Henry D. Bellonet to Prince Kung, August 20, 1865

Mr. Bellonet to Prince Kung.

The government of the Emperor has ordered me to announce to your imperial highness that he has consented to the surrender of the exemption from tonnage dues, which the twenty-second article of the Treaty of Tientsin secures to junks and other Chinese craft chartered by French merchants. He has, moreover, authorized me to accept the propositions contained in the dispatch of your imperial highness of the date of December 8 last, and to subject to the payment of tonnage dues every four months French vessels which coast between the different ports of China.

In exchange for these concessions the ports of Cochin-China under French jurisdiction and the ports of Japan shall be put on the same footing as those of China, as that of Hong-Kong is already; that is to say, henceforth ships of every kind carrying the French flag can ply between the ports of China, and those of Cochin-China and Japan, without being subjected to the payment of four mace, or of one mace a ton more than once in four months, no matter how many trips they make.

The government of the Emperor also agrees that Chinese craft chartered by French merchants to trade on the Yang-tsze-Kiang shall be subjected to the duties specified in article VI of the regulations concerning the navigation of that river.