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approached by the Chinese on the subject. No complaints have yet reached me from British manufacturers, and I consider it unnecessary to raise the question prematurely. Should British interests prove to be threatened by the advantage given to Kuantung products under the existing procedure it should not be difficult to arrange to bring the customs rules more into harmony with the principles of the open door.
I have, &c.
(For Sir John Jordan W. G. MAX MÜLLER.
P.S.-Since the above was written I have received from the acting consul at Dairen copy of his despatch to Sir Claude MacDonald, No. 6, of the 22nd January, explaining the further safeguard against smuggling that has been adopted at Dairen in order to dispel suspicion.
W. G. M. M.
3
must, of course, pay duty at the customs stations and li-kin at the barriers. But apart from this merchants have had the option of choosing for themselves whether to take out exemption certificates or not. Now, however, foreign merchants forward their goods to the various treaty marts without taking out exemption certificates and refuse to pay further taxation. This is quite improper. Hereafter any merchants, whether foreign or native, desiring to forward goods from the various treaty ports in North or South Manchuria to the newly opened treaty marts in the interior of Manchuria must take out exemption certificates or pay duty and li-kin at the customs and barriers en route; if they refuse compliance with these rules the various stations and barriers will have to devise some satisfactory method of dealing with them."
The various commissioners of customs having been instructed accordingly, I have now the honour to bring the matter to your cognisance, and to request that you will notify British merchants to this effect and send me a reply,
(Seal of Mukden Foreign Office.)
(No. 65.) Sir,
Enclosure 1 in No. 1.
Acting Consul-General Willis to Sir J. Jordan.
Mukden, December 20, 1909, WITH reference to my despatch No. 39 of the 1st September last in which I criticised the statistics furnished by the Chinese Imperial maritime customs for the port of Tairen, I now have the honour to enclose copies of correspondence between the Mukden Bureau of Foreign Affairs and this office.
Mr. Teng, the acting commissioner, told me in conversation a few days ago that the Chinese authorities were quite convinced that there was considerable evasion of payment of duty on goods entering Manchuria viâ Tairen, and that under present conditions it seemed very difficult to prevent it.
The opinion of Mr. Bowra, commissioner of customs here, seems to be that the only effective solution is for the Chinese Government to approach the Japanese Government with the view of negotiating an arrangement similar to that in force at Kiaochow, under which duty should be levied on all goods entering the leased territory and a fixed proportion of the revenue should be handed over to the Japanese authorities.
I have, &c.
ROBERT WILLIS.
Sir,
Enclosure 3 in No. 1.
Acting Consul-General Willis to the Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Mukden.
December 18, 1909. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch of the 15th instant with reference to the alleged practice of certain foreign merchants of refusing to pay duty or li-kin on goods imported into Manchuria which are not covered by exemption certificates.
The ruling of the revenue council appears to me only to confirm the previous provisional regulations, for the infringement of which, as far as the records of this consulate-general show, no complaints have been made against British subjects.
I avail, &c.
R. WILLIS.
Enclosure 2 in No. 1.
Acting Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Mukden, to Acting Consul-General Willis.
(Translation.) Sir,
BY the provisional regulations respecting the import of goods into Manchuria it is laid down that foreign goods paying tariff duty at the port of entry can be conveyed free of further taxation to the treaty marts of Manchuria if an exemption certificate is obtained for them, and all the tax offices have received instructions to that effect. Of late it has transpired that at Dairen and other places a number of foreign firms have imported foreign goods into Manchuria without taking out any exemption certificates; and when the customs stations have endeavoured to levy duty and li-kin in accordance with the regulations these foreign firms have raised difficulties on the ground that the tariff duty had already been paid.
I reported the matter to the high provincial authorities, who requested the president of the Board of Revenue to consider the matter and to send instructions. Now the president has replied stating that "Provisional regulations have been drawn up by this office affecting the import of both native and foreign goods into the various treaty marts of Manchuria, and the Wai-wu Pu have sent circular despatches to the various foreign Ministers asking them to enforce compliance with these rules on the part of their nationals, as is on record. The exemption certificates issued by the customs stations in South Manchuria have been extended to all stations in North Manchuria to prevent the goods being disposed of en route with a view to the effective protection of the li-kin revenue in the interior. Goods not covered by these certificates
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