393.1163 Property/43
The American Minister in China ( Johnson ) to the Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs ( C. T. Wang )5
Your Excellency: I have the honor to inform Your Excellency that I am in receipt of a report from the American Consul General [Page 577] at Hankow regarding the position assumed by the Bureau of Civil Affairs of the Honan Provincial Government with respect to the issuance of deeds in perpetuity covering certain property leased and paid for by the Lutheran Board of Missions at Kweiteh, Honan. A copy of the Bureau of Civil Affairs’ communication of August 26, 1930, is enclosed for the information of Your Excellency.6
It will be noted the Bureau states that, inasmuch as the term “lease in perpetuity” was deleted by the Legislative Yuan from Article I of the Annex to the Provisional Regulations Governing the Lease of Land and Buildings in the Interior by Foreign Missionary Societies, it does not know whether foreign missionary organizations enjoy the right of leasing in perpetuity land and houses in the interior, and that it is not in a position to render a decision in the premises.
Your Excellency will recall that a similar attempt to deny American missionary societies the rights accruing to them under the provisions of existing treaties was brought to your attention in the Legation’s note No. 159 of September 22nd. As pointed out in that communication, the rights enjoyed by American missionary organizations, with respect to the perpetual lease of land and buildings in the interior in accordance with the provisions of Article XIV of the American-Chinese Treaty of 1903, are still operative.
Accordingly, I have the honor to request that Your Excellency be good enough to instruct the appropriate authorities of Honan to issue the necessary deeds conveying this property to the Lutheran Board of Missions in perpetuity.
I avail myself [etc.]
Counselor of Legation