March 1, 1900.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
TEAS AT PUBLiIC AUCTION. 
A FAULTY SYSTEM. 
The pr .ciice cf rushmg le -s tbrough at public 
auction, and tde tffect ou prices, is uealt with by 
a wr ttjr la tte " PrLduo Maiki'is Review," wl,o, 
UDder iJia beaa of '"Cjmbiuation," reters to ceriaiu 
ttllegaiions about wbicli more lij^ht is need d. Ha 
S3>s : " Tda recent lali in the price o£ ilie lower 
BOrts of teas is currcnt y said to be main y dud to 
an agreeai«nt on ihe part of a few large bu>ers to 
withdraw from tue market. As a ruiUit of th s 
baliei thd iuiporters huve met ^tbis relusal to buy 
by reducing liieir offers. In an ordinary state 
of thintjs (bia woulu, no doubt, bo a rtm oy 
for any combined attempt to affect paces, ba, 
ID tea it is useless, because the su]. plies w.ll 
simply accumulate, there betug no means of diii- 
poiing of them except at public sales. Buyers, 
tberefore, know that, although offers may be scarce 
for the moment, they ara only deferred, and that all 
wants will be satiBfled a little later on. Whether 
the present alleged combination exists or not, and 
whether it has had, as is generally believed, bo heavy 
an effect upon the market, we cannot say. At any 
rate, the allegation oniigs to light a fresh danger in 
the present system of public sales. A very few 
large buyer;, as things are, undoubtedly have to 
iome eiient the market at their mercy. This should 
not be Ihe case, and it is simply due to a faulty 
Byatem. As we have often pointed out in detail, 
the present plan of forcing off all teas at public sale, 
»nd prac.ioally directly they arrive, is mosi in- 
jurious to toe iateresta alike of ihe imporiers, 
and of the wholesale trade. It may tend, no 
duubt, to give a partial monopoly of the market 
to advertuiug houses, who must sooner or Uter 
recover Irom the growers some proportion of 
their 2d. or 3d. per lo. for advertisements, while 
the resc is charged to ihe public (a total charge 
that raists the average price soma 20 per cent., 
and proportionaleiy obeoks the consampuon, aguia 
to the aetriment of the planter). We hold taat 
the present deplorable posidou of tea in this 
country is mainiy due to tae iailure to supplement 
the puolia Bale hyotem by a proper proportion of 
Bales by private contract, which aro absoluttly neoes- 
Bary if an article of fancy like tea is to fetoh 
proporcionalo prices for its various grades und 
qualities. The reply cf the broktrs is that a 
consiaeiable propoition cf tea is already offer ^-d by 
pnvdta coutraoi ; but ibis is done in a maonur whiuh 
chokes off thd bU;k of the demand. An offer is 
made of an entue invoice, ooncioting of a variety 
of qu^tlities at once, and the paroe.s are uoi 
subdivided, so that buyers, to get somethiug they 
may want, have to take perhaps a lot of tea which 
tbey have no wish to buy for stock. Sutely this 
is unreasonable, for it really destroys any advantage 
that might generally be derived from private pur- 
ohai^es. It is replied (hat it would be unwise to let 
buyers, as it wera, pick out the tit-bits of oonsign- 
meuts, lor the rest of the parcel would suffer. Sellers 
have, however, a complete safeguard against this 
in the pricss they would accapt and tnere would 
be no compulsion to sell as there is, more or less, 
at the present time wiien goods are put up to public 
sale. If, instead of withdrawing their supplies, 
sellers had simply decided to offer the qualities affec- 
ted by private sale, and at reasonable rates, ihey 
would, while breaking down any cgmbioaiion, have 
at the same time relieved the market, lubtead of 
this, they are only heap)ng up the supplies. It may 
be said ibat a combination might jusi as well extmd 
to private purohases, and that it does so at the pre- 
sent moment, but such attempts at resfcriotion of trade 
cannot be m .inttiiiicd < seep;, under the opeumg givtn 
by the obsjle e pubi c tal^ s-ys em. With regaid lo the 
currently reported motive for the alleged com ina- 
t'uu, WB Oiin stiy r.oi iii-.g heie, ex ep-. iHat if A bins 
Bgaiiist B, it is rather hard if B to sei towi rkto 
punish the imp rter C, who nas absolute y l o 
pa c irloi in he causes of the quarrel." — H. d; C, 
Mail, Feb. 9. 
PEAEL SHELL FISHERIES OF THE DUTCH 
EAST INDIES. 
Shells constitute one of the most important 
articles of exportaiiou from Miicassar. Up to the 
begininnf» of ihis decade they were sought almost 
exclusively by naiives, hshing in the shallow waters 
in the bays, without using any diving apparatus. 
In 1893, according to the United States Consular 
Agent at Macassar, Celebes, an English company 
sent a schooner and some luggers to the Aroo 
Islands to try exploitation in deeper waters. This 
company appears to have had a good measure of 
success, for its fleet left the archipelago only when 
forced by a Dutch law of 1894, to the effect that 
only inhabitants of the Netherlands and Nether- 
lands India, or companies established in these 
countries and under the Dutch flag, should be per- 
mitted to engage in pearl fishing. In 1896 the 
Eastern and Australian Trading Association of 
Amsterdam began operations which, however, do 
not appear to have been succes-f ul, for the cort pany 
liquidated in 1898. In the meantime, residents of 
Dutch India were beginning to pay more and 
more attention to the shell hsheries, and Europeans, 
Chinese and Arabs endeavoured to make airaiige- 
ments with the native chiefs, in whose territorial 
waters shells were supposed to be, and who 
generally granted the privilege of fishing for a fixed 
sum in cash, or a per-centage of the quantity fished. 
Such contracts, however, were legal only alter the 
sanction of the Gorernor-Geueral of Duich India, 
which has been accorded without charge. Shell 
fishing is at present carried on on the east coast of 
the Aroo Islands, on the east coast of New 
Guinea, on the Halniaheisa and the islands 
adjacent, on the east cost of Celebes and the 
Timor group. An undertaking on a large, 
scale is the Djoempandansr Maatschappy, es- 
tablished at Macassar in 1&98 with a subsidised 
capital of £l2,u00, lor fishing in the 'J'imor waters, 
witn a fleet of one schooner and ten luggers. The 
company has succeeded in securing apparently 
valuable concessions. The chief market for mother- 
of-pearl shells is Paris ; only small quantities are 
shipped to London, Hamburg and Amsterdam. 
There were exported in 1896 about 150 tons ; in 
1897, 200 tons ; and in 1898, 250 tons. There is no 
doubt that 1899 will show a further considerable 
increase. Notwithstanding this augmentation, 
prices have been fully maintained. Aroo shells sell 
at Macassar at £140 per ton ; Timor, Ceram and 
New Guinea and Celebes shells at £80 to £100. 
Fishing is allowed during the whole year by the 
Government, but is occasionally prevented by the 
monsoons. Besides mother-of-peaj.'l, there are also 
found in the archipelago cheaper varieties, which 
are obtained exclusively by the natives and used in 
Germany and England for button manufacture, etc. 
Of bunda or black-edged shells there is an export 
of about 18 to luO tons yearly. Green snail shells 
are exported to the extent of at least 100 tons 
yearly and exports of mussel shells amount to 
about 30 to 50 tons annftally. —journal of the 
—Sscifkf of Arts, Feb. 9. 
