Feb. 21, _Iy Saturday's leader we mentioned the suggestion of the British Chambers of Commerce that the proceeds of the surtax, which China wishes to levy on imports pending abolition of likin, should be withheld by the Powers until China is, and as a means of inducing her to become, united. The Chambers have dropped this idea because they see no chance of its being realized. But it remains to be seen whether the project may not ultimately have to be revived and adopted, not only as regards the surtax, but all revenues collected by Customs and Salt Gabelle. It is a grave proposal to moot, that the foreign Powers should withhold from the Government of a country which they recognize revenues which undoubtedly belong to that country. But although the Powers continue to recognize Peking, they cannot be blind to the fact that a very large part of China does not: and this part objects that, in supplying to Peking money which their agents collect, the Powers are committing an unfriendly act towards great numbers of the people of China.
This in a nutshell is the contention of Canton. The Powers, they argue, have repeatedly professed their resolve not to inter-fore in the internal affairs of China. But, the Cantonese retort, by giving this money, which the Customs and the Gabelle collect, to Peking, the Powers are committing a demonstrable act of interference. Without such resources, Peking would long since have collapsed and the Chinese people would have been enabled to set up in its place a government representative of its own wishes. To the further contention that the Powers are compelled to recognize some Government in China for the ordinary purposes of international dealing, and that Peking remains the legal Government until China puts up another one, the Cantonese reply that the second of these arguments is open to question and that, as for the first, there was a period of several months' duration immediately after the overthrow of the Menchus—from February, 1912, to October, 1913—when the Powers did not recognize any government in China. yet the Customs continued to
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.