CO129-451 - Public Offices - 1918 — Page 210

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Enclosure 1 in No. 1.

Wai-chiao Pu to Dean of Diplomatic Body.

M. le Doyen,

Pékin, le 12 septembre, 1917. 1L me parvient la lettre suivante du Ministère des Finances :

A l'heure présente les recettes de la douane maritime étant très larges, l'Inspecteur général de la Douane, sur notre demandle, a déclaré que, en dehors des fonds nécessaires pour le payement des indemnités, pour le mois de septembre il y a encore un surplus de 2,000,000 de taels qu'on pourrait retirer des fonds déposés de la douane. C'est pourquoi mon Département serait désireux de retirer de nouveau une somme de 2,000,000 ile taels pour ses besoins urgents."

Kelativement au surplus de recettes de la douane, mon Département a déjà obtenui il y a quelque temps de votre Excellence, en sa qualité de doyen du Corps diplomatique, le consentementd'en retirer une somme de 2,000,000 de taels. Comme il y a à présent un surplus des recettes de la douane, le Ministère des Finances voudrait de nouveau, suivant ce précédent, retirer une somme de 2,000,000 de taels. Comine dans le cas précédent, ceci ne porterait pas préjudice aux remboursements qui sont encore dus. C'est pourquoi je me permets d'adresser cette note à votre Excellence, en la priant de vouloir bien en

prendre connaissance et de m'envoyer une prompte réponse dormant son approbation, afin que les liens d'amitié soient resserrés.

(Sceau du Wai-chino Pu.)

Enclosure 2 in No. I.

ESTIMATE of Revenue Obligations and Assets.

September 6 to December 31, 1917-

Obligations.

Customs secured loans and indemnity at 4. 10d. exchange Reorganisation Loan, September to December, 1917..

Sh. Taeis. 8,112,354-37 2,419.275 00

10,531,629-37

Total obligations

Assets

September 6 to December 31, 1917-

Net foreign revenue, cash

9,683,831-89

Estimated foreign revenue, 1 mouths at 2,200,000 taels* Estimated native customs revenue, 4 months at 250,000 taelst Li-kin, cash

8,800,000.00

1,000,000-00

160,000.00

Total assets

19,643,831-33

Less obligations as above

10,531,620-97

Estimated surplus on December 31, 1917..

9,112,201 96

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Mes honorés collègues m'ont autorisé de faire connaitre à votre Excellence qu'en considération de l'état satisfaisant des revenus de la douane ils n'ont pas d'objection à ce que la somme de 2,000,000 de tauls soit mise à présent à la disposition du Gouverne- ment chinois. Il faudrait, cependant, que cette somme ne soit pas versée en une fois, mais au moyen de versements espacés, comine cela a eu lieu lors îlu retrait des derniers 2,000,000 de tacls.

(Translation.)

Je profite, &c.

BEELAERTS VAN BLOKLAND,

Enclosure 4 in No. 1.

Wai-chiao Pu to Dean of Diplomatic Body.

Peking, October 15, 1917. Sir,

THE Government has recently on two occasions received advances from surplus customs funds totalling 4,000,000 taels. The following further communication has now been rereived from the Ministry of Finance:-

"According to the method employed in the past when applying for the use of these surplus funds, time has been consumed in exchanging correspondence on the subject to the great inconvenience of all concerned. It is now proposed that the net balance of all customs funds received mouthly during the period October to December of the present year, after deducting the amounts for payment of which they are security, should be transferred to this Ministry for its use according to the procedure employed when advances of salt funds are made. I shall be glad if you will taken the inatter up with the Ministers of the countries concerned and obtain their concurrence."

As the Ministry of Finance points out, the steps required by the present practice of requesting an advance each month from surplus customs funds are cumbersome, and involve a futile waste of time. That Ministry's proposal that if, during each month beginning with October of this year, there is any surplus of customs receipts over and above the amounts required for loan and indemnity payments, the Inspector General should each month pay over the entire amount of such surplus for use by the Chinese Government according to the method followed when advances of salt funds are made, is one conceived in order to save trouble, and has no injurious effect on the loan and indemnity payments secured on customs funds.

I have the honour to request your Excellency speedily to reach a decision in respect to the Ministry of Finance's proposal, and to favour me with a reply informing me of your concurrence therewith.

I avail, &c.

(Seal of the Wai-chiao Pu).

Based on net foreign revenue collection for August 1917.

† Based on average native customs revenue for 7 months, January-July, 1917.

2,000,000 taels already handed over to Chinese Government must be deducted.

N.B.—The figures given above are simply an estimate, and their accuracy is in no way guaranteed.

Enclosure 3 in No. 1.

Dean of Diplomatic Body to Wai-chiao Pu.

M. le Ministre,

Pékin, le 3 octobre, 1917. J'AI eu le honneur de recevoir les notes des 11 et 27 septembre dernier, par lesquelles votre Excellence a demandé l'approbation des Ministres accrédités à Pékin pour un nouveau retrait d'une somme de 2,000,000 de taels du surplus des revenus de à douane, le Gouvernement étant désireux de s'en servir pour des besoins urgents.

Sir,

Enclosure 5 in No. 1.

Dean of Diplomatic Body to Wai-chiao Pu.

Peking, November 9, 1917. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's note of the 15th October, on the subject of the release of surplus funds from customs revenues, which has been duly considered by the Diplomatic Body.

My honourable colleagues desire me to state, in reply, that, while they have no desire to place any undue obstacles in the way of these funds being made available for the use of the Chinese Government as expeditiously aspossible, they consider that the procedure employed in the case of releases of salt funds is not entirely suitable for adoption in the case of releases of customs funds.

The reasons inspired by prudence which have hitherto led the Chinese Government to make a separate application to the Diplomatic Body on each occasion when a release of customs funds has been desired still appear to hold good, and the Ministers accredited to Peking are accordingly of opinion that the maintenance of the existing procedure

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