CO129-521-13 Chinese Customs- proposed agreement with Hong Kong 27-8-1930 - 16-10-1930 — Page 142

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54.

;

55.

On Art. 1. there was some discussion

as to how far the Hongkong Government could go

in searching the stores of fishing junks.

Mr. Maze said he only expected reasonable

precautions. No important change was eventually made in the new draft, though the question as

to how far Hongkong would be able in practice

to enforce the very strict conditions for the

control of the junk traffic was raised.

56.

In Art. 2. the sale taxation

clause was cut out. Hr. Kaze said it had

been Sir R. Dane's idea.

As regards control

of salt, there was some discussion as to what salt (? salt in transit only) was to come under

Customa supervision and what salt was the affair

of the Colony. Finally a clause was inserted,

in lieu of the taxation clause, by which the Hongkong Government agreed to control the movements of all salt imported into, produced

in, or exported from, the Colony. It was

apparently this question of smuggling of salt from Hongkong into China which was the great

bone of contention in 1917, and it was not

merely the question of taxation (which, it was

said, would drive salt-using interests out of the Colony) but the difficulties and expense of

checking the movements of salt and licensing

production and export, that caused the Hongkong

Government to withdraw from signature of the

agreement in 1918. Some question was raised

/in