THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 15TH MAY, 1875.
209
8. The Commission would only say that these remarks seem peculiar as coming from a British officer, protecting British interests, Her Majesty's Government having proclaimed Hongkong a free port, and invited the Chinese to settle here, with the promise that they should be allowed to trade here at perfect liberty, free from all duties, either on imports or exports, and that all attempts to in- terfere with that freedom of trade should be promptly punished.
9. The Commission do not consider it strange that a junk should endeavour to keep near the Hongkong shore and thus avoid being squeezed by an armed vessel at the mouth of this harbor, when she has to pay duty at her port of destination as appears by the evidence of witnesses examined.
10. Notwithstanding that instructions may be forwarded by the Canton Authorities to their officers, that they are not to trespass on the waters of this Colony; the temptation to neglect them is too strong for the class of men employed in the cruizers when they know they can generally escape de- tection; and by seizure of the junks increase their prospect of prize money.
11. The proceedings of the above named craft, are gravest in character and most injurions to the trade of this Colony, in those cases where they have occasioned the stoppage of junks proceeding from this with manufactured, and other goods to distant ports on the Coast, which are quite beyond the jurisdiction of the Canton Authorities. The Commission call attention to the case of the three junks the Tai Hing, the San Fat, and the Kam Hop Li, as set forth in documents which they have perused, (C. S. O. No. 3513). These vessels were proceeding on a distant voyage with cargoes of lawful merchandize laden in this Colony when they were stopped, and the masters threatened that if they did not personally go to Canton and pay export duty, their vessels would be towed thither.
12. From the oral evidence obtained by the Commission, this practice of forcing junks loading in this port to obtain their clearance and pay duties at Canton, or if they do not, to seize them at sea, and take them to Canton by force either to be mulcted heavily, or confiscated there, has been carried on extensively. And now the Commission understand on good authority that orders more stringent than ever have been issued to the Europeans in the employ of the Hoppo of Canton to stop all vessels leaving or entering the harbor of Hongkong, whencesoever they come, or whithersoever they are bound, or whatever may be their cargoes, if they have not paid duty to the said Hoppo. One witness says that he has been unable to despatch any junks to Hainan for three months in consequence of these proceedings, and another witness states that the junk trade with the small ports, from which they brought sugar, crockery-ware, tea, &c., to this Colony, and took back European goods, vermicelli, Sin- gapore wood, &c., has entirely cused for three months. From other sources, the Commission have learned that a number of junks are now lying at Canton under embargo, and which may be ultimately confiscated. The Commission are informed that the same practice did prevail some little time ago in the neighourhood of Macao, and a junk from that Colony was seized and taken to Canton, but was re- leased on the representation of the Governor VISCOUNT SAN JANUARIO.
13. An additional hardship, and in some respects a more serious one than those above detached, will be found in the evidence. It is, that after paying their duties at Canton on arrival at ports in the Fukien Province, Hainan, &c., duties have to be paid over again to the local Custom House offi- cers there, who utterly ignore the payment made to the Canton officials.
14. The next class of cases of hardship which the Commission would call attention to, is where the armed vessels in question have seized junks bound inwards to this Colony, from ports in Formosa, and taken them to Canton where they have been mulcted in heavy sums, or condemned and sold with their cargoes, on the ground that they were not provided with a grand chop. The Commission would refer to the cases of the junks Ng-hop Sing and Kum-hop Sing; both these vessels were bound to this Co- lony with lawful cargoes, from ports in Formosa where they had paid such duties as were demanded of them, and received the usual certificate of clearance as appears by the protest of the owners.
It is not the custom at the Ports in Formosa to issue Grand Chops to native junks, and the Commission have ascertained from a most reliable source, that native junks clearing from Formosa have hitherto never paid the rates of export duty, as set down in the Hoppo's schedule, yet these vessels are seized by Customs cruizers near the Lye-e-moon, and taken to Canton. One of the junks mentioned was mulcted in a fine of $900, and the other was confiscated with her entire cargo, after having been held to ransom in sums which varied in magnitude, with the length of the arrest, from $1,000 to $3,290, (vide inclosure in C. S. O. 920 of 1874,) in which the owner thus describes his efforts to ransoin his vessel: "My "junk is now at Canton. A partner in the Kwong Cheung Lung Hong named Tong Yik Cho, when "my junk was first arrested, went up on my behalf to Canton to see if he could get my junk released. "The Custom House Authorities at that time asked for a ransom of $1,000, but after I had petitioned "this Governmet to take up my case and reference had been made to Her Majesty's Consul in Canton, "the Customs Authorities informed Tong Yik Cho that now, in consequence of their having petitioned "the Hongkong Government, the junk would not be released under a ransom of $2,700. I went up myself to Canton with Tong Yik Cho to see if I could get the last amount lessened. This was on the "10th instant. The Customs Authorities told Tong Yik Cho that instead of lessening the amount they would increase it to $3,290, and if the ransoms was not paid within two days the goods and “vessel would be sold and the crew imprisoned.
แ
66
31
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.