T II 13 
Vol.  XII.  1 COLOMBO.  OCTOBER  ist,  1892.  'No.  4. 
TIIE  NECESSITY  OF  NEW  MARKETS  FOR 
CEYLON  TEA.  AM)  RENEWED 
EL* 1. FORTS  AM)  LIBERALITY. 
F r.ny  doubt  existed  in  the  mind 
of  any  person  interested,  it 
must  surely  be  by  this  time 
removed  Tire  average  prioe 
of  Ceylon  teas  in  the  London 
maiket  have  gone  down, 
steadily  in  half-a-d  zen  years, 
frem  ever  Is  3d  per  lb  to  Sd,  or  nearly  50 
per  cent.  Let  our  readers  look  at  the  figures  in 
M'ssrg.  Gow,  Wilson  & Stanton's  tea  circular, 
and  they  will  find  that  with  full  knowledge  of  a 
large  reduction  in  the  estimate  of  crop  from 
Ceylon,  buyers  gave  prices  for  our  teas  which  can 
only  be  described  as  wretched.  One  description 
of  pekoo  srurhorg,  which  sold  in  July  1800  at 
an  average  of  8fd,  realized  only  5jl  ; another  sou- 
chong went  down  in  the  two  years  from  8^d 
to  4Jd ; one  description  of  pekoe  shews  a fall 
from  TJd  to  7d,  and  another  from  9d  to  5£d  1 
Our  average  iu  the  sales  of  2Sth-29th  July  was  only 
81  p^r  lb.  against  Assam  Is  2|d,  Darjiling  9£<i,  aind 
the  Dooars  91.  It  is  small  comfort  to  us  that  teas 
from  Cachar  aod  Svlliet  sold  for  only  an  avearge 
of  7d,  Kmpra  Valley  7Ad,  Nfigiris  7d,  and 
Travancore  04 1.  The  generally  low  prices  are 
in  the  face  of  comparatively  smal  er  fupplies  from 
Indi?,  Ceylon  and  Java  The  consolation  offered 
us,  and  we  certainly  need  it,  is  that 
‘‘Ceylon  medium  Toaa  are  low  offering  such  < x- 
traordinary  va’ne  that  they  cannot  fail  to  open  up 
mr,ro  . rew  outlets  in  quarters  where  China  Tea 
ba3  row  the  m<  nope  ly.  A demand  would  bus  bo 
created  which  in  turn  should  beneficially  nffecl 
prices.  ” 
This  was  the  process  in  the  easo  (f  Ceylon 
ceffec.  But  mrely  it  is  better  actively  to 
cultivate  mw  markets  than  to  wait  uulil 
prices,  which,  however  advantageous  they  may 
be  to  tho  consumer,  are  to  the  producer  ue. 
rcmuneiative  to  the  verge  of  ruinous,  have  done  the 
woik.  Can  ?Jd  for  pekoe  and  44  for  pekoe  souchong 
possibly  fa?  ? We  trow  not,  We  have  talked 
of  over-production  and  a repetition  of  the  cinohona 
crisis,  and  lo  1 both  are  upon  us.  What  are  tea 
plan  ers  to  do?  Certainly  not  to  fold  their  hands 
and  close  their  purses.  Energetic  effort  and 
1 liberal  giving  are  the  remedies.  Thoso  who  have 
contributed  and  can  afford  further  help  will  not, 
wo  feel  sure,  be  wanting.  But  what  is  specially 
needed  is  that  the  non-contributors  to  Tea  or 
Chicago  Lunds  should  be  personally  canvassed 
and  shamed  into  giving,  if  they  will  Dot  from  any 
higher  motive  perform  the  duly  they  owe  them- 
se’ves  and  the  community.  But  it  is  now  evident 
that  ttm  funds  rrqu'red  ( £20  000,  of  which  £5,000 
may  be  rxpectel  back)  cannot  be  obtained  by 
the  working  of  the  voluntary  principle  added  to 
the  Government,  vote  rf  R50  000  As  we  showed, 
the  latter  is  not  the  equivalent  of  much  more 
than  £3  000  at  the  present  rate  of  exchange.  It 
ought  to  be  doubled.  That  would  give  £5,000  even 
if  the  lupee  goes  down  by  tho  time  the  World’s 
Fair  is  opened,  to  one  shilling,  which  it  ia 
likely  tn  do.  Then,  if  the  prep  'sal  of  the  Planters' 
Association  is  accepted  by  Government,  that  th# 
difference  between  present  and  reduced  railway 
ratea  on  tea  (the  reduction  bring  taken  for  granted) 
Fhoul  1 go  for  a certain  prriod  to  the  Chioago 
Fund,  tlir-re  is  likn'y  tn  be  a sum  of  R100,000 
real'zcd  bv  deferring  the  reduction  for  eight 
months.  We  think  most  p'anters  will  be  prepared 
to  extend  the  period  to  one  year.  R 150  000  thus 
nbta:nfd  would,  at  Is  to  the  rupee,  yield  £7,500. 
We  thus  have  £12  500  made  up,  and  surely  the 
Tea  Fund  and  contributions  from  individuals,  estateB 
and  firms  interested  can  be  relied  on  for  the  bal- 
ance R150,000  or  £7  500  at  Is  to  the  rupee.  If 
not  money  could  be  borrowed  on  the  security  of 
the  builidings,  plant  &c.,  which  Mr.  Grinlinton 
expects  to  give  back  £5,000,  from  his  minimum 
requirement  of  £20,000  The  objection  still  re- 
mains that  b 11  the  tea  produced  is  not  carried 
by  railway;  but  we  cannot  meet  every  difficulty, 
and  we  suppose  an  export  duty  would  be  deemed 
objectionable,  rxcept  in  circumstances  of  great 
urgency.— Our  readers  will  see,  in  the  interest- 
ing report  cf  the  meeting  with  Mr.  Grin- 
linten  at  the  rooms  of  the  C ylon  Association  in 
London,  that  our  Commit  sioner  was  deemed  to 
have  been  only  too  successful  in  pressing  the 
claims  of  Ceylon  at  Chicago,  and  lhat  the  Governor 
1 had  personally  remonstrated  with  Mr.  Grinlinton 
for  the  mode  in  which  he  was  comroittirg  the  colony 
to  large  expenditure.  But  the  Commissioner— an  l 
who  can  blame  him — replies,  “Better  not  put  in 
an  appearance  at  all  at  the  World  s Fair,  than  to  be 
represented  in  a manner  unworthy  of  the  colony 
