Mr. Allen to Mr. Sherman.

No. 35.]

Sir: I have the honor to hand you inclosed a copy of the regulations for the foreign settlements of Chinnampo and Mokpo, the new Korean ports opened to settlement on October 1 last.

The foreign representatives had a number of meetings to consider the draft of these regulations, which was prepared by Mr. Brown, the chief commissioner of customs. We most carefully considered every article and made some important changes, which were accepted.

From my long experience with the foreign settlement at Chemulpo, I feel sure that these new regulations will be found to be very satisfactory.

I trust the Department will approve of my action in signing the same. I might explain that my reason for adding my consular title to this signature was that it seemed proper to me because of the fact that a court is provided for in the regulations.

I have, etc.,

Horace N. Allen.
[Page 478]

regulations for the foreign settlements at chinnampo and mokpo.

1. The situation, limits, and measurements of the ground marked off for the foreign settlement at Chinnampo/Mokpo are shown in the annexed plan.

The boundary line on land is marked by boundary stones on which Chinnampo/Mokpo foreign settlement/foreign settlement have been cut, and of which one is placed at high-water mark at either end and others at the points between where the line makes an angle.

A sea wall and jetty will, when and where the requirements of the port call for them, be constructed by and maintained in repair at the expense of the Korean Government. Such sea wall and jetty and portion of uninclosed ground attached to the latter for landing and working cargo on, shall be under the control of the Korean Government for customs purposes only, and be free from taxation of any kind, but shall be lighted and policed by the municipal council.

2. The settlement consists of three classes of lots, namely:

A.
Village, rice field, or low-lying lots not requiring further filling in to raise them above high-water mark.
B.
Hill lots.
C.
Foreshore lots requiring further filling in.

3. The Korean Government will, in conjunction with the municipal council, lay down the boundary line between the A and B lots, and mark out the boundaries of the lots by erecting stones or otherwise, and will also remeasure the area of the lots before they are disposed of to intending purchasers.

The maximum and minimum size of lots shall be as follows: A and C lots not more than 1,000 square meters; not less than 500 square meters, B lots not more than 5,000 square meters; not less than 1,000 square meters.

4. Except as hereinafter provided, lots in the foreign settlement shall be disposed of at public auction to the highest bidder. Such auction shall be conducted and held by an official authorized thereto by the Korean Government. Such official (hereinafter called the “Korean official”) shall, after the receipt of an application from an intending purchaser, give at least thirty days’ notice of the sale, in writing, to the foreign representatives, local consuls, and the municipal council, as well as by a notice posted in some public and conspicuous place within the settlement.

Immediately after the auction of a lot, the purchaser shall pay to the Korean official who held the auction one-fifth of the selling price as earnest money. Within ten days thereafter the balance of the purchase money shall be paid to the said official, who shall thereupon, free of charge, cause to be executed and delivered, on behalf of the Korean Government, a title deed in triplicate for the lot sold in the form hereto annexed.

If such balance be not paid to the said official within ten days from the date of sale, the earnest money shall be forfeited to the Korean Government and the sale shall be null and void.

5. The upset price of A lots shall be 6 silver dollars per 100 square meters, of B lots 3 silver dollars per 100 square meters, and of C lots 5 silver dollars per 100 square meters. The municipal council shall have the power to decide at the first annual meeting what silver coin shall be taken as the standard for the current year.

The whole of the upset price shall belong to the Korean Government, which shall defray the cost of the auction, and the balance of the sum realized by the sale shall be held to the credit of the municipal council, to which, when formed, it shall be at once paid over.

6. A rental at the rate of $6 per 100 square meters per annum on A and C lots, and of $2 per 100 square meters per annum on B lots, shall be paid by the lot holders to the municipal council, who for the purpose of collecting and receiving such rents are empowered to act as the agents of the Korean Government, and whose receipt for any rent shall be a valid acquittance.

Rent shall be payable from the date of sale, and the first payment pro rata for the remainder of the year shall be made before the delivery of the title deeds, and all, subsequent payments shall be made on or before the 10th day of January in each year in advance for such year.

7. Until the rent due on any lot for any year shall have been paid, the lot holder concerned shall not be entitled to vote at any election for municipal councilor held in that year, or to be a candidate for the office of municipal councilor, or to exercise any of the other rights conferred upon him by these regulations.

If the rent, as aforesaid, is not paid before the 1st day of February in any year, interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum will be levied as from the 1st of January preceding. If the rent and interest are not both paid by the following 31st day of December, the municipal council is hereby empowered to and shall bring suit against the defaulter before his competent authorities, and in default of payment within [Page 479] the time prescribed by the court the municipal council shall move the said competent authorities to declare the land forfeit, and when judgment to that effect has been pronounced the Korean official shall within two months from the date of such judgment, by giving thirty days’ notice in the manner detailed in article 4 of these regulations, dispose of the same by public auction. After deducting the amount of rent and interest due to date, the costs of the auction, and all fines or other sums owing from the late lot holder to the municipal council, the Korean official shall hand over the balance, if any, to the said late lot holder or to those legally authorized to receive the same on his behalf, or on behalf of his estate.

8. The municipal council shall within one week after the receipt of the rent due on any lot or lots pay over to the Korean authority appointed to receive the same a sum equivalent to 30 dollar cents per 100 square meters of the area rented, the remainder of the rent to be retained by the council and to form part of the municipal fund. In the case of overdue rent the proportional share of the interest recovered shall be paid over to the Korean authority at the same time with the Government rent.

9. The Korean Government shall permit no more Korean houses to be erected within the limits of the foreign settlement, or Korean interments to take place therein. Within one month after the sale of any lot, or after notice given by the municipal council of its intention to construct any road, the Korean Government shall cause all Korean houses and graves to be removed from such lot or such line of road. But all Korean huts and graves shall be removed from inside the limits of the foreign settlement within two years from the date of these regulations.

From and after the date of these regulations no trees shall be felled on any unsold lot or line of road without the consent of the municipal counsel.

10. The Korean Government may reserve ground within the settlement limits on which to erect customs offices and godowns, and residences for foreigners employed in the custom-house; but such ground shall be subject to the same obligations, as regards payment of rent, taxes, and the like, as other ground of the same class.

Subject to these regulations Korean Government steamship companies may acquire and hold lots within the settlement limits on which to erect offices and godowns.

The Government of any treaty power may acquire a suitable lot or lots for a consulate on paying the upset price only; but such lot or lots shall be subject to the same obligations as regards payment of rent, taxes, and the like as are other lots of the same class.

11. None but the governments, subjects, or citizens of the States whose representatives have signified their acceptance of these regulations shall be allowed to purchase or hold land in the foreign settlement or be granted title deeds for lots within the said limits.

12. Title deeds in form as hereinafter set out shall be issued in triplicate by the Korean official acting on behalf of the Korean Government, and the purchaser shall sign on the said triplicate title deed the “declaration” hereinafter mentioned. One of the triplicate deeds shall be retained by the Korean Government, another shall be delivered to the purchaser through his consular authority, and the third shall be archived and registered in the office of the municipal council.

If a lot holder desires to sell or transfer his lot, he shall surrender the old title deed to the Korean official to be canceled, whereupon a new title deed in the prescribed form and in triplicate shall be executed and issued, and the buyer or transferee shall sign and accept the new title deed on the same conditions that applied to the original deed; but no new title deeds shall be issued for any lot or part of a lot for which rent is at the time due. The new title deeds in triplicate shall be distributed and archived as in the case of the original deeds. A fee of $5 for the new deeds shall be paid by the transferee to the Korean official.

Any lot holder desiring to divide his lot into two or more parts for purposes of sale or otherwise shall be at liberty to do so, and on surrendering his title deed for the whole lot shall receive in exchange new and separate title deeds for each subdivision as desired; provided always that no subdivided part shall be less in area than the minimum laid down in article 3 above, except that a lot holder may sell to an adjacent lot holder a portion of his lot, however small, with the understanding that if the part retained by him is less than 500 square meters he will not be entitled to vote for a member of the municipal council; and provided also that all title deeds for subdivided lots shall be executed and delivered, signed, and accepted subject to the same conditions that apply to the title deeds for whole and original lots. A fee of $5 shall be paid to the Korean official for each new title deed in triplicate issued for parts of lots.

All the parts of a subdivided lot shall retain the number of the original lot as plotted on the official plan, but the parts shall be distinguished by letters; thus the parts of Lot X shall be numbered Xa, Xb, Xc, etc.

The holder of a title deed for a subdivided part of a lot shall be registered as a lot holder, and shall have and enjoy the same rights and privileges as the registered holder of any undivided lot.

[Page 480]

13. Within the space of two years from the date of the title deeds of any whole or subdivided lot the purchaser must have erected buildings or made other improvements on the said lot to the value of not less than $250, and all buildings so erected must be covered with tile, iron, felt, or other noninflammable roofs. No thatched, wooden, or otherwise inflammable roof will be permitted.

In case no building shall have been erected or improvement made within the term specified and of the value stipulated above, the municipal council may proceed against the defaulter as provided in article 7.

Provided always that lots reserved by the Korean Government or acquired by the Government of any treaty power shall not be subject to the present stipulation.

14. The municipal council shall consist—

(1)
Of the kamni or a Korean local official of suitable rank.
(2)
Of the local consuls.
(3)
Of not more than three members elected by the registered lot holders.

No two of the elective members shall be of the same nationality. Only registered lot holders shall be eligible for election, but no lot holder whose rents, rates, and taxes are not fully paid can be put in nomination. The election shall be held in the month of December in each year according to rules to be agreed upon by the foreign representatives. Each lot holder, whatever may be the number of lots held by him, shall have one vote only. Proxy voting shall not be allowed, and where a lot is held in the name of a Government, corporation, or firm the authorized representative of such Government, corporation, or firm shall, for all purposes of this article, be considered as the registered holder of the said lot.

15. The municipal council, composed as provided in article 14 above, is hereby constituted and declared to be a corporation with power to use a common seal and to contract and to sue and be sued under its corporate name of the “Municipal’ Council of the Foreign Settlement of Chinnampo,”/Mokpo,” and all suits and proceedings against it shall be commenced and prosecuted in a court composed of the Korean minister for foreign affairs and the foreign representatives in Seoul, and the decision of a majority of the said court on a matter submitted to them shall be final.

The said court shall have power to issue all writs and processes which may be necessary in the premises, and to appoint officers to carry out and execute the same, and the property and funds of the council shall be subject to any judgment that may be rendered by the said court.

16. The municipal council shall have power—

  • First. To choose its own officers and to regulate its own proceedings.
  • Second. To select and appoint its own employees and servants, and to regulate their duties, and to dismiss them.
  • Third. To make roads, and to construct such drains, bridges, embankments, and other public works, within the limits of the settlement, as shall not be specially exempted, and to keep the same in repair, provided always that the cost of erecting retaining walls shall be borne by the lot holder concerned where the established grade of any road shall be altered by the council at the request of the lot holder.
  • Fourth. In conjunction with the Korean official, and after two months’ notice publicly given, to change the course, or to add to or diminish the number, width, or grade of any of the roads in the settlement, whether marked, or not marked on the official plan referred to in article 1; provided that no road shall be less than 8 meters in breadth, and that any lot holder affected shall have the right within the said period of two months to appeal to the court as constituted in article 15.
  • Fifth. To appoint and maintain an efficient police force.
  • Sixth. To arrest and detain all persons acting in a disorderly manner within the settlement limits and to take steps for their punishment by their own authorities.
  • Seventh. To adopt measures for the proper lighting and cleaning of all thoroughfares and the prevention of obstructions therein.
  • Eighth. To provide for public wells and waterworks.
  • Ninth. To make regulations for, and where necessary to issue licenses, with or without fees, to houses of entertainment of whatever description within the settlement, and to all owners of wheeled vehicles plying for hire, as well as to peddlers or chair bearers carrying on their trade within the settlement or resorting regularly thereto.
  • Tenth. To take measures for the preservation of public health and ecency, to suppress gambling houses and houses of ill fame, and to prevent and abate all nuisances, including such as may arise from the pursuit of offensive trades, within the settlement limits, and shall in no case permit the establishment of opium dens.
  • Eleventh. To prevent the erection or occupation of unsafe, inflammable, or unhealthy buildings, and to provide and maintain a fire department.
  • Twelfth. To erect and keep in repair such municipal buildings as may be found necessary.
  • Thirteenth. In case of need, to borrow money on the credit of the foreign settlement with the consent of the foreign representatives, in consultation with the Korean minister of foreign affairs.
  • Fourteenth. To call special meetings on fourteen days’ notice of the registered lot holders for the transaction of special business specified on the notice of call.
  • Fifteenth. To act as the agent of the Korean Government in collecting the settlement rents and to give valid receipts for the same.

The municipal council may adopt general rules and by-laws for enforcing and carrying out the powers herein granted to it, and may fix penalties not exceeding $25 for every breach thereof. All such penalties shall be enforced by the authorities of the offenders, Koreans or foreigners, and shall be paid over to the municipal fund.

The cost of all work done and expenditure incurred by the municipal council shall be met and paid out of the municipal funds. If such funds prove insufficient, the municipal council may impose and collect from time to time a tax on all lots and houses in the foreign settlement in proportion to their then assessed value, provided that not more than one tax shall be assessed in each calendar year.

17. The form of title deed and the “declaration” attached thereto shall be as follows:

title deed.

In consideration of the sum of ________ dollars silver, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the undersigned, acting on behalf of the Korean Government, hereby grants in perpetuity to ________, his heirs and assigns, the lot of land in the foreign settlement at Chinnampo/Mokpo and described in the official plan of the said settlement as No. ________ of the ________ class, and containing ________ square meters, on the following conditions, that is to say:

  • Firstly. That the said ________, his heirs and assigns, shall, on or before the 10th day of January in each year, pay, as rent in advance for the year commenced, the sum of ________ dollars silver to the municipal council as the agent authorized by the Korean Government to collect the same.
  • Secondly. That the said ________, his heirs and assigns, shall pay to the municipal council of the foreign settlement at Chinnampo/Mokpo such further sums as it may be found necessary to collect as a tax for municipal purposes.
  • Thirdly. That no transfer of the said lot shall be made to any person other than a subject, citizen, or protégé of a State whose representative has signified his acceptance of the regulations respecting the foreign settlement at Chinnampo./Mokpo.
  • Fourthly. That the said ________, his heirs and assigns, shall within two years from the date of the title deed of this lot, have erected buildings or made improvements on the said lot to the value of not less than $250 silver, and in default thereof shall be liable to surrender the said lot to the Korean Government in accordance with the provisions made in articles 7 and 13 of the above-named settlement regulations.
  • Fifthly. That in case the rent stipulated for above remains unpaid after the last day of the year for which it is due as provided above, then the Korean Government may reenter into possession of the said lot in accordance with the provisions made for this purpose in articles 7 of the above-named settlement regulations.

Done in triplicate at Chinnampo/Mokpo one copy being retained by the Korean local official granting the deed, one copy being given to the purchaser, and the third copy being archived and registered in the office of the municipal council, this _________ day of ________

(Seal and signature of the Korean official.)

declaration.

In consideration of the grant of the above-mentioned piece of ground, I, the said _________ hereby agree to fulfill all the conditions attached to this title deed, and I further acknowledge myself bound to observe the municipal rules and regulations of the foreign settlement at Chinnampo/Mokpo now or hereafter made, under the penalties prescribed in such rules or regulations.

Done this _______ day of ______.

(Signature of grantee or transferee.)

Before me

(Signature of consul of grantee’s or transferee’s nationality.)

[Page 482]

18. These regulations may be revised or amended by the Korean authorities and the competent foreign authorities, by common consent, and in such manner as experience shall prove to be necessary.


(Signed)
Min Chong-Muk,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.

(Signed)
M. Kato,

H. I. J. M’s. Ministre Résident.

(Signed)
Horace N. Allen,
Minister Resident and Consul-General of the United States of America to Korea.

(Signed)
A. de Speyer,
Chargé d’Affaires de Russie en Corée.

(Signed)
V. Collin de Plancy,
Chargé d’Affaires de France en Corée.

(Signed)
J. N. Jordan,
H. B. M. Consul-General for Korea, in charge of Chinese interests.

(Signed)
F. Krien,
Kaiserlich Deutscher Konsul.