376 PORT, CONSULAR, CUSTOMS, PILOTAGE, AND HARBOUR REGULATIONS, &c.
II.-Any British subject desiring to rent land from a Chinese proprietor outside the limits of the British settlement, shall in the first instance apply to H.B.M. Consul officially in writing, stating the name and surname of the Chinese proprietor, and specifying by plan the locality, boundaries, and measurements in mow and square feet of the said land; and the said Consul will thereupon enquire whether any impediment exists to the renting of the said land, and if it be ascertained that no such impediment exists, the applicant may then settle with the Chinese proprietor the price and conditions of sale. Said applicant shall thereupon lodge with H.B.M. Consul the Chinese proprietor's deed of sale, in duplicate, accompanied by a plan clearly marking the boundaries of the said land, and containing a statement of the amount of land tax payable annually to the Chinese Government upon the said land. H.B.M. Consul shall then transmit the deeds to the Chinese local authorities for examination, and, if the sale be regular, the said deeds will be returned to the Consul, duly sealed by the Chinese local authority, and the purchase money can then be paid.
If there are graves or coffins on the land rented, their removal must be a matter of separate agreement.
III.--All such conveyances or leases of land so purchased as aforesaid shall be registered at the British Consulate, within one month from the time of the com- pletion of sale, under a penalty not exceeding $100; and all charges by way of mortgages made in the Consular district of Tientsin, whether of a legal or equitable character, shall be registered as is provided in Clause III. of the Local Land Regula- tions; otherwise such mortgage deed will not be allowed precedence over judgment or simple contract debts contracted before the execution of the said deed.
IV. All transfers of land purchased by British subjects within the Consular District of Tientsin, but outside the limits of the British settlement, shall be made by the parties to the transfer, or their duly anthorized representatives, in the presence of an officer of H.B.M. Consulate at Tientsin, or H.B.M. Vice-Consulate at Taku, and shall be registered at the said Consulate, or Vice-Consulate, within one month of such transfer, under a penalty not exceeding $100.
V.-No British subject shall be allowed to establish any tavern, public-house, boarding house, or house of entertainment at Tientsin or Taku, or in the Consular district of Tientsin or Taku, without a licence from H.B.M. Consul, or Vice-Consul, and without paying the annual licence fee in such behalf payable, and said licence shall be granted subject at any time to revocation, should it be proved that such house or tavern is improperly conducted, or that the inmates or frequenters thereof misconduct themselves or act in a disorderly manner. Persons convicted of a breach of this regulation shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $100.
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VI.-All British vessels entering port shall anchor at Taku or Tientsin only in such places as the harbour-master, or other person duly authorised by the Custom- house authorities, shall appoint, and whenever any one of the said vessels is about to leave port, shall hoist the blue peter at least 24 hours before the time appointed for her departure. Each breach of this regulation shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $50.
VII.-Every British vessel shall show her colours on entering port, and keep them hoisted until she has been reported, and her papers have been lodged at either the Vice-Consulate at Taku or the Consulate at Tientsin; and the master of every British vessel arriving at Taku, a steamer bound up the river or to Tientsin excepted, shall deposit his ship's papers, together with a summary of the manifest of the cargo, at H.B.M. Vice-Consulate of Taku, within 48 hours if in the inner anchorage, and within 72 if in the outer, unless a Sunday or holiday should intervene. Masters shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding $200 for each breach of this regulation.
VIII. Every British sailing vessel, whether intending to pass up the river to Tientsin or not, shall report at the Vice-Consulate at Taku, and lodge her papers there. Provided that, if a sailing vessel passes up the river to Tientsin, she shall take up with her the "ship's articles," and deposit a said document at the Consulate at Tientsin. Said articles shall be handed back to the master when the vessel is