HONGKONG GENERAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, VICTORIA, 3d August, 1863.
4. Mackenzie Esq., Chairman of the Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce, to Monsieur le Baron de Meritens, Commissioner of Customs, Foochow
...
all ranks, who with equal care are kept in the background, are superior to all the temptations of self-interest to which, in their anomalous position, they might not unnaturally be thought to be exposed.
4. The Committee would not, however, have troubled Your Lordship with any remarks on the charges of systematic evasion of Duties at the Treaty Ports, so persistently brought by Mr. Lay against the Foreign Merchants of China as a class, but for their adoption by one of Her Majesty's Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs. The Committee believe that the improbable assertion, that the men by whom the enormous foreign trade of China is conducted are, as a body, incorrigible smugglers, might safely be left to the corrective influence of time, and to the common sense of the European public; and that the several firms implicated in Mr. Lay's list of special cases, would generally have no difficulty in showing how large a superstructure his zeal has raised on, in most cases, very slender foundations.
The report, however, in the Times of the 7th July, of the speech delivered by Mr. Layard on the previous evening, during the debate in the House of Commons on our representations relative to the Formosa trade made in my letter of 3d July.
The Committee observe that you still retain the sum of Tls. 10,000, as the amount of cash deposit in cases where the Custom-house authorities, in the exercise of their reserved right, may decline the alternative of a ship-owner's Bond.
The Committee still incline to the opinion, that in practice, this sum will be found too large, as deterring many owners of coasting craft from taking advantage of the conceded facility of trading at the two non-treaty ports, now open to trade, and the question presses itself on their attention all the more, that it escaped them in my last communication to ascertain from you whether it was proposed to require from ship-owners or Agents a separate bond or deposit, for each vessel employed in the trade by the same Owners or Agents, or whether a single bond or deposit would cover all vessels bona-fide so owned or represented.
It will be obvious to you that on your decision will, in a great measure, depend the success or otherwise of the scheme; and the Committee feel so much anxiety to see every fair chance given to a system that must have important developments, if thoroughly considered and adapted to the interests of both trade and revenue in its commencement, that they bespeak your earnest attention to the point now brought to your notice, and the questions arising under it.
The Committee, looking to a further extension of the liberal policy thus initiated by you, will feel much indebted by an early intimation of any intention to place other ports, whether of the mainland or otherwise, on the footing of those now opened in Formosa.
I have the honor to be, &c.
The Right Honourable
EARL RUSSELL, K.G.,
Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,
London
MY LORD,
HONGKONG GENERAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, VICTORIA, 22nd October, 1863.
1. No reply has yet been received to the letter of 26th August 1861, addressed to your Lordship on behalf of this Chamber by its then Chairman, Mr. Perceval; but the importance to the Commercial Community in this Country of the action of Her Majesty's Government in their relations with that of China—and the publication of the "Further Papers relating to the Rebellion in China presented to both Houses of Parliament," early in the present year, induce the Committee of the Chamber once more to address your Lordship: and, while they will trespass as shortly as possible on your time, they indulge in the hope that other, and more important, avocations may not prevent your Lordship from giving some attention to the statements now submitted to your consideration.
2. In the Blue Book above referred to, among much matter of deep interest to the Foreign Commercial Community in China, appears a "Memorandum by Mr. Lay, Chinese Inspector of Customs, on the complaints of the Hongkong and Shanghai Chambers of Commerce" submitted by him to Your Lordship and dated January 11th, 1862.
3. The personal rancour against the Commercial Body generally, displayed in this document, is so remarkable as to lead irresistibly to the conviction that it was never meant by its Author for the public eye—and it seems to have escaped Mr. Lay, that his evidence, (in addition to its many other weak points) is that of a partisan witness, deeply interested in the permanence of the service with which he has identified himself; and no less so, it would seem, in the endeavour to prove that all the Members of it, from the gentlemen whose names he somewhat unnecessarily parades, and on whose official or private integrity no attack has been made, down to the numerous and motley subordinates.
4. The Committee think it incumbent on them to give, on behalf of the Foreign Merchants, an emphatic denial of the correctness of the statement, "that up to the present time, they had always been attempting to evade the payment of any Duty; that they had recourse to all manner of fraud and deception"—and earnestly to deprecate the assumption, that more or less runs through the whole of that Honorable Gentleman's address, that there is a spirit of resistance to the Foreign Customs, and of opposition to Sir Frederick Bruce, on the part of the great bulk of Her Majesty's subjects, that greatly increases the difficulties of the British Minister's position.
5. As a body, Merchants are not averse to moderate duties, when their assessment and collection press equally on all—and could an effective chain of Custom-houses, under one system of management, be established, all along the coast of China, its introduction would meet with general approval as tending greatly to the security and development of trade. To put the question of smuggling on its lowest ground, it does not in the long run pay: and Lord Elgin has well stated the case in his letter to Mr. Layard of February 8th, 1862, when he says "the more I examined into the matter, the more satisfied I became that, when duties are as moderate as they are in China, smuggling is a great moral evil, qualified by very little of Commercial advantage, and that the general interests of trade do not suffer by their being regularly levied, although a looser system may sometimes swell the gains of individuals."
6. The Committee have no wish to weary Your Lordship by a refutation in detail of the various inaccuracies of statement in the Memorandum under review; but a slight reference to one or two of them will sufficiently show the disingenuous spirit in which that memorandum was framed. In Section 10—"on the Personnel of Customs Establishment" Mr. Lay gives a list of the foreign gentlemen, respectively at the head of the department in each port, as a sufficient reply to the assertion of this Chamber, that "lawless foreigners" were taken into the service—while the context of the paragraph clearly shows, that the reference was to the foreigners forming the crews of the revenue cruisers employed in Canton Waters.
7. It would be easy to extract from the Memorandum numerous instances of insidious attack, such as the vague and unsupported assertion in Section 16, that "the Foreign Merchant at Canton does not usually smuggle himself; he employs the Agency of the Cantonese, who are much more daring than the Northern Chinese"—and of strange inaccuracy on points with which Mr. Lay might be supposed to be familiar, as for instance in his argument, (section 18,) that it would be hardly fair to expect the Chinese Government to submit its right to fines &c., "to the judicial discussion and decision of any foreign court; still less that it would allow Merchants, who are themselves daily endeavouring to evade the Chinese revenue laws, to have any voice in such decision, as the Assessors of their Consul," the fact being, that under the Order in Council of June 18th 1853, "any charge against a British subject for a breach of treaties, or for a breach of the rules and regulations for the observance of such treaties, shall be heard and determined by the Chief Superintendent or Consul without Assessors."
8. The Committee will not, however, dwell longer on this ill-judged Memorandum, but proceed to state the real grievances complained of by Merchants.
9. These are—
I. The independent and irresponsible right of confiscation of ships and cargoes, for breaches of Treaty Regulations, claimed and exercised by the Foreign Customs Department; and the almost invariable exaction of the highest penalty, without reference to the existence of Mitigating circumstances in the offence,
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4. Mackenzie Es, Chairman of the Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce, a
Monsieur le Baron de Meritens, Commissioner of Customs, Foochow
HONGLONG General ChandeR OF COMMERCE, VICTORIA, 3d August, 1863.
15
all ranks, who with equal care are kept in the background,-are superior to all the temptations of self interest to which, in their anomalous position, they might not unnaturally he thought to be exposed.
4.-The Committee would not however have troubled Your Lordship with any remarks on the SIR,I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 23d July and to offer to you; yer secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs. The Committee believe that the improbable as- exaggerated charges of systematic evasion of Duties at the Treaty Ports, so persistently brought by Mr. the cordial acknowledgments of the Committee for your prompt adoption of the principal ugg sertion, that the men by whom the enormous foreign trade of China is conducted are, as a body, in- tions relative to the Formosa trade made in my letter of 3d July.
Lay against the Foreign Merchants of China as a class, but for their adoption by one of Her Majesty's
The Committee observe that you still retain the sum of Tis. 10,000, as the amount of cash deposit in cases where the Custom-house authorities, in the exercise of their reserved right, may decline the alternative of a ship-owner's Bond.
curable snugglers, might safely he left to the corrective influence of time, and to the common sense of the European public; and that the several firms implicated in Mr. Lay's list of special cases, would generally have no difficulty in showing how large a superstructure his zeal has raised on, in most cases, very slender foundations. The report however, in the Times of the 7th July, of the speech
as deterring many owners of coasting craft from taking advance of the conceded facility of trad
The Committee still incline to the opinion, that in practice, this sum will be found too large, delivered by Mr. Layard on the previous evening, during the debate in the House of Commons on our ing at the two non-treaty ports, now open to trade, and the question presses itself on their attention ail the more, that it escaped them in my last communication to ascertain from you-whether it was proposed to require from ship-owners or Agents a separate bond or deposit, for each vessel employed in the trade by the same Owners or Agents, or whether a single bond or deposit, would cover all vessel bona-fide so owned or represented. It will be obvious to you that on your decision, will in a great measure depend the success or otherwise of the scheme; and the Committee feel so much anxiety to see every fair chance given to a system that must have important developments, if thoroughly considered and adapted to the interests of both trade and revenue in its commencement, that they be speak your earnest attention to the point now brought to your notice, and the questions arising under it.
The Committee looking to a further extension of the liberal policy thus initiated by you, will feel much indebted by an early intimation of any intention to place other ports, whether of the mainland or otherwise, on the footing of those now opened in Formosa.-I have the honor to be, &c.
The Right Honourable
APPENDIX C.
Her Majesty's Principal Scorelary of State,
EARL RUSSELL, K.G.,
e..
For Foreign Affairs, At.. LONDON
MY LORD,-
A.
HONGKONG GENERAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, VICTORIA, 22ďd October, 1863.
1. No reply frus yet been received to the letter of 26th August 1861, addressed to your Lord ship on behalf of this Chamber by its then Chainn, Mr. Perceval; but the importance to the Com mercial Community in this Country of the action of Her Majesty's Government in their relations with that of China-and the publication of the "Further Papers relating to the Rebellion in China pre sented to both Houses of Parliament," early in the present year, induce the Committee of the Cham ber once more to address your Lordship :-und, while they will trespass as shortly as possible on your time, they indulge in the hope that other, and more important, avocations may not prevent your Lordship from giving some attention to the statements now submitted to your consideration.
2-In the Blue Book ahove referred to, among much matter of deep interest to the Foreign Commercial Community in China, appears a "Meinorandman by Mr. Lay, Chinese Inspector of Cas toms, on the complaints of the Hongkong and Shanghai Chambers of Commerce" submitted by him to Your Lordship and dated January 11th, 1862.
3.-The personal rancour against the Commercial Body generally, displayed in this document, is en remarkable as to lend irresistibly to the conviction that it was never meant by its Author for the public eye--and it seems to have escaped Mr. Lay, that his evidence, (in addition to its many other weak points) is that of a partizan witness, deeply interested in the permanence of the service with which he has identified himself; and no less so, it would seem, in the endeavour to prove that all the Members of it, from the gentlemen whose names he gonewhat unnecessarily parades, and on whos official or private integrity no attuck has been made, down to the monerous and motley subordinates
Relations with China, makes it incumbent on them, the Committee think, to give on behalf of the Foreign Merchants had always been attempting to evade the payment of any Duty; that they had re- Commercial body an emphatic denial of the correctness of the statement," that up to the present time course to all manner of fraud and deception "-and earnestly to deprecate the assumption, that more or less runs through the whole of that Honorable Gentleman's address, that there is a spirit of reeis- tance to the Foreign Customs, and of opposition to Sir Frederick Bruce, on the part of the great bulk of Her Majesty's subjets, that greatly increase the difficulties of the British Minister's position.
5. As a body, Merchants are not averse to moderate duties, when their assessinent and collec- tion press equally on all-and could an effective chain of Custom-houses, under one system of man- agement, he established, all along the coast of China, its introduction would meet with general ap- proval as tending greatly to the security and development of trade. To put the question of smug- gling on its lowest ground, it does not in the long run pay: and Lord Elgin has well stated the case in his letter to Mr. Layard of February 8th, 1862, when he says "the more I examined into the matter, the more satisfied I became that, when duties are as moderate as they are in China, smuggling is a great moral evil, qualified by very little of Commercial advantage, and that the general interests of trade do not suffer by their being regularly levied, although a looser system may sometimes swell the gains of individuals."
6.The Committee have no wish to weary Your Lordship by a refutation in detail of the various inaccuracies of statement in the Memorandum under review; but a slight reference to one or 180 of them will sufficiently show the disingenuous spirit in which that memorandun was framed. In Section 10-on the Personel of Customs Establishment" Mr. Lay gives a list of the foreign gentle- men, respectively at the head of the departinent in each port, as a sufficient reply to the assertion of this Chamber, that "lawless foreigners" were taken into the service-while the context of the para- graple clearly shows, that the reference was to the foreigners forming the crews of the revenue cruizers employed in Canton Waters. Passing by section 11the "disfavor of Merchants explained"—in which the auimus that pervades the whole memorandum is more peculiarly displayed, the Committee And, in Section 15, the preventive force at Canton described as consisting of a sinal American river Steamer, not adopted for fighting purposes, carrying one gun, a 12 pounder-and some Chinese boats manned by the Chinese" while very shortly before, if not at the very time of the date of the Memo- randum, that force included an armed Lorcha manned by foreigners.
93
7.It would be easy to extract from the Memorandut numerous instances of insidious attack, such as the vague and insupported assertion in Section 16, that "the Foreign Merchant at Canton does not usually smuggle himself; he employs the Agency of the Cantonese, who are much more dar- ing than the Northern Chinese "and of strange inaccuracy on points with which Mr. Lay night be supposed to be familiar, as for instance in his argument, (section 18,) that it would be hardly fair to expect the Chinese Government to submit its right to fines &c., "to the judicial discussion and deci- sion of any foreign court; still less that it would allow Merchants, who are themselves daily endear- suring to evade the Chinese revenue laws, to have any voice in such decision, as the Assessors of their Consul," the fact being, that under the Order in Council of June 18th 1853, "any charge against a British subject for a breach of treaties, or for a breach of the rules and regulations for the observarce of such treaties, shall be heard and determined by the Chief Superintendent or Consul without Asse-
sors."-
8.The Committee will not however dwell longer on this ill judged Memorandan, but proceed to state the real grievances complained of by Merchants.
9-These are-
I-The independent and irresponsible right of confiscation of ships and cargoes, for breaches of Treaty Regulations, claimed and exercised by the Foreign Customs Department; and the alu ost invariable exaction of the highest penalty, without reference to the existence of Mitigating circum
stances in the offence,
13
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