returned, are to be deducted by the Chinese Eastern Railway Company from the payments due for lands expropriated under the present agreement. If, however, these lands shall be really indispensable for the railway and it would be difficult to pass around them, payment should be made by the Chinese Eastern Railway Company for the houses, yards, wells, trees and graves, at a price that will be fair in view of the actual conditions, so that they can be removed to another place and be rebuilt. ART. 8.-When choosing locations for the construction of railway bridges. over navigable rivers, the locations should be examined in conjunction with a Chinese official in order not to interfere with navigation. In the same manner, if it shall be found that there are not enough places where sand, lime, stone and water can be obtained on the lands expropriated by this present agreement, and also if it shall become necessary to take measures against floods, the lands necessary for these purposes may be acquired only after an examination in conjunction with a Chinese official, and with the approval of the Chinese authorities, it being understood, moreover, that the quantity of such lands shall not be considerable, and that they shall be used only for the purposes above set forth. ART. 9.-Trees growing on the expropriated land, whether belonging to the government or to private owners, must be paid for separately. If mineral deposits shall be found to exist on the expropriated area it will be necessary to come to a special agreement in order to work them, and no claim can be based on this agreement in case such questions shall arise. ART. 10.—The owners of buildings situated on the expropriated lands may use them for the period of three years from the date that this agreement is signed. If, however, the Chinese Eastern Railway Company shall find it necessary, the said buildings must be surrendered and the money due must be paid in accordance with Article 7 of this present agreement. ART. 11.-Surveyors and Chinese officials should be detailed by the Chinese Eastern Railway Company and by the Chinese authorities to inspect and measure in shangs the expropriated areas, in accordance with the annexed schedule, and to fix the boundaries of the concession, after which a plan and a list of the expropriated lands shall be prepared. One copy of the plan and list shall be delivered through the Chinese authorities to the governor for his information. The total quantity of land, both that which has been paid for and that which has not been paid for, in the various sections must be verified, and must not exceed the total area fixed by this present agreement. The deeds should be compared with the old documents, and they should be paid for fairly. ART. 12.-The Chinese Eastern Railway Company will make its forthcoming payments for privately owned land in the presence of Chinese officials who shall be sent for the purpose by the Chinese authorities, immediately upon receipt of notice from the management of the railway. The deeds and plans shall be authenticated by the seal of the Chinese authorities. ART. 13. This agreement shall be written in the Chinese and Russian languages, and shall be signed and sealed by both parties. One copy of this agreement shall be kept in the Yamen of the Governor of Kirin and the other in the general office of the railway. In case of dispute the Chinese text shall be considered authoritative. Agent of the General Manager of the Chinese Eastern Expectant Taot'ai, Decorated with the Peacock Harbin, August 17, 1907 (August 30, 1907, new style); 22nd day of the 7th Month of the 33rd year of the Reign of Kuang Hsü. [Seal of the Governor of Kirin Province.] SCHEDULE OF THE LANDS EXPROPRIATED ON THE EASTERN LINE. For the line between the stations, sidings and platforms, at a width of 32 sazhen (224 feet), 10.3 shangs per verst, 300 versts Total .... 3,100 55,000+ The original was signed by: Major General HORVATH, General Manager of the Chinese Eastern Railway. DANIEL, (Signed in Chinese.) Agent of the General Manager of the Chinese Eastern Railway for Relations with the Chinese Authorities. Expectant Taotai, Decorated with the Peacock Feather, Delegate of Kirin Province. NUMBER 1907/15. RUSSIA (Chinese Eastern Railway Company) AND CHINA (Kirin Province). Agreement for the Felling of Timber in Kirin Province.*-August 30, 1907. TU HSUEH-YING, Expectant Taotai, with Peacock's Feather, Special Delegate of the Kirin province; Major-General HORWARD, manager of the Chinese Eastern Railway Company; and E. DANIEL, representative of the said manager with full powers; have agreed upon the following regulations governing the cutting, within certain specified sections, by the Chinese Eastern Railway Company, of the timber required for the Company's use. 1.-The Chinese Eastern Railway Company shall be allowed to fell all kinds of timber at three places in the Kirin province as follows: * Translation, from the Chinese text, as printed in Customs, vol. I, p. 260. Russian text printed in Soglashenia, p. 51. In connection with this agreement, see also the similar agreement in regard to Heilungkiang Province, April 5, 1908 (No. 1908/6, post). 55,000 shang equal 96,107 acres or 150 square miles. (a.) A section near Shih-t'ou-ho-tzu, the plan of which is hereto appended. (c.) A section near I-mien-po, which shall not exceed 25 li in length or 2. Prior to the commencement of felling operations, the Railway Company shall notify to the Head Office for Foreign Business connected with the railway the quantity and kind of timber to be felled, applying for the necessary license, in which the same particulars shall be given. On payment of one-third of the amount of license fees due on the quantity of timber as applied for by the Railway Company, the license shall be issued by the Chinese authorities, and the remainder of the fees due on the actual quantity taken, as noted on the license, shall be paid after all the timber has been collected. 3. On the 1st day of the 8th month in every year (Russian calendar) new licenses for timber felling shall be issued to the Railway Company to be valid for one year, at the end of which the license fees due on the actual quantity of timber felled during the period shall be calculated and paid. In the event of the quantity of timber actually felled being less than one-third of the total quantity as stated in the license, the license fees prepaid thereon shall belong to the Chinese Government and shall not be refunded; and in the event of the timber felled exceeding the quantity stated in the license, the fees on the surplus shall be paid in accordance with these regulations. If the Railway Company fails to pay the license fees when due or infringes any of the articles of this Agreement, the licenses issued shall be annulled, and the timber-cutting rights in the specified sections shall be withdrawn. So long as the Railway Company pays the license fees in accordance with the regulations and adheres to the articles of this Agreement, the Chinese authorities shall renew the licenses annually, according to these regulations, on the date above stated. 4. The Railway Company shall, at its own expense, mark the boundaries of the sections granted to it for timber felling. The Railway Company shall not cut timber outside these boundaries, while the Chinese authorities shall not allow, and shall do their utmost to prevent, the cutting of timber by others within the assigned sections. 5.-The Railway Company shall leave sufficient space for thoroughfares at such places as touch the railway line. 6. The Railway Company shall make its own arrangements in connection with the felling of timber in the aforesaid sections for which licenses shall have been issued, and shall be at liberty to stack timber, to put up sawmills, to erect dwelling-houses, and to make side roads for the transportation of timber. The Railway Company shall permit Chinese soldiers to go within the boundaries for the capture of brigands, and shall in no way interfere with Chinese who may be hunting or gathering ginseng within the boundaries. If there be any tillable land within the timber-felling sections, the Chinese authorities remain at liberty to bring in emigrants to open up the land, and to this the Railway Company shall offer no obstruction. The local inhabitants shall be permitted to cut timber within the said sections for their own use, for purposes of building, and for fuel, but on such occasions the resident Weiyüan shall notify the Railway Company, and the section on which the cutting is to take place will be indicated, the quantity of timber to be taken will be settled, and a special permit will be issued. On no account shall such timber be sold to outsiders. On the grass lands within the said sections the Railway Company shall be at liberty to feed their cattle and to cut grass for their sheep on payment to the Chinese authorities at the rate of 1 copeck for every pound. 7. For all timber cut under a license the Railway Company shall pay license fees at the rate of four-tenths of a copeck for every length of 1 arshine (equal to 2 feet 2 inches building measure) with a thickness of 1 vershok (equal to 1.375 inches building measure). This applies only to large timber measuring 16 inches (Russian) in diameter and 12 feet (Russian) in length. When the timber exceeds these dimensions, either of length or diameter, the charge shall be half a copeck for every arshine in length and every vershok in thickness. The license fees on firewood shall be one ruble for every ku-pang, and on railway sleepers 32 copecks apiece. The diameter of large timber shall be that of the small end, and in this measurement a fraction exceeding six-tenths of a Russian inch shall be taken as a full Russian inch, and a fraction of less than six-tenths shall not be counted. In measuring the length of timber, fractions less than onefourth of a Russian foot shall not be taken into account.§ The scale of license fees now fixed shall hold good for five years from the date of the signature of this Agreement, and shall then be reconsidered. Should the Railway Company purchase timber from merchants whom the Chinese authorities shall have permitted to fell timber, the Company shall pay license fees according to the above scale on the timber so purchased at the time when it is taken over. 8. The Chinese authorities shall send Weiyüan to reside permanently in the defined areas in order to supervise the timber felling and to note the kinds, dimensions, and quantities, of which, conjointly with the Russian officials, they shall keep a record to serve as a basis for the calculation of license fees. 9. For land taken up by the Railway Company for making side tracks, stacking timber, erecting machine buildings and dwelling-houses, etc., the rental for every Chinese shang without distinction as to quality shall be 3 rubles per annum in the case of Government land. In the case of land belonging to individuals, the consent of the owner shall be obtained and an annual rental paid. 10. As all forests are now under the care of the Chinese Government, the Railway Company in cutting timber shall not contravene the forestry regulations which the Chinese Government may issue. 11. Under present circumstances there is required for railway purposes in the Kirin province 200,000 ku-pang of firewood, 800,000 railway sleepers, and 200,000 pieces of large timber annually, but the Chinese authorities will consent The Russian text here gives 16 vershok in diameter and 12 arshine in length. § In the Russian text the fractions are six-tenths vershok and one-quarter arshine. |