Peking, Feb. 5.
By order of the President:
Sarr Szquesterep sy Provinces As the salt revenue is pledged for foreign loans, regulations have been promulgated, expressly stipulating that in addition to the authorized tax, no increased levy under whatever pretext shall be imposed on account of this re venue; and as the whole of the receipts are offered as security for the reorganization loans, the revenue shall be kept as a special fund in reserve, in conformity with the original agreement. Lately, some of the provinces have retained the salt revenue and some have increased the price of salt; although this may have been done to meet the exigency of the time, still it was no less a contravention of the original understanding casting a very serious reflexion upon the credit of the Government. The Ministry of Finance and the Salt Administration Bureau are hereby held responsible to refund gradually the amounts retained by the provinces to the Banking Syndicate to be deposited as a special fund according to the agreement. The superior military and civil officials of the provinces concerned shall, in view of our critical situation, all help to uphold our national welfare, and shall, on no account however im portant it may be, again retain the salt revenue, nor increase the price on eating salt without authority. Let the said Ministry and Bureau circulate this order hat for the provinces to obey, and thereby maintain our salt ad stration and preserve our national credit.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.