Inquiries of the Customs auth. orities "on July 19. failed to eliot Jany information regarding the re-35 culations promulgated with ex traordinary' diffidence by the Gov-_ ernment at Nanking five weeks ago for: the imposition of means "of "consular, certificates, on the. invoices of export China Te" will Be "seen that. the Jeourse apparently contemplated demands the inspection of the invoices of all imported goods at Chinese ports, marder to see that the required certificate has been ohta ed. This will have to be handled by' the Customs authorities, 30. is surprising that they have no, information on. the subject. The system is not new. It is in force in some other countries. Its institution for application to imports China must_be attended: by considerable difficulty and. inconver fence owing to the paucity of Chinese consulates abroad. It may be expected that strong representations
reconsideration of what. oppos will be made to the Government for be a hastily' devised. scheme altogether from the financial issues involved in the' imposition of yet nother. charge' on imported "goods fand in the exceedingly heavy pent! les. contemplated for enforcerness of the levy." The date for the ap-
september 1. this appears to eve fail ihe various is appears to give
impossibly shore notice, especially if ithe to be taken to apply' to the date fof the arrival of the imports. China, rather than to. the date of their export from abroad. The Gor-crinments mysterious procedure in lieve, suggests that there has been iving half-hearted publicity to this
imperfect discussion of it in high quarters. It is to be hoped, therefore, that a prompt elucidation of the position will be forthcoming and nota cancellation of the order, a readjustment of its provisions to the actual jes of the trade conditions with which it purports to deal.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.