"Merchants trading at I-tuo to Their Excellencies the Fantai, the Taotai, and the Prefect humbly shows With regard to the issue of likin permits on various exports, the undersigned state that they are quite willing to pay likin as hitherto.
"The different firms established in the city of I-foo are Chinese, and would never dare to assume a foreign status for covering themselves, and so seek to evade the payment of likin, We (the undersigned) bilahment of likin burriere in the country, therefore beg to protest against the esta-
seeing that setting these up must be highly inconvenient to trade. We therefore petition that at the opening of the incoming season the issue of likin transit passes for the conveyance of sugar into the city of T-foo for export, may continue as formerly. Should any Chinese firm act in opposition to this petition all such must be held responsible for their own misdeeds and bear the consequences of the sane, This 1a genuine petition and all the signatures appended to it are bond fide."
(Here follow the signatures of 13 firms.) Of course if likin was only levied on owned and Ohinese produced cargo, foreigners could have nothing to say, although the presence of the stations in the Treaty ort must always be highly inconvenient, ut the whole reason for the officials wishing for a continuance of the present regime is solely because are they thereby enabled to levy on foreign goods which form the groutest portion of the imports, but which, in most instances, (even when going to the city itself) have to travel by water and thus a pretext is seized for dubbing them "exports" and charging likin. This handicaps trade heavily and being utterly against treaty, foreigners cannot rest until the intolerable burden is removed. The officials. make no secret of the fact that but for this illegal levy it would not be worth while to keep up a like They say one or two stations judiciously placed in the port can command supervision of all foreign cargo as it is being distributed return from a levy on this, fered in relation to the com: paratively 8 ff necessary for it collection, pays handsomely, whereas if stations were put up in the country "not one-third s0 much cargo would come under control, seeing that only water-borne (import) goods can be treated as exports, and the real exports are too few to pay for a large col-looting staff." This may be true but it doos not justify the gross illegality of the alters tive adopted, and if followed to a logical clusion can only be admitted as pr that no likin should be imposed supp that the outlay is necessarily out of propurtion to the returns.
showing how stupidly ignorant or offensively contemptuous, even the h officials are as to foreign rights, In mention that only the other day a fore firm wanted to send some ko "Pakow from Anping; the Ca the shippers to inform the lil that the oil was foreign-owned. The reply to this was that it must pay likin." On the Consul writing to the Taotai the Intter admitted no likin could be charged on it, but said that the shippers must get a Customs (re-export) certificate that the cargo must be examined before shipment spend again landing. In fact he wanted it treated as if it were really a re-export to other, andseparateport in China, Forform's sake the Customs were applied to and naturally replied that being an import on which duty had already been paid and not a re-export they had no concern with it." The Consul then directed the merchant to ship, in people took no active notice of the affair, 'The Tavtai, however, insisted on having the last word, reiterating, even after hearing the Customs' decision, his former assertion. Can anything better be advanced to show how accurately Shao gauged the official intelligence of those who were holding office in Formosa?
FLLG.M.'s Vice-Consul is at Tamsui interviewing the Governor, there can be little doubt but that beth the camphor and likin questions will be thrashed out. What views H. ids we can only guess as yet, but most devoutly to be hoped, both in native and foreign interests, that'" regime more ov sistent with reason, law, and justice will eventually be introduced.
28th December, 1891.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.