69
Que to the reising of the teriff and the introduction on
that account of the new Chinese regulations.
You will have seen fros Kr. Ingram's des-
patah No. 318 of November lat. emelosing a copy of his letter
to dir F. Heze of the same date that this question of customs
fines was taken up semi-officially with the Inspector-Gonoral
at the end or last year,
Copies of Sir P. Kaze's reply and
or further desi-orficial correspondence with him, es marked
in the mergin, are enclosed for your information.
4.
You will note my own views and attitude
from my letter to air P. Mase of to-day's date, which forms
the final enclosure to this despatch. while we cannot admit
that the Customs have any legal Treaty right to fine a Ari-
tish ship or merchant without Consular intervention, we have
hitherto tacitly acquiessed in the system, trusting to its
fair and reasonable operation by the Customs, ss a practiaml
method of dealing with the somewhat commliented position aria-
ing from the Tresties.
5.
If we are mtisfied that this system is
now being seriously abused by the Customs, to the extent of
inflicting real injury on the British interests concerned, and
if our semi-orficial representations to the Inspector-General
prove inadequate, it may be necessary for us, taxing our stand
on the treaties and extraterritoriality, to challenge the
whole theory and practice on which the system is based. Bot
in that case we should went to feel sasured that we are doing