ABSTRACT
Throughout its history the CMCS was described in various institutional terms. It was regarded as the basis of the Chinese economy, and was presented by its contemporaries as the closest model to a civil service in modern China. This chapter examines the Customs in these terms, namely as a bureaucracy and fiscal organization. This chapter is divided into four sections, each providing a perspective on this institution. These include an examination of the structures of the CMCS; an economic review of the Service and its significance to both the Chinese and foreign interests; an exploration of the London Office (LO) of the Customs and its unique role in perpetuating and protecting foreign interests in the Service; and an exploration of the privileged life led by foreigners in the Service. Consequently, this chapter provides the backdrop for understanding the rationale and motivations of the Service and its responses to events in the 1920s and 1930s.
