134 [May, 1902.] 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
Vol. VIII. No. 89. * 
MONTHLY COMMERCIAL AND 
INDUSTRIAL SUMMARIES. 
GENERAL COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY. 
British, Belgian and American Locomotives. — The com- 
parative merits of British, Belgian and American locomotives in 
Egypt form the subject of a report by the Earl of Cromer in a 
Parliamentary paper just issued. The report was supplied at 
the request of the Foreign Office in answer to Sir Alfred Hick- 
man's question in the House last May as to the consumption 
of fuel in the American and Belgian locomotives in use on the 
Egyptian railways. Lord Cromer says that it cannot be 
doubted that the main reason why so many orders for railway 
and other plant required in Egypt have recently been given to 
America is that American firms have been able to execute them 
with extraordinary rapidity. Discussing the results obtained 
at recent trials between locomotives of various types, Lord 
Cromer says: — “The general conclusion to be drawn from 
these trials is, I think, that, in respect to price, British manu- 
facturers can well hold their own in cases where special designs 
have to be executed ; that, in respect to quality, the work they 
turn out is at least equal, and often superior, to that of American 
or Belgian competitors ; and that, in respect to the consumption 
of coal, they have decided superiority over American, though 
not, apparently, over Belgian manufacturers. The British 
weak point is the time required for executing orders. It is to 
this subject that I venture to draw the special attention of all 
who may be interested in the matter. I am not competent to 
express any personal opinion as to the extent to which it would 
be possible or desirable to imitate the Americans in adopting 
the principle of standardisation, on which the low prices and 
quick delivery of the American manufacturers mainly depend.” 
COLONIES. 
British Central Africa and the South African Customs 
Union. — The Blantyre Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce 
has been very carefully considering whether British Central Africa 
should or should not join the South African Customs Union, if 
the opportunity is afforded it. The one argument against the 
step seems to be the assertion that the effect would be to increase 
the cost of living in British Central Africa by 50 per cent. , a 
statement which has been received by the Blantyre paper — the 
Central African Times — as a very extreme exaggeration. This 
authority points out that if the growing of produce is stimulated 
in British Central Africa, and more of the household com- 
modities consumed there, such as jams, manufactures, and so 
on, are imported from South Africa, th ■ benefits accruing will 
far outweigh any additional cost due to the import tariff of the 
Customs Union. British Central -Africa is essentially an agri- 
cultural country, and, in the opinion of the Blantyre paper, it is 
even a coffee country. Meanwhile a tariff wall is being built up 
around it. In addition to the colonies already included in the 
Union, it is only a question of time when Rhodesia will join, and 
it is understood that Portuguese East Africa has been invited 
to take part in the prospective conference on the subject. The 
present Portuguese, German East African, and Congo Free 
State tariffs are said to be prohibitive enough, and hence it is 
argued that if British Central Africa remains isolated as regards 
Customs arrangements, the only open market for her produce 
is likely to be London. South Africa offers the nearest and best 
market, and, continues the Blantyre paper, “were we in the 
Union we would not only benefit by being fre from the duty, 
but also by preferential rates on the Government railways. 
South Africa as a market for coffee, tobacco, mealies, and other 
products is certain to expand very much in the near future, 
owing to the large access of population which it has received, 
and will continue to receive, in consequence of the war. Increased 
traffic with South Africa would m an lower freights, and conse- 
quently higher profits." Moreover, it is added, a large amount 
of money would be kept in the country, as there would no longer 
be any reason for sending to Denmark for butter, or to Switzer- 
land for milk, and it would be “ an easy matter ” to produce tea, 
sugar, flour, and other commodities of a like nature in British 
Central Africa. The community would benefit by increased 
exports, the transport companies would have increased traffic, 
trade would again flourish, and the natives would share in the 
general prosperity. 
Haematite Iron in Johore. — A correspondent of Iron and 
Coal Trades Review reports the discovery of what show's, by an 
analysis, to be a high grade haematite iron in the south-eastern 
part of Johore, This hill or small mountain rises to a height of 
700 feet, and iron shows on the surface from base to top. This 
solid outcrop is, approximately, 400 feet wide by 2,000 feet long, 
and lies between Sungei Asah and an unnamed creek. There 
are several open cuts at the base of the hill that show solid ore 
in the face ; these trenches aie sufficient to demonstrate that the 
quantity of ore is great. This ore can be loaded on steamers or 
sailing vessels at small cost, and, could one find a market, there 
would be no trouble to ship as much as 500 tons a day. With 
regard to sampling, the correspondent says that he has taken 
the poorest ore he can find, and the results are as 
follows : — The ore consists of haematite, with a little earthy 
matter or gangue. On analysis, it gave iron, 68‘2o per 
cent. This shows the ore to be nearly pure oxide of iron, and 
of an excellent quality. 
North Queensland and Army Remounts. — With reference 
to the proposals which have been made from time to time for 
the establishment of purchasing and remount depots in Aus- 
tralia, a correspondent of the Times makes some suggestions 
with reference to North Queensland, which he feels confident 
would, if carried out, not only give a valuable impetus to horse 
breeding in those parts, but would, in a short time, furnish the 
military authorities with a class of remount equal to any in the 
world. In the first place, the Government representatives 
should contract directly with the breeders for a supply of horses 
at a fixed rate of purchase, and make contracts, say, for ten 
years, or even a longer period, if the number of horses desired 
is large. Breeders take an interest in their horses, and, once rid 
of the one-man contractor, would enter into competition with 
each other to secure more extensive contracts. At about £10 to 
£12 North Queensland could supply horses of a class above the 
animals now delivered in India at £40 to ^'50. 
To enable the Remount Department and their agents to 
deal directly with the breeders, it would be advisable that they 
should secure land in North Queensland for the establishment 
of depfits. Good and suitable land could be rented from the 
State at about 2d. per acre. If such a depdt or depdts were 
established on the North Queensland Railway, the Remount 
Department could keep their selections for a year at a cost not 
exceeding 10s. per annum per horse. They could then break 
them to any desired extent and dispose of any misfits either by 
sale or by arrangement with the original breeder. Thus at the 
end of the year the officials responsible for the depots would 
have broken horses which had been trained for th last week 
to take “hard ” food, of an excellent class, ready for shipment, 
at about ,£16 per head. It is hardly necessary to point out the 
advantages which North Queensland possesses for the shipping 
of horses. 
The present time would be most advantageous for starting 
the scheme, even if it were only upon experimental lines. 
Owing to the recent droughts, the supply of sheep and cattle is 
much reduced, so that the number of horses on the stations is 
far above the present requirements, and this in itself, if a certain 
market was in sight, would be an inducement to the Queens- 
landers to take to breeding seriously. 
Western Australia. — Export Trade, — The February 
number of the Monthly Statistical Abstract of Western 
Australia gives the preliminary figures of the value of the most 
important articles of export in 1901. The following table gives 
a comparison with 1900 : — 
Gold specie 
Raw gold . 
Wool 
Timber 
Hides and skins 
1 ’earls and shells 
Sandal wood 
Copper 
Tin . 
1900. 
^1.750.763 
3,799,116 
270,718 
458,461 
74,902 
106,607 
39.038 
33.937 
57 . 050 
1901. 
^2,807,841 
3 . 94 L 79 7 
378.135 
572 . 354 
86,559 
i3 0 .73 0 
73.931 
110,769 
52,102 
FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 
Demand for Fruit in China. — An American report says 
that the Chinese appetite for fresh fruit is strong, and apples are 
in great favour ; the only obstacle to the creation of a large 
market is the inability of the masses to purchase. The average 
Chinaman does not distinguish the different varieties of apples, 
and if inferior grades could be sent at low rates, an extensive 
outlet could be created. Northern routes are the best for 
shipping green fruits. All shipments of apples for the northern 
ports of China should be sent by 1st October, on account of the 
danger of freezing if they arrive late in the season. If the fruit 
reaches North China in good condition, it will keep well, on 
account of the dry, cold climate. The presence of Russians in 
Vladivostok, Port Arthur, and Dalny will increase the market 
for apples. 
Italian Chamber of Commerce in Bucharest.— The 
principal members of the Italian colony in Bucharest recently 
held a meeting at which it was resolved to establish an Italian 
Chamber of Commerce in the chief city of Roumania, and a 
committee of three members was formed to draw up the rules 
of the corporation. One of the first proceedings of the new 
Chamber will be the formation of a sample depfit of Italian goods 
suitable for export in Bucharest . — Handels Museum, 
New Peat Briquette Process. — A briquette process for 
peat has been developed in Germany by G. Heine, and is being 
exploited by Mr. Hugo Ivrupp, of Hanover, Germany. The 
process will be of interest to those persons in this country who 
are watching developments in this industry. A large part of the 
expense of most peat handling processes, is the labour involved 
in cutting the peat from the bog and transporting it to the 
factory for treatment. In the Heine process, a portable centri- 
fugal ptmip dredger is used to excavate the peat from the bog, 
rotary cutters being used on the suction pipe, so that the peat is 
reduced to a pulp. This pulp with about fifteen times its volume 
of water is carried by a pipe line to the briquetting factory. The 
pump’s suction is so protected that stones and roots cannot 
enter, and sand and clay fall to the bottom of the bog. At the 
peat factory the peat pulp is delivered into a vat, from which it 
passes to a centrifugal separator, which extracts the bulk of 
water. The peat then passes to a cyclinder press, which 
operates on a principle similar to that of a paper-making machine. 
Here the peat becomes a thin sheet which is carried by belt 
conveyors to a drying cylinder. These reduce the moisture to 
15 or 30 per cent., an amount sufficient for briquetting. The 
peat, now a hot powder, is automatically fed to the briquetting 
machine, and is submitted to a pressure of about 2,000 atmo- 
spheres. The bituminous parts of the peat act as a cement and 
the product is hard coal -like clean briquette. Analyses of these 
briquette show, in percentage — carbon, 52^5 ; hydrogen, 4'8 ; 
oxygen, 22"i ; ash, 9‘o; water, u*6. This corresponds in heat- 
ing value to 4,850 calories per kilogram, as compared with 
5,500 calories for ordinary coal, and 3,000 for wood. By 
carbonising the peat to a greater degree, the heating value 
may be increased. One metric ton of these briquette in 
Germany, is said to cost from 5s. to 7s. to produce, according 
to the size of the plant. A plant for producing 50 tons per day is 
said to cost £ 16,000 . 
Russian Chamber of Commerce in Alexandria. — At the 
instigation of the Russian Consul in Alexandria a Russian 
Chamber of Commerce was established there in January last, 
although there were already inexistence, an Austria- Hungarian, 
English, French, Italian and Greek Chamber of Commerce. 
If, however, the amount of Russian trade with Egypt is taken 
into consideration the establishment of the Chamber of 
Commerce is perhaps fully justified. The most important 
Russian exports to Egypt consist of raw products which are 
indispensable — principally petroleum, then wood for building 
purposes, flour, wheat and sugar. In a similar way the exports 
from Egypt to Russia consist of indispensable cotton produce 
for Russian textile manufactories — and different kinds of vege- 
tables in small quantities. It is, however, not to be anticipated 
that much extension of business will be caused, as there is 
practically no real Russian colony in Alexandria, there being 
only five Russian commercial firms, the heads of which, with the 
Consul as president, form the Chamber of Commerce. No 
subscriptions are required and the expenses of the Chamber are 
paid by the Consul. — Handels Museum. 
United States.— Manufactures.— Some highly interesting 
figures are given in the Census Bulletin of Manufactures issued 
by the United States Government. The total gross value of 
products of manufactures, including Custom work and repairing, 
was given as $13,040,013,638 in 1900, though it is pointed out 
that this total represented to some extent a duplication of pro- 
ducts, owing to the fact that the finished products of many 
manufacturing establishments become the materials of other 
establishments in which they are further utilized and again 
included in the value of products. The net value of products of 
manufactures, after deducting the value of materials purchased 
in a partially manufactured form, is put at $8,388,409,055. The 
total capital invested in manufactures in 1900 amounted to 
$9,874,664,087. This was an increase of 51 ‘3 per cent., as com- 
pared with 1890. Again comparing with 1890, the average 
number of wage-earners represented an increase of 25 per cent. ; 
the amount of wages paid, an increase of 23 per cent. ; the cost 
of materials used, an increase of 42 per cent. ; and finally, the 
total value of produce, an increase of 39 per cent. Following 
are a few statistics illustrating the leading groups : — 
No. of 
wage-earners. 
Textiles 
$682,978 
Iron and steel 
226,161 
Slaughtering 
68,534 
Lumber and tim- 
her products 
283,260 
Flouring and grist 
mill products . 
37.073 
Smelting and re- 
fining 
24,504 
Liquors 
44.417 
Boot and shoe fac- 
tory products . 
142,922 
Total 
wages. 
$219,229,265 . 
122,710, 193 
33.457.013 
Value of 
product. 
$966,924,835 
835 . 759,034 
786,603,670 
104,640,591 
566,832,984 
i7,7°3A 1 ' s ‘ 
560,719,063 
15,973,626 
28,005,484 
358,786,472 
340,615,466 
59 U 75.883 
261,028,580 
LABOUR MARKET. 
COLONIES. 
The following is the monthly report, up to 17th April last, 
compiled by the Emigrants’ Information Office : Canada. 
—This is the best season for emigration to Canada. There is a 
good demand for competent men and boys who understand 
farm work and looking after stock, for female servants on farms 
and in towns, and for a limited number of carpenters, brick- 
layers, iron and steel workers and miners. In British Columbia 
the shingle manufacturing industry is very busy, and many 
new mills are being erected. 
Australasia (New South Wales).— At Sydney the building 
trades have fallen off ; the engineering trade is fairly well 
supplied with work, and there is a good demand for engineers ; 
local shipping is good, and wharf labourers are well employed ; 
plumbers are in very strong demand, especially for sanitary 
work ; and there is a large demand for female servants. I11 
mining districts there is a good demand for miners at collieries, 
but not at silver or gold mines. In country districts there is a 
good demand for farm labourers in the season, but the drought 
— which has now lasted some years — has seriously affected the 
demand for all kinds of country labour. At Young there is a 
good demand for bricklayers, carpenters, blacksmiths and 
female servants. At Orange and Jerilderie the only demand 
is for female servants. The cost of living has generally in- 
creased in the State, owing to the new tariff. A considerable 
number of men are being employed by Government on relict 
works. (Victoria. ), — The hours of bricklayers have been 
generally reduced from 48 to 44 a week, and their wages 
increased from 10s. to ns. a day. (Western Australia. ) — 
The annual report of the Government Labour Bureau shows 
that there is a constant demand throughout the State for female 
servants ; that mechanics — especially those in the building 
trades — are in demand at Perth and Northam, but not else- 
where ; that there is no demand for miners on the goldfields, 
or at the coal mines ; that labour is sometimes scarce at the 
timber mills ; and that there is a good demand for farm 
labourers at 20s. to 25s. a week and board. (New Zealand). — 
With the exception of Dunedin, where many hands have been 
out of work, the building trades have been busy almost every- 
where, carpenters and bricklayers being especially well 
employed. The engineering trades have been only fairly busy, 
and at Dunedin many men have been out of work. The boot 
trade has been doing well in the smaller towns, and in Auckland 
good machinists are said to be scarce. The clothing trade has 
been, generally speaking, very busy. General labourers have 
been obtaining good wages at shearing, harvesting, scrub- 
cutting, road work, etc. , but there does not appear to be any 
special demand for more. 
South Africa. — Trained clerks from 20 to 40 years of age 
are wanted for service in the Army Service Corps in South 
Africa during the continuance of the war. Preference will be 
given to discharged soldiers and to single men. The pay is 5s. 
a day, and a free passage out and home. Candidates must 
present themselves to the nearest recruiting officer. (Cape 
Colony.) — There is a demand for skilled mechanics. The 
General Manager of the Government Railways notifies that 
there is a limited number of vacancies for apprentices in the 
large locomotive workshops at Salt River. (Natal). — There 
has been a serious strike of several hundreds of railwaymen, on 
the Government refusing to raise their wages, The strikers 
have since resumed work, relying on the promise that their 
grievances will form the subject of a Parliamentary enquiry. 
The printers’ strike has been compromised, the men accepting 
an extra is. a day, bringing the weekly wages up to 72s. The 
carpenters’ strike continues, though about too men are working 
at the increased wage, viz., 16s. a day. There is stated to be 
a good demand for labour generally, especially for men in the 
building trades ; but the great increase in the cost of food and rent 
— which has largely caused the above strikes — and the inability to 
land without a permit from the Permit Office, 47, Victoria-street, 
London, must be remembered by emigrants. (Orange River 
Colony and Transvaal). — Only refugees, Government em- 
ployees, and persons engaged in a service of a public nature, will 
be permitted to proceed to the Transvaal. Candidates for the 
South African Constabulary should apply to die Recruiting 
Officer, S.A.C. Recruiting Office, King’s-court, Broadway, 
Westminster, S.W. ; they must be good riders, good shots, 
single, strictly sober, and from 20 to 35 years of age ; they will 
be given free passages to South Africa. Farriers also are 
wanted for this force. The number of suitable candidates for 
the Civil Service of the Transvaal and Orange River Colony 
greatly exceeds the possible number of vacancies, and ho further 
applications can be entertained. A mounted and unmounted 
police force is being recruited for the towns of the Orange River 
Colony, but the number of local candidates is more than 
sufficient. 
- 0 - 
EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION. 
* # * The Imperial Institute acts in concert with the Emigrants' 
Information Office ( which is under the direction of the 
Colonial Office), of ji, Broadway, Westminster, S. W. ; 
and also with the British Women's Emigration Asso- 
ciation, now temporarily carrying on its work in 
rooms at the Institute. The Handbooks and Quarterly 
Circulars issued by the Emigrants' Information Office 
may be obtained at the Commercial Intelligence Office. 
Special information and practical advice respecting 
Canada and Cape Colony will also be furnished by the 
Curators of these Sections. 
UNITED KINGDOM. 
British Women’s Emigration Association. — The hon. 
secretary reports 679 applications made in the month ended 
April 2t. The numbers of persons who embarked during this 
time were as follows : for South Africa, 15 ; Canada, 55 adults 
and 4 children ; Australia, 11 ; and New York, 3. 
The applications received at the London office of the Asso- 
ciation in the Imperial Institute during the last twelve months, 
from persons wanting information or advice about emigration, 
amount to 3,851, as compared with 2,006 in the previous year. 
The interviews have amounted 102,557, as com pared with 1,097. 
Letters received, 10,337, as compared with 6,697. Letters sent, 
8,658, as compared with 6,853. The increase in the desire for 
information has, of course, been principally with regal'd to 
South Africa. Personal interviews with applicants frequently 
save the colonies from the immigration of persons unsuited to 
their requirements, and at the same time save the bitter disap- 
pointment of failure to the individual. 
in the early part of 1901, a strong and influential represent- 
ative committee was formed in Cape Town called the “South 
African Immigration Association.” Through the kindness of 
Mr. Rhodes and the De Beers Company, aided by some sup- 
porters in Cape Town, an admirable house was selected and 
furnished at Rosebank as an hostel. It was opened on May r 
by Lady Hely Hutchinson. The hostel is intended as a home 
where women can be received not only for a few days on their 
arrival, but also as boarders engaged in daily work. It is also 
an employment bureau for every kind of women’s work. 
