troops and munitions of war of the Chosen Government. It is understood that when the Government of Chosen shall acquire said railroad by purchase the ground herein leased shall revert to the Government of Chosen. In surveying the line of said railroad due care must be observed to avoid disturbing cemeteries and graves.

Further, all crossings other than mere footpaths shall be provided for by the building of necessary approaches and levels over the rails for the passage of wheeled vehicles, and culverts shall be built in embankments when the railroad crosses a main public cart road, providing the embankment is too high for a crossing.

IV.

Said railroad shall have a station at Seoul, one at Chemulpo, one at the river, and at least three between the river and Chemulpo. The river station shall be at either Mapoo or Riong San.

V.

All materials for the construction, equipment, and operation of said railroad, which it is necessary to import from foreign countries, may be imported free of Customs duty and no taxes will be levied on said railroad or its properties or receipts.

VI.

Foreigners and natives may be employed upon said road at the discretion of its managers. Natives shall be given the preference, especially upon the earthworks where not more than ten per cent (10%) of other nationals will be employed, unless native labor is held at such a high price as to render the importation of foreign labor advisable, in which case such laborers may be imported for the work in hand with the explicit understanding that said foreign laborers shall be returned to the country from which they came upon the completion of their work. For this purpose these imported laborers shall be registered at the Customs office upon their arrival and not one shall remain after the work is finished.

VII.

For the purpose of carrying out the above business, said James R. Morse or his assigns, is authorized to organize a Company and secure necessary capital. Said Company may make contracts, hold, own and convey all property necessary for the construction, ownership, maintenance and operation of said railroad, and may operate the same and possess all the power usually exercised and enjoyed by railroad corporations generally.

VIII.

The capital stock of said Company will be hereafter determined by said James R. Morse or his assigns, who shall find the capital necessary for the proper execution of said work. The Government of Chosen shall not be responsible beyond the requirements for the right of way before named.

IX.

Said Company shall be organized and the work commenced without unreasonable delay and in any event within twelve months from the date of this decree. If work is not so commenced this concession shall lapse, provided war or other cause over which the Company has no control prevents the work from being so commenced an extension shall be granted.

Further, the work of building said railroad shall be completed within three years from the commencement of the same, unless prevented by war or other like cause, in which case an extension shall be granted equal to the time so lost.

X.

If difficulties arise between said railroad Company and the Government of Chosen as to any cause, they shall be settled by the decision of an impartial commission of from two to five persons to be appointed as follows: One commissioner shall be appointed by the Government of Chosen and one by the said railroad Company. In case these two can not agree, they may appoint a third whose decision shall be final unless he should choose to call to his assistance two more commissioners, in which case the Government of Chosen and the railroad Company shall each appoint another commissioner to act with the three before named.

XI.

At the end of fifteen (15) years from the completion of said railroad the Government of Chosen may purchase said railroad and all its properties by paying its then appraised value, which value shall be determined by a commission to be appointed as provided for in Article X. In case the Government of Chosen is unable to purchase said railroad at the expiration of the allotted fifteen (15) years, then this concession shall be binding in favor of said Company for another period of ten (10) years. After which the Government of Chosen shall again have the option of purchase, and so on for other periods of ten (10) years each.

XII.

The Government of Chosen agrees not to grant any concession for ▲ similar road to connect the two points Seoul and Chemulpo during the life of the concession, or the ownership of said railroad by the herein named railroad Company. This Article has no reference to other railroads connecting other parts of the Kingdom of Chosen.

XIII.

The English text of this decree or concession and its conditions shall be considered the authorized official version. It shall have attached to it a translation in Chinese.

Seoul, Korea, March 29, 1898.

(Sig.)

(Sig.)

YE WAN YONG, Minister of Foreign Affairs. CHO PYENG SIK,

Minister for Agriculture, Commerce, Public Work.

No. 74.

JAPAN.

SEOUL-FUSAN RAILWAY AGREEMENT.

SEPTEMBER 8, 1898.

ART. I. The Korean government hereby grant to the promoters of the Seoul-Fusan Railway Company organized by Japanese subjects the rights of constructing a railway between Seoul and Fusan and working the same and building bridges over the rivers and streams on the line of the railway and in order to make this concession operative, conclude the following articles of agreement with Sasake Kiyomaro and Inouye Chojiro, the representatives of the said promoters.

ART. II. The plans for the construction of the railway and bridges shall be determined according to the survey made by the engineers to be appointed by the Seoul-Fusan Railway company, or by their representatives. The bridges shall be so high as not to obstruct the passage of junks and boats, or drawbridges shall be constructed which shall be opened during certain intervals every day. Pathways shall be constructed, and in order to avoid interruption of travel the pathway on each side shall be used exclusively by persons going in one direction.

ART. III. The guage of the railway shall be the same as that of the Seoul-Chemulpo Railway in accordance with the provision of Art. II of the Imperial Decree No. 31, regarding Korean government railways, which prescribes that the gauges of railways in the different provinces shall, as much as possible, be of the same standard so as not to prevent the transfer of trains from one system to another. The land to be allotted for the line of the railway, stations, go-downs, machine shops, and for putting switches and rails, shall be provided for by the Korean Government in order to facilitate the construction of the railway. During the term the said railway company has control of the railway and until the purchase of the same by the Korean government, the exclusive ownership of these lands shall be vested in the Company. Transportation of the soldiers, goods for military use, mail carriers and mails of Korea shall be free of charge. When the Korean government purchase the said railway, the lands which have been exclusively owned by the company shall be returned to Korea.

When graves are found on the way of the projected railway the line shall be constructed so as not to encroach upon them. Where the railway crosses roads it shall be so constructed as not to interfere with the traffic on such roads.

ART. IV. Terminal stations shall be placed at Seoul and Fusan respectively. The stations shall be erected at such places as will be found suitable, but in those places no foreigners will be allowed to reside.

ART. V. The machinery, plants, tools, instruments and other articles of whatever description and kind destined for use in connection with the railway, as well as the lands belonging to the railway, and profits of various kinds, shall be exempted from the imposition of any duties, taxes or charges.

ART. VI. Although it shall be in the power of the inspectors of works to employ Koreans and foreigners without distinction, more Koreans than foreigners shall be employed. In the construction of embankments and similar work Koreans should be employed at the rate of nine out of each ten. In case the company employs foreign laborers because Korean labor becomes dearer on account of the demand for labor, such foreign laborers shall all be returned to their own countries when the work shall have been completed, and their entry and exit shall be strictly supervised by the Customs in order that none shall remain in the country. Korean timber and wood shall be used in the work, but in case they are unfit for use, Japanese and Korean timber and wood can be used promiscuously.

ART. VII. The promoters of the railway company or their representatives, in order to carry out the projected work, shall have power to organize a company and collect capital. The said company can make contracts necessitated by the construction and working of the railroad, and also can themselves dispose of everything required therefor as their own property. Further, the company shall, in the management of this enterprise, be vested with all rights and privileges which are generally enjoyed by railway companies.

ART. VIII. The promoters of the said company, or their representatives, shall make estimate of the amount of expense to be incurred and collect the capital. The Korean government do not provide anything outside of the lands above referred to.

ART. IX. In case branch lines of railway shall be constructed in the other provinces, only the Korean government or Korean subjects shall undertake the enterprise, and no foreign government or subjects shall be allowed to do so.

ART. X. The work of construction shall be begun within three years from the date of the signing of the present agreement. In case of failure to commence it within the above limit, the present agreement, unless renewed, shall be considered invalid. If the delay occurs from war