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1816 1 (1878)

handle is hein.usccsset/usconset23648 and id is 1 raw text is: 45TH CONGRESS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. j Mrs. Doc. 2d Session. f No. 31. TESTIMONY TAKEN BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON EXPENDITURES IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT. FEBRUARY 27, 1878.-Ordered to be printed. WASHINGTON, February 8, 1878. RICHARD PH(ENix sworn and examined. By Mr. TURNER: Question. State if you are aware of any consulate in Japan or China which is not required by the public interests and service.-Answer. That is according to my information and per- sonal knowledge. Yes, I know of several consulates in China and Japan that are unneces- sary. Q. Will you mention those in China which you regard as unnecessary 7-A. There is one at Tien-Tsin, Hankow, Chin Kiang, and Ningpo. That is about all in China. Q. Now speak of Tien-Tsin.-A. Tien-Tsin is a city in the northern part of China, and there are now but very few American vessels going there, and no trade at all between there and any port in the United States. What trade there is is coasting trade. Q. Where do most of the vessels trading there belong-A. The principal ships that go there are English and Chinese. There are very few American vessels. Q. Give the number of American residents there.-A. The number would not exceed a dozen at most-that is, persons. I know of no American firm of merchants at Tien-Tsin. The American citizens there are employed in Chinese service. Q. State who is the consul at the Tien-Tsin consulate, and the probable amount of fees actually realized.-A. At present the consul is 0. M. Denny. Q. What is his salary ?-A. Thirty-five hundred dollars. I believe that is the salary. Q. In addition to the marshal's salary of one thousand dollars ?-A. Yes, sir; Mr. Hill is the marshal. I wrote the dispatch in reference to his appointment, or it passed through my hands. He was appointed and filed his bond, and entitled to all the emoluments to he drawn according to law. Q. Please state if you have been there; if not, how you derived your information.-A. Yes, sir; I have visited Tien-Tain a large number of times; fifty times within the last ten years. Q. And the last time about when ?-A. The last time I merely passed through. That was about two years ago. I would like to mention in connection with the Tien-Tsin consulate that the business done at the Swatow consulate was greater than that at Tien-Tsin, and that the consulate at Swatow was discontinued about two years ago. I wish to also state that prior to the year 1876 the Tien-Tain consulate was doing considerable business ; after that, nothing. Mr. BUNDY. You are speaking of what you have learned from general information? The WITNESS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Please state the cause of the change in the extent of the business done at Tien-Tsin after the year 1876 ? A. The reason that I give is, that during these years, up to 1876, an American line of steamers was running there. That line has been sold. The company was known as the Shanghai Steam Navigation Company of Shanghai. Its vessels flew the American flag. The steamers were built there. This line made considerable shipping business for the con- sulate. The ships were purchased by a foreign company, and are not now under the Ameri- can flag. Q. In what capacity did you visit the port of Tiep-Tsin 7-A. When I first arrived in China I occupied the position of a quartermaster on board of one of these steamers running between Shanghai and the northern ports for upwards of a year, and I know from experi- ence the people who live there, particularly the Americans. After I became attached to the consulate as marshal, I became acquainted with its official stapding; that was in 1871, and

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