File No. 893.5211/3.
[Inclosure.]
The American Chargé
d’Affaires to the American Consul
General.
American Legation,
Peking, October 7,
1911.
No. 731 (Cons.).]
Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of
your No. 162, of October 5, 1911, asking instructions in regard to
the rights of foreigners in general and of Americans in particular
to own land in Tientsin outside the bounds of the foreign
concessions.
In reply I have to say that in the opinion of the legation, subject
to the approval of the Department, to whom the correspondence will
be referred, a foreigner can legally lease land in the immediate
vicinity of Tientsin and other open ports, even though such land may
be located outside the limits of the foreign settlements, provided,
however, that the Chinese local authorities permit the leasing of
such lands to foreigners and register the deeds.
The provisions of Article III of the treaty of 1903 between the
United States and China appear to be somewhat less liberal in this
regard than those of Article XII of our treaty of 1858 and those of
some other treaties—particularly the British—which do not
specifically restrict the leasing of land by British subjects to
places set apart for the use and occupation of foreigners.
But while Article III of the American-Chinese treaty of 1903 affirms
the right of American citizens to rent or purchase houses and to
lease land in the suitable localities set apart for the use and
occupation of foreigners, it does not deny their enjoyment of the
privileges accorded to foreigners of other nationalities, but, on
the contrary, expressly states that “they shall generally enjoy as
to their persons and property all such rights, privileges, and
immunities as are
[Page 83]
or may
hereafter be granted to the subjects or citizens of the nation the
most favored in these respects.”
The legation understands it to be the general practice at Tientsin to
permit the leasing of land to foreigners outside the bound of the
foreign concessions, and where this privilege is granted to
foreigners of other nationalities it ought not to be withheld from
Americans.
The principle set forth in the earlier treaties was that the local
consular and Chinese authorities should agree as to the location of
houses to be rented and the sites of lands to be leased, and this
principle should rule still. If the Chinese authorities permit the
leasing of land outside the bound of the concessions, the consuls
ought not to interpose objections, but should register the deeds. On
the other hand, it should be clearly understood that if the local
Chinese authorities object generally to such leases there is no
right under the treaty to insist upon them.
I am, etc.,
