The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-10-17 00:00:00

levier! rts provided for in the tariff.

IV. Commercial Dealings between English and (h
nese Verchants.—lt hiving been stipulated that Engli,
merchants may trade with whatever nnerchintA they plea;

ny Chinese nnerelont fraudulently absejnnd

inrnr debts which he is unable to discharge, the Clines,
antlioritiei, upon complaint being made thereof, will, 01
course, do their utmost to bring the offender to jnatice
It must, however, be distinctiv understood that, if the

defaulter really cannot be found, or be dead. or hankruot

and there be not wherewithal to pay, the EngHA mer-
chants may not appeal to the form ,r custom of the Hon_
merchants paying for one another, and can no longer ex-
pect to have their losses made _nod to them

V. Tonnage Dues.—Every English merchantman, on
entering any one of the above-mentioned five ports, shall
pay tonnage dues at the rate of five mace per register ton
in full of all charges. The fees formerly levied on entry
and departure of every description are henceforth abo-
lished.

VI. Import and Export Duties.—Goods, whether im-
ported into or exported from any one of the above-
mentioned five ports, are henceforth to be taxed according
to the tariff as now fixed and agreed upon, and no further
sums are to he levied beyond those which are specified in
the tariff ; all duties incurred by an English merchant
vessel, whether on goods imported or exported, or in the
shape of tonnage dues, must first be paid up in full, which
done, the Superintendent of Customs will grant a port
clearance, and this being shown to the British consul, he
will thereupon return the ship's papers, and permit the
yeAsel to depart.
VII. Examination of Goods at the Custom-house.—
Every English merchant having cargo to load or discharge
must give due intimation thereof, and hand particulars of
the same to the Consul, who will immediately despatch a
recognised linguish of his own establishment to commu-
nicate the particulars to the Superintendent of Customs,
that the goods may be duly examined, and neither party
subjected to loss. The English merchant must also have
a properly qualified person on the spot to attend to his
interests when his goods are being examined for duty ;
otherwise, should there be complaints, these cannot be
attended to.

Regarding such goods as are subject by the tariff to an
ad valorem duty, if the English merchants cannot agree
with the Chinese officer in fixing a valise, then each party
shall call two or three merchants to look at the goods, and
the highest price at which any of these merchants would
be willing to nurchase shall be assumed as the value of the
goods. To fix the tare on any articles, such as tea :if the
English merchant cannot agree with the custom-h,use
officer, then each party shall choose so many chests out of
every 100, which being first weighed in gross, shall after-
wards be tared, and the average tare upon these cheats
shall be assumed as the tare upon the whole, and upon
this principle shall the tare be fixed upon all other goods
in packages. If there should still be any disputed points
which cannot he settled, the English merchant may appeal
to the Consul, who will communicate the particulars of
the case to the Superintendent of Customs, that it may be
equitably arranged; but the appeal must be made on the
same day, or it will not be regarded. While such points
are still open, the Superintendent of Customs will delay
to insert the same in his books, thus affording an oppor-
tunity that the merits of the case may be duly tried and
sifted.

VIII. Manner of Paying the Duties.—lt is herein be.
fore provided that every English vessel that enters any
one of the five ports shall pay all duties and tonnage dues
' before she be permitted to depart. The Superintendent
of Customs will select certain shroffs, or banking es•tab-
lishments, of known stability, to whom he will give licenses
authorising them to receive duties from the English mfr_
chants on behalf of government, and the receipts of these
shroffs for any money paid them shall be considered as a
government voucher. In the paying of these duties,
different kinds of foreign money may be made use of, but
as foreign money is not of equal purity with sycee silver,
the English Consuls appointed to the d►fferent ports will,
according to time, place and circumstances, arrange with
the Superintendent of Customs at each port what coins
may he taken in payment, and what per centage may be
necessary to make them equal to standard or pure silver.
IX. Weights and Measures.—Sets of balance yards for
the weighing of goods, of money weights, and of measures,
prepared in exact conformity to those hitherto in use at
the Custom-house of Canton, and duly stamped and
sealed in proof thereof, will be kept in possession of the
Superintendent of Customs, and also at the British Con.
sulate. at each of the five ports, and these shall be the
standards by which all duties shall be charged and all
sums paid to government. In case of any dispute arising
between British merchants and the Chinese officers of
Customs regarding the weights or measures of goods, re-
ference shall be made to these standards, and disputes
decided accordingly.
X. Lighters or Cargo Boals.—Whenever an English
merchant shall have to load or discharge cargo, he may
hire whatever kind of lighter or cargo boat he pleases, and
the sum to be paid for such boat can be settled between
the parties themselves without the interference of govern-
ment. The number of these boats shall not be limited,
nor shall A monopoly of them be granted to any parties.
If any smuggling take place in them, the offenders will,
f course, be punished according to law. Should any of
these boat people, while engag,d in conveying goods for
English merchants, fraudulently abscond with the property.
the Chi,.ese authorities will do their best to apprehend
them ; but at the same time the English merchants must
take every due precaution for the safety of their goods.
X 1 Transshipm-nts of Goods.—No English merchant
ships may transship goods without special permission ;
should any urgent case happen where transshipment is
necessary, the circumstance must first be submitted to the
Consul, who will give a certificate to that effect, and the
Superintendent of Customs will then send a special officer
to be present at the transshipment. If any one presumes
to transship without such permission being asked for and
obtained, the whole of the goods so illicitly transshipped
will be confiscated.

Xll. Subordinate Consular Offleers.—At any place
selected for the anchorage of the English merchant ships,
there may be appointed a subordinate consular officer of
approved good conduct to exercise due control over the
seamen and others. He must exert himself to prevent
quarrels between the English seamen and natives, this
being of the utmost importance. Should anything of the
kind unfortunately take place, he will in like manner do
his beat to arrange it amicably. When sailors go on shore
to walk, officers shall be required to accompany them,
and should disturbances take place, such officers will be
held responsible. The Chinese officers may not impede
natives from coming alongside the ships to sell clothes or
other necessaries tothe sailors living on board. _

XIII. Disputes between British Subjects and Chinese.
—Whenever a British subject has reason to complain of a
Chinese, he must first proceed to the Consulate and state
his grievance. The Consul will thereupon inquire into
the merits of the case, and do his utmost to arrange it
amicably. In like manner, if a Chinese have reason to
complain of a British subject, he shall no less listen to
his complaint and endeavour to settle it in a friendly
manner. If an English merchant have occasion to ad.
dress the Chinese authorities, he shall send such address
through the Consul, who will see that the language is be-
coming, and if otherwise will direct it to be changed, or
will refuse to convey the address. If unfortunately any
disputes take place of such a nature that the Consul can-
not arrange them amicably. then he shall require the as-
sistance of a Chinese officer, that they may together
examine into the merits of the case. and decide it equitably.
Regarding the punishment of English criminals, the
English government will enact the laws necessary to attain
that end, and the Consul will be empowered to put them
in force ; and regarding the punishment of Chinese cri-
minals, these will be tried and punished by their own
laws in the way provided for by the correspondence
which took place at Nanking after the concluding of the
peace. . . .

XIV. British Government Cruisers anchoring within
the Ports.—An English Government cruizer will anchor
within each of the five ports, that the Consul may have
the means of better restraining sailors and others, and
preventing disturbances. But these government cruisers
are not to be put upon the same footing as merchant ves-
sels, for as they bring no merchandise and do not come to
trade, they will of course pay neither duties nor charges.
The resident Consul will keep the Superintendent of
Customs duly informed of the arrival and departure of
such government cruisers, that he may take his measures
accordingly.

XV. On the Security to be given for British Merchant
Vessels.—lt has hitherto been the custom when an
English vessel entered the port of Canton that a Chinese
Hong merchant stood security for her, and all duties and
charges were paid through such security merchant. But
these security merchants being now done away with, it is
understood that the British Consul will henceforth be
security for all British merchant ships entering any of the
aforesaid Chinese ports.