88

THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE

statement  *  by  Mr.  George  Jamieson  giving  the  amounts
levied  on  land  acquired  for  the  railway  with  which  he  was
officially  connected.  Land  was  bought  in  six  different
hsiens  through  which  the  line  ran,  to  the  amount  of  Q,2l6
mows  (the  mow  is  roughly  a  sixth  of  an  English  acre).
Regular  deeds  of  transfer  were  obtained  and  in  due  course
tax-notes  were  presented,  the  correctness  of  the  charges
being  vouched  for  by  the  deputy  of  the  Governor  specially
appointed  to  manage,  from  the  Chinese  side,  the  affairs  of
the  railway.  The  tax-notes  included  land  tax  and  commuted ­
  grain  tax,  and  they  are  so  informing  that  two  of  them
are  given  in  full.
In  Hsun  Hsien  the  syndicate  bought  :—

Land  held  on  ordinary  tenure  (“  min  t’ien  ”)  ..
,,  „  ,,  military  tenure  ("  tun  t’ien  ”)

Total

Mows.

1,493753
91-870

1,585  623

The  taxes  account  presented  by  the  magistrate  of  this
district  translates  as  follows  :—

Land  tax  proper  on  1,585-623  mow  at  0  0368355  tael  per
mow  *  *  »  #  «  *  «  »  ••  ••  ••
For  inferior  touch  or  meltage  fee,  44  per  cent,  on  the  above
Expenses  of  collection  at  the  rate  of  300  copper  cash  on
every  tael  of  land  tax.  Cash,  17,520
Grain  tax  at  the  rate  of  0-005468  "  shih  "  per  mow  on
L49375  mow  (no  levy  on  military  land),  equal  to  8-169
“  shih  ”  or  piculs  at  6,400  copper  cash  per  picul.  Cash,
52,282  *.  .  »  ••  *.  ..  ..  ,,

Amount.
Kuping  tads-58-407


25-690
15-587

46-316

Total  ..

146

The  Kuping  tael  being  a  theoretical  tael,  the  above  wa s
paid  by  converting  it  into  local  currency  at  the  rate  of
10371  local  taels  to  100  Kuping,  giving  151-43  local  taels
as  the  equivalent.
*  “Land  Taxation  in  the  Province  of  Honan,”  1905.