"The above figures are determined according to the Customs returns of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years of the Republic. By deducting Tls. 2,200,000 of transit duty, the net increase will be Tls. 33,600,000, which is equal to $48,500,000. For the sake of prudence, allowance of five per cent. of the total amount is made against any incidental shortage. The net revenue thus increased would amount to $46,100,000. Against the loss of $58,000,000, there will be a shortage of some $11,900,000. This, however, will not be difficult to make good by new sources of revenue as the result of a tariff revision:—(a) Tax on goods at the time of manufacture $800,000. (b) Tax on goods at the time of sale $8,000,000. (c) Tax on cattle and slaughtering houses $2,000,000. (d) Tax on foodstuffs $4,000,000.
"Under (a) and (b) are the taxes to be collected on native made foreign imitation goods and various kinds of luxurious articles. Under (c) and (d) are taxes which are already enforced in the provinces but which can be increased to that much by reorganizing the method of collection. The total sum of the proceeds set forth under above items will amount to $14,800,000. These will be quite sufficient to cover the loss caused by the abolition of likin.
A VITAL INTEREST
"As the abolition of likin concerns the vital interest of the merchants and manufacturers, it should be carried out without delay. The commercial and industrial enterprises of the country can only thrive after likin is abolished and only then can new sources of revenue be obtained. This measure will form the fundamental factor of our industrial and economical development. But one thing to which we should like to call the special attention of the Government is the procedure to be adopted to negotiate with the Foreign countries respecting the adoption of this measure. The first step in this connection should be the increase of the present Customs tariff to the actual five per cent ad valorem rate. When this is done, proposals should be made to the Powers having treaty relations with us concerning the abolition of likin and revision of Customs tariff. The transit destination duties on imported goods should at the same time be done away with. This would not entail any disadvantage to the importers of foreign goods and any diplomatic question would not be difficult of solution. Meantime preparatory measures should be devised for reorganizing the method of collecting duties set forth above so that the abolition of likin can take place as soon as the Government obtains the consent of the foreign Powers respecting the increase of Customs tariff."
MEMORANDUM
THE LEADING OUTSTANDING CASES BETWEEN CHINA AND THE FOREIGN POWERS
(Author's note. The following memorandum was drawn up by Dr. C.C. Wu, Councillor at the Chinese Foreign Office and son of Dr. Wu Ting-fang, the Foreign Minister, and is a most competent and precise statement. It is a noteworthy fact that not only is Dr. C.C. Wu a British barrister but he distinguished himself above all his fellows in the year he was called to the Bar. It is also noteworthy that the Lao Hsi-kai case does not figure in this summary, China taking the view that French action throughout was ultra vires, and beyond discussion.)
BY DR. C.C. WU
Republican China inherited from imperial China the vast and rich territory of China Proper and its Dependencies, but the inheritance was by no means free from incumbrances as in the case of Outer Mongolia, Tibet and Manchuria, and other impediments in the form of unfavourable treaty obligations and a long list of outstanding foreign cases affecting sovereign and territorial rights.
I have been asked by the Editor of the North-China Daily News to contribute an article on some of the outstanding questions between China and foreign powers, instancing Tibet, Manchuria, Mongolia, and to give the Chinese point of view on these questions. Although the subject is a delicate one to handle, particularly in the press, being as it is one in which international susceptibilities are apt to be aroused, I have yet accepted the invitation in the belief that a calm and temperate statement of the Chinese case will hurt no one whose case will bear public discussion but will perhaps do some good by bringing about a clear understanding of the points at issue between China and the foreign Powers concerned, and thus facilitating an early settlement which is so earnestly desired by China. I may say that I have appreciated the British sense of justice and fairplay displayed by the "North-China Daily News" in inviting a statement of the Chinese case in its own columns on questions one of which concerns British interests in no small degree, and the discussion cannot be conducted under a better spirit than that expressed in the motto of the senior British journal in the Far East: "Impartial not Neutral."