CO129-522-4 China inland water- river and coastal trade- smuggling by British ships 12-12-1929 - 24-3-1930 — Page 29

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"Moreover in a recent despatch on the subject of the Upper "River trade sent to the Foreign Office by H.M. Minister "at Peking the latter expresses the opinion that the matter "of detail in trade with a country that abides by no superior "law is a question for the traders to arrange with the

country concerned".

#1

Since then the Hanking Nationalist Government are suposed

to have gained control at Wanhsien but our latest advices are that

no cessation of illegal taxation there can be expected.

•

carriage

As regards of "pidgin" cargo the various Consuls quoted in your despatch under reply justly point out that it is entirely

in our interest to stop it and it is here pertinent to remark that

under conditions existing our boats are being run between Ichang

and Chungking at a financial loss and therefore we can only say that

we spare no effort to stop the carriage of such cargo but we think

it should be pointed out that the shipment of "pidgin" cargo was

greatly facilitated by the action instituted by the Chinese Maritime Customs at Ichang who in order to avoid bringing themselves and/or

their employees into open conflict with the organized bands of cargo

runners started a system of issuing Customs permits to applicants

without such applicants producing an "order to Ship" from the Shipping Company concerned thus transferring the onus of stopping

illicit goods from the shoulders of the Customs to that of the

personel of the ship. The question of how the Shipping Company

was to keep any check over such shipments was simply ignored.

In response to a telegram which we sent to Ichang on the 6th instant, asking whether this system still prevailed we received

a reply that "since 1926 Customs issue Permits to Ship without

obtaining Shipping Company's endorsement".

In reply to the concluding paragraph of your despatch

we beg to say that we fully realize the force of the contentions

put forward by H.M.Minister and desire whole heartedly a restoration

of the system whereby our ships are subjected to search by one central

authority and that, the Chinese Maritime Customs and understand