EMIGRATION CONVENTION
61
Art. II. On the receipt of the instructions above referred to, the Taotai at the port shall at once appoint an officer, to be called the Chinese Inspector; who, together with the British Consular Officer at the port, or his Delegate, shall make known by Proclamation and by means of the native press the text of the Indenture which the emigrant will have to sign, and any particulars of which the Chinese officer considers it essential that the emigrant shall be informed, respecting the country to which the emigrant is to proceed, and respecting its laws.
Art. III. The British Consular Officer at the port, or his Delegate, shall confer with the Chinese Inspector as to the location and installation of the offices and other necessary buildings, hereinafter called the Emigration Agency, which shall be erected or fitted up by the British Government, and at their expense, for the purpose of carrying on the business of the engagement and shipment of the emigrants, and in which the Chinese Inspector and his staff shall have suitable accommodation for carrying on their duties.
Art. IV. (1.) There shall be posted up in conspicuous places throughout the Emigration Agency, and more especially in that part of it called the Depôt, destined for the reception of intending emigrants, copies of the Indenture to be entered into with the emigrant, drawn up in the English and Chinese languages, together with copies of the special Ordinance, if any, relating to immigration into the particular Colony or Protectorate for which the emigrants are required.
(2.) There shall be kept a Register in English and in Chinese, in which the names of intending indentured emigrants shall be inscribed, and in this Register there shall not be inscribed the name of any person who is under 20 years of age, unless he shall have produced proof of his having obtained the consent of his parents or other lawful guardians to emigrate, or, in default of these, of the Magistrate of the district to which he belongs. After signature of the Indenture according to the Chinese manner, the emigrant shall not be permitted to leave the Depôt, previously to his embarkation, without a pass signed by the Chinese Inspector, and countersigned by the British Consular Officer or his Delegate, unless he shall have, through the Chinese Inspector, renounced his agreement and withdrawn his name from the register of emigrants.
(3.) Before the sailing of the ship each emigrant shall be carefully examined by a qualitied Medical Officer nominated by the British Consular Officer or his Delegate, The emigrants shall be paraded before the British Consular Officer or his Delegate and the Chinese Iuspector or his Delegate, and questioned with a view to ascertain their perfect understanding of the Indenture.
Art. V.-All ships employed in the conveyance of indentured emigrants from China under this Convention shall engage and embark them only at a Treaty port, and shall comply with the Regulations contained in the Schedule hereto annexed and forming part of the Convention.
Art. VI. For the better protection of the emigrant, and of any other Chinese subject who may happen to be residing in the Colony or Protectorate to which the emigration is to take place, it shall be competent to the Emperor of China to appoint a Consul or Vice-Consul to watch over their interests and well-being, and such Consul or Vice-Consul shall have all the rights and privileges accorded to the Consuls of other nations.
Art. VII.-Every Indenture entered into under the present Articles shall clearly specify the name of the country for which the labourer is required, the duration of the engagement, and, if renewable, on what terms, the number of hours of labour per working day, the nature of the work, the rate of wages and mode of payment, the rations, clothing, the grant of a free passage out, and, where such is provided for therein, a free passage back to the port of embarkation in China for himself and family right to free medical attendance and medicines, whether in the Colony or Protectorate or on the voyage from and to the port of embarkation in China, and any other
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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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