of Belgium in Peking, and in case of necessity, to those of the foreign countries which may have taken part in the subscription to the bonds.

Done at Shanghai, November 12, 1903, that is, the 24th day of the 6th moon of the 29th year of the Reign of Kuang Hsü.

(Sgd.) ARM. ROUFFART.

(Sgd.)

SHENG KUNG PAO.

NUMBER 1904/1.

CHINA.

Customs Regulations for the Port of Kongmoon.*—March 25, 1904.

1. All vessels trading at Kongmoon are subject to, and will be treated in accordance with, the West River Regulations, 1904, and, where these do not apply, with ordinary Customs Regulations and existing Treaties. Inland-waters steamers will comply with the Inland Waters Steam Navigation Regulations.

2. For shipment and discharge of cargo, vessels, including inland-waters steamers, must take up the berths in the harbour assigned by the Harbour Master, and may not move therefrom without his permission. The harbour limits of the Port are:

South-west of Kongmoon town: within a line drawn east and west through the Wên-wu Temple.

In the West River, east of Kongmoon Creek: within a line drawn northeast through Li-yü Hill.

In the West River, west of the Kongmoon Creek: within a line drawn south-west through the Chih-shan Village Jetty.

Steamer Anchorage.-In West River, opposite I.M. Customs, adjoining the mouth of the Kongmoon Creek. Cargo-boats, sampans, etc., are forbidden to approach incoming vessels before they are properly moored.

3.—Cargo-boats must be registered at the Custom House, and their numbers conspicuously painted on them in Chinese and in English.

4. The landing and shipment of cargo or ballast, and passengers and their luggage, may only take place between 6 A.M. and 6 P.M., and cannot go on either at night or on Sundays and holidays without special permission. Cargo landed, shipped, or transhipped without a Permit is liable to confiscation.

5. The Manifest must contain an account of the marks, numbers, and contents of every package on board. For exhibiting a false Manifest the master is liable to fine. Goods found on board not specified on the Manifest are liable to confiscation.

*Text as published with the Inspector-General's Circular No. 1235 (Imperial Maritime Customs: II-Special Series; No. 28; published in 1905).

See Article 8, Section 12, and Article 10, British Commercial Treaty of 1902 (No. 1902/7, ante).

6.-On entry and upon receipt of Consular Report or River Pass, together with the Manifest of the import cargo, accompanied by Tonnage Dues Certificate, and, if from a Treaty Port, Cargo Certificate, and on consignees applying, specifying on their applications in Chinese and English, the nature of the goods, the marks and numbers, weight, value, etc., Permits will be issued authorising the discharge of consignments—

(a.) Into registered cargo-boats, which must repair to the Custom
House direct for examination, after which Duty Memos. will be
issued and, on payment of Duty, the goods will be released; or
(b.) Under approved guarantee into godowns or hulks, approved of by
the Customs, where they will be examined, after which Duty
Memos. will be issued and, on payment of Duty, the goods will be
released.

7.-Goods for export must be sent to the Customs Jetty for examination, accompanied by the shipper's Application (giving the required particulars as to the nature of the goods, the marks and numbers, weight and value, etc.) for a Shipping Permit. After examination, Duty Memos. will be issued and, on payment of Duty, Shipment Permits will be issued.

8. The landing and shipment of cargo having been completed, and all Dues and Duties having been paid, the Customs Clearance will be issued, and the vessel will be entitled to the return of her papers and may then proceed. The Customs will be at liberty to seal the hatches and place Customs officers on board to accompany vessels up and down the River.

9.-Cargo for which a Shipment Permit has been issued, but which cannot be received on board, must be reported and await Customs examination before being relanded.

10.-Munitions of war may not be landed until a Munitions Special Permit from the Customs has been obtained. Vessels arriving at this Port and having on board, as cargo, any explosive or the specially prepared constituents of such, shall anchor east of Li-yü Hill, in the West River, outside of the harbour limits, shall fly a red flag, and shall abide by the instructions received from the Customs concerning the discharge of the same.

11. In the case of Foreign goods from abroad to pay Duty, the importer may produce his bonâ fide invoice; if the invoice does not include freight and insurance, 10 per cent. will be added to the invoice value in the case of goods paying ad valorem Duty, but the Customs reserve the right not to accept invoices

as a statement.

12. Chartered junks are only available for carrying Foreign-owned cargo from Treaty Port to Treaty Port, and must take out special papers at the Customs in exchange for properly executed and approved Bonds.

13.-Masters of vessels shall not permit ballast or ashes to be thrown over

board.

14. No buoy may be laid down without the sanction of the Harbour Master and his approval of the moorings by which it is to be held in position. The Harbour Master will be at liberty to moor such vessels at unoccupied buoys as he may see fit.

15. Steamers on entering the harbour must go slow.

16. The blowing of steam-whistles or syrens, except for the purpose of signalling in accordance with the Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, or for the purpose of warning vessels of danger, is forbidden.

17.-Masters of vessels are requested to furnish the Harbour Master's Office with any information they may possess relative to any new danger, such as rocks, shoals, etc., or any changes in the channels of the River that they may have discovered.

18.-The Custom House will be open for the transaction of general business from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M., Sundays and holidays excepted. All export Manifests and Applications for cargo to be shipped the same day should be in the office not later than 3 P.M. All communications regarding Customs business should be addressed to the Commissioner of Customs.

The above Regulations are open to revision when and if necessary.
F. W. MAZE,

CUSTOM HOUSE,

(Signed)

KONGMOON, 25th March, 1904.

Acting Commissioner.

NUMBER 1904/2.

GREAT BRITAIN AND CHINA.

Convention respecting the employment of Chinese labour in British colonies and protectorates.*-May 13, 1904.

WHEREAS a Convention between Her Majesty Queen Victoria and His Majesty the Emperor of China was signed at Peking on the 24th October, 1860, by Article V of which His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of China consented to allow Chinese subjects, wishing to take service in British Colonies or other parts beyond the seas, to enter into engagements with British subjects, and to ship themselves and their families on board of British vessels at the open ports of China in conformity with Regulations to be drawn up between the two Governments for the protection of such emigrants:

And whereas the aforesaid Regulations have not hitherto been framed, His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India, and His Majesty the Emperor of China have accordingly appointed the following as their respective Plenipotentiaries, that is to say :—

His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and

*Text as printed in British Treaty Series (1904), No. 7; printed also in British Parliamentary Paper, Africa (1904), No. 6; Customs, Vol. I, p. 643; Hertslet, p. 189.

Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India, the Most Honourable Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marquess of Lansdowne, His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; and

His Majesty the Emperor of China, Chang Têh-Yih, Brevet LieutenantGeneral of the Chinese Imperial Forces, His Imperial Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India;

And the said Plenipotentaries having met and communicated to each other their respective full powers, and found them in good and due form, have agreed upon and concluded the following Articles :

ARTICLE I.-As the Regulations to be framed under the above-mentioned Treaty were intended to be of a general character, it is hereby agreed that on each occasion when indentured emigrants are required for a particular British Colony or Protectorate beyond the seas, His Britannic Majesty's Minister in Peking shall notify the Chinese Government, stating the name of the particular Colony or Protectorate for which the emigrants are required, the name of the Treaty port at which it is intended to embark them, and the terms and conditions on which they are to be engaged; the Chinese Government shall thereupon, without requiring further formalities, immediately instruct the local authorities at the specified Treaty port to take all the steps necessary to facilitate emigration. The notification herein referred to shall only be required once in the case of each Colony or Protectorate, except when emigration under indenture to that Colony or Protectorate from the specified Treaty port has not taken place during the preceding three years.

ARTICLE II.-On receipt of the instructions above referred to the Taotai at the port shall at once appoint an officer, to be called the Chinese Inspector, who, together with the British Consular Officer at the port, or his Delegate, shall make known by Proclamation and by means of the native press the text of the Indenture which the emigrant will have to sign, and any particulars of which the Chinese officer considers it essential that the emigrant shall be informed, respecting the country to which the emigrant is to proceed, and respecting its laws.

ARTICLE III.-The British Consular Officer at the port, or his Delegate, shall confer with the Chinese Inspector as to the location and installation of the offices and other necessary buildings, hereinafter called the Emigration Agency, which shall be erected or fitted up by the British Government, and at their expense, for the purpose of carrying on the business of the engagement and shipment of the emigrants, and in which the Chinese Inspector and his staff shall have suitable accommodation for carrying on their duties.

ARTICLE IV.—1. There shall be posted up in conspicuous places throughout the Emigration Agency, and more especially in that part of it called the Depôt, destined for the reception of intending emigrants, copies of the Indenture to be entered into with the emigrant, drawn up in the Chinese and English languages, together with copies of the special Ordinance, if any, relating to immigration

into the particular Colony or Protectorate for which the emigrants are required. 2. There shall be kept a Register in English and in Chinese, in which the names of intending indentured emigrants shall be inscribed, and in this Register there shall not be inscribed the name of any person who is under 20 years of age, unless he shall have produced proof of his having obtained the consent of his parents or other lawful guardians to emigrate, or, in default of these, of the Magistrate of the district to which he belongs. After signature of the Indenture according to the Chinese manner, the emigrant shall not be permitted to leave the Depôt, previously to his embarkation, without a pass signed by the Chinese Inspector, and countersigned by the British Consular Officer or his Delegate, unless he shall have, through the Chinese Inspector, renounced his agreement and withdrawn his name from the register of emigrants.

3. Before the sailing of the ship each emigrant shall be carefully examined by a qualified Medical Officer nominated by the British Consular Officer or his Delegate. The emigrants shall be paraded before the British Consular Officer or his Delegate and the Chinese Inspector or his Delegate, and questioned with a view to ascertain their perfect understanding of the Indenture.

ARTICLE V.-All ships employed in the conveyance of indentured emigrants from China under this Convention shall engage and embark them only at a Treaty port, and shall comply with the Regulations contained in the Schedule hereto annexed and forming part of the Convention.

ARTICLE VI.-For the better protection of the emigrant, and of any other Chinese subject who may happen to be residing in the Colony or Protectorate to which the emigration is to take place, it shall be competent to the Emperor of China to appoint a Consul or Vice-Consul to watch over their interests and well-being, and such Consul or Vice-Consul shall have all the rights and privileges accorded to the Consuls of other nations.

ARTICLE VII.-Every Indenture entered into under the present Articles shall clearly specify the name of the country for which the labourer is required, the duration of the engagement, and, if renewable, on what terms, the number of hours of labour per working day, the nature of the work, the rate of wages and mode of payment, the rations, clothing, the grant of a free passage out, and, where such is provided for therein, a free passage back to the port of embarkation in China for himself and family, right to free medical attendance and medicines, whether in the Colony or Protectorate or on the voyage from and to the port of embarkation in China, and any other advantages to which the emigrant shall be entitled. The Indenture may also provide that the emigrant shall, if considered necessary by the medical authorities, be vaccinated on his arrival at the Depôt, and, in the event of such vaccination being unsuccessful, revaccinated on board ship.

ARTICLE VIII.-The Indenture shall be signed, or in cases of illiteracy marked, by the emigrant after the Chinese manner, in the presence of the Chinese Inspector or his Delegate and of the British Consular Officer or his Delegate, who shall be responsible to their respective Governments for its provisions having been clearly and fully explained to the emigrant previous to signature. To each emigrant there shall be presented a copy of the Indenture drawn up in