The Peking Government's Note to the Powers on the subject of the abolition of likin, set out in yesterday's telegrams, is bound, we fear, to around suspicions. Why tins sudden eagerness to fulfil the terms of the Mackay Treaty nearly 18 years after it was completed ani during all of which it has remained a dead letter? We do not wish yo be uncharitable, but what has Pr. king got to make out of abolishing likin? The answer is found in the words "an increase of imports duties." The Powers are remind-Ned that when the tariff was revised two years ago, they consented to the principle of further revision two years after peace. Obviously China will have to find some source of revenue to replace likin and so "the Powers should be requested to take part in a prior revision of the import tariff so as to make the listed values of commodities correspond with actual values and to raise an income sufficient to compensate loss from likin." But now for another point. Peking admits that! China is not united, and that unity is an essential preliminary to "uniformity of revenue collection." One conspicuous result of this disunion is that Peking gets very little of the likin collected, whereas it gets everything from import dues left over after settlement of loan claims. Hence if the Powers were weak enough to consent to an increase of the latter. Peking would have great deal to gain. As for like that might certainly be abolished in name and would as certainly reappear under another. We do not think the Powers will fall into the trap. Let us add that we are dis. tinctly in favour of a new scientific tariff being instituted for the benefit of China's industries. But} not under the present government in Peking.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.