138 [May, 1902.] 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
Vol. VIII. No. 89. 
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE REPORTS. 
UNITED KINGDOM. 
Leeds. — At the monthly meeting of the Leeds Chamber, 
held on 25th March, the chair being taken by the president 
(Mr. G. R. Portvvay), correspondence was submitted from the 
Butter Association with reference to the fixing of a standard of 
moisture in butter. The Board of Agriculture had fixed a 
limit for water in butter, but had exempted milk-blended 
butter, and thus, it was alleged, the door was left open to fraud. 
Mr. Ward said that if liquid were put into butter it was, to a 
certain extent, a fraud upon the public. The admixture of milk 
was an addition of water, because the principal constituent of 
milk was water. A resolution was passed condemning the sale 
of milk-blended butter, and urging the Board of Agriculture to 
fix a standard of moisture for butter, which would apply to 
milk blending. 
A long letter was read from the China League respecting 
the changes proposed to be made in the import duties on goods 
entering China, and the promise made that, in compensation 
for an increase of some 15 per cent, on the import duties, the 
internal taxation on merchandise should be abolished. The 
consistent bad faith of the Chinese Government, and the rooted 
antipathy of successive British Governments to intervention on 
behalf of their nation in China, were important facts in con- 
sidering the matter. It might be postulated with some degree 
of certainty that the policy of the Chinese officials would re- 
main in the future pretty much what it had been in the past, 
and while the system of government remained what it was in 
China there was no reason to suppose that the exemption of 
foreign goods from an illegal taxation would be any more 
effectually secured under the new treaty than under the old, 
unless material guarantees were secured. Alderman Wurtzburg 
thought that in the interests of British trade with China support 
should be given to the action which the China League was 
taking in the matter. Mr. Matheson said that even if China 
got the extra duties she would not abandon the Likin duties, 
because the central Government had not sufficient control over 
the Mandarins to bring about such a reform. Mr. Henry Barran 
agreed that it would be impossible for the Chinese Government 
to carry out any such reforms at present, at any rate in an 
enduring form. It was decided to support the China League 
in the matter. 
Mr. F. W. Tannett-Walker, who was one of the deputa- 
tion from the Association of Chambers of Commerce to the 
Postmaster-General on the subject of the telegraph system, 
made a report as to the proceedings. He said that there was 
an idea that an underground line should be taken to Scotland 
via Preston, but he was able to extract an assurance from Lord 
Londonderry that the line should go through Leeds. He 
thought the Department had made up its mind to construct an 
underground line, and that the work would be quietly pressed 
forward irrespective of whether the Chancellor of the Exche- 
quer could or could not afford to give large doles from the 
public purse towards this work. 
Liverpool — At a recent meeting of the committee of the 
African Trade Section, Sir Alfred Jones, k.c.m.g. , chairman 
of the section, presiding, it was reported that the memorial of 
the Chamber on the subject of the concessions in the French 
Congo had been circulated to certain Chambers of Commerce 
abroad, whose assistance in the matter had been invited. The 
Bremen Chamber of Commerce had now replied, saying they 
thought that a meeting of the signatory powers to the Berlin 
Act of 1885 should be summoned to consider how the terms of 
the Act had been complied with. The committee expressed 
themselves strongly in favour of the suggestion, and recom- 
mended that the proposal of the Bremen Chamber should be 
brought to the notice of Lord Lansdowne. The following letter 
has accordingly been sent to his lordship : — 
“My lord, — I am directed to draw your lordship’s attention 
to the memorial on the above-named subject, addressed to you 
by this Chamber on the 30th September, 1901, and especially 
to the last paragraph thereof, in which it is urged that immediate 
steps may be taken to enforce the Act of Berlin of 1885, if the 
above-named concessions are found to be an infringement of 
that Act. 
‘‘lam to inform you that this Chamber has been in com- 
munication with several Continental Chambers of Commerce on 
the subject, and that the Bremen Chamber has suggested to the 
German Government that the signatories to the Act of Berlin 
should be re-assemblecl in conference to consider the manner in 
which the terms of the Act have been observed. I am to say 
that the committee of the African Trade Section strongly 
approves of the suggestion, and trusts that your lordship and 
His Majesty’s Government will give it their support. — I 
have, etc. (Signed) Thomas H. Barker, Sec. 
The following statement was laid before the committee by a 
member of the section “ It may interest the West African 
Committee to know that we have recently received a report 
from Cape Coast that the judges are declining to issue certificates 
of validity in respect of dredging concessions over the beds of 
rivers, and, as we understand it, this applies whether the rivers 
are tidal or non-tidal. In declining to issue certificates they 
refer the matter to the Government, the inference being that the 
chiefs who have purported to grant concessions have no right to 
do so, but that the title over beds of rivers is in reality in the 
Government. Under English law, except where there has been 
a royal grant, the bed of a tidal river does not belong to private 
individuals, but where it is non-tidal the owners of the land 
on either side have full rights over the bed to the middle of the 
stream. It seems clear that the chiefs from time immemorial 
exercised seignioral rights over the beds of rivers. 
“ From a purely legal point of view it appears to us that it 
is an interference with the native rights ; on the other hand, we 
think there can be no doubt, from a practical standpoint, that 
it would be beneficial for the Government to take over the titles, 
and we assume that they would compensate the chiefs by giving 
them a certain proportion of the rent." 
It was resolved to bring the matter before the notice of the 
Secretary of State for the Colonies, and to ask him whether the 
information given in the foregoing statement is correct. 
Sir Alfred Jones announced that Mr. Chamberlain had 
recommended the Governor of Lagos to abolish the dues 
charged there on goods in transit to Porto Novo, and that the 
dues in question would be abolished accordingly. The com- 
mittee expressed much gratification with the statement of the 
chairman, and wrote to thank Mr. Chamberlain for his action 
in the matter. 
After the meeting, the sub-committee appointed to consider 
the Forestry Proclamation, Southern Nigeria, presented their 
report thereon, which was concluded and adopted. 
Manchester. — An ordinary meeting of the Board of 
Directors of the Chamber of Commerce was held on the 9th ult, , 
Mr. John Thomson (president) occupying the chair. 
Since the last meeting of the Board, steps have been taken 
to ascertain the opinion of the general body of the Bombay 
merchants in Manchester as to certain proposed regulations for 
the settlement of questions arising out of the occurrence of 
“ short length ’’ white piece-goods. A series of resolutions on 
the subject, adopted by a meeting of these merchants, and after- 
wards revised by the India, China, and Colonial Committee, 
was presented in the minutes of that Committee. The Com- 
mittee requested that the Bombay Chamber should be asked to 
present the regulations for the acceptance of the Bombay Native 
Piece-Goods Merchants’ Association. These read as follows : — 
(1) If the number of short pieces over and above pattern-cut 
pieces does not exceed 10 per cent, of the total number of pieces 
in any one lot of bleached mulls, jacconets, nainsooks, or tanjibs, 
delivery shall be accepted with an allowance, in respect of 
shortage over and above pattern-cut pieces, calculated at the 
rate of the sale price. (2) If the number of short-length pieces 
over and above pattern-cut pieces exceeds 10 per cent, of the 
total number of pieces in any one lot of bleached mulls, 
jacconets, nainsooks, or tanjibs, the dealer shall have the option 
of returning the excess over the 10 per cent, short in such lot. 
(3) If the number of short-length pieces over and above pattern- 
cut pieces does not exceed 15 per cent, of the total number of 
pietes in any one lot of bleached shirtings, delivery shall be 
accepted with an allowance in respect of shortage over and above 
pattern-cut pieces calculated at the rate of the sale price. (4) If 
the total number of short-length pieces over and above pattern- 
cut pieces exceeds 15 per cent, of the total number of pieces in 
any one lot of bleached shirtings, the dealer shall have the option 
of returning the excess over 15 per cent, short in such lot. The 
word “lot” is defined as meaning those goods or that instalment 
of goods which, in the terms of the contract, are to be shipped 
or delivered in any one specified period. The Board adopted 
the regulations, and ordered that a letter should be addressed to 
the Bombay Chamber, as desired by the India Committee. 
A letter received from the Imperial Department of Agri- 
culture for the West Indies (Barbadoes), accompanied by six 
samples of cotton grown in that island, was laid before the 
Board. The samples were of various kinds, five of them having 
been grown from American seed. The Department asked to be 
informed of the value of the cottons. It was stated that much 
interest is being taken in cotton cultivation in several of the 
West Indian Islands, and that many experiments are in course 
of progress. Information was desired as to the advisability of 
endeavouring to promote the commercial cultivation of cotton 
in the West Indies. It was resolved to submit the samples and 
the letter to the Committee recently appointed at the instance of 
the Oldham Chamber, to consider the question of the extension 
of the growth of cotton. 

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE OF THE PAST 
MONTH. 
April, 1902. 
UNITED KINGDOM. 
April 1st : The King visited the Royal National Hospital 
for Consumption at Ventnor. The Lord Mayor entertained the 
boys of Christ's Hospital at the Mansion House. Death of 
General W. C. Forrest, C.B. 
2nd : The King, accompanied by the Princess Henry of 
Battenberg and her children, visited Carisbrook Castle. The 
Prince and Princess of Wales left London for Copenhagen. 
The sixth meeting of the National Directory of the United Irish 
League was held in Dublin. 
3rd : At a special meeting of the Dublin Corporation, 
Mr. j. Redmond, M.P. , and Mr. P, A. McHugh, M.P, , were 
presented with the honorary freedom of the City. The King 
left Cowes for Weymouth and visited Lulworth Castle. 
4th : The King inspected the Convict Prison at Portland. 
A conference of tenant farmers was held in Belfast to consider 
the new Land Bill. 
5th : The King visited Plymouth. Death of Major-General 
Sir John Donelly, R.E., late Secretary, Science and Art 
Department, South Kensington. Euston Hall, the seat of the 
Earl of Grafton, was destroyed by fire. Death of Professor 
Meiklejohn. A serious disaster occurred at a football match at 
Glasgow ; one of the stands collapsed and 23 persons were 
killed. 
7th: The King visited the Scilly Isles. In the House of 
Commons the Licensing Bill passed the second reading. 
8th : Death of Lord Kimberley in his 77th year. The 
Queen Victoria Memorial Fund amounted to £192,000. 
9th : The King visited Penzance. In the House of 
Commons the Rating of Machinery Bill was read a second time. 
A company was formed with a capital of £5,000,000 for the 
purpose of electrifying the District Railway, and building and 
working four other underground lines, 
10th : The King visited Falmouth. A memorial service was 
held in St. Paul’s for the late Mr. Cecil Rhodes. The Irish 
Unionist Alliance held its annual meeting in Dublin. 
nth : The King returned to Cowes. A meeting was held 
at the Mansion House to further the development of commercial 
relations between Russia and Great Britain. It was announced 
that 21,000 more men would be sent to South Africa. Death of 
Viscountess Chewton. 
12th : The King returned to Buckingham Palace. Rumours 
of peace were in circulation. Sir E. Lawson laid the foundation 
stone of the new Institute of Journalists. 
14th : Lord Strathcona presented to the King an address 
from the citizens of Montreal with a gold medal commemorating 
the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Death of the 
Rev. Dr. Caleb Scott. In the House of Commons the 
Chancellor of the Exchequer made the Budget statement, 
placing duties on corn and flour. 
15th : A serious accident occurred on board the battleship 
Mars. A national conference of Evangelical Free Church 
Councils was held to protest against the Education Bill. 
Death of Sir E. T. Gourley. 
16th : The King left Buckingham Palace for Sandringham. 
Nine counties of the South and West of Ireland were 
proclaimed. 
17th : The Prince and Princess of Wales returned to 
London from Denmark. Lord G. Hamilton spoke at the annual 
dinner of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. In the 
House of Lords the second reading of the Music Copyright Bill 
was passed, 
18th : Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, opened the 
annual exhibition of the Royal Drawing Society. In the House 
of Commons, the Post Office Vote was carried. 
19th : Primrose day was observed in London. The French 
Chamber of Commerce in London held their annual banquet. 
21st : The King received the Crown Prince of Siam at 
Buckingham Palace. The Archbishop of Canterbury presided 
at the annual meeting of the Church of England Temperance 
Society. The Lord Mayor opened the Guildhall .Art Gallery 
Exhibition. 
22nd : The King was present at the Epsom Spring 
Meeting. The Queen arrived in London from Denmark. The 
Duke of Argyll opened a British Empire Missionary Exhibition 
at Kensington Town Halt In the House of Commons the 
corn and flour duties were adopted. 
24th : The Archbishop of Canterbury presided at the annual 
meeting of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in 
Foreign Parts. The Alien Immigration Commission held its 
first sitting in Westminster. 
25th : Mr. Brodrick was presented with the honorary 
freedom of the Broderers’ Company. Lord Charles Beresford 
was returned unopposed as m.p. for Woolwich, and Mr. Hugh 
Law (N.) as m.p. for Donegal West, 
26th; The King and other members of the Royal Family 
witnessed the Lacrosse Match at Lord’s between the Toronto 
Club and the Duke of Argyll’s team. Lord Alverstonc presided 
at the annual dinner of the Newspaper Press Fund. 
28th : The Archbishop of Canterbury presided at the 
annual meeting of the National Temperance League. 
29th : The King left London for Newmarket, Noncon- 
formist meetings were held in opposition to the new Education 
Bill. 
COLONIES. 
Australia. — 5th : A general order was issued for raising 
four new battalions for South Africa, to be named the Australian 
Commonwealth Horse. — 10th : The second reading of the 
Franchise Bill providing for Women’s Suffrage was passed by 
the Commonwealth Senate. 24th : The Commonwealth 
adopted the principle of Imperial Penny Postage. — New 
South Wales. — 19th : A banquet was given to Mr. Seddon, 
at Sydney. — Victoria.— 3rd : Mr. McCulloch, Minister of 
Public Works, was deputed to organise the Agent-General’s 
Office in London. — 9th: Reform meetings were held to insist on 
reduction in the expenditure on Parliament and the public 
service. — South Australia. — 2nd : The 2nd contingent for- 
South Africa embarked. 
New Zealand. — 5th : The Government decided to enrol' 
the Maoris as volunteers.— 8th : Mr. Seddon was presented wicffi 
a purse of ,£5,000 and an address in recognition of his Imperial 
services. — 14th : Mr. Seddon left for Durban, along with 500* 
men of the contingent for South Africa. 
British West Africa. — 6th: The Aro campaign was con- 
cluded, and the contingents from Lagos and Northern Nigeria 
returned to their own colonies. 
Canada. — 3rd: The Manitoba Act, restricting the sale of 
liquor, was defeated by a very large majority.— 8th : Lord 
Dundonald was appointed to the command of the Canadian 
Militia in succession to Major-General O'Grady Haly. The 
extension of the charter of the Canadian Northern Railway was 
approved by the Parliamentary Railway Committee.— 9th : The 
Canadian Pacific Railway purchased the Ottawa Northern and 
Western Railway for $4,500,000.— 10th : Mr. Borden announced 
that the active militia forces would be increased to 100,000 
men. — 28th : The fourth contingent of 2,000 men for South 
Africa was completed. 
Cape Colony. — 1st : Colonel F. Rhodes and Mr. A. Rhodes 
arrived at Cape Town.— 3rd : The funeral service for the late 
Mr. Cecil Rhodes was held at Cape Town ; the coffin was. 
conveyed by train to Rhodesia. Mr. Rhodes left in his will 
£2,000,000 for educational purposes and his residence, Grool 
Schuur as an official house for the Federal Premier. — 4th : The; 
Parliament was prorogued till August 1.— 7th: Commandant: 
Kritzinger was acquitted.— 9th : Skirmishes with scattered 
band of Boers and local rebels were reported. — 28th: The tria’i 
of Princess Radziwill for forgery was begun in the Supretr , e 
Court, at Cape Town. 
Fiji. — 9th : Sir H. M. Jackson, Governor of the Le.ew ard 
Island, was appointed Governor and Com mander-i n-Chief. 
Jamaica.— 2nd : The Government abandoned its new tax- 
ation plan, as part of the community refused to pay.- -4th : 
Rioting occurred at Montego Bay. Troops and a cruise 1 c were 
sent to suppress the rioters. 
Leeward Islands.— 9th : Sir G. Strickland, Chief Secretary 
at Malta, was appointed Governor. 
Natal. — 1st : The northern districts were strongly protected 
by blockhouses; a portion of the troops from India were sent 
up country. — 15th: A Bill was introduced into Tarliament 
creating a burgher force and establishing universal -compulsory 
service. — 23rd : The Burgher Bill was withdrawn. 
Newfoundland. — 15th: The Premier announced that he 
had secured the entry of Newfoundland fish into Portugal on 
the same terms as Norwegian fish. 
Rhodesia, — 8th : The train conveying the remains of Mr. 
Cecil Rhodes arrived at Bulawayo. — 16th: The body of the 
late Mr. C. Rhodes was interred in the Mato'jpos. 24th : It 
was reported that Mr. R. Williams had been gr anted a conces- 
sion for a railway from the northern frontier.* of Rhodesia to 
Lake Kasai i, Congo Free State. 
Orange River Colony.— 8th : De Wet's brother, Piet de 
Wet, was authorised to raise another burgher corps for the 
Colony. 
Transvaal. — 1st: The Boers under Delarey and Kemp 
were utterly routed near the Hast River and dispersed; the 
Canadian Rifles greatly distinguished themselves.— 2nd : The 
Boer delegates succeeded in communicating with Mr. Steyn. 
6th : It was reported that Caspar Kruger had taken the oath of 
allegiance. The total number of Boers in the field was estimated 
at 8,000.— 7th: Lord Kitchener reported that Commandant 
Erasmus had been killed near Boshof. — 9th : The Boer leaders 
held a conference with Mr. Schalk Burger, Mr. Reitz, and the 
other peace delegates at Klerksdorp. Increasing numbers of 
native labourers arrived on the Rand. — 12th: The members 
of the Boer Transvaal “Government,” with Generals Botha, 
Delarey, and De Wet and Mr. Steyn, arrived in Pretoria.— 
13th :— Colonel Colenbrander captured the greater portion of 
Beyer’s laager.— 18th : The Boer delegates and leaders left 
Pretoria to confer with the burghers in the field as to terms 
of peace,— 22nd : Mr. Reitz and Mr. Jacobs left Balmoral for 
Pietersburg to meet Commandant Beyers. 
INDIA. 
3rd : The number of persons on famine relief was repo /fed' 
to be 395,000.— 5th : An agreement was made for the preser- 
vation of order among the Mahsud tribesmen. — 8th : News 
was received that a party of Punjabi rifles had been ambushed 
by a gang of outlaws near Joi Klmla.— 15th : The number on 
famine relief was 359,000.-1711-1 : The question of the Berars was 
settled, the Nizam relinquishing all territorial claims, and 
receiving thirty lakhs annually in lieu of surplus revenues.— 
19th : Lord Curzon arrived at Delhi to inspect sites and plans. 
in connection with the Coronation Durbar in January next. 
26th : Lord Curzon held a durbar of chiefs and representatives of 
the North-West Frontier Province of Peshawar, and explained 
the policy of the Government towards the frontier tribes. 
FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 
Argentine Republic. — 2nd: The Government decided to- 
purchase two additional warships at a cost of £2,000,000. 
13th : The Government accepted the tender of the Creusot 
Company to build a harbour at Rosario at a cost of 53,000,000 fr. 
Austria-Hungary. — gth : Count von Billow arrived in. 
Vienna. 
Belgium. — 9th : Socialist disturbances took place in 
Brussels, Liige, and Ghent ; troops were called to arms. — 10th : 
The Socialists demanded universal suffrage. The rioting 
increased.— 12th : Further riots were reported in Brussels.— 
14th : A general strike of workers commenced. — 23rd : Work 
throughout the country was resumed. 
Chili. — 9th : The Chambers were opened. 
China. 1st : Russia agreed to withdraw from Manchuria 
within eight months.— 4th: The Chinese internal postciQsystcm. 
