The position which Great Britain fills in Korea is destitute of any
great commercial or political significance. Unintelligible inaction
characterises British policy there—as elsewhere. Our sole concession
is one of very doubtful value, relating to a gold mine at Eun-san.
In the latter part of 1900 a company was formed in London, under the
style of the British and Korean Corporation, to acquire the Pritchard
Morgan Mining Concession from the original syndicate. In the spring of
1901 Mr. E. T. McCarthy took possession of the property on behalf of
the new owners. Mr. McCarthy had had considerable experience as a mine
manager. The most careful management was necessary to the success of
this concern. The expenses of working were extraordinarily heavy, as,
owing to the absence of fuel, coal had to be imported from Japan. A coal
seam had been located upon the concession, but nothing was then known
as to its suitability for steam purposes. It is impossible to consider
the undertaking very seriously. All surface work was stopped during my
residence in Korea, the operations for the past few months having been
confined to underground development and prospecting. There was talk of
the instalment of a mill. A vein of pyrrhotine, carrying copper for a
width of 13 ft., was regarded with some interest, but in the absence of
machinery nothing of much consequence could be done.
Another concern, Anglo-Chinese in its formation, is the Oriental
Cigarette and Tobacco Company, Limited. The capital of this venture
is registered from Hong-Kong. Since May 1902, the company has been
engaged at Chemulpo in the manufacture, from Richmond and Korean
tobacco, of cigarettes of three kinds. At the present time it possesses
machinery capable of a daily output of one million cigarettes. In the
days of its infancy, the company was reduced to a somewhat precarious
existence—the early weeks of its career producing no returns whatsoever.
Now, however, a brighter period has dawned, and an ultimate prosperity
is not uncertain. Cash transactions, in the sales of the cigarettes
manufactured by the company, began in July 1902, realising by the end of
February 1903, £1515 sterling; to this must be added credit sales of £896
sterling—making a grand total for the first few months of its existence
of £2411 sterling. A large staff of native workers is permanently
employed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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