728510-1843-26-Jan-1843 — Page 1

THE FRIEND OF CHINA, AND LONGBONG GAZETTE.

PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY MORNING.

Or

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public "The

zelto

rized Fur

Ga-

The letter havi sion, the following

ongkong Ga- of duly autho- ed of the Government are

still to be considered as official.

By order, aparan wh

J Robt: Morrison, Janda ya "Acting Secretary and Treasurer

Hongkong, March, 23rd. 1842.

NOTIFICATION.

uffer some discus based on the regular Imperial Duties, and, as we was made by Mr. Matheson, and

Braine, second ssed unanimously,

nger should

some further conversation, it was propos- seconded by Mr. D. L. Burn,

na dedred by Sir Henry made by the Merchants col-

up

Merchants, should be lations in

teratio the Tariff and other matters, as might appear to be bene to British interesta, to adopted, and that same should be submitted to a general meeting of the Merchants before being communicated to Sir Henry Pottinger.get

A committee was then barotted for, when the Scrutineers declared that the following gentlemen had been chosen viz.

Messers Matheson, Braine, Thomson, Burn, and Living

men having consented to act, the

His Excellency, Sir Henry Pottinger,|| Bart &c. &c. is pleased to direct the pub lication of the annexed. Correspondence, and to intimate that he will be glad to hear from any Gentleman, who may be disposed to submit his individual opinions on the sub- (True copy.) jects to which the letter from Sir Henry Pottinger particularly refers, viz, a Tariff and Seale of Duties including Anchorage fees, &c.

By order

RICHARD WOOSNAM.

Acting Secretary Government House at Hongkong, Jany, 16, 1843.

To His Excellency

Sir,

SIR HENRY POTTINGER, BART, H. M's Plenipotentiary and Superintendent of British Trade

in China.

We have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency's le

letter to the British Mer- chants in China, under date 28th último, with the

Macao, alst December, 1842.

(ODINAM

Secretary.

Les Government House, Hongkong, Jany 7th, 1813. Gentlemen,nedy both. Trot

I have this moment received your letter of Yesterday's date, and lose no time in informing you, in reply, that I have as vet received none of the Papers, which the High Commissio speak of, in one of their Memoran

ly to come from the Board

Peking, nor expect to be until I rece Commissionel

Under these honor to sugges (with the informe

ience of the Trad in a concise

several enclosures therein referred to, and in re-ready possess, plying to that communication, we beg leave to forward to your Excellency copies of Resolutions passed at a general Meeting of the Merchants, by || alte

ney will observe, that the

requested to act

ions in would wish to

to Tariff and

the

I have

no means of as

taining what those duties we do not conceive there could be

sugges

nago in proceeding as Your Excellency with the information actually before us, and our long local experience" in preparing a Report on the Subject.

The Imperial Duties, properly so called, are generally understood to be very moderate, except on 2 or 3 articles; but those duties have been swelled by a

by a variety of additional charges, some of which are possibly regular, although it is gen...... erally believed many of them have arisen from either the necessities of the Local Government, from Consoo charges, or extortions of the Govern- ment Functionaries.

We may instance the article of Tea, the Imperial Duty on which is said to be nominally (2) two mace per pecul, but raised by incidental charges to one tael, two mace, and four candereens; while Consoo charge, has varied from 2 taels to 8ị for several years the actual payment, including

tacis.

We may observe, however, that we never have been able to obtain any authentic account of the authorized Duties; and we again beg leave to suggest to Your Excellency, the expediency of ob- tauning for us, from the Canton Government, copy of the Imperial Tariff, to enable us to pro- ceed with the consideration of any alteration which may suggest themselves.

As the privileges of the Hong Merchants, and indeed the system of which the

he abolished, an entire

made in the managem the Settlement rangements for of them when Trade häve

besides

were part, are to must necessarily be The Trade. Hitherto and outward, ar-

charge Is of the

ile they which

hich

Commn-

shouldi