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Chiang, and Wuchow must pay all taxes and all li-kin. The tax on opium in transit is deleted from the Regulations. There will thus be no occasion for sharp practice.
A Memorial has also been submitted to the Emperor, suggesting that the central office should charter a number of small steamers for the special carriage of opium, freight to be paid according to the distance carried; steamers to run from Ichang to Kiukiang and from Chang-tê to Hsiang-tan, no passengers or other freight to be carried; the vessels to return empty that speed may be attained.
The new scheme will come into force at all three stations simultaneously on the 3rd July. It will be the duty of the various stations to note the opium which before the enforcement of the new Regulations has been declared to be in transit, and is at that time within the borders of the two Hu and the two Kuang Provinces. It will, after deducting the sum already paid as transit tax, make good all taxes and li-kin, and be stamped with the stamp of the central office, when it can be carried free to any place in one of the eight provinces.
Opium which has already passed beyond the boundaries of the eight provinces is exempted from making good the taxes. After the expiration of a month the inspec- tion stations must hasten the departure of opium (destined for another province); three days of grace will be allowed in which notice may be given that the opium has not yet passed the frontier, the opium may then be stamped and passed free to its destination to be retailed.
If opium destined for another province is found delaying in Kiangsi and Anhui after the 20th day of the 7th moon (20th August), and has not been reported, and the total amount of the taxes and li-kin of the simultaneous collection has not been made good, it will be considered contraband and will be confiscated.
In addition to officers having lately been dispatched to the various provinces to make strict inquiries and investigations, this Joint Proclamation is issued for the information of all traders in opium. You must hereafter act in accordance with the Regulations, make the necessary declarations, and pay the taxes and li-kin without fail.
With regard to the two Hu and the two Kuang Provinces, where opium stations are already in existence, if questions arise not covered by the Regulations through the enforcement of the simultaneous collection, and more money is demanded than is proper, and the officials and underlings exact more than is due, or if they detain merchants and goods, accusations may be sent to the central office. investigation will be made and the delinquents will be punished in order to safeguard A strict the interests of merchants.
A Special Proclamation. Kuang Hsü, 31st
(Translation.
yeur, 5th moon (June 1905).
Inclosure 5 in No. 1.
PROVISIONAL REGULATIONS for the simultaneous collection of all taxes and li-kin on crude and boiled opium in the eight provinces.
IT has been submitted in a Memorial to the Emperor that the Regulations for the four provinces shall continue in force at Icbang and Hung-chiang; that the Regulations for the two Kuang Provinces shall be enforced at Wuchow; and that the Regulation allowing a 5 per cent. reduction on the payment of li-kin in the cases of Kiangsi and Anhui shall apply to Kiangsu and Fukien.
2. The two Ha and the two Kuang Provinces have already established opium li-kin stations in their borders, and as it is essential that, immediately the simultaneous collection of the taxes and li-kin on opium for the eight provinces comes into effect, all opium coming into the Provinces of Kiangsi, Anhui, Kiangsu, and Fukien should be examined before being dispersed for sale, the central office will dispatch officers to establish examination and prevention of smuggling stations at various important centres on the borders of the four provinces in question, for the special purpose of watching the opium imported and preventing breaches of the Regulations. They will examine all opium which has paid the taxes and li-kin, and which bears the stamp of the central office, to see if the opium and the papers correspond, and will then allow it to proceed to the province declared as its destination to be retailed, without let or hindrance or the exaction of any fees. They will every day note in a register the
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names of the firms importing the opium examined, its weight, and the number of the stamp on the opium and of the certificate, the office that received the simultaneous payment and issued the certificate, and report these details monthly to the central office for the purposes of scrutiny.
On opium which has passed through the Imperial Maritime Customs and paid transit dues, but is found to be without the sealed label and special pass of the opium excise head office, the examination and supplementary levy offices will, in accordance with the joint collective Rules of the four provinces, collect the balance of the terminal boiled opium excise so as to comply with the rule that there is no further levy except at destination.
3. When opium has paid the Maritime Customs duties at Ichang, it shall pay in advance the destination hi-kin before it can be carried to the province declared as its destination for sale by retail.
Opium destined for Hunan, Hupei, Kiangsi, and Anhui shall still continue to pay the taxes imposed by the old Regulations without reduction.
Opium declared at the Maritime Customs at Ichang to be destined for the four additional provinces to which the Rules are applied, namely, Kuangtung, Kuangsi, Kiangsu, and Fukien, shall, in addition to the Maritime Customs duties, further pay destination li-kin of 52 Kuping taels per picul net weight.
The central office will dispatch a deputy to consult with the Customs deputy as to affixing the stamp of the central office on the opium, and issuing a special certificate. Such opium shall be allowed to pass free after reporting to, and examination by, the examination station in the province of destination.
The above Regulation shall also apply at Wuchow.
4. The revenue accruing from the opium taxes is to be apportioned amongst the provinces according to the sums stated in the Memorial. All apportionments not taken up by the provinces will be included in the surplus which is to be remitted monthly to the central office. The surplus is to be reported quarterly by the latter to the Board of Revenue at Poking and remitted to it through merchants.
The expenses of the central office that is to say, for the establishment of the examination stations in the four additional provinces, the estimated wages of the gendarmes, the certificates, stamps, telegrams, and other necessary expenditure-will he heavy, and for the present will be met by the proceeds of the additional reorgani- zation and prevention of smuggling taxes for the four provinces of Kiangsi, Anbui, Kiangsu, and Fukien.
The proceeds of the main tax on opium and destination li-kin for these four provinces will be deposited with the central office to be forwarded.
The full details will be examined after the expiration of one year, and the sums estimated for the various items of ordinary and extraordinary expenditure will be settled after having been submitted by Memorial to the Emperor, when the Board of Revenue will communicate the figures to the central office.
5. It is proposed to select, in accordance with the practice in vogue in Kiangsi, trustworthy Companies at Ichang and Hung-chiang to charter small steamers solely for the quick carriage of the opiume, from Ichang to Kiukiang, and from Chang-tê to Hsiang-tan. On the downward trip only opium will be carried, and the steamers will return empty. Freight will be charged, but the carriage of passengers or cargo will be forbidden, to prevent abuses.
The Maritime Customs Regulations shall apply to these steamers.
Should the earnings, after a year's experiment, not be sufficient to cover expenses, the central office may grant a subsidy according to the circumstances of the case. It is proposed that the Company shall charge for insurance.
As soon as a regular revenue from the opium accrues, the Government will build vessels for the carriage of the opium.
The Governor of Hunan will, on being notified, detach gun-boats to be stationed above Chang-te for the protection of the opium on that route.
Regulations are already in force at Wuchow for the protection of the river route; no further steps are therefore necessary.
6. At Ichang the taxes and li kin may be paid in silver or cash. In Hunan they may only be paid in cash; 1,000 actual cash shall be reckoned at the fixed value of 8 mace of a Kuping tael, and shall not be affected by variations in exchange.
As the price of cash varies in the provinces for which the simultaneous collection is effected, and there will be a want of uniformity unless a preconcerted scheme is applied, every 1,000 actual cash in all cash transactions will hereafter be calculated as the equivalent of 8 mace of a Kuping tael.
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