21831
746
PS: 0 TR. 20 JUL 04!
9th January, 1904.
Sir,
I have the honour to forward a few notes on the "Tax Lords",
the clans or families in the New Territory through whose hands
passed the majority of the Land Tax received by the Chinese
Government.
I would define a "Tax Lord" shortly as :-
"A person who pays, or purports to pay, tax for land in which
"some other person has an interest greater than a lease for years
"or a customary mortgage"
The origins of the "Tax Lord" fall under four main headings.
He originates :-
1.
When new land is taken up for cultivation owing to a move-
ment of immigration into districts hitherto sparely settled.
Old established families inform new arrivals that all unoccupied
land in the vicinity belongs to themselves and that they are
responsible for the taxes but that they are prepared to issue
leases to applicants on easy terms.
To the Hon. Colonial Secretary.
The
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