15

THE  PROVINCES  AND  THE  TREATY  PORTS  225
trade  ;  and  the  trade  passing  through  the  Maritime
Customs  ”  is  carried  by  junk,  as  is  that  passing  through
the  Likin  Stations,  the  latter  offering  the  advantage  of  a
flexible  tariff  and  complaisant  officials,  the  former  based
on  its  treaty  port  privilege  by  which  the  single  import  duty
paid  at  Shanghai  carries  goods  without  additional  taxation
1,400  miles  farther  into  the  heart  of  China.  The  city,  with
a  population  of  300,000,  occupies  a  rocky  promontory  on
which  mountain  paths  and  flights  of  stone  steps  take  the
place  of  streets.  The  river  rises  here  in  summer  normally
70  feet  above  its  winter  level,  frequently  more,  and
in  1905  rose  to  a  height  of  108  feet.  The  few  foreign  residents ­
  are  scattered  over  the  city  and  on  the  opposite  shore,
and  have  no  municipal  organisation.  In  considering  the
volume  of  trade  it  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  optional
with  merchants  to  pass  their  cargo  at  the  Maritime  Customs
or  at  the  Likin  Stations,  and  that  the  latter  publish  no
statistics.  The  value  of  the  trade  passing  the  Customs  has
been  as  follows  :—

Imports.
Tls.
1894  .  .  5,782,701
1904  .  .  18,451,938

Exports.
Tls.
4,997,688
10,952,028

Total.
Tls.
10,780,389
29,403,966

Of  the  imports  five-sixths  are  made  up  of  cotton  manufactures, ­
  viz.  cotton  piece  goods  (Tls.3,777,600,  all  foreign
weaving),  and  cotton  yarn  (Tls.8,993,700  foreign,  and
Tls.2,681,500  native  spinning).  Among  exports  the  principal ­
  items  were  bristles  (Tls.477,000),  hides  (Tls.458,000),
medicines  (Tls.974,000),  musk  (Tls.983,000),  opium  (Tls.
4,084,000),  silk  (Tls.i,813,000),  goat-skins  (Tls.450,000),
white  wax  (Tls.332,000),  and  sheep’s  wool  (Tls.315,000).
Much  of  the  opium  sent  from  the  province  takes  various
land  routes  to  escape  too  rigid  a  scale  of  taxation,
but  the  quantity  sent  down  the  river  through  both  taxing
offices  in  1904  was  36,856  piculs,  and  in  1905  was  36,311
piculs,  valued  at  Ichang,  after  passing  the  dangers  of  the
river,  at  about  Tls.16,000,000,  in  each  year.