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3
35
I will request His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at Peking to express to Mr. J. W. Jamieson, Commercial Attaché to His Majesty's Legation in China, to Mr. J. O. P. Bland, and to the other gentlemen mentioned in your Report, my warm appreciation of the assistance rendered by them during the negotiations.
Sir,
No. 3.
I am, &c.
(Signed)
LANSDOWNE.
The Marquess of Lansdowne to Mr. H. Cockburn.
Foreign Office, February 6, 1903.
I TRANSMIT to you a copy of a letter from Sir J. Mackay, late His Majesty's Special Commissioner in China, containing his concluding observations on the Mission intrusted to him for the revision of the Treaty of Commerce, signed at Tien-tsin on the 26th June, 1858, and for the adoption of a Customs Tariff framed in accordance with Articles 6 and 11 of the Final Protocol of Peking of the 5th September, 1901.
I have to express to you my full approval of the part which you took in the negotiations, both at Shanghae and subsequently at Peking, and my appreciation of the assistance which your great experience of Chinese official usage enabled you to render to His Majesty's Special Commissioner.
Sir,
No. 4.
I am, &c.
(Signed)
LANSDOWNE.
The Marquess of Lansdowne to Mr. C. J. Dudgeon.
Foreign Office, February 6, 1903.
I TRANSMIT to you a copy of a letter from Sir J. Mackay, late His Majesty's Special Commissioner in China, containing his concluding observations on the Mission intrusted to him for the revision of the Treaty of Commerce, signed at Tien-tsin on the 26th June, 1858, and for the adoption of a Customs ad valorem Tariff framed in accordance with Articles 6 and 11 of the Final Protocol of Peking of the 5th September, 1901.
I have pleasure in conveying to you the warm thanks of His Majesty's Government for the valuable assistance rendered by you to Sir J. Mackay. They appreciate highly the disinterested manner in which you devoted your time and attention to the work of the Commission, and they fully realize the important services which your remarkable knowledge of commercial questions and usages in China enabled you to render in connection with the drawing up of the New Specific Import Tariff.
I am, &c.
(Signed)
LANSDOWNE.
manner prescribed by Article 6 of the Final Protocol, signed at Peking on the 7th September, 1901. In consequence, however, of the recent fall in the value of silver, the specific duties do, in fact, represent in most cases less than 5 per cent. ad valorem.
Foreign goods proceeding into the interior of China are liable at present to pay, in addition, transit charges, such as li-kin, &c., unless these charges are commuted by an additional payment of half the amount of the original duty, in return for which transit passes are obtained purporting to exempt the goods from further exactions en route. It must, however, be borne in mind that the Chinese authorities claim, and often exercise, under the terms of Article XXVIII of the Treaty of Tien-tsin, the right to levy further taxation as soon as the exempted goods have reached their place of destination; moreover, as matters stand at present, foreign goods cease to obtain effectual protection as soon as they have passed into the hands of Chinese subjects, who are only able to avoid undue delay at the barriers by the payment of "squeezes" to the officials. They do not dare to complain if the passes attached to goods owned by them are not respected by the Chinese authorities, and they, therefore, generally prefer not to avail themselves of transit passes.
Whenever Article VIII of the new Treaty, which deals with internal charges on trade and the Customs Tariff, comes into force, foreign goods will pay, in addition to the present import duty, an additional surtax amounting to one and a-half times that duty. The combined import duty and surtax will free foreign goods from every description of internal taxation, including the present tax at the place of destination, and as all the li-kin, &c., barriers, will be abolished, the delay which now occurs will be avoided, and it will not be possible for li-kin to be exacted on foreign goods, even when in the hands of Chinese subjects.
In regard to the third point which you raise in your letter, I am to state that His Majesty's Government certainly expect that the provisions for the abolition of li-kin, &c., contained in Article VIII of the Treaty will be carried out by the Chinese authorities as soon as the Article itself comes into force. If any li-kin stations should be retained after the date fixed for abolition, or re-established, reports of such an occurrence would certainly not fail to reach His Majesty's Representative at Peking, or one of His Majesty's Consuls in China, who would at once make representations to the Chinese authorities for their removal, and would subsequently satisfy himself (if necessary by personal inspection on the spot) that his representations had been effectual.
I am also to point out that it would evidently be useless for His Majesty's Government to negotiate any Treaty with China, were it to be assumed as a matter of course that the Chinese Government will not observe its stipulations, and that His Majesty's Government are unable to hold them to their obligations.
I am, &c.
(Signed)
F. A. CAMPBELL.
No. 5.
Sir,
Foreign Office to Walsall Chamber of Commerce.
Foreign Office, February 6, 1903.
I LAID before the Marquess of Lansdowne your letter to the Board of Trade of the 20th ultimo, making certain inquiries as to the Commercial Treaty recently concluded between Great Britain and China.
In regard to your first question, I am directed by his Lordship to state that the Treaty has not yet been ratified, but that by Article XVI provision is made for its ratification within a year from the 5th September, 1902, the date on which the Treaty was signed.
In reply to your inquiry as to the amount of duties provided for under the new Treaty as compared with those now levied, I am to inform you that the present Tariff of import duties was framed on a basis of 5 per cent. ad valorem, calculated in the
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I will request His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at Peking to express t Mr. J. W. Jamieson, Commercial Attaché to His Majesty's Legation in China, to Mr. J. O. P. Bland, and to the other gentlemen mentioned in your Report, my warm appreciation of the assistance rendered by them during the negotiations.
Sir,
No. 3.
I am, &c.
(Signed)
LANSDOWNE.
The Marquess of Lansdowne to Mr. H. Cockburn.
Foreign Office, February 6, 1903. I TRANSMIT to you a copy of a letter from Sir J. Mackay, late His Majesty's Special Commissioner in China, containing his concluding observations on the Mission intrusted to him for the revision of the Treaty of Commerce, signed at Tien-tsin on the 26th June, 1858, and for the adoption of a Customs Tariff framed in accordance with Articles 6 and 11 of the Final Protocol of Peking of the 5th September, 1901.
I have to express to you my full approval of the part which you took in the negotiations, both at Shanghae and subsequently at Peking, and my appreciation of the assistance which your great experience of Chinese official
usage enabled render to His Majesty's Special Commissioner.
Sir,
No. 4.
you
I am, &c.
(Signed)
LANSDOWNE.
The Marquess of Lansdowne to Mr. C. J. Dudgeon.
to
Foreign Office, February 6, 1903. I TRANSMIT to you a copy of a letter from Sir J. Mackay, late His Majesty's Special Commissioner in China, containing his concluding observations on the Mission intrusted to him for the revision of the Treaty of Commerce, signed at Tien-tsin on the 26th June, 1858, and for the adoption of a Customs ad valorem Tariff framed in accordance with Articles 6 and 11 of the Final Protocol of Peking of the 5th September, 1901.
I have pleasure in conveying to you the warm thanks of His Majesty's Govern- ment for the valuable assistance rendered by you to Sir J. Mackay. They appreciate highly the disinterested manner in which you devoted your time and attention to the work of the Commission, and they fully realize the important services which your remarkable knowledge of commercial questions and usages in China enabled you to render in connection with the drawing up of the New Specific Import Tariff.
I am, &c.
(Signed)
LANSDOWNE.
manner prescribed by Article 6 of the Final Frotocol, signed at Peking on the 7th September, 1901. In consequence, however, of the recent fall in the value of silver, the specific duties do, in fact, represent in most cases less that 5 per cent. ad valorem.
Foreign goods proceeding into the interior of China are liable at present to pay, in addition, transit charges, such as li-kin, &c., unless these charges are commuted by an additional payment of half the amount of the original duty, in return for which transit passes are obtained purporting to exempt the goods from further exactions en route. It must, however, be borne in mind that the Chinese authorities claim, and often exercise, under the terms of Article XXVIII of the Treaty of Tien-tsin, the right to levy further taxation as soon as the exempted goods have reached their place of destination; moreover, as matters stand at present, foreign goods cease to obtain effectual protection as soon as they have passed into the hands of Chinese subjects, who are only able to avoid undue delay at the barriers by the payment of "squeezes' to the officials. They do not dare to complain if the passes attached to goods owned by them are not respected by the Chinese authorities, and they, therefore, generally prefer not to avail themselves of transit passes.
Whenever Article VIII of the new Treaty, which deals with internal charges on trade and the Customs Tariff, comes into force, foreign goods will pay, in addition to the present import duty, an additional surtax amounting to one and a-half times that duty. The combined import duty and surtax will free foreign goods from every description of internal taxation, including the present tax at the place of destination, and as all the li-kin, &c., barriers, will be abolished, the delay which now occurs will be avoided, and it will not be possible for li-kin to be exacted on foreign goods, even when in the hands of Chinese subjects.
In regard to the third point which you raise in your letter, I am to state that is Majesty's Government certainly expect that the provisions for the abolition of li-kin, &c., contained in Article VIII of the Treaty will be carried out by the Chinese authorities as soon as the Article itself comes into force. If any li-kin stations should be retained after the date fixed for abolition, subsequently or re-established reports of such an occurrence would certainly not fail to reach His Majesty's Representative at Peking, or one of His Majesty's Consuls in China, who would at once make representa- tions to the Chinese authorities for their removal, and would subsequently satisfy himself (if necessary by personal inspection on the spot) that his representations had been effectual.
I am also to point out that it would evidently be useless for His Majesty's Government to negotiate any Treaty with China, were it to be assumed as a matter of course that the Chinese Government will not observe its stipulations, and that Ilis Majesty's Governinent are unable to hold them to their obligations,
I am, &c. (Signed)
F. A. CAMPBELL.
No. 5.
Sir,
Foreign Office to Walsall Chamber of Commerce.
Foreign Office, February 6, 1903.
I LAID before the Marquess of Lansdowne your letter to the Board of Trade of the 20th ultimo, making certain inquiries as to the Commercial Treaty recently concluded between Great Britain and China.
In regard to your first question, I am directed by his Lordship to state that the Treaty has not yet been ratified, but that by Article XVI provision is made for its ratification within a year from the 5th September, 1902, the date on which the Treaty was signed.
In reply to your inquiry as to the amount of duties provided for under the new. Treaty as compared with those now levied, I am to inform you that the present Tariff of import duties was framed on a basis of 5 per cent. ad valorem, calculated in the
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