THE BRITISH COMMERCIAL TREATY WITH CHINA
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His Britannic Majesty's Minister will have the right to demand investigation where from the evidence before him he is satisfied that illegal exactions or obstructions have occurred.
Section 12.-The Chinese Government agree to open to foreign trade, on the same footing as the places opened to foreign trade by the Treaties of Nanking and Tientsin, the following places, namely:-
Changsha in Hunan;
Wanhsien in Szechuen; Nganking in Anhui;
Waichow (Hui-chow) in Kwangtung; and
Kongmoon (Chiang-mên) in Kwangtung.
Foreigners residing in these open ports are to observe the Municipal and Police- Regulations on the same footing as Chinese residents, and they are not to be entitled to establish Municipalities and Police of their own within the limits of these Treaty Ports except with the consent of the Chinese authorities.
If this Article does not come into operation the right to demand under it the opening of these ports, with the exception of Kongmoon, which is provided for in Article 10, shall lapse.
Section 13. Subject to the provisions of Section 14, the arrangements provided for in this Article are to come into force on 1st January, 1904.
By that date all lekin barriers shall be removed and officials employed in the collection of taxes and dues prohibited by this Article shall be removed from their posts.
Section 14.-The condition on which the Chinese Government enter into the- present engagement is that all Powers entitled to most favoured nation treatment in China enter into the same engagements as Great Britain with regard to the payment of surtaxes and other obligations imposed by this Article on His Britannic Majesty's- Government and subjects.
The conditions on which His Britannic Majesty's Government enter into the present engagement are:-
(1.) That all Powers who are now or who may hereafter become entitled to most favoured nation treatment in China enter into the same engagements;
(2.) And that their assent is neither directly nor indirectly made dependent on the granting by China of any political concession, or of any exclusive commercial concession.
Section 15.-Should the Powers entitled to most favoured nation treatment by China have failed to agree to enter into the engagements undertaken by Great Britain under this Article by the 1st January, 1904, then the provisions of the Article shall only come into force when all the Powers have signified their acceptance of these engagements.
Section 16.—When the abolition of lekin and other forms of internal taxation on goods as provided for in this Article has been decided upon and sanctioned, an Imperial Edict shall be published in due form on yellow paper and circulated, setting forth the abolition of all lekin taxation, lekin barriers and all descriptions of internal taxation on goods, except as provided for in this Article.
The Edict shall state that the Provincial High Officials are responsible that any official disregarding the letter or spirit of its injunction shall be severely punished and removed from his post.
Art. IX.-The Chinese Government, recognising that it is advantageous for the country to develop its mineral resources, and that it is desirable to attract Foreign as well as Chinese capital to embark in mining enterprises, agree within one year from the signing of this Treaty to initiate and conclude the revision of the existing Mining Regulations. China will, with all expedition and earnestness, go into the whole question of Mining Rules and, selecting from the rules of Great Britain, India, and other countries, regulations which seem applicable to the condition of China, she will re-cast her present Mining Rules in such a way as while promoting the interests of
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