Directory_and_Chronicle_1898 — Page 203

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TREATY BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND JAPAN

Such stranded or wrecked ship or vessel, and all parts thereof, and all furniture, and appurtenances belonging thereunto, and all goods and merchandize saved therefrom, including those which may have been cast into the sea, or the proceeds thereof, if sold, as well as all papers found on board such stranded or wrecked ship or vessel, shall be given up to the owners or their agents, when claimed by them. If such owners or agents are not on the spot, the same shall be delivered to the respective Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or Consular Agents upon being claimed by them within the period fixed by the laws of the country, and such Consular officers, owners, or agents shall pay only tae expenses incurred in the preservation of the property, together with the salvage or other expenses which would have been payable in the case of a wreck of a national vessel.

The goods and merchandize saved from the wreck shall be exempt from all the duties of Customs unless cleared for consumption, in which case they shall pay the ordinary duties.

When a ship or vessel belonging to the subjects of one of the Contracting Parties is stranded or wrecked in the territories of the other, the respective Consuls- General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular Agents shall be authorized, in case the owner or master, or other agent of the owner, is not present, to lend their official assistance in order to afford the necessary assistance to the subjects of the respective states. The same rule shall apply in case the owner, master, or other agent is present, but requires such assistance to be given.

Article XIII.-All vessels which, according to Japanese law, are to be deemed Japanese vessels, and all vessels which, according to British law, are to be deemed British vessels, shall, for the purposes of this Treaty, te deemed Japanese and British vessels respectively.

Article XIV. The Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular Agents of each of the Contracting Parties, residing in the dominions and possessions of the other, shall receive from the local authorities such assistance as can by law be given to them for the recovery of deserters from the vessels of their respective countries. It is understood that this stipulation shall not apply to the subjects of the country where the desertion takes place.

Article XV. The High Coutracting Parties agree that, in all that concerns commerce and navigation, any privilege, favour, or immunity which either Contract- ing Party has actually granted, or may hereafter grant to the Government, ships, subjects, or citizens of any other State, shall be extended immediately and uncondi tionally to the Government, ships, subjects, or citizeus of the other Contracting Party, it being their intention that the trade and navigation of each country shall be placed, in all respects, by the other on the footing of the most favoured nation.

Article XVI. Each of the High Contracting Parties may appoint Consuls- General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, Pro-Consuls, and Consular Agents in all the ports, cities, and places of the other, except in those where it may not be convenient to recognize such officers.

This exception, however, shall not be made in regard to one of the Contracting Parties without being made likewise in regard to every other Power.

The Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, Pro-Consuls, and Consular Agents may exercise all functions, and shall enjoy all privileges, exemptions, and immunities which are or may hereafter be granted to Consular officers of the most favoured

nation.

Article XVII. The subjects of each of the High Contracting Parties shall enjoy in the dominions and possessions of the other the same protection as native subjects in regard to patents, trade marks, and designs, upon fulfilment of the formalities prescribed by law.

Article XVIII.-Her Britannic Majesty's Government, so far as they are concerned, give their consent to the following arrangement :-

The several foreign Settlements in Japan shall be incorporated with the respective Japanese Communes, and shall thenceforth form part of the general municipal system of Japan.

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