The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-08-10
HEAD OF THE CHINESE CUSTOMS.

How Sir Robert Hart Has Managed
Chiaa's Principal Source of Rev
enue.
And what, in a word in this customs
service? 1t is. first and foremost, the
collection of all their maritime customs
at the "a trading posts, reaching nearly
%, C09,000 taals last year, their chlel
cource Of national income, Whlch the
Chinese have confided to the hands OF
one foreigner, leaving him absolutely
free in his action and unhampered by
any colleague. In passing round the
coasts of China you frequently see q
smart little cruiser flying the yellow
flag, with perhaps miniature steel tuF-
ret and couple of quick-frlng guns on
board; or In q swift launch passing you
will notice the Chinese crew and for
eign skipper in dapper uniforms, and
10-barrelad Nordenfedt projecting over
the bow. These are the customs feet
watching the coast for smugglers, and
ready at a moments notice to fctch
back some outgoing junk that dlsopeJs
the waving of the red tlaG signal to
heave to ard be examined. The duly
on opium is 50 high that smuggling IS
extremely profitable, and therefore the
customs officers are proportionally Keen
in discovering and preventing 1t. Along
the coast, too, in the neighborhood or
Tong Kong and the treaty ports, you
will see little stations, consisting of
house or two, few boats and a look
out. These are also the customs, and
oh I,a inE orr
hands. Indeed Sir Robert Hart has al
ready established the customs post
between the treaty ports, and he very
nearly gave China an imperial postofflce
and an imperial silver coinage as Well
The relations between Sir Robert Hart
and the Chinese government exhibit the
most extraordinary example OF conf
dence in individual integrity that !
have ever heard of. The Il, G." fixes
the total cost of the service, the tsung-
li-yamen hands 1t over to him without
word, and all money collected Is paid
directly by the merchants into the Chi
nese bank. A little while ago the grant
was 100000 taels annually Ga 'haik-
wan" or customs tael, is the official
monetary standard in China, a Mexi-
can dollar and half in 1893 about IS
II Id d. but an envfous Chinaman.
whom / will not name, approached the
ministers at the yamen with secret
offer to do /. for 100000 taels less.
The yamen quietly informed Sir Robert
of the attempt to cut him out. His ac-
ton was characteristic. He replied that
the annual sum had been inadequate
for some years, and that he, on the
other hand must ask them to raise it
by 100000 taels, which they accordingly
did! With this 100000 taels a year Sir
Robert does exactly what he likes, his
own remuneration being fixed. paying
to others the salaries he considers just,
according to the conditions he has est
tablished. The pay Of a student when
| he enters the service to learn Chinese is
900 taes year, and this rises to 5000
taels, more or less, the pay of a full
cG1nmiss 'oner, Instead of promise of
pension, which Sir Robert felt that he
could not be certain the Chinese would
keep when he should be gone, he pays
a bonus of one years pay for seven
years service to the indoor staff, for
10 years service ito the outdoor staff,
and for ~ years service to the Chinese
staff; but this bonusl may be withheld
at his pleasure Che has never yet with
held it'll and 1t therefore does not form
part of dead mans estate--a thought
full provision for widows and children.
The indoor staff get two years' leave
after every seven years service, and
the outdoor one year after every TO- both
On halfpay. AS may be expected, the
personnel of so attractive service Is
of very high class, comprising all ma
tionalitles, and to be sin the customs"
confers social standing throughout the
far East. He Is fortunate father in
these days who can see his son safely
started on so pleasant, SO well-paid SO
assured a road of livelihood, though in
exile.
The establishment of the Chinese
customs takes us back to one of the
most interesting chapters in the story
of the opening of China The tEeoretic
basis upon which the collection of du-
ties had previously stood left, like so
many other Chinese theories, little to
desire, but actual practice corresponded
only remotely with it. The native tar
ifs We're minute and precise" the du-
ties 1eviable amounting to about 10 per
cent. ad valorem, but the rule was for
each district to be assessed so to
speak, at a certain figure, which it was
obliged to remit. anything over that
sum remaining the personal profit of
the collecting officer, This naturally
resulted in a "dicker" between the mer-
chant and the customs, the latter de-
manding as much and the former pay
ing rs little. as possible. In an official
memorandum upon the subject Sir
Robert Hart wrote as follows: "The
paltriness Of the amount to be an
sWered for the absence of the super
vision of superiors, and the generally
subordinate, nature of the work to be
performed, have all tended to produce
such utter laxity and irregularity that
the tariff rates have become dead let
ters except in that they represent the
maximum collectable on any one arti-
Gle; the additional exemption from all
question as to extra and unreported
collection has encouraged, if not orig
mated, species of dishonesty, in
which each subordinate lies to his SUI
perior, who, again. wnks at such knav-
cry, involved as he is himself in turn,
in precisely similar transactions. >