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Customs organization should eventually be taken over by, or
absorbed in, the Maritime Customs Administration. Whether
such a development will, under existing conditions, tend to
strengthen the position of the latter administration seems to
depend largely on the extent to which the central government is
able to tighten its control over the regional authorities, a
process which is at the moment receiving a setback.
4. It is to be noted from Mr. Hayley Bell's report that
he confiscated several Japanese motor craft on the ground of
their being vessels of foreign nationality engaged in the direct
traffic between foreign and Chinese inland waters. Kr. Bell
points out that to look to such an antiquated system as the
existing Native Customs administration to enforce the present
import tariff is absurd, though he doubts whether smuggling is
availed of to the extent that might be supposed, owing to the
heavy risks involved from piracy afloat and banditry ashore,
to say nothing of extraneous forms of taxation and lack of
good communications between coastline and towns. The Pukion
delagate with the party thought there was scarcely any
smuggling in his province owing to lack of money. These
considerations led är. Bell to conclude that preventive
acasures would not be so expensive as he had thought, but that
the first step was for the Maritime Customs to take over, or if
that would create illwill, to improve the liaison with and to
give financial assistance to, the Native Customs offices. Ke
also thinks that the Chinese Government should define its
attitude more clearly towards the junk traffic from foreign
ports, and should treat motor vessels consistently as steamers.
He advocates the division of the whole coast line from the Yalu
River to the Tonkin frontier into districts under the definite
control of the Superintendents of Custome.
6. M. Bell's recommendations have a certain bearing on
the problem of the Hongkong Customs agreement, and one cannot
resist the thought that, in the Hongkong area also, the
chinese