="L-t74 དོན
[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
AFFAIRS OF CHINA,
23539
[June 6.]
CONFIDENTIAL.
REC REGE18 JUI II
SECTION 2.
No. 1.
83
[21823]
(No. 216.) Sir,
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-Received June 6.)
Peking, May 19, 1911. I HAVE the honour to enclose translation of a note from the Wai-wu Pu, dated the 18th instant, informing me that the superintendent of trade at Kiukiang has been instructed to allow Messrs. Butterfield and Swire's lighters, towed by their steamers on the Poyang Lake, to pay tonnage dues to the Imperial Maritime Customs instead of paying port dues to the native customs.
This note marks the termination of a case which has been the subject of correspondence between the Wai-wu Pu and this legation for over a year, and as the principle involved is one of considerable importance to British shipping companies, I venture to give you a brief outline of its history.
In February 1910 the commissioner of customs at Kiukiang informed Messrs. Butterfield and Swire that, under instructions from the Revenue Council, registered cargo boats towed inland must pay port dues to the native customs instead of, as heretofore, tonnage dues to the Imperial Maritime Customs. As this ruling meant that Messrs. Butterfield and Swire would have to pay 20 taels on each lighter every time it entered and left the Poyang Lake instead of 10 tael cents per ton once every four months, the firm protested on the ground that their lighters were foreign-built boats, holding British certificates of registry, and as such were not subject to the regulations governing native vessels.
The Wai-wu Pu, in reply to a representation from this legation upholding this view, quoted rule 4 of the " Supplementary Rules under Inland Steam Navigation Regulations" of 1898, where it is laid down that steamers pay tonnage dues and towed native boats pay port dues, and argued that as foreign-built cargo boats could not be classed as steamers they must, in the absence of any specific reference to them, be included in the second category of cargo boats.
In a further note to the Wai-wu Pu dated the 7th June, Mr. Max Müller pointed out that under article 31 of the British treaty of 1858, and article 15 of the Japanese treaty of 1896, all cargo boats carrying merchandise subject to duty pay tonnage dues to the Maritime Customs, and that the latter treaty went further, and stipulated that "no fees or charges other than tonnage dues shall be levied on Japanese vessels and boats." To this the Wai-wu Pu replied by contending, not without some show of reason, that the articles quoted referred to vessels plying between treaty ports, the inland waters not being at the time open to foreign navigation, and they drew attention. to the use of the words "between any of the open ports of China" in paragraph 3 of article 15 of the Japanese treaty in support of their argument.
Realising that the clauses in the treaties and regulations hitherto relied on were susceptible of conflicting interpretations, Mr. Max Müller in his next communication to the Wai-wu Pu fell back on article 29 of the treaty of 1858, and argued on broad grounds that these lighters were British merchant-vessels within the meaning of that article, and therefore liable to pay tonnage dues and nothing but tonnage dues.
In a belated reply dated the 15th November the Wai-wu Pu endeavoured to maintain that the article in question applied to treaty ports only, and here, owing to the intervention of the opium negotiations and the unavoidable shelving of less urgent business, the matter rested, until the 17th May, when, on proceeding to the Wai-wu Pu by arrangement, for the purpose of discussing this and other outstanding cases, I was informed by his Excellency Tsou Chia Lai that the board had decided, in consideration of the more difficult problems we had recently solved, to make us a graceful concession in this case.
I am communicating this decision by circular to His Majesty's consuls, as it is possible that, with the development of foreign steam navigation on inland waters that is now taking place, the same question may arise in other places.
I have, &c.
J. N. JORDAN.
1
[2062 ƒ-2]