Directory_and_Chronicle_1882 — Page 910

UNITED STATES CONSULAR REGULATIONS.

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of one thousand dollars, exclusive of costs; and upon full hearing of the allegation and evidence of both parties, to give ju lgment according to the laws of the United States, and according to the equity and right of the matter, in the same manner as justices of the peace are now authorized and empowered where the United States have exclusive jurisdiction. And the said Consuls and Commercial Agents, respectively, are hereby invested with the powers conferred by the provisions of the seventh and eighth sections of this Act for trial of offences or misdemeanours.

SEC. 31. And be it further enacted, That all marriages in the presence of any Consular officer in a foreign country, between persons who would be authorized to marry if residing in the district of Columbia, shall have the same force and effect, and shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as if the said marriage had been solemnized within the United States. And in all cases of marriage before any Consular officer, the said Consular Officer shall give to each of the parties a certificate of such marriage, and shall also send a certificate thereof to the Department of State, there to be kept; which certifica'e shall specify the names of the parties, their ages, places of birth, and residence.

SEC. 32. And be it further enacted, That all Acts and parts of Acts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act shall be, and the same are, hereby repealed.

SEC. 33.-And be it further enacted, That this Act shall take effect on the first day of July, eighteen hundred and sixty.

Approved June 22nd, 1860.

REGULATIONS FOR THE CONSULAR COURTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN CHINA.

In pursuance of Sec. 5th of the Act of Congress, approved 22nd June, 1860, entitled "An Act to carry into effect certain provisions in the Treaties between the United States, China, Japan, Siam, Persia, and other countries, giving certain judicial powers to Ministers and Consuls, or other functionaries of the United States in those countries, or for other purposes," I, Anson Burlingame, Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary of the United States to the Empire of China, do hereby decree the following rules and regulations, which shall have the force of law in the Consular Courts of China.

1.—Every citizen of the United States residing within the limits of the ports open to foreign trade in the dominion of the Empire of China, is required to be enrolled in the Consular register, and shall apply in person at the Consulate within thirty days after the publication of this decree. Every American citizen who may arrive within the limits of the port, save and except any one who may be borne on the muster-roll of an American vessel, shall apply within ten days at the Consulate to be enrolled. An American citizen neglecting to be so enroiled will not be entitled to claim the protection or intervention of the authorities, unless he can furnish a valid reason for not so doing.

2. In all cases where an applicant to be enrolled cannot furnish a passport or other legal proof of his citizenship, he shall make oath that he is a citizen of the United States; and if the Consul deem desirable, be required to bring such further evidence as he shall consider satisfactory.

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, PEKING, 22nd April, 1864.

ANSON BURLINGAME.

I.-ORDINARY CIVIL PROCEDure.

1.-How commenced.-Civil proceedings between American citizens must com- mence by written petition, verified by oath before the Consul.

2.- Three classes of action.-Ordinary personal civil actions are of three classes, viz. Contract, comprising all cases of contract or debt; Wrong, when damages are claimed for a wrong; Replevin, when possession of a specific article is claimed.