follows:-
25-
"It is agreed that there is no possibility
of preventing these taxes being levied, and it thereford seems to us that our main object should be to prevent the serious danger to the Maritime Customs involved in the establishment of a rival organization for the col- lection of these taxes. We have, therefore, proposed in
the Powers that we should issue a statement rescrving our treaty-rights and acquiescing in the levy of these taxes, provided that they are collected by the Maritime Customs. One of the main reasons that have prompted
His Majesty's Government to adopt a policy of acquics- cence rather than of protest is that the Powers have failed to implement the promise made to China five years ago to grant her certain tariff increases, and that this failure may with some show of reason be
ascribed to the determination of the Powers not to
grant any tariff increases to customs revenues for the
benefit of Chinese foreign credit. His Majesty's
Government have always deprecated this attitude. We
feel that any attempt to resist these taxes,
illegal
al
though they may be, would not only be futile, but would
in some sort frustrate our own intentions". Sir R.
Macleay was, however, further instructed that, if his colleagues did not share these views and insisted that
the right course was to lodge a joint protest against the taxes, His Majesty's Government would not dissociate
itself from the other Powers, but would join in the pro-
test, provided that it was so worded as not to prevent
His Majesty's Government from adopting in regard to British merchants or British goods the policy which it had pressed upon the Powers. He was also instructed to
state
135