now shipped directly to Lyons and other
continental ports instead of to London, as formerly was the rule. The
growth of the import of Indian yarn into China has been very rapid. In
1884 the import was 35,000,000 lb and in 1904 it reached 217,171,066
lb. The imports into China from all countries for 1908 were as
follows:--

Opium L4,563,000 Coal and coke 1,124,000
Cotton goods 14,786,000 Oil, kerosene 2,666,000
Raw cotton 232,000 Rice 3,543,000
Woollen goods 717,000 Sugar 3,514,000
Metals 2,956,000 Fish, &c. 1,028,000

The principal exports from China are silk and tea. These two articles,
indeed, up to 1880 constituted more than 80% of the whole export.
Owing, however, mainly to the fall in silver, and partly also to cheap
ocean freights, it has become profitable to place on the European
market a vast number of miscellaneous articles of Chinese produce
which formerly found no place in the returns of trade. The silver
prices in China did not change materially with the fall in silver, and
Chinese produce was thus able to compete favourably with the produce
of other countries. The following table shows the relative condition
of the export trade in 1880 and 1908:--

+---------------+-------------+-------------+
| Exports of | 1880. | 1908. |
+---------------+-------------+-------------+
| Silk | L9,750,000 | L11,055,000 |
| Tea | 11,774,000 | 4,384,000 |
| Miscellaneous | 4,058,000 | 21,448,000 |
+---------------+-------------+-------------+
| Total | L25,582,000 | L36,888,000 |
+---------------+-------------+-------------+

In the miscellaneous class the chief items of exports in 1908 were
beans and beancake, L3,142,000; raw cotton, L1,379,000; hides,
L1,028,000; straw braid, L1,002,000; furs and skin rugs, L760,000;
paper, L458,000; and clothing, L177,000. Sugar, tobacco, mats and
matting are also exported. The export of all cereals except pulse is
forbidden. Of the tea exported in 1908 the greater part went to Russia
and Siberia, the United States and Great Britain. There is a regular
export of gold amounting on an average to about a million sterling per
annum. A part of it would seem to be the hoardings of the nation
brought out by the high price of gold in terms of silver, but a part
i