following statement (it is an Kr. Tong Shao! issued the authorized translation of the Chinese text) with regard to the Tariff Conference to the Chinese people on Monday:
"The problem of China's tariff w brought before the Washington Conference by the Chinese. delegs-Sion, "This question has not yet been Sevted and the. Peking Government fas now invled the igo "nations treaties to. attend a Tarif Con-tory to. the Washington
ference in China and has set a date for this meeting.
According to the third clause of the: Washington Tariff" Agreement, there is to be an increase of 2) pet ents on the import duty and from 5 per cents on luxuries. The Tanitt Conterenee fs called to arrive oan agreement with regard Ca tis digestion. Tf an agreement is reaektu, our, national revenue will be increased "by approximately is. 15,000,000, which is not a very con-table." amount. Moreover, we! are round. to. accept. thes terms for a period of years and we have no increased control over the Administration. Under these conditions it appears to us, that we: ture begging favours of the foreign nations, @ condition to which no Sovereign state should be required to submit, Peking Government continues this stupid policy by consummating this agreement. The purpose of the Peking Government ig simply to indicate to the Powers that China is unified and to lead the people to believe that their influence with the foreign Powers is considerable. They hope to utilize this impression to check their opponents in the country. so that they may continue to remain in office, so that they negotiate huge loans to satisfy their extravagances and to enrich themselves. It is difficult to calculate how much the country will suffer from the new obliga what an additional burden placed on the people. The results of this conference can pring us only a great ess; surely the country' and the people have nothing to fearn from it.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.