Tu spite of this lest stipulation many of the old pawnshops in Chekiang province never applied. for a renewal of licence. Last sear, the Pawnbrokers' Guild of the Province even petitioned for postponement of the implementing of the part of the regulations and today only new pawnshops apply for licences in accordance with the regulations. 'The receipts from these, three sources in 1924 were licence tax $1,200, shop tax $34,521 and capital' tax $18,925, totel'ing $54,616, Regulations governing the imposition of slaughterhouse tax were promulgated by the Ministry of Finance in 1915. They were enforced accordingly in Chekiang province until 1921 when they were replaced by a set of revised regulations. "As the slaughtering of cows was prohibited in Chekiang province owing to their utility as working animals, the tax on cows additional 10 cents were levied on every hog and sheep butchered stead, the original rate of 30 cents on every hog being raised to 40 cents and 20 cents on sheep raised to 30 cents, The collection of this tax was entrusted to the police authorities. As not much revenue was collected in this way the financial authorities tried to put it up to tender in 1922; but the plan was dropped owing to the civil war.
The Money Shops In 1925, the old method of distribution by districts according to their size and degree of prosperity followed, but very few of the districts could collect the amounts, required" of them. The total amount assigned to the various districts was $074,328 but only $026,169 was collected throughout the province in 1925 and the pro-Vincial treasury only received about $300,000 after deducting various: expenses inewrred in collection, tax on chien pu or "money shop," which is Inrger than an ordinary exchange counter and maller than a. native bank, was initiated in Chekiang province during the last days of Kuangshu 1875-1908). The tax was divided into four goades of Tls. 50, 40, 30 ud 20 per annum respectively. These rates were later doubled. Shortly after the establishment of the Republic in 1912, the rates were calculated in dollars instead of taels, at $1.5 to the tael. Thus the first class ehienpu was required to pay $150 instead of Tis, 100 and the fourth class $60 instead of Tls. 40. In 1915, the Provincial Rureau of Finance promulgated a cet of new regulations governing: the collection of chien pu tax, the tates being first class $150, second class $120, third class $90 and fourth class $60, to be pai later than October every year to the district magistrates for remittance to the provincial treasury. Chienpu tax receipts are now considered as local provincial revenue of Chekiang and the total yield of the whole province is only $8,000 a year, "Business House Tax This tox was first levied in the province in 1918-1919 according to a resolution passed by the Pro-Assembly. It is a tax on all houses for doing business, either ted or self-owned. The rate is cne-tenth of the rent. In case the house is owned by the proprietor himself the scale of rent of a neighbouring house of equal size is adopted in levying the tax. Small houses rented at less than $1 a month are not required to pay this fax. In case of rented houses, the landlord and the tenant share the tax equally, and in case of self-owned houses the landlords pay the whole amount. This tax ie collected monthly by collectors appointed Ey the district magistrates. When the monthly receipts are below $1,000 20 per cent. is appropriated for, meeting various expenses in connexion with the collection. If the receipts exceed $1,000 in a district, one-quarter of the extra amount in addition to the original 20 per cent, of the $1,000 i appro-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.