A Szechuan Local Reserve Drum
Weight: 370 grams/10 taels
Date: N/A
Inscriptions: 保甯府/四川匠章靜虛
Bao Ning Prefecture
Szechuan, Smith Zhang Jing Shu
This is a typical local reserve drum silver cast by a Szechuan local government during the Hsien Feng and Tong Tze period (1851-1861, 1862-1874), but the addition of the name of the province-四川(Szechaun) into the inscriptions makes it an unique specimen.
As mandated, a portion of taxes of each local government was to be reserved for the local government operations. It was named 存留 (Local Reserve). The amount of the local reserve varies from one year to another. For example, in the 24th year of Kangsi (1685), it was 29,535.1722 taels of silver; and in the 2nd year of Yong Zhen (1724), it was 13,029.66 taels of silver; during the Kuang Hsu period (1875-1908), the amount increased to 100,106.861 taels of silver plus 54,900 taels for handling charge.
Generally speaking, local reserves in Szechuan were, in the aggregate, few, due to low tax incomes. It was the case until the Szechuan government increased taxes by collecting 津貼(Subsidy) and 捐輸(Donation), and from that time local reserves quadrupled. In 保甯府 (Bao Ning Prefecture) shown on this piece, for example, 2% of the subsidy tax collected and 3 % of the donation tax collected were earmarked for the local reserves of the prefecture. The existence of piece might be related to that historic background.
這是一件典型的四川地方官府於咸同期間的存留銀.
但較特別的是冠以省名.
「凡州縣徵收錢糧,
扣留本地支給經費,
曰『存留』」,
四川存留銀數世有更迭;
康熙二十四年,
存留二萬九千五百三十五兩一錢七分二釐二毫;
雍正二年,
存留一萬三千二十九兩六錢六分(《清代四川財政史料》).
光緒年間,
四川存留銀增至,
正銀十萬一百六兩八錢六分一釐有奇,
耗銀五萬四千九百餘兩,…(《光緒大清會典事例》)
整體而言,
清代四川存留銀,
因正稅不多,
為數甚少,
但咸同以後,
按糧津貼,
捐輸的實質加稅,
導至存留銀以倍數成者,
以本件的保甯府而言,
府屬徵得津貼與捐輸銀分別有百分之二與百分之三被保留作為存留.
本件可能就是在此財政背景下所產生的.
《清代四川財政史料》:
津貼者,
額賦不足以濟正供,
按糧隨徵之賦.
始至咸豐四年,
本屬臨時取給…歷年援案奏請展辦…其稅率定法,
每糧一兩,
徵津貼一兩….其徵收之費用,
則隨糧帶徵.
…皆於收數中留支百分之一,
其距省遙遠之夔州,
寧遠,
重慶,
綏定,
保甯,
酉陽,
忠州七屬,
留支百分之二.
捐輸者,
駱文忠於同治元年奏辦,
以濟軍用.
按糧多寡攤派…有每糧一兩收捐二三兩者,
亦有僅收八九錢者…為數一百八十餘萬,
視地丁過二倍以上….定章距省遙遠之夔州,
保甯,
綏定,酉陽,
忠州,
凡解銀百兩,
准扣支銀三兩;
其他府屬,
准扣支銀二兩.
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