Tariffs and. their application are] complicated things and are generally imposed by a country for one of two reasons—elther for protective or for revenue purposes. In China's case the imposition of a tax on imported cotton serves both and it is] only nature' that at the present time when her responsible officials} are making every effort for the country to because more self-supporting and to redress an, adverse balance of trade she should -decide upon higher tariffs, especially Fespect of commodities of which] she is herself a large—producer. Since the time when the company's mills commenced operations in Chin: the import duty on raw cotton has Increased from 87 dollar cents per) picul to its present figure, the recent! Increase being the biggest at one time. It came without warning] upon an important industry and time when that industry Was pass.
through a critical period and bad. the process been of a more gradual nature, and he, the chairman, ventured to think the result to China fas a whole would have been less)
'The importation of a certain} amount of American cotton is at] present essential for the needs of the' Industry and the imposition of a sudden increased tax must have re~ Sulted in a large loss of tant? revenue which could not be offset by any: sudden improvement in the local, position of the trade.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.