7

REVENUE  AND  EXPENDITURE  97
basic  collection  of  Tls.2,500,000  is  increased  to  Tls.8,525,000,
nearly  three-and-a-half  times  as  much.  I  have  been
able  to  obtain  the  tax-notes  for  two  small  adjoining  lots
of  land  near  Shanghai,  outside  the  foreign  municipal  jurisdiction, ­
  and  have  given  them  some  careful  study.  The
amounts  and  data  filled  in  are  written  in  a  sprawling  running ­
  hand,  difficult  for  a  scholar,  and  almost  illegible  for  a
half-educated  farmer  ;  but  from  them  I  have  made  out  the
following  particulars  :—
First  lot,  area  about  10  mow  :
Grain  tribute,  6  sheng  9  ho,  taken  as  7  sheng
(0-070  shih  =  8£  catties  =  iij  lb.),  converted ­
  at  6,000  cash  ..  ...  ..  420
Spring  official  accretion,  TI.0095  at  2,500
cash  ..  ..  237
Autumn  official  accretion,  Tl.0-095  at  2,800
cash  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  266

Cash  ..  923
Second  lot,  area  about  25  mow  :
Grain  tribute,  1  tow  4  sheng  9  ho  (0-149
shih  =  17-1%catties  =23-^  lb.),  converted
at  7,000  cash  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  1043
Spring  official  accretion,  TI.0087  at  2,500
cash  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  229
Autumn  official  accretion,  TI.0087  at  2,800
cash  ..  ..  247

Cash  ..  1519
If  fluctuations  and  the  present  inflated  price  of  grain  be
disregarded,  and  the  usually  accepted  rate  of  2,000  cash  per
shih  for  grain  tribute  be  taken  as  a  standard,  we  have  in
this  case  a  legal  tax  of  440  cash  increased  to  an  actual
payment  of  2,442  cash,  five-and-a-half  times  as  much  ;  and
if  the  land  had  remained  in  Chinese  ownership,  we  must
assume  that  the  increase  would  have  been  to  six  times,
liven  with  the  carefully  digested  figures  given  above,  there