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“...drills, Italians and lastings, do not bring deliveries
up to the average, took place in the first two quarters, and are
said to be due simply to exhaustion of stocks; for the deprecia-
tion of the ultimate consumers' coinage more than counterbalances
the higher gold value of the middleman's tael. Of the Shanghai
mills product, Hankow kept 20 pieces of shirtings and 5,800 pieces
of sheetings against 3,380 pieces of sheetings in 1905, and the yarn
supplied fell from 2,400 to 1,050 cwts. The Wuchang mills' shirtings
passed through the Imperial Maritime Customs were 71,435 pieces,
against 60,435 pieces in 1905, but their yarn fell off 24 per cent. The
Chinese lessees of these mills from the Hupei Government, which
had lost steadily and heavily on their working, have, after four
years' working, a clear profit approaching 90,000?. During 1906
they found their chief profit on their shirtings, and for the latter
part of the year their business was very dull.
The following table shows the customs...”
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“...Japanese, for the ironworks, brick tea
and other factories and steamers, nearly doubled without stopping
the increase in Kaiping coal. The fine coal from Lung Wang Tung,
the working of which a foreign company is trying to secure, also
rose from 1,397 to 1,549 tons, whilst the P'inghsiang supply of both
coal and coke fell 25 per cent.
The three flour mills beside the Han and a small one on the
French concession, .which, in addition to their local sales, exported
20,400 cwts. of flour against 9,600 cwts. in 1905, caused the im-
port of foreign flour to decrease another 350 to 6,074 cwts.,
38 per cent, of the 1904 import, but the Shanghai and Wuhu mills
sent 40 per cent, more (16,600 cwts.). This growing industry may
partly account for the export of wheat falling-off 80 per cent.
The many schools and colleges on Western lines set up by the
Hupei government are responsible for educational goods, which first
appeared in 1905 to the value of 352?., rising to 3,382?. in 1906 ;
and the installation...”
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“...12,500 to 29,774 tons. A good deal of the lead and
zinc ore (2,391 and 7,248 tons in 1906 against 1,640 and 6,600 tons in
1905), went to France and Belgium, and a little to London.
The two new pressing-houses are unfortunate in striking the worst
season for raw cotton for five years, and the export to Japan declined
nearly 40 per cent.
The export of wheat and pearl barley fell nearly 700,000 taels
(114,500L), on account of the failure of the crops rather than the
demands of the local flour mills. The native wheat is so dirty and
inferior that practically it would pay better to grind imported
American grain. Floods in Hunan in spring excited foreign
as well as native sympathy and aid, and large quantities of rice were
sent up. When a bumper harvest followed, the Hunan gentry
insisted on the prohibition of export, reasonable enough in May,
being kept up, though in autumn a limited amount of rice was
allowed to pass out under passes issued by the Hupei authorities.
The plea is to prevent...”
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“...24
HANKOW
Return of Principal Articles of Native Net Import to Hankow
during the Years 1905-06.
1906. 1905.
Articles. Bags, gunny ......... Bamboo shoots ......... Books, printed ......... Coal, Kaiping ......... Cuttle fish............ Fans............... Grass-cloth............ Mats.............. Medicines............ Musk ............ Oil, castcr............ Opium, native ......... Paper, Shanghai mills ...... „ joss ............ Rice............... Silk piece-goods......... ,, and cotton ribbons...... Sugar— Brown ...... White ...... Tea dust ... Other sundries Total
Pieces Cwis. Tons Cwts. Pieces Cwts. ti ••• Lbs." ... i) ••■ •I Cwts, ti Lbs. ti Cwts. Lbs. ... Quantity. 1 Value. £ 003,284 7,111 44,329 38,011 2,004 22,810 26,758 29,606 0,169 12,793 2,239,520 8,846 4,763 33,429 290,652 4,858 87,815 172 0,369 795,313 17,180 207,615 104,733 10,476 16,077 8,421 40,595 164,488 50,026 145,329 109,485 63,865 20,413 127,933 94,896 49,209 48,303 0...”
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