Evening star., 1923-10-23
by THE MARaUIsE DE FONTENOY.

Ii
Sir Francis Aglen. who Is making
brief stay in the United States, on
his way back to Peking, for the pur-
pose of comforting with the authori-
ties at Washington. is the inspector
general and chief of that wonderful
maritime customs service OF China,
organized by the late Sir Robert Hart
more than half century ago. 1t
is entirely under foreign management
and control and under the immediate
protection of the foreign embassies
and legations at Peking. Owing to Its
wise and honest management, this
particular department of the chinese
government, which is recruited from
picked men of various nationalities
and of which Edwin Denby. the Sec
retary of the Navy at Washington, is
a well remembered and popular vet
eran, has always shown surplus
which, in recent years. has amounted
to as much as s25.O00,000 annually.
Now this surplus has, with the con-
sent of the foreign powers and by
virtue of hard and fast agreement
been pledged as security for the IN
a
obtained by the government from
native banking institutions. Untll
now this interest has been punctually
paid by means of the maritime GUS
toms surplus. But when Dr. Welllng-
ton Koo the Columbia University
graduate and former envoy of China
at Washington, became minister OF
foreign affairs at Peking, last spring
he insisted that the interest on these
domestic loans should be allowed TO
go by default and that the surplus
IN question should be turned over TO
him for the purpose of covering the
large arrears of salary and expenses
of the Chinese diplomatic missions IN
foreign lands.
To this demand Sir Francis Aglen,
as supreme chief of the maritime GUS
toms service, opposed an absolute re-
fusal. in which he was, and still Is.
sustained not only by all the foreign
embassies and legations at Peking, Dut
also by the entire native banking
community in China, and especially
by the great guild which exercised an
enormous influence upon the economic
and also upon the political life of
China. They all take the ground that
any suspension of the payment OF the
interest and amortization or the 40
mestic loans would inevitably pre-
cipi ate a financial panic, with the
gravest political and possibly inter-
national consequences.
r 4 +
While the outlook for the diplomats
now in the service of the Chinese
government, and who have to rely
upon their official stipends, is. there
fore, not only gloomy, but even so
desperate as to compel its desertion
by all save men of large private
means, the determination Of the mari
time customs service under Sir Fran
els Aglen to live up to its contracts
for the allotment of its surplus to
the payment of the interest and the
amortization of the domestic loans of
the government, has done much to
strengthen the confidence, native and
foreign, in the entire business s1tua-
ton in China. Indeed, 1t has con-
tributed to the altogether remark
able situation that, although the gov
eminent at Peking with the solitary
exception of the maritime customs
department, Is virtually insolvent and
without money or credit, the native
business world of China is doing ex-
tremely well, the trade and industry
Of the nation are in most hourlsh-
ing condition and the credit of the
great and powerful native guilds and
firms is excellent and above reproach,
both in China herself and abroad. 1t
is, indeed, the business situation in
China that may be said to consti-
tute the broad silver lining to the
clouds that rest over the government,
or rather ! should say the several
governments, which. by their eternal
rivalries and internecine war, have re-
duced conditions at Peking TO q
virtual chaos, depriving the nation, as
a whole, of any responsible or central
authority.
Sir Francis Aglen, who. by the firm
ness and independence which he has
displayed in dealing with difficult SIT
uations as inspector general of mari
time customs, especially during the
great war, has managed to win the
same degree of confidence ana re-
spect on the part of the Chinese OF
all classes as was enjoyed by mis-
famous predecessor, the great Sir
Robert Hart, is the son of an arch
deacon of the Church Of England, was
educated at Marlborough College, ana
has belonged to the customs service
ever since 1888. He is married to a
daughter of Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour.
the kings botanist for Scotland and
, professor of botany at the univer-
stiles of both oxford and Edinburgh
Sir Francis it is interesting to point
out. is one of the most vigorous OPP
uonents of the opium industry in gem
erai. and In particular of the NOR
phine trade on the evils of which he
is most eloquent. Indeed, he claims
x.x<f.. f.s.s