张之洞与两江总督关于湖北盐厘的合作与矛盾

The Cooperation and Conflict between Huguang Governor Zhang Zhidong and Liangjiang Governors on the Hubei Salt Lijin

本文通过分析清末湖广总督张之洞与两江总督曾国荃、刘坤一的有关湖北盐厘的私下议论的电文,再现张之洞有关湖北盐政的诸如湖北官运川盐济楚、盐厘抵借洋款、东南互保、盐斤加价支付庚子赔款等政策出台的过程。张之洞以湖广总督的立场,面对清末的财政支出暴增、外国干涉中国财税主权和中央政府的无理要求等困难,与在传统盐政制度上拥有湖广地区淮盐管理权的两江总督展开了长期的交流,或合作或抵制,一步步强化了湖广总督的湖北盐政管理权,弱化并最终无视了两江总督对湖广盐政的传统的影响力,使得中国传统盐政制度中的销岸制实质上瓦解,建立了湖广总督自主的湖北盐政体系。确保了湖北洋务等建设的财源,排斥了洋人对盐政的管理,维护了中国财税主权和湖北地方财政的有效运转,另一方面也呈现了地方长官财权膨胀的现象,弱化了中央集权,开启了民国时期割据性地方财税自主的先声。

On the analysis of the telegram between Huguang governor Zhang Zhidong and Liangjiang governor Zeng Guoquan and Liu Kunyi about their private discussion on the Hubei salt Lijin,the paper shows the instruction process of Hubei salt policies such as Sichuan salt sold in Hubei,foreign loans mortgaged on salt Lijin,mutual protection between the north and the south etc.When faced the difficulties of the surging financial expenditure in the late Qing Dynasty,foreign interference in China's fiscal and tax sovereignty and the unreasonable demands of the central government,Zhang Zhidong,governor of Hunan and Guangdong Province,made long term exchange with the governors of Liangjiang River,who had the management rights of Huai salt in the traditional salt system.Combined with cooperation and resistance,Zhang Zhidong strengthened the political power of Huguang governor,weakened and eventually ignored the traditional salt political influence of the Liangjiang governors in Hunan and Guangdong.The activities carried by Zhang Zhidong collapsed the authorized salt selling system in traditional Chinese salt system and established Hubei salt system controlled by Huguang governor.The results ensured the financial resources of the construction of the Westernization of Hubei,the exclusion of the foreigners on the salt management,the maintenance of China's fiscal and tax sovereignty and the effective operation of Hubei local finance.On the other hand,the phenomenon of local governor's financial expansion was showed,which weakened the centralization and initiated the situation of separatist local fiscal and tax autonomy during the Republic of China.