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of the country, which has been looked for in vain for several years, may 

 now be regarded as within sight. It is stated in the Deutsche Export-Revue 

 that the Financial Commission has recently laid before the Chamber of 

 Deputies proposals for increasing the import-duties by 10°/o, issuing a 

 large loan, and gradually selling off small sections of the nitrate fields. 

 The revenue to be derived from these sources is to be expended chiefly 

 upon railway-construction, the remainder being used for the redemption 

 of loans from Banks and for the re-establishment of the "financial equi- 

 librium" of the country. Much as the last-named proposals are worthy of 

 commendation, the suggested increase of the customs-duties would be 

 open to grave objections if it should be intended to include our articles 

 of manufacture, which properly ought to be classed as raw materials 

 and which, as such, would be unable to support a further increase in price 

 if the comparatively young national industries are to be spared what might 

 be a serious blow. 



In Peru trade and traffic continue to languish and the conditions pre- 

 vailing in that country are of so unattractive a character that it is better 

 to abstain from paying much attention to this market. 



In the months immediately preceding the conclusion of the new 

 commercial Treaty and the coming into force of the new Customs Tariff, 

 business with Japan in our articles was rather lifeless, but this is easily 

 explained by the fact that essential oils are admitted free of duty under 

 the new tariff, and that the Japanese importers have naturally devoted 

 most of their attention to those articles on which the duties under the 

 new tariff were to be raised. It is not surprising that owing to the ex- 

 ceptional conditions which have prevailed the value of Japanese exports, 

 as compared with the imports, has been much smaller than was formerly 

 the case; in the first half-year of 1911 the balance in favour of imports 

 amounted to about 104,5 million Yen. 



Little that is new can be reported from China. The financial reform 

 to which reference has been made in previous Reports, and which is so 

 urgently needed to improve the economic condition of the country, and 

 especially Chinese commerce, has made some further progress, the Ministry 

 of Finance having decided, for a beginning, to strike and issue 10000000 

 standard silver dollars. The employment of our essential oils and odori- 

 ferous substances in China is as yet in the initial stages, because up 

 to the present there are in that country few works which make soaps 

 or perfumes or otherwise use articles of the kind manufactured by us, 

 most of these goods, especially the cheaper cosmetics, being imported 

 ready-made from Japan, where the manufacturers are apparently better 

 able to gauge the Chinese requirements in the matter of price and quality 

 than European makers succeed in doing. According to Chemische Industrie 1 ) 



*) Chem. Industrie 34 (1911), No. 12. 



