80,109,424, the share taken by the principal nationalities engaged in the carrying trade from and to foreign countries, and between the Treaty ports of China, was as follows : —

Entries and Clearances. Total Tonnage. British .495 ,316,618 Chinese .193 ,686,305 Japanese ,296 ,598,213 German .864 ,639,767 trench ,072 .712,188 Norwegian ,110 ,067,110 American .045.899 The tonnage of British shipping, when compared with that in 1906 (33.450,560 tons), showed a slight decline, but even more noticeable is the reduction in the British percentage of the whole shipping, viz., from 44 to 4159 per cent. German tonnage fell from 986 to 829 per cent. ; while P'rench advanced from 47 to 588 per cent. ; and Japanese from 15 to 1947 per cent. Chinese shipping represented 2083 of the total, about the same as before, a loss in tonnage of foreign type being balanced by an increase in junk tonnage. Of the merchandise carried, British ships claimed the largest share, with 4629 per cent, of the total. They were followed by the Chinese with 2521 per cent., the Japanese with 1235 per cent., the German with 879 per cent., and the French with 394 per cent. In the same order, the contributions of the leading nationalities to the total dues and duties are British, 53'87 per cent.; Chinese, 1596 per cent.; Japanese, 1356 per cent.; German, 914 per cent.; and French, 3 55 per cent.

The total foreign population in the Treaty ports is estimated at 69,852, and the number of firms at 2,595. The various nationalities are represented as follows : —

Firms. Persons. American ,862 Austrian Belgian Brazilian. British .205 Danish Dutch French ,201 German .553 Italian Japanese ,416 .610 Korean Norwegian. Portuguese. ,188 Russian Spanish Swedish 219 Non-Treaty Powers .595 ,852

The population of China cannot be estimated with any approach to accuracy. In 1876 Hippisley placed it at 270,000,000, and in 1904 Kockhill corroborated this estimate. In 1894 Popoff computed the figure at 421,800,000, while in i3 Parker set it down at 385,000,000. The Statistical Department of the Inspectorate of Customs gives the following approximation for 1907: —

Province. Population. Shengking ... ,000,000 Chihli ,400,000 Shantung ... ,000,000 Szechwan ... ,500,000 Hunan ,000,000 Hupeh ,000,000 Kiangsi ,534,000 Anhwei ,000,000 Kiangsu ,980,000 Chekiang ... ,800,000 Fokien ,000,000 Kwangtung... ,000,000 Kwangsi ,000.000 Yunnan ,000,000 Other Provinces,. IShansi, Shensi,) Kansu, Honan, 55.ooo,ooo and Kweichow)/ Total ,214,000 The most thickly populated of the Treaty ports are Canton, 900,000 ; Tientsin, 800,000 ; Hankow, 778,000 ; Chungking, 705,000 ; Shanghai, 651,000 ; Foochow, 624,000 ; and Soochow, 500,000.