KUANGTUNG, Whereas the merchants Ho Yao-tseng, Mei Teli-jung and others, have petitioned this Bureau stating " that owing to the present emergency of sea-const defence, methods should be devised to procure funds for the purpose, in which all who eat of the food of the land, and who walls about it, should exert their strength in ase sting the Emperor The Petitioners Ho and Mei, having been merchants for a number of years in the metropolis of Canton and Fat-shan, know that there has always been a tax levied on money. That for every hundred taels loaned, out " tax of 2 candareens is levied, and for every hundred taels sold 2imace. Now inUanton there is no limit made for money loaned. out by banks, but the taxes on such mor are paid in alump sum; hence the monthly tax paid over for them only amounts to 700 to 800 taels. But in Fatshan thera is a rile that the banks should pay a monthly tax to the Lekin Bureau of "fle. 250. In view of this, it may be sew that the yearly revenue hitherto collected from these two cities in this matter is comparatively small, Now, it is onl; wealthy people who are able to deposit large sums in the banks, and it seems that these very men have never paid anything to the Lekin offices in the shape of this tax. The Petitioners therefore consider this to be unjust, At the present moment money is urgently needed for military purposes; of this the Petitioners are perfectly aware, and it is our duty to our Emperor to assist him in every way, The Petitionora there<
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.