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ARTICLE 11.-Responsibility.—1°. Except in cases of force majeure, if a postal parcel be lost, despoiled, or damaged, the sender or, in his default, or by his request, the addressee shall be entitled to an indemnity corresponding to the actual amount of the loss, the spoliation, or the damage, unless this damage be caused by the fault or by the negligence of the sender, or be due to the nature of the parcel itself; but this indemnity shall not exceed 25 francs for ordinary parcels up to 5 kilogrammes, 40 francs for parcels from 5 to 10 kilogrammes, and the declared value for parcels of declared value.

Besides, the sender of a lost parcel shall be entitled to refund of the postage on the parcel and also to the postage expenses connected with making the inquiries when the cause of the claim is due to the fault of the Post Office. However, the insurance fee shall be retained by the Postal Administrations.

2. The obligation to pay the indemnity shall be incumbent upon the Administration of the Office of origin; it shall then rest with this Administration to prefer a claim against the responsible Administration, that is to say, against the Administration upon whose territory or in whose service the loss, spoliation, or damage shall have taken place.

3°. Until proved to the contrary, the responsibility shall remain with the Administration which, having received the parcel without making any remark, can establish neither its delivery at its destination nor, as may happen, its regular transmission to the next Administration.

4°. The payment of the indemnity by the Office of origin shall be made as soon as possible, and not later than one year after the date of the claim. The responsible Office shall refund without delay to the Office of origin the amount of the indemnity paid by the latter.

The Office of origin shall be authorised to indemnify the sender on behalf of the intermediary Office or of the Office of destination which, having been regularly notified, shall have allowed one year to elapse without having settled the claim.

Moreover, in the case of an Office whose responsibility shall be duly established which shall decline altogether to pay the indemnity, it shall undertake to pay, besides the indemnity, the accessory expenses resulting from undue delay in making the payment.

5. It is understood that a claim shall be admitted only if made within one year from the date of posting the parcel; after this limit the claimant shall not be entitled to any indemnity.

6°. If the loss or damage happen during transmission between the Offices of exchange of the two Administrations, thus rendering it impossible to decide upon which of the two territories the act took place, the two Administrations concerned shall share the loss equally.

7. The Administration shall cease to be responsible for postal parcels, delivery of which shall have been taken by the persons entitled to receive them.

ARTICLE 12-Articles prohibited.-10. Parcels shall not contain any letter or note, either sealed or open, that might establish a correspondence between the sender and the addressee. Exception may be made only in the case of invoices, price lists, and other open documents that relate exclusively to the contents of the parcel.

2. The sender shall also be forbidden to enclose in a parcel any explosive or inflammable material and generally all articles the transmission of which presents any danger whatsover, or the importation of which shall be contrary to the laws or to Customs regulations, or otherwise not authorised.

3. Parcels containing money, articles made of gold or of silver, and other precious articles, must have their value declared. 4. In case of infraction of these above rules, the parcel shall simply be returned to the place of origin.

5. The two Administrations shall communicate to each other a list of things and products forbidden importation into their territories.

ARTICLE 13.-Temporary Suspension of the Service.-In extraordinary circumstances of a nature to justify the measure, each Administration may temporarily suspend the parcel post service, either entirely or partially, on condition that immediate notice be given, if need be by telegraph, to the other Administration concerned.

ARTICLE 14.-Fulfilment of the Convention.-1°. The Postal Administrations of Germany and of China shall settle all matters of detail and of disposition, in order to ensure the fulfilment of the present Convention.

20. The Postal Administrations of Germany and of China shall designate the Offices or the localities at which the exchange of postal parcels is to be allowed.

3. They shall supply to each other a list of the countries with which they may respectively serve as intermediaries and the list of localities open to the service.

ARTICLE 15.-General Provision.-The internal legislation of each of the contracting countries. as well as the dispositions of the International Convention concerning the exchange of postal parcels and of the detailed regulations thereto annexed, shall remain applicable to all points not herein provided for or not contrary to the present Convention.

ARTICLE 16.-Duration of the Convention. The present Arrangement shall be put into operation from a day mutually agreed upon by both Administrations, and it shall remain in force for an indefinite period. However, the contracting parties reserve to themselves the right to make at any time such modifications therein as they may by mutual agreement judge necessary, or to terminate the Arrangement by giving at least six months notice in advance.

France (Indo-China).

ARRANGEMENT REGULATING THE EXCHANGE OF POSTAL PARCELS BETWEEN THE PROVINCE OF YUNNAN, INDO-CHINA, AND THE COUNTRIES BEYOND, THROUGH THE INTERMEDIARY OF THE SERVICES OF INDO-CHINA.*

July 24th and September 21st, 1911

ARTICLE 1.-POSTAL PARCELS LEAVING CHINA. (a) Originating at the Indo-Chinese Offices of Mengtsz and/or Yünnanfu.-THE Indo-Chinese Offices of Mengtsz and Yunnanfu accept for transmission ordinary postal parcels for all the destinations mentioned in the postal tariff of Indo-China and collect the same taxes as that Administration, augmented by:

1°. The share due to China for the transport in Yunnan, provisionally fixed by the Office of China at o fr. 70 centimes for parcels not exceeding 5 kilos. and i franc for parcels over 5 but not exceeding 10 kilos.;

* See the Convention with the Compagnie Française des Chemins de Fer de l'Indo-Chine et du Yunnan for the Transportation of Parcels Post, April 15th, 1912 (No. 1912/7, post).

2°. The cost of transport between Laokai and Haiphong, on the line belonging to the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer de l'Indo-Chine et du Yunnan": 1 franc for parcels not exceeding 5 kilos. and 2 francs for parcels over 5 but not exceeding 10 kilos.

These parcels are forwarded, accompanied by a Parcel Way Bill, to the Chinese. Office of exchange of Hokow, through the intermediary and under the care of the Chinese Offices of Mengtsz and Yunnanfu.

The Chinese Office of Hokow, after checking the parcels, returns to the Indo-Chinese Office of origin (Mengtsz or Yünnanfu), duly signed, the Parcel Way Bill which accompanied the parcels.

It then hands over the parcels, à découvert, after having entered them on a Parcel Way Bill, made out in duplicate, on which the Chinese Administration is credited, in column 9, with its share of the transport: o f. 70 centimes for parcels not exceeding 5 kilos. and I franc for parcels over 5 but not exceeding 10 kilos.

(b.) Originating at the Chinese Offices in Yunnan.-The Chinese Offices in Yunnan accept for transmission ordinary postal parcels for all the destinations mentioned in the postal tariff of Indo-China.

These parcels are handed over, à découvert, by the Chinese Office of Hokow to the Indo-Chinese Office of Laokai, accompanied by a Parcel Way Bill, on which the Chinese Office of Hokow enters to the credit of the Administration of Indo-China the shares of transport to destination due to that Administration, viz.:

1°. Principal tax as per postal tariff of Indo-China;

2o. Cost of transport between Laokai and Haiphong on the line belonging to the "Compagnie des Chemins de Fer de l'Indo-Chine et du Yunnan": 1 franc for parcels not exceeding 5 kilos. and 2 francs for parcels over 5 but not exceeding 10 kilos.

The postal tariff of the Colony showing the taxes on postal parcels forwarded from Indo-China will be communicated to the Office of China by the Office of Indo-China.

ARTICLE 2.-POSTAL PARCELS ENTERING CHINA.-(a) Destined for Mengtsz and/or Yünnanfu.Indo-Chinese, French, or foreign ordinary postal parcels destined for Mengtsz or Yünnanfu are handed by the Indo-Chinese Office of Laokai to the Chinese Office of Hokow, in closed mails, accompanied by a Parcel Way Bill, in duplicate, on which the Indo-Chinese Office of Laokai enters to the credit of the Administration of China, in column 9, the share of the transport due to that Administration: o f. 70 centimes for parcels not exceeding 5 kilos. and I franc for parcels over 5 but not exceeding 10 kilos.

These parcels are then handed over to the Indo-Chinese Offices of Mengtsz and/or Yünnanfu through the intermediary and under the care of the Chinese services, to be delivered to the addressees.

(b.) Destined for Localities other than Mengtsz and Yünnanfu.-Indo-Chinese, French, or foreign ordinary postal parcels destined for places situated in the province of Yunnan other than Mengtsz and Yunnanfu are handed over, à découvert, by the Indo-Chinese Office of Laokai to the Chinese Office of Hokow, accompanied by a Parcel Way Bill, in duplicate, on which the IndoChinese Office of Laokai enters to the credit of the Administration of China, in column 9, the share of the transport due to that Administration: o f. 70 centimes for parcels not exceeding 5 kilos. and 1 franc for parcels over 5 but not exceeding 10 kilos.

These parcels are delivered by the Chinese Offices, which collect from the addressees of parcels destined for non-steam-served places in Yunnan supplementary taxes known as "domestic rates.'

ARTICLE 3.-POSTAL PARCELS EXCHANGED BY THE CHINESE OFFICES IN TRANSIT THROUGH INDO. CHINA.-(a.) Postal Parcels leaving Yunnan.-Postal parcels forwarded by the Chinese Office of Hokow to other Chinese Offices in the Empire of China, in transit through Indo-China and the maritime services and vice-versâ, pay the taxes fixed by the Administration of China.

These parcels passing in transit are handed over, à découvert, to the Office of Laokai by the Office of Hokow for Customs treatment, after which the parcels are placed by the two Offices of exchange in baskets supplied by the Administration of China. These baskets are then forwarded, in transit, through the maritime services via Hongkong to the Chinese Offices designated by the Chinese Office of Hokow.

The Chinese Office of Hokow enters to the credit of the Administration of Indo-China the maritime and territorial taxes for transport, as stipulated in Articles 3 and 6 of the Convention of Rome for the exchange of postal parcels, augmented by the share of transport on the line belonging to the "Compagnie des Chemins de Fer de l'Indo-Chine et du Yunnan ": 1 franc for parcels not exceeding 5 kilos. and 2 francs for parcels over 5 but not exceeding 10 kilos.

(b.) Postal Parcels entering Yunnan.-Postal parcels coming from ports in China viâ Hongkong destined for Yunnan, for which the Administration of Indo-China must be credited with the total shares of transport to Laokai-including those relative to the distance Hongkong-Haiphong, when the transport has been effected by Indo-China steamers, are forwarded in closed mails, in baskets supplied by the Administration of China, by the Chinese Offices of origin to the Indo-Chinese Office of Laokai, which Office hands them over à découvert, with the baskets, to the Chinese Office of Hokow

ARTICLE 4.-CUSTOMS DUTIES AND FORMALITIES CONCERNING CHINESE OR FOREIGN POSTAL PARCELS EXCHANGED IN TRANSIT THROUGH THE SERVICES OF INDO-CHINA.-(a.) Indo-Chinese and Chinese parcels leaving the province of Yunnan, and those passing in transit through Indo-China, must be accompanied by two Customs Declarations. The examination of these parcels takes place at the Chinese Office of Hokow in the presence of an officer of the Indo-Chinese Customs, who will assist by giving the necessary indications, in order that the Customs Declarations may be drawn up in accordance with the terms of the General Tariff of the Indo-Chinese Customs. The Customs transit duties are paid immediately, and the amount of these duties, collected as per the Generai Tariff of the Indo-Chinese Customs, is handed by the Chinese Office of Hokow to the Collector of Customs of Laokai.

(b.) As regards Indo-Chinese or foreign parcels entering Yunnan, the formalities required by the Chinese Customs are performed at Mengtsz and/or Yünnanfu or at the place of destination.

ARTICLE 5.-PARCELS WITH DECLARED VALUE.-Parcels with declared value exchanged between Chinese Offices, in transit through the services of Indo-China, are accepted by that Office, provided that they are transmitted packed in special baskets giving every guarantee as to the adequate protection of the contents.

The Administration of China, on its part, accepts parcels with declared value exchanged, in all relations, with the Indo-Chinese Offices of Mengtsz and/or Yunnanfu.

These parcels are entered on special Parcel Way Bills, and each Office participating in the transport receives the shares stipulated in the Convention of Rome for the exchange of postal parcels (Art. 3. § 4), viz., o f. 05 centimes per 300 francs or fraction of 300 francs of the declared value for territorial transit and o f. 10 centimes for maritime transit.

ARTICLE 6.-PARCEL WAY BILLS.-The Office of exchange which takes delivery of postal parcels signs, in token of receipt, one copy of the Parcel Way Bill, which is kept by the other Office of exchange to be attached to its accounts. The duplicate copy of the Parcel Way Bill accompanying the parcels is attached to the accounts of the Office which takes delivery of the parcels.

ARTICLE 7.-ACCOUNTS.-The two Offices of Laokai and Hokow are entrusted with the preparation of accounts.

To that effect, they prepare monthly a statement, in conformity with specimen K of the Convention of Rome for the exchange of postal parcels, and forward it, together with the Parcel Way Bills relating thereto, to the Directors General of their respective Administrations. After verification and acceptance, on both sides of the monthly account L prepared by the two Offices, the Administrations summarise the accounts in a quarterly statement, the balance of which is paid, in gold francs, by means of drafts drawn on the places chosen by mutual consent. The taxes collected in piastres and cents in Yunnan on parcels destined for the Indo-Chinese Offices are converted into francs at the official rate fixed by the Treasury of Indo-China at the time of the settlement of accounts, i.e., on the last day of the quarter. This rate is regularly communicated by the Indo-Chinese Office of Laokai to the Chinese Office of Hokow.

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ARTICLE 8.-GENERAL PROVISIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.-It is understood that as soon as the projected Arrangement between the Office of Indo-China and the 'Compagnie des Chemins de Fer de l'Indo-Chine et du Yunnan," with a view to reduce the cost of transport, shall have been concluded, and the taxes provided for by the Convention of Rome become applicable to the Indo-Chinese transit, the Office of China will, in virtue thereof, reduce to o f. 50 and o f. 80 its shares of the transport in Yunnan, provisionally fixed at o f. 70 and i franc.

For all points that are not provided for by the present Arrangement, namely, as regards the question of the respective responsibility of the several Offices, the contracting parties will adhere to the rules laid down in the Convention of Rome for the exchange of postal parcels.

ARTICLE 9.—DURATION OF ARRANGEMENT. The present Arrangement shall come into force as soon as the necessary notifications have been made by the Office of Indo-China to the International Bureau at Berne and the Administrations of China and Indo-China have agreed upon a date by simple exchange of letter. It shall remain in force for an indefinite period. The contracting parties reserve to themselves the right to make at any time such modifications therein as they may judge necessary and to terminate the Arrangement by giving notice three months in advance.

See also the postal arrangement with British India, February 9, 1909 (No. 1909/1, post), the arrangement with the Chinese Eastern Railway Company for the transportation of mails, February 6/19, 1909 (No. 1909/2, post), the parcel post arrangement with Hongkong, June 5 and 22, 1909 (No. 1909/4, post), the Convention with the Compagnie Française des Chemins de Fer de l'Indo-Chine et du Yunnan for the transportation of parcels post, April 15, 1912 (No. 1912/7, post), the parcels post convention with the United States, May 29 and July 11, 1916 (No. 1916/10, post), and the Agreement with Japan in regard to postal and telegraph operations at the leased territory of Kiaochow Bay and along the Kao-Tsi Railway, March 26, 1917 (No. 1917/5, post).]

NUMBER 1906/4.

RUSSIA AND THE UNITED STATES.

Exchange of notes in regard to the reciprocal protection of trade-marks in China.*-June 28, 1906.

Mr. Rockhill to Mr. Pokotilow.

PEKING, June 28, 1906.

MR. MINISTER AND DEAR COLLEAGUE: The Government of the United States being desirous of reaching an understanding with the Government of Russia for the reciprocal protection against infringement in China by citizens and subjects of our respective nations of trade-marks duly registered in the United States and Russia, I am authorized by the Secretary of State of the United States to inform you that the American consular courts in China afford protection against in

*Text (and translation) as printed in U. S. Treaty Series (No. 484). Printed also in Izviestia, 1914, Vol. I, p. 1; Malloy, p. 1535.

fringement in China by American citizens of trade-marks the property of Russian subjects which have been duly registered in the United States.

I beg that you will kindly inform me whether like protection will be given to American citizens in the consular courts of Russia in China against the infringement by Russian subjects of their trade-marks duly registered in Russia. I have the honor to be, my dear colleague, your obedient servant,

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MR. MINISTER AND DEAR COLLEAGUE: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of to-day's date by which you kindly inform me that the Government of the United States being desirous of reaching an understanding with the Imperial Government of Russia concerning the protection in China of trade-marks duly registered in Russia and the United States, you have been authorized to declare that the American consular courts in China have jurisdiction in all matters concerning the infringement by persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States of trade-marks the property of Russian subjects which have been duly registered in the United States.

Being duly authorized by my Government, I have the honor to inform you that the Imperial Government is equally ready to insure in China through the Russian consular courts protection for trade-marks the property of persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and duly registered in Russia which may be infringed by Russian subjects. I deem it necessary, however, to observe that infringements of trade-marks not being considered by the American statutes a criminal offense persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States having suffered injury can, through reasons of reciprocity, only claim before the Russian courts indemnification for the damages sustained by them. Please accept, Mr. Minister and dear Colleague, the assurance of my highest consideration.

His Excellency W. W. ROCKHILL,

D. POKOTILOW.

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, etc.,

American Legation, Peking.

NUMBER 1906/5.

INTERNATIONAL AND CHINA.

International Red Cross Convention for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded of the armies in the field.—July 6, 1906.

[The text of this convention is not included in the present compilation, as it appears to have no particular interest in reference to China. Translations of the French texts of the convention, concluded at Geneva, July 6, 1906, and of the final protocol of the Conference for the revision of the Geneva convention (of August 22, 1864), signed at Berne, August 22, 1906, are to be found in Malloy, p. 2183.]

NUMBER 1906/6.

BELGIUM AND RUSSIA.

Exchange of notes concerning the reciprocal protection of trade-marks in China.*-October 15, 1906.

NOTE ADDRESSED BY THE CHARGE D'AFFAIRES OF BELGIUM AT PEKING TO THE RUSSIAN MINISTER, UNDER DATE OCTOBER 2/15, 1906.

I have the honor to acknowledge to your Excellency the receipt of the notes which you were so good as to address to me on the subject of the reciprocal protection of Belgian and Russian trademarks in China.

This communication notes that the Imperial Government has given the necessary instructions in order that the Russian consular tribunals may assure the legal protection of trademarks belonging to Belgian nationals (i.e., ressortissants belges) and duly registered in Russia.

In taking note of this communication I have the honor to make known to your Excellency that the Government of the King, for its part, assures the protection in China of Russian trademarks (i.e., marques de fabrique et de commerce russes), regularly registered in Belgium, which may be infringed by Belgian nationals.

The King's legation, as well as the Belgian consulates, vice consulates and agencies in China, are competent to take jurisdiction of such claims as may be brought before them in such cases.

I have taken care to advise our consular agents in China of the conclusion,

*Translation from French text as printed in Izviestia, 1914, vol. 1, p. 2.

The note referred to, dated September 29/October 12, 1906, was identical, mutatis mutandis, with that addressed to the British Minister on October 16/29, 1906 (No. 1906/8, post).

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