Note 33 — INTRODUCTORY

The direct import trade of any trading nation at Niu-chwang does not represent the actual amount of the articles imported from the country of that nation, for most of the foreign goods come to Niu-chwang through some other distributing centres in China, such as Hong-kong or Shanghai. The Japanese goods, however, are nearly all carried by Japanese vessels. On the contrary, the American imports, besides jeans, drills, sheetings, kerosenes, and flour, are not specified in the customs returns of Niu-chwang, and consequently their nominal figures are insignificant (7396 l. in 1901 and 4089 l. in 1902), while Hong-kong, through which most of the American goods are imported into Niu-chwang, showed, in 1902, 385,302 l., or 55 per cent. of the entire direct trade. On the other hand, the estimate made by the Bureau of Statistics, Department of Commerce and Labor, Washington, showing 18,000,000 haikwan taels for the real import of American goods into Niu-chwang, seems to be pretty liberal. See British D. and C. Reports, annual series, No. 2999, p. 8, and the U. S. Monthly Summary of Commerce and Finance, January, 1904, p. 2328.