Sessional_Paper_1884 — Page 208

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For collecting here, the Fuk Cheung Wo Tong receives, for every hundred taels of silver collected, a commission of mace 6.5. The Lekin Collectorate receives a commission of mace 5.8. per taels 100, whilst the Hoifong Collectorate gets mace 4.8 per taels 100.

From a comparison of the above figures, it will be seen that opium, shipped in native Bottoms, and paying duty either at K'ap-shui Mun or here, is less heavily weighted by 25% in the case of Regular Duty and Lekin, and by 10% in the case of Hoifong than opium shipped in Foreign Bottoms to Canton. The extra charges called Nga Tip-"poor and sick," and "sycee difference," are also excluded. It is obvious therefore that little opium will be shipped, from here (for Canton) in Foreign Bottoms. The absence of such shipment has been erroneously considered an evidence of smuggling from Hongkong, as has been shewn elsewhere.

The tax called Hoifong is a species of Lekin. It really covers two taxes, one a tax called Shuk Li, or the tax on opium for the privilege of boiling it, and the other a levy towards keeping up sea and river defences. As far as I can make out the Shuk Li tax was started in the 11th moon of the 6th year of Kwong Sü.--December 1880,--and was first farmed by a Canton man called Wong Tsun-ün. He paid to the Viceroy a sum of $400,000 for the privilege of collecting it for one year. Another tax was imposed later on called Hoifong. These two were lumped, and called by the general name of Hoifong, and the farming of them was sold by the Viceroy to Mr. Li Sing of the Wo Hang Hong of this Colony for a sum of $900,000 a year. Mr. LI SING is said to have lost largely by the transaction, and given it up, and General Pang Yuk, called sometimes General and sometimes Admiral, is reported as seeing to the collection now.

It will be observed that this Hoifong is a very much heavier tax than the Lekin or War tax, properly so-called, the nature and origin of which were so fully described by Sir THOMAS WADE in his memorandum on the Revision of the Tientsin Treaty (see Blue Book China No. 5, 1871, page 442). But Lekin is not a fixed amount. In 1874 it was 15 taels a chest on opium at the Lekin Station at Chéung Cháu just out- side this Colony (see Complaint of Hongkong community C. 1628 of 1876 page 39). Now it is double that sum, to say nothing of Hoifong.

The right of the Chinese to levy the Lekin tax on opium has never been disputed, but Sir THOMAS WADE has been endeavouring for some years to induce them to fix a uniform rate at all the ports, and hence the Chefoo Covention proposed to collect the Lekin and Regular Customs' duty together; and Sir THOMAS WADE, although believing that the Lekin which the Chinese Government gathered did not amount on the average to 40 taels per picul, was nevertheless prepared to recommend the Indian Govern- ment to collect that sum for China on all Indian Opium passing into China, such payment freeing however such opium from all charges of any sort inland or elsewhere. Hongkong would have had a certain allowance without duty or Lekin. (Vide Command paper 2716, China No. 2, 1880, page 4). The Chinese Government replied that, independent of inland levies of Lekin, it would require a levy of 60 taels at the ports to make up for their present collection.

At page 5, H. M. Minister, in further discussing the question of Lekin, states that if the rates ruling at different ports were to be continued, he should require exact information as to the inland Collectorates, and the rates levied at each; but the Chinese Government evidently dɔ not want to give that information. (see page 7 of China No. 2, 1880).

Finally it seems that Sir THOMAS WADE would be prepared to agree that opium should pay Lekin at the inland barriers beyond the first existing in 1876, and at the rates then prevailing, the first barrier rate being collected by the Foreign Inspectorate with regular duty. This is such a concession from his first position that he must have ascertained that the Lekin was small.

Sir ROBERT HARt in a communication to the TSUNG LI YAMEN, (published in Command paper No. 1832 China No. 3, 1877, and entitled Proposals for the better regulation of Commercial relations), proposed that the Treaty Powers should consent that Opium should pay an import duty of taels 120 per picul to the Maritime Customs on arrival at a Treaty Port, and that at a distance of 30 li=10 miles from the Custom House, it should be regarded as a Chinese commodity, and subject to local, territorial and special taxation, whenever, wherever, and with whomsoever found, and that no other charge shall be levied at the Port (see page 2, Imports).

The above proposals and discussions are certainly not without interest to the trade of this Colony, and a knowledge of the increased amount of Opium dues now collected by the Canton authorities might prove useful to the Home authorities and to the Indian Government, especially as that Government has