CO129-169 - Others - 1874 — Page 393

AZ

give he invariably makes an excuse of some sort & the "fear of involving their connections with the native authorities

او

is the

·

The

general one & accepted without: question by foreigners. fact is the junk carrying Grace between Hongkong Canton is a monopoly in the hands of a very powerful guild scrupulously

who

pay

their duties

&

to the native customs & are

Therefore never interfered with. It is the junks trading with Formosa & the Ports North & West of Stongthong that evade the Customs dues & run for the Hongkong waters where they quietly wait until slip out, or more generally

They

Transfer their

cargoes

can

Z

Zast

vessels. This fact is perfectly

well known. The trade in native produce at Songthong

в

is

very large: the portion that has arrived from Canton City

389

hai

paid export dues, but the remaindy from the Court in nine cases out

of ten has not paid one cast.. 72 was this

evasion of the Tompt ones wh. first zur opium & afterwards

glaring

for native

caused the establint

produce of duty stations

on the mainland in the

trouble

neighbourhood of Tringkong & a large number of guard brats & steamers who so a

sovely The mercantile mind of the Colony, for they see in

nothing but a sinister attempt. to ruin its trade,

it being

it

immaterial, of course, whether or not that trace is legitimate,

the argument being that it

3

The Colony

is not the business

to look after the duties of the Chinese

goot, but its business

to take care that the Chinese