286
He
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
scale shall be allowed to pirculate freely, on payment of duty according to a fixed
ask is that they shall be allowed to engage and what the foreign shipping companies in the carrying trade on terms of fair com- petition and without being subjected to unnecessarily restrictive regulations.
"
16
40
[September 30, 1899.
taze Valley being more than merely "nominal for some time to come." In, another part of the report Mr. WARREN says that two launches run regularly to Changsha with passengers, but they are aid to be anxiously awaiting the opening under the Chinese flag. The natives are of Yochow to foreign trade, but Consul WARREN, while regarding the opening of that port as a move in the right direction, is afraid that there will be little or no trade necessity of opening Changsha and Siangtan there. Long ago we insisted upon the
Siang subsequently. Yochow is a place of as treaty ports, and other ports on the river small importance and by no means a centre of trade. Its sole claim to importance is the fact of its position at the entrance to the Siang river are opened to trade it is of little Tung-ting Lake. Inless the ports on the
use to attempt to tap the trade of Hunan.
THE INLAND NAVIGATION RULES, or at all events it has not met with the | specially constructed for the traffic, which approval of the guilds, but the fact that it are now useless to them, owing to the (Daily Press, 25th September).
has been formulated shows that the Govern-invention of obstructions whereby the trade perusal of the correspondence on inland ment is not absolutely averse to change in is effectively closed to them. The Steam- Waters steam navigation, forwarded to us vided the revenue itself is secured. Then River have been obliged to withdraw one of the manner of collecting the revenue, pro- boat Companies running on the Canton by the Chamber of Commerce, may seem a formidable undertaking to the ordinary why not transfer the collection to the Foreign the boats built for the traffic on the upper render, but we would nevertheless invite all administration of the service with its conse- have had to be withdrawn from the Yang- Customs, which would result in an honest waters of the West River, and several boats Interested in the development of foreign trade with China to face the task. We quent expansion of trade and increase of taze and its affluents for similar reasons, would further invite their_special attention the West River trade. Most of the Consu- trade of Hankow for 1898, writes on this revenue? The question does not affect only Mr. Consul WARBIN, in his report-on the to the despatch from the Inspector Generallar and Customs reports for last year contain question:-"The so-called opening of the of the Imperial Maritime Customs to H.B.M references to the inland navigation rules,inland waters has done nothing to im Chargé d'Affaires, in which they will find and from all quarters is repeated the same the question brought to such a point as to tale of impracticable conditions and dis-
prove the position here. British mer- enable them to arrive at an independ appointed expectations. Every Chamber "the unsettled state of affairs, to risk "chants do not seem inclined, in view of ent verdict. If the memorial of the Ship- of Commerce in China and also the Home" enpital in developing the inland trade; ping Companies, published on Saturday, Chambers should makes rather heavy reading, the same
therefore be invited "and unless ports are opened in Hunan, cannot be said of Sir ROBERT HART'S Hongkong Chamber. The opening of the
to support the representations of the "and proper means taken, by sending gun- manifesto, which is penned in quite a
"boats into the Tungting Lake and the sprightly humour and may be regarded collection of the revenue would mean
inland waterways coupled with an honest "rivers running into it, to afford protection as a curiosity in the art of reasoning. Sir
to traders, there seems no chance of the ROBERT HART sets out the Chinese case
a long step in the direction of opening "opening of the inland waters of the Yang- with engaging frankness, and its weak- not want to abolish provincial taxation," up the country. The foreign merchants do ness at once becomes apparent. claims for the West River a
to use Sir ROBERT HART's words, nor do double entity, namely, as a continuation of the sen
they want "to kill native trade." It and a highway leading to the two open
is probable indeed that if the rules ports of Samshui and Wuchowfu, and as an requirements of the case the bulk of the were brought into accordance with the inland water; and as the revenue from the inland carrying trade, especially on the trade on inland waters belongs to the smaller and more remote streams, would be Provinces while that from the trade at monopolised by native craft. What the for- treaty ports belongs to the Imperial Gov-eign merchants do ask is that merchandise ernment, the two trades are to be kept separate and distinct and separate services are to be employed in collecting the re- venue on each, the result being, as ex- pressed by Consul MANSFIELD, that two steamers running over the same ground are required to do the work of one. Could anything be more wasteful or illogical?
The only excuse for this splitting up of d'Affaires, has unfortunately allowed him- Mr. BAX-IRONSIDE, H.B.M. Chargé the service is to protect the provincial self to be caught by chaff and has com revenues. The question therefore arises, pletely misapprehended the position. It is would the provincial revenues suffer from therefore the more important that the whole Amalgamation? We believe not, but even
of the Chambers of Commerce in China should if it were so the matter would be cap-act unitedly in the matter and represent it easy adjustment. When the to the Diplomatic Body with sufficient force question of tariff revision was under dito nullify the baleful effect of the British cussion a short time ago the various bodies representing foreign mercantile inter-representative's perversion. The Hongkong Chamber of Commerce has made represen- ests expressed their approval of an increase tations to the local Government with a view of the import tariff, but on the condition of securing Mr. CHAMBERLAIN's attention that one charge should frank the goods to the subject, and it is to be hoped that through to the hande of the consumer and that a fair proportion of the revenue should tion, as the Secretary of State for the success may attend their efforts in this direc- be allocated to the provincial administra- Colonies, being a business man, would at tions, the last named condition being re- garded as essential to the smooth working ful to require two steamers to run over the once see that it is inconvenient and waste- of the scheme. The Shipping Companies in claiming the right to engage in the inten- one, and he might be able to induce the same ground in order to do the work of treaty-port trade and the inland navigation Marquess of SALISBURY to see it in the same trade without having to run two steamers light. It is indeed not unlikely that when over the same ground to do the work of one Mr. HAMBERLAIN has got the Transvaal cannot therefore be credited with any de- crisis off his hands the British Government sire to sweep away the provincial revenue. There is no reason why one Customs service promotion of British commercial in terests may give some considerable attention to the should not collect both the Imperial and in China. provincial revenues and account for each separately. An even handed collection of the revenue can only be secured by placing it in the hands of the Foreign Customs and doing away with the competition of the Na tive Customs, a competition which is as anomalous as it is wasteful and oppressive.
Would the difficulty of arranging the matter with the Chinese Government be so great as in represented? We think not. The High Commissioner KANG YI has made proposal to the various guilds at Canton that they should compound for all lekin charges by a direct payment to the Govern- ment, by which means the expense of main taining the lekin stations would be saveil Kane's scheme appears to be impracticable,
able of
1
(Daily Press, 28nd September.)
It is not only on the waterways of South China that the Chinese Government have contrived to keep the word of promise to the ear and break it to the hope, when nominally conceding the right for the navigation by foreign steamers of the In- land Waterways. That privilege, hailed with so much satisfaction generally and with a flourish of trumpets in some quarters, has turned out a sickening delusion. We say a sickening delusion advisedly, inas- much as steamship owners were deluded into the belief that they would be allowed to trade on the inland waters and bad boats
|
duplicated at Kiukinng.
The experience of Hankow is practically Mr. Consul BRADY, in his report on the trade of the port for the past year, shows that the efforts of foreign steamship owners participate in the trade of the inland waters have been quite vain.
firm
one
to
A British
the Chinese flag and
chartered two launches flying or two trips experiment was not a success and the vessels were made to the Poyang Lake, but the
course came to, were withdrawn, when the enterprise of an end. But as "hope springs eternal," another firm has since flag, and if it fails to achieve success it will resolved to try launches under the British
not intend to allow the foreigner to obtain be of course because the Chinese officials do
Mr. BRADY says that the Fu Kang steam- any share of the traffic on the inland waters. launches, owned by a native company which has been in existence since 1897, still retain said to be doing well, but the boats only the monopoly on the inland waters, and are
average ten tons and are not suitable, as they draw too much water and possess too little towing power. But they make the trip to Nanchang, the provincial capital, distant about 140 miles from Kiukiang, în thirty to forty hours, a great advance on the junk passage, and hence secure the patronage of the well-to-do natives. When the inland waters are really opened to foreign trade instead of being only so professedly this journey will be shortened from thirty hours to fifteen.
As showing how privileges are granted by the Chinese Government with one hand and taken back with the other, Mr. BRADY re cites the manner in which the chartering of junks by foreigners was first permitted and
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