May 20, 1899.1
common;
.
In the early days of the Colony's history Piracy in its neighbourhood was more or less In his Annual Report for 1865 the Harbour Master says "There can be little doubt but that every armed junk becomes a rirate when
an opportunity offers," and in 1868, after
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the infroduction of the "Harbour and Coast Ordinance, he says "Formerly there was good reason to suppose that piratical vessels were fit ted out in this harbour, Free Trade amongst junks had become Free Licence and these pirati cal pests of our waters had unmolested ingress and egress at all hours of the night and day.”
Ordinance No. 6 of 1866-"The Harbour and Coast Ordinance," which came into force on 1st January, 1867, made provision for the regalation and control of junks; most of its provisions have been re-enacted from time to Lime since, and the regulations now in force are for all practical purposes the same as in 1867 and are briefly as follows:-Junks are divided into two classes:-(1) Unlicensed Junks and (2) Licensed Junks. These classes are again divided into :-(i) Trading Junks and (2) Fishing Junks.
"
UNLICENSED JUNKS.
Unlicensed Junks are required—(1) To anchor in certain places called “ Anchorages for Junks" and from which they may not remove without permission. (2) To report their arrival. (3) To give notice of intended departure. (4) Not to leave at night.
LICENSED JUNKS.
Any junk, on complying with certain con- ditions as to giving security, &c., may be granted a licence by the Harbour Master, either for trading or fishing, for which a fee is paid; the maximum being $20 a year. She then obtains the following advantages:-(1) No restriction as to place of anchoring. (2) On payment of a fee of 25 cents she is granted a spécial permit, good, for one month, absolving her from reporting each arrival and intended departure. (3) If a fishing junk, she is granted a permite on payment of a fee of 25 cents, allowing her to leave during certain hour of the night and early morning.
In 1867, 20,787 Trading Junks of 1,367,702 tons entered, and 20,443 of 1,353,700 tons oleared. In addition 1,444 Fishing Junks were licensed during the year and the greater number of these came in or left daily during the winter
months.
In 1898, 29,466 junks of 1,814,281 tons en- tered and 29,470 of 1,812,473 tons cleared, also 5,379 Fishing Junks were licensed.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
In 1868, Customs Stations were established in the vicinity of the colony by the Viceroy of Canton, primarily for the collection of Opium lekin" and opium "duty," but this soon be- oame extended, and a levy of lekin and duty on all imports and exports was made at the these stations (see Sir James Russell's report 1886), and in 1869 the Harbour Master reported "I think the decrease in tonnage in junks can reasonably be attributed to the existence of these Stations (Customs) and to the activity of the cruisers attached to them."
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the Government of China to remove altogether | ground of the geographical position of the bass the Customs Stations and Cruisers from the of operations of those whose business theirs is neighbourhood of the island, and to arrange to watch. The small island of Hongkong with that duties be collected only at those ports or its 50,000 or 60,000 junka annnally coming and places at which there exists an export or im going, over five-sixths of which trade to and port trade, and that should the Chinese Gov- from the Suu On and Weat River and Canton ernment refuse to remove the Statious and Districts, and all of which radiate to all points of criasers altogether, it might be urged upon the compass within an hour or two of leaving this them to remove these to a greater distance than Free Port, offers some reason for the Chinese they are at present, say, not nearer in any case
Government pressing home its revenue proteo. than ton miles from the entrances to the har. tors as close as they can. That reason dia- bour."
appears, however, with the extension of British territory, and the protector's line should fall back simultaneously with this extension, and China should protect her revenue in the same way as any other country does, namely, at her ports of entry and clearance instead of reversing the practice of civilization and protecting it at the Foreign Ports to which she exporta and from which she imports.
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In 1874 a Commission, which had been ap pointed to enquire into "complaints made against the notion of the Chinese Maritime Customs in the neighbourhood of the colony and the alleged detriment to trade arising from such action," submitted their report. They found in the course of their investigation "that a most vexa- tious system of blockading is kept up at all the entrances to the harbour by a number of boats in the employ of the Hoppo of Canton, the salt farmer, and the collector of the lekin tax, and that these craft continually make use of and encroach into the waters of the colony, and actually capture junks therein.”
Whatever may have been the cause, it appears that after 1875 the junk trade, as represented by the Harbour Master's returns, began to improve, and in his report for 1877 the Har bour Master said "It was the general opinion, and I shared in that view, that the blockade would have a tendency to check the trade and consequent prosperity of the Colony, but in the face of the figures which these returns ex- bibit, I am unable any longer to see that the effect of the blockade has been so detrimental as it was thought it would be." The figures
The proceedings of these blockaders, which were gravest in character were the stopping of junks proceeding on distant voyages with cargoes of lawful merchandise laden in the Colony and compelling the to go to Canton and pay duty on their cargoma practice which was carried on extensively, and further, the
referred to showed in 1878 an increase over 1877 of 1,186 junks entering, and the Harbour Master attributed some of this in-
seizure of junks bound to the Colony from ports in Formosa and elsewhere and the taking of these to Canton to be mulcted in heavy sums, or possibly to be condemned and sold.
orease to more correct records being kept, in Yaumati. However, there were stilleo mplaints consequence of an additional ontstation at of the seizure of native craft carrying so-called'
The Commission advised that Her Majesty's Government should endeavour “to prevail on
"cantraband.”
From 1877 to 1887 the junk trade, according to the Harbour Master's reports, fluctuated be tween 1,600,000 and 1,800,000 tons entered
yearly. The highest figures ever attained pre- viously being 28,340 junks of 1,871,810 tons en-
tered in 1872.
In 1887 as a result of the Commission which
How far the existence of these · Customs
Stations has interfered with our junk trade in to be arrived at is by inference, since all direct the past is problematical, and the only solution
proof is wanting. There can be no question su to China's undoubted right to collect her Customs revenue somewhero, in her own territory or waters, and it is impossible to say she had collected her Customs duties at the that our junk trade would have been larger if
ports of origin and destination of the goods, instead of at intermediate stations olose on our border.
In 1884 our junk tonnage was 49 per cent. of the European tonnage, in 1897, it was only 28 per cent. and, if certain Liensed Junks which are engaged by the conservanoy and dust con- structors and which have only been taken into our returns during the last few years, wore omitted, the decrease would be even more marked.
sat in pursuance of the Chefoo Agreement (1876), and the additional Article to the Agree- meut (1885) the collection of duties on goods imported and exported in junks, devolved upon
On the other hand, our returns show an in- the Foreign Collectorate of the Chinese Maricrease of European ocean-going tonnage since time Customs, and the Customs Stations round 1889 of 25.33 per cent, while the Customs re- Hongkong were placed under the direction and
turns show an increase in the number of junks supervision of a European Commissioner (Mr. trading to and from Hongkong and passing F. A. Morgan),
the stations, of 30.37 per cent., and it is very probable that the Customs returns are far more accurate with regard to junks than our own, the circumstances of a Free Port, added to the difficulty of distinguishing and identifying na- tive craft, together with the well-known profici· eney with which Chinese lie without hesitation, renders the task of keeping an absolutely cor- rect return of some 50,000 or 60,000 junks annually almost impossible with a staff of two, Junk Inspectors in Victoria and no one at the outstations whose sole duty it is, and I am forced to the conclusion that a number of these junks come and go without leaving any trace on our records. In 1897 as in 1877 more cor. rect returns would in all probability account trade, but this correctness cannot be arrived at for a further apparent increase in the junk without additional staff and expenditure.
It cannot, I think, be denied that, even since this change was made just causes of complaint have at times arisen, and I am persuaded that causes of complaint will continue to arise if the Customs officers are vigilant and zealous, the difference from the old state of things being that vigilance and zeal will be the disturbing causes, instead of rapacity and dishonesty. The only real panacea is the removal of the primary cause, viz., the Customs Stations themselves.
A careful consideration of all points of the question which occur to me draws me to the conclusion that, inconvenient though it is, and contrary to the usual manner of nations, we have up to the present no right to object to these stations; I do not think we have any legimate grievance against the Chinese Govern ment because it endeavours to prevent junks trading to Chinese ports with what it declares to be contraband, or to smuggle dutiable goods, no matter where the cargoes have been obtained, always provided that this does not lead to a violation of our territorial waters and that regels and goods to and from Hongkong are not subjected to any other charges beyond what has been fixed by treaty.
At the same time I consider that we allow our hospitality to err, even to indiscretion, and we put a weapon in their hands to be nsed against us, when we allow a Chinese Customs establishment in our midst, for there can be little doubt that by this means our prestige suffers in the eyes of the natives, and what perhaps is of more practical importance, an intimate knowledge can be obtained in the Colony of trading transactions, which, perfectly lawful and harmless so far as our Free Port is concerned, may in China be subject to those Rules appended to the Tariff which restrict the import of certain descriptions of goods except quder special conditions.
But whatever may be said of the present practice of closely investing our port with Cus- toms Stations on all sides and in its midst, it must be allowed that with the exception of the latter, all these Stations are in Chinese territory, and their closeness may be excused on the
:
In 1893, this Department began to try to gange the amount of cargo tons represented by the registered tonnage of the Shipping fre quenting the Port. There is no special staff or machinery for this and its correctness otherwise depends on reports and returns made direct from the Shipping, or through its Agents.
In 1893 the amount of cargo discharged from European ocean-going shipping was given us 2,717,910 tons. In that year Junks exported 845,177 tons. In 1897 the European cargo was 2,596,458 and Junks exported 684,320 Assum ing for the moment that the cargo exported by junks was entirely niade up of that discharged from the ocean-going European ships, these juuks distributed 31 per cent in 1893, and 26.3 per cent in 1897 was a bad year for junks.
But the Customs returns furnish a still better fact from which to draw our inference, namely the value of the trade in junks between Hong- 33,495,526, in 1898 it was 39,938,740, and in kong and China. In 1888 this was Hk. Tid. 1897 it was 39,991,611 giving an increase of 19 per cent. in the 10 years to put again increase of 25 per cent, in the regi of European ocean-going shipping during the same period.
for