28 COGGIN BROWN : MINES & MINERAL RESOURCES OF YUNNAN. 



By the Burma Convention of 1891, general traffic across the 

 Burma-Yunnan frontier in munitions of war, opium and spirituous 

 liquors is prohibited as well as the importation from Burma into 

 Yunnan of salt and the exportation from China to Burma of rice 

 and grains of every kind and cash ; under the same Convention the 

 duties leviable on foreign goods imported into China from Burma 

 are only 70 per cent, of the duties leviable on similar goods entering 

 China by any other route, while the duties chargeable on Chinese 

 exports across the frontier into Burma total only GO per cent, of 

 the fcarifl in force throughout the rest of the Republic. 



Again, Teng-yiieh is favoured by a tax which is imposed on 

 trade of all descriptions. The mule tax of 0*50 taels on every animal 

 bringing import cargo and 0"25 taels on each animal carrying export 

 produce, provides funds which are ear-marked for repairing, main- 

 taining and guarding the routes of the district and especially the 

 frontier road to Bhamo, and every traveller with any experience 

 of the road knows how admirably these funds have been expended. 



Yet, in spite of these advantages, there has been no noteworthy 

 expansion in commercial dealings between the two countries. 

 Writing in 1912, the British Consul stationed in Teng-yiieh remarks, 

 " During ten years since the establishment of the Customs House 

 under foreign control there has been no regular development of 

 trade, the total value having fluctuated within the narrow margin 

 between a minimum of £203,000 and a maximum of £299,000. 

 As a matter of fact in 1912, the value increased to £332,584 and 

 in 1913 to £173,000 which is a record since the port was opened. 

 These increases are due in part to the rise in the exchange value of 

 the Haikwan tael. but are none the less gratifying as far as they go. 

 It is believed however, that the trade between the two countries 

 is capable of very much larger increases. 



China, as a whole, is a self-supporting country and the tendency 



at the present time, is for her to become more so. The foreign 



merchant can only hope to market those products which the Chinese 



people cannot make for themselves in large enough quantities to 



satisfy their own demands, or in luxuries of the outside world which 



contact with the West has taught the East to desire. Sir Robert 



Hart meant the same thing when he wrote " to dispose of their 



merchandise in proportion to the new tastes they introduce, the 



new wants they create, and the care they take to supply what the 



demand really means/' Yunnan is no exception to the rest of the 



