§ MR. MOON (St. Pancras, N.)On behalf of the honourable Member for Chester I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether goods imported into China by rail from Port Arthur and from that portion of Talienwan which is to be reserved for the exclusive use of Russian and Chinese ships will come under Clause 3, section (H), Sub-sections (c) and (d), of the Agreement between Russia and China for the construction of the Manchurian Railway, which provide that goods imported from Russia into China by rail shall pay an import Chinese duty to the extent of one-third less as compared with the duty imposed at Chinese seaport custom-houses and if destined for conveyance inland shall in such case be subject to payment of transit duty to the extent of one-half of the import duty levied on them, which payment shall free them from any additional imposts; and, whether, seeing that the charge for transit duty, in addition to the five per cent. Customs duty on British goods imported into the interior of China through the Treaty Ports is two and a half per cent, ad calorem, the result of the concession made to Russia will be to give Russian goods imported into China by rail from Port Arthur or the Russian portion of Talienwan an advantage of two and a half per cent, ad valorem over British goods imported into the interior of China through the Treaty Ports.
§ * MR. BRODRICKHer Majesty's Government are not aware that the Russian Government have claimed for goods which may be imported into China by rail from Port Arthur and from that portion of Talienwan which is to be reserved for the exclusive use of Russian and Chinese ships the advantages conferred by the subsections mentioned. Enquiry will be made at Pekin as to the truth of the report. If those advantages were given to the goods in question the result would be as stated by the honourable Member.