90
Proclamation issued by Sir Henry Pottinger.
SIR HENRY POTTINGER, Bart., G.C.B., Her Britannick Majesty's Plenipotentiary, &c., &c., in China, has the gratification to announce, for the general information and guidance of all subjects of Her said Majesty, that he has concluded and sealed, with the High Commissioner appointed by His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of China to treat with him, a Commercial Treaty, stipulated for in the Definitive Treaty of Peace, signed at Nanking on the 29th day of August, 1842, and the ratifications of which Definitive Treaty of Peace have been lately exchanged under the Sigus Manual and Seals of Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, &c., and His Majesty the Emperor of China.
Her Britannick Majesty's Plenipotentiary, &c., now publishes the Export and Import Tariff, and the Regulations of trade, which have been, after the most searching scrutiny and examination, fixed and finally agreed upon, and which Tariff and Regulations of trade are to be promulgated in Chinese, simultaneously with this Proclamation, accompanied by a Proclamation on the part of the Imperial Commissioner, &c.
Her Britannick Majesty's Plenipotentiary, &c., trusts, that the provisions of the Commercial Treaty will be found in practice mutually advantageous, beneficial, and just, as regards the interests, the honour, and the future augmented prosperity of the Governments of the two mighty Contracting Empires, and their subjects: and his Excellency most solemnly and urgently calls upon all subjects of the British Crown, individually and collectively, by their allegiance to their Sovereign, by their duty to their country, by their own personal reputation, respect, and good name, and by the integrity and honesty which is due from them as men, to the imperial rights of the Emperor of China, not only to strictly conform and act up to the said provisions of the Commercial Treaty, but to spurn, decry, and make known to the world, any base, unprincipled, and traitorous overtures which they, or their agents or employés, may receive from, or which may be in any shape made to them, by any subject of China—whether officially connected with the Government, or not—towards entering into any collusion or scheme for the purpose of evading, or acting in contravention of, the said provisions of the Commercial Treaty.
Her Britannick Majesty's Plenipotentiary, &c., will not allow himself to anticipate or suppose, that the appeal which he now makes to all Her Majesty's subjects will be unheeded, or overlooked, by even a single individual; but at the same time it is his duty, in the responsible and unprecedented situation in which he has been placed by the course of events, to distinctly intimate, that he is determined, by every means at his disposal, to see the provisions of the Commercial Treaty fulfilled by all who choose to engage in future in commerce with China; and that in any case where he may receive well-grounded representations from Her Majesty's Consuls, or from the Chinese Authorities, that such provisions of the Commercial Treaty have been evaded (or have been attempted to be so), he will adopt the most stringent and decided measures against the offending parties; and where his present powers may not fully authorize and sanction such measures as may seem to him fitting, he will respectfully trust that the Legislature of Great Britain will hold him indemnified for adopting them, in an emergency directly compromising the national honour, dignity, and good faith in the estimation of the Government of China, and in the eyes of all other nations.
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN.
Dated at Government-House, at Victoria, Hong-Kong,
this 22nd day of July, 1843.
HENRY POTTINGER.
9
Proclamation issued by the Imperial Commissioner, &c.
KEYING, High Commissioner, &c., &c., Kekung, Governor-General, &c., and Ching-yuet-sai, Governor, &c., issue this Proclamation for the purpose of giving clear information and commands.
Whereas, when the English had last year ceased from hostilities, our august Sovereign granted them commercial intercourse at Canton and at four other ports, and was graciously pleased to sanction the Treaty that had been concluded: the ratifications of that Treaty have now therefore been exchanged, and commercial regulations have been agreed upon, and a Tariff of Duties, wherein all fees and presents are abolished, has been distinctly settled. These, as soon as the High Commissioner, with the Governor-General and Governor, shall have received the replies of the Board of Revenue, shall be promulgated, and shall become the rules to be observed in the various ports. The Tariff of Duties will then take effect with reference to the commerce with China of all countries, as well as of England.
Henceforth, then, the weapons of war shall for ever be laid aside, and joy and profit shall be the perpetual lot of all: neither slight nor few will be the advantages reaped by the merchants, alike of China and of foreign countries. From this time forward all must free themselves from prejudice and suspicions, pursuing each his proper avocation, and careful always to retain no inimical feelings from the recollection of the hostilities that have before taken place. For such feelings and recollections can have no other effect than to hinder the growth of a good understanding between the two people.
With regard to Foochow, Amoy, Ningpo, and Shanghai, the four ports which, by His Imperial Majesty's gracious permission, are now newly opened for trade, it is requisite that the replies of the Board of Revenue should be received before the commerce of those ports should be actually thrown open. But Canton has been a mart for English trade during more than two centuries past; and therefore, the new regulations having been decided upon, they ought at once to be brought into operation, that the far-travelled merchants may not be any longer detained in the outer seas, disappointed in all their anticipations. The High Commissioner, the Governor-General, and the Governor, have therefore, in concert with the Superintendent of Customs, determined, in fulfilment of their august Sovereign's gracious desire to cherish tenderly men from afar, that a commencement shall be made with the opening of the Port of Canton under the new regulations, on the 1st of the 7th month. The wishes of the merchants will thus, it is hoped, be met.
The Island of Hong-Kong having been, by the gracious pleasure of His august Majesty, granted as a place of residence to the English nation, the merchants of that nation, who will proceed from thence to the various ports will be numerous; and such vessels as they may engage to convey them to and fro will therefore be required to lie under no restrictions, but merely to accept engagements at fair and just rates. If, however, such passengers convey goods in the same boats with the view of evading the dues of Government, they shall be subject to such fines as the law shall direct. Should merchants of China desire to proceed to the Island of Hong-Kong aforesaid, to trade, they will be required only to report themselves to the next custom-house, and to pay the duties on their merchandize according to the new Tariff, obtaining a pass before they quit port to commence their traffick. Any who may dare to go and trade without having requested such a pass, on discovery shall be dealt with as offenders of the laws against clandestine traffick, and against contumacious visiting of the open seas.
As to those natives of China who, in past days, may have served the English soldiery or others with supplies, and may have been apprehended in consequence, the High Commissioner has obtained from the good favour of his august Sovereign, vast and boundless as that of Heaven itself, the remission of their punishment for all past deeds; and any such who may not yet have been brought to trial are therefore no longer to be sought after, while all who may have been seized and brought before Government are granted a free pardon. All persons of this class must then attend quietly to their avocations.
90
Proclamation issued by Sir Henry Pottinger.
SIR HENRY POTTINGER, Bart., G.C.B., Her Britannick Majesty's Plenipotentiary, &c., &c., in China, has the gratification to announce, for the general information and guidance of all subjects of Her said Majesty, that be has concluded and sealed, with the High Commissioner appointed by His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of China to treat with him, a Commercial Treaty, stipulated for in the Definitive Treaty of Peace, signed at Nanking on the 29th day of August, 1842, and the ratifications of which Definitive Treaty of Peace have been lately exchanged under the Sigus Manual and Seals of Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, &c., and His Majesty the Emperor of China.
Her Britannick Majesty's Plenipotentiary, &c., now publishes the Export and Import Tariff, and the Regulations of trade, which have been, after the most searching scrutiny and examination, fixed and finally agreed upon, and which Tariff and Regulations of trade are to be promulgated in Chinese, simultaneously with this Proclamation, accompanied by a Proclamation on the part of the Imperial Commissioner, &c.
Her Britannick Majesty's Plenipotentiary, &c., trusts, that the provisions of the Commercial Treaty will be found in practice mutually advantageous, beneficial, and just, as regards the interests, the honour, and the future augmented prosperity of the Governments of the two mighty Contracting Empires, and their subjects: and his Excellency most solemnly and urgently calls upon all subjects of the British Crown, individually and collectively, by their allegiance to their Sovereign, by their duty to their country, by their own personal reputation, respect, and good name, and by the integrity and honesty which is due from them as men, to the imperial rights of the Emperor of China, not only to strictly conform and act up to the said pro- visions of the Commercial Treaty, but to spurn, decry, and make known to the world, any base, unprincipled, and traitorous overtures which they, or their agents or employés, may receive from, or which may be in any shape made to them, by any subject of China-whether officially connected with the Government, or not-towards entering into any collusion or scheme for the purpose of evading, or acting in contravention of, the said provisions of the Commercial Treaty.
Her Britannick Majesty's Plenipotentiary, &c., will not allow himself to anticipate or suppose, that the appeal which he now makes to all Her Majesty's subjects will be unheeded, or overlooked, by even a single indivi- dual; but at the same time it is his duty, in the responsible and unprece- dented situation in which he has been placed by the course of events, to distinctly intimate, that he is determined, by every means at his disposal, to see the provisions of the Commercial Treaty fulfilled by all who choose to engage in future in commerce with China; and that in any case where he may receive well-grounded representations from Her Majesty's Consuls, or from the Chinese Authorities, that such provisions of the Commercial Treaty have been evaded (or have been attempted to be so), he will adopt the most stringent and decided measures against the offending parties; and where his present powers may not fully authorize and sanction such measures as may seem to him fitting, he will respectfully trust that the Legislature of Great Britain will hold him indemnified for adopting them, in an emergency directly compromising the national honour, dignity, and good faith in the estimation of the Government of China, and in the eyes of all other nations.
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN.
Dated at Government-House, at Victoria, Hong-Kong,
this 22nd day of July, 1843.
HENRY POTTINGER.
9
Proclamation issued by the Imperial Commissioner, &c.
KEYING, High Commissioner, &c., &c., Kekung, Governor-General, &c., and Ching-yuet-sai, Governor, &c., issue this Proclamation for the purpose of giving clear information and commands.
Whereas, when the English had last year ceased from hostilities, our august Sovereign granted them commercial intercourse at Canton and at four other ports, and was graciously pleased to sanction the Treaty that had been concluded: the ratifications of that Treaty have now therefore been exchanged, and commercial regulations have been agreed upon, and a Tariff of Duties, wherein all fees and presents are abolished, has been distinctly settled. These, as soon as the High Commissioner, with the Governor- General and Governor, shall have received the replies of the Board of Revenue, shall be promulgated, and shall become the rules to be observed in the various ports. The Tariff of Duties will then take effect with reference to the com- merce with China of all countries, as well as of England.
Henceforth, then, the weapons of war shall for ever be laid aside, and joy and profit shall be the perpetual lot of all: neither slight nor few will be the advantages reaped by the merchants, alike of China and of foreign countries. From this time forward all must free themselves from prejudice and suspicions, pursuing each his proper avocation, and careful always to retain no inimical feelings from the recollection of the hostilities that have before taken place. For such feelings and recollections can have no other effect than to hinder the growth of a good understanding between the two people.
With regard to Foochow, Amoy, Ningpo, and Shanghai, the four ports which, by His Imperial Majesty's gracious permission, are now newly opened for trade, it is requisite that the replies of the Board of Revenue should be received before the commerce of those ports should be actually thrown open. But Canton has been a mart for English trade during more than two centuries past; and therefore, the new regulations having been decided upon, they ought at once to be brought into operation, that the far-travelled merchants may not be any longer detained in the outer seas, disappointed in all their anticipations. The High Commissioner, the Governor-General, and the Governor, have therefore, in concert with the Superintendent of Customs, determined, in fulfilment of their august Sovereign's gracious desire to cherish tenderly men from afar, that a commencement shall be made with the opening of the Port of Canton under the new regulations, on the 1st of the 7th month. The wishes of the merchants will thus, it is hoped, be met.
The Island of Hong-Kong having been, by the gracious pleasure of His august Majesty, granted as a place of residence to the English nation, the merchants of that nation, who will proceed from thence to the various ports will be numerous; and such vessels as they may engage to convey them to and fro will therefore be required to lie under no restrictions, but merely to accept engagements at fair and just rates. If, however, such passengers convey goods in the same boats with the view of evading the dues of Govern- ment, they shall be subject to such fines as the law shall direct. Should merchants of China desire to proceed to the Island of Hong-Kong aforesaid, to trade, they will be required only to report themselves to the next custom- house, and to pay the duties on their merchandize according to the new Tariff, obtaining a pass before they quit port to commence their traffick. Any who may dare to go and trade without having requested such a pass, on discovery shall be dealt with as offenders of the laws against clandestine traffick, and against contumacious visiting of the open seas.
As to those natives of China who, in past days, may have served the English soldiery or others with supplies, and may have been apprehended in consequence, the High Commissioner has obtained from the good favour of his august Sovereign, vast and boundless as that of Heaven itself, the remis- sion of their punishment for all past deeds; and any such who may not yet have been brought to trial are therefore no longer to be sought after, while all who may have been seized and brought before Government are granted a free pardon. All persons of this class must then attend quietly to their avo-
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