186 1 In March, Britain unilaterally promulgated the Yangtze River Trade Charter and Article 12 of the Yangtze River Trade Charter, which stipulated: "Foreign businessmen can load and unload legal commercial goods at ports above Zhenjiang as long as they go through formalities in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and do not need to go through any customs formalities before returning to Zhenjiang." As a result, foreign ships flocked into the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. The official document of the then Governor of Huguang expressed dissatisfaction with this.
The official document then wrote to the Qing court, requesting the establishment of a customs office in Hankou. After many twists and turns, Yu Yi, the minister of the Prime Minister's yamen, finally sent a letter saying, "... to Hankou, according to the governor, customs clearance should be set up, so customs clearance should be allowed and inspection should be conducted ..."
1 86365438+1 October1day, the opening and closing ceremony of Jianghan Customs was officially opened under the witness of Zheng Lan, Jianghan Customs Supervisor of Junjun Road, Hanhuangde Road (186365438+1October1day before. 1863 65438+ 10/0/5. Cody Toma, the First Tax Bureau of Jianghan Customs, declared to Hurd, the Chief Tax Bureau.
1863, Jianghan Customs Supervision Office was established for the first time in Hankoujiang Street, Xiakou County, Hubei Province, that is, Qinglong Lane, Binjiang, Hualou Street outside the British Concession. Jianghan Customs Supervision Office was located in Guanya, near the Juren Inspection Office in Hankou. At that time, the section of Yanhe Avenue from Jianghan Road to Xianghekou was not the main road, but a river street near the river. Only wheelbarrows and sedan chairs could pass, and the traffic was not convenient.
At that time, Jianghan Customs Office was the real estate of China Merchants and Swire Foreign Firm.
Jianghan Customs Building and Anti-smuggling Warehouse were purchased by 1866 from American businessman Banna Changyang Company for 142000 Guan Pingyin. Later, Jianghan Customs developed rapidly, and its business volume was second only to that of Shanghai Customs. According to Jianghan Customs, in 1862, the number of ships from various countries reached 1462, accounting for more than 290,000 tons of cargo, and by 1892, it reached 1 10,000. Therefore, the old site is too narrow and crude to be used, and a new customs building should be built in a selective place.
The site selection of Jianghan Customs Building is based on the site selection experience of Shanghai Jiang Customs, that is, it must be built in or near the concession area. 1899, Mu Hede of Jianghan Customs and Taxation Section took an example to locate Jianghan Customs Building in the southeast corner of the British Concession (now Jianghan Road), where the former Ministry of Industry and Inspection Department were located. Located at the junction of China and foreign countries, the freight plate has bustling commercial markets such as Huangpi Street and Qianhouhualou Street. Concession is the base camp of big banks and companies from all over the world, which has benefits both at home and abroad, but it is foreign banks and companies that benefit the most. Mu Hede suggested to Hurd, the State Administration of Taxation, that with the consent of Luo Shanle, British Consul General in China, he be transferred to the Inspection Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. However, when the Boxer Rebellion (1900) happened, the slogan of the Boxer Rebellion was aimed at foreigners, so the discussion on the transfer of the house was put on hold for the time being. After the Boxer Rebellion was suppressed, Croce, who served as the tax department of Jianghan Customs in 1906, and Anglian, who served as the tax department in 1907, successively discussed with the British Consul General in China about the transfer of the Ministry of Industry and the Inspection Department, and agreed to the transfer, but put forward one condition, that is, the transferred house must be guaranteed by the government, and the house can only be used for customs office and can not be used for other purposes, and then cleared.
Although the transfer has reached an agreement, the demolition is not easy or even protracted. This is because Jianghan Pass, located in Qinglong Lane, is located between the office building and the warehouse of China Merchants, and the property of China Merchants is rented from Swire Foreign Firm and sandwiched between the warehouses of Swire Foreign Firm. Therefore, the change of real estate needs to be resolved through consultation among Jianghan Customs, China Merchants and Swire Foreign Firm. The three-party negotiation plan is: Jianghan Customs will transfer the original office space to China Merchants, and China Merchants will return the property leased from Swire Foreign Firm to Swire Foreign Firm, and Swire Foreign Firm will transfer its warehouse to Jianghan Customs, so that the three parties' properties will be connected together, which is beneficial to all three parties.
However, there is still a problem of the size of the three-party real estate transfer. The foundation of Taikoo foreign firm warehouse is only 1 10.774 square meters, and the foundation of Jianghan Pass is 239.325 square meters. The foundation of China Merchants is bigger than these two places. As a result of this unequal exchange, the top management of China Merchants Group disagreed with this plan, which led to the stranding of the construction of Jianghan Customs Building.
By 1909, when China Merchants' business was further developed, Anglian from Jianghan Customs and Taxation Bureau made a special trip to the top management of China Merchants' Clearing House in Shanghai, intending to transfer the third dock of Taikoo Foreign Firm on Hankou River to China Merchants as compensation, and then reached a preliminary agreement on the tripartite transfer. However, the price difference between real estate and wharf appears, and it is difficult to unify opinions. This delayed 13 years, and it was not until 1920 that a formal agreement was finally reached that the building could be built.
During the period of 1920, a beach was gradually deposited outside the narrow river street (now Jiang Yan Road) along the river, which created favorable conditions for building buildings, widening the river street and building the main road along the river.
However, as early as 1907, Hurd, the General Administration of Taxation, assigned Arnold, the architectural engineer of the General Administration of Customs, to be fully responsible for designing architectural drawings. At that time, Arnold was unable to perform this duty due to illness. So I invited tenders in Shanghai and selected the drawings designed by Simpson, an architectural engineer of Speth Construction Engineering Company, a famous British businessman in Shanghai. After being audited by the Engineering Department of the General Administration of Customs, it is reported to Hurd of the General Administration of Taxation for approval, and Jianghan Customs Building will be built according to the drawings.
The construction of this building is supervised by the engineering department of Hankou Yingshang Jingming Foreign Firm. The main project of the building was undertaken by Wei Qingji Construction Factory, and the earthwork was contracted by Liu Xinji Earth Filling Company opened by Liu Xinsheng, the king of Hankou.
The uneven soft and hard soil of the building foundation, especially the expansion and filling part along the river, is formed by sediment deposition, so the earthwork and foundation works of the building are very large.
1922 in may, earthwork filling project officially started. Liu Xinji earthwork filling company first laid a light rail from Houhu Sister-in-law Tree to Jianghan Road, and used two small locomotives bought from France in advance to haul the earth to the construction site. After the foundation is filled, more than 20-30 meters 100 wooden stakes are driven into the rock stratum, and then the foundation stone is laid with concrete and several tons of main granite. This foundation stone filling project was completed at the end of 1922.
After the work of filling foundation is completed. 1June 923 Wei Qingji Building Factory started construction,1June 924 65438+1October 2 1 June.
1949 After the founding of New China, Jianghan Pass was renamed Wuhan Pass. After 80 years of baptism, this building still shows infinite charm. Now the country has listed it as an excellent historical building and a landmark building in Wuhan.
At the same time, Jianghan Pass is a historical product of imperialist aggression against China and a "living textbook" for our patriotic education. In the new historical period, we should give Jianghan Pass a new meaning, and we hope that the beautiful melody of the Chinese nation will reverberate over Wuhan. 1920 when the engineering design drawings and preliminary preparations of Jianghan Customs Building were ready, the former Jianghan Customs Office was moved from Qinglong Lane to the second floor of Jiang Yan Road, Qingdao Road, and the office of the Tax Department was temporarily moved to the Garden House on Hezuo Road, Poyang Street (now in the People's Art Museum). On July 24th of the same year, the British Concession Industrial and Commercial Office and the Patrol House Industrial and Commercial Office were formally merged and moved to Poyang Street Cultural Village, and the patrol house was moved to the location of Nanjing Road Kindergarten. The earth filling company in Liu Xinsheng immediately laid the foundation stone. After the earthwork filling project is completed, the foundation laying ceremony of Jianghan Pass Building will be held on June 4th 1922 165438.
On the same day, an observation deck was set up in front of Jianghan Pass construction site, and colorful flags were flown. The ceremony was presided over by Anglian, then General Administration of Taxation. Present at the ceremony were Chinese and foreign officials and distinguished guests, including Jianghan Customs Commissioner, Mei, Director of Jianghan Customs and Taxation Office, Xiao Yaonan, Inspector General of Hubei Province, Admiral Philip, US Secretary of Military and Political Affairs, consuls in China, heads of Chinese and foreign banks and enterprises, and heads of Hankou Municipal Administration. Wang Zexiang, president of Hankou China Chamber of Commerce, and Mark, president of foreign chambers of commerce, attended the groundbreaking ceremony.
After the meeting was announced by Anglian, the General Tax Department, Chen Jie, the director of Jianghan Customs, made an opening speech. He first boasted the "great achievements" of Hurd, the former General Tax Department, in managing China Customs, and hoped that China Customs would become a window for close cooperation between East and West.
Subsequently, Director Mei of Jianghan Customs and Taxation Office delivered a speech. He said that looking back at the establishment of Jianghan Pass, Jianghan Pass has experienced many political changes and commercial ups and downs, but it has achieved remarkable results. For example, judging from the foreign trade volume of Hankou Port, the tax revenue was only 654.38+0.5 million yuan from the beginning, and now it has reached more than 200 million yuan, and the Yangtze River shipping has also developed unprecedentedly. When 1862 was built, only a few boats flying the flag of Changyang, an American merchant ship, sailed online, while 1922 had merchants from China Merchants, Sanbei Company and seven companies from five countries. Moreover, in the flood season, 10,000-ton seagoing ships can also go directly to Hankou from ports of various countries. This has greatly promoted the trade and transportation between China and foreign countries, thus developing the Yangtze River shipping industry. I would also like to thank Anlian from the State Administration of Taxation. In order to better dredge the Yangtze River waterway, he is investigating and studying how to make ships from all over the world unimpeded in all seasons. Melo is very satisfied with the design drawings of the building and thanks all the construction engineers for their hard work. He spoke highly of the completion of Jianghan Pass Building, believing that it will add a landscape to Hankou along the river. Finally, he wished Hankou to become the inland trade center of China.
After that, chief tax officer An Lian made a speech. He said: "I am very happy to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the Jianghan Pass Building Project. Hankou is my most unforgettable place, because I am married and have been busy building for more than ten years. Today, my dream has finally come true. " Later, there were US military political ministers, Admiral Philip, Chinese and foreign officials and guests.
After the speech at the celebration, the groundbreaking ceremony will begin. First of all, Mei of Jianghan Customs and Taxation Department put some Hankou newspapers and coins in a box and gave them to Mrs. Anglian to put in the cave under the cornerstone. The architect who built this building presented the Angles with a silver clay knife as a souvenir. At this time, the workers will write: CEE stone was written by Inspector General of Kustoms 1 1 4th of May 1922, Sir Flanci Anglen K, B, E.
On the 4th of the Republic of China 1 1 year 1 1 month, Sir Anglian, the chief tax officer, laid the foundation stone.
Immediately, the cornerstone was placed in the hole under the cornerstone on the left side of the gate. At this time, firecrackers sounded, and Anglian immediately raised his glass and shouted, "Let's drink to the prosperity of Hankou."
This is the scene when the foundation stone of Jianghan Pass Building was laid. Hankou Concession is a historical witness of imperialist aggression against China. No matter what "rhetoric" Anglian, Melo and these imperialist spokesmen use, they can't hide their aggressive nature. In order to let readers have a real feeling about the foundation stone laying ceremony of Jianghan Guan Building at that time, I hereby summarize the scene at that time as above.
Later, after the building was completed, Angles asked Zong Yi, a famous calligrapher in Hankou at that time, to inscribe the three-character plaque "Jianghan Pass". According to another calligrapher, Liu Zhuxi, Zong was then the director of Hubei Education Department. Learn Yan and Liu Ti first, then Wei Bei, study hard, and be good at Wei Bei's Mount Tai Diamond Sutra. When he wrote the word "Jianghan Pass", he revised the manuscript three times and finally got it in one go. His words are concise and powerful, both rigid and flexible, without affectation. Finally, Angie paid Zong Yi 500 silver dollars.
Jianghan Customs Building was officially completed on1924 65438+1October 2 1, and a reception was held in the lobby of the new office building on the same day 10, presided over by Jianghan Customs Commissioner, and then the official completion of the building was announced and the ribbon was cut by Director of Taxation Mei. More than 700 China officials, consuls, naval officers, heads of Chinese and foreign enterprises, bank managers, presidents of Chinese and foreign chambers of commerce and Chinese and foreign guests attended the reception. After the meeting, a grand banquet was held in the hall to celebrate the completion of Jianghan Pass Building.