John Jay to Hamilton Fish, September 3, 1872

No. 13. Mr. Jay to Mr. Fish.

Sir: I herewith inclose the Official Gazette of this morning, containing, in an English and German version, the new treaty of friendship, commerce, and navigation between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Japan, and the accompanying regulations under which the trade of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy is to be conducted in Japan.

I have, &c.,

Regulations under which the trade of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy is to be conducted in Japan.

Regulation I.

Within forty-eight hours (Sunday excepted) after the arrival of an Austro-Hungarian ship in Japanese port, the captain or commander shall exhibit to the Japanese customhouse authorities the receipt of the imperial and royal consul, showing that he has deposited all the ship’s papers, the ship’s bills of lading, &c., at the imperial and royal consulate, and he shall then make an entry of his ship, by giving a written paper stating the name of the ship, and the name of the port from which she comes, her tonnage, the name of her captain or commander, the names of her passengers (if any) and the number of her crew, which paper shall be certified by the captain or commander to be a true statement and shall be sighed by him. He shall at the same time deposit a written manifest of his cargo, setting forth the marks and numbers of the packages and their contents, as they are described in his bills of lading, with the names of the person or persons to whom they are consigned. A list of the stores of the ship shall be added to the manifest.

The captain or commander shall certify the manifest to be a true account of all the cargo and stores on board the ship, and shall sign his name to the same. If any error is discovered in the manifest, it may be corrected within twenty-four hours (Sunday excepted) without the payment of any fees, but for any alteration or post-entry to the manifest, made after that time, a fee of $15 shall be paid.

All goods not entered on the manifest shall, besides the duty, pay a fine equal in amount to that duty.

Any captain or commander who shall neglect to enter his vessel at the Japanese custom-house within the time prescribed by this regulation shall pay a penalty of $60 for each day that he shall so neglect to enter his ship.

Regulation II.

The Japanese government shall have the right to place custom-house officers on board of any ship in their ports, (men-of-war excepted.) The custom-house officers shall be treated with civility, and such reasonable accommodation as the ship affords shall be allotted to them.

No goods shall be unladen from any ship between 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 sunset and sunrise by fixing seals, locks, or other fastenings; and if any person shall, without due permission, open any entrance so secured, or break open or take off any seal, lock, or other fastening that has been affixed by the Japanese custom-house officers, every person so offending shall pay a fine of sixty dollars for each offense.

Goods that shall be discharged or attempted to be discharged from any ship without having been duly entered at the Japanese custom-house 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 Austro-Hungarian ship shall smuggle or attempt to smuggle goods at 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 offense of this kind.

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 transshipped to another vessel in the same harbor without payment of duty, but all transshipment 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. A fine of sixty dollars shall be paid for any infraction of this rule.

The Importation of opium being prohibited, any Austro-Hungarian vessel coming to Japan for the purpose 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 this examination must be made without expense to the importers 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 having been delivered to him, he may notify such damage to the custom-house officers, and he may have the damaged goods appraised by two or more competent and disinterested persons, who, after due examination, shall deliver a certificate setting forth the amount per cent, of damage on each separate package, describing it by its mark and number. This certificate shall be signed by the appraisers in presence of the custom-house authorities. The importer may attach it to his entry and make a corresponding deduction from it.

But this shall not prevent the custom-house authorities from appraising the goods in the manner provided in the Article VIII 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 ship-board. 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 numbers 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 which are put on board a ship for exportation before they have been entered at the custom-house, and all packages which contain prohibited articles, shall he 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., of passengers.

The Japanese custom-house officers may seize any suspected package, but on doing so, they must give notice to the imperial and royal consular officer.

Goods which are confiscated by the decision of the imperial and royal consular officers shall at once be delivered to the Japanese authorities, and all fines or forfeitures decreed by the imperial and royal consular officers shall be levied by them without delay and paid over to the Japanese authorities.

Regulation IV.

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 reason why the clearance is refused, and they shall also give the same notice to the imperial and royal consul, who will not deliver to the captain the deposited ship-papers until he produces a receipt from the custom-house stating that all duties have been paid.

Imperial and royal men-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 of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy 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.

Whaleships 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 “ships,” wherever it occurs in these regulations, or in the treaty to which they are annexed, is to be held as meaning a vessel, bark, 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 (125) dollars for each offense.

Regulation VI.

No tonnage-dues shall be levied on Austro-Hungarian ships in 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 the permit to land or ship goods, wherever they may be mentioned in these regulations, no fee has to be paid.
• For every other document, as bills of health, &c., one dollar and a half.

Regulation VII.

Duties shall be paid to the Japanese government on all goods landed in Japan, and on all Japanese goods, intended for exportation, according to the tariff annexed to this treaty.

Regulation VIII.

Any Japanese subject shall be free to purchase, either in the open ports or abroad, every description of sailing-vessels or steamers, intended to carry either cargo or passengers, with the exception of ships of war, which may only be purchased under the authorization of the Japanese government.

All Austro-Hungarian ships purchased by Japanese subjects shall be registered as Japanese ships on payment of a duty of three boos per ton for steamers and one boo per ton for sailing-vessels.

The tonnage of each vessel shall be proved by the Austro-Hungarian register of the ship, which shall be certified as authentic by the imperial and royal consular officer, and exhibited by him to the Japanese authorities on their demand.

Ammunition of war can only be sold to the Japanese government and to foreigners.

Regulation IX.

Austro-Hungarian citizens residing in Japan, and the crews and passengers of ships belonging to the said monarchy, shall be free to purchase for their own consumption supplies of those kinds of grain and flour the export of which is prohibited by the tariff; but the usual permit must be obtained from the custom-house before any of the aforesaid kinds of grain or flour can be shipped on board of an Austro-Hungarian vessel.

The Japanese government will offer no difficulty to the transport from one open port to another of those kinds of Japanese grain and flour the export of which to foreign ports is prohibited. Should, however, particular circumstances make it desirable that the transport of these articles from any one of the open ports should for a certain time be prohibited both to Japanese and foreigners, the Japanese government will give two months’ notice of such prohibition to the foreign authorities, and will further undertake that the said prohibition shall not remain longer in force than is absolutely necessary.

Regulation X.

The catty, mentioned in the tariff, is equal to 604 grammes 53 centigrammes, or 1⅓ pounds English avoirdupois, or 1.08 pound Austrian weight.

The yard is a measure of three English feet, equal to 914 millimeters.

The English foot is equal to 0.3047 metres and is one-eighth of an inch longer than the Japanese kaneshaku.

The koku is equal to ten cubic feet English measure, or to one hundred and twenty feet of American timber-measure of one inch in thickness.

The boo or itziboo is a silver coin weighing not less than 8.67 grammes, (134 grains troy weight,) and containing nine parts of pure silver and one part of alloy.

The cent is the one-hundredth part of the boo.

Regulation XI.

In order to put a stop to the abuses and inconveniences at the open ports, relative to the transaction of business at the custom-house, the landing and shipping of goods, and the hiring of boats, coolies, servants, &c., the high contracting parties have agreed, that at each port the local authorities shall, from time to time, enter into negotiations with the foreign consuls, with a view to the establishment by mutual consent of such measures as shall effectually put an end to any complaints, and shall afford all desirable facility and security both to the operation of trade and to private transactions between foreigners and Japanese.

The Japanese government will construct, at the landing-places of each of the open ports, one or more landing-sheds for the use of Austro-Hungarian citizens when landing or shipping cargo.

TARIFF.

A. Import.—Class I.—Specific duties.