Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China/Chefoo
CHEFOO.
VEN if it should never be known as a great centre for trade, Chefoo, under an enterprising administration, might quickly become one of the most popular summer resorts in the Far East. It has a climate which is not surpassed in any other part of China, for, while the winter, extending from December to March, is severe, and rain and heat form a rather unpleasant combination in July and August, the spring months are delightful, and the autumn, with its succession of warm days, tempered with cool breezes, provides almost ideal holiday conditions. In the season, tourist tickets, at a reduced cost for the return passage, are issued from Shanghai, which is but two days' journey away, by the Indo-China Steam Navigation Company, the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company, the China Navigation Company, and the Russian East Asiatic Steamship Company, while regular steamship communication between the two places is maintained, also, by the Nippon Yusen Kaisha and the Osaka Shosen Kaisha. The town possesses two excellent hotels, and a number of good boarding-houses, which are always filled with visitors during the season. There are several well-conducted schools to which children are sent from all parts of the East, as much in the interest of their health as of their education. Social intercourse is promoted by means of a comfortable Club, and races are held towards the end of September. But, in spite of many advantages, which might easily be turned to better account, the development of Chefoo, it is generally agreed, is being retarded owing to the absence of any clearly defined progressive policy on the part of the authorities.
The port was opened to foreign trade in 1863. Altogether, some four hundred foreigners have their names registered at the various Consulates, but more than half of these are missionaries who live inland. There is no formally recognised settlement, or concession, but simply a foreign quarter which is controlled and maintained by a General Purposes committee, deriving its revenue from voluntary contributions. Besides an assessment on property-holders there is a poll-tax of $10 per annum, which all male residents are supposed to pay, but as there is no recognised authority to enforce collection the funds at the disposal of the committee are often not so large as they should be. For a number of years many of the residents have cherished a hope that a settlement, under a properly constituted authority, and with well-defined regulations, would be established in Chefoo as in several of the other Treaty ports, but as this hope has been so long deferred, efforts are being made to form a local board, composed jointly of Chinese and foreigners, to take over administrative work, and draw up rules and regulations for the efficient control of local affairs, a good water supply, for example, is urgently needed, and if the funds were forthcoming it would be a task of no great difficulty to build a reservoir among the hills at the back of the town, from which water could be supplied under its own pressure. The rain in July and August would alone be sufficient, it is believed, to keep the stock replenished, and additional water might possibly be obtained by sinking artesian wells.
Chefoo, which in 1900 was connected by telegraph cables with Tientsin, Port Arthur, Weihaiwei, Tsingtau, and Shanghai, is in the line of communication between the ports of India, South China, Japan, Korea, and Manchuria, and is a regular port of call for many tramp steamers, thirty or forty vessels sometimes entering and clearing in one day. But the necessity for proper harbour works, including a protecting breakwater and quay, is recognised by the whole mercantile community, for strong northerly gales are experienced in the late autumn, and the roadstead furnishes but an uncomfortable anchorage. It is generally taken for granted that after a vessel arrives in port the safety of inward cargo is assured, but, owing to the exposed condition of the harbour at Chefoo, it is at this point where the greatest danger arises. In 1906 nearly two months were lost to trade through stress of weather.
But while Chefoo's importance as a trading centre has, up to the present, been inconsiderable there are undoubted possibilities of development. The port supplies Vladivostock and Siberia with upwards of one hundred thousand coolies annually, and this traffic alone furnishes business for a considerable number of steamers.
The local silk industry is a very important one. A high percentage of the cocoons which come to China from Korea and Manchuria are used here, and foreign silk and hand-made silk laces are manufactured in large quantities. Chefoo is also the centre of a large fruit growing district, and the vine is now being cultivated with the object of producing wine on a fairly extensive scale. A railway, which has been projected from Fuchan-Shein to Wei-Shien, a distance of about 170 miles, should give a great impetus to trade. A company, formed by some prominent Chinese merchants, has been registered under the Board of Posts and Communications, and half the required capital of Tls. 8,000,000 has already been raised. It is expected that the work of construction will be commenced next spring.
The value of the trade of Chefoo for 1907 was Tls. 28,646,513, as compared with Tls. 34,740,267, in 1906, and Tls. 39,131,384 in 1905. The net foreign imports declined from Tls. 17,156,771 in 1905, to Tls. 14,799,778 in 1906, and to Tls. 10,630,697 in 1907; and the net native imports from Tls. 10,022,488 in 1905, to Tls. 7,977,090 in 1906, and to Tls. 7,296,744 in 1907. Exports, while increasing from Tls. 11,952,125 in 1905, to Tls. 11,963,399 in 1906, fell to Tls. 10,719,072 in 1907. Chefoo's contribution to the Customs revenue during 1907 was Tls. 633,243, against Tls. 818,322 in 1906, and Tls. 871,607 in 1905. Bean-cake is the chief item of export, the net quantity sent away during 1907 amounting to 1,000,431 piculs, against 1,144,814 piculs in 1906, and 1,233,180 piculs in 1905. Other leading articles of export are silk, straw-braid, ground-nuts and vermicelli. Chefoo has in Kiaochau, the other port for the Shantung Province, a keen rival, and unless the promised railway communication is soon forthcoming, Chefoo is likely to be relegated to the second place.
THE BRITISH CONSUL.
Mr. Herbert F. Brady, British Consul at Chefoo, was born in Dublin in 1854, and was educated in Weimar, Germany, at Dr. Stackpoole's School, Kingstown, and at the College Chaptal, Paris. After passing a competitive Examination for a Student-Interpretership, he was attached to the Peking Consulate, and has since held consular appointments at numerous stations in China. He was instrumental in acquiring the site of the Kenling Settlement, at Ichang, where he established a local post-office and brought out an issue of stamps. Mr. Brady is married, and has one son, who is being educated at Charterhouse.
Vice-Consul for Russia, Chefoo.
THE RUSSIAN CONSUL.
Mr. Christofer Kristy, Russian Consul at Chefoo, was born in 1872 in South Russia, and was educated at Ismail and at St. Petersburg University, where he took degrees and a First in Science and Oriental Languages. In 1897 he entered the Foreign Office at St. Petersburg, and a year later was despatched to Peking. He was transferred to Newchwang in 1900, and remained there through the Boxer troubles until 1903. He then went home on leave, but when the Russo-Japanese war broke out he had to return hurriedly to Port Arthur, and during the hostilities he was engaged in various districts. In recognition of his services he received the Russian Order of St. Stanislas, Second Degree. He has, also, the Order of Boukhara and the Order of the Double Dragon.
THE NORWEGIAN CONSUL.
Dr. Otto K. R. Gulowsen, in addition to being Surgeon to the Chefoo General Hospital and Medical Officer to the Imperial Maritime Customs, holds the office of Consul for Norway and for Sweden. He was born in 1867 in Norway, and was educated at Christiania University, Liverpool, and Paris, taking degrees in each place. He came out to Chefoo in 1896. Dr. Gulowsen holds many decorations from different governments.
THE BELGIAN CONSUL.
Mr. Oscar H. Anz, head of the firm of Anz & Co., was appointed Belgian Consul in 1903. Born at Hamburg in 1877, he was educated at Dusseldorf and Bergedorf, and came to Chefoo in 1893.
COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS.
Mr. Francis Skipwith Unwin, Commissioner of Customs at Chefoo, was born in 1849 at Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and received his education at Lancing, Tonbridge, and privately on the Continent. Since 1868, when he came out to Foochow, he has held various posts in almost all the ports and river stations in China.
MR. LI TSOI CHEE.
Mr. Li Tsoi Chee, who holds the rank of Taoutai, and is Secretary to the Customs Taoutai, of Chefoo, was born in the province of Kwangtung in 1860, and was educated at the Government Central School, now Queen's College, Hongkong. At the age of twenty he came to Chefoo and joined the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company as chief assistant, having, in that capacity, charge of the office. Soon afterwards he was appointed agent of the Chinese Engineering and Mining Company, Ltd., at Chefoo. In 1900 he was re-transferred to the Steam Navigation Company as manager of the establishment, and he holds this position at the present time. Mr. Li has been twice decorated—first, with the Russian Order of St. Ann; and secondly, with the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, Fourth Class.
THE CHEFOO CLUB.
As far as can be ascertained, the Chefoo Club had its origin in the sixties, when Mr. W. A. Cornabé, who then owned the premises in which the Club is housed, transferred the property to a number of shareholders. The structure contains two billiard-rooms, a card-room, a bar, a reading-room, and a library, which for so small a Club is well stocked. There are some fifty members, and they represent between them eight or nine different nationalities. The existing premises are, of course, very old, and there has been considerable talk of rebuilding them at an early date; but so far nothing definite has been decided on. Mr. C. L. L. Williams is the hon. secretary, and Mr. A. Graeber, the hon. treasurer.
H. SIETAS & CO.
The oldest firm in Chefoo is that of Messrs. H. Sietas & Co., which was established in 1861. The Company are general importers and exporters; owners of the Chefoo Printing Press; and joint owners with Messrs. Cornabé, Eckford & Co. of the Chefoo Water-boat Company. They have branches also at Tsingtau and Vladivostock.
CORNABÉ, ECKFORD & CO.
The founders of this firm were Messrs. James Wilson and W. A. Cornabé, both of whom were in business in Amoy. Early in 1864 they established themselves as general merchants in Chefoo under the style of Messrs. Wilson, Cornabé & Co. At first the business consisted of buying produce and shipping it to southern ports, but later on the firm became shipowners and shipping agents. Later still, after Mr. Eckford had been admitted to partnership, the exportation of straw-braid was undertaken very successfully. In 1887 Mr. Cornabé returned to England, and in 1902 Mr. Eckford was obliged to leave China on account of ill-health. The business now consists of the export of straw-braid, silk, silk piece goods, and other local products, and the import of coal, flour, indigo, yarn, &c. The firm hold numerous first-class shipping and insurance agencies; they are proprietors of the Hokee Lighter Company, and are interested in the Chefoo Water-boat Company. They also own one of the largest steam Tussah silk filatures in the neighbourhood. For years there has been a branch of the business at Weihaiwei, and in 1906 two new branches were opened at Tsingtau and Dalny, so that the firm is now entrenched at all the commercial strategic points in North China.
CURTIS BROS.
Mr. F. J. Curtis is the proprietor of this firm of manufacturers' agents and general and commission merchants, established in 1901. The firm are local agents for Lloyds, the China Mutual Insurance Company, the Commercial Union Assurance Company, and the British Dominions Insurance Company, and, in addition to a general import and export business, they conduct salvage operations.
Mr. F. J. Curtis was born in Yokohama in 1869, and was educated at Southampton. After spending fifteen years in the mercantile marine, for which he holds a master's certificate, he came in 1898, to Chefoo, in the affairs of which Settlement he now takes a considerable interest. He is a member of the General Purposes Committee, in which body the general control of the Foreign Quarter is vested at the time of writing, although it is expected that during the present year a municipal body will be formed to administer local affairs.
L. H. SMITH & CO.
The firm of Messrs. L. H. Smith & Co., merchants and commission agents, was established in 1895. The business is now carried on by Mrs. L. H. Smith, widow of the founder, for whom Mr. D. Cappelen acts as manager and signs per pro. Among the numerous agencies held by the firm are those of the Russo-Chinese, and other banking concerns, the Russian Volunteer Fleet, Messrs. Caldbeck, Macgregor & Co., wine and spirit merchants, and various important and well-known fire and life insurance companies of England and the Continent.
Mr. Cappelen was born in 1876, at Tonsberg, Norway, and was educated at Christiania. He came to the Far East in 1897. and was employed as an accountant by the China and Japan Trading Company at their Kobe branch. In 1901 he crossed over to Chefoo, and eventually succeeded to the management of Messrs. L. H. Smith & Co.
CHANG YÜ & CO.
The future of Messrs. Chang Yü & Co.—known also as the Pioneer Wine Company—wine growers, distillers, and merchants, will be watched with great interest, for the firm are engaged in an enterprise which is the only one of its kind east of Suez. Established as a private company in 1895, and financed by Chinese capital, the firm have planted about two hundred acres with vines in the Chefoo district, and have established nurseries for fostering the specially imported plants and cuttings in the early stages of their growth. The most improved methods of cultivation are adopted, and so far with most encouraging results. For the pressing of the wine extensive premises have been built under the supervision of Mr. Chang Ching King, manager of the Company, and Baron M. von Babo, their wine expert. The latest machinery has been installed, and, though the wine is not yet on the market, there is every reason to hope that it will soon attain a large measure of popularity in Chefoo and the Far East. The cellarage has a storage capacity of about twenty thousand hectolitres of wine, the largest cask being capable of holding 160 hectolitres. Both red and white wines in casks and bottles will be supplied, and the quality promises to be excellent.
The founder and proprietor of the firm, Mr. Chang Chin Hsün, alias Thio Tiauw Siat, was born in Canton in 1841, and educated in China. He lived for forty years in the East Indies, and owns extensive property in Java, the Straits Settlements, and Sumatra. He has lately been appointed a director of the Agricultural and Industrial Mining and Railway Company of Canton.
Baron M. von Babo, the Pioneer Wine Company's expert, also holds the appointment of Vice-Consul for Austria-Hungary. He was born in Klosterneuburg, near Vienna, in 1862, and was educated in Vienna. On coming of age he went to England for four and a half years, returning to Austria in 1888. In 1896 he came to Chefoo as wine expert to the Pioneer Wine Company, upon the recommendation of the Austrian Government. He superintended the erection of the stores and plant, and to him is due, in great measure, the present promising position of the Company. Baron Babo, who is a Knight of the Order of Franz Joseph, is a thorough sportsman, and has won great popularity in the district.
The manager of the Company, Mr. Chang Ching King, was born in Canton in 1873 and educated at St. Xavier's Institution, Penang. He came to Chefoo when twenty-three years of age, and joined the Pioneer Wine Company, of which his uncle is the proprietor. Mr. Chang has the Prefectural title.
Chang Ching Hsün, Founder and Proprietor.
The Vineyards in Chefoo District.Chang Ching King, Manager.
Baron M. von Babo, Expert.A Corner in the Cellars.
The Premises and Cellars.