CO129-501-8 General policy in China 30-11-1926 - 30-11-1926 — Page 146

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that the Customs should have nothing whatever to do

with the collection of the new taxes in Kuang-tung,

in Shan-tung or at Hankow. There would remain, of

course, the danger to the Custom administration

from the duplication of its organization by means of

provincial collectorates and the "inspection corps".

But this risk was less inmediate than the certainty

of disaster if the Customs machinery were used for

collecting the new taxes.

45.

In the evening of the 16th December the

United States' Minister at Peking told Mr. O'Malley

that he had just received a telegram from the State

Department at Washington stating that the Japanese Ambassador there had presented the Japanese case at

great length to the Sesretary of State, who had con-

sequently telegraphed instructions that "the State

Department did not wish the proposal for the uncon-

ditional grant of the Washington surtaxes put forward,

unless there was unanimity amongst the twelve Powers'

The United States' Minister further said that he had

received a visit from the diplomatic agent of Mar-

shal Chang Tso-lin, who had given him to understand

that the northern military confederation must have

money to fight the South, that no means of raising

it apart from the Washington surtaxes had occurred

to them, and that they intended to press for the unconditional grant of these surtaxes or, if neces- sary, impose them illegally. Mr. Edwardes also in-

formed Mr. O'Malley that there was no doubt whatever

that Marshal Chang Tso-lin intended to press the

question

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