17
In China there is no such duty. The small boats from Sham Shui Po do not. go to Ping Chau. They used to go befors. I collect in my boat more than 10,000 Tau. I do not know how much & Small boat collects. I do not want any compensation from the Government. I want to dredge without paying licence to the Company. I have a big dredging licence. I will show you the licence. I pay $10 a year and 25 cents a month for removal.
Junk Tai Les
4th. July, 1904.
(Sch. witness)
Wan Chiu states:- i was master of the Pai Lee junk. I sold the junk and the licence in the 5th. noon of the 30th. year. I stopped dredg.
ing. I have dredged for many years from the reign of Tune Chi (1972). Ly father dredged before me. I had a Chinese Government licence for trading, purposes but not for dredging. At first I dredged at many places at last at Ping Chau more than 10 years ago, and I have been dreiging ever since up to last year.l stopped last year because the foxis got overdrawn and ran away and 1 could not get new foxis. I do not expect to get compeLS&– tion from the Government but I want to get rid of the Company. The
licence was in my own name. My Hongkong licence was atrading licence, but I can do anything with it. I sold ay junk to my countryman. It is a
pessage junk from Bui Heung my own country, to Hongkong. It is a 500
picul junk, a large junk. I am a Kenßer in the country at Sul Heung. It
is better to get rid of the Company then I could start dredging again,
It is a hard work dreiging and to pay taxes my foxis are afraid. They
first levied taxes from the shell gatherers. I cannot get fokis because
of the taxes. The foxis say our work is so hard and the Company impose
taxes so we had beuter change our position. The foxis divide the profits
after deducting the expenses other foxis had money to maintain and (56p
them and therefore could continue to do hard work. I sold my shells at
about 1 mace per tau and in a good market get 1.2 or 1.8 mace. When the
Company started I do not know the price. I could not keep my foxis. I
stopped in the 3rd. moon last year before the start of the Company. There
was a rumour that the Company would start and so I stopped. The Company
before it started seized the junks of some people who owed the money.
K