Directory_and_Chronicle_1875 — Page 785

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

together with such cost attending the conviction as he, the said Consul, shall think fit. All penalties so recovered shall be carried to the credit of the said land renters' committee, in diminution of the general expenditure authorized by the provisions of these local land regulations. Provided that in case any person liable to any penalty, or any defaulters, or owners, or shippers, or consignees of goods refusing to pay any rate, due, tax, or fine, have no Consular representative at the port of Tientsin, then the said Committee shall with the consent of the local authorities and under

powers delegated to them to this end, be at liberty to detain and sell such portion of the goods, or use such other means as, with the consent of the local authorities, may be necessary to obtain payment of such rate, due, tax, or fine.

XXII. No matter or thing done, or contract entered into, by the committee, nor any matter or thing done by any member thereof, or by any person whomsoever acting under the direction of the committee, shall, if the matter or thing were done or the contract entered into bona fide for the purpose of executing these regulations, subject them, or any of them personally, to any action, liability, claim, or demand whatsoever; and any expense properly and with due authority incurred by the Committee, or by any member thereof, or by any person whomsoever acting under the direction of the Committee, shall be borne and repaid out of the fund collected under the authority of these regulations.

XXIII.-For the purpose of convicting any person committing an offence against any of these regulations, and for all other purposes, a printed copy of the regulation, purporting to be certified under the hand and seal of Her Majesty's Minister in China, 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Consular Regulations for the port of Tientsin, published by Acting Consul Gibson on the 27th October, 1863, are hereby repealed, such of their provisions as are not intended to be abrogated being embodied in the present general regulations, and the said general regulations apply to the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 settliment, 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 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 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 completion of the sale, under a penalty not exceding $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; otherwise such mortgage deed will not be allowed precedence over judgment or simple contract debts, contracted before the execution of said deed.