FO371-23514 — Page 219

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3.

steamers, a special party was organised, with the under-

standing of the Japanese authorities, for attending to

arrivals and departures of the Japanese steamers and

collecting duty on passengers' luggage.

Such control

As

was greatly tightened during the year under review.

a consequence of the strict searching carried out on

board of all steamers, smugglers again resorted to the

old means of dumping goods into the river on the vessels'

way up the Haiho. This was immediately checked by the

reintroduction of the escorting system in April. A11

steamers from Dairen and Japan were escorted from Taku

Bar to Tientsin alternately by the C.P.Ls. Kuankang and

Kuanchieh. As the goods carried by passengers as luggage

were pouring in incessantly and on an increasing scale

during the first part of the year under review, the pre-

ventive measures on steamers were further strengthened in

Three Searching Parties were then organised for

dealing with the searching of all arrivals and departures

and the examination of passengers' luggage. Taking turns

weekly, one of the parties was stationed at the Taku Junk

Control Station for the purpose of searching all arrivals

and departures at Taku Bar. The Search Parties were kept

constantly busy attending to all vessels day and night,

and, as a result, a great improvement has been achieved,

not only in the control of the sundry importations by

steamers, but also in diverting a great portion of the

goods which would otherwise have been carried by the

passengers as luggage to the proper channel for importation.

The latter is, however, invisible.

June.

Throughout the year all the wharves on the

different bunds were patrolled by our officers, with the

exception of the bunds within the Japanese military zone.

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