CO129-240 - Public Offices & Others - 1888 — Page 160

157

49

I beg leave to inform you, in reply, that this question is at the present time the subject of correspondence between Her Majesty's Minister at Peking and the Government of Hong Kong, and that I shall not fail to acquaint you with the result at as early a date as possible.

I have, &c. (Signed) SALISBURY.

REGE 28

No. 89.

Sir,

No. 88.

The Marquis of Salisbury to Mr. Phelps.

Foreign Office, October 31, 1887.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 26th instant, in which you inquire as to the views of Her Majesty's Government in regard to the collection at Hong Kong by Chinese officials of li-kin on kerosene oil shipped thence to Canton.

* Farmer's seal given to him by Government,

Sir,

The Marquis of Salisbury to Mr. Phelps,

Foreign Office, November 25, 1887. SINCE the date of my note to you of the 31st ultimo I have been in telegraphic communication with Her Majesty's Minister at Peking regarding the question of the collection at Hong Kong by Chinese officials of li-kin on kerosene oil shipped thence to Canton.

Sir J. Walsham informs me that the private li-kin collectorate at Hong Kong, of which complaint was made, has ceased since Sir Robert Hart took charge of the Chinese Customs stations, which, except in regard to opium, have no concern with foreign trade, ships, or foreigners at Hong Kong.

Kerosene oil shipped from Hong Kong in Chinese crafts to a Treaty port is subjected to a li-kin duty, which the Chinese Customs Service collects at Hong Kong for the account of the Chinese provincial authorities of the port of destination, in addition to the native Tariff duty; but if the oil is conveyed in a foreign vessel, the foreign importer pays import duty according to Maritime Tariff at the port of entry, and the li-kin duty is not levied until it passes into the hands of the Chinese dealer, and is then collected, not by the Maritime Customs Service, but by native officials.

Sir J. Walsham further states that li-kin on the oil in the Canton Province has been considerably reduced, and that the import duties collected under the Native Tariff may, perhaps, shortly be so also.

Under the circumstances described by Sir J. Walsham, it does not appear that there is any ground for representations to the Chinese Government based on Treaty rights, as there is no interference with foreign shipping, and the li-kin is not levied on the oil so long as it remains in foreign hands.

I have, &c. (Signed) SALISBURY.

&

X