412 
thf:  tropical  agriculturist. 
[Dec.  I,  1896. 
British  grown  teas  have  begun  to  be  taken  of  late 
years  with  the  usual  result,  so  that  the  Aus- 
tralian is  now  almost  on  all  fours  with  the  English 
trade. 
“To  North  America  China  ships  bulk  of  her  green 
teas,  and  there  again  the  taxation  tells,  as  in  that 
market  these  teas  have  to  face  the  competition  of  com- 
aratively  untaxed  .Japan  teas  (the  dirty  in  Japan 
eing  only  #1  per  picul)  with  the  usual  result  of  a 
decling  export  from  China.’’ 
“ The  decay  of  China  Tea  Trade  is  going  on  so 
persistently  that  it  will  soon  become  a lost  trade, 
unless  its  burdens  are  removed.  To  restore  it  to  a 
healthy  state,  we  would  recommend  further  steps  be- 
ing taken  towards  improved  quality,  and  as  the  pro- 
ducers seem  unable  or  unw'illing  to  effect  reforms  in 
this  direction,  it  would  be  well  if  the  government 
were  to  appoint  a board  of  enquiry,  to  carry  out 
such  reforms  as  might  suggest  themselves,  from  a 
study  of  what  is  done  elsewhere.’’ 
The  same  subject  occupies  the  attention  of  foreign 
merchants  in  Amoy,  where  the  proximity  of  For- 
mosa and  consequent  familiarity  with  Japanese  rates 
of  taxation,  bring  into  marked  salience  the  cripping 
weight  of  the  Chinese  impost.  Tea  grown  in  Formosa 
under  Japanese  rule  pays  no  lihin  or  other  local  tax 
the  only  impostlevied  being  an  exiiort  dutyof$1.10  per 
picul.  On  the  other  hand,  lea  exported  from  Amoy 
pays  an  export  duty  of  :^3.85  per  picul,  together  with 
about  lUcin.  Thus  the  difference  of  taxation  is 
no  less  than  ^5.75,  or,  in  other  w'oids,  tea  exported 
from  China  is  taxed  more  than  live  times  as  heavily  as 
tea  exported  from  Fomiosa.  A great  difficulty  against 
which  Formosa  has  to  contend  is  the  want  of  harbour 
facilities : there  is  no  harbour  within  easy  reach 
of  the  tea  districts  where  large  steamers  can  load 
safely  throughout  the  year.  Hence  T’ormosan  tea 
has  hitherto  been  carried  to  Amoy  for  final  ship- 
ment, and  the  merchants  of  Amoy  are  i aturally 
apprehensive  lest,  under  .Japanese  rule  in  Formosa, 
the  course  of  trade  may  be  altered.  Mr.  Cousul 
Gardner,  iu  his  last  trade  report  for  Amoy,  says : — 
“ The  loss  of  the  Formosa  tea  business  to  Amoy 
would  be  a very  serious  blow  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  port,  W'ould  seriously  effect  the  Customs  reve- 
nue in  the  matter  of  tonnage  duc.«,  would  throw 
out  of  employment  many  hundreds  of  labourers,  and 
by  reducing  the  circulation  of  money  in  the  city 
by  some  millions  of  dollars,  materially  affect  its 
already  rapidly-declining  prosperity.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  over-estimate  the  value  in  indirect  ways 
which  the  Formosa  tea  trade  is  to  Amoy,  and  all 
interested  iu  the  welfare  of  our  port,  officials  and 
merchants  alike,  should  do  their  utmost  to  retain  it.” 
We  do  not,  for  our  own  part,  believe  that  the 
want  of  harbour  facilities  will  long  be  suffered  to 
injure  F'ormosa.  Harbour  improvement  is  among  the 
projects  seriously  contemplated  by  the  Japanese. 
Meanwhile,  it  is  possible  that  the  livid  object 
lesson  furnished  by  Japan's  methods  in  Formosa 
may  help  to  teach  wisdom  to  Chinese  of'liciahiom. 
Mr.  Gardner  says  that,  were  it  not  for  excessive 
taxation,  the  Amoy  tea  districts  could  co  npete  with 
Formosa  iu  growing  Oolong.  Twenty-five  years  ago, 
throe  million  dollars  was  the  annual  income  derived 
by  Fokieu  from  the  business  of  growing  tea  for  for- 
eign markets ; today,  the  income  is  little  more  than 
oue-tenth  of  that  sum. 
This  question  of  the  duties  levied  by  China  upon 
tea  has  much  interest  for  Ja|)an,  apart  from  tho 
Formosan  jihase  of  tho  problem.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  cheaper  grades  of  Jaiiauese  tea  would  find 
a cousideiable  market  in  the  north  of  China  were 
not  the  duties  prohibitive.  In  the  early  li.tys  of 
China’s  tea  trade,  the  tea  had  to  be  carried  to 
Canton  for  firing  and  packing,  with  the  result  that 
its  original  price  was  doubled,  approximately.  More- 
over, the  proilncer  obtained  a comparatively  high 
price  in  those  times,  so  that,  on  the  whole,  the 
specific  export  duty  of  2J  Tls.  per  picul  was  not 
very  onerous.  Hut  when  tho  tea  came  to  be  shipped 
direct  from  Hankow  and  other  producing  centres, 
the  manufacluring  charges  were  laigely  reduced,  and 
at  the  same  lime,  the  producer’s  price  fell  in  res* 
ponse  to  the  European  markets.  The  average  cost 
of  black  tea  in  northern  China  being  now  1.5  Tls. 
per  picul,  approximately,  it  is  evident  that  an  ex- 
port duty  of  2|  Tls.  (S)  and  Unhin  of  Tls.  (S) 
represent  taxes  aggregating  33  per  cent.  Now 
Japanese  tea  sent  to  China  has  to  pay  an  import 
duty  of  2j  Tls.  (S)  per  picul,  together  with  Ig  Tls. 
linkin  or  -IJ  'Tls.  in  ad,  and  as  the  average  cost  of 
the  tea  at  the  port  of  shipment  is  7 Tls.  it  results 
that  the  taxes  levied  in  China  aggregate  nearly  59 
per  cent.  If,  despite  this  crushing  impost,  nearly 
a hundred  thousand  yan  worth  of  .Japanese  tea 
found  its  way  to  China  last  year,  we  may  reasonably 
assume  that  were  tho  import  duty  and  other  taxes 
reduced  to  5 or  10  per  cent;  the  Japanese  leaf  would 
find  a considerable  market  in  the  neighbouring 
empire. — Japan  Wethly  JIail,  Oct.  17. 
THE  YATIYANTOTA  TEA  COMPANY, 
LIMITED. 
At  a meeting  of  tlie  shareholdens  of  the  above 
Company,  held  on  Thur.sday,  lUtli  November  189(5, 
the  following  were  present : — 
Messrs.  W.  D,  (ribbon,  in  the  Chair,  A. 
Thonrson  and  E.  S.  Anderson  (Directors)  and 
Messrs.  J.  H.  Starey  and  D.  Edwards. 
The  following  were  repre.senled  by  their  at- 
torneys Me.ssrs.  C.  Young,  W.  H.  G.  Duncan, 
G.  W.  Carlyon,  Mrs.  L.  T.  Carlyon,  J.  MacLiesh 
and  .1.  K ^lor  rison. 
It  ivas  propo.sed  “ That  the  Yatiyantota  Tea 
Com]»any,  Limited,  be  wound  np  voluntarily  ” — 
which  was  carried  unanimously. 
COFFEE  IN  GERMAN  EAST  AFRICA. 
The  German  East  African  Company  in  its  report 
on  the  proceedings  of  the  last  twelve  months  dwells  with 
satisfaction  on  the  coffee  plantations  at  Agnolo  and 
Derema  (where  girls’  schools  have  been  founded,  of 
which  the  company  is  not  a little  proud),  inasmuch  as, 
according  to  some  contemporaries,  the  Ijcif  motive 
of  German  colonisation  is  the  spread  of  civilisation. 
Jlcvenoux  d nos  moutons,  or  rather  to  coffee.  The  in- 
roads of  Hemileia  vastalrix  have  been  victoriously 
overcome.  There  are  between  500,000  to  000,000 
coffee  trees  in  excellent  health.  The  yield  of  ber- 
ries during  the  last  year  has  been  700  cwt.  The 
first  quality'  of  coflee  fetched  1 mk.  10  pf.  011  tlie 
Hamburg  market,  and  as  about  100,000  young  trees 
will  come  to  maturity  this  y'ear  a larger  yield  is 
confidently  anticipated  in  1897.  Mr.  Kowehl,  over- 
seer, as  yet  has  chiefly  planted  Arabian  coffee.  Li- 
beria coffee  trees  are  principally  flourishing  at  Lan- 
gnla,  where  the  high  ground  suits  them. 
Tea  plantatious  are  likewise  prospering  at  Deroma, 
but  it  is  too  soon  to  judge  of  the  quantity  of  tho  leaf, 
though  the  trees  look  healthy.  Should  these  tea 
plantations  prove  a success,  the  company  consider 
that  Gliiueso  and  Sondaiiose  coolies  will  be  inclispen* 
sablo  for  the  delicate  manipulation  of  the  leaves,  to 
wbk'h  Eurojioaus  have  not  been  trained.  It  is  hoped 
iu  Herliii  that  tho  German  Govenuneut  will  give  its 
assistance  to  the  pro  •uriug  of  coolies  from  tho  East. 
Meaiiwhilo  the  Wanyamwezis  and  Wafykumas  have 
proved  excellent  labourers,  and  are  so  pleased  with 
ihe  work  they  propose  transporting  tho  Smalahs 
(wives  and  children)  to  tho  vicinity  of  the  tea 
plantations.  Cocoa  culture  does  not  thrive  at  De- 
rema because  tho  ground  lies  too  high,  whereas  it 
prospers  over  a surface  of  3,000  hectares  along  the 
coast  between  Miioa  and  Jasstac.  Sea  breezes  favour 
the  health  of  the  trees. — Central  African  I'tantcr 
Sept.  15.  ’ 
