Merlot And The Study Of The Customs Of The Republic Of China

After H.N.Lay became the first inspector general of China Customs in 1859,China Customs was under control of foreign powers until the Establishment of PRC.At the same time,China Customs became the object of the imperialist scramble because Customs concerned the special status of the lifeblood of China’s financial economy.F.W.Maze became the fourth inspector general of China Customs in 1929 who had served the China Customs for 40 years and was the last British inspector general of China Customs.1929-1943 was the period of the Nanjing national government.During this time,F.W.Maze,as the Inspector General of Customs for 15 years,played a vital role over the history of modern China.At the same time,domestic and international situation had underwent major changes.Domestically,the Chinese National Government gradually took back the autonomy of tariffs,carried out the customs reform and the customs administration reform,so the foreign controlled taxation and tariff system has been adjusted.Beyond seas,British forces gradually weakened in China,while Japan rapidly rose and started the war of aggression against China to despoil the interests of the China Customs,which violated and destroyed the sovereignty of China Customs.In this situation,F.W.Maze,who represented British interest and was a Chinese government employee,began to adjust the policy of Customs management.Because the situation was turbulent,the customs constantly encountered crisis of separation.F.W.Maze,in order to balance the interests of both China and foreign countries and safeguard British interests in China,tried to keep the customs intact,even sacrificed Chinese rights to compromise with Japan,and this inflicted huge losses on China.Considering the complexity of this history and the particularity of the Chinese Maritime Customs,this paper studies the history by analyzing the experience of F.W.Maze from 1929 to 1943.It consists of three parts.The first part is about the major changes in the daily operational activities and the construction of China Customs and Excise Department.The second part is the restart negotiations of Customs Agreements between China and Hong Kong forconsolidating and strengthening its leadership position.The third part is the policy to maintain the integrity of China Customs under emergency.Last part is t to analysize and to evaluate F.W.Maze and his policies of managing the customs during his tenure as the Inspector General of China Customs.