Note 2 — Front matter

The following account of our exports to China was prepared recently by an intelligent and reliable newspaper correspondent. It is of interest in this connection:

Exports of merchandise to China in the fiscal year about to end will be larger than those of any preceding year in our history. Ten years ago our exports to China were less than $3,000,000, and to China and Hong Kong combined little more than $6,000,000. In the fiscal year ending 1899, our exports to China will be more than $13,000,000, and to Hong Kong more than $6,000,000, making a total of more than $20,000,000, or three times that of a decade earlier. That the bulk of exports to Hong Kong may properly be considered as ultimately destined for consumption in China, is shown by the fact that the official reports of the imports into China show that more than forty-four per cent of these imports are from the port of Hong Kong. The 1899 exports to China and Hong Kong combined will show a gain of nearly or quite twenty-five per cent over those of last year, while the total exports from the United States for the fiscal year 1899 will be little if any in excess of those of last year. This shows a more rapid growth in our exports to this part of the world than elsewhere.

The following table, prepared by the Treasury Bureau of Statistics, shows the value of our exports to China and Hong Kong during the past decade:

Year ending

June 30. China. Hong Kong. Total.

1889 $2,791,128 $3,686,384 $6,477,512

1890 2,946,206 4,439,153 7,385,362

1891 8,701,008 4,768,697 13,469,705

1892 5,663,497 4,894,049 10,557,546

1893 3,900,457 4,216,602 8,117,059

1894 5,862,429 4,209,847 10,072,273

1895 3,693,840 4,253,040 7,856,880

1896 6,921,933 4,691,201 11,613,134

1897 11,924,433 6,060,039 17,984,472

1898 9,992,894 6,265,200 16,258,094

1899 (estimated) 13,500,000 6,500,000 20,000,000