493
The appointment was, however,
considered by Sir F. Lugard as a temporary one, and now
that the Sub-Department is to be organised on a permanent
basis, the question as to whether the existing arrangement,
or some other, is the best was taken into serious consider-
ation, with the result that Sir F. Lugard decided that in-
-asmuch as the administration of the Imports and Exports
Office in so far as the collection of duties on intoxicat-
-ing liquors is concerned, involves the supervision and
control of a large Chinese Staff; constant communication
with Chinese dealers in intoxicating liquors from whon
probably two-thirds of the total receipts in duties on
imported liquors will be collected; and the supervision
of a large number of Chinese Distilleries, including
examination of their account-books kept in the Chinese
language; it was essential that the Officer charged with
such administration should be able to speak and read the
Chinese language.
It was evident that if the
Officer possessed no such knowledge he would be wholly in
the hands of his Chinese Interpreters and Subordinates, and
that apart from considerations of consequent inconvenience
there would be grave risk of irregularities creeping into
the