Article III. The present Agreement is concluded for a period of five years, dating from the day of signature. Done in duplicate, at London, the 27th day of February, 1904. (L. S.) Lansdowne. (L. S.) Mandas. Nr. 13328. GROSSBRITANNIEN und VEREINIGTE STAATEN. Einrichtung einer Paketpost zwischen den Vereinigten Staaten und Hongkong. Washington, November 21, 1903. For the purpose of making better postal arrangements between Hong Kong and the United States of America, the Undersigned, Arthur Stewart Raikes, His Britannic Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires, and Henry C. Payne, Postmaster-General of the United States of America, by virtue of authority vested in them, have agreed upon the following Articles for the establishment of a Parcels-Post system of exchanges between Hong Kong and the United States: - Article I. The provisions of this Convention relate only to parcels of mail matter to be exchanged by the system herein provided for, and do not affect the arrangements now existing under the Universal Postal Union Convention, which will continue as heretofore; and all the Agreements hereinafter contained apply exclusively to mails exchanged under these Articles. Article II. 1. There shall be admitted to the mails exchanged under this Convention, articles of merchandize and mail matter except letters, postcards, and written matter of all kinds, that are admitted under any conditions to the domestic mails of the country of origin, except that no packet may exceed four pounds six ounces (or two kilograms) in weight, nor the following dimensions: Greatest length in any direction, three feet six inches; greatest length and girth combined, six feet; and must be so wrapped or enclosed as to permit their contents to be easily examined by postmasters and customs officers; and except that the following articles are prohibited admission to the mails exchanged under this Convention: | Publications which violate the copyright laws of the country of destination; poisons, and explosive or inflammable substances; fatty substances, liquids, and those which easily liquefy; confections and pastes; live or dead animals, except dead insects and reptiles when thoroughly dried; fruits and vegetables which easily decompose, and substances which exhale a bad odour; lottery tickets, lottery advertisements, or lottery circulars; all obscene or immoral articles; articles which may in any way damage or destroy the mails, or injure the persons handling them. || 2. All admissible articles of merchandize mailed in one country for the other, or received in one country from the other, shall be free from any detention or inspection whatever, except such as is required for collection of customs duties; and shall be forwarded by the most speedy means to their destination, being subject in their transmission to the laws and regulations of each country, respectively. Article III. 1. A letter or communication of the nature of personal correspondence must not accompany, be written on, or enclosed with any parcel. || 2. If such be found, the letter will be placed in the mails if separable, and if the communication be inseparably attached, the whole package will be rejected. If, however, any such should inadvertently be forwarded, the country of destination will collect on the letter or letters double rates of postage according to the Universal Postal Union Convention. || 3. No parcel may contain packages intended for delivery at an address other than that borne by the parcel itself. If such enclosed packages be detected, they must be sent forward singly charged with new and distinct Parcels-Post rates. Article IV. 1. The following rates of postage shall in all cases be required to be fully prepaid with postage stamps of the country of origin, viz.: 2. In Hong Kong, for a parcel not exceeding one pound in weight, thirtyfive cents; and for each additional pound, or fraction of a pound, thirtyfive cents. 3. In the United States, for a parcel not exceeding one pound in weight, twelve cents; and for each additional pound, or fraction of a pound, twelve cents. || 4. The parcels shall be promptly delivered to addressees at the post offices of address in the country of destination, free of charge for postage; but the country of destination may, at its option, levy and collect from the addressee for interior service and delivery a charge the amount of which is to be fixed according to its own regulations, but which shall in no case exceed fifteen cents in Hong Kong, or five cents in the United States, for each parcel, whatever its weight. Article V. 1. The sender will, at the time of mailing the package, receive a Certificate of Mailing from the Post Office where the package is mailed on a form like Form 1 annexed hereto. || 2. The sender of a package may have the same registered in accordance with the regulations of the country of origin. || 3. An acknowledgment of the delivery of a registered article shall be returned to the sender when requested; but either country may require of the sender prepayment of a fee therefore not exceeding fifteen cents in Hong Kong or five cents in the United States. || 4. The addressees of registered articles shall be advised of the arrival of a package addressed to them, by a notice from the Post Office at destination. Article VI. 1. The sender of each parcel shall make a Customs Declaration, pasted upon or attached to the package, upon a special Form provided for the purpose (see Form 2 annexed hereto) giving a general description of the parcel, an accurate statement of its contents and value, date of mailing, and the senders's signature and place of residence, and place of address. || 2. The parcels in question shall be subject in the country of destination to all customs duties and all customs regulations in force in that country for the protection of its customs revenues; and the customs duties properly chargeable thereon shall be collected on delivery, in accordance with the customs regulations of the country of destination; but neither sender nor addressee shall be subject to the payment of any charge for fines or penalties on account of failure to comply with any customs regulation. Article VII. Each country shall retain to its own use the whole of the postages, registration and delivery fees it collects on said parcels; consequently, this Convention will give rise to no separate accounts between the two countries. Article VIII. 1. The parcels shall be considered as a component part of the mails exchanged direct between Hong Kong and the United States, to be dispatched to destination by the country of origin at its cost and by such means as it provides; but must be forwarded, at the option of the dispatching office, either in boxes prepared expressly for the purpose or in ordinary mail sacks, marked „Parcels-Post", and securely sealed with wax, or otherwise, as may be mutually provided by regulations hereunder. || 2. Each country shall promptly return empty to the dispatching office by next mail, all such bags and boxes. || 2. Although articles admitted under this Convention will be transmitted as aforesaid between the exchange offices, they should be so carefully packed as to be safely transmitted in the open mails of either country, both in going to the exchange office in the country of origin and to the office of address in the country of destination. || 4. Each dispatch of a Parcels-Post mail must be accompanied by a descriptive list, in duplicate, of all the parcels sent, showing distinctly the list number of each parcel, the name of the sender, the name of the addressee with address of destination, and the declared contents and value; and must be enclosed in one of the boxes or sacks of such dispatch (see Form 3 annexed hereto). Article IX. Exchanges of mails under this Convention from any place in either country to any place in the other, shall be effected through the post of fices of both countries already designated as exchange post offices, or through such others as may be hereafter agreed upon; under such regulations relative to the details of the exchange as may be mutually determined to be essential to the security and expedition of the mails and the protection of the customs revenues. Article X. 1. As soon as the mail shall have reached the office of destination, that office shall check the contents of the mail. || 2. In the event of the parcel bill not having been received, a substitute should be at once prepared. || 3. Any errors in the entries on the parcel bill which may be discovered, should, after verification by a second officer, be corrected and noted for report to the dispatching office on a form,,Verification Certificate", which should be sent in a special envelope. || 4. If a parcel advised on the bill be not received, after the non-receipt has been verified by a second officer, the entry on the bill should be cancelled and the fact reported at once. 5. If a parcel be observed to be insufficiently prepaid, it must not be taxed with deficient postage, but the circumstance must be reported on the verification certificate form. || 6. Should a parcel be received in a damaged or imperfect condition, full particulars should be reported on the same form. || 7. If no verification certificate or note of error be received, a parcel mail shall be considered as duly delivered, having been found on examination correct in all respects. Article XI. 1. If a parcel cannot be delivered as addressed, or is refused, it must be returned without charge, directly to the dispatching office of exchange, at the expiration of thirty days from its receipt at the office of desti nation; and the country of origin may collect from the sender for the return of the parcel, a sum equal to the postage when first mailed. || 2. When the contents of a parcel which cannot be delivered are liable to deterioration or corruption, they may be destroyed at once, if necessary, or if expedient, sold, without previous notice or judicial formality, for the benefit of the right person; the particulars of each sale being noticed by one post office to the other. || 3. An order for re-direction or re-forwarding must be accompanied by the amount due for postage necessary for the return of the article to the office of origin, at the ordinary parcel rates. Article XII. The Post Office Department of either of the contracting countries will not be responsible for the loss or damage of any parcel, and no indemnity can consequently be claimed by the sender or addressee in either country. Article XIII, The Postmaster-General of Hong Kong, and the Postmaster-General of the United States of America, shall have authority to jointly make such further regulations of order and detail as may be found necessary to carry out the present Convention from time to time; and may, by agreement, prescribe conditions for the admission to the mails of any of the articles prohibited by Article II of this Convention. Article XIV. This Convention shall take effect and operations thereunder shall begin on the first day of January, 1904, and shall continue in force until terminated by mutual agreement; but may be annulled at the desire of either Department, upon six months' previous notice given to the other. Done in duplicate, and signed at Washington, the twenty-first day of November One thousand nine hundred and three. (L.S.) (Signed) Arthur S. Raikes, His Britannic Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires. (L.S.) (Signed) Henry C. Payne, Postmaster-General of the United States of America. The foregoing Parcels-Post Convention between Hong Kong and the United States of America has been negotiated and concluded with my advice and consent, and is hereby approved and ratified. || In testimony |