CO129-287 - Public Offices & Others - 1898 — Page 279

No. 7.

273

(No. 96.) My Lord,

Sir C. MacDonald to the Marquess of Salisbury.—(Received July 11.)

Pelting, May 24, 1898.

I HAVE the honour to inclose herewith to your Lordship copy of a despatch, and its inclosures, which I have received from Her Majesty's Consul at Canton with regard to the new Rules for transit-pass trade which have been drawn up by the Chinese Government.

I am approving Mr. Brenan's language in his despatch to the Viceroy.

I have, &c. (Signed)

Inclosure 1 in No. 7.

CLAUDE M. MACDONALD.

Consul Brenan to Sir C. MacDonald.

(No. 18.) Sir,

Canton, April 28, 1898. I HAVE the honour to inclose copy of a despatch from the Viceroy, giving me notice of the new Rules by which foreign goods under transit pass may be sold en route on certain conditions.

The gloss put upon the Rule by the Viceroy would seem to indicate that such goods will in future be liable to a li-kin tax, from which they have hitherto been exempt. His Excellency professes to understand that, once arrived at their destination, the goods become at once liable to li-kin, and the words "whether they are taken further or not " are obviously meant to meet the German contention that not until the goods are taken beyond the destination mentioned in the pass are they liable to further taxation.

He

The Viceroy's remarks on li-kin on kerosene seem to me quite irrelevant. implies that, as li-kin is now the same as full and half duty, there ought to be no complaining on the part of the foreign merchant. Li-kin, of course, is not a substitution of, but an addition to, the tariff duty, and the Viceroy's argument is meaningless.

From other sources I understand that the intention of the Provincial Government is to so reduce the li-kin and import duty by junk that it will not pay to import by foreign vessel, and thus to divert the duty and taxes from the Imperial to the local Exchequer.

I shall not engage in a barren discussion over hypothetical cases with the Viceroy, but shall wait until by their action the li-kin officials have committed a breach of the Treaty.

Meantime, in my reply to the Viceroy, I have reserved whatever rights our merchants enjoyed before the new Rale came into force.

I have, &c.

(Signed)

BYRON BRENAN.

Inclosure 2 in No. 7.

(Translation.) Sir,

+T

Viceroy I'an Chung-lin to Consul Brenan.

Canton, April 2, 1898. I HAVE the honour to inform you that I have received a despatch from the Tsung-li Yamên to the effect that the Inspector-General of Customs, after consultation with the Yamên, has formulated the following Rules with reference to transit-pass goods:-

1. Transit-pass goods may be sold en route, but the pass must be handed to the officials at the place where goods are sold for examination and sealing.

2. When transit-pass goods have arrived at the destination named on the pass, the pass should immediately be cancelled, upon which the transit-pass goods are in exactly the same position as goods not covered by a pass.

The effect of this latter Rule, I would point out, is that transit-pass goods, after their arrival at the destination named on the pass, whether they are taken further or not, must pay li-kin.