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construction of railways or roads, be treated according to the same principle as land already registered as rented by foreigners inside or outside the Settlement, i.e., if any difficulty arises in debating the price, the local authorities conjointly with the Consul concerned will settle the case, in accordance with the rate of adjoining land.
The Consular Body took exception to the words "for public purposes" as being too vague and general, and it was proposed to substitute the words "for railways or roads."
As regards the general question of the renting of land outside the Settlement by foreigners, large areas of land outside the Settlement limits are, in point of fact, rented to foreigners under title-deeds bearing the seal of the Taotai,
In the majority of cases no objection is raised by the Taotai to stamping the deeds, but in a few isolated cases the Taotai has returned deeds sent in to him to be stamped, refusing to stamp them on the ground that the land in question is too distant from the Settlement. As such cases have been few, the question has not been discussed further, but in one case the Chinese title-deeds have been deposited at the British Consulate- General unstamped, as the best proof of ownership existing under the circumstances.
It is impossible to define what distance the Taotai considers too great, as in some cases laud some distance off is allowed to be rented under official seal and land nearer is refused.
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subject there, but in all the other cases the Treaty and prescriptive rights to acquire land appears to me to be absolutely clear, and the refusal of the Chinese authorities to register the deed inflicts an injustice upon the British subjects concerned.
It is probable that political considerations connected with the settlement of affairs between Japan and China have had some influence on the Chinese authorities. The Japanese Military Administration of Newchwang has bought a large quantity of land between the town and the Japanese railway station for the purposes of a Japanese Settle- ment. It is unlikely that the deeds for this land have been registered by the Chinese authorities, and the question of a Japanese Settlement here remains to be arranged by the two Powers,
This point has, however, not been alluded to by the Chinese, and the grounds upon which they have based their decision seem to me to be so erroneous that I lay the matter before you for such action as you may deem suitable.
I have, &c. (Signed)
HI. E. FULFORD.
(No. 44.) Sir,
I have, &c. (Signed)
P. L. WARREN,
Inclosure 4 in No. 1.
Consul Fulford to Mr. Carnegie.
IN my Intelligence Report for June quarter, I alluded to the refusal of the
Newchuang, July 30, 1906. Chinese authorities to register land-deeds for land bought by British subjects at this port, mainly on the plea that foreigners were not allowed to acquire land outside Treaty port Settlement limits and that no Settlement had been defined at Newchwang,
Having now received a definite refusal from the Military Governor of Mukden to order the temporary continuance of the formerly-existing practice with regard to such transactions, I have the honour to submit for your consideration copies of the corre- spondence in English and Chinese, which has passed between me and the Chinese authorities on the subject. There is here a practical illustration of the consequences of the attempt of the Chinese authorities to lay down the law that foreigners can only acquire land within defined limits at Treaty ports, to which you take exception in your despatch to the Wai-wu Pu of the 4th June, 1906, copy of which you sent me in your despatch No. 14 of the 4th June.
The other points raised in the correspondence are quite subordinate to this. The form of deed to be granted by the Chinese authorities, that is a "hu kuon," is acknowledged to be unsuitable for foreigners. The indorsement to be placed on deeds with regard to surrender for Chinese Government purposes is capable of modification, and in any case only comes into operation when the question of acquiring land outside Settlement limits is disposed of. The amount of the fee is also comparatively unimportant, though it may be remarked that the Haicheng Magistrate by his manipula- tion of the exchange between copper cash and silver makes what was intended to be a 5.3 per cent, tax, with absolutely no extras, into nearly 9 per cent. on the purchase price of the land. In my letters to the Military Governor I have left these figures to speak for themselves. The main point is that foreigners are debarred for an indefinite period by the Military Governor's decision from acquiring a legal title, in the shape of Chinese official registration, for any land bought by them in accordance with Treaty in the vicinity of this port.
In addition to Mr. Wilson's two pieces of land, one in the Haicheng and one in the Kaichou district, there are now awaiting registration in the Consulate fourteen other deeds for land, all in the Kaichou district and all within two miles of this Consu ate, close to the river's bank, and adjacent to other land bought by foreigners in recent years and duly registered by the district Magistrate of Kaichou.
It is possible that Mr. Wilson's land at San Chia Tzu, which is 5 miles from the Consulate, might be considered as beyond the reasonable limits of the area comprised in the Treaty port, although there is a precedent for the purchase of land by a British
(Translation.)
Sir,
Inclosure 5 in No. 1.
Kuan Tu Laoyeh to Consul Fulford.
Kuang Hsü, 32nd year, 4th moon, 13th day (May 6, 1906).
ON the 25th April, 1906, I received your despatch to the effect that the British merchant, Wilson, reported that he had rented in perpetuity from the Chinese subjects Liu Hung Chun and others a piece of land situated at San Chia Tzu, to the south-west of the village, for the price of 2,079 dollars, and you requested me to stamp the deed in accordance with precedent.
On receipt of this despatch I ordered inspection and measurement of the land. My deputy reports that the land perpetually leased by the British merchant, Wilson, is situated to the south-west of the village of San Chia Tzu, at a distance of 15 from Yingkou; that the particulars as to the boundaries, position, measurements, and price agree with those given in the deed; that there has been no inclusion of other peoples' land, or the slightest detriment to the neighbours on any side.
Upon this I beg to observe that, with regard to the registration of land-deeds in Fengtien Province, the Governor-General has lately received the sanction of the Throne for new Regulations. For each tael of the price of the land 3 cents are to be paid for duty, and 2 cents for office expenses, and ths of a cent for silver exchange. For the deed form ("hu kuan ") 1 tael is to be charged. If the price mentioned in the deed is in cash, then 1,000 pieces of cash are to be reckoned equal to 1 taei, The deed of transfer is to be posted in a book and kept for record, and a separate document, called a "hu kuan" is to be issued.
I find that in the British merchant Wilson's deed the price is 2,079 dollars. The Haicheng market rate is 7 tiao to the dollar, which makes a total of 14,553 tiao. Turning this into silver at the rate of 1,000 pieces of cash to the tael, the result is 2,385 taels and 8 mace. Each tael must pay duty 3 cents, expenses 2 cents, and silver exchange cent. In all, then, the duty amounts to 126-448 taels, and 1 tael for the deed, a grand total of 127-448 taels.
I have, in accordance with the new Regulations, filled in a "hu kuan" form and sealed it. It is my duty to reply, and I send it to you herewith and beg you to take note of it, and order the British merchant, Wilson, to pay the amount of duty, &c., 127 448 taels, so that I may enter it in my accounts. The affair concerns the national revenue, and I beg that there may be no delay.
(Seal of Hai Cheng Magistrate.)
[2183 ƒ-6]
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