Tr should, we think, be a matter of profound satisfaction to Sir Robert Hurt thnt a member of the Service he las organised and administered so ably for the Inst twenty yenrs has rendered such utility to the State as to be the subject of a Memorial to the Empress. Whatever may be the outturn of events, there is no doubt that Mr. Gustav Detring has done that which for the time being has averted war between France and China; and while it is he that has thus distinguished himself it would be unjust not to recognise the credit that is thereby conferred upon the entire Castoms Service and especially upon the Inspector General. One of Sir Robert Hart's most conspicuous claims to honour as an administrator lies in the judgment he exercises in choosing men; and no more signal proof of his ability in this respect can be found than in the success of one of his Commissioners in a difficult and important diplomatic undertaking. We may therefore express " hope that the Imperial Customs Service, which was originally started as a system of machinery for the collection of maritime duties, and has since extended its operations so very widely in other rections, may be permitted by those in power to follow out this policy of extension, for the good of the State in general. A Correspondent whose letter we publish to-day ventures to make a sugges! that the same snocessfal system which has secured so large a revenue to Chinn by the incorruptible and able collection of marine dues should be applied to the internal revenue, for dealing with which a special Collectorate should be estab. lished. The proposal is a startling one, and there are no doubt many and colossal difficulties in the way of its adoption. These may fitly be discussed upon a future occasion; for the present it is only permissible to bring about, as far as possible, a familiarity in the public mind with the specific idea now broached, and with the more general idea that the more use is made of the Imperial Customs Sersice the greater the benefit that will redound both to the welfare of the people and the condition of the Imperial coffers. We believe that the jealousy with which the Customs Service has been too often regarded by foreign merchants is as ill-founded as it is shortsighted. The policy of Sir Robert Hart, as a servant of the Chinese Government, has uniformly been directed towards such ends as will both benefit the State by whom he is employed and farther the commercial interests of all foreigners having a stake in the country. Wo therefore deprecate all such restricted views as tend toa limitation of the prerogatives of the Service as it now exists, and support ull measures enleulated to place fresh opportunities and scopes at its disposal for the row organisation of such things in China as stand in need of fiscal and administrative reform.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.