This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
CHINA TRADE,
CONFIDENTIAL.
No. 1.
62
[November 30.]
SECTION 1.
Acting Consul Litton to the Marquess of Lansdowne.-(Received November 30.)
(No. 15.) My Lord,
Yünnan Fu, October 1, 1903.
I HAVE received from Sir Ernest Satow the following telegram :---- "Foreign Office wants précis of your despatch No 9 April last-not yet received." This would appear to refer to my despatch to your Lordship No. 6 of April last, which is a concise edition of longer despatches submitted to His Majesty's Legation, including No. 9, on the subject of the Hsia Kuan li-kin case.
I forward a copy accordingly, and attach further extract from despatch No. 9 to Peking.
I have, &c. (Signed)
G. LITTON.
(Extract.)
Inclosure in No 1.
Acting Consul Litton to Mr. Townley.
SINCE the opening of the Teng Yueh Customs last year the practice has been for merchants to enter a whole Prefecture, e.g., Ta Li Fu, by way of destination, when taking out transit passes, and the former Viceroy, Wei, who was really desirous to encourage trade, raised no objections to this course. The present administration is, however, different, and will certainly do everything it can to obstruct foreign trade. They have insisted that not only the Prefecture, but also the district (bsien or chou) of destination must be entered on the pass. As this is the practice at Mengtse and in Ssuchuan, and as there seems to be nothing in the Treaties which enables me to insist on continuance of the latitude allowed by Viceroy Wei, I have felt obliged to consent to a district (chou or hsien), as well as a Prefecture being entered on the pass as destination. The officials admit that goods will be free to circulate within the district mentioned on the pass without payment of li-kin or Prefect's tax, but they contend that directly such goods go out of the district (hsien or chou) entered on the pass, they will become liable to full provincial li-kin, e.g., one load of yarn with a pass for "Ta Li Prefecture, Tai Ho Hsien district" may circulate freely within the bounds of that district, but if it is taken, say, into the next district to the north, i.e., Teng Chuan, li-kin and Prefect's tax become due and leviable.
This latter seems to me to be a doubtful technical point as regards Yunnan, in view of the peculiar Yünnan li-kin arrangements. In this province goods pay li-kin once only in a lump sum; it is not the case that the further the goods travel the more they have to pay; e.g., in the case of a load of yarn not under transit pass, the first li-kin office that could get hold of the yarn would make it pay 2·50 taels, and give it a "big ticket," which would free it throughout Yunnan for three months. Would then the claim for payment of li-kin on a load of yarn at Teng Chuan under the circumstances mentioned above, admissible in other provinces where li-kin is paid bit by bit at each station passed, be consistent in Yünnan with the doctrine that on arrival at destination, transit-pass goods only have to pay such li-kin or loti as native goods not under transit pass, and which had already paid li-kin en route, would have to pay. Hsia Kuan is a great centre of distribution, and it is important that the widest facilities should be given to merchants there to send their goods to whatever place in the Prefecture offers the best market. The point I am now discussing would not be of much importance if li-kin were paid bit by bit in small sums at each station passed, but as in Yunnan it is quite useless to be protected against nine li-kin stations en route if goods have to pay at the tenth, i.e., after arrival at destination, I have thought it best to mention the matter at length.
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