exceeding fifteen cents in Hong Kong or five cents in the United States. 4. The addressees of registered articles shall be advised of the arrival of a package addressed to them, by a notice from the Post Office of destination. VI.--1. The sender of each parcel shall make a Customs Declaration, pasted upon or attached to the package, upon a special Form provided for the purpose (see Form 2 annexed hereto) giving a general description of the parcel, an accurate statement of its contents and value, date of mailing, and the sender's signature and place of residence, and place of address. 2. The parcels in question shall be subject in the country of destination to all customs duties and all customs regulations in force in that country for the protection of its customs revenues; and the customs duties properly chargeable thereon shall be collected on delivery, in accordance with the customs regulations of the country of destination; but neither sender nor addressee shall be subject to the payment of any charge for fines or penalties on account of failure to comply with any customs regulation. VII.--Each country shall retain to its own use the whole of the postages, registration and delivery fees it collects on said parcels ; consequently, this Convention will give rise to no separate accounts between the two countries. VIII.-1. The parcels shall be considered as a component part of the mails exchanged direct between Hong Kong and the United States, to be dispatched to destination by the country of origin at its cost and by such means as it provides; but must be forwarded, at the option of the dispatching office, either in boxes prepared expressly for the purpose or in ordinary mail sacks, marked Parcels-Post," and securely sealed with wax, or otherwise, as may be mutually provided by regulations hereunder. 2. Each country shall promptly return empty to the dispatching office by next mail, all such bags and boxes. 3. Although articles admitted under this Convention will be transmitted as aforesaid between the exchange offices, they should be so carefully packed as to be safely transmitted in the open mails of either country, both in going to the exchange office in the country of origin and to the office of address in the country of destination. 4. Each dispatch of a Parcels-Post mail must be accompanied by a descriptive list, in duplicate, of all the parcels sent, showing distinctly the list number of each parcel, the name of the sender, the name of the addressee with address of destination, and the declared contents and value; and must be enclosed in one of the boxes or sacks of such dispatch (see Form 3 annexed thereto). IX. Exchanges of mails under this Convention from any place in either country to any place in the other, shall be effected through the post offices of both countries already designated as exchange post offices, or through such others as may be hereafter agreed upon; under such regulations relative to the details of the exchange as may be mutually determined to be essential to the security and expedition of the mails and the protection of the customs revenues. X.-1. As soon as the mail shall have reached the office of destination, that office shall check the contents of the mail. 2. In the event of the parcel bill not having been received, a substitute should be at once prepared. 3. Any errors in the entries on the parcel bill which may be discovered, should, after verification by a second officer, be corrected and noted for report to the dispatching office on a form "Verification Certificate," which should be sent in a special envelope. 4. If a parcel advised on the bill be not received, after the non-receipt has been verified by a second officer, the entry on the bill should be cancelled and the fact reported at once. 5. If a parcel be observed to be insufficiently prepaid, it must not be taxed with deficient postage, but the circumstance must be reported on the verification certificate form. 6. Should a parcel be received in a damaged or imperfect condition, full particulars should be reported on the same form. 7. If no verification certificate or note of error be received, a parcel mail shall be considered as duly delivered, having been found on examination correct in all respects. XI.1. If a parcel cannot be delivered as addressed, or is refused, it must be returned without charge, directly to the dispatching office of exchange, at the expiration of thirty days from its receipt at the office of destination; and the country of origin may collect from the sender for the return of the parcel, a sum equal to the postage when first mailed. 2. When the contents of a parcel which cannot be delivered are liable to deterioration or corruption, they may be destroyed at once, if necessary, or if expedient, sold, without previous notice or judicial formality, for the benefit of the right person; the particulars of each sale being noticed by one post office to the other. 3. An order for re-direction or re-forwarding must be accompanied by the amount due for postage necessary for the return of the article to the office of origin, at the ordinary parcel rates. XII. The Post Office Department of either of the contracting countries will not be responsible for the loss or damage of any parcel, and no indemnity can consequently be claimed by the sender or addressee in either country. XIII. The Postmaster-General of Hong Kong, and the Postmaster-General of the United States of America, shall have authority to jointly make such further regulations of order and detail as may be found necessary to carry out the present Convention from time to time; and may, by agreement, prescribe conditions for the admission to the mails of any of the articles prohibited by Article II of this Convention. XIV. This Convention shall take effect and operations thereunder shall begin on the first day of January, 1904, and shall continue in force until terminated by mutual agreement; but may be annulled at the desire of either Department, upon six months' previous notice given to the other. Done in duplicate, and signed at Washington, the 21st day of November, 1903. (L.S.) ARTHUR S. RAIKES, His Britannic Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires. (L.S.) HENRY C. PAYNE, Postmaster-General of the United States of America. The foregoing Parcels-Post Convention between Hong Kong and the United States of America has been negotiated and concluded with my advice and consent, and is hereby approved and ratified. In testimony whereof, I have caused the Seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed, this 23rd day of November, 1903. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. A parcel addressed as under has been posted here this day. Date. Stamp. This certificate is given to inform the sender of the posting of a parcel, and does not indicate that any liability in respect of such parcel attaches to the Postmaster-General, Date Stamp. FORM NO. 2 A Parcels Post between Hong Kong and the United States. Forms of Customs Declaration, Place to which the parcel is addressed. Date of posting...... .19.; signature and address of sender { For use of Post Office only, and to be filled up at the office of exchange: Parcel Bill No.........; Number of rates prepaid .... ; Entry No...... B. Parcels Post from.... The import duty assessed by an officer of customs on contents of Date this parcel amounts to $... the parcel is delivered. which must be paid before Stamp. Customs Officer. C. Parcels Post from.... This parcel has been passed by an officer of customs, and must be delivered Free of Charge. Date Stamp. Postmaster-General. |