No goods shall be unladen from any ship between the hours of sunset and sunrise, except by special permission of the custom-house authorities; and the hatches, and all other places of entrance into that part of the ship where the cargo is stowed, may be secured by Japanese officers between the hours of sunset and sunrise, by fixing seals, locks, or other fastenings; and if any person shall, without due permission, open any entrance that has been so secured, or shall break or remove any seal, lock, or other fastening that has been affixed by the Japanese customhouse officers, every person so offending shall pay a fine of sixty dollars for each offence. Any goods that shall be discharged, or attempted to be discharged, from any ship, without having been duly entered at the Japanese customhouse as hereinafter provided, shall be liable to seizure and confiscation. Packages of goods made up with an intent to defraud the revenue of Japan, by concealing therein articles of value which are not set forth in the invoice, shall be forfeited. If any British ship shall smuggle, or attempt to smuggle, goods in any of the non-opened harbors of Japan, all such goods shall be forfeited to the Japanese government, and the ship shall pay a fine of one thousand dollars for each offence. Vessels needing repairs may land their cargo for that purpose, without the payment of duty. All goods so landed shall remain in charge of the Japanese authorities, and all just charges for storage, labor, and supervision shall be paid thereon. But if any portion of such cargo be sold, the regular duties shall be paid on the portion so disposed of. Cargo may be transhipped to another vessel in the same harbor without payment of duty, but all transhipments shall be made under the supervision of Japanese officers, and after satisfactory proof has been given to the custom-house authorities of the bona fide nature of the transaction, and also under a permit to be granted for that purpose by such authorities. The importation of opium being prohibited, any British vessel coming to Japan for the purposes of trade, and having more than three catties weight of opium on board, the surplus quantity may be seized and destroyed by the Japanese authorities; and any person or persons smuggling, or attempting to smuggle opium, shall be liable to pay a fine of fifteen dollars for each catty of opium so smuggled or attempted to be smuggled. REGULATION III. The owner or consignee of any goods who desires to land them, shall make an entry of the same at the Japanese custom-house. The entry shall be in writing, and shall set forth the name of the person making the entry, and the name of the ship in which the goods were imported, and the marks, numbers, packages, and the contents thereof, with the value of each package extended separately in one amount, and at the bottom of the entry shall be placed the aggregate value of all the goods contained in the entry. On each entry, the owner or consignee shall certify in writing that the entry then presented exhibits the actual cost of the goods, and that nothing has been concealed whereby the Customs of Japan would be defrauded; and the owner or consignee shall sign his name to such certificate. The original invoice or invoices of the goods so entered shall be presented to the custom-house authorities, and shall remain in their possession until they have examined the goods contained in the entry. The Japanese officers may examine any or all the packages so entered, and for this purpose may take them to the custom-house; but such examination shall be without expense to the importer or injury to the goods; and, after examination, the Japanese shall restore the goods to their original condition in the packages (so far as may be practicable); and such examination shall be made without any unreasonable delay. If any owner or importer discovers that his goods have been damaged on the voyage of importation before such goods have been delivered to him, he may notify the custom-house authorities of such damage, and he may have the dainaged goods appraised by two or more competent and disinterested persons, who, after the due examination, shall make a certificate, setting forth the amount per cent. of damage on each separate package, describing it by its mark and number, which certificate shall be signed by the appraisers, in presence of the custom-house authorities, and the importer may attach the certificate to his entry, and make a corresponding deduction from it. But this shall not prevent the customhouse authorities from appraising the goods in the manner provided in Article XV. of the Treaty to which these Regulations are appended. After the duties have been paid, the owner shall receive a permit, authorizing the delivery to him of the goods, whether the same are at the custom-house or on shipboard. All goods intended to be exported shall be entered at the Japanese custom-house before they are placed on shipboard. The entry shall be in writing, and shall state the name of the ship by which the goods are to be exported, with the marks and number of the packages, and the quantity, description, and value of their contents. The exporter shall certify, in writing, that the entry is a true account of all goods contained therein, and shall sign his name thereto. Any goods that are put on board of a ship for exportation before they have been entered at the custom-house, and all packages which contain prohibited articles, shall be forfeited to the Japanese government. No entry at the custom-house shall be required for supplies for the use of the ships, their crews and passengers, nor for the clothing, &c., REGULATION IV. of passengers. Ships wishing to clear shall give twenty-four hours' notice at the custom-house, and at the end of that time they shall be entitled to their clearance; but if it be refused, the custom-house authorities shall immediately inform the captain or consignee of the ship of the reasons why the clearance is refused; and they shall also give the same notice to the British consul. British ships of war shall not be required to enter or clear at the customhouse, nor shall they be visited by Japanese custom-house or police officers. Steamers conveying the mails from Great Britain may enter and clear on the same day, and they shall not be required to make a manifest, except for such passengers and goods as are to be landed in Japan. But such steamers shall, in all cases, enter and clear at the custom-house. Whale-ships touching for supplies, or ships in distress, shall not be required to make a manifest of their cargo; but if they subsequently wish to trade, they shall then deposit a manifest, as required in Regulation I. The word ship, wherever it occurs in these Regulations, or in the Treaty to which they are attached, is to be held as meaning ship, barque, brig, schooner, sloop, or steamer. REGULATION v. Any person signing a false declaration or certificate, with the intent to defraud the revenue of Japan, shall pay a fine of one hundred and twenty-five dollars for each offense. REGULATION VI. No tonnage duties shall be levied on British ships in the ports of Japan, but the following fees shall be paid to the Japanese custom-house authorities:--For the entry of a ship, fifteen dollars. For the clearance of a ship, seven dollars. For each permit, one dollar and a half. For each bill of health, one dollar and a half. For any other document, one dollar and a-half. REGULATION VII. Duties shall be paid to the Japanese government on all goods landed in the country, according to the following Tariff: Class 1. All articles in this class shall be free of duty:-Gold and silver, coined or uncoined. Wearing apparel in actual use. Household furniture and printed books, not intended for sale, but the property of persons who come to reside in Japan. Class 2. A duty of five per cent. shall be paid on the following articles :-All articles used for the purpose of building, rigging, repairing, or fitting out of ships. Whaling gear of all kinds. Salted provisions of all kinds. Bread and breadstuffs, living animals of all kinds, coals, timber for building houses, rice, paddy, steam-machinery, zinc, lead, tin, raw silk, cotton and woolen manufactured goods. Class 3. A duty of thirty-five per cent. shall be paid on all intoxicating liquors, whether prepared by distillation, fermentation, or in any other manner. Class 4. All goods not included in any of the preceding classes shall pay a duty of twenty per cent. All articles of Japanese production, which are exported as cargo, shall pay a duty of five per cent., with the exception of gold and silver coin, and copper in bars. Rice and wheat, the produce of Japan, shall not be exported from Japan as cargo, but all British subjects resident in Japan, and British ships for their crews and passengers, shall be furnished with sufficient supplies of the same. Foreign grain, brought into any open port of Japan in a British ship, if no part thereof has been landed, may be re-exported without hindrance. The Japanese government will sell, from time to time, at public auction, any surplus quantity of copper that may be produced. Five years after the opening of Kanagawa, the import and export duties shall be subject to revision, if either the British or Japanese government desires it. ELGIN AND KINCARDINE. MIDZUO, TISKFOGO NO KAMI. INOUWYE, SINANO MO KAMI. HORI, ORIBE NO KAMI. IWASE, HIGO NO KAMI. Since the treaties of 1858 went into effect, and foreign merchants have settled at Yokohama in large numbers, the intercourse between them and the natives has not been very harmonious. The whole system of Japanese government and society is at variance with the habits and views of western nations; and the reckless disregard of life among these islanders, whenever they wish to gratify their revenge or their cupidity, is a feature which could not fail to excite fear of collisions. The feelings of the retainers of the feudal princes are enlisted in all the quarrels of their masters, whose commands would often be obeyed even against the Government; so that when questions like those connected with foreign trade and the appropriation of its revenue, or the rights of exterritoriality, came up, between these princes and the central power, or between the latter and foreign officials, disputes of a serious nature were likely to arise. Nor have the Japanese the placability even of the Chinese, in respect of harsh treatment, but brood over a real or fancied insult until they can find means and place to revenge it. These and other causes are calculated to complicate the fulfillment of the provisions of these treaties, and call for the utmost forbearance and prudence on the part of foreign officials invested with the difficult duties of harmonizing such conflicting powers, and reconciling their own almost incompatible duties of maintaining the treaty rights of their countrymen in a land whose rulers have only a modified control over their subjects, and an ill-defined idea of their powers. In truth, the questions that arise, both in Japan and China, out of the privileges and demands of the principle of exterritoriality, which have been admitted into the treaties with those countries, are likely to result in destroying both their nationalities, or else the stronger and foreign power must constantly be engaged in efforts to protect the subjects of one party against the other. It is like the egg which the ichneumon fly deposits in the caterpillar, on whose body its young is to feed. An imperium in imperio to such an extent as is involved in this obligation, ultimately proves fatal, sooner or later, to the independence of the weaker party. In November, 1861, the British Minister issued a notice to all British subjects in Japan, respecting certain points to be attended to while living in the country; and as it somewhat illustrates the points here alluded to, by indicating the precautions necessary in dealing with the Japanese, its regulations are inserted. 1.-That British subjects shall not ride or drive on any public road or highway in Japan in such a furious or careless manner as to endanger the persons being in any such public road or highway, nor ride or drive in any street of any town or village at a pace beyond that of a walk. 2. That all British subjects, in passing along roads and streets in Japan, shall, whether walking, riding or driving, observe the following rules of the road: that is to say, in meeting any person, cortège, procession or vehicle, they shall take and keep the left hand side of the road, and on overtaking and wishing to pass on before any such persons, cortège, procession, or vehicle, they shall leave the left hand side, and if practicable without collision, but not otherwise, they shall pass on the right side of the road. 3. That the discharge of firearms, whether by night or day, in any place in Japan, except in such places and within such limits as shall be designated for the purpose by the Japanese authorities in concurrence with her Majesty's consul, is hereby prohibited. 4. That no British subject shall go out in pursuit of game within the limits of the port of Kanagawa absolutely, or at any port or other place, save under the authority and sanetion of the consul in writing. 5. That no British subject shall go into any private house or private grounds without the invitation or leave of the owners, or without authority into any battery, arsenal or other establishment of any Japanese not ordinarily open to the public. 6. That no British subject shall, on any pretence, assault or offer any violence to any Japanese official or functionary, or to any person acting in his aid or assistance. 7.-That no British subject shall persist in any act of violence or outrage after he shall have been warned to desist therefrom; or in case any such British subject shall refuse or neglect, immediately on being charged with the commission of any offence, to deliver a card bearing the stamp and seal of Her Majesty's consul showing his identity, he shall be liable to arrest by any Japanese official duly empowered according to the Japanese law, and by a consul's warrant or licence. 8.-That no British subjects shall, in excursions within the limits assigned to each port, take up their residence in the towns or villages; nor, without express permission granted in writing by the consul, sleep during a night at any place or places away from the foreign location at the port where they are domiciled. 9. That every British subject, who shall act contrary to any or either of the Rules and Regulations aforesaid, shall be liable for each and every offence to pay a fine of $200, or to be imprisoned for one month. 10. That no British subject shall permit any Chinese in his employ to ride anywhere in Japan, except in immediate personal attendance on his master in travelling for a lengthened journey, and then not within a town or village; and that in case any such Chinese shall so ride with the permission of his master, the master shall be liable to pay a fine for every such offence of $200, or to be imprisoned. Given under my hand and seal of office at Yedo, within the dominions of the Tycoon of Japan, on the 19th day of November, 1861. RUTHERFORD ALCOCK. Section 3. PORTS OPEN TO FOREIGN COMMERCE. NAGASAKI, THE fine harbor of this port early attracted the vessels from the neighboring continent, and the Portuguese and other European traders resorted to it from their first arrival in the country. The port of Firando or Hirado, on the island north of it, was the chief competitor in the west of Japan for the foreign commerce, which in those days was eagerly desired by all classes. When the restriction of foreigners from access to the country at large was decided on by the Court of Yedo about 1640, Nagasaki was selected as the port where the Dutch and Chinese were henceforth to carry on their trade. It once belonged to the principality of Hizen, but was placed under the direct control of officers sent from Yedo, whose jurisdiction extended a few miles around the city. The town is called in Chinese Chang-kii. e. Long Cape, and the native name has the same meaning; it is sometimes pronounced Nanga-sa-ki. It is beautifully situated at the head of the harbor, on a hill-slope, and environed by terraced or wooded hills; two rivulets run through the town, whose streets are regularly built, clean, and well paved. The population is now nearly 70,000, and about 20,000 more live under its local authorities within the limits. The artificial islet of Desima (i. e. Projecting Isle) to which the Dutch traders were then restricted, measures 600 feet by 240 feet across; it lies off the lower part of the town, in full view of the harbor down to its entrance. |