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authorities. These parties meet, and draw up regulations determining price of every article of import, and of the tea to be given in exchange for it;

and not only the price of the tea, but the proportion of each sort to be bartered for the different articles. The Commissioners on the Chinese side would only be acting with the adroitness and artifice common to their nation if, as it is alleged, the arrangements they make for the conduct of the trade tell more to the advantage of their countrymen than to that of the Russians. That such is the case would appear from the circumstance of teas never remaining unsold at Mae-mae-chin; while Russian goods are often so depreciated in value as to wait until a second, or perhaps even a third year, for a market.

The arrival of the Chinese dealers with their teas at Mae-mae-chin is the signal for the commencement of the annual trade. The foremost of them appear in October; but as stocks must be received or the condition of the business of the season be known before the barter-rates can be determined, transactions are not immediately entered on, and the winter, or close of the year, becomes therefore the most active period of the trade, which is concluded with the return of spring.

IMPORTS.

Furs. The demand on the part of the Chinese for furs from the Russian territories is limited, in a great measure, to those of inferior description; but this circumstance contributes greatly to the convenience of the Russian traders, as they thus obtain at Kiakhta a good market for their less valuable skins, which would not pay the cost of carriage from the coast of Siberia to European Russia. Squirrel and fox-skins, and the short curly lamb-skins of Astrachan, form by far the largest proportion of the peltry which they import. But although the Chinese purchase comparatively few of the valuable furs, such as those of the sable, marten, or others, they take considerable quantities of the tails and paws of these animals (which are carefully collected throughout Siberia expressly for the Kiakhta trade), and make from them those peculiar fur dresses, of patchwork-pattern, that may be seen so often in the North of China. The stocks forwarded to Canton, or the southern provinces, consist principally of young lamb and squirrel-skins, as these are suited, from their lightness, to the moderate cold of this part of the country. Skins and horns of the reindeer are also imported,—the latter, when soft, being much valued by the Chinese for their medicinal properties.

Woollens. The importation of Russian woollens must be very large to supply the extensive demand which exists for them in the north and centre of China. The thick heavy kinds which the Chinese call " Hala," after the Russian name for wrappers or outside coverings, which are often made from cloths of this description, are chiefly in request, and are much used for cloaks and travelling dresses; those of red and green hues are also much esteemed, on account of the superior depth and brightness of these Russian colours. In length these cloths appear to vary from 20 to 30 yards, and in breadth from 62 to 64 inches. Of the other sorts of woollens received from Russia, many parcels are from Belgian or Saxon looms, and enjoy a good reputation among the Chinese on account of their thick soft texture and brilliant gloss.

Small parcels of Russian woollens are brought to Canton by the Teentsin junks, and by merchants from the northern provinces. But although the annual supply for this vicinity is limited, it is said, to 1000 or at most 2000 pieces, they meet the English goods at no great distance in the interior, and the result of the competition between these rival manufactures appears to be unfavourable to the latter. In Canton the average price of blue Russian cloth, the sort most largely imported, is 2 dollars per yard, but at Soochow the same may be purchased in Chinese shops for nearly a dollar less; whilst the cheaper black kinds fetch, at the same place, only 140 dollar, and the arlet, from its being the most expensive colour, 1.80 dollar per yard. As it would scarcely be possible for the Chinese to vend these cloths at

such cheap prices, unless they were furnished to them at rates as low or even lower than the cost of production, there can, it is presumed, be little doubt that the Russians, in the first instance, part with them at a loss, but are eventually remunerated by the high profits they are able to realize on teas.

On the other descriptions of piece-goods imported by the Russians, few remarks have to be offered. The cottons are described as resembling twills in texture, and are said to measure about 16 inches in breadth, and 25 to 30 yards in length; a cotton fabric of this description is much used by the Russians for towelling. Of their linen I have merely met with one specimen, which proved to be the production of a Pomeranian loom, and is only partly composed of flax; it is of stout but very inferior texture, measures 32 inches in breadth, and the pieces, say the Chinese, vary in length from 12 to 20 yards. Velveteens form no inconsiderable item of the Russian imports, but are not met with at Canton; and the camlets are known to be principally of Dutch manufacture.

Leather. The buffalo and the morocco leather imported by the Russians is extensively used in the north of China. Of the former there are two kinds, the red and black, which serve for the manufacture of shoes, trunks, cushions, &c., &c.; the latter is worked up into a greater variety both of colours and sizes; the red, black, and green skins are preferred, and are used for the manufacture of purses, bags, and cases of all kinds. It is only in the form of these articles that Russian leather is seen at Canton, as the tanners of this place dress large supplies of a soft description well suited to the wants of the people, obtaining their raw material from the western province of Yunnan.

Furs and manufactures form doubtless the staple import commodities; but many other articles may also be enumerated. Such are works in tin, iron, steel, brass, copper, and lead. Iron pots, copper kettles, and brass-ware are largely supplied, both for the use of the Chinese and the Mongolian tribes, and brass washing-basins of Russian manufacture may often be seen in the north of China. Their fine soft iron is also in request, and is imported in the shape of small pigs or bars, weighing little more than a catty a-piece, packed in boxes each containing 130 or 140 pigs. One Chinese informant says that copper coins of a superior quality of metal are also imported as copper, meaning probably Russian kopecks, which are intrinsically worth the value they represent. The other articles of hardware are fire-arms, cutlery, padlocks, metal buttons, and apparatus for opium-smoking, consisting chiefly of long steel needles, but including, say some, the drug itself. Coral is sought for particularly by the Mongols, who use it profusely to decorate their saddles and girdles. Musical-boxes, watches, mirrors, ornaments, talc, soap, and other minor articles, complete the list of imports. But besides the wholesale dealings carried on with Europe, there are other transactions of a local or retail nature conducted for the express purpose of supplying the Chinese with the agricultural productions of the country beyond the Baikal, and consisting, on the side of the Russians, of imports of grain and cattle merely, whilst the Chinese goods received in return are suited only to the consumption of Siberia.

EXPORTS.

Turning now to the export side of the trade, as that which chiefly interests the Russian merchant, since he has to look to his returns not only to bring him a profit, but to compensate him for the low valuation so often set on his goods at Kiakhta, we come at once to the most prominent commodity of the whole trade, tea.

Tea forms, as is well known, the principal article of the Kiakhta trade, and there appears no reason to doubt the general statement given by the Chinese that the Russians derive their teas from the same places that we do; viz., black teas principally from the province of Fuhkeen, and green teas chiefly

from that of Ganhweh. The merchants resorting to Hokow (in Keangse), the grand emporium for the teas from both those provinces, are divided into two general classes, severally termed, in common parlance, the Se Pang, or Western Company, and the Kwang Pang, or Canton Company. The former one is said to be by far the most numerous; and it is very probable that such is the case, as the merchants known under this name supply not only the Kiakhta trade, but also the northern and western provinces of China, and its wide spread colonies and dependencies in Mongolia, Turkestan, &c. It is also freely admitted that they purchase the finest qualities of tea, besides those of common or inferior description, forwarding the former to the markets of European Russia, and the latter, in the shape of brick tea, to Siberia, or the Mongolian steppes, the Kalmucks, or Kirghis Tartars, &c.

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The superiority of the tea consumed in Russia to the generality of that imported into the United Kingdom may be accounted for by the circumstance of its being a more costly kind, unsuited on account of its expensiveness to our markets, where, if imported, it is only used to mix with or flavour other teas. Tea of similar quality, commonly known as 'present tea," may be procured at Canton for 4 or 5 taels per catty. The Russians term the finer kinds which they procure "flower teas," and those of more ordinary description "leaf teas," and they are said to take the latter in the proportion of one to four of the former. It is known that tea is often purchased in Russia for 40 silver roubles per oka (about 2 guineas per pound English), and even in Germany, where less expensive kinds are consumed, 3 thalers per pound is considered a low price. For such teas in England there exists a very small demand; but were it otherwise it is doubtful whether they could be transported there by the ordinary long sea voyage, during which the tropics have twice to be crossed, without losing the delicate flavour which is preserved to them by the colder latitudes and land transit of Russia.

The accounts received of the amount of tea supplied to Russia vary considerably, though they agree in stating that the demand steadily increases, and it would seem indeed to have nearly doubled during the last ten or twelve years. The following brief estimate of the quantity exported during the last four years may serve to convey some idea of the present extent of the trade, but should be accepted with considerable reserve, as even an approximation to accuracy in respect to figures or quantities has been found unattainable in the course of these inquiries.

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It is known that these teas consist of congous and pekoes of fine quality, and although the proportions of each have not been ascertained, there is good reason to believe that the latter predominate. The size of the packages also admits of dispute, and the doubts on this point greatly increase the difficulty of estiinating correctly the gross amount exported. One statement says that the chests average 50 catties in size, and 18 dollars in cost, which would nearly be equal to 25 taels per pecul; other informants speak of their

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