No. 128.
Mr. Angell
to Mr. Evarts.
[Extract.]
Legation of
the United States,
Peking, November 2,
1880.
No. 42.]
Sir: My predecessors have had frequent occasion to
inform the Department of the embarrassments which our commerce in common
with that of other nations has for years been suffering from the existence
of the Woosung bar, at the mouth of the Shanghai River. They have also
advised the Department of the earnest efforts which have been made by the
Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, the foreign consuls at Shanghai, and the
diplomatic representatives at Peking, to induce the Chinese authorities to
dredge the bar, or at any rate to permit the foreign powers to do so, with
the proceeds of a light levy on the commerce of Shanghai.
Some months ago in one of the diplomatic conferences held here, Sir Thomas
Wade was instructed by the diplomatic corps in their behalf to present to
the foreign office an urgent request to permit them to order the improvement
of navigation at the bar and pay for the work by collecting light dues from
the vessels which sail to and from Shanghai. In no way was the Chinese
Government to be burdened, though Chinese vessels were like others to pay
the dues required.
To this request the foreign board have replied in a paper which I inclose. *
* *
The diplomatic conferences which were found last spring to be so serviceable,
were resumed on the 25th ultimo. Among the subjects considered was that of
the Woosung bar. This paper of the Tsung li Yamen was thought by all to be
so feeble as to call for no formal reply. Sir Thomas Wade was instructed to
renew and urge his request.
It is well understood that the real reasons why the Chinese authorities
object to the dredging of the bar, are two-fold:
- First. They dislike any innovation. An immense power of inertia
has to be overcome to gain their assent to any change.
- Secondly. They regard the bar as a natural defense of Shanghai
against the war-vessels of heavy draught and especially against the
ironclads. They speak of it as a “heaven-sent barrier.” A noteworthy
article in one of the Chinese newspapers of Shanghai lately spoke of
the proposition to remove the bar as a profane suggestion to
interfere with the will of Heaven.
Of the heavy burdens which the existence of the bar lays upon vessels of deep
draught, there is overwhelming proof. Some very valuable and interesting
figures are given in a recent dispatch from Consul-General Denny, which I
inclose. There would, of course, be no need of arguing with any western
nation to induce it to permit the improvement of the access to its principal
port. But it is by no means certain that the present attempt of the
diplomatic body will meet with early success. Even when permission has been
received, time and money will be needed to make a complete examination of
the river and the bar. For it is by no means certain exactly what the best
remedy for the trouble is. The best engineering talent of the west should be
employed to make a careful study of the problem. It seems to me highly
probable that some considerable annual expenditure will always be
necessary.
I have, &c.,
[Page 180]
[Inclosure 1 in No. 42.]
the woosung bar.
Memorandum from the minister of the Tsung
li Yamen forwarded to Sir Thomas Wade in a semi-official note dated
October 5, 1880.
The memorandum on the dredging of the river at Woosung forwarded some
time since in a note from the British minister was at once communicated
to the minister superintendent of southern trade for consideration.
A reply has now been received from his excellency stating that this
question was the subject of numerous discussions and proposals some
years ago, none of which it was possible to give effect to; a further
suggestion having now been made for the levy of an additional tax to
meet the cost of the labor (requisite for dredging the bar), the
minister has made it the subject of thorough investigation in order to
ascertain whether there are or are not objections to the plan, and has
also questioned the taotai at Shanghai on this matter. This officer has
replied at length, pointing out that there are a multitude of
difficulties which render it impossible to attempt to acquiesce in the
arrangement proposed, and submits the following reason for the
conclusion he has come to.
The silt and sand of the Poo* River at Woosung is the deposit of
many hundred years. Large vessels belonging to foreign merchants that
are heavily freighted have always been free to lighten, the privilege of
lightening being accorded by treaty with the express object of meeting
the case of shoal water (at the bar). But the text of the treaty
mentions lightening only, and contains no reference whatever to dredging
with a view to avoid lightening. Large foreign vessels can all avoid
getting aground by loading less heavily, or they can wait for a tide to
proceed on their way, or, if they do not follow either of these courses,
it is open to them, if they please, to lighten as permitted by the
regulations.
An abrupt decision to set to work to dredge [the bar] in the interest
only of those foreign merchants who own large vessels, with the object
of carrying large cargoes, and wish to save the expense of lightening,
is not only a condition of things never contemplated by the treaty, but
also does not seem to be consistent with reason. The taotai has never
heard of the silt that has accumulated at Woosung having blocked up the
channel during the hundreds of years it has existed.
The bar [serves a double object]. Without, it keeps back the muddy water
brought up by the tide; within, it keeps back the water of the Poo
River, upon which all the arable land on either shore is dependent for
purposes of irrigation. Directly the bar is cleared, the silt brought in
by the tide will be carried on to the fields, whereby much damage will
be done.
Again, the numbers of junks that lie inside the river select shallow
places for an anchorage, where they wait for the tide to proceed on
their way, an arrangement with which they are satisfied. If the water is
deepened in mid-stream, the waves caused by foreign vessels as they go
in or out will create a strong wash that will come rushing straight in,
rendering it equally impossible for Chinese craft to stay where they are
or to proceed, and many accidents will be sure to occur. Now,
agriculture and navigation are matters of vital importance to the
Chinese people which cannot be disregarded, and it may be seen from the
conditions explained above that the unwillingness of the Chinese
Government to dredge the Poo River does not in any way proceed from a
reluctance to incur the expense, for even if [special] funds were
provided to meet this expense the river could nevertheless not be
dredged. The proposal to raise an additional tax in order to meet the
cost of this work need not, therefore, as a matter of fact, be taken
into consideration.
But even if the consideration of the question of levying an additional
tax were for the moment admitted, there are still numerous obstacles to
the plan which render its adoption impossible. These objections the
Taotai will proceed to set forth in detail.
The question of the necessity or otherwise of dredging channels in the
inland waters of China is one which it is entirely for China herself to
decide. Moreover, in her compassionate consideration for mercantile
interests, she imposes taxes that are lighter than any other countries
can boast of, and these interests would suffer, instead of deriving
benefit by an increase of taxation such as is now proposed in the
interests of those foreign merchants who own large vessels. All the
foreign vessels that enter the port are not large ones nor do all owners
of produce charter large ships for its conveyance. It would therefore be
a gross injustice to force all Chinese and foreign merchants alike to
provide funds for the benefit of the few individuals or firms who own
large vessels because they want to carry large cargoes and save
expense.
At a general estimate by a tax of one per mil on the value of all produce
imported [Page 181] into, or exported
from, Shanghai, an additional revenue could be raised of 125,000 taels
per annum. This tax is to be levied on Chinese and foreigners alike, and
the Taotai has recently heard that even among the foreign merchants
there are some who object to its imposition, whilst native merchants
have never considered the question of the bar at all, so that if the
latter are also called upon to pay an extra duty in common with foreign
merchants it is impossible that they should willingly consent, and
(under the circumstances) how could the authorities bear to compel them
to do so. Therefore, even if the possibility of dredging the bar were
admitted the question of increasing the duties could not be considered.
How much less when the bar neither can nor must be dredged.
Sir T. Wade, who is so well acquainted with Chinese and foreign matters,
must be thoroughly aware of the impossibility of carrying out this
arrangement. If those foreign merchants who own the few large steamers
that visit the port, would consider the conditions of the Woosung bar
and adapt their cargoes to their conditions, their vessels might, as a
matter of fact, come and go quite comfortably; or if they do not (choose
to adapt their cargoes to the depth of the water), they may wait for a
tide to get in, or lighten as permitted by the regulations. These have
been the courses adopted by merchant vessels ever since the commencement
of foreign trade, and the Taotai presumes that it cannot be Sir T.
Wade’s idea to force China to effect an impossibility or to go against
the wishes of the majority of the mercantile class, because there is a
sudden desire to dredge the accumulated silt of several hundred years in
the interest of a few foreign firms who own large vessels and are
anxious to save the cost of lightening.
The Yamen have to observe that the various points brought forward by his
excellency the superintendent of trade for the southern ports, are, in
effect, a true representation of the state of the case, and they imagine
that the British minister who has been in China so many years will
thoroughly understand (the grounds of the objections).
This memorandum is offered in reply (to the one prepared by the British
minister) in hope that he will give it his careful attention.
[Inclosure 2 in No. 42.]
Mr. Denny to Mr.
Angell.
As the honorable commission which was created and sent out by the
Government of the United States with a view to modifying the treaties
with China is now prosecuting its labors at Peking, I have thought that
perhaps a few figures and comments in addition to those forwarded by the
consular body and Shanghai Chamber of Commerce to different foreign
ministers early in April last looking to the conservancy of the Woosung
bar to the end that foreign shipping and foreign trade with Shanghai
might be relieved from some of the burdens at least which are now put
upon it might not be considered out of place.
The gradual setting up of this bar has been for some years a source of
much annoyance as well as great expense to vessels visiting Shanghai.
Grievances have repeatedly been complained of by masters of merchant
vessels from time to time. Not only this, but merchants and business men
here, have, through their consuls and the Chamber of Commerce, presented
to the diplomatic body the most urgent reasons why some steps should be
taken to check the progress of an enemy which is day by day placing
additional obstacles in the way of commerce in its effort to reach the
commercial center of the east. These efforts have been greatly
strengthened and encouraged by the foreign ministers, who have been
exerting themselves to induce the Chinese authorities to sanction the
removal of this obstruction. But thus far no satisfactory results have
been attained by them. One sickly excuse after another, even to
profanity itself, in calling this obstruction a “Heaven sent barrier,”
&c., has been put forward by the Peking Government in response to
their unanswerable arguments, and this will probably continue to be the
case, unless there is a united demand made upon the government by the
representatives of the treaty powers for such a concession as a partial
equivalent for the large sums of tonnage dues paid to it annually by
foreign shipping seeking an entrance to this port. In fact it was for
just such objects as this that the collection of tonnage dues was
provided for in the treaties, and if these dues are to be diverted from
the purpose for which they were intended, the right to collect them
should be questioned.
There are at present in this harbor six American sailing ships, all of
which were compelled upon their arrival at this bar to incur the expense
of lightening, the deepest drawing 22 feet. The following table which I
have carefully prepared from facts and figures obtained from the masters
of these vessels will give you some idea at least of the expenses which
the shipping to this port in such ships is now compelled to incur.
[Page 182]
| Ship. |
Tons. |
Tonnage
dues. |
Expense
incurred. |
Total expense. |
| Brown Brothers |
1,493 |
$907 61 |
$876 00 |
$1,783 61 |
| Paul Jones |
1,258 |
764 77 |
355 50 |
1,120 27 |
| Top Gallant |
1,280 |
778 13 |
1,037 00 |
1,815 13 |
| Blue Jacket |
1,396 |
848 65 |
670 00 |
1,518 65 |
| Henrietta |
1,267 |
770 23 |
778 00 |
1,548 23 |
| May Whitridge |
862 |
524 02 |
880 00 |
1,404 02 |
|
7,586 |
4,593 41 |
4,596 50 |
9,189 91 |
From the above statement it will be seen that while these vessels paid
tonnage dues after arriving in port, in the aggregate of $4,593.41, the
extra expenses they were put to in crossing the bar amounted to
$4,596.50; which added to the tonnage dues, makes the total expenses for
these six ships $9,189.91; and when we come to carry these burdens to
the entire shipping of the port they become enormous. From the 30th
September last year to the 30th September this year, the customs have
collected tonnage-dues amounting to about $360,000, about one-half of
which is at this port, and it is safe to say that not $50,000 of this
sum is expended annually in adding to the shipping facilities of the
harbor. Taking the foregoing table as our guide there is to be added to
the dues collected at this port at least $180,000, expenses incurred by
vessels at the bar, which makes the respectable sum of $360,000 annual
tax upon this interest in order to reach Shanghai.
The expense to the Chinese Government in dredging this bar to a depth
that would freely permit with seriously high tides, vessels drawing 22
to 23 feet to pass, would not be comparatively great; at all events,
once the obstructions removed the labor afterwards would be easy.
Suppose, however, that it should require all of the tonnage receipts for
one, or even two years, to accomplish this important work, certainly the
Chinese authorities owe this much at least to an interest which has paid
them millions of dollars in the past, and will yet pay them millions
more.
During the past summer it has frequently occurred that outgoing ships
have been compelled to cross the bar and take cargo afterwards. On
yesterday the steamer Indus, belonging to the Peninsular and Oriental
line, went out over the bar for this purpose, and to-morrow one of the
Mitsu Bishi steamers will pursue the same course. The expenses attending
the shipment of cargo under such circumstances must be great.
Should the instructions of the commission preclude the consideration of
such questions as this, I trust the facts I have here given, bearing
upon the subject, may be some use to you in urging with your colleagues
its consideration by the Peking Government.
