To the Editor of the Sim,—The alacrity with which the United States Minister has communicated to the public latest arrangement arrived at with the Chincae Government, on the eubject of lekin taxes, is certainly commendable in many ways, especially as it permits to have an authentic peep at what is occurring at Peking during the season who the northern capital is closed to the ken of ordinary observers.
Pho object disclosed by the recently regulation about lekin has its guificance in the fact, that th agreement on this subject between His Excellency the Grand Secretary Li Bung-chang and Sir Thomas Wade in the Chefoo Con-which was ditional on the now been made absolute, and has' passed into a reality; but beyond this no apparent advantages have been secured thereby.
You will doubtless recollect that in the 1, it aren "force, lekin ought not to be col open ports" ned it was, on record Hegality of levying lo within the foreign Concessions, and the phrase itself just quoted can only have stich a meaning.
So far, therefore, the assertion that lekin could not be legally collected at the open ports, was distinctly alowed to be correct by the Chefoo Convention, and it is not surprising that all the Min now hold this to be the Wade, however, engaged to more his Go-"vernment to allow the ground rented by foreigners at the different ports, to be re-"'yarded as the aren of exemption from Lekin"; and it was ntly imagined by some persons that this clause implicit! acknowledged the possibility of the legality of Lekin outside the foreign Concessions being admitted by the British Government. is of course very different fro probability of such taxation being reed, and it was therefore premature jude that it would be so, simply Sir Thomas Wade had' merely agreed to m-.ve his Government" to claita exemption from lekin for a cortcin area, ithout agreeing besides to move his Government to explicitly conserct to lekin being levied beyond that area.
The Chefoo mention nevertheless was open to the possibi ity of such " limitation the area of lekin; and the alation on lekin just published is equal 80, for does not exempt the outside of foreign Settlements from lekin one bit more eflicaviously thy the clause which Sic Shomas Wade o!
wed at Chefou from the Chi Government; and so the regulation the possibility of being legally lev in th country just the Convention did, 'The new regul marverer, 4s mere!' applicable to Shanghai and, until we hear to the contrary, it is to be presumed no fresh regulation has been agreed to for the other treaty ports, so that the effect which applied to all the treaty ports without distinction, With these exceptional remarks, the of the new regulation promises and ryes well, as it brings the Chefoo Convention into practise without waiting for its ratification by the British Governe ment, or for other provisos which were to be accomplished befure its clauses took effect.
Sooner or later, we shall have the veridical tory of how this new regulation has been assented to by the Chinese Government; but meanwhile, in it not unwise to git Mr. von Brandt the entire credit of hat ing brought it about, as your Peking correspondent " Alpha' asserts? No doubt the revi ion of the German oaty has b the occasion for concluding ement, and Mr, vou Brande pose ind to ask for the ce-operation of his diplomatic colleagues in his endeavours aty favourably. But to ious and untruthful comous Peking "Alpha" has Jone, betire what has been accomplished Thomas Wade and the German er, 8, ly say the least of it, ax me consistent with yourcorrespondent's picture of the "most perfect harmony" which he tells us exists the diplomatic body, as it is in opposition to the historical facts of the Leki negotiate If " Aiph ins got the opinion from any of the foreig legations at Peking, that " Sir Thoma Wade purchased the "exemption of foreign goods from lekin within the Settlements, by consenting "to their being levied everywhere ow ido of the Settlem it certainly is nob the opinion that borne out by the Con vention itself, a above mentioned; and such a gratuitous i ation about the German Minister har "done better work" than Sir Thomas Wade quite at variance with the delightful harmony supposed to reign at Peking, if it has emanated from one of the elements concerted ound which would woom to have bees influencing " Alpha's" ideas of tual agreement of the foreign legation an impartial observer there can be no doubt that the Chefoo vention, by provide a limitation of lekin taxation, Immense facilitated ite settlement as arranged in the recent regulation; as it was the frst step toward uch an adjust ment of the question and it would have been tore difficult to arrau such a matter now, had it not been commenced lust September.
Before the Chefoo Cui vention was signed, lekin had not got beyond the ancient status in which it had existed from 1859. Since the Convention it has entered on its present phase, which
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.