by the Imperial Customs at Swatow amounts approximately to Tls. 1,500.000.
There are three post offices—the German, the Imperial Japanese, and the Imperial Chinese; the latter, which is under European supervision, is the best managed. New post offices are being constructed, and. near them, examination halls and quarters.
There are no public works at present, though a waterworks scheme has been projected. An electric lighting plant was at one time installed by private enterprise, but, owing to dispute amongst the directors upon the subject of finance, the plant was closed down after working only four months.
Among the largest commercial undertakings are those of the Royal Dutch and Asiatic Petroleum Company, Limited (which absorbed the Shell Transport and Royal Dutch Companies, established in Swatow for many years). and the Standard Oil Company. Both are doing a thriving business. On the other hand, the sugar refinery erected at Kak Chieh, by Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co., Ltd.. was closed, partly on account of the disfavour into which Swatow sugar fell, and partly owing to the heavy taxes imposed by the Government. It remains to this day known as the "white elephant" of Swatow.
The religious and educational institutions of the district are doing useful work. A branch of the English Presbyterian Mission was established in Amoy in 1847, and it was extended to Swatow in 1857, and to Formosa in 1870. There is now a centre in Chao-chow-fu. The Mission has a theological college at Swatow, a high school for boys, with room for forty scholars, and a high school for girls, with accommodation for about sixty. Dr. Lyall has charge of a general hospital, and Dr. Beath of a women's hospital; and there is also a book shop in connection with the Mission. The clement of commercialism so often deplored in relation to mission work is entirely absent, as the Mission is self-supporting.
There is also an Anglo-Chinese college, named the "To Chiang," after the river. It was built entirely with Chinese capital, subscribed by merchants in Swatow, half of the sum of $40,000 being given by Mr. Chen Yu Ting. It was commenced in 1905 and completed in the following year, affording accommodation for one hundred scholars. It is under the control of the English Presbyterian Mission.
There is also a branch of the Mission Catholique, under the Rev. Fr. Douspis; while on the Kak Chieh side the American Baptist Union has an establishment.
There are no temples in Swatow of any age or interest, except, perhaps, the large temple, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, on Double Island.
Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United States have Consular representation in Swatow.
There are two clubs, each provided with a billiard room and library. The Swatow Club has two tennis courts, while that at Kialat, on the opposite side of the river, has a fine bowling alley. The use of these clubs by members' wives on certain afternoons for their "at homes" adds much to their value in the social life of the community.
CHAO-CHOW-FU.
Chao-chow-fu, the provincial capital and seat of local government, is easily reached from Swatow, the journey of 24½ miles being covered in an hour and a half. The railway was constructed by Japanese contractors for a syndicate of Singapore Chinese, with a capital of $2,000,000. Work was begun in 1904, and the line was opened for traffic on November 25, 1906, though as yet no freight is carried. The engines and rails are of American make, but the carriages, like the working staff, came from Japan. The line lies through charming scenery—orange groves, rice-fields, and tobacco plantations, interspersed with bananas, persimmons, and other vegetation, succeeding each other in pleasing panorama.
Chao-chow-fu, which is 6½ li in length and 3 li in breadth, and is surrounded by high moss-grown walls, pierced at intervals for cannon, has a population estimated at about 120,000 inhabitants.
The Roman Catholic Church, a majestic pile, completed in 1905, rears its lofty spire near the railway station, and is one of the first objects to arrest attention. It bears solid witness to the perseverance of the sturdy priests, who, after years of unremitting toil and endless trouble, succeeded in erecting it upon the site of what was once a stagnant pool of water.
The narrow streets of the poorer part of the town teem with life, human and animal. They give place to more spacious quarters, where attractive-looking shops display a wealth of foreign goods of all descriptions, and beyond are walled lanes leading to charming residences.
