Vol. VIII. No. 96. 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
[December, 1902.] 329 
MONTHLY COMMERCIAL AND 
INDUSTRIAL SUMMARIES. 
GENERAL COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY. 
COLONIES. 
Cape Colony.— Import and Export Trade.— The Cape 
imports for the nine months ended September amounted to 
£22,414,886 (including specie £2,010,465), against £15,141,743 
(including specie £2,523,568) for the corresponding period last 
year. The exports were £10,956,416 (including specie £100,040), 
against £8,478,929 (including specie £153,049). The exports 
also included gold of the value of £3,542,070, against 
£1, 1x9,320 last year. 
Ceylon. — Exports and Imports. — The report by the 
Colonial Secretary for Ceylon, shows that there has been a 
decline in the imports and exports for the past year. The value 
of the former, exclusive of specie, amounted to Rs. 104,050,000, 
as against Rs. 114,544,000 for the previous twelve months, while 
that of the exports was Rs. 100, 182,000, or nearly Rs,6,ooo,ooo 
less than for the corresponding period. The exports of Ceylon 
produce were Rs. 85,977,000, a decrease of Rs.4,89i,ooo, which 
is mainly attributed to the smaller shipments of tea, the valua- 
tion of which also declined from 36 cents a pound to 33 cents 
in the year under review. Exports to the United Kingdom fell 
from Rs. 56, 295, 500 in 1900, to Rs. 50, 158,700, but shipments to 
British colonies rose from Rs. 18,086,700 in 1900 to Rs. 18,995,000, 
and those to foreign countries from Rs.20,580,000 to 
Rs.20,775,700. 
Tea. — The export of tea, the report says, seems at last to 
be reaching its maximum, and shows a slight decrease on the 
figures of 1900, the quantity exported being 145,188,2001b,, as 
compared with 148,431,600 lb. Part of the decrease is, however, 
made up by the export of 1,110,7741b. of green tea, most of 
which went to America. The export to Russia and Australia 
has increased, that of black tea to America decreased, but the 
decrease is more than made up by the green tea. The average 
price is the lowest as yet recorded, 6 - 86d. against 7'2od. in 1900, 
but towards the end of the year prices considerably improved. 
The industry has not suffered from any very serious outbreaks 
of disease, and planting has not extended. 
Indiarubber. — It appears that the cultivation of india- 
rubber continues to extend in suitable districts in the island, 
and samples prepared from several estates have obtained very 
good prices on the home market, considerably higher, in fact, 
than those realised by the best South American rubber. The 
export of this commodity is now going steadily on, 66 cwt. 
having been shipped last year. The plumbago industry, on the 
other hand, has been suffering from depression during the year, 
and the number of mines working in the north-west province 
fell from 50 to 23. This is due to the low prices prevailing, 
which rendered the production of all but the highest class of 
plumbago unremunerative. It is believed, however, that the 
introduction of improved plant would, enable many of the mines 
now idle to be worked at a profit, and in some cases steam 
pumps have already been used with good results. 
Faming in Jamaica. — Sir Allred Jones has written with 
reference to the possibilities of Jamaica, to insist on what he 
thinks would be an immense advantage to young Englishmen — 
namely, to go to Jamaica. When he was there he was struck 
■with the great opportunities for young British farmers, as many 
of the fine old estates can be obtained for very little money. 
The prospects are very great. For instance, there is fruit- 
growing, and there is a possibility of the sugar industry 
returning. There is, moreover, a very fair prospect of these estates 
being made profitable for cattle-raising and horse-breeding. 
Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Co. have offered to carry pedigree 
stock freight free, and if any young British farmer would care 
to go out, say for 12 months, to learn farming, there would 
be every probability of success, provided he had the means of 
purchasing a farm at the end of the year for, say, £5,000. 
Sir A. L. Jones states that he has seen several such estates which 
have given a return of 20 per cent, merely out of cattle- and horse- 
breeding. There are many farms where pupils can live for 35s. 
or £2 a week. It is no use a man going out to any place unless 
he understands what he has got to do. The climate is 
delightful, and the life is exceedingly pleasant. Now is the time 
for the young British farmer to go to Jamaica and capture 
estates at very low rates. He says that if there is any informa- 
tion he can give anybody on the points raised, he will be only too 
pleased. 
Irrigation in South Africa. — Regarding the prospects of 
irrigation, The Engineer reports that nothing on a large scale is 
being done in the matter at present, or is likely to be done in the 
immediate future. There is a scheme before the Cape Colonial 
■Government involving an estimated outlay of less than £200,000. 
It is doomed in advance to fall through, not on its merits, but 
for political reasons only. The Government have not been 
successful in the small amount of irrigation work that they have 
done so far, and in Parliament it is argued that if they were 
unsuccessful before, they must assuredly be so again. Suffice it 
to say here that the Government for the moment will not take 
up this matter, and that the laws of this country relating to 
diverting your neighbours’ water supply are so complex and 
stringent that, except in a few special instances, it is impossible 
for a private individual or company to undertake such work. 
Undoubtedly there is scope for really efficient dam engineers 
here, and the Government are talking of appointing a special 
permanent hydraulic engineer. 
Machinery in Hew Zealand. — Messrs. G. H, Grapes and 
Co., horticultural merchants of Paraparaumu, Wellington, 
New Zealand, write to be placed in touch with manufacturers of 
wood-working machinery for fruit cases and boxes for packing 
glass, especially those making a suitable description of 
reciprocating three-bladed gang-saw machines ; also with makers 
of the apparatus necessary for the equipment of a small fruit- 
preserving plant (suitable for turning out 1,000 to 10,000 two- 
pound glass jars of jam per diem), and for jelly making and fruit 
bottling ; also with makers of first-class fruit-grading machinery 
on the automatic principle — the above to be worked by a 
12-horse-power engine; 
Prospects in Manitoba. — An interesting statement in 
regal'd to the possibilities of Manitoba has just been prepared 
by Mr. McKellar, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture for that 
province. He places the total area of Manitoba, Assiniboia, 
Saskatchewan and Alberta at 230,823,000 acres, and, deducting 
forests, mountains, swamps, arid districts and road allowances, 
he estimates the amount of desirable farm land as follows : — 
Acres. 
Manitoba 
Assiniboia 
Saskatchewan 
Alberta - 
23.000. 000 
19.000. 000 
17.000. 000 
16.000. 000 
Total 
75,000,000 
Of this 75,000,000 acres it is estimated that 20,000,000 in 
Manitoba and 10,000,000 in the Territories have already passed 
out of the hands of the’ 4 Dominion Government and the railway 
companies, a£ hom^eads or by sale. This. leaves 45,090,0*00 
gores of farming lands yet to he disposed of,. ,!n the year endipg 
IO 
30th June last, 2,373,120 acres were homesteads, while there 
were sold of railway lands in the same period approximately 
2,126,880 acres, or a total of 4,500,000 acres. Mr. McKellar 
points out that the possibilities of production have been barely 
touched. Of the 23,000,000 acres of farm lands in Manitoba, 
for instance, only 3,189,015 acres are under crop this year, and, 
say, 500,000 acres summer-fallowed, making in all 3,689,015 
acres broken. ‘ 1 Within the next ten years we may expect at 
least 10,000,000 acres to be under cultivation," says Mr. McKellar. 
“ Computing the increased acreage in ten years by last year's 
acreage in crop, Manitoba will then be producing in one year 
168,340,280 bushels of wheat, 92,655,290 bushels of oats, 
21,787,180 bushels of barley, and in all grains 283,932,860 
bushels.” Assuming a similar increase in acreage in the Terri- 
tories, and making allowance for varying local conditions, it is 
computed that the crop in Manitoba and the Territories ten years 
from now will be 350,000,000 bushels of wheat, 200,000,000 
bushels of oats, and 50,000,000 bushels of barley. This estimate 
is on a basis which will mean the cropping of only a little over 
20.000. 000 of the 75,000,000 acres, or 43 acres out of every 160, 
so that when the full possibilities of that vast area are achieved, 
and the crop area will be more like three times that number of 
acres, the grain production would be over 1,000,000,000 bushels 
of wheat, 600,000,000 bushels of oats, and 150.000,000 bushels 
of barley. That would still leave 14,000,000 of the 75,000,000 
acres unbroken for pasture or hay, and takes no account of 
the remaining areas, at least 100,000,000 acres in extent, of 
swamp land, forest, arid belts, etc., much of which will be, as it 
at present is, found useful for grazing purposes. 
In the event of Mr. McKellar's estimate of the grain pro- 
duction ten years hence being realised, it is claimed that there 
will be available for export 300,000,000 bushels of wheat, and 
100.000. 000 bushels of oats, which would require for its transport 
a train as long as from Vancouver to Montreal. 
Queensland. — The New Land Bill. — The measure 
introduced into the Queensland Parliament for the relief of the 
pastoral tenants of the Crown has met with fairly general 
approval. The extensions in the settled districts of Darling 
Downs and Burnett have a minimum of ten years, while else- 
where, throughout the whole State, twenty-one years has been 
added to the existing term of leases, with a general maximum 
of forty-two years. The Bill retains the power to resume a 
fourth of the area under the existing leases, but this power 
lapses if it be not exercised before the existing lease expires. 
Power has also been taken to resume another fourth during the 
currency of the extended lease, but the holding is irreducible 
below forty thousand acres, unless the Court considers that 
public interest requires it. The lessees are allowed to select 
one of their holdings during currency, and to retain priority at 
the end of the extended lease, as in the Act of 1901. A lessee 
coming under the new Act surrenders his present lease and also 
the right of compensation for improvements under the Acts of 
1884 "and 1886. The sections dealing with grazing farms 
provide that the present holders shall have the right to purchase 
freeholds at the minimum price of xos. an acre, payment 
extending over a period of nineteen years. — Reuter. 
West Indies and West Africa. — The West India Com- 
mittee states that Mr. Chamberlain has transmitted, for the 
information of the committee, a despatch from the Governor of 
Barbados on the subject of the establishment of a trade in 
sugar, rum and molasses between the West Indies and West 
Africa. Mr. Chamberlain is addressing a despatch on the 
subject to the Governors of the Gold Coast, Lagos, Sierra 
Leone, and the Gambia, and to -the High Commissioners of 
Northern and Southern Nigeria, as desired by Sir F. Hodgson, 
but not to the Governor of Natal, Natal being itself a sugar- 
producing colony. The following is the text of Sir Frederic 
Hodgson’s despatch : — “ Government-house, Sept. 2, 1902. Sir, 
— I have the honour to inform you that in May last I received 
a letter from a Mr. Alfred Isaacs, a merchant doing businsss in 
in St. Louis, Senegal, suggesting the shipment of sugar to West 
Africa, where, he said, it would find a ready market. From 
my knowledge of the country and of the people, 1 believe that 
it would, if it could be shipped in packages suitable for the 
purposes of sale. The matter has been under the consideration 
of the Barbados Agricultural Society, and, as the outcome of 
their deliberations, it has been decided to make up samples of 
sugar, molasses and rum made in Barbados, and to transmit 
them to the Governors of Natal, the Gold Coast, Lagos, and 
Sierra Leone, the High Commissioners of Northern and 
Southern Nigeria, and the Administrator of the Gambia. If 
you concur, 1 beg leave to ask that you will do me the favour 
of sending a circular despatch to the Governors and High 
Commissioners of the colonies in question, requesting them to 
submit the samples to the chambers of commerce, or, in the 
absence of such chambers, to the principal merchants, and that 
the following information be obtained, namely: — (a) Whether 
there is likely to be a demand for any of the articles repre- 
sented by the samples sent, and, if so, what would be the 
probable quantities ; (£) in the event of there being the likeli- 
hood of a demand, what merchants will undertake to receive 
shipments ; (z) in what kind of packages the articles should be 
shipped and the weight of each package ; (d) whether it would 
be possible to obtain from each person willing to buy any of the 
articles a pro forma sale for, say, ten tons of sugar and 
100 gallons of molasses or rum ; (e) what is the rate of exchange 
between each colony and protectorate and England. It would, 
I think, be very useful to create a new market for sugar in West 
Africa, and I shall be glad to learn that you will assist the 
Government of Barbados in this matter. I propose, with your 
consent, that the samples, properly packed and addressed, be 
sent to the Crown Agents for the Colonies for shipment to each 
colony. I have, etc. — (Signed) F. M. Hodgson," 
FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 
France. — Import and Export Trade. — According 
to the official report of the French Government the 
value of imports into that country between January 1 and 
September 30 last amounted to 3,269,221,000 francs, as 
against 3,268,515,000 francs for the same period of the year 
previous, while the total exports were 3,099,771,000 francs, 
as against 2,948,451,000 francs the preceding year. The 
total imports between January 1 and September 30 last were, 
therefore, greater than the total exports by 169,456,000 francs. 
These figures for the nine months of 1902, compared with the 
nine months of 1901, are divided as follows : — 
Francs. 
Imports. 
1902, 
1901. 
Foods and foodstuffs . . 
565.783,°°° 
559 . 799 .ooo 
Industrial materials . . 
2,130,707,000 
2 rt 34 . 393 .ooo 
Manufactures .... 
572, 73 L 000 
574,323,000 
Totals . . . 
3,269,221,000 
3,268,515,000 
•Exports. 
Foods and foodstuffs . . 
500,132,000 
526,279,000 
Industrial materials , . 
857,881,000 
744,161,000 
Manufactures . . . ' 
1,568,505,000 
1,512,213,000 
Postal packages . . ' T 
1 73. 253,000 
165,798,000 
, .1 j , . Totals . • . * > 
- 3 .° 99 , 77 LQOQ 
2,948,451,000 
Importations of manufactures show a decrease of 1,792,000 
francs, indicating that domestic industries have been able to 
struggle more successfully with outside competition. The 
decrease in foods and foodstuffs is more than made up for by 
the increases in industrial materials and manufactures, as well as 
by the increase in postage packages, an important item, being 
composed largely of manufactured objects. 
The trade returns for October have also been issued. 
With the exception of the imports of raw materials, which 
amounted to 123,000,000 francs, against 124,000,000 francs in 
the corresponding month of last year, they show increases. The 
exports of raw materials are set down at 102,000,000 francs, 
against 92,000,000 francs. The exports of manufactured goods 
amounted to 181,000,000 francs, against 173,000,000 francs. 
The parcel post exports were of the value of 19,000,000 francs, 
against 17,000,000 francs. The imports of manufactured goods 
amounted to 65,000,000 francs, showing a slight increase of 
about 130,000 francs. 
Germany. — Foreign Trade Returns. — The complete 
returns regarding the foreign trade of Germany for the year 1901 
have now been made public by the Imperial Statistical Office, 
From 1897 to 1900 the exports of Germany, like those of the 
United States during the same period, steadily increased. 
Imports also made marked gains, though the total increase was 
not so great as in the case of exports. Then came a sudden 
period of decline, both exports and imports for 1901 falling 
considerably below the corresponding totals for the preceding 
year. The following table shows the exports and imports of 
Germany by continents for 1900 and 1901, and the 
increase or 
decrease in each case : — 
Exports. 
Increase or 
Decrease. 
From 
X90I* 
IQOO. 
Europe . . 
$932,910,534 
$977,867,578 
— 
$44,957,044 
America . . 
I 55 . i6 7,893 
173,106,611 
— 
17 . 938 , 7 lS 
Africa . . . 
17,956,728 
19,861,660 
— 
1,904.932 
Asia . . . 
51,940,521 
57,189,564 
— 
5,249,043 
Australasia . 
13 . 769,595 
12,577,078 
1,192,517 
$1,171,745,271 
$1,240,602,491 
— 
$68,858,220 
Imports. 
From 
Increase or 
1901, 
1900, 
Decrease. 
Europe . . 
$884,592,116 
$984,622,900 
— $100,030,784 
America . . 
420,293,396 
414,868,554 
5,424,843 
Africa . . . 
30,768,343 
35,769,843 
— 
5,001,500 
Asia , . . 
95.465.350 
89,957,269 
+ 
5,508,081 
Australasia . 
27,813,780 
30,770,361 
2,956,581 
$1,458,932,985 
$ 1 , 555 , 988,927 
— 
$ 97 , 055,942 

LABOUR MARKET. 
UNITED KINGDOM. 
Employment Changes. — According to the Labour Gazette 
the general state of employment in October showed no appreci- 
able change as compared with the previous month, but it 
continued to be decidedly worse than a year ago, and was below 
the average for the month of October in the last ten years. In 
the 223 trade unions, with an aggregate membership of 548,442, 
making returns, 27,270 (or 5*0 per cent.) were reported as 
unemployed at the end of October, as compared with 3 ’7 per 
cent, in the 216 unions, with a membership of 544,827, from which 
returns were received in October, 1901, The mean percentage 
of unemployed returned at the end of October during the ten 
years 1892-1901 was 47. 
Trade Disputes. 
Twenty-three fresh trade disputes began in October, 
involving 12,229 workpeople, of whom 10,423 were 
directly, and 1,806 indirectly affected; the corresponding 
number of disputes in September was 18, affecting 6,864 work- 
people, and in October, 1901, 26, affecting 10,501 workpeople. 
Of the 23 new disputes in October, 1902, 2 took place in the 
building trades, 7 in the mining industry, 7 in metal, engineering 
and shipbuilding trades, 5 in textile trades, and 2 in other 
trades. Of the 27 new and old disputes affecting 9,386 work- 
people, of which definite results were reported, 5, involving 
3,220 persons, were decided in favour of the workpeople, 14, 
involving 3,440 persons, in favour of the employers, and 8, 
involving 2,698 persons, were compromised. 
Changes in Wages. 
The changes in rates of wages reported during October 
affected 47,950 workpeople, of whom 20,280 received 
advances, and 27,670 sustained decreases. The net effect 
of all the changes was a decrease averaging 6d. weekly 
per head of those affected. The changes of the previous month 
affected 135,000 workpeople, the net result being a decrease 
averaging 9fd. weekly per head. 
During October, 1901, the number affected was 17,700, and 
the net weekly result was an increase averaging fd. weekly per 
head. 
The principal advances reported were those affecting 5,500 
coal miners in the Forest of Dean, 6,400 ironstone miners and 
5,500 blast-furnacemen in Cleveland. The principal decreases 
affected about 27,400 workpeople engaged in the shipbuilding 
industry on the North-East Coast. 
COLONIES. 
Canada. — The last monthly report of the Canadian Depart- 
ment of Labour shows that skilled mechanics had been very 
busily employed in the building and other trades, that lumber- 
men had been very busy and good hands were scarce, and that 
owing to the good harvests, both in the east and the north-west, 
farm labourers and harvesters had been in great demand. It is 
too late in the season, however, for anyone other than female 
servants to emigrate this year to Canada, unless he goes to 
friends, or has enough means of his own to keep him while work 
is slack in winter. A good many coal miners in British Columbia 
are out of work, but in Nova Scotia there is a demand for skilled 
men. 
Australia (New| South Wales).— No one is recommended 
to emigrate to New South Wales at the present time unless he 
is a skilled plumber, or has means of his own, or has secured 
employment. Large numbers of miners (except coal miners), 
pastoralists and others are out of work owing to the severity of 
the drought, which has now lasted over six years, and it will be 
scarcely possible to provide work for all of these on either the 
reproductive or relief works initiated by the Government. The 
only opening at the present time is for female labour, either in 
domestic service or in boot and shoe and clothing factories. The 
annual report on the Metropolitan and Newcastle factories for 1901 
shows that the number of registered factories increased from 2,047 
in 1900 to 2,195 in 1901, and the number of employees from 39, 104 
to 42,273. The principal increases were in the meat-preserving, 
jam and fruit canning, bacon-curing, shirt-making, and glass 
bottle-making factories. The building trades and engineering 
shops wer£ well employed during the year more than .half tho 
