Pang Zuk advised the merchants to petition the high authorities on the same footing as the Macao native merchants. They refused but asked to be relieved from the payment of the Foreign Port duty which was imposed upon them in excess.
15. The delegates whom I saw deny having seen any Officer at Canton but Pang Zuk and were not invited to any "Yamun". It seems improbable that they would deny it if the Hoppo Kwan and the Foreign Commissioner had honored them with an interview, and it would be interesting to know whether the version which was given to Sin Brooke Robertson of what took place, or that now given is the correct one.
16. The remainder of this Enclosure shows that there is a great want of a fixed and native tariff. None of the five merchants present have any knowledge of Extra dues being chargeable on produce shipped to Foreign ports such as the Philippines, Batavia, Siam, and Singapore, and they all agree in saying that the import duty on Brown Sugar to Macao is 50 cents per picul, whereas at Whampoa the import duty on Brown Sugar is 12 candareens per picul, and that white sugar pays at Macao 12 candareens against 20 paid at Whampoa.
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