the Editor of the Sm,—It has doubtless been observed that, "whenever the. question of inland taxation has come up for discussion, the alleged final obstacle preventing its solution, in accordance with the spirit of the Tientsin 'Treaty, is always that the rights of the provincial governors of the Chinese Empire ure irreconcilable with the merchants' interpretation of the treaty, and that the actions of the provincial governors in matters of local taxation are uncontrollable by the Imperial authority at Peking. How far this theory of a local balance of power for upholding the security of the Chinese world is founded on fact, Lleave for the consideration of those who have to write descriptions of the political constitution of China, That the facts on which it is supposed to rest have been exaggerated, will not, I fancy, require a repetition of evidence to substantiate; and in justice to the Chinese Government it must be stated, that the requirements of {overnors have never been rd at Peking as an excuss taxation complained of; so that ity it may be doubted whether these naries have so much to do with the affair as has been urged. Every time that the lekin or other inland taxes have formed subject of remonstrance at Peking, the invariable answer has been, that they are levied for local military purposes, or for remittance to the Imperial Treasury; and these two objects are so closely identified with the supreme Imperial authority and attributes, that it would be almost loss of time enquiring whether the lekin and other have anything whatever to do with the provincial authorities, except so far as the collection of Imperial revenue is conin taxes came clearly hin' the inland. taxation which the Tientsin Treaty provided against, and unfortunately received the nae with the spirit of the treaty than the contrary opinion is, no one, I think, will now feel Gispored to seriously call' in question and there lekin taxes, therefore, naturally themselves for cons with other arbitra commerce. In reality, with th exception of the flagrant cases of goods covered by transit certificate being fleeced notwithstanding, which are mentioned by Mr. Bruce in his despatches, and by Mr, Wade in his "Memorandum," the chief complaint has not been merely that the road taxes ure levied on goods during their passage through the country, but that our commerce has been oppressed when stationary or otherwise, by taxes under the name of lekin, If it were not for the Jokin taxes levied on foreign goods through the instrumentality of the provincial nors, these mighty personages would scarcely have been heard of, and the question of transit dues would never have been mixed up with any supposed interference with their right. The fact of the privileges of the provinces being urged as palliation for the collection of illegal transit dues generally, brings the former into immediate contact with the whole question; but it has placed them also false position in the discussion; and apart froma the consideration that the illegal taxation has ocourred within the ju tion of the provincial governors, they hare no right to be brought into' the case. When Mr. Bruce was discussing the terms of the Tientsin Treaty with Kweiliang and Hoashua, on 26th June, 1858, it is recorded, in the Memorandum of what occurred, that they desired the addition, at the close of the transit duty and tariff articles, of—*Those shall be referred for the consideration of the governors of the provinces concerned." The same document relates that Mr. Bruce would not accede to such a demand, and it was negatived. Mr. Bruce evidently perceived that the consent of the provincial governors ad nothing to do with the arrangement which the British nation was making with the Emperor of China, and that by allowing the observance of the transit dues engagements to be dependent on the acquiescence of the provincial authorities, would be tautamount to giving them a voice in the government vf the empire, which he well Knew they did not possess, The experience of Mr, Bruce naturally Jed him to quite an opposite conclusion to any such theory of provincial independence, for throughout the whole of the previous negotiations, the mandarins had implored his forbearance, on the plea that they could do nothing without the Emperor's permission and the Commissioner Yeh went even further than this in his letter to Lord Elgin of 14th December, 1857 (the purport of which was translated by Mr. Wade), and stated,—No officer of China whatever "would venture to do other than what is "pleasing to the Emperor." This gives avery clear standard of the relation between the sovereign of China and his representatives throughout the empire and, moreover, is in perfect accordance with the observed absolute dependence of all officials on the wish and orders of the Emperor. It is hard to see any reason for admitting the dual principle of authority which would be the consequent outcome of the provincial governors theory. Although there is not a strict analogy between ti deceased dual government of the Mikado and the Tycoon in Japan, and the imaginary dual authority of the Emperor and the provincial governors in China, the \c0 of the inadmissibility of the shows that nothing approaching to similitude with the Japanese duplex system should be entertained, if we wish to treat with the Emperor of China on the footing of a sovereign power. As Sir R. Alcock observed letter to Prince Kung in January, 1867—" Of "whi it may be asked, is a treaty giving the right to trade om payment of "certain fixed duties, if the Emperor' officials in the provinces can at their pleasure increase these without limit "in the passage through the country of the staple articles 2"
The consequences of such a state of things would be brim full of peril to the recognition of the Emperor's authority over the country called China, by foreign powers, If it were a matter of right that the provincial governments could act independently pf Pi it would be manifest that the Ta Tsing dynasty is not yet paramount in the eighteen provinces, and that the British Government has made a mistake in concluding a treaty with the Manchu Emperor, instead of making parate conventions with the petty sover-eighties that hold sway on the const of China, It would be just ax well to warn the Peking Government against the fatal effects on its own existence that are contin-ganton its allowing it to be supposed that it cannot command the provincial governors, nor exact implicit obedience from them. As Sir Rutherford wrote to Prince Kung, in January, 1867—" To plead defects of "of bar to any prompt im-"provement in the observance of treaty stipulations is to abdicate the sovereign "right of an independent state that they are "so anxious to uphold, and to justify the "intervention of foreign powers aa the only means of effectually protecting the interests of their subjects." If there be any real difficulty in making the Imperial authority felt and obeyed, such difficulty must be overcome for the sake of its self-preservation.
The Emperor has contracted with the British nation to perform certain thin, and he is bound to carry out his obligation If he is unable to perform these things, to some inherent or essential defect thority in the country over which he is supposed to rule, then, aa it is clear he must have known also this self-inst: sieucy before he signed the treaty, it would follow that he deceived Lord Elgin, and was guilty of a grievous offence against the British nation, by misrepresenting himself to be what he really was not. This, of course, would not invalidate his engagements with the British Government, but it would expose him to receive such condign punishment as we might deem right to inflict for his deceit in the transaction. If this were merely my own individual opinion, I should hesitate to lay any stress on it, but it reats on the authority of Sir Rutherford Alcock, who doubtless ind well weighed the whole question both in China and in Jay When the Tycoon of Ji inability to protect British sul injuries, Sit Rutherford Alcock is reported to have said on that occasion,—"* Well, in "such case, it is plain that we have made "a mistake in recognising you to be the "Emperor of this country, and we must "go and settle with the Mikado "at Osaka." Sir Rutherford, in 1867, fretted himself on this subject to Prince ug in a somewhat similar fashion,—" It "it not so clear that the Chinese Govern-"ment cannot at once by @ vigorous effort "compel its own officials to obey orders "and avoid all violations of treaty provisions regarding foreigners within their several jurisdictions,—Unless, indeed, the "Central Government can do this, it ceases to exercise the highest functions of soveriegne "ty, and loses all claim to respect and obser= "cance from foreign powers. It ceases, in fact, to be a government in the true sense of "the term, in ceasing to perform the proper "functions of one. 'To maintain order and' ""Znforce its commands, at least amongst "those who hold their commissions from "the crown, are both very essential con-"ditions of existence to a government; "and as regards th of these, failure "must be fatal to its stability whenever foreign powers are exposed to injury in consequence."
The less we are told of the provincial govertior theory, after this remarkable pression of international relations, the bet ter will it be for all concerned; and withstanding this, any one still clings ¢o the false theory, and entertains any misgivings about the relations of the provincial governors to the Emperor, 1 commend to:
is attention the following remarkable passage from the Peking Gusette of 19th ember, 1874, in which the governor of antiing, Ting Pao-chang, one most influential Chinamen in records the estimation he hi political relationship with the Emperor of China,—Ting Pao-chang memorialises on is return irom Kweichow to Shantung "that, as it is five years since he wa granted an audience, he is possessed with continual anxiety to gaze upon the "countenance of Heaven, a8 A DOG OR A "HORSE LONGS FOR THE SIGHT OF HIS "nasteR, and he entreats permission to "visit Peking for this ellice.""
to this abject self lmmiliation of the The verwillion pencil thereby replied powerful viceroy.—"here is no need for mr to come and have audience!" I submit that nothing further is needed to complete the picture of a provincial: governor, as he exists in the political ud all the theoric ted to discolor never obliterate his true character.
The Chinese Government have imagined that the phantasm which they cast in the: path of our required adjustment of the transit dues, and which has hitherto led
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.