Vol. VIII. No. 85. 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
[January, 1902.] 23 
Tariff 
No. 
4S2 
489 
164 
164 
488 
572 
757 
829 
275 
438 
S°3 
556 
786 
to 
788 
925 
Proposed Classification. 
having 
120 
'The following duties have 
been raised — 
U n bl cached cotton 
tissues having 35 
threads or less in 
a square of 5 mm. 
Bleached linen hand- 
kerchiefs 
more than 
threads in a square 
of 2 cm. 
The following duties have 
been reduced — 
Linseed oil 
Sesame oil, if rendered 
unfit for consump- 
tion 
Phosphorus, red (amor- 
phous) 
Phosphorus, yellow 
Tanning extracts, not 
otherwise mentioned — 
Liquid 
Solid 
Dressed cotton tulle, not 
figured, if for em- 
broidery, by special 
permission and under 
control 
Unbleached linen hand- 
kerchiefs, having more 
than 120 threads in 
a square of 2 cm. 
India - rubber threads, 
drawn or cut : 
Not combined with 
textile materials , 
Combined only with 
vegetable or ani- 
mal textile mate- 
rials loosely wound 
round or plaited 
thereon 
Wound round with 
silk or with yarn 
in which silk is 
contained 
Do. do. with other 
textile material , 
Microscopes . 
Rough chains for tow- 
ing tugs . 
Copper printing-cylin- 
ders . . . 
Wire gauze of all kinds 
for industrial purposes 
Cocoa-nut fibre drawn 
out into strands or 
spun of one or more 
threads, unbleached . 
Note. — Previously the ex- 
emption applied only 
to single unbleached 
yarn imported for in- 
dustrial purposes and 
under permit. 
The following alterations 
are further noted — 
Acetic acid. — The line 
of demarcation in 
weight between the 
two rates of duty is 
raised from 5 to 20 
kilogs. 
Unbleached single cotton 
yarn. — The classifica- 
tion by numbers has 
been revised as fol- 
lows : — 
Up to No. 17 English 
Above No. 17 and up 
to No. 25 English 
Above No. 25 and up 
to No. 30 English 
Above No. 30 and up 
to No. 45 English 
Above No. 45 and up 
to No. 60 English 
Above No. 60 and up 
to No. 79 English 
Above No. 79 and up 
to No. 100 English 
Above No. 100 Eng- 
lish 
T racing cloth 
Boots and shoes of leath- 
er, with soles made 
of other material than 
wood. The schedule 
has been revised as 
follows : — 
Weighing more than 
i,3oo grammes, 
per pair 
Weighing more than 
1,100 and up to 
1,200 grammes, 
per pair 
Weighing more than 
600 and up to 1 ,000 
grammes, per pair 
Weighing 600 
grammes or less, 
per pair . 
Iron or steel sheets, of a 
thickness of 0*5 mm. 
or less, are now to pay 
the same rates of duty, 
under their respective 
Nos., as those be- 
tween o’5 and 1 mm. 
in thickness. 
Vessels of all kinds, im- 
ported to be broken 
up, are now to be free 
of duty, whether prin- 
cipally made of com- 
mon metals or not. 
Rates of Duty, 
Originally 
Proposed. 
Marks, 
100 kilogs. 50 
140 
10 
20 
15 
250 
no 
40 
40 
75 
60 
120 
6 
3° 
40 
Now Proposed. 
Marks. 
100 kilogs. 60 
145 
10 
5 
2 
4 
80 
105 
10 
100 kilogs. 
9 
15 
15 
18 
24 
3° 
36 
r , . 3 6 
New Article 
100 kilogs, 85 
85 
120 
120 
20 
60 
40 
60 
3 
18 
30 
Free. 
too kilogs. 9 
15 
18 
18 
24 
30 
36 
42 
135 
85 
120 
120 
180 
Russia. — Rumoured Projected Reduction or Re- 
mission of Customs Duties. — The British Commercial Agent 
in Russia reports that it is stated in the Russkia Viedomosti of 
Moscow of 3rd/i6th November, 1901, that, according to rumours 
circulating in business circles at St. Petersburg, from next year 
the Customs duties on many articles of first necessity,' as, for 
instance, iron, coal, machinery and implements imported from 
abroad, will be in part reduced and in part entirely rescinded. 
Spain,— Payment of Import Duties on Certain 
Articles in Gold. — The Board of Trade have received a 
copy of a telegram from H.M. Ambassador at Madrid, stating 
that a Bill has been introduced into the Cortes by the Spanish 
Government, providing for the payment’ in gold of the import 
and export duties on certain articles. It is added that a Decree 
has been issued giving immediate application to the provisions 
contained in the Bill. The following are the articles on which, 
in accordance with the Bill and Decree, duties must now be 
paid in gold : — 
Coal and coke ; petroleum and mineral oils ; oleonaphtha, 
vaseline, mineral lubricating oils, and mixtures of these products 
with animal or vegetable oils or fats ; benzine, gasoline, and 
similar products ; cod and stockfish ; fish powder ; wheat and 
wheat flour ; cocoa and coffee from all countries, prepared or 
not ; tea, yerba mate, cinnamon, and pepper, cloves, and other 
spices. 
The duties on these articles are, however, to be subject to 
the following reductions dependent on the average rate of 
exchange, when above par 
If 40 per cent, or more above par, a reduction of 30 per cent. 
,, 30 to 40 per cent. ,, ,, ,, ,, 25 ,, 
j 1 20 , , 3D n 11 ir j i 11 20 , , 
1 1 IO 1 r , , 1 , 11 11 it ID , , 
One of the provisions of the bill is to the following effect : — 
“ By the average rate of exchange will be understood the 
profit on bill on sight from Madrid on Paris, according to the 
Official Bulletin of prices of the Madrid Bourse, in the month 
previous to that in which the payment of duties .... 
takes places. On the last day of each month the Minister of 
Finance will fix the rate of exchange at which reductions in the 
payment of duties for the following month will be carried out, 
and this rate will be published in the Madrid Gazette. 
According to a further despatch the Minister of Finance 
has fixed the rate of exchange for the month of 1 lecember at 
42 - 38 per cent. , this having been the average rate during the 
month of November. 
United States of America. — Customs Decisions.— T he 
following is a list of some decisions affecting the application of 
the Customs Tariff and Customs Regulations of the United 
States which have recently been published by the Treasury De- 
partment at Washington, for the guidance of United States 
Customs Officers and others : — 
Carbons for electric lighting. — Round sticks of carbon, one- 
half to five-eighths of an inch in diameter, and from 12^ to 20 
inches in length, being ultimately intended for, and exclusively 
used in, electric lighting, are dutiable as carbons for electric 
lighting under para. 98 of the Tariff, at the rate of 90 cents per 
hundred. 
Herbs in alcohol, — Herbs in alcohol, being articles manu- 
factured by uniting or combining two elements or ingredients, 
are essentially compounds, and, as they contain alcohol, are 
dutiable at the rate of 60 cents, per lb. and 45 per cent, ad val ,, 
under para. 2 of the Tariff. Alcoholic extracts of herbs are 
dutiable at the same rate. 
Gloves. — Gloves made in chief value of cotton, and having 
a rubber braid or band at the wrist, are dutiable as cotton 
wearing apparel, under para. 314 of the Tariff, at the rate of 
50 per cent, ad val. 
Cotton cloths. — Fancifully-woven cotton cloths having open 
work stripes and other figures similar in some respects to net or 
netting, and bearing in certain proportions some resemblance 
to lace, are not dutiable as lace or lace goods (imitation or real), 
but are dutiable under the “countable para." of the Tariff 
(Nos. 304-310), with the additional duty of 2 per cent, per square 
yard provided in para. 313. 
Prepared vegetables. — Vegetables cut open and washed and 
dried in the sun are dutiable as prepared vegetables, under 
para. 241 of the Tariff, at the rate of 40 per cent, ad val. 
Carbonate of baryta , precipitated. — The exemption of 
carbonate of baryta from duty, under para. 489 of the Tariff, 
extends only to the natural mineral product known as “ wither ite. 
The artificial product, known as “carbonate of baryta, pre- 
cipated," is dutiable as a chemical salt or compound, under 
para. 3 of the Tariff, at the rate of 25 per cent, ad val. 
Cotton tracing doth, — Cotton tracing cloth, cut into sizes 
ready for use, is dutiable as “cotton cloth, filled or coated," 
under para. 31 1 of the Tariff, at the rate of 3 cents per square 
yard and 20 per cent, ad val. 
Artificial wreaths. —Memorial wreaths of metal, or of 
metal and porcelain, painted to represent natural growths, are 
dutiable as artificial leaves and flowers, under para, 425 of the 
Tariff, at the rate of so per cent, ad val, 
_ 4. 
TRANSPORT AND FREIGHTS. 
The Freight Market. — Outward rates have steadily 
declined, and current quotations are: Genoa 4s, 9d., Malta 
3s. gd., Port Said 4s. 9d. , Las Palmas 6s., Buenos Ayres 10s. 
American markets are steady, but rates show very little im- 
provement. Australia continues quiet. 23s. qd. has been 
accepted for wool to U.K./Cont. , and 25s. on d.w. to Cape 
ports. Black Sea market was active for prompt tonnage, but 
rates have again fallen away. Eastern markets have continued 
steady at 15s. Bombay, 22s. 6d. Calcutta, 21s. 3d. Rangoon. 
Mediterranean markets are steady at slightly improved rates. 
River Plate quiet at 16s. 6d, San Lorenzo limit. — Weddel, 
Turner & Co., December 23, 1901. 
UNITED KINGDOM. 
The Clyde Shipbuilding Year. — The annual returns of 
the Clyde shipbuilding were issued on Saturday. They con- 
stitute a record for the river or any other shipbuilding centre. 
During the twelve months 296 vessels were launched, aggregating 
530,000 tons, or nearly 40,000 tons more than in 1900, which 
was the previous highest year. Sixty thousand tons were 
represented by warships, five of the vessels being first-class 
cruisers. The sailing-vessels showed a marked decrease. The 
outlook for the ensuing year is not so encouraging. 
Shipbuilding on the Wear.— The returns for 1901 of the 
thirteen shipbuilding firms on the Wear aggregate 270,329 tons 
Board of Trade measurement. This establishes a record for 
Sunderland, and an increase of 7,547 tons compared with last 
year's output. Messrs. Joseph L. Thompson and Sons, Limited, 
head the list with 39,137 tons. 
Shipbuilding on the Tyne. — The shipbuilding returns for 
the river Tyne show that the total production of the yards has 
been 310,000 tons during the year just closing, only 5,919 tons 
short of the previous twelvemonth. The list is headed by 
Palmer's Shipbuilding and Iron Company, whose production 
has been 51,291 tons. 
Service of Steamers between Harwich and Bruges. — 
As soon as the ship canal to Bruges is completed the Great 
Eastern Railway Company intends to start a service of steamers 
between Harwich and Bruges, the voyage to take not longer 
than four hours, 
COLONIES. 
Canadian Railways.— A New Transcontinental 
Line. — In celebration of the driving of the last spike on the 
new line of the Canadian Northern Railway between Lake 
Superior and Winnipeg, Messrs. Mackenzie and Mann, the 
promoters of the system, were entertained at a banquet on the 
30th ult. by the citizens of Port Arthur, Ontario. The road is 
now open for traffic for 1,500 miles, passing through Manitoba, 
and will be continued westwards to the Pacific Coast to form a 
new transcontinental line north of the Canadian Pacific, and 
traversing an exceedingly fertile prairie country. 
Hong Kong. — Shipping. — Sir H. A. Blake, in his report 
upon Hong Kong, states that the tonnage of British ships 
entering the harbour of the colony during 1900 was 4,588,610 
tons, and clearing 4,566,588 tons. The German shipping 
showed next with 959,173 tons entering and 958,571 clearing. 
Then follow in order vessels under the Japanese, French, 
Chinese, American, Norwegian, and Austrian flags. The 
tonnage of Chinese junks entering and clearing was 1,604,632 
and 1,620,224 respectively; and of Chinese ships, other than 
junks, 136,765 and 138,507 respectively. The total of foreign 
ocean-going tonnage which entered and cleared was 2,425,086 
and 2,425,311 respectively. The comparative shipping return 
for the years 1899 and 1900 shows, in the case of vessels under 
the British flag, an increase of 103 ships, measuring 430,182 
tons ; but there was a decrease in the river trade under the 
British flag of in vessels of 58,317 tons. This may be ascribed 
to the fact that certain British steamers engaged in the West 
River trade were sold. Many of the Chinese merchant steamers 
were transferred to the British flag, but the Scottish Oriental 
Steamship Company was transferred to the German flag, thus 
increasing German tonnage by 62,057 tons in arrivals, and 
68,806 tons in departures. 
Uganda Railway. — The laying of the rails of the Uganda 
railway has been completed to the Victoria Nyanza, the rail- 
head reaching the shore of the lake on December 19 last. 
The West India Mail Service.— The directors of the 
Royal Mail Steam Packet Company have been in negotiation 
for a considerable period with the Government with a view to 
an enhanced speed in the West India mail service. At present 
the mails are landed at Plymouth once a fortnight, and are 
embarked at Southampton, the contract rate of speed being 
13 knots. The steamship company has now offered a 14-Lknot 
service from Plymouth to Barbados, which, by embarking the 
mails at the western port instead of Southampton, would give 
two days between the time of arrival at Plymouth and the next 
departure thence for replying to correspondence, the subsidy 
being ,£97,500 per annum for a five years’ or £85,000 for a ten 
years’ contract. The correspondence between the Government 
and the steamship company has been forwarded to the author- 
ities of our West Indian possessions, who have been asked by 
Mr. Chamberlain to express their views on the matter. 
INDIA. 
Bombay and Delagoa Bay. — A regular steamship con- 
nection between Bombay and Delagoa Bay has been effected 
by the British India Steam Navigation Company. This Com- 
pany's old line of boats running from Aden to Zanzibar now 
includes a monthly departure from Bombay viil Zanzibar and 
Mombassa to Aden, and vice-versa, and connects at Zanzibar 
with the same Company's Zanzibar-Delagoa Bay line. 
Karachi. — Graving Dock. — A new graving dock for 
taking small craft was opened on November 1 last by the 
Karachi Port Trust, built to the designs and under the super- 
vision of Mr. Edward Jackson, M.lnst.C.E., the port engineer, 
the work ,being carried out departmentally. 1 1 is entirely of 
Portland cement concrete, the entrance, hollow quoins, sill, 
dock floor, side walls, and coping all being formed of this 
material, in the proportion of seven shingle and sand to one 
Portland cement ; the hollow quoins for the keel-posts of the 
gate being faced with concrete two to one for an average thick- 
ness of 15 inches. No stone masonry of any kind has been 
used in the work. The gates are of teak, copper-sheathed. 
The length over the blocks is 240 feet, at coping 261 feet, width 
at bottom over blocks 43 feet, and at coping level 89 feet 
6 inches ; width of entrance 50 feet, depth on sill at high water 
ordinary' spring tides 12 feet 9 inches. The cost of the tem- 
porary dam, dock gates, etc., exclusive of pumps, _ which were 
available, was £8,300. 
FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 
Germany. — The New Konigsberg Sea Channel.— 
With the recent inauguration of the channel across the Frische 
Half to Konigsberg, a work has been accomplished which 
promises to prove an immense advantage to that city. Hitherto 
large ocean vessels, for which there has been an abundant depth 
of water in the river Pregel, on which the city stands, have had 
to lighten at Pillau, because there was not depth enough of 
water in the Haff to permit of their getting into the river fully 
laden. This was not only inconvenient and costly, but caused 
much waste of time. Now, however, a remedy has been found. 
The principal advantage of the new fairway is, perhaps, the fact 
that it can more easily be kept free of ice than has hitherto been 
possible in the case of the two old channels — the Konigsberger 
Rinne and the Pillauer Rinne. The cost has amounted to about 
fifteen million marks. The length of the channel from Pillau to 
the mouth of the Pregel is a little over twenty miles, and to this 
must be added about eight-and-a-quarter miles for the regular- 
isatiou of the Pregel stream. The width of the channel between 
the dams is 87^ yards, and the breadth on the floor 32^ yards. 
In constructing the dams a double row of piles were driven in 
about 3 feet 6 inches apart, and the intervening space filled up 
with stones. Five sidings or passing places are provided in the 
channel, thus increasing the width of the bed at these spots by 
about 16 yards, and allowing thi continuous progress of large 
steamers in both directions. The traffic will be controlled from 
Pillau, whence the keepers of the signal stations will receive 
their instructions by telephone as to the hoisting of the signals 
on the masts— balls by day and lights by night. The dues 
payable are : 1 pfennig per cubic metre per register ton net by 
vessels measuring up "to 800 cubic metres, and another pfennig 
for every additional 200 cubic metres ; the dues on cargoes are 
divided into three categories, namely, 15, 7 and 5 pfennige 
per ton. — Fair play. 
Japan. — Mercantile Marine. — Some statistics from 
Tokio just published show that the Japanese mercantile marine 
consisted in January, 1899, of 679 steamers, measuring 
470,534 register tons, and 1,485 sailing vessels, measuring 
165,710 register tons ; in January, 1900, of 752 steamers 
(498,375 tons) and 2,783 sailers (270,161 tons) ; and on the 
16th September, 1901, of 942 steamers (557,166 tons) and 3,416 
sailers (315,76 7 tons). — After negotiating with the Russian 
Government, the Japanese Government has decided to establish 
in the coming spring a regular line of steamers between Tsuruga 
(Wakasa Bay, Nippon) and Vladivostock. 
