Meantime, it is pleasant to be able record that in spite of adverse cltcumstances. the Customs service has been able to weather the storms of the past year without any breakdown in its centralized administration under tone nominal authority in the person the Inspector-General, whom we must' congratulate on. list having concluded ten years of outstanding service in his arduous post. Notwith= standing the varying conditions of war that have existed at one port alter nother, Sir Frederick Maze und his {international staff of Chinese, Japan-fore, British and some twenty. other nationalities, have throughout showa tactful judgment under unusually sliMcult conditions. "More than ever sit of Importance that the int Jnational nature of the Customs Service should be continued and that its im= partiality. vis-a-vis foreign merchants different nationalities should. be T mentioned just now that at one lime we had hopes of the application Jef some modus operandi such as the [Customs Agreement to other dificult Jquestions of international concern, was thinking of the Salt Administra. tion and the railways. When the Salt Gabelle was organized, at the time of the flotation. of the ' Reorganization Loan, there were great hopes that this new Administration would act like the Customs Administration and, with the help of the foreign personnel, insulate the Salt Revenues, and the Toans secured thereon, from local disturbances and even more serious eventualities. "To a certain extent, the Salt Administration in past years succeeded in doing so, but the Chinese Government have from time to time effected changes os a result of whicn the foreign clement has been unable to exert those neutral influences which We would have wished. The Salt Revenues of China remain of great importance and are x potential security which may be of considerable wulue in the eventual rehabilitation of the "country, if confidence stilt foxists in. the administration.
"As regards the railways, the situation naturally deteriorated' as the war was prolonged. The Peking-Mukden Railway is now alone of all the Chi-fare interested. The; constant attacks nese succeeded in removing a very considerable amount of rolling stock fand destroyed large sections of the track and many bridges before they elived westwards, As n consequence, the Japanese have had to bring much rolling stock over from Japan and undertake a great deal of reconstruc tion work at heavy cost. There has teen a lot of talk about the Burma Road and the Burma Railway. The completion of the former is un= doubtedly a magnificent: feat, though its practical importance should not be over-emphasized. The railway is still in the preliminary stages and what future will be, it is too early te foretell. rade situation 'The Customs Relurns of Trade for 1538-are not easly comparable with those of previous years, but ort figures: do indicat {ur the Chinese Government gradually diverting exports from the Yangtze' to South Chine ports. "hus exports "from "Shanghai. dropped Greatly while. the majority of the South' china ports shoved considerably" increased exports. The come Danson would be more striking It'not for the closure of Canton on fame of the other. Southern ports Biter the middle of October. "The 'Tuentsin gures nce. a. considerable improvement over the previous year, mainly because of the great increas trade with Japan. anton and Monlow, inspire of air raids and arlous rstrietions, enjoyed a phar Tom prosperity for' some nine months 1858, but the. Immediate outlook blooms? for the handful of foreigners Sticking it out in those places Under tin pleasant conditions." he re-open ing of the Pearl and Yangtze: Rivers to" fore lam shining "ave. nalrally matters of very' great Importance to Canton and Hankow but Hongkong fand Shanghai are also vitally affected Sind merchants of all nationalities are 'Watching the situation. with concern, 'The deneraldisorgenization "and dislocation of trade and. industry" China during' the past. year' neces Sitated constant "adjustment to keep in line with the changing. situation, May I, for instance, remind you that during the year the. Japanese \octupied the parts of Tsingtao, Chefoo, Weihaiwei, Amoy and Canton. They advanced up the Yangtze beyond Hankow to Yochow and for varying periods Wenchow, Foochow, Ningpo,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.