iv6 



THE TUOPlCAt AomcvhTvns% 



[Avo, 2, 1886, 



beeu buoj'ed up for months, nay for years, past. Even 

 local experts, as well as such authorities as Mr. Moens, 

 seemed really to imagine a radical change was immi- 

 nent, and that it was quite impossible Ceylon could 

 this year export anything approaching to the total 

 during the year ending 31st October 1885. And, what 

 so far as we have gone, is the actually reality? The 

 export to date, is no less than lb. 11,608,621 against 

 a total for the same period of last year of lb. 

 8,020,117. Turning to the railway returns, we find 

 that for the week ending 23rd May, cinchona bark 

 was carried at the rate of 158 tons, against 98 tons 

 in the corresponding week of last year, and again on 

 the 31st May, 128 tons against 113 last year. It 

 must not be forgotten that though the cinchona 

 harvest may be well considered as closed for the season 

 in the districts which are affected bj' the South-west 

 monsoon, the bark from Uva and T'dapussellawa will 

 only now begin to be taken in. The coffee crops of 

 the spring season having been secured, attention will 

 be paid to cinchona harvesting, which will be none 

 the less on account of a falling off in the produce of 

 coffee as regards the estimated outturns. The rail- 

 way return does not of course include all the bark 

 that comes down from Haputale and other districts 

 which are served by the Ilatnapura road. As far as 

 we can learn at present our estimate for the current 

 season made at the end of last year will have to be 

 raised in accordance with facts, to no less than 

 15.000,000 lb. This enormous mass of cinchona bark 

 cannot fail to disorganize to a large extent the markets 

 of Europe and America, and it is impossible to fore- 

 tell to what extent prices may eventually fall in the 

 immediate future. It is e<iually impossible to say 

 when any improvement may be looked for in this 

 re.spcct, as the necessities of producers may compel 

 them to harvest their crops as heretofore. It may 

 be well to allow our imagination to pourtray what 

 might have been the present state of the market had 

 the efforts of cinchona planters been crowned with 

 the succe.«s that they had anticipated. Let us suppose 

 for a moment that the millions and millions of plants 

 which were put out had arrived at maturity, and that 

 the older coffee districts were a forest of huge cin- 

 cliona trees, stretching for miles along the slopes of 

 the hills in every direction. It may bring but little 

 consolation to think of it, but, had this been reality, 

 the bark of the cinchona tree would not command 

 sufficient value to pay for its harvesting, and the 

 planter, with apparently countless wealth at his very 

 door, would have been as completely a ruined man 

 as if his colfee had beeu abandoned and nothing 

 planted as a substitute. The product which is now 

 renovating his fortunes would have found no place 

 under the shade of the branching ciuchoua trees, and 

 Ceylon would have been the scene of disasters even 

 more complete than those that have already befallen 

 her.— Local "Times." 



■ ♦ 



JAVA: TRADE AND COMMERCE FOR I8S0. 



l?eport of Consul McNeill on the trade, commerce, 

 and general matters relating to the Island of Java for 

 the year 1885; — The year 1885 has been an unfavour- 

 flblo one for the trade in Java, and though no actual 

 fiuanciii' crisis occurred as in the year previous, a general 

 feelini^ of depre.ssion has been felt throughout the year. 



HuGAH, — The crop has again been a good one, though 

 Hot so abundant as in 1881, the outturn being about 15 

 per cent, less, say a little over 5,000,000 piculs, or about 

 300,000 tons, Prices varied considerably in sympathy 

 with European advices, the market opening at ti.9 c.50 

 to fl.9 C.75, and rising steadily from fl.l2 to fl.l2 c.50 per 

 picul. but declining at the close of the season from tl.ll 

 to fl. 10 c.50 per picul. Had rates remained at the level 

 ftt which first sales were made, the result would have 

 been, as a rule, very unsatisfactory to planters; and it is 

 a matter of congratulation that the markets in the 

 consuming quarters advanced in the manner they did. 

 A large proportion of the crop was again shipped to 

 Europe on jilanters' account. An area under cultivation 

 Is reported to be well up to last year's and a good 

 crop— uaj'oreseen circuiustauces excepted— may ha looked 



for in 1886. The disease in the canes, alluded to in my 

 last two reports, has increased in some districts, but 

 diminished in others. The damage done by it has not, 

 on the whole, been great ; and it is generally considered 

 that by careful planting and manuring it can be easily 

 grappled with. 



OOFKEE. — The crop has been an exceedingly poor one, 

 the production of the Government gardens having 

 declined to 499,909 piculs, against 1,011,787 piculs in 1884 

 and 1,072,492 piculs in 1883. They yield from private 

 plantations has also proved much under the average out- 

 turn, though the decrease is not so marked as in the 

 case of the Government coffee. The quality of the crop 

 has been poorer, also, owing to long-continued drought, 

 and the presence of the leaf-disease in many gardens. 

 Prospects for the coming crop are, however, fortunately 

 brighter, leaf-disease not having yet shown itself to any 

 great extent. 



EicE. — The crop has been an enormous one, and con- 

 sequently prices have fallen to an unprecedentedly low 

 level. The quantity exported was more than double 

 that of the previous year, viz., 27,939 tons, against 

 10,360 tons. 



Tea. — The number of plantations under cultivation 

 have remained almost stationary, but owing to unfavour- 

 able weather the yield of 1885 .shows a slight decrease, 

 the exports having been 2,568,675 kilos., against 2,904,567 

 kilos., in 1884. Exports to London amounted to 1,705,850 

 kilos., and to Holland 750,446 kilos. The preparation 

 has been paid more attention to with favourable results. 

 A considerable (}uantity of seeds from Assam has been 

 imported. 



Impoh Ts. — Our markets have been in a more depressed 

 and unsatisfactory condition than has been experienced 

 for manj' j'ears past, owing principally to the decreased 

 buying power of the native population, and the more 

 than adequate supplies which have continued to come 

 forward during the year. The market was already 

 overstocked with goods of all descriptions at the end of 

 1884, and the heavy arrivals thrown during the twelve- 

 month on a falling market served to depress prices still, 

 further. During the last three months of the year 

 business almost came to a standstill, as dealers at last 

 lost confidence, owing to the progressive decrease in 

 prices, and were frightened to operate with the possi- 

 bility of having their purchases left on their hands in 

 consequence of a further decline. The poverty of the 

 natives is attributed to the very considerable depreciation 

 which has occured in the value of rice, combined with 

 the increased pressure used by Government in the 

 collection of the land tax. 



Caitle Disease. — In the beginning of the year cattle 

 pl'ague broke out in the eastern part of the island, in 

 the Passaroean Pesidency, and as there had been no 

 transit ot cattle from or to this district, which had 

 remained free from the disease up to this period, the 

 origin of the outbreak appears to have been spontaneous. 

 In May the plague appeared in the western part of the 

 island, in the Bekassi district, near Batavia, where it 

 prevailed with considerable severity, but owing to the 

 strenuous exertions taken by the Government, it dis- 

 appeared almost entirely .nftei the lapse of two or three 

 months. In August: there were some few cases of cattlle 

 plague and foot-auJ-mouth <lisease in the neighbourhood 

 of Batavia, but in the following month the disease was 

 ofScially reported to have disappeared. In December 

 there were a few cases of cattle plague among the 

 buffaloes in the Krawang Residency. The staff of 

 veterinary surgeons, appointed bj' the Government for 

 the inspection of cattle and suppression of diseases 

 numbered at the cud of 1884 seven Europeans, assisted 

 by 13 certificated natives, while several Javanese were 

 also in receipt of medical instruction to qualify them 

 for future service. 



Cttstoms Keceipts. — The following have beeu the 

 customs receipts in .Java and IMadura during the years 

 1884 and 1885 :— 1884, fi8,968,M25 c67; 1885, tl8,251,l93 

 c33. The returns therefore of last year show a decrease 

 on that of the preceding year of fl717,632 c34. 



GovEnNJiKNT Railways. — No new lines have beeu 

 completed during the past year. Progress has, however, 

 been made with the lines between Djokjakarta and 

 Tjilatjap, and with tbt: eiuall liuc coouectijif Souraluiya 



