the annual revenue and expenditure are unofficially estimated at from $60,000,000 to nearly $75,000,000. The largest sources of revenue are the foreign maritime customs (under British management), about $12,000,000, and the land tax, about $14,000,000; and the largest expenditures are for service of the debt, war, and provincial administration. (For customs receipts see table in paragraph Commerce.) In 1900 the outstanding foreign debt amounted to about $262,790,000. As a result of the Legotiations with the Powers in 1901, the debt was increased by an indemnity amounting to 450,000,000 haikwan taels, or $333,900,000, the value of the tael being fixed by the negotiators at 74.2 cents. Accordingly, the total foreign debt may be placed at about $596,690,000. Commerce.-Foreign commerce passes through thirty-four treaty ports and is supervised by the imperial maritime customs, which since 1885 have been under the direction of Sir Robert Hart. The report issued by this bureau for 1900 contains the latest available figures of commerce for a full calendar year. The year 1899 showed the largest trade returns on record, and the early months of 1900 were indicative of continuing prosperity. Then came the Boxer outbreak, for a few months almost annihilating commerce in the north and disturbing trade conditions throughout the country. Later, however, reaction set in and the year ended with considerable promise. Indeed, a much greater falling off in trade than actually took place might reasonably have been expected. "That trade was not more ruinously impeded," wrote the American secretary of legation at Peking, "always excepting the actual area of hostilities, during a year which was so exceptionally trying to merchants and so full of unrest for the populace, shows its vitality and how quickly it will revive when peace is restored." Notwithstanding the unfavorable conditions in 1900, the imports for that year slightly exceeded those for 1898, while the exports fell below the latter year by only about 3,849,000 haikwan taels. The values assigned to imports and exports are the actual market prices in the Chinese ports; the true values, therefore, are for the imports the value "at the moment of landing" and for the exports the value "at the moment of shipping." That is, from the reported value of imports should be deducted the import duty and expenses of landing, storing, etc.; and to the reported value of exports should be added the export duty, the importer's commission, and expenses of shipping, etc. When such subtractions and additions are made, the value of imports for 1899 becomes 233,953,853 haikwan taels and of the exports 217,610,004 haikwan taels; while for 1900 the values become about 185,870,000 haikwan taels for imports and about 176,680,000 haikwan taels for exports. The table given herewith shows the market value of trade, exclusive of bullion, by countries, in haikwan taels and equivalent United States gold, as reported by the maritime customs for 1899 and 1900. It should be stated, as the United States Total... (hk. taels dollars 3,408,516 5.824.487 67,635,257 16,813,029 1,247,544 12,117,150 2,625,258 1,892,023 136,956. 98,704 2,236,289 1,611,693 30.767,221 18,559,967 12,207,254 45,097,150 136,853,043 112,732,407 53,147.889, 42.690,747 35,293,054 14,182.204 dollars Shk.tacls dollars 21,641 15,592 841,850 61,629 44.404 2.496,982 606,538 1,799,076 12.815 9,236 1,237,413 891,804 2,435,355 5,877,987 5,060,613 5,006,449 83,270 126,646 91.274 hk, taels 269,957,031 192,411,850 219.363,285 155.187,980 462,368,881 374,551,265 dollars 194,411,225 138,632,638 158,094,632 110,771,906 333,043,863 268,866,538 $1,906 |