£8
Canton,
prosent this all travels by junk via Macao, where tho native Customhouse duty collected by the Commiɛɛlunur at Lappa is only 58 cents pur picul as agaa against the Tariff duty of $1,47 oollected at Kowloon, and the railway loses the fraight thereon. The Chinese Traffic Manager at Ta Sha T'ou reports that, were it not for the imposition of likin, the goods returns would show & gratifying increase, but a charge of 20% ad yalorum by rail as against one of about 1 ad valorem by water naturally works all in favour of the latter. The General Manager states that, while likin brought in only a few hundred dollars pur month, it was having & vory damaging effect on railway
receipts.
Mr. Jamieson accordingly hopes that what has been stated above may be taken into very careful consideration, not only from an economic point of view, but also from a political point of view, because wore the Hongkong, Govern- ment to withdraw the privileges which they at present, under Schedule D, grant to the Maritime Customs, a posit- ion would be created not only deleterious to the interests of China as a whole, but to those of Kangtung in partic-
ular.
As stated above, the analogies of other railwa;s in China, cited by the Treasury Department, do not appl. in the case of the Canton-Kowloon Railway, seeing that the latter impinges on British territorit; and, under arrange- ment with the British Authorities, is accorava spocial
treatment.
The matter being one of importance the favour of an
early reply is requested.
September 3, 1912.
84
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