August 18th.—(1) The deficits in the collection of the land tax formed some time ago the subject of two Memorials from the Censor Liu En-p'u, which were referred for the consideration of the Board of Revenue. Acting upon the censor's suggestions, the Board drow up a set of regulations in 15 clauses, which, together with five volumes of specimen forms of returns, were forwarded to all the provinces. The new rules were to take effect from the autumn collection of last year, and any explanations or modifications which they might require to suit local conditions were to be intro-Auced by the provincial authorities and duly reported tothe Board. The Viceroy at Canton passed these documents on to the district officers in his jurisdiction, and he now sub-nits a report which the lieutenant-governor and the grain intendant have furnished him on the subject. From this it appears that, for various reasons the new arrangement cannot be introduced immediately. The state tenants area depraved class of men, and even the autumn collection finds them, asa rule, largely in arrears. Great confusion prevails in the land registers, find the cage ig till further complicated by the practice of sub-division, which affords a pretext for refusing to pay the tax. As a first step, an accurate return of the existing deficits has been called for, and the fects and departmental magistrates have een required to have the collection books produced and carefully examined. The Viceroy, remarking on this report, states that the land tax is the country's main source of revenue, and adds that the removal of the abuses connected with its collection is the great essential for the adjustment of the national wealth. There is, however, difficulty in giving immediate effect to the board's proposal, but its gradual adoption is feasible. The salt revenue furnishes an example of the success of dual treatment. From 1855 it had been ina chronicstate of arrear. A late Viceroy established the rule that it should be collected a month earlier each succeeding year, and the result was that in 1879 there was a return to the limit of time fixed by Jaw. Last year when in charge of the governor's department, the Memorialist introduced a similar system-for the land tax collection, and this year the returns will go forward a month earlier than usual. By pursuing this course the collection will in five years' time be brought within the period assigned by law.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.