The Press. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1887.

Press, Volume XLIV, Issue 6923, 1 December 1887, Page 4

The Press. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1887.

Not much has been heard of late as regards ths progress made-by the Australian Woolgrowers' Association, in their laudable endeavour to extend direct commercial relations with China aud Japan, and, if possible, to create a demand in those countries for the staple product of these colonies. We feel confident, however, that, considering the importance of the object in view, and the beneficial results which are likely to follow its accomplishment, the Committee of the Assoca- ;- tion will not rekx their efforts until they have been crowned with absolute success. Perhaps no better time than the present could have been chosen for "the prosecution of these endeavours, for never since the first Chinese ports were thrown open to British trade, has the nation shown so much readiness to extend its commercial relations with other countries. It would seem, indeed, as though the barriers of pride and prejudice, which have so long proved an almost insurmountable obstacle to commercial enterprise, are at length being broken down; and that the hitherto partial contatct with .Weitern civilisation is now on the eve of producing its allotted .and inevitable result. The radical change of policy and sentiment towards the " foreign barbarians" on the part of .the rulers of the Celestial Land, may be attributed, in a great measure, to the persevering efforts made during the past few years by America, and the Great Powers of Europe, to extend their commercial relations with China, and so outbid one another in competing for the lion's share of her foreign trade. In the possession of Tonquin, France has secured a base of operations almost as valuable to her as Burmah is to Great Britain ; and, by a recent commercial treaty, China has : undertaken to open to that .four inland trading stations at stated intervals along her own frontier, which concession will give the French no advantage in their competition with England for the trade of southern China. Russia, on - the other hand, is straining every nerve to push forward her railways across -, the Siberian v.*astes, with the obvious intention of attracting to herself the trade of the northern proviuces, whilst Germany and America are maintaining a formidable rivalry with Uβ for the future inland trade of China, and have already succeeded in obtainiii" sundry important concessions in the direction of ticconrpliehing this object. With so many active rivals in the field, it is surely time for Fngland to bestir herself and make the best of the vantage ground she already possesses in Burmah aud the Shan States. At £he present time, the Chinese foreign tradd amounts to over £40,000,000 sterling, of which. totaj about seventyfive per cent, is "with Great Britain aud her .possessions i» Jadia. An

undue preponderance of French influence would, however, seriously endanger our present position, and probably have the effect of placing enormous protective and, perhaps, prohibitive duties upon British trade. In a paper recently read before the Birmingham Chamber" of Commerce it was pointed out by Mr. Holt Haixett that the best means of counteracting the excessive preponderance of French interests in China would bo by opening up the interior of the country by means of a railway through Burmah, so making our own territory the focus of the internal commerce of the Empire. At present the cost of land transport in China, despite of cheap labour, is said to be forty-three times that of railway carriage, but notwithstanding this enormous expense a large trans-frontier traffic exists. Fortunately the Chinese are not averse, as they formerly were, to the adoption of European methods and appliances. Telegraphs are .already extensively used; an Imperial College for instruction in telegraph construction and telegraphy having been established since 1880. Railways have also been opened, and others are in course of construction. Quite recently a concession has been granted to an American syndicate, under the terms of which it is proposed to construct a line of railway from Tientsin to Shanghai, a distance of 900 miles; then another line from Shanghai to Nanking and thence to Canton —1000 miles—and afterwards other lines, including one to the Russian frontier. Half the capital for these lines will be provided by the Chiuese Government, which will also own a half interest in the line when constructed. Another proof of progress and enlightenment is shown in the fact that the Chinese Government is about to establish a mint ou the European model, and has given a contract for the supply of ninety coining presses capable of supplying 2,700,000 coins per diem, this being many times the capacity of the Royal Mint in London.

In Japan the progress made in Western arts and civilisation is even more pronounced than in China. Various large manufacturing industries have quite recently been started with native capital, the result; being that certain lines of goods of English make, such as umbrellas, <fee, are no longer iv request, the raw material for their manufacture being , alone imported. Paper mills have been started, and at Tokio a large cotton mill, worked with Euglish machinery, has lately commenced running, with highly satisfactory results. A correspondent of the Times gives an interesting account of a movement now on foot iv Japan in favour of the adoption of the Western style of dress for Japanese women. This change will doubtless extend to the material used, and so lead to an increased consumption of woollen goods. At the present time most of the woollen goods imported into Japan are of German make, imported through Eng lish merchants; the-Japanese, however, are sufficiently intelligent to see the advantage of employing their own people and looms, by importing the raw material in preference to the finished article. The! cheapness and abundance of labour, and the comparative proximity to Australia and New Zealand, will give them special advantages in this respect of which they will not be slow to avail themselves ; and it may, therefore, be regarded as within the possibilities of the very near future that China and Japan, but especially the latter country, will prove one of our best markets, not only for wool, but also for various other products of the Australian Colonies.