To the Editor of the '"Nonru-Cutwa Dairy News."
Sim,—Within the last few weeks, two collisions have occurred off the Shantung Promontory in foggy weather, involving in each case the total loss of a valuable steamer.
Many ther cases come to the knowledge of shipping men, where disaster has been avoided only by pure luck, and vessels have come literally within inches of each other during thick weather.
Sir,—There have been persistent rumours for some time of a further revision of the Customs Tariff, involving considerable. increases, Jand one of your {Chinese contem= poraries has published a statement to the effect that the Ministry of Finance is drafting a mew and higher tariff scale to go into effect with the abolition of likin, The re~ port continues that, with the aboli tion of the likin system, the government will be deprived of considerable revenue and the imposition of So the cat is out. of Likin is to be "abolished'
One of the chief considerations at the time China obtained tariff autonomy was the immediate abolition of likin, Again, when the tariff! was farther increased. the abolition of likin was the excuse, Jand now we find that likin is again to be abolished.
On this occasion we are inform. ed that a now and higher tariff scale will go into effect with the abolition of likin, which means, if the National Government stonds by the etter and spirit of this statement, we are not likely t2 seo further inereace in the Customs Tariff for a very considerable number of years, but I personally would rather choose to believe that the tariff will be increased and likin will be "abolished" on countless occasions in the future as in the pact.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.