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FOREWORD.
THE proximity of Hongkong to China and the development of the Colony on free-trade lines have naturally accentuated the difficulty of protecting China's local revenue. This being understood, the various Agreements governing the relations between the two countries indicate that the British Government have not been unmindful of the implied obligation on their part to accord reasonable facilities to the Chinese Authorities to enable them to cope with smuggling and safeguard their revenue; but, on the other hand, public opinion in Hongkong seems to have consistently opposed the establishment of Chinese Customs stations either in the Colony itself or the adjacent islands situated within British waters, the result being that organised smuggling has steadily increased and the revenue has suffered accordingly. The introduction of Tariff Autonomy, resulting in the higher Tariff now prevailing, has aggravated the situation, and it is necessary, therefore, to find a solution calculated to protect China's rights on the one hand, without adversely affecting the Colony's commercial interests, etc., on the other.
In order to understand more clearly the question as it exists to-day, it is essential to study the principles which governed the relations between the Governments of China and Hongkong in the past, and, this premised, I desired Mr. Stanley Wright, Commissioner of Customs and Personal Secretary, to compile the following compendium relating to the period 1842 to 1930, which deals with the subject in an able, lucid, and comprehensive manner. The interesting story which he unfolds, it will be noticed, discloses the fact that a divergence of opinion has existed on many occasions between London and Hongkong in regard to the limitations which should be placed upon the scope of the Maritime Customs activities the former has not opposed the principle of Chinese Customs control in the Colony, but the latter, as mentioned above, has discouraged the idea of extending the domain of Customs influence. Sir Robert Hart asked for stronger powers in 1898 in view of the Kowloon extension, but his proposals were not favourably received, and were subsequently revived in another form in 1911 and 1918 without definite results. Last year negotiations on the subject were reopened, and a so-called Customs Agreement was drawn up which included a clause permitting Hongkong
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