Am.  Jour.  Pharm  ) 
Aug.  1,  1874.  | 
The  Camphor  Trade. 
387 
intimidation,  and  persecution  by  Chinese  agents,  with  many  other 
obstacles  placed  in  the  way  of  British  merchants  by  the  native  offi- 
cials, almost  amounted  to  a  revival  of  the  monopoly,  the  abolition  of 
which  represented  an  annual  loss  to  the  government  of  60,000  dol- 
lars. These  obstacles  required  to  be  removed  to  induce  British  mer- 
chants to  embark  their  capital  in  a  trade  subject  to  such  arbitrary 
and  oppressive  interruptions.  At  the  port  of  Tamsuy  the  principal 
article  is  camphor,  and  perhaps  the  most  interesting,  since  Tamsuy 
seems  to  be  the  main  source  from  which  the  supply  is  obtained  for  the 
European  market.  The  export  of  1869  was  not  quite  equal  to  that 
of  1868,  but  was  much  above  the  average  of  former  years.  The 
camphor  trade  seems  always  to  have  been  carried  on  in  the  midst  of 
various  claims  and  disputes.  In  the  earlier  part  of  that  year  several 
boatloads  of  camphor  in  which  English  merchants  were  interested  had 
been  plundered  in  the  upper  part  of  the  river.  The  cause  of  the 
plundering  was  alleged  to  have  been  some  dispute  among  the  Chinese 
camphor  dealers  themselves,  but  pecuniary  reparation  was  made  to 
the  owners  by  the  mandarins.  At  Taiwan,  in  1870,  the  export  was 
valued  at  £5,316,  but  the  trade  had  been  attended  in  the  south  of  the 
island  with  suchheavy  losses,  owing  to  the  local  action  of  the  mandarins, 
that  no  fresh  operations  were  commenced.  In  1871,  at  Tamsuy,  the 
trade  had  met  with  discouragement  in  consequence  of  the  Hong  Kong 
prices.  The  following  figures,  extracted  from  the  Consular  Reports,  will 
best  show  the  commerce  at  the  two  ports  where  the  camphor  is  exported, 
and  it  will  be  observed  that  the  trade  at  Taiwan  has  dwindled  to  the 
small  value  of  £212,  and  that  it  is  now  almost  entirely  confined  to  the 
more  northerly  port  of  Tamsuy.    The  exports  were  as  follows : 
• 
Taiwan. 
Tamsuy. 
Piculs 
£ 
Cwis. 
18G8 
2,195 
17,148 
1869  . 
3,393 
16,425 
29,330 
1870 
2,863 
5,316 
17,239 
29,080 
1871  . 
11,537 
15,048 
1872 
95 
212 
12,239 
23,363 
