1924

TIENTSIN
61&
land-tax or the occupation of premises of an assessed value of Tls. 480 per
annum, and for Chinese the payment of Tls. 240 per annum in respect of land-tax or
the occupation of premises of an assessed' rental of Tls. 3,000 per annum—the discri¬
mination between foreign and Chinese electors being intended apparently to prevent
the possibility of the foreign vote being completely swamped in an area- set apart
! primarily for foreign residence and trade. The development of the various concessions
continues to advance at a great rate; but the question of the terms required for the
J extension of Crown leases in the (original) British Concession—which expire in
I960—is agitating the holders of property there, for, until the actual terms are settled,
; the development of the area is, and will continue to be, retarded, to the advantage
of the other concessions. The terms announced by the British Government iii
I March, 1922, were more onerous than had been expected, and as the result of two
public meetings a petition has been presented asking for their amelioration.
I Upon the entry of China into the Great War in 1917 the Chinese Authorities took over
| the German and Austrian Concessions on the 16th March of that year, and these have
| since been administered by the Chinese Police Bureau, but authority has been
f received from the Central Government to form an advisory committee of local
; residents. In the autumn of 1920 the local Chinese authorities assumed charge of
! Russian Consular functions and the policing of the Russian Concession, leaving the
\ Municipal Council, however, to continue to function in minor municipal affairs.
\ The nationalities of the owners of land in the Russian Concession, based on the
[ assessed value, is in the following proportion:—American, 13.95 per cent.; British,
L 41.52; Chinese, 10.92; Japanese, 24.58; Russian; 8.119; other nationalities, 1.84 per cent.
The following buildings and institutions were formally inaugurated during 1922:—
1 Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co.’s new offices, the Bank of Agriculture, and Commerce,
\ the Kailan Mining Administration’s new head offices, the new market iri the French
i Concession, the Banque Beige pour 1’Etranger’s new building, a new Empire Theatre
| to hold 800 people, the Italian Catholic Hospital and the Pasteur Institute. :
f A feature of Tientsin which arrests the attention of visitors is the open-air storage
■ of cargo on the British and French Bunds, which have thus become in effect a “ general
: godown.” A great deal of confusion and congestion formerly existed from this
st practice, but the British Municipality has recently elaborated an excellent scheme
I whereby the Bund is divided into numbered steamer-sections and.storage-spaces, and
; the roadway is now kept clear of cargo. The result has more than justified expecta¬
tions, and the orderly storage of goods in marked-off spaces not only allows a proper
control to be kept over all such cargo but has facilitated communications by keeping the
carriage-way clear of obstructions. The congestion at the wharves on the right baqk
' of the river has assumed a serious aspect. Tnis will be considerably relieved by the
'il constructipn of a thousand feet of sloping shore protection with eleven piers for
: the mooring of steamers on the Russian Bund just below the International Bridge.
Steamers discharging at those wharves: will enjoy the facility of railway sidings right
up to the berths. Arrangements have been made for the repair of the bund on the
;i ex-German Concession.
The Racecourse is situated about 3 miles to the west of the Gordon Hall and
1 comprises a very valuable property to which about 350 mow of land have recently been
added. New betting buildings of reinforced concrete, which surpass anything of the
I) description in the Far East, were constructed in 1921. Grand-starids for the members
and for the general public are to replace the existing stand, and the course is to
[|, be widened and lengthened. It is proposed, also, to lay out a 9-hole golf course.
|p Distilling is one of the largest local industries; it is chiefly from kowliang
•il (sorghum) or millet. Although a spirit, it is called “ wine,” and is exported to the south
it in large quantities. The manufacture' of coarse unrefined salt by the evaporation of
* sea water is also carried on near Taku; the prodtice is stacked some distance down
If' river at the first cutting, where all the salt junks now go. The trade in salt is a Govern-
- menb monopoly. In 1909 the salt export was valued at nearly Tls. 6,500,000.
It is estimated that 200,000 piculs of raw cotton grown in the neighbourhood are
s absorbed by the local spinning mills. Of these there were six in Tientsin and vicinity
IjS in 1922, with an aggregate capital of $12,000,000 and a total of 190,000 spindles. Five
p more mills, with 122,000 spindles, were in course of construction. The yarn produced
is of 14, 16, and 20 counts. Carpets, shoes, glass, coarse earthenware, and fireworks
]] '! are also made in large quantities in the city, but Tientsin is at present essentially a
- f centre for distribution and collection rather than for manufacture. The exports
*v include coal, wool (from Kokonor, Kansuh, etc.), bristles, straw braid, goat skins, furs,
: wine, and carpets (of which 3,321,541 square feet were exported chiefly to the