Directory_and_Chronicle_1896 — Page 80

THE CHUNGKING AGREEMENT.

ADDITIONAL ARTICLE TO THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND CHINA OF SEPTEMBER 18TH, 1876

SIGNED AT PEKING, 31st March, 1890

Ratifications Exchanged at Peking, 18th January, 1891

The Governments of Great Britain and China, being desirous of settling in an amicable spirit the divergence of opinion which has arisen with respect to the first clause of the third section of the Agreement concluded at Chefoo in 1876, which stipulates that "The British Government will be free to send officers to reside at Chungking to watch the conditions of British trade in Szechuan, that British mer- chants will not be allowed to reside at Chungking, or to open establishments or warehouses there, so long as no steamers have access to the port, and that when steamers have succeeded in ascending the river so far, further arrangements can be taken into consideration," have agreed upon the following Additional Article:-

I.-Chungking shall forthwith be declared open to trade on the same footing as any other Treaty port. British subjects shall be at liberty either to charter Chinese vessels or to provide vessels of the Chinese type for the traffic between Ichang and Chungking.

II.—Merchandize conveyed between Ichang and Chungking by the above class of vessels shall be placed on the same footing as merchandize carried by steamer between Shanghai and Ichang, and shall be dealt with in accordance with Treaty, Tariff Rules, and the Yangtsze Regulations.

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III.-All regulations as to the papers and flags to be carried by vessels of the above description, as to the repackage of goods for the voyage beyond Ichang, and as to the general procedure to be observed by those engaged in the traffic between Ichang and Chungking with a view to insuring convenience and security, shall be drawn up by the Superintendent of Customs at Ichang, the Taotai of the Ch'uan Tung Circuit, who is now stationed at Chungking, and the Commissioners of Customs in consultation with the British Consul, and shall be liable to any modifications that hereafter to be desirable and may be agreed upon by common consent.

prove IV. Chartered junks shall pay port dues at Ichang and Chungking in accor- dance with the Yangtsze Regulations; vessels of Chinese type, if and when entitled to carry the British flag, shall pay tonnage dues in accordance with Treaty Regulations. It is obligatory on both chartered junks and also vessels of Chinese type, even when the latter may be entitled to carry the British

flag, to take out at the Maritime Custom-house special papers and a special flag when intended to be employed by British subjects in the transport of goods between Ichang and Chungking, and without such papers and flag no vessels

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