WHANGPU CONSERVANCY AGREEMENT (WITH SUPPLEMENTARY ARTICLE OF 1915, REGULATING THE REGISTRATION AND SALE OF CROWN OR SHENGKO LANDS ON THE WHANGPU RIVER).2

Signed at Peking April 9, 1912.

1. The Whangpu Conservancy Board of Administration, to be known shortly as the conservancy board, shall consist of the Shanghai taotai, the Shanghai customs commissioner, and the coast inspector.3

2. The authority with which the conservancy board is invested is delegated to it by the Chinese Government; and consequently the board is in no way subordinate to the provincial authorities. The several members of the board have, as such, equal authority, and the opinion of the majortity is to be determinative.

3. The board shall have entire charge of the finances connected with conservancy matters. In this connection:

1 Communications having been interrupted as the result of the war, it has no longer been possible to obtain this signature, which could not be affixed on the date of the closing of the conference.

2 Text as embodied in circular of the diplomatic body at Peking, No. 88, September 13, 1915; reprinted from John V. A. MacMurray's "Treaties and Agreements with and Concerning China, 1894-1919," p. 954. The text as printed in English and Chinese in "Treaties, Conventions, etc., between China and Foreign States," supplementary volume, p. 69, a work issued by the maritime customs of China, is described as a provisional agreement, further defined as a scheme "submitted by the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce, adopted by the ministers of the treaty powers at Peking, and agreed to with embodied amendments by the Chinese Government through the prime minister on the 4th April, 1912." The text of the latter date is referred to in the treaties of peace ending the World War as the effective one. Nevertheless, the fact seems to be that the document described as amended by the Chinese Government could not have become effective until those amendments were accepted by the party of the other part; that is, the diplomatic body. Its consent to the agreement was given at a meeting on April 9, 1912, which date is therefore that of the agreement as in force.

Where the text of April 4, 1912, differs from that of April 9 the discrepancies have been recorded in a series of footnotes.

In connection with the agreement, see the arrangement for the Whangpu Conservancy, September 27, 1905, Vol. II, p. 2013.

Text of April 4 reads: "The commissioner for trade and foreign affairs, the Shanghai commissioner of customs, and the harbor master."

(a) The original annual government grant of 460,000 taels shall periodically, on fixed dates, be paid to the board's account's, in whatever bank or banks such accounts may be kept, and the board will take charge of the existing conservancy loan account and will provide for the payment of the principal and interest as they fall due.

(b) All conservancy funds, in whosoever's hands, shall, within 30 days of the promulgation of this agreement, be paid to the conservancy board's account.

(c) Any new annual government grant that may be made shall periodically, on fixed dates, be paid in full on the conservancy board's account.

(d) The conservancy tax on imports and exports, referred to in article 4, shall be collected by the commissioner of customs and shall periodically, on fixed dates, be paid to the conservancy board's

account.

(e) The conservancy board will disburse conservancy funds for the execution of the necessary works and for the maintenance of staff and offices at its discretion. Checks will be cashed on the signature. of any two members.

4. The several chambers of commerce and associations representing the commercial interests of Shanghai, having agreed to the raising of a tax for conservancy purposes, consisting of 3 per cent of the customs duties, and in the case of duty-free goods, of 1 per mille of value, the tax shall be dealt with as provided in article 3 (d), as soon as such formalities as are necessary to regularize it have been completed and notified to the conservancy board by the ministers.

NOTE. This tax is based generally on the figures given in Mr. Commissioner Merrill's memorandum of the 15th of April, 1910, in order to provide the 300,000 Haikwan taels which is Mr. Merrill's estimate of the sum necessary for the modest program set forth therein.

5. For all contracts in connection with the works, and for the purchase of material or machinery, etc., public tenders will be invited, and the tender offering the most advantageous conditions accepted.

6. The conservancy board shall appoint, at its discretion, and shall control the staff necessary for the work to be affected, including the secretary and engineer in charge.

7. The general jurisdiction of the conservancy board extends over the Whangpu from the Yangtse to its tidal limit; that is to say, within those limits-between the high-water lines-no operation which may possibly affect the regimen of the river shall be undertaken without the board's consent, nor without such consent shall pontoons or hulks connected to the shore be established.

All applications for the board's consent for such works, etc., on the Whangpu below the upper harbor limit shall be made to the harbor master and be replied to by him as heretofore.

The control of the river police, of sanitary arrangements, of aids to navigation and pilotage, remain as heretofore in the hands of the maritime customs.

1 Text of April 4 reads: "In whose ever."

2 Omitted in text of April 4.

8. Under the conservancy agreement of 1905,' provision that the conservancy funds benefit by the sale of crown lands, in so far as such sales were rendered justifiable by the conservancy scheme, was left undefined. During the operation of that agreement large quantities of crown land with the conservancy normal line as a boundary, have been sold by the Shengko office, by which the conservancy funds should have, but have not, benefited.

This matter needs settlement, but is too involved to be dealt with herein. It is therefore decided that, subsequent to the promulgation of this agreement, this matter be jointly investigated by the Taotai and the consular body, as the preliminary to the addition of a supplementary article to this agreement."

9. The duties of the conservancy board are:

(1) At an early date to come to a conclusion in consultation with the engineer in charge concerning:

(a) What should be the ultimate aim of conservancy works. (b) What measures are necessary to secure that end.3

(c) What is the estimated cost of such measures.

(2) To maintain existing conservancy works in effective condition, including the construction of such new works as are necessary for that purpose.

(3) To provide and maintain a channel from the Yangtse to Shanghai, having, as far as circumstances and funds permit, a least depth of 20 feet at mean low water of spring tides over a least width of 900 feet.

(4) To undertake such additional new works as may from time to time be advisable for the maintenance of improvement of the regimen of the river, when funds are available.

(5) To cooperate with the riparian owners in respect to dredging operations to secure improved wharfage facilities. Such cooperation to take the form of dredging at reasonable rates.

10. (1) The Whangpu Conservancy Consultative Board, to be known shortly as the consultative board, shall consist of:

(a) Five members appointed as follows: The several ministers at Peking of the five nations having the largest tonnage entering and clearing at Shanghai, shall each determine at his discretion the means by which one member of his nationality shall be selected, and the consuls general at Shanghai concerned shall notify the conservancy board of the selection made and of any subsequent changes.

(b) One member appointed by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. The secretary will serve both boards.

(2) The primary functions of the consultative board will be to watch conservancy proceedings on behalf of the commercial interests of Shanghai and to make such representations to the conservancy board as it thinks proper. To this end the consultative board shall be supplied with full information concerning all projected works, concerning progress of current works and concerning finance. It will also be consulted in regard to the appointment of the engineer in chief.

For text see Vol. II, p. 2013.

See supplementary article (No. 12) below, p. 3046.
Par. b does not appear in text of April 4.

(3) In the event of the consultative board considering that its representations are insufficiently attended to and that the commercial interests of the port are thereby threatened, it will refer the matter to a consular committee consisting of the consuls general of the nations referred to in article 10 (1). If the consular committee is unable to arrange matters to their satisfaction with the conservancy board, they will refer the question at issue to their respective ministers for diplomatic settlement.

11. The object of the existence of the two boards is as follows: (a) To provide that the conservancy board, in view of its executive nature, be small in order to expedite business.

(b) To provide that members of the conservancy board be officials of the Chinese Government in view of the extensive jurisdiction, namely, to the head of tidal influence, which it is desirable the conservancy board should have.

(c) To provide nevertheless that the commercial interests of the port be effectively represented.

It is considered that the representation as provided will be more usefully effective than would be the case were the representatives of commercial interests on the conservancy board.

SUPPLEMENTARY ARTICLE (No. 12).

REGULATING THE REGISTRATION AND SALE OF CROWN OR SHENGKO LANDS ON THE WHANGPU RIVER.

Approved by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministers of the Treaty Powers, and adopted January 19, 1916. 1. Saleable crown or shengko lands on the Whangpu River subject to this agreement include all foreshore, accreted or reclaimable land-not required for conservancy or harbor purposes-situated between the Whangpu high-water lines at ordinary spring tide from the Kiangnan Arsenal to the outer ends of the conservancy's training works at Woosung. Title deeds to all such saleable crown or shengko lands shall be issued by the civil administrator of Shanghai under the following conditions:

2. On application by the owner of a riparian lot to acquire foreshore or accretion thereto, the original title deed being filed in the usual manner, the joint measurement office shall first satisfy itself of the validity of the claim to the foreshore or area to be shengkoed.

3. The joint measurement office will then arrange with the conservancy board-to whom a copy of the official plan of the original lot shall be supplied-and the owner, and, in the case of foreign owners, with the consulate concerned, for a joint measurement to be made, at which the river-front boundary of the original lot shall be defined. The conservancy engineer will then proceed to survey the area to be shengkoed and draft a plan of the whole lot, on which shall be clearly shown the area to be shengkoed and its position in relation to the board's triangulation net and existing boundaries. This will be sent to the joint measurement office to be transmitted to the owner for acceptance. When the owner has accepted the plan, the conservancy board will assess the shengko price due.

4. In calculating the shengko price per mou, the board, while taking as a basis the price of the land in the vicinity, shall consider the total cost of filling in and bunding, and all other conditions involved.

5. The shengko amount so assessed shall be communicated by the board to the owner, in the case of a foreign owner through his consul. The owner shall make payment direct to the board who will give an official receipt. On presentation of this receipt the proper Chinese authority shall issue the title deed with the shegkoed area indorsed thereon, without further delay. No receipt shall be valid for shengko for lands which are subject to this agreement except that of the board. 6. Should the owner of the foreshore lot consider the shengko price as assessed by the board excessive, he has the right of appeal as provided in Article VIII of the conservancy agreement of 1905.

7. Owners who have only paid the nominal rate of taels 250 per mou, recently levied conditionally by the board, shall make good to the board the difference between that sum and the shengko amount assessed in the above manner; on the other hand, if the shengko rate is assessed at less than taels 250 per mou, the board shall refund any excess paid by the owner.

8. In drafting the plans of foreshore lots the conservancy board shall proceed as follows:

The Whangpu River high-water line at ordinary spring tides at the time being (12.5 feet above the Woosung conservancy datum) being taken as a base, the points at which the lateral boundaries of the original lot intersect this high-water line shall be determined. Then two lines drawn from these points to meet the final normal line perpendicularly shall be taken as the lateral boundaries of the shengko area while the boundary on the river side shall be the normal line for the time being.

When owing to this extension out to the normal line land formerly belonging to an old lot which has been eroded by the action of the river, or otherwise, is recovered, the lateral boundaries of such recovered land shall be the boundaries defined in the foregoing paragraph notwithstanding that they may not coincide with the boundaries of the original land eroded.

The definition of boundaries above prescribed is made subject to the provision that such boundaries shall not conflict with the boundaries of reclaimed land, adjacent to the lot which is being dealt with, for which shengko shall have been paid and title deeds issued previously to the enactment of this regulation.

9. The calculation of the area upon which shengko price is to be paid to the conservancy board shall be made in the following manner: As a general rule the shengko area shall be taken as being the area inclosed between the high-water line at ordinary spring tides and the normal line for the time being, as allotted to each riparian owner according to the procedure prescribed in paragraph 8.

But in cases where erosion has taken place since 1906 the area on which shengko shall be payable shall be reduced by an amount equal to the high-water free area eroded since 1906, and cases where a foreign consular title deed shows an area extending beyond the present high-water line the area otherwise liable to shengko shall be reduced by such title deed area.

In cases where the river front boundary of the original lot does not extend riverwards as far as the 1906 high-water line, the shengko price due on the area between that boundary and the high-water line shall be paid to the proper Chinese authority.