Peking, Oct. 6, 1869.
Sir,—I have been instructed to represent to the Government of his Imperial Majesty, the expedience of some relaxation of the rules by which the British merchant is at present prevented from importing salt into China.
The relaxation contemplated is this:—That the Chinese Government allow the British merchants to import into the port of Shanghai a limited number of cargoes of salt, say a car-{he period of five years, An import duty would, per month, or twelve cargoes a year, for of course, be levied on the article, and by means of the foreign collectorate the trade could be put on a satisfactory footing. ing a certain means of livelihood for wages prospective, nor is there any quantity of vaant ground for, them tot. 7 [trade in} salt, and it will b iacepodlent jete is a Treaty provision prohibiting
modify the regulations in this respect.
During the course of this present year, an Australian merchant was detected bringing a cargo of salt to Tientsin. This case was leniently dealt with, by the confiscation of the salt only; the merchant was not punished, as this was his first visit to China, and he was not familiar with the Treaty. But, for the future, clandestine trade in salt by any and every foreign merchant will be punished as the treaty requires.
Foreiga salt cannot be put on the same footing as foreign grain, as the despatch under ac-Knowledgment suggests. Asin duty bound the Prince addresses his Excellency the British
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.