Mr T. V. Soong. Minister of Finance of the Nationalist Govern mort, has issued the following statement through the Kuo Min News Agency, concerning the policy of his Ministry with regard to the Salt Inspectorate:
The Ministry of Finance will utilize expert talent in the conduct of its various departments and will seck to promote the creation of a modern civil service.
The entire staff of the Salt Inspectorate, including the foreign personnel,. will therefore ye restored to their positions as employees of the Ministry of Finance and especially. designated for duties in connection with the Salt Inspectorate, "The Salt Inspectorate will be expected to produce an efficient: and futly effective collection and control agency for the obtaining of revenues from this source; the Ministry of Finance, however, is unable to recognize that any of its subordinate organizations can assume functions which, by their very nature, imply the existence of @ receivership for China's finances. Therefore, the Salt Inspe: torate will not be charged with the task of earmarking any funds for the repayment of foreign loans, such repayment from the gener funds of the Tyeasury being a specific task of the Ministry as such, or of a special department to be designated for this purpose.
The Nationalist Government has not and will not repudiate any of China's just obligations. Most of the obligations secured on the Salt Revenue are being met by payments from the Customs revenue, the bulk of which is collected in Nationalist territory. "Wherever this is not the case, the Ministry of Finance of the Nationalist Government, as an earnest of good faith, is making arrangements to contribute toward placing the so-called Salt Loans on a basis' which will provide ample evidence of an intention fulfill its obligations but due consideration will have to be given to the fact that the Ministry is accepting these heavy burdens, white': others have ignored, at a time when it is also faced by the most difficult task" of consolidating its sources of revenue and by the exigencies of civil warfare, MR. SOONG INTERVIEWED] China Daily policy with special "reference to National Policy: Why Peking such part, as directly affects foreign Must be Taken trade, in reply to specie questions, Mr. T. V. Soong, when questioned "The Nationalist Government and by a representative of the "North the Kuomintang are faced by the huge task of reconstruction within their own territory, while at the same time they are conducting a war for the unification of the whole country. Practically, the task may be analyzed as follo 1. The consolidation of governmental functions, particularly the unification of financial measures, throughout the territory under control of the Nationalist Government, especially in the nine provinces. which are geographically and econorsieally at this moment capable of consolidation.
2 The conduct of the Northern 80 that the vestiges of and militarism may inated.
The maintenance of the Kuomintang as a party; the reconstruction of the party after the shock of eliminating the Communists from the Kuomintang. ferences Inevitable I should like to dwell upon these three questions somewhat at length. With regard to the consolidation of our authority, it would be futile to suggest that we have not suffered 4 shock arising from differences of opinion amongst Kuomintang members and responsible government officials about the reorganization the party and Government. That there should have been differences of opinion was inevitable. Only the dead are quiescent.
"The effort of responsible and constructively minded party leaders is to find a programme broad enough to include all the elements in the party worth keeping and yet nar-Tow enough not to disappear in misty vagueness. We have to adhere to those Nationalist principles which have won popular approval and which provide us with the explana ation for our existence as a Party and a Government. The moment we compromise on these fundamental principles, that is nationalism, democracy and the welfare of the people our work is futile, for we sink to the level of mere militarists scrambling for power. I aseu'e you hers, who in the first and second stages of the revolution, fully represent the character of voters.
"We must not and cannot flout the sense of public opinion. We may lend; we may suggest; we may influence, but we cannot ignore public opinion. And although I be-Tieve that pubife opinion has chang ed considerably as regards methods for the achievement of our goal, public opinion has not changed an fora as regards the ultimate objectives. The principal objective must be the unifeation of the country under a democratic Government an the elimination as rapidly as po sible of the necessity for militarism,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.