CO129-366 - Governor Sir Lugard Acting Governor May - 1910 [4-5] — Page 294

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6.

-General and Mr. Harris the 13 articles originally proposed

by the Commissioner of Customs, were entirely recast and

ultimately took the shape of the draft Convention in 14

articles which I have now the honour to submit to Your

Lordship. The draft was considered in Executive Council

today with the Registrar-General, Mr. E. Osborne, Dr. Ho

Kai and Mr. Wei Yuk present and was approved in principle.

The first article of this draft

Convention is designed to regulate more strictly than at

present the junk trade between this Colony and China: and

it will, if finally accepted, necessitate certain amend-

-ments in the Merchant Shipping Ordinance. The Registrar-

-General believes that the Chinese will have no objection

to these proposals and that they will recognise that some

concession must be made in return for the grant of privi-

-leges to this Colony. On the other hand, this article

contains the irreducible minimum which will be acceptable

to the Chinese Maritime Customs. Ir. Harris originally

proposed that the Chinese Customs should be allowed to

collect all dues and duties on cargo carried by native

vessels to and from China, that to this end certain

jetties or anchorages should be assigned at which Customs Officers should function, and that Junks arriving or

leaving the Colony without Customs papers should be

penalised. I was unable to accept this proposal: and

Harris then suggested as an alternative that all junks

should be required to enter and clear at a harbour station,

whenever they arrived at or departed from a port of the

Colony. This also would, in my opinion, have been too

onerous; and finally, as a compromise, the article has been?

agreed to in its present form. In explanation of the

reference to the Pass Books of the Imperial Maritime

Customs I would remark that by arrangement with Mr. Harris

daily memoranda of cargoes of Chinese liquors reported by

junks