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the issue of prospecting or mining permits, to the selection of mining engineers, or the engaging of experts in mining law.
Whenever Chinese and foreigners enter into partnership it shall be obligatory, before the issue of a mining permit, for a detailed account of such foreigners' standing and present residence to be supplied to the Wai-wu Pu.
Section 3. Each province to set up a local authority for mining affairs.
Provincial control over mines shall be exercised by the establishment in each provincial capital of a central agency; but as the changes in the provincial adminis- tration have not yet been adopted in all the provinces it will temporarily remair necessary for the Mineral Investigation Bureaux, established by Imperial Decree, to carry out the provisions of these Regulations in all matters relating to mines. In the event of necessity arising in any department or district for the appointment of officials to superintend mines, the Investigation Bureaux shall select suitable officers, whose appointment must be submitted by the Viceroy or Governor to the Board of Commerce. &c., for approval. All questions affecting mining interests must invariably be submitted to the approval of the Board.
Section 4. Authority of Mining Deputies.
Every Mining Deputy appointed by a Mining Bureau or Bureau of Investigation to reside in a department or district is authorized to deal fairly with any question affecting the internal affairs of any mine, provided that no local objection exists either by a compromise or by a judicial decision, either of which alteratives he is at liberty to select, the main point being to maintain the law and to promote the interests of the mines. In questions involving other external interests the Mining Deputy must consult the local authority and must not come to independent decisions.
All posts as Mining Deputies in the employ of a Provincial General Bureau of Mines must be filled with Chinese Government officials. But both Chinese and foreign mining experts are equally eligible for selection as advisers on mining affairs. In the event of such advisers on mining affairs being foreign subjects, they will be required to obey Chinese laws and to submit to the control of such General Bureau of Mines in all that regards their appointments, and to obey the officers appointed by the Bureau under these Regulations. A General Bureau of Mines has likewise the power to appoint special officers to accompany advisers on mining affairs to inspect any mining district and investigate mining operations. Whenever they return to the provincial capital a detailed report must be submitted to the General Bureau of Mines. But the adviser ou mining affairs shall only have the power of examining the financial aspect of mines and recommending necessary steps; he shall have no power to give judicial or other decisions or to send official communications.
Section 5. Reports on mines and on persons engaging in mining enterprises to be first examined by the Provincial Bureaux of Mines and local authorities, and by these submitted through their superiors to the Board, so as to insure their bond fide nature.
The question whether the opening of a mine is prejudicial to the neighbourhood or whether the property is free from encumbrances and the record and antecedents of the parties concerned are satisfactory, and whether their capital is sufficient, or whether there has been any concealment or misrepresentation are all matters that can only be properly investigated accurately in the province concerned. Persons engaging in mining enterprises who desire to apply for a prospecting permit, no matter whether they are Chinese or foreigners, must equally make their application in accordance with the Regulations at the Provincial General Bureau of Mines and await inquiry by the local authorities, who will report upon the legality of the undertaking and whether it is free from objections before approval can be given,
In cases where permits may be granted, the General Bureau wil report through the Provincial Governor-General or Governor to the Board for investigation. In cases where persons engaging in mining enterprises apply direct to the Board, the Board will notify the General Bureau of Mines through the Provincial Governor-Generals and Governors to investigate and decide.
Section 6. Dues payable by mining enterprises to be of three kinds. All fees payable by persons engaging in mining enterprises for the issue of mining permits must be handed over in full to the Board. The total sums accruing from--
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(a.) Annual rental for mines payable by persons engaged in mining enterprises; (b.) Pit-mouth taxes on mineral products; and
(c) Preferential profits falling to Government-owned lands as their share in a mining enterprise will be collected by the Provincial General Bureaux of Mines. One-half will be remitted to the Board, and the other half will be paid into the Provincial Treasury as forming part of the provincial revenue. At the close of each year the amount collected will be entered up and reported through the Provincial Governors-General and Governors to the Board.
Fees for prospecting permits will be retained by the Provincial General Bureaux of Mines for their own ase. Fees received by officials deputed to take charge of mines must be handed to the General Bureaux for distribution among the various departmental and District Mining Bureaux.
PART III-Restrictions to be observed by existing Mining Enterprises. Section 7. Boundaries of existing mining enterprises to be defined.
All persons now engaged in mining enterprises, and persons who have already been granted mine lands, are required to submit a report to the Provincial General Bureau of Mines of such mining properties as are in their possession, to be recorded in the manner herein provided, so that their number can be determined and their area mapped out. Such persons will be allowed a limit of two years only from the date of publication of these Regulations in which to carry out this provision in the manner provided for in the Regulations.
Section 8. Whenever the Regulations applicable to existing mining enterprises are shown to be unsatisfactory, means must be adopted to revise or add to them. Any persons now engaged in mining enterprises, or persons who have already been granted mine lands, who find that any section or sections of these new Regulations infringe the rights they now enjoy, are hereby authorized, within a period of not more than six months from the date of publication of these Regulations, to submit the circum- stances of such infringement to the Provincial General Bureau of Mines, for transmission to the Board through the Governor-General or Governor for final settlement. If the matter concerns foreigners, the Wai-wn Pu must be consulted too. Provided that the livelihood of Chinese subjects, the sovereign rights of China, or the local Administration are not encroached upon or injured, some compromise may be conceded. If any former Agreements contain clauses which prejudicially affect the means of livelihood of Chinese subjects, or Chinese sovereign rights, or the local Administration, they will have to be satisfactorily revised, so as not to conflict with the new Regulations.
With these exceptions, all applicants to open a mine subsequently to the issue of the new Regulations must obey these Regulations. Former conditions will not be allowed to form precedents.
PART IV.-Restrictions to be observed by fresh Mining Enterprises.
Section 9. Foreigners engaged in mining enterprises cannot become owners of
the soil.
Chinese subjects who are the legal owners of the soil under Chinese law are proprietors of such land. Foreigners entering into a partnership with Chinese in joint tuining enterprises in China shall only be granted the right to mine, which shall cease when the mine is exhausted; and such foreigner cannot, under any circumstances whatever, claim the land as his own property.
Section 10. Distinction between Chinese and foreigners engaging in mining
enterprises.
Exclusive of subjects of China, who will naturally be allowed to engage in mining enterprises, subjects of all nationalities having Treaty relations with China, who are willing to obey the laws of China, shall be permitted to enter into partnership with Chinese and apply for sauction to engage in legitimate miniog. Foreigners entering into partnerships with Chinese will be dealt with under one of the two following
schemes:
1. When the land-owner's share is represented by the mining property, he shall only share in the net profits of the undertaking, and not in its losses. If the proprietor
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