1917

EMIGRATION OONVENTION
£8
Art. II.—On the receipt of the instructions above referred to, the Taotai at the
port shall at once appoint an officer, to be called the Chinese Inspector; who,
together with the British Consular Officer at the port, or his Delegate, shall make
known by Proclamation and by means of the native press the text of the Indenture
which the emigrant wi 11 have to sign, and any particulars of which the Chinese officer
considers it essential that the emigrant shall be informed, respecting the country to
which the emigrant is to proceed, and respecting its laws.
Art. III.—The British Consular officer at the port, or his Delegate, shall confer
with the Chinese Inspector as to the location and installation of the offices and other
necessary buildings, hereinafter called the Emigration Agency, which shall be erected
or fitted up by the British ‘Government, and at their expense, for the purpose of
•carrying on the business of the engagement and shipment of the emigrants, and in
which the Chinese Inspector and his staff shall have suitable accommodation for
carrying on their duties.
Art. TV.—(1.) There shall be posted up in conspicuous places throughout the
Emigration Agency, and more especially in that part of it called the Depot, destined
•for the reception of intending emigrants, copies of the Indenture to be entered into
with the emigrant, drawn up in the English and Chinese languages, together with
copies of the special Ordinance, if any, relating to immigration into the particular
Colony or Protectorate for which the emigrants are required. .
(2.) There shall be kept a Register in English and in Chinese, in which the names
of intending indentured emigrants shall be inscribed, and in this Register there shall
not be inscribed the name of any person who is under 20 years of age, unless he
shall have produced proof of his having obtained the consent of his parents or other
lawful guardians to emigrate, or, in default of these, of the Magistrate of the district
to which he belongs. After signature of the Indenture according to the Chinese
•manner, the emigrant shall not be permitted to leave the Depot previously to his
-embarkation, without a pass signed by the Chinese Inspector, and countersigned by
the British Consular Officer or his Delegate, unless he shall have, through the
^Chinese Inspector, renounced his agreement and withdrawn his name from the
register of emigrants.
(3.) Before the sailing of the ship each emigrant shall be carefully examined by a
qualified Medical Officer nominated by the British Consular Officer or his Delegate.
The emigrants shall be paraded before the British Consular Officer or his Delegate
and the Chinese Inspector or his Delegate, and questioned with a view to ascertain
their perfect understanding of the Indenture.
Art. Y.—All ships employed in the conveyance of indentured emigrants from
China under this Convention shall engage and embark them only at a Treaty port,
and shall comply with the Regulations contained in the Schedule hereto annexed and
forming part of the Convention.
Art. YI.—For the better protection of the emigrant, and of any other Chinese
subject who may happen to be residing in the Colony or Protectorate to which the
emigration is to take place, it shall be competent to the Emperor of China to appoint
.a Consul or Vice-Consul to watch over their interests and well-being, and such
Consul or Vice-Consul shall have all the rights and privileges accorded to the Consuls
of other nations.
.Art. VII.—Every Indenture entered into under the present Articles shall clearly
specify the name of the country for which the labourer is required, the duration of
the engagement, and, if renewable, on what terms, the number of hours of labour
per working day, the nature of the work, the rate of wages and mode of payment,
the rations, clothing, the grant of a free passage out, and, where such is provided for
herein, a free passage back to the port of embarkation in China for himself and family,
righu to free medical attendance and medicines, whether in the Colony or Protectorate,
or on the voyage from and to the port of embarkation in China, and any other
advantages to which the emigrant shall be entitled. The Indenture may also