We have been requested to publish the following letter addressed by his Honour Tsai Nai-huang, Customs Taotai of Shanghai, to the Acting Consul General in Shanghai for the United States Stn,—As you are aware, the Shanghai Customs Taotai has hitherto been the only official authorized to issue p: tmits to persons proceeding from the Province of Kiangsu to the United States, Now I have been informed by H. E. the Chief Commissioner of Commerce for the Southern Ports that' your Government has complained that, ju consequence of the fact that the
person having power to grant these Shanghai Customs Taotai is the ita, intending emigrants to the United States often experience great, difficulty in getting them, and suggested that in fature the Viceroy of the Liangkiaog Provinces may also be empowered to grant permits to go to your country.
When I assumed office here I discovered that the grest majority of the applicants were not ent residents in Shanghai but hailed from Kwangtung and that they were really working men falsely representing them-to be merchants or students; 80 once caused the most exbansti inquiries to be made into the whole matter. The: result of the inquiries showed that there was a certain shop in Hongkew to which all these emigrants went and which undertook to provide them with the necessary permits for s consideration. Sometimes as mach as one thousand taels was paid for a single permit. It appeared to me that to allow this pernicious and illicit trade to be carried on would not only seriously injure the standing and good name of bond fide Chinese merchants and students in the United States but obstruct, if not altogether bar, their way thither im time to come, and that it I were not to discriminate between the fraudulent and bond fide applicants I should be violating the treaties concluded between our countries.
Therefore I man urated a very rigorous policy in regard to the granting of these permits and I decline to issue them to persons other than merchants with capital or having been doing a substantial business in Shanghai and bond fide students s0 as to put a stop to the misrepresentations and deceit hitherto been which have on one oF two effect. received number of applications which have, either upon ity by my deputies or upon cross examination of the applicant by myself personally, been proved to be fraudulent.
However, all who arg entitled to ited States are always: ithout any undue delay and not the slightest obstacle in ever placed in their way for the sake of extorting money from them. The sole object of my scrutinizing every a plication and being so careful in Granting these permits is strictly to observe the treaties concluded between our countries and to protect the interests of my fellow-countrymen. I do not and have no desire, to hinder bond fide emigrants from any ulterior motive. But from the fact that your!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.