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ARTICLES BETWEEN MR. WADE AND PRINCE KUNG.
RELATIVE TO CASES OF CUSTOMS SEIZURE.
NOTIFICATION No. 41, of 1865.
British Consulate, 29th November, 1865.
The undersigned circulates for the information of the British Mercantile Community, the English Text of four rules agreed to between the Prince Kung, and H. B. M. Chargé d'Affairs T. F. Wade, Esq., C.B., under which public enquiry is to be conducted at Shanghai in any case in which a British subject conceives his vessel or goods to be wrongfully withheld from him by the Customs Department of the Port. The said rules do not affect the penalties recoverable under Articles 37 and 38 of the Treaty of Tientsin, the same belonging to the jurisdiction of H. M.'s officers in China.
It is understood that these rules are open to revision after a twelve months' trial.
(Signed) CHARLES A. WINCHESTER.
Revised Draft of Articles inclosed in Mr. Wade's Despatch to the Prince Kung.
27th October, 1865.
Article I. Wherever a ship or goods belonging to a British subject may be seized in a port of China by the Customs, the seizure is to be reported without delay to the Superintendent. If he consider the seizure justified, he will direct the Foreign Commis- sioner of Customs to give notice to the party to whom the ship or goods are declared to belong, that the ship or goods have been seized because such or such an irregularity has been committed, and that the said ship or goods will be confiscated unless before noon on a certain day, being the sixth day from the date of the delivery of the notice, the Super- intendent receive from the British Consul an official application to have the case fully investigated.
The British subject to whom the ship or goods belong, if prepared to maintain that the alleged irregularity has not been committed, is free to appeal within the term of six days direct to the Commissioner. If satisfied with the explanations the Superintendent will direct the release of the ship or goods; otherwise, if he elect not so to appeal to the Customs, or if, after receiving his explanations, the Superintendent still decline to release the ship or goods, he may appeal to his Consul, who will write to inform the Superintendent of the particulars of his appeal, and to request him, the Superintendent, to name a day for the public investigation of the evidence on which the action of the Customs is founded.
Article II. The Superintendent on receipt of the Consul's communication, will name a day for meeting him at the Custom House, and the Consul will desire the merchant to appear with his witnesses at the Custom House on the day named, and will himself on that day proceed to the Custon House. The Superintendent will invite the Consul to take his seat with him.
The Commissioner of Customs will also be seated to assist the Superintendent. Proceedings will be opened by the Superintendent, who will call on the Customs employés who have seized the ship or goods, to state the circumstance which occasioned the seizure, and will question them according to their evidence. Whatever the merchant interested may have to state in contradiction of their evidence he will state to the Consul, who will cross-examine them for him. Such will be the proceedings in the interest of truth and fairness.
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