186 



CHINA. 



vantages obtained under th< in-atie*. The i 

 merchants are subjected to official exactions that 

 are protected from by tn-atn->. I "it the 



i.N .f the mandarins an- limited to what t In- 

 trade can bear, for if they an- t- onerou- it (Muses 



foreign hands ami "tin- sour.. 

 closed. '1'he n. t -i.'ints obtain their goods 



houses in I 



in >hanghai t|,,- fnrri-n nn| '"<" iniiig 



more and morv the c<>ininisioii agents of the Chi- 

 nese importers who supply the manufarturin_ 

 ten of the West, Thus half tin- rot ton im|Hrtsare 

 obtained in tin- wax. anl the Chinese take ti. 

 of exchange a> !! a- of the market. Of the im- 

 ports other than cott. n ami wooh-n goods three 

 fourth* arrive in Shanghai on Chinese account. 



The |IO|K-H rai-cd li> the terms obtained b\ the 

 treaty of (trace with Jajmn. increasing the manu- 

 facturing and l ratling privileges of foreigner! in 

 China, have not been realized. Tin- cotton mills 

 and silk filatures that have been established in the 



iNrhtod of Shanghai are liable, according t<> 

 the interpretation put u|*>n the Shinionoseki r 

 liy the Chinese (io\erii!in*iit. to be impeded by the 

 old likin duties on the manu- 



red products as well as excess duties 



on the raw materials. The treaty distinctly pro- 

 vided that PHH!S thus manufactured by machinery 

 shall, for all purposes of internal taxation, stand on 

 the same footing as imported ;;""<K enjoying the 

 same exempt ions in respect of inland transit and 

 internal di. ge& and exactions of all kinds. 



and also in respect of warehi-ii-ini: and storage 

 facilities in the interior of China/' as import,.! 

 merchandise that has paid 2$ per cent., half the 

 customs dutv. in lieu of transit duties. The T-ung- 

 li-Yamen, disregarding the treaty stipulation fixing 

 the maximum duty at *JA per cent.. proposed that 



Hxls manufactured fn these steam factories at 

 the treaty ports by foreigners shall pay a duty of 

 10 per cent., 2$ per cent more than the total duties 

 on imported goods, including ~ pi cent import 

 duty. This 2$ per cent . the mini-ters thought ought 

 to be adde<l to counterbalance the charges of lighter- 

 age, freight, insurance. coolie hire. etc.. that imported 

 goods have to bear. Japan was willing, in return 

 for land concessions at certain of the treaty ports 

 to agree to an interpretation of this clause of the 



. that will |K?rmit the Chinese to tax the prod- 



of factories as they desire, for the Japanese 

 have tviM-ntcd securing for Kurojicans tin- right to 

 establish cotton mills to compete with their own in 

 their Iwst market, with the advantage of abundant 

 cotton at their doors and cheaper labor than in 

 Japan. The Ifeung-U-Yameo subeequently decided 

 to levy on the manufactured goods only the same 

 rate of duty that is paid on imjH.rt-. without inter- 

 fering. however, with the likin imposed on raw ma- 

 terial. It is feared that an excessive gp.we! 



will \H- placed UJMIII raw cotton sent tot hese mills in 



order to maintain the monopoly hitherto enjoyed by 



miexe mills, in favor of which the prohibit ion 



against the im|K.rtaHii of spindles was formerly 



Chinese Government The ootton- 



itpiniiing factories compete at pn-.-ni only with the 



mill* of Ja|n and Bombay, taming out the coarser 



kind j'.ut 'here i- no reason i 



that thi- will continue t- be the cas.-. or that the 



manufacturing industry of China will l>e confined 



t'd not embrace weaving, or to 



i rather than to wool or silk. Tho-e inter- 



in the**' undertaking! hojM- from the den 



tization t silver in Japan that China will become 



one of the principal manufacturing < oimtriesof the 



world. It is computed that a Chinese laborer does 



about half the work of the British operative at one 



fourth of his wages, and that the wages now paid 



in Shanghai are higher than what the operatives 

 iiToni t.. take and hence will not rise. \\1. 

 the hand> i- likely to increase 

 .ibly In tin 



The Chinese (iovernmeiit is negotiating for tlie 

 right of foreigi-. 



toms duties to enable it to meet ii> obligations due 

 in Kuro|K-. which ha\e became heavier in j.i 

 lion to the fall in silver. In default of Mich an ar- 

 rangement it mut increase the export dm 



Main the niolie\ t.. meet ihe h.a\\ lia- 

 bilities roi .i.road! although son.- 

 specific dutie-. li\el , - \\ere higher. . 

 crushing burden on si>mc ! the mo>t imp. .riant 



. The most lla 



instance i>> the export duly <>n tea. lixed li\ the 

 Tientsin treaty of ls.V< at 2| taeU per nicul, the 

 eijuivalrnt at "that tune i nt. <i<l nu 



but now a duty of 'JO per cent., while the 

 taxes are at 1- The t,.i ; ,i 



.'II (.11 tea before It li-a\es the port 



is in inanv ' le^ than so p< r crnl. 



.veal ly a--isli-il the conipet it ion of Indian and 

 n tcji- in (iieat llritain. whidi took only :<7,- 

 "Ml pounds of China teas in ls. against' !,- 

 000,000 pound- in lss|. and t hat of .Ia|.atiese 



.n the American market. The trade ii, 

 silk, of which China no longer en joys the monopoly, 

 is also crippled, though in a less degree, by ti 

 cessive export duty. 



The commutation of the ///./// duties, by \\hich 

 the payment to the maritime custom-., with the 

 foreign import duty of half its amount addii 

 exen ; from all barrier duties in the inte- 



rior, has in a greater or less degree been evaded by 

 the local authorities. They no longer levy likin 

 duties as such on merchandise accompanied b\ the 

 tran>it pass, but they exact their equivalent under 

 the names of excise' and art mi duti.-. !< : 

 oil, for example, ha- t.. pay in Canton a municipal 

 tax amounting to nearly 40 per cent, mf vai 

 The commutation of the likin on foreign opium 

 under the Chifu convention of 1886 ha- been strict- 

 ly observed by the provincial authorise- b, 

 (Jreat Britain reserved the right to revoke that 

 convention in case of any evasion of it- provi- 

 -ions. and in that event the I'ekin g-. \ernment. 

 would lose the large revenue that comes from the 

 commuted likin on opium. Other merchandi- 

 been practically taxed at the inland barrier- the 

 same as before, although the 2$ pxr cent, du- 

 empting it under the Tientsin convention from 

 likin charges has been paid at the port of entry. 

 The Central (o.vermnent ha- not exerted it- author- 

 ity to check the-e treaty eva-jons. and ha- 

 iisposx'd to do so since it- demand- on th- 

 vincial trea-uries have increased. Thc-e abuses 

 have : 'est in the Kwang provii 



the ollicial- have simply ignored tran-il i 

 when in the h;md- of native nie|-e|ianl- an-: 



and destination duties 

 from s, Finally, the |',riti-h mini- 1 



I'ekin, Sir Claude Macdoiiald. liejng de-iiou- 

 moving ob-tructi"ii- to I'.riti-li trade in this part of 

 China in order to meet the competition thrcr 

 by the French ToiH|iiin liailmad. peremptorily 

 challenged the Chinese Governmenl to require the 

 authorities of Kwaiiginng ami Kwang-i to ol 

 the international engagement-. Accordingly _ a 

 proclamation was issued in January. 1^!>7. forbid- 

 ding officials to collect barrier duties in any form 

 from goods provided with tran-it passes or any 



-tination dutie- except such a- n. 

 imfto-ed on similar gootls which have paid ///./// in 

 transit. 



The ports of Mangchow and Sooehow. which 

 were to l- thrown open to foreign trade by the 



