Directory_and_Chronicle_1931 — Page 140

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TREATY BETWEEN PORTUGAL AND CHINA

their utmost exertions to seize and punish the said robbers and to recover the stolen goods, which, through the Consul, shall be restored to whom they belong.

Art. XIX.-If a Portuguese vessel be shipwrecked on the coast of China, or be compelled to take refuge in any of the ports of the Empire, the Chinese authorities, on receiving notice of the fact, shall provide the necessary protection, affording prompt assistance and kind treatment to the crews and, if necessary, furnishing them with the means to reach the nearest Consulate.

Art. XX.-Portuguese merchant vessels of more than one hundred and fifty tons burden will pay tonnage dues at the rate of four mace per ton; if of one hundred and fifty tons and under they shall be charged at the rate of one mace per ton. The Superintendent of Customs shall grant a certificate declaring that the tonnage dues have been paid.

Art, XXI.—Import duties shall be paid on the landing of goods; and export duties upon the shipment of the saine.

Art. XXII.-The captain of a Portuguese ship may, when he deems convenient, land only a part of his cargo at one of the open ports, paying the duties due on the portion landed, the duties on the remainder not being payable until they are landed at some other port.

Art. XXIII.—The master of a Portuguese ship has the option, within forty- eight hours of his arrival at any of the open ports of China, but not later, to decide whether he will leave port without opening the hatches, and in such case he will not have to pay tonnage dues. He is bound, however, to give notice of his arrival or the legal registering as soon as he comes into port, under penalty of being fined in case of non-compliance within the term of two days.

The ship will be subject to tonnage dues forty-eight hours after her arrival in port, but neither then nor at her departure shall any other impost whatsoever be exacted.

Art. XXIV.—All small vessels employed by Portuguese subjects in carrying passengers, baggage, letters, provisions or any other cargo which is free of duty, between the open ports of China, shall be free from tonnage dues; but all such vessels carrying merchandise subject to duty shall pay tonnage dues every four months at the rate of one mace per ton.

Art. XXV.-Portuguese merchant, vessels approaching any of the open ports will be at liberty to take a pilot to reach the harbour; and likewise to take a pilot to leave it, in case the said ship shall have paid all the duties due by her.

Art. XXVI. Whenever a Portuguese merchant ship shall arrive at any of the open ports of China, the Superintendent of Customs will send off one or more Custom-house officers, who may stay on board of their boat or on board of the ship as best suits their convenience. These officers will get their food and all necessaries from the Custom-house, and will not be allowed to accept any fee from the captain of the ship or from the consignee, being liable to a penalty proportionate to the amount received by them.

Art. XXVII. Twenty-four hours after the arrival of a Portuguese merchant ship at any of the open ports, the papers of the ship, manifest, and other documents, shall be handed over to the Consul, whose duty it will be also to report to the Superintendent of Customs within twenty-four hours, the name, the registered tonnage, and the cargo brought by the said vessel. If, through negligence or for any other motive, this stipulation be not complied with within forty-eight hours after the arrival of the ship, the captain shall be subject to a fine of fifty Taels for each day's delay over and above that period, but the total amount of the fine shall not exceed two hundred Taels.

The captain of the ship is responsible for the correctness of the manifest, in which the cargo shall be minutely and truthfully described, subject to a fine of five hundred Taels as penalty in case the manifest should be found incorrect. This fine, however, will not be incurred if, within twenty-four hours after the delivery of the manifest to the Custom-house officers, the captain expressed the wish to rectify any error which may have been discovered in the said manifest.