THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 2ND JULY, 1887.
ARTICLE XII
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The subjects of each of the Contracting Parties who shall conform themselves to the laws of the country-
1. Shall have full liberty, with their families, to enter, travel, or reside in any part of the domi- nions and possessions of the other Contracting Party.
2. They shall be permitted to hire or possess the houses, manufactories, warehouses, shops, and premises which may be necessary for them.
3. They may carry on their commerce either in person or by any agents whom they may think fit to employ.
4. They shall not be subject in respect of their persons or property, or in respect of passports, nor in respect of their commerce or industry, to any taxes, whether general or local, or to imposts or obli- gations of any kind whatever other or greater than those which are or may be imposed upon native subjects.
ARTICLE XIII.
The subjects of each of the Contracting Parties in the dominions and possessions of the other shall be exempted from all compulsory military service whatever, whether in the army, navy, or national guard or militia. They shall be equally exempted from all judicial and municipal functions whatever other than those imposed by the laws relating to juries, as well as from all contributions, whether pecuniary or in kind, imposed as a compensation for personal service, and finally from every species of exaction or military requisition, as well as from forced loans and other charges which may be imposed for purposes of war, or as a result of other extraordinary circumstances. The duties and charges con- nected with the ownership or leasing of lands and other real property are, however, excepted, as well as all exactions or military requisitions to which all subjects of the country may be liable as owners or lessees of real property.
ARTICLE XIV.
The subjects of each of the Contracting Parties in the dominions and possessions of the other shall be at full liberty to exercise civil rights, and therefore to acquire, possess, and dispose of every description of property, movable and immovable. They may acquire and transmit the same to others, whether by purchase, sale, donation, exchange, marriage, testament, succession ab intestato,
and in any other manner, under the same conditions as national subjects. Their heirs may succeed to and take possession of it, either in person or by procurators, in the same manner and in the same legal forms as subjects of the country; and in the case of subjects of either of the Contracting Parties dying intestate, their property shall be administered to by their respective Consuls or Vice-Consuls as far as is con- sistent with the laws of both countries.
In none of these respects shall they pay upon the value of such property any other or higher im- post, duty, or charge than is payable by subjects of the country. In every case the subjects of the Contracting Parties shall be permitted to export their property, or the proceeds thereof if sold, on the same conditions as subjects of the country.
ARTICLE XV.
The dwellings, manufactories, warehouses, and shops of the subjects of each of the Contracting Parties in the dominions and possessions of the other, and all premises appertaining thereto destined for purposes of residence or commerce, shall be respected.
It shall not be allowable to proceed to make a search of, or a domiciliary visit to, such dwellings and premises, or to examine or inspect books, papers, or accounts, except under the conditions and with the forms prescribed by the laws for subjects of the country.
The subjects of each of the two Contracting Parties in the dominions and possessions of the other shall have free access to the Courts of Justice for the prosecution and defence of their rights, without other conditions, restrictions, or taxes beyond those imposed on native subjects, and shall, like them, be at liberty to employ, in all causes, their advocates, attorneys, or agents from among the persons admitted to the exercise of those professions according to the laws of the country.
ARTICLE XVI.
The Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular Agents of each of the Contracting Parties, residing in the dominions and possessions of the other, shall receive from the local authorities such assistance as can by law be given to them for the recovery of deserters from the vessels of their respective countries.