China's early wars with the various Powers were fought over the right of foreigners to conduct trade "with the Chinese people. More specifically, the British demanded this tight and other nations benefited by the British victory in the wars. The result was the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, Article 2 and 5 of which Treaty are responsible for the opening out of China to trade. Article 2 opens the five ports, Canton, Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo and Shanghai. Article 5 reads as follows:—
"The Government of China having compelled the British merchants trading at Canton deal exclusively vith certain Chinese merchants called Hong Merchants (or Co; Hong) who had been licensed by the Chinese Government for that purpose, the Emperor of China agrees to abolish that practice in future at all ports where British merchants may reside, and to permit them to carry on their mercantile transactions. with whatever per sons they please."
The Conventional Taritt Bat it is Article 10 which ablishes the Conventional Tariff and which continues to be effective, with such amplifications a9 were made necessary by events, to this day. Article 10 of the Treaty of Nanking Follows:
"His Majesty the Emperor of China agrees to establish at the ports which are by the second Article of the Treaty to be thrown open for the resort of British merchants, a fair and regular tariff of' export and import customs. and other dues, which tariff shall be publicly notified and promulgated for general information; and the Emperor farther engages, that when British merchandise shall have once paid at any of the suid ports the regulated customs and dues agreeable to the tariff, to be hereafter fixed, such merchandise may be conveyed by Chinese merchants to any province or city the interior of the Empire of China, on paying a, further amount as transit dues, which shall not exceed......per cent. on the tariff value of such goods."
Rights of Commerce for All The amount was eventually fixed 5 per cent. ad valorem and, until the surtaxes were agreed to in 1927, that amount remained un-chan end. The resty of, Nanking was amplified by the Treaty of FTientsin in 1858, which from Article 26 to Article 49 lays down generat procedure by which the foreigner can trade in China, the merchants and merchan Customs procedures, transit passes, tonnage dues, ete. Similar pro: visions to those in the Treaty of Tientsin of 1858 which included Great Britain, the United States, France and Russia, appeared fi most of the other treaties with the Treaty Powers and this Treaty ma bbe regarded as fundamentally laying down the foreign rights of commerce in this country, the agency {for the administration of which is, the Chinese Maritime Customs, which, in effect, carries out the provisions of the Gonventional Tariff and the Treaties, legal Taxation To-day The Chinese desire the abolition of the Conventional Tariff and full Tariff Autonomy, which will make it possible for them by legislation or official mandate, to declare the Jamount of the tariff. The foreigners contend that the only reason why the Conventional Tariff was insisted upon in the Treaties was because of the exorbitant rate imposed by the Canton officials previous to 1842 and they point to the fact that illegal taxation has not ceased, but has, as a matter of fact, increased to such an extent that it is hardly possible to do business in many parts of the country. The assumption therefore, is that, the abolition of the Conventional Tariff will usher in a period of destruc-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.