CO129-331 - Public Offices - 1905 — Page 254

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I make here formally the charge against the Chinese Government that it has not only failed to carry out fully any single important clause of the Mackay Treaty, but that China is actively opposing in essential particulars both its spirit and letter. I shall be happy to acknowledge my error in public if I am shown to be wrong in the above statement,

As to the first part of my charge, viz., that China has failed to carry out any single important clause of the Treaty, it is only necessary to point out a clause of the Treaty actually in full operation to rebut or modify that statement. I acknowledge an improve- ment in the case of drawbacks, but refer especially to important points named below.

Briefly, I should like to bring to light a few facts in substantiation of the second part of the charge, viz., that China is actively opposing both the spirit and letter of the Treaty,

1. The Conservancy of the Huangpu of earlier dute than the Treaty.-In spite of countless despatches and meetings and the strongest pressure from every commercial and political body in Shanghae and elsewhere, continued through five years, China absolutely refuses to budge, and the very first step towards the inauguration of this reform has yet to be taken.

2. Coinage.--The Chinese Government promised to institute a uniform national Coins of all sorts coinage. Instead of this, confusion has become worse confounded. and conditions from some sixty mints are being constantly multiplied and debased, and to such an extent that a financial crisis is one of the probabilities of the future unless the Instead of one evil is stopped, as you, Sir, have so ably pointed out in a recent article. national coinage there are now dozens. The Government is robbing the people and debasing its coinage and acting in direct violation of the express stipulation of the Treaty.

3. Afining-China entered into "soleun engagements," to quote Sir James Mackay, that she would open the country to mining on Western principles and that Chinese and foreigners should be treated alike and with equal justice, explicitly stating that "within one year" from the signing of the Treaty she would "initiate and conclude" a series of mining laws based on Western procedure. Has she done this? On the contrary, she has taken every step possible to make mining by foreigners impossible. I have myself seen an official Proclamation giving a Chinese Company permission to mine, but containing a clause that the permit would be forfeited if any foreigners were admitted to the Company, and forbidding the employment of foreign capital even in the nature of a loan.

It was reported recently in the daily press that the Board in Peking had inserted a clause in the Regulations forbidding any foreigner to have any share in any mining enterprise in China. Compare this with the Treaty Regulation! China has gone out of her way to insult the Treaty Powers.

To-day, some three years after the Treaty was signed, no regulation as called for is in existence, and the fact remains that the officials will not grant mining permits to foreigners, except on conditions which are tantamount to refusing the same.

Taxation.--This was the "big feature" of the Treaty, and all kinds of improve- ments were promised. Sir James Mackay was confident the Chinese Government meant to institute reforms. I venture to affirm that Chinese taxation is now worse than it has ever been. Since the Mackay Treaty has been signed things have gone from bad to worse, taxation has increased, and foreign goods are not respected as they formerly were. Trausit passes are often utterly ignored, and goods taxed by Li-kin officials quite regardless of the extra payment of the half duty. Employés of British firms are British arrested, imprisoned, and fined, and redress is difficult or impossible to obtain. Consular archives, if opened to the public, would disclose many instances in proof of this assertion. Let the Government make the Tien-tsin Treaty effective and we shall be much better off than now,

4. Inland Navigation. Instead of assisting development along these lines, the Chinese Government take all possible steps to obstruct, as certain recent cases show.

5. Trade-marks, Patents, Copyright, Sc.-All these subjects are simply dead letters. Not a solitary instance of an effective carrying out of one of these Treaty Regulations can be adduced.

In spite of all these facts, Earl Percy tells the British public the Government have no information that the British Treaty has been ignored. I challenge Earl Perey to make a positive statement and tell us that the British Treaty is effective in any of the above essential particulars.

As a matter of fact, since the signing of the British Treaty a strong anti-foreign

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wave bas set in throughout Government circles. Every possible step is being taken to hinder foreigners in their legitimate development of trade. And they are encouraged in this by the fact that they are not called to account by the British Government, which calmly allows itself to be insulted by the open disregard of its Treaty. Three years after the signing of the Treaty not one of its important clauses has been made effective in the face of this patent fact Earl Percy tells us the Government have no knowledge that the Treaty has been ignored. This is a "record " even for the British Government. It is surely high time this state of affairs came to an end.

I have written the Chairman of the China Association and the Chamber of Commerce asking them to get their Committees to act. It seems to me merchants of all nationalities should take steps to remedy the present state of affairs and to call the attention of the Home Governments to facts of which they are ignorant, as evidenced by Earl Percy's Parliamentary declaration.

The ordinary Chinese merchants and people are cager for reform in trade along Western lines. The obstruction is entirely official. A partial explanation of this state of affairs may be found in the fact that Chinese officials are now going openly into trade and are obtaining for themselves special and exclusive regulations which benefit only themselves but hinder general progress. This is encouraged by Sir James Mackay's special promise to exempt so-called "Government works" from taxation. Sir James's idea of Government works" differed doubtless in toto from the idea of the same on the part of Chinese officials,

The Minutes of the Shanghae Municipal Council provide us with further evidence of the above statement and illustrate the fact that we are met on all hands by the most Instead of pernicious and obstinate obstruction on the part of the local officials. attempting to work harmoniously with us and further the general public interests, Chinese Mandarins for the most part do all they possibly can to obstruct and hinder.

appears to be a part of a general official policy.

This

I am, &c.

(Signed)

EDWARD S. LITTLE.

Inclosure 14 in No. 1.

Extract from Chinkiang Intelligence Report, March 1905.

Rice Export.

THE question of allowing the export of rice from Chinkiang-which has been stopped for a long series of years on the false plea of scarcity--has now again been raised. The local officials have always desired the removal of the prohibition, and the native merchants and foreign shipping agents have naturally been equally anxious. Higher authorities have stood in the way, and the matter of "squeeze" has been a prominent obstacle. In January the Taotai, having previously felt his ground, forwarded to the Viceroy at Nanking a Petition from the local native merchants praying that the embargo on rice might be removed. The Viceroy showed himself not unwilling to entertain the suggestion, and active negotiations were begun. In February the Taotai approached me with the conditions under which it was proposed that the export should be allowed. They were as follows :----

1. A special export li-kin of 144 mace per shih (150 catties) on rice, and of 0-75 mace on wheat, other cereals no special li-kin. A li-kin office to be established, and the necessary returns to be obtained from the custom-house.

2. Export to be allowed to Ningpo, Foochow, Swatow, and Canton, and the river ports if desired. Northern ports to be excluded on account of the war, Amoy for no special reason that could be given except old custom, and Shanghae as long as prohibition of export from that port continued.

3. Steamer bond, for river export, twice the value of the cargo; for sea esport, twice the value of the cargo, and a special extra bond of 10,000 taels.

4. Telegram of due delivery at destination to be received within thirty days of departure. Documentary permit to be returned within six months.

5. If the local price of rice should exceed 6 dollars a shih, export to be stopped.

[2140 ce-]

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