893.102/5–2148
Joint Agreement of the Commissioners and the Foreign Advisers of the Commission for the Liquidation of the Official Assets, Obligations, and Liabilities of the Peiping Legation Quarter14
This Agreement made in the City of Peiping in the Republic of China on this 26th day of December, 1947, among the various Commissioners and Foreign Advisers of the Commission for the Liquidation of the Official Assets, Obligations and Liabilities of the Peiping Legation Quarter;
Witnesseth:
Whereas, the Commissioners and Foreign Advisers of the Commission have unanimously agreed that, for the purposes of this Commission, the following definitions shall be used for the terms “official assets”, “official obligations”, and “official liabilities”:
- (1)
- Official Assets consist of all assets, including real and movable property, liquid assets, equipment, et cetera, that had been in the ownership or charge of the former Administrative Commission of the Legation Quarter, and the so-called glacis of the Legation Quarter which was the condominium of the signatories of the Final Protocol of September 7, 1901.15
- (2)
- Official Obligations are those public services performed by the former Administrative Commission of the Legation Quarter;
- (3)
- Official Liabilities are those debts which had been incurred by the former Administrative Commission of the Legation Quarter;
Now, therefore, it is hereby agreed as follows:
Article I. The Official Assets consist specifically of the following:
- 1.
- Buildings and grounds as per attached list and plan.16
- 2.
- Streets and sidewalks as per attached list.
- 3.
- Police uniforms, et cetera, as per attached list.
- 4.
- Furniture as per attached list.
- 5.
- Fire fighting equipment as per attached list.
- 6.
- Road repairing equipment as per attached list.
- 7.
- Constructions, et cetera, on roads as per attached list.
- 8.
- Mechanical equipment, materials, et cetera, as per attached list.
- 9.
- Glacis property as per attached plan.
- 10.
- Open land over the filled in canal as per attached plan.
(The final certified statement of account from the Banque de l’Indo-Chine, copy attached, shows an absence of any liquid assets.)
The Official Assets listed above, which were illegally transferred by the Japanese Government to the puppet Chinese Government on March 30, 1943, and are now being held in custody by the Government of the Republic of China, should all in their entirety be formally transferred to the Chinese Government.
Article II. The Official Obligations to be transferred are limited to the following public services:
- 1.
- Public Safety.
- 2.
- Fire Fighting.
- 3.
- Public Health.
- 4.
- Public Works.
The Official Obligations listed above, which are presently being carried out by the Chinese Government, should continue to be the responsibility of and continue to be carried out by the Chinese Government.
Article III. The Official Liabilities are limited to the claim of Mr. P. J. Lawless, former Secretary and Chief of Police to the Administrative Commission of the Legation Quarter. The Foreign Advisers consider that Mr. Lawless is entitled to remuneration and benefits amounting to £717.14.2 and CNC $26,450.00, the details of which are shown in the annexed statement. The Commissioners, however, wish to record the fact that they are not prepared to accept any liability in respect of Mr. Lawless’ services rafter December 8th, 1941, and accordingly consider that no amount is due Mr. Lawless. In view of this divergence between the opinions of the Commissioners and the Foreign Advisers, the matter is referred for decision by discussion between the Chinese Government and the Diplomatic Representatives of the interested Powers. Despite published notices which appeared continually in the Chinese and foreign press from July 20th, 1947, to July 26th, 1947, (as per attached copy) no other claimants against the former Administrative Commission of the Legation Quarter have come forward and no other liabilities are known to exist or will be recognized hereafter.
This agreement is drawn up in Chinese and English and both texts shall be considered authentic.
In witness whereof, the Commissioners and the Foreign Advisers of the Commission for the Liquidation of the Official Assets, Obligations [Page 1422] and Liabilities of the Peiping Legation Quarter have hereunto signed their names at the place and on the date first above written.
Commissioners
Tong Yoeh-Liang
Teng Chi-Yu
Chang Tao-Shun
Chang Shu-Hsien
- Copy transmitted to the Department by the Ambassador in China in his despatch No. 241, May 21, 1948; received June 4, 1948. The despatch stated: “According to the ‘principles and measures’ decided upon by the Executive Yuan in connection with the liquidation of the extraterritorial areas … after the official assets, obligations arid liabilities of these areas have been liquidated in full, the result thereof shall be confirmed by an exchange of notes between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the foreign Missions concerned.” No such exchange of notes found in Department files.↩
- Foreign Relations, 1901, Appendix (Affairs in China), pp. 312.↩
- Annexes to this agreement not printed.↩