Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the Third Session of the Fortieth Congress
Mr. Van Valkenburgh to Mr. Seward.
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith inclosure No. 1, copy of arrangements for the sale of leases of ground at Hiogo and Osaka, agreed upon by the foreign representatives and the Japanese authorities.
The construction of the sixth article of these arrangements is that the requisite roads and drains shall be built by the Japanese authorities, and at their expense; the ground thus prepared will then be sold, and the repair and maintenance of these roads, and drains, will be at the expense of the foreign purchasers or owners, except in extraordinary cases as provided.
I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your most obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
Arrangement.
I. The leases of all the land at Osaka contained in the site granted for the use of foreigners by the Japanese government under the arrangements of 1867 shall he put up to public sale on the 1st day of September next, or on any day subsequent to, but as near to that date as can be arranged by the local Japanese and consular authorities.
The official plan of this site, which has already been published, will be adhered to as far as possible. Modifications unanimously approved by the local Japanese and consular authorities may be introduced, but shall be made public at Osaka not less than five days before the day of sale.
II. At Hiogo, the local Japanese and consul authorities shall determine the quantity and the position of the land on the foreign concession which shall be put up at the first public sale of leases, and also the date of the sale. The Japanese government shall provide for public inspection at Hiogo, not less than five days before the day of sale, a plan of the land to be thus disposed of, showing the number and location of the lots, and the proposed Toads and drains. The lots shall vary in size from two hundred to six hundred tsubos, and the streets or roads shall not be less than forty feet in width.
III. The upset price of land to be thus leased at Osaka and Hiogo shall be eight bus per tsubo, of which six bus shall be retained by the Japanese government, in reimbursement of the money already expended by them in preparing the said sites, as building ground for foreigners, and the remaining two bus shall be transferred by the Japanese government to a municipal fund to be formed at each settlement, and to be used for the construction or repairs of roads and drains, lighting the streets or other municipal purposes.
The Japanese government consent to relinquish for the uses of this fund a moiety of all money that may be realized at the public sales of land at Osaka and Hiogo, over and above the aforesaid upset price.
IV. The sale of the leases of lots at Osaka and Hiogo shall be conducted upon the conditions annexed to this arrangement. All land without the said sites remaining unsold shall be put up again at auction, at such subsequent dates as may be determined by the local Japanese and consular authorities, and in each case a month’s notice shall be given of such intended sale.
[Page 787]V. The annual rent of the said ground at Osaka and Hiogo shall be one bus per tsubo, which shall be paid in advance into the municipal fund of each place, and shall be appropriated to the repairs of roads and drains, lighting the streets, or other municipal purposes, subject, however, to a first charge of one thousand five hundred and twenty-four bus at Osaka, and one thousand six hundred and forty-one bus at Hiogo, which sums shall be paid annually to the Japanese government, as the ordinary land tax due on the said ground.
VI. In consideration of the formation of the municipal fund at each settlement as aforesaid, the Japanese government will not be held responsible for the construction or repairs of roads, drains, lighting the streets, or other municipal expenses, except in the event of serious damage being occasioned by extraordinary action of the elements.
In such case, the share to be borne by the Japanese government in making good such damage shall be determined by mutual agreement.
VII. All payments to be made by the land renters under this arrangement to the aforesaid municipal funds shall be paid by them to their respective consular authorities, and shall be transferred by the latter to the said funds.
The administration of the said funds shall be conducted at each settlement by the local Japanese and consular authorities, in conjunction with a standing committee of the foreign community, to consist of not more than three members, who shall be elected from and by the registered foreign residents. The mode of electing the said committee and their term of office shall be determined by the consular authorities.
VIII. In order to provide for the cost of a foreign police force at the settlement of Hiogo or Osaka, in the event of such a force being required, each land renter shall be liable to pay annually to the municipal fund a sum not exceeding one-third of a bu per tsubo; the amount to be paid each year, and the time of payment shall be determined by the local Japanese and consular authorities, together with the standing committee mentioned in the preceding article.
IX. The Japanese government will keep in good order, at their own expense, the sea and river walls, parapets, and landing places of both the said sites, and will maintain at the landing places such a depth of water as shall enable persons to land there at all times of tide.
Conditions of the public sale of the leases of land in the foreign settlement at Hiogo and at Osaka,
I. The land in each settlement will be put up in lots, in consecutive order, as numbered on the official plans, until all the lots shall have been offered for sale. Copies of the plans, duly stamped by the local Japanese authorities, will be lodged at the government office and at the offices of the several foreign consulates at Hiogo and Osaka, respectively.
II. The highest bidder shall be the purchaser, and in the event of any dispute arising between two or more bidders, the lot shall be put up again and resold.
III. The advance on each bid shall not be less than five cents of a bu per tsubo.
The bids must be made in an audible voice.
The auctioneer will not be allowed to bid either for himself or any other person.
On the fall of the hammer the party in whose name the title deed is to be made out shall be announced by the auctioneer, and at once registered, and the title deed shall not be made out in any other name.
IV. The highest bidder for any lot must, on the fall of the hammer, and before the next lot is put up for sale, pay down as a deposit the sum of four hundred bus, which will be deducted from the sum due on the delivery of the title deed.
Should this deposit not be immediately paid, the bidder will lose all title to the lot, which will again be put up before any other lot is sold.
V. The title deeds, which will be made out in the annexed form, will be dated the —— day of —— 1868, and will be ready for delivery on that day. No title deed will be delivered to any other person than to the party in whose name it is made out, unless the applicant produce a power of attorney, or other satisfactory evidence, authorizing the purchase of the lot or the delivery of the title deed, which document, or certified copy of it, will be retained by the local Japanese authorities. Should any purchaser fail to complete the purchase by the —— day of —— 1868, he will lose all right to the lot, which will be put up to sale at the next auction. In that case the deposit money will be forfeited to the Japanese government.
VI. A fee of twenty bus will be paid to the local Japanese authorities on the delivery of each title deed.
VII. In addition to the purchase money, the purchaser of any lot or lots, or his heirs or assigns, shall pay an annual rent of one bu per tsubo at Hiogo and Osaka, in the manner provided in article five of the annexed arrangement.
VIII. In addition to the above named rent, the holder of any lot will be liable to a yearly charge of a sum not exceeding one-third of a bu per tsubo, to be paid as a contribution to the maintenance of a foreign police force for the settlement in which the lot is situated, in the manner provided in the annexed arrangement.
[Page 788]IX. No title deed shall be issued to any person who cannot prove himself to be a subject or citizen of a power having a treaty with Japan.
Form of title deed.
In consideration of the sum of —— bus, the payment whereof is hereby acknowledged, the undersigned —— ——, acting on behalf of the Japanese government, hereby leases in perpetuity to —— ——, his heirs and assigns, the lot of land numbered and described in the official plan of the foreign settlement at —— —— as No. —, and containing —— tsubos, more or less, on the following conditions:
Firstly. That the said —— ——, his heirs or assigns, shall pay in advance on the —— day of ——, in each year, to his consular authority, the sum of —— bus as rent, being at the rate of one bu per tsubo, as provided by article 5 of the arrangement concluded between the Japanese government and the foreign representatives on the 7th day of August, 1868.
Secondly. That the said —— ——, his heirs or assigns, shall pay annually to his consular authority such charge for the maintenance of a foreign police force in the said settlement of ——, not exceeding one-third of a bu per tsubo, shall, as be determined in the manner provided by article 8 of the aforesaid agreement; and, thirdly, that every transfer of the said lot No. —, or any portion thereof, shall be made to no other person than a subject or citizen of a power having a treaty with Japan, and shall be executed before the consular authorities of the parties concerned. For non-performance of any of the aforesaid conditions proceedings may be instituted against the said —— ——, his heirs or assigns, before his or their consular authorities.
Done in duplicate, one copy being given to the renter and the other being filed by the said local Japanese authorities this —— day of ——, in the year one thousand eight hundred ——.