Directory_and_Chronicle_1871 — Page 641

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317

PORT, CONSULAR, CUSTOMS, AND HARBOUR REGULATIONS, &c.

shall be conclusive evidence of the regulation, and no proof of the handwriting or seal purporting to certify the same shall be required.

GENERAL REGULATIONS.

I.--The Consular Regulations for the port of Tientsin, published by Acting Con- sul Gibson on the 27th October, 1863, are hereby repealed, such of their provisions as are not intended to be abrogatel being embodied in the present general regulations, and the said general regulations apply to the whole Consular District of Tientsin, including the outport of Taku, and shall be binding upon all British subjects residing or being within the said Consular District of Tientsin.

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 II.B.M. Con- ul 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 condition 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 autho- rities for examination, and, if the sale be regular, the said deeds will be returned to the Consul, duly sealed by the said 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 completion of the 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 Regulations; other- wise such mortgage deed will not be allowed precedence over judgment or simple. contract debts, contracted before the execution of 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 authorized representatives, in the presence of an officer of H.B. M. Consulate at Tientsin, or II.B.M. Vice-Consulate at Taku, and shall be registered at 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 of or house, 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 taveru is improperly conducted, or that the inmates or frequenters thereof miscon duct themselves or act in a disorderly manner. Persons convicted of a breach of this regulation shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $100.

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 authoritics, shall appoint, and whenever any one of the said vessels is about to leave port, she shall hoist the blue peter at least 24 hours before the time ap- pointed for her departure. Each breach of this regulation shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $50.

VII.-Every British vessel shall show her colors on entering port, and keep them hoisted until she has been reported, and her papers have been lodged, at either

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