Tue articles that we have lately published on the condition of things in the Imperial Maritime Customs eervica have, we are glad to know, attracted a good deal of attention to that very important and on the whole admirably managed institution. "For many years it has gone smoothly on its way, growing from strength to strength, only inviting public notice when some new regulation was made that was not readily accepted by the public; but ite interns! arrangements. were seldom referred to as they seemed to be exclusively 8 matter between.the, Chinese: Government and the. Inspector-General. But uow that the revenue collected by the service. in. question has b same purpose European governments are deeply and seriously interested. in the amount of the revenue collected, whereas, before they were only slightly.jntorested;'in the way in which it, was collected' from their subjects and citizens; the internal working of the service, as well as the results' it achieves.has become a matter to be earnestly considered.
We have dwelt recently on.the hardships caused inevitably to the members of the service of all ranks by the decline in silver, and we. might have added as an interesting fact, and merely as interesting fact., without; any mal arridre-pense, that the salaries of the Inspector-General and the fortunate staff in. London are: paid in gold. But the inadequacy. of their salaries at the current exchange is.by no means the only complaint that is rife in the service. There jr. great deal of gambling on the subject. promotion. Not only is promotion, very slow, as it obviously. must he now,.that it takes'a man so many more years to earn enough to retire on, even if he is in constant touch with the sharebrokers, and.that incapacitation. from over-work is almost if; not entirely. uuknown'in the service; but there ate constant complaints, not loud but deep, that promotion is extremely capricious, This is a chronic complaint with services in which promotion depends. entirely on the will but it sometimes b matter of promotions, éxceptiby the rarest accident, we do not believe, and we do not suppose that anyone else, believes, Unfortunately, it would never do for the Inspector-General to give his reasons why he leaves one apparently good man for years without an advance, or promotes another apparently no better over scores of disappointed heads, or-keeps in a good position an acknowledged fossil who cannot even claim the merit of being harmless; andthe autocrat those working motto is simply Sic, vote, sic jubeo, is sue tobe grumbled at. Nevertheless, the service generally is devoted' to its, Inspector-General, and would be.one with all reasonable foreigners in Chinn in feeling the. deepest sorrow if he should for any reason give up the post.
Those who know anything of what is going on in the service. know. that something. must be done the premature institution of the Imperial Post and the friction that has followed. what promises to be a most valuable institution both to foreigners and. Chinese, are indications that things are not as they used tobe in the service. It seems to be thought in the service that the Inspector-General, who has now a great deal of diplomatic work and. work connected with loans., to do,.as well as the special. duties. of his office, is not
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.