along the route. There is also a grievous charge called Lekin, originally imposed as a war tax on foreign goods, and never since withdrawn. The American Consul, in writing on the subject, said: "At Swatow the local taxes levied on imports remain unchanged; that is to say, about one-fortieth of what they are in Amoy;" and he goes on to observe "that natives can still bring foreign goods overland from Swatow to the Amoy districts, and sell them at a cheaper rate than if they were imported and sold direct in Amoy." ' This Lekin tax was in- stituted to defray the expenses either of the Taiping rebellion or of the "small knife" rebellion, or both. The "small knife" rebellion of 1853 was a serious affair for Amoy. The rebel chief, or ringleader, of this dagger society was said to be a Singapore Chinaman of the name of Tan-keng-chin. The out- break was, in fact, a development of one of the secret so- cieties that have been a source of continual trouble to all the countries into which Chinese labour has flowed.
In 1864, a few months after Nankin fell into the hands of the Imperialists, and when the cause of Tien- Wang or Heavenly King was all but crushed, the last remnant of his followers made a final effort and captured Chang-chow-fu, a city which stands in the same relationship to Amoy as Chao-chow-fu to Swatow. The place was eventually retaken by the ImperiaHsts after a protracted struggle; and this barbarous war was then closed, amid scenes of cold-blooded massacre as inhuman as any that have stained the annals of the Taiping revolt, whose overthrow was brought about by foreign intervention, and by one or two powerful decisive blows dealt at the strongholds of the rebel towns. Alas ! these successes were but too frequently followed
- Report on Amoy and the Island of Formosa, by A. W. Le Gendre.
