1
[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[37694]
No. 1.
[October 17.]
SECTION 2.
34583
339
Mr. Max Müller to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received October 17.) Acce
REGS 11 NOV T0
(No. 337.) Sir,
Peking, September 30, 1910.- IN my despatch No. 269 of the 6th ultimo I forwarded to you the copy of a note to Prince Ch'ing, in which I urged upon his Highness's attention the necessity of finding a remedy for the present unfair incidence of li-kin dues on the Shanghai--- Nanking Railway, and expressed the hope that, in order to enable the railway to compete on equal terms with the waterways, the Chinese Government would no longer delay in giving a trial to the proposal that transit passes for rail- and water-borne goods should be made identic and interchangeable.
I have the honour to transmit herewith the translation of Prince Ch'ing's reply, from which it will be seen that the Board of Communications still decline to adopt the proposal. The reasons given do not appear to me to be acceptable, and in a further note to his Highness, drawn up after consultation with Mr. Mayers, I have examined the contentions of the Chinese Government, and repeated my request that they will meet our wishes in the matter. The copy of my note is enclosed for your information,
I have, &c.
W. G. MAX MÜLLER.
Enclosure 1 in No. 1.
(Translation.) Sir,
Prince Ching to Mr. Mox Müller.
Peking, September 12, 1910. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge receipt of your note of the 5th August last with reference to li-kin on the Shanghai-Nanking Railway, and containing a request that all passes covering goods in transit, whether by rail or water, shall be made identic and interchangeable.
A communication was at once addressed by me to the Board of Communications on the subject, and I am now in receipt of their reply, which is as follows:-
"As regards the conveyance of foreign goods on the Shanghai-Nanking Railway from one treaty port to another, an arrangement was made last year by which they should be conveyed according to the regulations. As regards native produce in transit from one treaty port to another, a method of procedure is at the present time under consideration between the Shanghai-Nanking Railway authorities and the Customs taotais concerned. As regards the reduction of li-kin on goods destined for the interior the rules in regard thereto are fixed, and it is in our opinion impossible to either raise or lower the charges arbitrarily.
**The small success that has attended the transport of goods by rail is plainly due to the non-expansion of trade itself. Moreover, water and land routes are parallel; it is impossible to expect that success will immediately attend efforts to secure the sole monopoly of the traffic by one route alone.
"As regards the proposal which was previously made, that passes covering goods in transit, whether by rail or water, should be made identic and interchangeable, this question was then the subject of frequent discussion between the Shanghai-Nanking Railway authorities and the head li-kin bureaux of the provinces concerned, and the point was invariably insisted upon by the latter that the li-kin barriers by land and water had distinct spheres of operation, and that it was inadvisable to throw into confusion the fixed regulations of the li-kin administration. The Shanghai-Nanking Railway is under the control of our board, and we issued instructions to the railway office to discuss with the local authorities (the rules for rail-borne and water-borne traffic) first separately and then collectively. We at the same time pointed out that
[2958 r-2]