[Inclosure in No. 412.]
additional convention.
The President of the French Republic and His Majesty the Emperor of
China, being desirous of favoring the development of commercial
relations between the two countries and of insuring the good execution
of the treaty of commerce signed at Tientsin on the 25tn April, 1886,
have decided to conclude an additional convention modifying some of the
dispositions contained in the said act.
To this end the two high contracting parties have named as their
respective plenipotentiaries, to wit:
The President of the French Republic, Mr. Ernest Constans, deputy,
formerly minister of the interior and of worship, envoy extraordinary of
the French Republic in China, commissary of the Government;
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And His Majesty the Emperor of China, his highness Prince K’iug, prince
of the second rank, president of the Tsung-li yamên, assisted by his
excellency Sun Yü-Wen, member of the Tsung-li yamên, first
vice-president of the board of works;
Who, having communicated to each other their full powers which they have
recognized to be in good and due form, have agreed on the following
articles:
Article I.
The treaty signed at Tientsin the 25th April, 1886, will be, immediately
after the exchange of ratifications, faithfully put in execution in all
its clauses, except, of course, in those which the present convention
has for object to modify.
Article II.
In execution of Article I of the treaty of the 25th April, 1886, it is
agreed between the high, contracting parties that the town of Lang-Chou,
in Kuangsi, and that of Mang-tze, in Yunnan, will be opened to
Franco-Annamese commerce. It is understood furthermore, that Manhao,
which is on the water-way from Tao-Kai to Mang-tze, is opened to
commerce like Lang-Chou and Mang-tze, and that the French Government
will have the right to keep there an agent subordinate to the consul at
the last-mentioned place.
Article III.
In view of developing the most rapidly possible commerce between China
and Tongking, the import and export duties stipulated in Articles 6 and
7 of the treaty of the 25th April, 1886, are provisionally modified as
follows:
Foreign merchandise imported into China by the open towns will have to
pay the duties of the general tariff of the maritime customs diminished
three-tenths.
Chinese merchandise exported to Tongking will pay the duties of the said
general tariff diminished four-tenths.
Article IV.
Products of Chinese origin which have paid the import duties in
conformity with paragraph 1 of Article 11 of the treaty of the 25th
April, 1886, and which are transported through Tongking to an Annamese
port, will have to pay, on leaving that port, if they are destined to
another country than China, an export duty fixed by the Franco-Annamese
customs tariff.
Article V.
The Chinese Government authorizes the exportation of native opium to
Tongking by the land frontier, in consideration of an export duty of 20
taels per picul or hundred Chinese pounds. Frenchmen or French prptégés
will not be able to buy opium except at Lang-chou, Mang-tze and Man-hao.
Lekin and carrier duties which native merchants will have to pay on this
produce will not exceed 20 taels per picul.
Chinese merchants who will have brought opium from the interior will hand
over to the buyer at the same time as the merchandise the receipts
establishing that lekin has been paid in full, and the buyer will
present their receipts to the customs, which will cancel them when he
shall have paid the export duty.
It is understood that this opium, in case it should re-enter China either
by the land frontier or by one of the open ports, can not be assimilated
to produce of Chinese origin reimported.
Article VI.
French and Annamese ships, with the exception of vessels of war and of
ships employed transporting troops, arms, or munitions of war, can go
from Lang-sou to Cao-bang and vice versa, passing
by the rivers (Sang-ki Kong and river of Cao-bang) which unite Lang-sou
with Lang-Chou and Lang-Chon with Cao-bang.
These boats will have to pay for each trip a tonnage duty of 5/100 taels
per ton, but the merchandise composing their cargoes will not have to
pay any duty.
Merchandise destined to China may be transported by the rivers mentioned
in paragraph 1 of the present article, as well as by land routes, and
especially the Government road (route Mandarinale), which goes from
Lang-sou to Lang-chou; but, until the Chinese Government has established
a customs station on the frontier, merchandise passing over these land
routes may not be sold until it has paid duty at Lang-chou.
Article VII.
It is understood that France will have the full right to enjoy, and that
without the necessity of previous negotiations, all the privileges and
immunities of whatever nature they may be, and all commercial advantages
which may be given hereafter to
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the most favored nation by treaties and conventions having political
or commercial relations between China and the countries situated to the
south and southwest of the Chinese Empire.
Article VIII.
Having mutually settled the above dispositions, the plenipotentiaries
have affixed their signature and their seal on two copies of the French
text of the present convention and also on the Chinese translation which
accompanies each of these copies.
Article IX.
The stipulations of the present additional convention will be put in
force as if they had been inserted in the text of the treaty of the 25th
April, 1886, from the day of the exchange of the ratification of the
said treaty and convention.
Article X.
The present convention will be ratified at once by His Majesty the
Emperor of China, and as soon as it shall have been ratified by the
President of the French Republic, the exchange of ratifications will
take place at Peking.
Done at Peking
the 26th June,
1887.
[
l. s.]
Constans
.
[
l. s.]
Prince
K’iug.
[
l. s.]
Sun.
