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the opium from Rangoon to Kong Kong and Shanghae by the regular Chinese
steamers.
I am unable to do so, because the supercargo on a Chinese steamer is practically independent of the captain and can make any arrangement he chooses about the disposal of the cargo.
The Chinese are quite clever enough, if they have plenty of time and space, to substitute Indian opium for that of Yunnan without in any way altering the gross weight of the box or touching the seals.
They might do this in order to escape the bigher Chinese import duty on Indian opium, and they could bring back the abstracted Yunnan stuff for sale in Burmah.
Opium for Shanghae. I find that the best plan will be to tranship this at Hong Kong, and I have asked the British India Steam Navigation Company to quote a through rate from Rangoon to Shanghae which I expect they will do.
Draft Rules.
Rule 1.-The opium shall be packed in cases or boxes of the pattern prescribed by the Collector of Customs at Tengyueh.
Note.--It is of considerable importance that the boxes should all be of a uniform size and appearance. Of a uniform size, so that the rates of freight may be agreed upon with the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company and the British India Steam Navigation Company, and that these Companies may adapt or build strong-rooms to suit the size.
The appearance of the box should be distinct from that used for Indian opium. The size will probably be such that two boxes will constitute a full load for a mule; this is also a convenient weight for bandling by coolies.
2. Each box is to contain the standard weight of opium prescribed by the Collector of Customs at Tengyuch.
Note. It is not necessary to point out the necessity for adopting a fixed weight as is done in lndia.
3. Each box shall, after examination of its contents by the Collector of Customs at Tengyueh, be closed in his presence and secured with wire and leaden seals, and be The gross weight shall be numbered on one end. The figures to be 14 inches high. painted in pounds and ounces.
4. The pattern of these seals shall be varied from year to year.
5. The particulars of each box shall be entered against its number in a register to be kept by the Collector of Customs at Tengyueh in the form shown in Appendix A.
6. The name and address of the consignee shall be marked on the top or bottom of the box. The ends of the box shall be kept free for the Customs marks.
7. On dispatch of a consignment to Bhamo the Collector of Customs at Tengyueh shall forward a copy of the entries concerning it in his Register A to the Customs officers concerned, at (a) the ultimate port of destination, (b) Rangoon, (c) Bhamo.
8. Three copies of a way-bill showing the total number of cases and the number of each case will be made out. One will be given to the officer of military police in charge of the convoy],* who will deliver it with the opium at Bhamo where the Customs officer will, when satisfied that every box has arrived, write on it acquittance in full or in will part, and return it to the [officer in charge of the military police]. A second copy be sent by post to the Customs Officer at Bhamo for comparison with the copy handed to him by the [officer of military police. The third copy will be signed at Tengyueh by the [officer of military police and will be retained by the Customs there as the receipt [of the officer of military police] for the opium taken [by convoy].
The way-bill will be in the form shown in Appendix B.
9. The consignor and the headman of the mule caravan shall execute a bond with the Customs officer at Tengyueb in double the value of the opium, to deliver the same (in the original chests with all the seals and fastenings intact, and to be of the same gross weight as is recorded in Register A) to the Customs officer at Bhamo.
• Headman of the mule caravan" might be substituted for "officer of military police in charge of convoy," draft Rule 8.
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10. On receipt of an acknowledgment of the opium from the Customs officers at Bhamo, the Customs officer shall cancel the bond by defacing it, and shall return it to the consignor, if resident at Tengyueh; if he is not resident, the bond shall be destroyed.
11. If on arrival at Bhamo the full tale of chests of opium of correct weight is not delivered to the Customs officer, the latter shall at once report the matter to the senior Civil officer present, who will have power to detain the mules of the caravan until the head of the caravan clears himself of all blame.
12. If the head of the caravan is found responsible for the loss, he shall be fined by the Deputy Commissioner of Bhamo a sum not exceeding twice the value of the missing opium, and his mules shall be detained until this fine is paid.
13. If the Deputy Commissioner is unable to obtain twice the amount of the missing opium from the head of the mule caravan, he shall inform the Customs officer at Tengyueh of the balance remaining due, which shall be recovered by the Customs officer from the consignor, and after it is recovered the bond may be cancelled.
14. The money so collected by the Deputy Commissioner and by the Collector of Customs at Tengyueh shall be credited to excise receipts.
Note. It is obvious that if the opium is lost by smuggling operations, the Excise Department should be compensated and not the Customs.
Procedure at Bhamo,
15. The Customs officer at Bhamo, having received the full tale of correct weight of chests of opium, will file the page of Register A received from Tengyueh in a book-file and will give each case a serial number which he will mark against the entry in red ink, and he will also initial the last entry with the date.
16. He will then stencil on one end of the chest in red paint the letters B. H. O., followed by the serial number.
17. When he forwards a consignment to Rangoon, he will prepare a way-bill in duplicate on the form shown in Appendix C.
18. One copy of this way-bill will be filed at Bhamo, and the other sent with the mate's receipt to the Chief Collector of Customs, Rangoon,
19. The Manager of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company will give notice to the Chief Collector of Customs, Rangoon, of the day and hour at which the opium may be expected, and an Inspector of Customs will, if the tale and weight of the boxes is correct, and the seals are intact, take delivery and place the chests in the bonded
warehouse.
Procedure in Rangoon.
20. Upon receipt of a consignment in Rangoon the Chief Collector will inform the consignee and call upon him to pay the charges incurred, which will include the cost of handling at Bhamo and Rangoon, the freight charged by the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company, and a registration fee of 1 rupee a chest. It will include also the east of putting the opium on board the British India Steam Navigation Company's steamer, under Customs supervision, and the freight to Hong Kong or to Shanghae.
21. The Customs authorities at Rangoon will stencil a consecutive number in blue paint after the letters R. G. N., which number will be entered in a register to be kept i the form shown in Appendix D, in which will be kept a complete record of each chest of opium which leaves Tengyuch.
22. The consolidated rate shown in the 13th column of Appendix D will be the total of all the charges mentioned in Rule 20, and will be calculated by the Chief Collector of Customs, and declared and published by him to be the rate for a fixed period, preferably for six months. The rates with the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company and British India Steam Navigation Company may, if necessary, be revised every six months.
23. When all charges have been paid on a consignment, or part of a consignment, it will be shipped by the Chief Collector of Customs and the bill-of-lading handed to the consignor at Rangoou. At the same time a copy of the entries in Appendix D relating to that consignment will be sent to the chief officer of Chinese Customs at the port of destination.
[1844 -1]
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