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Account. From the Inspector-General's Foreign Revenue Account it is transferred to the Inspector-General's Loan Service Account with the Hong Kong and Shangha Bank forming the guarantee for the foreign loan obligations of China secured on the customs revenue (1895, 1896, 1898 Loans and the Reorganisation Loan of 1913). The native customs revenue is similarly transferred to the Inspector-General's Native Customs Revenue Account, and from there to the indemnity accounts with the various indemnity banks. Any deficit at the end of the month when the indemnities are paid is made up by a direct transfer from the Inspector-General's Loan Service Account to each of the indemnity accounts.
A similar procedure is adopted in other maritime customs ports, where the commissioner in charge remits the foreign and native customs revenue to the Inspector-General's accounts with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and the additional duties and surtaxes to the Inspector-General's Revenue Suspense Account with the Central Bank of China in Shanghai. I may mention here that, notwith- standing the considerable civil disturbances in China, all treaty ports are remitting their revenue regularly to the various Inspector-General of Customs Revenue Accounts in Shanghai without any interference of local and provincial authorities. The Inspector-General has now, as heretofore, complete control of all these accounts, and cheques on them can only be signed by himself or his deputy, the financial secretary; but it may be noted that the Inspector-General (Mr. Maze) does not, and will not, exercise any control over the so-called "customs surplus" (that is, the balance remaining after liquidation of the indemnities and loans secured on the customs), nor does he attempt to hypothecate or control funds properly belonging to the Chinese Government.
If any surplus remains in the Inspector-General's Foreign Revenue Account after sufficient provision has been made for the foreign loan obligations each month, it is used by the Inspector-General, in consultation, of course, with Ministry of Finance and the Kuan-wu Shu, for the payment of interest and amortisation of those internal loan obligations which the former Inspector-General had undertaken to run on behalf of the then Chinese Government.
Conservancy dues and wharfage dues are handed over monthly to the Shanghai District Accountant, who disposes monthly of the conservancy dues for the use of the Whangpoo Conservancy Board, and who also hands over quarterly the wharfage dues to the Superintendent of Customs and the two Shanghai municipalities.
The Inspector-General pays monthly to the Shanghai 24 per Cent. Treasury Bond Sinking Fund Commission that part of the Inspector-General's Revenue Suspense Account which he has been notified by the Ministry of Finance as being earmarked for the payment of interest and amortisation of those loans floated by the Nanking National Government.
After these obligations have been paid the Inspector-General informs the Ministry of Finance of the current balance in this account, which is thereupon handed over to the Ts'ai-chengpu for disposal of by the Ministry.
The above remarks have been compiled by order of the Inspector-General for the confidential information of the British Legation.
A. J. COMMIJS, Financial Secretary,
Inspectorate-General of Customs.
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