To the Editor of the "Norta-Cuina Dairy News."
Sir,—Recent reports sent to the American and_ British mi thorities with regard to the disturbances in China and their effect on trade, are interesting, but in view of the latest Customs returns not very convincing. 1922 according to the Inspector-General constituted a record year for foreign trade, and the last quarterly trade returns show similar proportionate results. On what then does the Treaty Port community base its facts and. evidences?
If the requests of the Chambers of Commerce are followed out by the British and American Governments it seems to the writer that on top of the grave disabilities our trade is now labouring under owing to shortage of production and taxes, we shall have the added burden of a boycott perhaps on a larger scale and even more effective than the one now being waged against another Power.
If the events during the past six months in the Ruhr have taught anything at all, surely they.have taught that you cannot force a country to trade with you unless they so please, and surely the British learnt the futility of trying to force alien conditions on a country by the experiences gained in Kussia and Siberia alfter, and during the war.
But allowing that the disturbed state of the country does require foreign interference and that we as a race do not require the goodwill of..our potential customers, how can the various petitioning bodies who favour intervention justify their wish to put an added burden of cost upon the British exchequer at this time, when the national toxes already reach the highest known in history? It-is true the costs might be ultimately recovered from China, but, at first the burden would have to be taken by the Home taxpayers. Surely it is not just seeing that the majority, the very great majority of Britishers in China, not only do not pay income tax but many of the companies also de not pay.
And again allowing that the various petitioners are just-fied i: asking others to shoulder their burdens for them, how do they account. for the fact that during the past year certain German firms without the "protection" of extraterritoriality have invested large sums in the interior iron and coal mines and have la certain lines of import entirely 1e-gained their lost trade in China?
Perhaps some of your readers may be able to answer these questions which arise from a
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.