'
OPY.
No. 39.
Sir,
Enclosure 1.
0.0 17013
Despatch from Mr. J. W. Jamieson to Sir Joh3050 MAY 13,
REG
Canton, December 4, 1912.
422
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of
your confidential despatch No. 26 of November 13, calling for
observations on the despatch, addressed on the 8th. August last to
the Colonial Office, on the subject of the Canton-Kowloon Railway."
You therein call upon me to furnish a report on the question of
likin on the railway and any comments I may have to make on other
matters indicated in the correspondence.
In so far as likin is concerned, the position is as
follows. Continuing the protest which, under your instructions, I
in April last made to the Tutu against this imposition, I on
September 3rd. sent him a further memorandum, copy of which is
enclosed, pointing out the lack of reciprocity towards the Hongkong
Government which a levy on railway-borne goods displayed. To this
latter memorandum I have received no reply, but duty paid (Kowloon)
private effects in the hands of European travellers to points
between the frontier and the provincial capital are being mulcted in likin charges to the extent of 21% ad valorem. The position under the unratified Working Agreement being such as outlined in
your despatch No. 447 of November 13 to the Secretary of State, I
do not think that any useful purpose would be served, unless instructed to the contrary, by making additional representations.
According to the strict letter of the Treaty, the Provincial
Government are acting within their rights. Whether or not in
equity they are justified in penalising goods or private effects to
intermediate points on the line which have a less distance to
travel than goods or private effects to the City of Canton is
another matter.
The imposition of likin on purely native goods
undoubtedly interferes with traffic and the collection of dues on
passengers' personal packages is greatly resented. Were the
incidence an uniform one, as compared with that on goods carried