TEADE ON THE WEST LIVER AND THE INLAND NAVIĜA-
TION RULESZ
(Daily Press, 26th June,) We now have before us the Consular Trade Reports for Samshui and Wuchow for 1898, These reports are of particular interest as they cover the first full year that the West River has been opened to foreign trade. We will deal with them in the order above. After giving au amusing account of the difficulties of obtaining exact statistics from the Chinese merchants, who apparently consider not a thousand taels " to be quite near enough for the purpose, Mr. Fox, the Acting Consul at Samshui, deals with the large increase that has taken place in the trade coming under the cognizance of the I. M. Customs, which he estimates at almost 140 per cent, on the total of 1897. It is, however to be noted that 1897 did not comprise a full year, the river only being opened to trade in June of that year. Another point has also to be considered in this Connection, and that is that a
a pro¡ of tion-estimated at 40 per cent. of the value is trade of Samshui's foreign imports which has been diverted from Kumchuk. Referring to this Mr. Fox says says:—“ As "an instance of the disasterous effect the levy of lekin and kindred imposts has on "trade the case of Kumchuk, one of the "ports of call on the West River, thirty miles "below Samshui, may be cited. In the "spring of 1898, a thriving business having "sprung up in foreign imports at Kum chuk, chiefly cotton and woollen goods "from Hongkong, a tax station for the “accumulative collection of lekin, tsoli (a destination tax properly levied on goods only after arrival at their destination "inland, but commonly levied to save 'time' at point of departure) and Chengfei or military defence tax. After a struggle "the rising trade was crushed. Dealers now ship their goods to Samshui, where they pay a moderate tsoli and are sent hence to Kumchuk by native boat freed from further duty. In other words, the old game is being played by the Chinese officials and the Chinese merchant; the one Bucks up a station wherever he sees any trade attempting to find its way in; the other dodges round it and gets in at the back door until he is found out and finds that closed against him. When that hap pegs he simply sits down and stagnation is the result, The British Government are in
■ measure answerable for this state of things, and especially so at Kumchuk and at Kongmoon, where a similar state of things prevails. They have allowed the Chinese Government to open these places as "ports " of call" or "stages" under, the same conditions as those ruling ou the Yaugtsze. It might have been expected that their experience on that river would have con- vinced them that oper
opening such places is useless. The Customs, it is true, publish in their West River Rules that foreign goods can be imported into them direct from Hongkong on payment of a full tariff duty, but, with that precaution which always
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
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(July 1, 1899.
less a good deal of annoyance to both the merchant and Consul, is afforded by the manner, in which the provincial officials
convicted
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to
aro large, and as the river is now opened to inland steam navigation he says the trade could be carried on iu chartered junks until
out of the question when Butable steamers are built. Mr. Fox is not tried
unimpeachable evidence of quite as clear herens he is in other parts of his report. In the absence of a tariff telling illegal levy of taxes, &o, &c. One story is merchants definitely what they have to pay told where the lekin Barrier had to send it is difficult to see what advantage is to be for the required documents and the gained from a "churteroljunk. All junks inessenger made 266 miles in 24 hours! If slump in railway are chartered by someone. Unfortunately there are many more like him in China the fact of chartering does not prevent their there will be being “squeezed.”** The necessity for pub-stock! In reference to transit passes a lishing a Tariff and adhering to it, if any curious instance is given of the manner in good is to come out of the inland water con which the domestic trade of Chinn escapes cession, is dwelt on in a further paragraph taxation Certain goods want to get from
“If the control of inland Fatshan and the surrounding districts of the report. "steam navigation and the collection of Nanning; to do this they go to Samshui, “duties thereon is to be placed under Chi- are exported to Hongkong, go back in the nese management" by Chinese the same steamer to Wuchow, and go thence to writer, here evidently means as distinguishedNanning under the cover of a transit pass. from the I.M. Customs control" as is now To do this they have to pay two and a half suggested, we should insist that the num-full tariff duties to the I.M. Customs, but ber and location of all lekin and tsolieven that is cheaper than paying the taxa- "stations be published and a tariff of duties tion en route. The opening of Nanning "leviable drawn up, any deviation front should put a stop to this in a measure, but "which on the part of the official in harge we doubt whether it will entirely. It how- to be treated in the same manner as a ever speaks well for the value of the similar offence (fortunately quite impro-transit, pass and shows that it is not quite so bable) would be on the part of an official useless as it is sometimes held to be. in the foreign. Gustoms, The report finishes up with a reference to the absence of any telegraph station at the port. The last fact our readers may remember was made the subject of a question in the House of Commons. Mr. AsOROFT seized upon it with an "another injustice to old Ireland" sort of manner, and we cannot help think- ing that, although it certainly is a disad- vantage to the port not to have a telegraph. station, the reply given, that there are other and more important matters to cou- sider, showed a good deal of common sense.
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The taxation of the domestic traile leads up to the opening of the inland waters, and on this subject Mr. HosIE expresses himself in no uncertain way. After saying that although the rules shy that a provincial officer shall be appointed who will collect the dues nud duties on native goods going to or coming from inland waters he adds,
"6
+
I have received as yet no indication of the amount of these dues and duties
lies the "What is wantel if the exports of Chin
are to be developed-and in this developement of the foreign buying From Samshui we pass to Wuchow, and capacity of the people-is a reasonable tariff for domestic trade. To throw open we find there that the increase is consider-
“the inland water of China hampered by able in the trade of the port-not as large as
"restrictions which practically keep them was expected, due to the outbreak of the
“ closed and without a drastic revision of the rebellion during the summer of last year, but still on the whole a satisfactory and "taxation on domestic trade is absolutely large increase. Of course it is not to be worthless." He then deals with the In- supposed that this increase is all new trade; spector General's ruling re steamers plying some of it doubtless is, but the great bulk is between two treaty ports not being allowed trade which has been taken from other and to ship or land cargo at intermediate places more roundabout channels of entry to that and sums the situation up in the following an English town may. of the direct route by the West River or words:" The concession is reduced to this else has been diverted from the native to “ A. tradesman in
supply Nos. 1 and 20 situated at the re- to the I.M. Customs at the port itself; or,
spective emis of a street by a van driven he has in other words, goods that used to go to
through the street. If, however, h Yunnan via Pakhoi and Nanning, and
customers in the intervening houses he goods that used to go by junk up from Fat- shan, Canton, &c., now go direct from must transfer his goods to another van at Hongkong, steamer borce to Wuchow, and “whichever end of the street he pleases (he has that option !) and after supplying Nus.. at that port come under the control of the
2 to 19 from that end and that van only he I.M. Customs. Mr. Hosie, the writer of the report, deals with the products of the "must return the way he entered and on no province of Kwangsi next, and more par- "account must be visit or pass the last house
at the other end with his second van. ticularly with rhea fibre, or China grass, which seems to be daily gaining ground in For Nos. 1 and 20 substitute Trenty Port Lord CURZON, going to en- Europe as a material for textile fabrics. It and you have the valuable concession which
HOSIE was one was, according to will be remembered that Mr. of the candidates we suggested some months able British goods to be carried in British ago for the port of Commercial Attaché. ships to every riverside town in China I His well known interest in and knowledge | As our genders are aware, and as we ex- of the various products of China renders plained in an article on the 15th inst, the him, with some others of our
on foreign vessels, but as we also pointed out, is ignoring a certain class of Chinese
:
characterisza their statements, they qualify Body, eligible and suitable for thonsular Inspector-General's ruling is being enforced
this by saying that merchandise may only be shipped from or landed into licensed good
native cargo boats; and it must not be re-look to do with the delay, but we steamers. In the report no ◊ under review
moved therefrom till duty has been paid or payment satisfactorily arranged. (The italics are burs.) As transit passes cannot be ob- tained at these places it is not difficult to ine, the particular manner in which'
ent is satisfactorily arranged! "next thing is the possibilities of the North River trade, which Mr. Fox tells us
port in question. Doubtless short-handedness has
distant d
date to see the Govern
of this ment give that attention to the filling
large trade interests appointment which our call for. Turning from the products, the question of transit passes is next dealt with, which, judging by the remarks made, seem to work remarkably, smoothly thoughout si and the neighbouring provinces Kwangsi Some amusement to the reader, but doubt-
this class of vessel is referred to under a te “ Differential taxation de- “arginal note "bars British vessels from a fair share of "the carrying trade,” and it says:→ “One would imagine that nearly thie total coast trade, that is, trade be- “tween Wuchow, Samshut, and Canton, Ex is carried in British vessels; cluding he ordinary junk the actual