Vol. VIII. No. 85. 
[January, 1902.] 25 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
of the different varieties of pelts, their market value, and special 
facts distinguishing their distribution, are given as follows : — 
Bear. — Black, silver tip, brown, grizzly, and cinnamon ; 
found all over the country from March to November ; number 
shipped, 3,000; price, $t.o to $25. It takes an exceptionally 
fine skin to bring more than the maximum figure quoted. 
Beaver. — On all streams, but chiefly numerous on White, 
Pelly and Stewart rivers; number shipped, 2,500; price, $3.50 
to $7. 
Mink. — On all streams; number shipped, 1,500; price, 
$1.50 to $3. 
Marten . — On all streams; number shipped, 25,000 to 
30,000 ; price, $3.50 to $12, 
Otter . — On Pelly and along the Yukon, most of the pelts 
coming from below Dawson; number shipped, 200; price, $4 
to $8. 
Foxes. — Red : number shipped, 2,000 ; price, $1.25 to $2,50. 
Cross : number shipped, 650 ; price, $3 to $10, Silver gray : 
number shipped, 25 to 40 ; price, $100 to $200, Black : number 
shipped, 5 to 7 ; price, $200 to $300. 
Lyrix . — Mostly from along the Dalton trail ; number 
shipped, 2,000; price, $1 to $2.50. 
Wolves. — Black and gray, mainly near the mountains ; 
number shipped, 2,000 ; price, $j to $2.50 .—United States 
Consular Report. 
New Fuel for Swedish Railways. — Sweden imports 
yearly large quantities of coal and coke, and this trade is in- 
creasing steadily, in pace with the industrial activity and the 
building of new railroads. Several millions of dollars are 
annually paid out to foreign countries for fuel. This has caused 
the authorities to consider whether Sweden could be made more 
independent in this respect. It has been suggested that the 
State railroads could get their motive power partly from water- 
falls. and experiments will probably be made in this line. The 
managers of the State railroads have been instructed to make 
trials of peat charcoal and peat briquettes as fuel for locomo- 
tives. The intention is to construct a special locomotive to be 
used in these experiments, and if they are successful other 
engines will undoubtedly be built, because peat is abundant in 
this country. The navy and the State railroads have also tried 
to use Swedish coal, but without success ; the efforts will be 
continued, however. A Gothenburg newspaper reports as 
follows : — 
In the new briquette factory at Elmhult, belonging to 
the State, experiment will be made in the production of a 
cheap and practical fuel for Swedish railroads. In locomotive 
furnaces, Swedish coal cannot be used alone, because it con- 
tains too much scrap and incombustible substances, which are 
not consumed, but form offal and ashes. It must, therefore, 
be mixed with English coal, but this is becoming more and 
more expensive. The possibility of using Swedish coal alone 
is therefore ideal, and the above-mentioned factory has been 
built to be employed in the attempts to make or refine Swedish 
coal into a good fuel. The factory will operate according to a 
German patented method, and has been put up under the 
supervision of a German. It will be started this fall, and the 
work will continue night and day. It is calculated that the 
output will be 36 briquettes per minute — that is, 51,840 per 
24 hours, or 15 cartloads of 10,000 kilograms per car. Experi- 
ments will first be made with 40 cartloads of Swedish coal of 
the lowest grade. — United States Consular Report. 
Paper Trade in Japan,— According to an American con- 
sular report, the paper trade in Japan is already becoming 
more developed, and a good quantity is now being manu- 
factured for export. Nevertheless, Japan imported in 1900 
more than 20,000 tons of paper. The greater part of this 
came from Germany, which sent all descriptions with the ex- 
ception of cigarette and printing paper. France sent most of 
the former and England the latter — some paper for newspaper 
printing came from America. 
Plumbing and Sanitary Appliances at Nice.— Modern 
improvements are being introduced into buildings in this 
consular district, and the United States Consul is of the 
opinion that the use of sanitary appliances will assume large 
proportions in the next few years, and that manufacturers 
should seek to enter this field. The system of supplying hot 
water throughout houses has not yet been adopted here, but 
detached water-heaters are largely used. Considerable quantities 
of these goods have been imported from England ; up to the 
present the sales of German firms have consisted principally 
of brass cocks and faucets and of plain zinc baths. Niekelled 
goods pay a very high duty, and non-detachable parts subject 
the entire article to the same duty. Manufacturers should, 
therefore, nickel only such parts as may be detached and 
weighed separately. The high prices charged up to the present 
for the most elementary sanitary appliances have been the 
cause of the limited consumption. Manufacturers of standard 
lines or of specialities should find a reliable agent to handle 
their goods and ship them direct, thus avoiding freight charges, 
middleman’s profit, and commissions. Where possible, a 
certain credit should be given. In one case, a German firm 
gave a plumber one year’s credit on a bill of brass cocks and 
toilet faucets. He now purchases all this kind of goods in 
Germany. 
Soap and Substitutes for Soap in Syria. — The United 
States Consul points out that while toilet and shaving soaps are 
imported from abroad, the Syrian soap-manufacturing industry 
is by no means unimportant. This refers particularly to the 
Nablous, Haifa, and Tripoli soap factories. “Mount Carmel 
soap,” manufactured by an American firm at Haifa, is in demand 
in the United States. Olive oil enters largely into the production 
of Syrian soap. Importers will find in Syria an article which is 
extensively used for washing woollen stuffs, as it does not 
shrink them, to wit, the soapwort ( Saponarla officinalis J root, 
which takes the place of our wool soap, does the work equally 
well, and is incomparably cheaper, hi the opinion of the 
United States Consul, it would pay to import this root. Pressed 
into bales, it would form a product which could be conveniently 
transported. Letters on this subject may be addressed to 
H. Sabbag and Fils, Beirut, Syria. The root is also successfully 
used in washing fresh and fast-coloured cotton fabrics, as it 
prevents their fading. The Arabic name for this useful root is 
“ shursh-halawy.” The Arabs of the interior use the desert 
shrubs “ ushran,” of the family of Salsolaccce, by burning them, 
and extracting the soda from the ashes. Indeed, the ash is 
almost pure soda. A solution of it is powerfully detersive. 
Theyalso use lye, procured by lixiviating the ashes of wood 
and charcoal, for washing clothes. Sesame oil is commonly 
employed by Arabs for “cleaning” face and body, also for 
prickly heat, and other diseases of the skin. 
Trading Firms in Japan.— The Austrian Consul at Yoko- 
hama reports that the number of European and American firms 
established in Japan is decreasing. At Yokohama in 1899 there 
were 303, while in 1900 there were only 248. The number of 
Japanese merchants in China and Korea is increasing. As soon 
as things in China return to their normal state it is expected that 
a large contingent of Japanese merchants will proceed thither 
and carry on a keen competition with foreigners. In Korea they 
have already made all competition impossible. The report 
points out that Japan is thus becoming more and more, par- 
ticularly in the Asiatic Continent, an important commercial 
factor which ought not to be under-estimated. 
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE REPORTS. 
UNITED KINGDOM. 
Leeds.— -The Council of this Chamber had under consider- 
ation at a meeting on the 26th November, certain suggestions 
for reforming the Parliamentary machine, so as to render it a 
more workable and efficient instrument. The present system, 
under which private bill legislation not only entails a great 
waste of time, but a large amount of cost to local authorities, 
came in for hearty condemnation all round. The President 
(Mr, G. R. Portway) moved this resolution : — That the Council 
take steps to obtain the views of the commercial community as 
represented by Chambers of Commerce throughout the country 
on the desirability of are-arrangement of the conduct of business 
in Parliament, and the method of taking divisions so as to avoid 
the present waste of time The extension of the system of the 
devolution of business to committees, especially the considera- 
tion of the estimates. Bills which have passed their second 
reading in one session being taken up in the same Parliament 
at the stage which they had reached in the preceding one ; and 
enquiries into private bills being conducted locally before a 
Commissioner appointed by Parliament, and not before Com- 
mittees of the Houses of Parliament, in a manner similar to 
that prescribed by the Act of 1899 with regard to Scotch Bills. 
Mr. Portway pointed out that recent events had shown the 
present Administration to be desirous of reforming the conduct 
of public business in Parliament. At present they had a 
machine which could not do its work, chiefly because it was not 
adapted for what it had to do. One authority declared that 
during last session only one bill of any importance initiated by a 
private member was carried through. By passing some such 
resolution as he proposed the Chamber would strengthen the 
hands of Parliament in effecting a reform that was much needed 
by the whole commercial community. Too much time was now 
occupied in taking divisions, and too little spent in investigating 
the national expenditure. At present our expenditure was 
growing by leaps and bounds — not merely on account of the 
war, but the normal expenditure also. In a year or two he 
feared that we should be feeling, and feeling very heavily, the 
weight of taxation. Surely the country was entitled to ask that 
there should be some really efficient control exercised over the 
estimates of the country. The President dwelt on the costliness 
of private bills promoted in Parliament. It was estimated, he 
said, that £500,000 was spent every year on legislation of this 
kind, and of this sum the Leeds Corporation must spend a con- 
siderable amount each year. 
Mr. John Ward said that, frequently, a local authority had 
to go before a Committee of Parliament w ho had not the least 
knowledge of the local circumstances of the case under con- 
sideration. He had known bills promoted by the Leeds Cor- 
poration that had involved at least a fortnight's time in London. 
The fees of counsel and witnesses were, in such circumstances, 
very great — especially if an unfortunate authority were called 
upon to pay the expenses of the opposition. It was expendi- 
ture that no local authority should be put to. Mr. H. Barron 
said that as to the proposal to appoint a Commissioner to 
enquire into local bills, he was not at all sure that that would 
be a wise plan. Chairmen of Committees of Parliament were, 
in any event, men of affairs and free from local prejudices. 
Alderman Wurtxburg agreed that the expense of getting private 
bills through Parliament was enormous. In a ease that came 
under his own notice, concerning a light railway, the Commis- 
sioners who held the enquiry granted an order, but the Board of 
Trade, whom they represented, afterwards said it must come 
before Parliament. In such a case as that the expense to the 
promoters was doubly great. The resolution was unanimously 
passed. 
On the motion of Mr. Zossenheim, the Council agreed to a 
resolution asking local Members of Parliament to support the 
compulsory adoption of the metric system in this country 
“ within a reasonable time." The difficulties in the way of the 
change contemplated were pointed out, and a diversity of 
opinion expressed as to the number of years that should be 
allowed before the system became compulsory. 
Manchester. — A meeting of the Board of Directors was 
held on the nth ult, , Mr. John Thompson, president, occupying 
the chair. A letter from the Birmingham Chamber of 
Commerce on the subject of ihe prejudicial effect upon British 
industry of the action of shipping conferences in maintaining 
differential freight rates to the disadvantage of exporters of 
British manufactures, was remitted to the Shipping Committee 
for consideration and report. The attention of the Chamber ' 
has recently been called to the policy of the French Colonial 
Office in granting trading concessions involving monopolies 
which, it is alleged, are not in conformity with the International 
Act of Berlin respecting Africa. On the 13th November a joint 
deputation, representing the Liverpool, London and Man- 
chester Chambers, had an interview with Lord Lansdowne at 
the Foreign Office with special reference to the concessions in 
the French Congo. The proceedings were not made public, 
but the representative of the Manchester Chamber reported that 
satisfactory assurances had been given to the deputation that 
the action of the French authorities was under the careful con- 
sideration of the Foreign Office. The minutes of the India, 
China and Colonial Committee contained a reference to the 
recently completed official telegraphic vocabulary, which it was 
intended to make obligatory for ihe selection of words for use in 
international code telegrams. This matter, which has been the 
subject of much consideration and correspondence by the 
Chamber since the inception, several years ago, of the project of 
a compulsory vocabulary, is receiving the attention of other 
commercial bodies. Other matters under consideration were . 
London-Paris afternoon train service ; sub-basements in ware- 
houses ; Parliamentary procedure ; contracts for exports to 
Delhi ; and patent law reform. 
Newport (Mon.). — At a recent meeting of this Chamber an 
address was delivered by Mr. Joseph Lawrence, M.P. for Mon- 
mouth District (Sheriff of London), upon the question of 
competition in steel-making. In the course of his address 
Mr. Lawrence called attention to statements made to him by 
Mr. Schwab, President of the United States Steel Trust, in 
reference to the cheap manufacturing cost in the United States. 
He referred also to the cheap transport of material in that 
country, instancing the cost of carriage from Pittsburg to 
New York, 450 miles, which was less than that from Liverpool 
to Birmingham, one-fourth of the distance. Mr. Lawrence 
said there was no doubt we would in time feel the effects of the 
American steel competition, and that we must be prepared for 
it. If the steel trade was to continue in this country, it must 
resort to cheaper ores and to carrying cheaply, and to do this 
that portion of the freight must be eliminated which consisted 
of carrying dirt as well as ore. It should be crushed at the 
mines and the ore extracted. 
Walsall. — At a meeting of the Council of this Chamber, on 
the 25th November, Mr. F. Rathbone presided, and mentioned 
that details of the Australian Commonwealth tariff were being 
printed for the information of local traders. The particulars 
were very complicated, but, roughly speaking, the duties appeared 
to be about 20 to 25 per cent, against all comers, and it was 
hardly necessary to say that there was no preferential treatment 
of Great Britain, The members of the Chamber had no doubt 
seen a report of the speech by Mr, Hay before the New York 
Chamber of Commerce, and he(the President) took it that many 
of the United States duties against this country would be 
reduced in some way. The President also reported Lkat it 
had been found necessary to abandon the idea of having a 
Walsall section at the Wolverhampton exhibition, owing to so 
few local manufacturers showing any inclination to be exhibitors. 
The promoters of the exhibition had, however, been thanked for 
their offer. He (the President) thought he might say the 
Chamber did all it could in the matter, considering how late in 
the day it was approached. The President mentioned that the 
five scholarships offered by the Chamber in connection with 
the commercial course at the Science and Art institute had all 
been awarded, and Mr. II. D. Clark stated that, although the 
number of students going through the full commercial course 
was not very large, it had to be borne in mind that it 
necessitated attendance at seven classes each week, and 
individual classes in office routine and French were more 
numerously attended this year than at any previous period. 
A report was read from Messrs. FI. Kontpas Smith and 
J. H. F. Grayson with regard to the commercial course at 
Queen Mary's School. This gave details of the work which had 
been done, and the opinion was expressed that the institution of 
the classes appeared to solve the problem of how to equip the 
business men of the future for their vocations. Mr. W. 1 1 . 
Brookes said the only addition he could suggest to the subjects 
taught was that the importance of being industrious should not 
be lost sight of. Mr. J. Scott expressed pleasure at the work 
being done, and said he believed unless parents would allow their 
boys to remain at school long enough to learn French, German, 
and Spanish, the town was bound to suffer, as many firms had 
been injured by having to place their interests abroad in the 
hands of foreigners. 
The President said he understood the reference by Sir 
Walter Peace, Agent-General for Natal, to the question of the 
standardisation of metals had aroused a good deal of interest, 
and was of considerable importance to firms at Wednesbury, 
which was in the area of the Chamber. Mr. A. W. Hutton said 
the subject was one of great importance to iron and steel manu- 
facturers, and one with regard to which matters were getting 
worse and worse, owing to the difficulty of meeting the 
specifications which were put before them. Engineers got hold 
of a lot of specifications, and picked out the worst possible test 
in every case, and put them all in one specification, so that not 
only did the mechanical test not agree with the chemical test, 
but they were incompatible with one another. As everyone 
knew, steel with a very high tensile strain would not elongate 
very much, but they expected the same elongation out of high 
tensile steel as out oflow tensile steel, and the consequence must 
be that the tests could only be passed by means of some trickery. 
It must clearly be against tire interests of the people who ordered 
the materials, and the manufacturer before whom these extreme 
tests were placed, that this state of things should exist. It was a 
question of great importance to many districts, and ought to be 
taken up in earnest. A letter was also read from Mr. W. E. 
Blyth on the same subject, in which he suggested that the 
Chamber should communicate with the Wolverhampton, 
Sheffield, Middlesbrough, and Birmingham Chambers, and see 
if some general course of action could be agreed upon with a 
view to the formulation of a scheme which could be brought 
before the Government. The President intimated that he pro- 
posed to convene a special meeting with regard to this subject, 
and he had promises of support from firms in the district who 
were interested. A letter was read from the National Tele- 
phone Company urging that it was unreasonable that they should 
be called upon to supply all subscribers with a complete 
directory when the greater portion of it was never used, and 
the opinion was expressed that their explanation removed most 
of the cause of complaint. Mr. J. A. Leckie proposed a reso- 
lution urging the establishment of a municipal telephone 
exchange for the town. The service they had was excessively 
charged for, and this no doubt accounted for the fact that there 
were only 202 subscribers in Walsall. This was one of the 
matters in which continental towns were far ahead of us, and, as 
an instance of this, could be cited Copenhagen, which with 
312,000 inhabitants had 15.000 telephone subscribers. At the 
same ratio Walsall would have had 4,500 subscribers. The 
opinion having been expressed that the present time was 
inopportune for the Chamber to commit itself to this proposal, 
it was agreed that the resolution should merely express approval 
of the enquiries which were being made by the Town Council 
into the subject, and in this shape it was unanimously passed. 
It was announced that a set of harness for the model horse 
at the Science and Art Institute had been gratuitously manu- 
factured by several local firms, to whom Mr. Clark expressed 
the indebtedness of the Technical Instruction Committee. Fie 
proposed a vote of thanks to all concerned, and Mr. Scott, in 
seconding this, said the quality of the harness was testimony 
to the ability of local firms to turn out goods of the highest 
class, 
-4, 
GENERAL INTELLIGENCE OF THE PAST 
MONTH. 
December , igoi. 
UNITED KINGDOM. 
Dec. 1st. : The Queen’s Birthday was celebrated. 
2nd : The King, accompanied by the Prince and Princess 
of Wales, left Sandringham for Marlborough House, where His 
Majesty received the new German Ambassador and the Ministers 
of Ecuador and Hayti. Death of the Earl of Sefton. Colonel 
Sir H. Smith resigned the Commissionership of the City Police. 
Mr. R. Kettle was appointed a Metropolitan Police Magis- 
trate. 
3rd: The Prince of Wales accepted the Presidentship of 
St. Bartholomew's Flospital. Lord Shaftesbury was appointed 
Chamberlain of the Prince of Wales's Household, and the Hon. 
A. N. Hood Private Secretary, The Queen Victoria Memorial 
Fund amounted to £182,000, Sir A. R. Scoble and Sir J. W, 
Bonser were appointed Members of the Judicial Committee ot 
the Privy Council. 
4th : The National Liberal Federation held a meeting at 
Derby. The annual meeting of the British South Africa 
Company was held. Death of Sir W. MacCormac. 
5th : The King returned from Frogmore to London. The 
Prince and Princess of Wales visited the City, and were enter- 
tained by the Corporation at the Guildhall in celebration of their 
return from their colonial tour. Dr. Weldon, Bishop of 
Calcutta, was appointed Canon of Westminster. 
6th : The Postmaster-General received a deputation from 
the Loudon County Council protesting against the terms of the 
new Post Office telephone scheme. Death of Sir Charles 
Legard. 
7th : The Duke of Cambridge distributed prizes for shooting 
to the Middlesex Imperial Yeomanry. A petition was made 
againsl the appointment of Canon Gore to the Bishopric of 
Worcester. 
8th : Death of Lady Grirnthorpe. 
9th : 'Hie King and the Prince of Wales visited the Smith- 
field Club Cattle Show. The Transvaal War. Fund at the 
Mansion House amounted to over ,£1,130,000. 
BX-SG/IS 
