EMIGRATION CONVENTION
advantages to which the emigrant shall be entitled. The Indenture may also provide that the emigrant shall, if considered necessary by the medical authorities, be vaccinated on his arrival at the Depôt, and in the event of such vaccination being unsuccessful, revaccinated on board ship.
Art. VIII.-The Indenture shall be signed, or in cases of illiteracy marked, by the emigrant after the Chinese manner, in the presence of the British Consular Officer or his Delegate and of the Chinese Inspector or his Delegate, who shall be responsi- ble to their respective Governments for its provisions having been clearly and fully explained to the emigrant previous to signature. To each emigrant there shall be presented a copy of the Indenture drawn up in English and Chinese. Such Inden- ture shall not be considered as definitive or irrevocable until after the embarkation of the emigrant.
Art. IX.—In every British Colony or Protectorate to which indentured Chinese emigrants proceed, an officer or officers shall be appointed, whose duty it shall be to insure that the emigrant shall have free access to the Courts of Justice to obtain the redress for injuries to his person and property which is secured to all persons irrespec- tive of race, by the local law.
Art. X. During the sojourn of the emigrant in the Colony or Protectorate in which he is employed, all possible postal facilities shall be afforded to him for com- municating with his native country and for making remittances to his family.
Art. XI.-With regard to the repatriation of the emigrant and his family, whether on the expiration of the Indenture or from any legal cause, or in event of his having been invalided from sickness or disablement, it is understood that this shall always be to the port of shipment in China, and that in no case shall it take place by any other means than actual conveyance by ship, and payment of money to the returning emigrant in lieu of passage shall not be admissible.
Art. XII.-Nothing in any Indenture framed under these Articles shall constitute on the employer a right to transfer the emigrant to another employer of labour without the emigrant's free consent and the approval of his Consul or Vice-Consul; and should any such transfer or assignment take place, it shall not in any way invalidate any of the rights or privileges of the emigrant under the Indenture.
Art. XIII.—It is agreed that a fee on each indentured emigrant shipped under the terms of this convention shall be paid to the Chinese Government for expenses of inspection, but no payment of any kind shall be made to the Chinese Inspector or any other official of the Chinese Government at the port of embarkation. The above fee shall be paid into the Customs bank previous to the clearance of the ship, and shall be calculated at the following rate:-3 Mexican dollars per head for any number of emigrants not exceeding 10,000, and 2 dollars per head for any number in excess thereof, provided they are shipped at the same Treaty port, and that not more than twelve months have elapsed since the date of the last shipment.
Should the port of embarkation have been changed, or a space of more than twelve months have elapsed since the date of the last shipment, inspection charges shall be paid as in the first instance.
Art. XIV.-The English and Chinese text of the present Convention have been carefully compared, but in the event of there being any difference of meaning between them, the sense as expressed in the English text shall be held to be the correct sense, Art. XV.-The present Convention shall come into force on the date of its signature and remain in force for four years from that date, and after such period of four years it shall be terminable by either of the High Contracting Parties on giving one year's notice.
In witness whereof the Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention, and have affixed thereto their seals.
Done at London in four copies (two in English and two in Chinese), this thirteenth day of May of the year 1904.
(Signed)
LANSDOWNE.
T. Y. CHANG.
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