光绪十年京员津贴再探

光绪八年云南爆出报销案,显露出清季各省外销财政之冰山一角。随后户部颁布京员津贴章程八条。京员津贴并不开支国家正供,而从各省关外销项下动支,意在既可补贴京官,又可不动正款。各省因此别立各种款目,为言官所抨击。光绪十年津贴京员提解外销,沿袭的是清代历史上财政治理的经典范式,即将本属奏销制度之外的外销款项,纳入正项化管理轨道。京员津贴的推行,隐含清廷褫夺各省外销财权而集中于中央的财政意涵。

Reevaluating Subsidies for Central Government Offi cials in 1884

The exposure of the reimbursement scandal in Yunnan in 1882 revealed the tip of the iceberg of provincial financial abuses in the late Qing. In response, the Ministry of Revenue promulgated the eight-point regulations of central government officials’ external subsidies. Central government officials received subsides that were not disbursed from national treasury, but from local funds. In order to pay these subsides, the provinces began to levy taxes in various names and this situation caused criticism from the imperial censors. The reason the Ministry of Revenue did not pay subsidies from the state treasury was mainly based on financial reality. Central finances were in deficit and the central government was not aware of the actual financial situation of the provinces. Extracting external subsidies to provide allowances to central government officials in 1884, was a classic example of financial governance in the history of the Qing dynasty. The central government made technical adjustments under the framework of traditional reimbursement system that allowed subsides to become a part of the official revenue. The implementation of central government regulation of officials’ subsidies concealed the intent of imperial court to diminish financial power of local government.