CHINESE COMMERCE. 193 



CHINESE COMMERCE.* 



By WILLIAM BARCLAY PARSONS. 



THE foreign commerce of China is carried on through and at 

 twenty-nine Treaty Ports. Previous to 1840 trade with foreign- 

 ers was much hampered owing to its being subject to local regulations, 

 all of which were annoying, many of them ridiculous, and some actu- 

 ally jeopardizing to both life and property. In 1842 Great Britain, 

 availing herself of the successful outcome of what is known as the 

 Opium War, stipulated that as one of the indemnities, China should 

 declare the ports of Canton, Amoy, Fu-chow, Ning-po and Shanghai to 

 be thrown entirely open to British trade and residence, and that com- 

 merce with British subjects should be conducted at these ports under 

 a properly regulated tariff and free from special Chinese restrictions. 

 Although Great Britain nominally secured for herself special considera- 

 tions, she intended and actually accomplished the establishing of com- 

 merce between China and all other nations on a sound and liberal basis. 

 The treaty of Nan-king was immediately followed by similar treaties 

 with other powers, that with the United States being executed in 1844. 

 Additional ports, decreed by treaties or other arrangements by the 

 Chinese Government, have been added from year to year. At the end 

 of the year 1899 the Maritime Customs reported twenty-nine of these 

 ports, with several branch or sub-ports in addition. At nearly all of 

 them there is a special reservation, called the foreign concession, where 

 foreigners are allowed to reside and regulate their method of living in 

 their own way. Although foreigners are permitted to dwell in the 

 Chinese quarter if they so desire, the right to hold property in the con- 

 cessions is usually denied to Chinese, and they are discriminated against 

 in other ways. 



Previous to 1860 the management of foreign commerce had been 

 in the hands of Chinese officials, with the usually unsatisfactory result 

 attending any official department handled by native overseers. In that 

 year the business of the port of Shanghai was placed temporarily in 

 the hands of English, American and French Commissioners, who were 

 able to so improve the receipts by efficient and honest management that 

 the Chinese Government, recognizing the desirability of continuing for- 

 eign supervision, organized the Imperial Maritime Customs and placed 



* This article will form part of a book entitled ' An American Engineer in China ' to be! pub- 

 lished shortly by Messrs. McClure, Phillips & Co. 



vol. lviii.— 13 



