The Internal Revenue Department of the Ministry of Finance has been removed from Shanghai to Nanking, according to an official announcement made by the Department yesterday. A Shanghai office will be maintained, however, to handle its business with local factories and business houses.
The transfer of the Department was made on orders from the Ministry to all its subordinate organs in Shanghai to move to the capital.
Other Government organs which have been removed from Shanghai include the China Merchants Steam Navigation Ca. In a notice, the firm points out that its business has been suspended since the opening of Sino-Japanese hostilities in and around Shanghai, In view of the present situation, the head office has been removed to Hankow, while some important officials of the concern will remain here to wind up the office.
It.is understood that the shipping firm has leased Kinleeyuen Wharf, Yangkadoo Wharf and Eastern Wharf together with all pontoons, wharf equipment and godowns to Messrs. William Hunt & Ca. All existing contracts with the China Merchants will be continued by the lessees, Removal of Banks The four Government banks have also removed their head offices to Nanking. They are: the Central Bank, Bank of China, Bank of Communications and the Farmers Bank, whose main offices i Shanghai are still located in the French Concession, The transfer of the institutions to the interior, it was reported in Chi-hose circles, had been decided on several months ago. Following the general exodus of silver and gold to Hongkong and other places, important documents were removed some time ago.
Since the outbreak of hostilities here, the head offüces of these four banks were first removed to the French Concession. Many commer-[cial banks likewise moved their offices to the western district. The Kincheng Banking Corporation is one of the latest which has moved back to the Central district.
The Chinese Maritime Customs is still functioning as usual and revenues in the form of import duties are being sent to the designated banks in Shanghai. There is. however, a considerable decrease in both the import duty, transit duty and export duty owing to the railway communications and inland river transportation having been cut off by the war, according to a Chinese report.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.