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the latter acquired special interest in foreign eyes, and its maintenance became a matter of international concern. Further, the Tientsin Treaty contained provisions for an uniform system of duty collection at all the open ports, thus facilitating the organization of a customs service under the direct control of the Central Government and the latter, taught by the success that had marked the operations of the foreign collectorate in Shanghai, placed the new service under a foreign inspector-general with a foreign commissioner at each port and a large staff of foreign employés. As for the work subsequently done by this customs service, it will be enough to quote here the appreciation of a recent writer:^[1] "For the first time in history a true account was rendered to the Imperial Government, accompanied by a substantial revenue on which it could depend. Naturally the agency, though foreign, which yielded such tangible fruit, commended itself to the statesmen of the capital, who frankly recognized, as did the provincial authorities themselves, that the result obtained was wholly beyond the competence of any native organization.'

It would be incorrect, however, to conclude that the service was altogether organized by the Peking Government, for the actual work of collecting was done by ordinary provincial officials, the function of the foreign commissioner being to see that the duties were paid and receipts given