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right of vessels coming from a foreign port to touch
or not at the ports of call on the Yangtse but in
practice the Imperial Maritime Customsclaim the right
to exclude from ports of call on the Yangtee and West
rivers vessels from foreign ports. On the Yangtee
river, this claim is enforced, but on the West river
auch vessels have been allowed to do business at porte
of call on taking out special certificates under West
River Rules.
Sir J. Mackay observes that in the cuse of the
first four Porte of call which were opened on the
West and Gunton rivers by the Burma Convention of 1897
"under the same regulations as the Ports of call on
the Yangtse" the question ar by what that expression
meant appears never to have been raised. As the new
ports of call are in the same position as those opened
under that Convention, Lord Lansdowne considers that,
so long as no difficulties are inade by the Chinese
Authorities, the question of the interpretation of the
Article need not be raised and that it should be
assumed that vessels from Hong Kong will, as a mubber
of