Jan.  I,  1897.J 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
473 
CHINA  AS  A POSSIBLE  COMPETITOR 
WITH  MACHINE-MADE  TEAS? 
INDIAN  PLANTERS  MUST  WaKE  UP 
LIKE  THEIR  CEYLON  BRETHEREN. 
Is  the  news  true  that  a full-blown  Chinaman 
is  ainoii"  the  Ceylon  “creepers  ” of  the  present 
day,  busy  learning'  “all  about  tea”  as  carried 
on  in  this  progressive  Colony,  in  order  to  carry 
his  knowledge  and  experience  for  application  in 
his  mother-land  ? We  believe  our  question  has 
been  answered  in  the  aHirmative  and  the  fact, 
taken  in  connection  with  the  projiosal  of  a 
London  Syndicate  to  send  out  machinery  for  a 
model  factory  to  “ the  Middle  Kingdom  ” and 
with  the  information  recorded  from  China  in  our 
issue  yestcrd.ay,  is  by  no  means  to  be  despised. 
If  “John  Cliinaman  ” — under  the  auspices 
and  encouragement  of  British  and  Russian  Tea 
merchants, — wakes  up  to  the  need  of  adapting 
himself  to  the  existing  conditions  of  the  Euro- 
pean market,  it  is  quite  possible  that  a 
revival  to  some  extent  of  the  China  tea  trade 
even  with  the  United  Kingdom,  may  be  on  the 
tapis.  For,  it  is  not  alone  what  may  be  done  with 
machinery,  especially  in  assortment,  that  would 
tend  to  awake  rivalry  once  again  ; but  there  is  the 
great  adv.antage  at  present  existing  between  the 
use  of  silver  on  a natural  and  an  artificial  basis. 
It  will  be  remembered  how  effectively  Mr.  Bal- 
four in  the  House  of  Commons  pricked  his  col- 
league, the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  as  well 
as  Sir  Wm.  Harcourt,  when  he  inquired  if  the 
condition  of  our  Emi)ire  with  no  fewer  than 
three  different  currencies,  could  be  considered 
satisfactory : — 
(1)  A Gold  Standard  in  the  United  Kingdom, 
Australasian  Colonies,  &c; 
(2)  A Silver  Dollar  Currency  in  the  Straits 
Settlements  and  Hongkong;  and 
(.3)  An  artificial  Rupee  Currency  in  India, 
Ceylon  and  Mauritius. 
As  between  China  and  Ceylon  [and  India] 
both  silver-using  countries,  the  advantage  to 
the  former,  in  having  a natural  dollar  against 
our  inflated  rupee,  is  very  great.  Here  is  an 
estimate  handed  to  us  by  a London  mer- 
chant interested  in  Ceylon,  just  before  we 
left  the  metropolis 
15th  18th 
Exchange.  July.  November.  Difference. 
Bombay  TT  1/2^  1/3  19-32  1 say 
Calcutta  „ „ 1/3  21-32]  l/3i  -li  say  IQi  per 
cent  higher. 
Shanghai  4 m’s.  3/OJ  2/lli  1|  3 per 
cent  lower. 
China,  receiving  silver  for  its  tea,  and 
having  no  concern  in  the  artificial  13J  per  cent 
lise  in  the  rupee  consequent  on  the  / in  China’s 
Indian  Government  closing  the  mints,  favor, 
has  the  difference  of 
This  advantage  of  13J  per  cent  on  tea  at  8d, 
equals  Ijd  per  lb. — sii.ce  July. 
We  may  add  that,  since  November  18th,  the 
difference  in  favour  of  China  is  enhanced — so  that 
there  is  .serious  le.ason  to  anticipate  a revival  of 
trade  such  as  must  adver.sely  alfect  the  tea 
planters  of  India  and  Ceylon.  There  is  the 
greater  reason,  therefore,  why  both  communities 
should  set  to  work,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  with 
more  earnestness  than  ever  before,  to  endeavour 
to  win  for  their  pure  produce  the  markets  still 
so  largely  in  the  hands  of  China  and  Japan  tea 
exporters.  The  Indian  tea  planters  have  never 
yet  done  their  duty  in  this  respect ; but  have 
allowed  Ceylon  to  bear  by  far  the  larger  share 
59 
of  the  responsibility  and  expense  of  campaigns  in 
Australasia,  the  Continent  of  Europe  and  America. 
It  is  time,  tlierefore,  that  our  friends  in  Assam 
and  other  Indian  tea  districts  should  wake  up  to 
a due  sense  of  their  responsibilities.  If  Ceylon  with 
an  export  of  104  million  lb.  tea  collects  so  much 
for  its  campaign  fund,  it  is  a simple  question  in  pro- 
portion to  show  how  much  more  ought  to  be  contri- 
buted by  Indian  proprietors.  Moreover,  if  the  total 
expe  jditure  of  Ceylon— oflicial  and  otherwise— in 
this  direction,  say  since  the  Melbourne  Exhibition, 
and  also  that  of  India,  were  made  u]),  it  would 
serve  the  more  strongly  to  accentuate  the  failure  of 
duty  on  the  part  of  our  neigbours  and  ought 
to  shame  them  into  making  an  effort  equal  to 
their  responsibilities  on  the  present  occasion. 
THE  COLOMBO  TEA  MARKET. 
It  should  indeed  be  a matter  for  great  and 
general  satisf.action  among  our  planters  th.at  the 
local  tea  market  has  assumed  such  considerable 
dimension.s.  Our  detailed  table  of  the  weekly 
sales,  when  completed,  will  show  that  not  less 
than  31  to  32  million  lb.  of  tea  have  been  offered 
during  1896  in  the  Colombo  market,  or  over  30 
per  cent  of  the  total  exports  which,  we  suppose, 
may  now  be  taken  for  1896,  at  from  103  to  104  million 
lb. —or  very  close  on  the  official  estimate.  Of  the 
offerings  nearly  26  million  lb.  were  sold  and  the 
progress  made  (in  sales  if  not  prices)  for  some 
years  may  be  indicated  as  follows 
Colombo  Tea  Market. 
Tea  offered.  Tea  sold.  Average  price 
1891  ..  13,933,793  ..  9,578,611  ..  41  cents 
1892  ..  15,060,681  ..  11,518,869  ..  41  „ 
1893  ..  19,250,940  ..  14,365,017  ..  43  „ 
1894  . . 20,810,539  . . 15,738,343  . . 43  „ 
1895  ..  26,192,586  ..  19,668,116  ..  48  „ 
1886  Ests.  32,000,000  ..  26,000,000  ..42  ,, 
We  have  here  the  record  of  a great  and  grow- 
ing local  business  which  deserves  the  utmost 
encouragement,  because  it  means,  to  a great  ex- 
tent, a direct  trade  between  this  producing  Co- 
lony and  such  large  consuming  markets  as  are 
found  in  the  Australasian  Colonies,  South  Africa, 
the  Continent  of  Europe  and  America,  without 
troubling  the  London  market.  Eor  this  cause, 
also,  it  has  not  unfrequently  happened  that, 
while  the  London  market  \vas  depre.ssed,  our 
local  tea  sales  have  been  both  active  and  buoyant 
and  have  given  better  rates  than  the  .simultaneous 
London  quotations.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  distributors  of  tea  on  the  Continent  of  Europe 
and  America  will  be  inclined  more  and  more 
to  deal  direct  in  the  Colombo  market  and  with- 
out the  interv’ention  of  London.  In  many  res- 
pects too,  Colombo  has  great  natural  advantages 
over  Calcutta  as  a central  tea  mart;  and 
if  it  were  thrown  open  in  the  same  way, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  all  the  big 
tea-buyers  in  the  world  would  very  soon 
be  represented  here.  Meantime,  we  must  be 
satisfied  with  the  steady  progress  made  under 
existing  circumstances  and  trust  that  for  the 
coming  year  we  may  experience  an  even  fuller 
supply  offered  and  .sold  locally  with  enhanced 
prices.  To  secure  the  latter,  several  clouds  now 
hovering  qu  the  planters’  horizon  must  roll 
away — leaving  us  with  cheaper  money,  more 
moderate  exchange  and  freights,  and  .an  ample 
labour  supply  to  gather  in  the  ab  mdant  flushes 
which,  we  trust,  maybe  anticipate  during  1897- 
Meantime,  that  tiie  Colombo  Tea  Market  may  con- 
tinue  to  flourish  and  incre.ase  in  e.xtcnt  and  im- 
portance, month  by  month,  is  our  very  sincere  wish. 
