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THE INLAND NAVIGATION RULES.
(Daily Press, 24th March.) In our issue of the 21st February we gave
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
| August 5th, 1898, received his sanction? The Inland Water Regulations are dated July 28th, 1898. Earlier than that they were in Sir CLAUDE MACDONALD's hands,
[March 25, 1899.
v summary of a letter written by Mr. and the fact that the Yangtsze Regulations|ing to admit, is an important concession in
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DUDGEON to the N. C. Daily News on the received his assent proves that he intended opening of the inland waters of China. steamers running between treaty ports to Our readers will doubtless remember that be excluded from inland water privileges Mr. DUDGEON in this letter criticised a If this were not the case, why is it that leader which appeared in the Daily I reas of certain porte of call or stages are provided the 26th January on the same subject, and for, where these vessels will be at liberty to although he in the main agrees with our stop and embark or land cargo or passen. views as expressed then he thinks that we gers, and others again where only passen- are too soon in admitting failure, and hegers are to be taken in or discharged? If does not think that we are justified in the inland waters are open to these vessels "attributing the present non-success of one what would be the use of stating such "of the most important concessions that has places? The very fact of the opening of ever been wrung from China to an alleged the waters would open not only these places "misconception of the conditions of trade but all others besides. Nor is it that these on the part of our Minister at Peking." ports of call, &c., are the lekin barriers, a We have very few points at issue with Mr. list of which is to be published by the Cus DUNGEON on this important subject, and if toms for the inland waters steamers. By he thinks we are a little too soon in ad- chance, of course, some may be, but that, mitting failure, we fancy it is because he has does not affect the argument. Between not fully fullowed our previous articles on two ports of call or between a port of call the same subject. From the 30th of April and a treaty port duties are already pro- last year in a series of these we have pointed vided for by the Yangtsze Rules; for in out that the important poiut in the whole stance, on domestic trade, between the port scheme was the amalgamation of the of call Tutung and the treaty port of Kiu- dual system, of Customs, which dual kiang, if carried in steamers a full and a system, as Mr. DUDGEON says, must surely half tariff duty is leviable (plus, of course, not only seriously hamper the scheme but lekin at both ends after the Customs have will afford opportunities dear to the evasive finished with it), whereas by the Inland Chinese mind of blocking it altogether. Water Regulations we find, first, under Mr. DUDGEON himself admits that it is a "Revenue 5," that it will either pay what failure. The question as to when you make the Customs decide to be leviable; or, if the admission is relatively unimportant. carried in a vessel belonging to a Foreign Our contention is, that it is not enough for merchant, it is
accordance the Minister to obtain the concession and with the Treaty Tariff. We then turn then to say, as he practically has done, to the Supplementary Rules to find cut "The waters are open; it is your business what the Customs decide to be leviable, and to run steamers on them. If you can't we find that by Clause 3 it will, if for local "do it under the regulations drawn up by Native consumption, pay to the proper office "the Chinese Government I am sorry, but, the duties paid on similar cargo carried in "after all, the waters are theirs and they Native vessels. What it will pay if for "have the right, as a going con ern, to foreign local consumption is not stated. "make what rules they like." Such, we maintain, on the strength of Mr. CURZCN's statement that our Government would insist on these regulations being revised in a satisfactory sense, should not be the case.
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to be in
If under the heading of "Revenue," in stead of "As to the duties to be paid by vessels belonging to Foreign merchants, they are to be in accordance with Treaty tariff," "As to the duties to be paid by Mr. DUDGEON further says that he "looks goods belonging to Foreign merchants, &c.” "to the concession which Sir CLAUDE had been substituted, probably the Inland "MACDONALD has obtained being made a
Water Regulations and the Supplementary "powerful lever in the work of breaking Rules would be more in accordance with "down the wall of Chinese exclusivism." each other. It will be interesting to see So do we, but we must confess that it which amount of duty is the greater, and it appears to us remarkably like that lever will afford the Chinese merchaut a pleasure of which we have all heard, that would lift able addition to his perplexities to decide, the earth-if it were only long enough; and, not whether he will ship his goods by junk to carry the simile further, we venture to or steamer, but whether he will ship them point out that before a lever can be used it by junk, treaty port to treaty port steamer, is necessary to obtain a fulcrum on which foreign inlaud water steamer, or native to rest it. Whether under existing re- inland water steamer, or whether, as an easier strictions such a fulcrum, in the form of a solution of the matter, he won't ship them steamer, can ever be obtained will be seen
at all. It is not our intention to adopt a later on. In fact, to drop the language of cavilling attitude in this matter; we are metaphor and come down to plain state- content to believe that in spite of the doubt ments, the restriction which Mr. DUDGEON ful wording of some of the Regulations, the says has "apparently" been introduced and Supplementary Rules will be made to apply which, until publication of our article he to all inland water steamers alike, but by had evidently never heard of, is this: By the excluding of treaty port to treaty port ruling of the Imperial Maritime Customs steamers we are forced to believe that no authorities steamers that un from one one will find it profitable to run boats for treaty port to another cannot also take ad- those rules to be applied to. We admire vantage of the opening of inland waters. Mr. DUDGEON's chivalrous defence of our It, is this restriction that we again state will Minister, and throughout the numerous ar nullify the whole concession if it is allowed ticles we have published on the subject of to pass, and it is this restriction which inland waters we have uniformly supported was the foundation of the charge we made Sir CLAUDE MACDONALD in working for that our Minister was under a miscon- the vast reform in the internal taxation of ception of the conditions of trade in China. China that must of necessity follow on the If, as Mr. DUDGEON states, our Minister is unrestricted circulation of goods by steam not under this misconception, how is it that traffic-uurestricted, that is, by other than the Trade Regulations of the Yangtsze sent the Chinese policy of evasion which has from Peking to the Foreign Office on so consistently been applied to every
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agreement that China has entered into with foreigners. This, of course, we understood would have to be overcome, but when we find what we are told, and what we are will-
principle, so restricted as to make the prin ciple impossible of application, we regret that our Minister did not see fit to avail himself of that experience and advice which he might at any time have obtained from the mercantile community of China.
DR. DUBERCK AND THE MANILA OBSERVATORY.
(Daily Press, 20th March.)
While
Owing to representations made by the Dir- ector of the Hongkong Observatory to the Weather Bureau of the United States, an order has been issued by the War Secretary, through the Provost Marshal of Manila, suspending telegraphic typhoon warnings given at Manila for any place outside the Philippines. This is a public misfortune, and it would be well to have it repaired, which might no doubt be done hy the pre sentation of a petition to the Authorities of the United States by the Insurance Offices and shipping firms of Hongkong. this is desirable on purely utilitarian grounds, the matter is one in which the sentiment of gratitude might also be allowed some play in removing an unmerited slur cast upon an institution to which Hong- kong is indebted for valuable services rendered in the past. Before the estab- lishment of our local Observatory we Manila wear entirely dependent upon for our storm warings, and the Insur- ance Companies' appreciation of the value of those warnings was evince by their voluntary subscriptions to the expenses of the institution. Moreover, the Hongkong Observatory, during the first few years of its existence, was also dependent upon the information supplied from Manila for the principal basis of its forecast, and up to the present day the public have re- tientions, as far as they went, with more garded the Manila information and prognos- confidence than our local forecasts. Manila Observatory has never professed to farecast local weather conditions in Hong- kong, but it has given us early informon- tion of the existence of typhoons and
The
of their probable course up to the point at which their influence on the mete rological conditions at Manila ceased, and this information has been of great practical
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value.
We have received from the Rev. JusĖ
ALGUÉ., S.J., the Director of the Manila Observatory, a letter in which he informs us of the action taken upon the recommen- dation of the Director of the Hongkong Observatory, and also a copy of a letter addressed to the Provost Marshal General of Manila on the subject. Father ALQUE informs us that the Director of the Hong- kong Observatory says in his communica tiou to the U.S. Weather Bureau that "the Observatory in Munila is in the hands of men who possess very little scientific education," and that "scandal is caused by their continually communicating sensa- "tional typhoon warnings to the news
The value of papers of Hongkong." the scientific education of the Directors of the Manila Observatory may be a matter of opinion, as also may be the value of the scientific education of the Director of the Hongkong Observatory; local opinion would probably be incline tu rank the former higher, than the Intter. However that may be, the slur cast by
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