The Superintendent of the Customs Collectorate of the Left Wing of the Peking Banner, who is charged with the collection of Live-stock and House-property duty in the capital, reports the result of his administration for the year ending 2nd March last. The amount levied upon cattle has been Tls. 20,602.15 and the duties on house-property came to Tls. 2,158.68. The standard amount that should be collected under the head of duty on live-stock is Tls. 10,008, which, deducted from the former item, leaves Tls. 10,594.15, Out of this the sum of Tls.6,145.24 was expended on fodder, ete., for sacrificial animals, office and other expenses, leaving Tls. 4.448.91 towards the regulation " supplementary amount," which, however, is fixed at Tls. 18,000." This deficit of Tls. 13,551.09 is due, the Superintendent of Customs states, to the small numbers of live-stock kept of late years in Mongolia, Manchuria, etc., and last Year in particular on account of the inundations in various parts of the country. Dealers have also experienced difficulty in finding a ready sale for their cattle, and this, coupled with the great difference between the value of silver and the price of fodder in Peking and in the country, has prevented their showing any great enterprise in the trade. The remission of duty on cavalry mounts, and the prohibition against the marketing of horses in Peking, issued some years ago at the instance of the Board of War, have also tended to diminish the receipts under this head. By an Imperial Decree issued in 1853 the Super-intendants of Customs were req to levy the full regulation amount of duties instead of paring over only 20 much as they had been able to collect, but in the event of a deficit which could be shown to have been unavoidable, report was to be made accordingly by the Super-intendants when submitting their accounts on the expiry of their year of office, when the case would be considered by the Board of Revenue and referred to the decision of His Majesty. Memorialist's term of office having now expired, he will of course make good the deficit of Tis, 13,551.09, for the collection of which he is answerable. In conclusion he appends details showing a balance in hand of Tis, 3,231 odd under the head of supplementary or epulation excess account, and solicits His Majesty's instructions as to the disposal of this sum.—Rescript already recorded.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.