Directory_and_Chronicle_1923 — Page 128

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TREATY BETWEEN FRANCE AND CHINA

for the salvage of the ship and the preservation of the cargo. The whole shall then be brought to the knowledge of the nearest Consul or Consular Agent, in order that the latter, in concert with the competent authority, may provide means for the relief of the crew and the salvage of the débris of the ship and cargo.

Art. XXXI.-Should China be at war with another Power, this circumstance shall not in any way interfere with the free trade of France with China or with the opposing nation. French vessels may always, except in the case of effective blockade, sail without obstacle from the ports of the one to the ports of the other, trade in the ordinary manner, and import and export every kind of merchandise not prohibited.

Art. XXXII.-Should sailors or other persons desert from French ships-of-war, or leave French trading vessels, the Chinese authority, on the requisition of the Consul, or failing the Consul that of the captain, shall at once use every means to discover and restore the aforesaid fugitives into the hands of one or the other of them. In the same manner, if Chinese deserters or persons accused of any crime take refuge in French houses or on board of French vessels, the local authority shall address the Consul, who, on proof of the guilt of the accused, shall immediately take the measures necessary for their extradition. Each party shall carefully avoid concealment and connivance.

Art. XXXIII.—When sailors come on shore they shall be under special dis- ciplinary regulations framed by the Consul and communicated to the local authority, in order to prevent as far as possible all occasion of quarrel between French sailors and the people of the country.

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Art. XXXIV.—In case of French trading vessels being attacked or pillaged by pirates within Chinese waters, the civil and military authorities of the nearest place, upon learning of the occurrence, shall actively pursue the authors of the crime and shall neglect nothing to secure their arrest and punishment according to law. pirated goods, in whatever place or state they may be found, shall be placed in the hands of the Consul, who shall restore them to the owners. If the criminals cannot be seized, or the whole of the stolen property cannot be recovered, the Chinese officials shall suffer the penalty inflicted by the law in such circumstances, but they shall not be held pecuniarily responsible.

Art. XXXV.-When a French subject shall have a complaint to make or claim to bring against a Chinese, he shall first state his case to the Consul, who, after having examined the affair, will endeavour to arrange it amicably. In the same manner, when a Chinese has to complain of a French subject, the Consul shall attentively hear his claim and endeavour to bring about an amicable arrangement. But if in either case this be impossible, the Consul shall invoke the assistance of a competent Chinese official, and these two, after having conjointly examined the affair shall decide it equitably.

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Art. XXXVI-If hereafter French subjects suffer damage, or are subjected to any insult or vexation by Chinese subjects, the latter shall be pursued by the local authority, who shall take the necessary measures for the defence and pro- tection of French subjects; if ill-doers or any vagrant part of the population com- mence to pillage, destroy, or burn the houses or warehouses of French subjects any other of their establishments, the same authority, either on the requisition of the Consul or of its own motion, shall send as speedily as possible an armed force to disperse the riot and to arrest the criminals, and shall deliver the latter up to the severity of the law; the whole without prejudice of the claims of the French subjects to be indemnified for proved losses.

Art. XXXVII.—If Chinese become, in future, indebted to French captains or merchants and involve them in loss by fraud or in any other manner, the latter shall no longer avail themselves of the combination which existed under the former state of things; they may address themselves only through the medium of their Consul to the local authority, who shall neglect nothing after having examined the affair to compel the defaulters to satisfy their engagements according to the laws of the country. But, if the debtor cannot be found, if he be dead, or bankrupt, and is not able to pay, the French merchants cannot claim against the Chinese authority.