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renewal of the lease the trade of the port would appear to be in a sufficiently prosperous condition to warrant that being done. Any lease not surrendered on the expiry of the term shall be cancelled, and any buildings erected on the land forfeited to the Govern- ment. After a period of sixty years the buildings on the land may either be purchased at an equitable valuation (by the Board), or the lease renewed at a special enhanced rent, entirely at the option of the Chinese Government, no person whatsoever having any right to offer any forcible opposition.
10. In the event of the mutilation or loss of a deed of lease, the circumstances must be reported to the Board, who, on the finding of reliable sureties, will issue a notification and, after the lapse of three months, will make further inquiry and issue a fresh deed.
Section 4.-Regulations for the Transfer of Leases (Sub-letting).
1. Land duly held under a lease may be transferred in toto, but the sub-letting of portions thereof is not permitted.
2. In the case of a transfer by a Chinese subject, both the transferer and the transferee must attend at the Board, report the matter, affix their signatures, and hand over the old deed, when a new deed will be issued in its place. On application being made by the Consul concerned, a foreign merchant shall be permitted to sub-let in accordance with the foregoing.
3. The duration of a sub-lease will be determined by the term of thirty years of the original lease, together with the term of renewal of thirty years, reckoned from the date of the said original lease, regardless of the date of the transfer, or of the number of times the land is sub-let.
4. Any mortgage of the land or the buildings thereon must be notified to and registered at the Board by Chinese and foreign merchants alike, though in the case of the latter the notification shall be made by the Consul concerned to the Superintendent, of Customs in order that the matter may be put on record.
5. As it is feared that leaseholders may leave the port to return to their own country, or on account of unforeseen circumstances, they shall clearly state who is to be their successor or to act in their absence, and this information shall be communicated by the Consul concerned to the Superintendent of Customs, and put on record.
6. Land which has been duly rented shall be built upon within a period of three years, or the lessee will be regarded as a person of no means, and the lease will be cancelled and the land will revert to the Government, no refund being made of any rent or taxes previously paid. If building operations have been commenced, but not brought to completion, a period shall be prescribed within which the work is bound to be finished off.
Section 5.-Precautionary Measures for the Public Safety.
1. No thatched houses, or wooden houses of an inferior description, which, being of an inflammable nature, are liable to cause injury to the property of others, shall be erected in the Settlement. Anyone desiring to erect a house must first submit a plan of the building to the Public Works Department of the Board, and notify the Police Department, and no work shall be commenced until the necessary permission has, after due consideration, been granted.
2. No explosives, such as gunpowder, dynamite, &c., liable to injure the persons or property of the public, or any substance likely to prove injurious to the public health, shall be manufactured in, carried through, brought into, or stored in the Settlement. Anyone committing a breach of this regulation shall be dealt with according to the laws of his own country.
3. No Chinese or foreign merchants shall establish gambling-houses in the Settle- ment, or pursue any means of livelihood tending to cause a breach of the peace.
4 Lessees shall be at liberty to erect on their land, as they see fit, dwelling-houses of one or more storeys, warehouses, or workshops, provided they do not encroach upon or infringe public rights, and that the materials used in building are good and solid. Should the building differ from the plan originally submitted and approved of, the lessee shall execute any alterations which he may be directed to make by the Public Works Department of the Board, or by the Police Department.
5. The Public Works Department of the Board shall examine the building plans as soon as possible after they have been deposited by the lessee, in order that, if satis
factory, work may be commenced. After building operations have been begun the Public Works Department, or the Police Department, shall still from time to time send someone to the spot, and if upon inspection anything unsatisfactory should appear, the parties shall mutually agree upon some method of effecting a satisfactory alteration.
6. Whenever a house is built or rebuilt in the Settlement, one or more drains to carry away dirty water shall be constructed, opening into the main drain to be built by the Board, in order that all stagnant water may be drained off.
7. The method of construction of these drains, together with the materials to be employed, the dimensions of the drain, its depth below the surface of the ground, particulars of its fall, whether straight or deflected, the place of its entry into the main drain, all these must be clearly stated on the plans deposited, and any alterations suggested by an official of the Board shall be duly carried out by the lessee.
8. If it should be necessary for building purposes to employ gunpowder, dynamite, or any other explosive, a list must be made out for the inspection of the Superintendent of Customs and his sanction requested, this in the case of a foreign merchant being done through his Consul. Only after the Superintendent has given his assent shall it be permitted to store the explosive in a suitable and safe place. It must, however, be used up as rapidly as possible, and not intentionally kept in store; and if anybody, contrary to this Regulation, has had it laid by for a long time, the Superintendent, upon inquiry, shall depute an official of the Board, or, in the case of a foreigner, request the Consul, to compel its destruction, and thus maintain the sense of security of the community.
9. Kerosine is a highly inflammable substance, and, as is the practice at all other poris, no storage of it within the Settlement shall be allowed,
Section 6.--To Demonstrate the Public Observance of Right and Proper Conduct.
1. A lessee desirous of making any alterations, or of undertaking any other form of work likely to affect the public interests, shall apply for and obtain a permit from the Public Works Department of the Board.
2. Any mud or earth required for the filling-in of the foundations of buildings shall be purchased outside the Settlement, but shall not be dug up and carried away until the Public Works Department have inspected the spot and are satisfied that no damage will be done to native property.
3. Special care shall be taken to preserve the summer arbours in the Settlement Public Gardens and all other public properties, and any case of wilful damage shall be investigated by the Police Department and the offender punished according to law.
Section 7.-Provision for the Levying of Public Contributions.
1. The cost of all special undertakings, or works for the public benefit within the Settlement, shall be defrayed by contributions levied proportionately on the lease- holders.
The consideration of such matters shall be referred to a Board constituted of three elements, as fellows:-
Firstly. The Superintendent of Customs, as President of the Board. Secondly. The Consuls of all the foreign Powers.
Thirdly. One Chinese and one foreign merchant nominated by the body of the leaseholders as their representatives.
2. The Board shall devise ways and means to defray out of its own funds the initial cost of laying out roads, constructing jetties, policing and lighting the Settlement, cleansing the drains, &c., while licensing fees, and taxes on houses, shops, wharves, boats, vehicles, &c., all of which are properly leviable in a port, shall be temporarily in abeyance when the port is first opened. Later on, however, as circumstances permit, the Superintendent of Customs may make such other arrangements from time to time as, after due consideration, may seem fit.
Section 8.--Scheme to cause Foreigners to remain residing together (in the Settlement) for lengthy periods.
1. Should any foreign merchant resident in the port (Settlement) desire to leave it for the purpose of travelling for pleasure, avoiding the summer heat, &c., the Consul
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