02 Hertslet, Sir Edward, 1824 1982, un p OFFICIAL CORY. HERTSLET'S CHINX TREATIES. TREATIES, &C., BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND CHINA; AND BETWEEN CHINA AND FOREIGN POWERS; AND ORDERS IN COUNCIL, RULES, REGULATIONS, AFFECTING BRITISH INTERESTS IN CHINA. IN FORCE ON THE 1ST JANUARY, 1908. Third Edition: BY GODFREY E. P. HERTSLET, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF EDWARD PARKES. VOL. I. LONLON: PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HIS MAJESTY. And to be purchased either directly or through any Bookseller, from 1908. N.B.—Although assistance is given towards this compilation from public funds on the ground of its general utility, it must be understood that it is not an official publication, and that the Editors are responsible for its contents. 012-14-ZZV.W, 7-30-37 MVP Reclass EXTRACT FROM THE PREFACE TO THE THE publication of the present collection of Treaties and other engagements, under which the trade and relations of Foreign Countries with China are conducted, has been undertaken, by special request, in order to meet a requirement long felt, but which is more particularly needed at the present time. In May, 1877, I published, in a small volume of 250 pages, a collection of the Treaties which had been concluded by this Country with China, between the years 1842 and 1860, together with a short Abstract of the Contents of each of the Commercial Treaties which other Foreign Nations had also concluded with China, and which were then in force. Various Orders in Council and other Documents affecting British Interests in China, were also added to the collection. In August of the same year (1877), Mr. W. F. Mayers, Chinese Secretary to Her Britannic Majesty's Legation at Peking, also published a similar Work, in which he gave, in extenso, so far as it was deemed necessary, the Treaties which China had concluded with Foreign Powers; but this Work has long since been out of print, and as many of these old Treaties have been revised, and many new ones have been concluded by China with other Foreign Nations during the last 18 years, the necessity for a complete Work, containing all the Treaties which China has entered into with Foreign Powers up to the present date, has been widely felt, and it is with the object of supplying that want that the publication of the present Work has been undertaken. With a view to making the Work as complete as possible, some few Treaties which have been replaced by later ones have been inserted, by request, and some of the earlier Russian Treaties are also given, as having an historical interest. The Convention concluded between Great Britain and China on the 5th March, 1866, to regulate the Engagement of Chinese Emigrants by British and French Subjects, and the Supplementary Commercial Convention, 411935 iv signed between the British and Chinese Plenipotentiaries at Peking on the 23rd October, 1869, are also given, for although neither of these Instruments was ratified, they still form the subject of occasional reference in Correspondence with the Chinese Authorities. Where clauses of different Treaties are precisely the same, or their wording practically identical, it has been deemed superfluous to reproduce both texts, and a reference is therefore only given, in such cases, to some other Treaty in which the same clause appears. By Article 24 of the Treaty of Tientsin of 26th June, 1858, British Subjects trading with China are placed upon the footing of the "most-favoured-nation," with regard to Import and Export Duties; and by Art. 54 of the same Treaty, it is stipulated that "the British Government and its Subjects will be allowed free and equal participation in all privileges, immunities, and advantages that may have been, or may be hereafter granted by His Majesty the Emperor of China to the Government or Subjects of any other nation." But great difficulty has hitherto been experienced, when important questions have arisen with respect to the rights and privileges of British Subjects in China, in ascertaining, readily, in what respect, if any, the wording of the Articles of the English Treaties bearing upon the subject in question has differed from the wording of similar Articles in Treaties which China has concluded with other Foreign Powers; and to avert this difficulty in future, a General Index has been prepared to all the Treaties which China has concluded with this Country and all other Foreign Powers; and so arranged that the clauses of the various Treaties on any given subject can, at once, be referred to and examined, in order to ascertain in what respect the various versions differ. Each Treaty or other Document has a distinctive number given to it by which it is known and referred to in other Documents throughout the Work. A Map is inserted (facing page 1), showing (approximately) the boundaries between China and the adjacent countries, and on it the Chinese Ports and Places open to Trade are underlined in red ink. EDWARD HERTSLET. FOREIGN OFFICE, PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION. IN compiling the present Edition I have adhered to the system adopted by my father, the late Sir Edward Hertslet, of assigning to each Document a distinctive number; and have retained, as being of historical interest, certain Treaties which are no longer regarded as being in force. Two additional Maps are given, to illustrate the British Treaties respecting the extension of Hong Kong Territory and the amendment of the Burmah Frontier. The engagements entered into between Foreign Powers, and between Great Britain and Foreign Powers, in recent years, respecting the integrity of China, &c., will be found in Part III of this Volume. The Edition of 1896 was out of print within a few months after it was issued; and important changes have taken place during the last twelve years, rendering a new Edition necessary. Many additional Ports and Places have been opened to Foreign Trade, and the Import Tariff of 1858 has been replaced by the New Tariff drawn up in 1902. In addition to the Treaty Ports, Ports of Call, and Places open to British Trade, being underlined in the Map (facing page 1), a list, giving a reference to the authority under which each was opened, will be found at the end of Volume 2, Part V. GODFREY E. P. HERTSLET. FOREIGN OFFICE, 1st January, 1908. 1 |