(3.) If the Postal Administration of destination undertakes the sea conveyance of parcels, the despatching Postal Administration shall pay to that Postai Administration the following sea rates:

Sea Rate.

Yen (Dollar).

0.15

0.20

0.35

(4.) In case parcels destined for places in Japan other than Taiwan are delivered from a Chinese service in Taiwan, or in case parcels for places in Japan other than Chosen and the Leased Territory of Kwantung are delivered from a Chinese service to be conveyed through Chosen or the Leased Territory of Kwantung, the Chinese Postal Administration. shall pay to the Japanese Postal Administration the rates mentioned in paragraph (3).

(5.) If the Chinese Postal Administration undertakes the sea conveyance of parcels originating in Japan-not including places under the jurisdiction of the General Post Office of Kwantung-and addressed to China, from Dairen to Chinese ports north of Shanghai the Japanese Postal Administration shall pay to the Chinese Postal Administration a fixed sea rate of 10 sen per parcel.

(6.) As regards parcels exchanged between the localities contiguous to each other, special postage rates lower than those of paragraph (1) may be adopted by mutual consent between the two Postal Administrations.

(7.) Parcels destined for places in China not connected by railway or steamer or for places in China reached through the intermediary of other Postal Administrations, although fully prepaid at the rates provided for in paragraph (1), may be further subject to supplementary charges to be collected from the addressees.

The amount of these charges shall conform to the published tariff of the Chinese Postal Administration for its domestic parcels.

Insurance and Trade Charges.

6.—(1.) Insured and trade charge parcels shall be accepted by and delivered at the post offices specially designated.

The Postal Administrations of the two contracting countries shall communicate to each other the names of such offices.

(2.) The amount of insured value of insured parcels shall be expressed in the currency of the country of origin, the maximum of which is fixed at 1,000 yen (dollars) per parcel to or from trade charge offices. However, as regards insured

parcels to or from offices which do not participate in trade charge business, the insured value may not exceed 500 yen (dollars) per parcel.

(3.) The insurance fee on each insured parcel shall be at the rate of 20 sen (cents) up to 120 yen (dollars) insured, and 10 sen (cents) increase for each additional 120 yen (dollars) insured or fraction thereof.

Half of this fee shall accrue to the Postal Administration of destination.

(4.) The amount of trade charges on parcels shall be expressed in Japanese currency, the maximum of which is fixed at 1,000 yen per parcel.

(5.) The minimum amount of special fee to be collected from the sender on each trade parcel is fixed at 20 sen (cents).

(6.) Trade charge parcels shall bear on the address side in a prominent manner the words: "trade charge "(3) and amount of trade charges; moreover, two horizontal lines in red must be drawn on the address of such parcels.

Express Delivery.

7. The special charge on each express parcel to be collected from the sender is fixed at 20 sen (cents).

The Postal Administrations of the two contracting countries shall communicate to each other the names of the post offices participating in the express service.

Re-direction and Return.

8. As regards the re-direction or return of parcels, postage fixed by Article 5, and, if necessary, the insurance fee fixed by Article 6, shall be collected from the addressees or the sender, as the case may be.

It is, however, provided that in case of parcels re-directed within the same postal service the stipulations of the Union Parcel Post Convention shall remain applicable.

Prohibition from Levying Postal Charge's not Prescribed by the Agreement.

9. The two contracting countries shall not collect from senders or addressees any postal charges other than those prescribed by this Agreement or those not specially fixed in this Agreement but provided for in the Union Parcel Post Convention.

Parcel Bill.

10. The amount to be entered on parcel bills shall be converted into French currency at the rate of 40 sen (cents) per gold franc.

(3) In Chinese or Japanese characters.

Customs Declaration.

11.-(1.) Every parcel must be accompanied by a Customs Declaration giving the destination, quantity, weight and value of its contents. This declaration may be in the Chinese or the Japanese language.

(2.) Every insured parcel must bear on the Customs. Declaration and also, on the address side of the parcel, a statement of the insured sum, which must be expressed distinctly by the sender in the currency of the country of origin (yen or dollars).

Transit Rates on Domestic Parcels consigned in Closed Mails.

12. Domestic parcels of one of the two contracting countries conveyed by the service of the other, are subject to the territorial or maritime transit charges, and, as the case may be, the territorial or maritime insurance fees, at the rates provided for in the Union Parcel Post Convention, to be credited to the Postal Administration whose services participate in the conveyance.

Way Bill.

13. Closed parcel mails consigned shall be accompanied by a way bill, enclosed in a separate cover, on which the despatching office shall enter the number, origin, destination and weight of each parcel contained therein and, in the case of an insured parcel, its insured value.

Monthly Accounts.

14. Each Postal Administration shall cause each of its exchange offices to prepare monthly accounts for all the parcels received from the offices concerned of the other Postal Administration, on the basis of the parcel bills and way bills.

General Annual Accounts.

15. The monthly accounts, after having been verified and accepted by the respective exchange offices, shall be included in the general annual account by the Postal Administration to which the balance is due.

Responsibility.

16. In case where an insured or uninsured parcel has been lost or damaged, or its contents abstracted, the Postal Administration in the service of which the loss, damage or abstraction took place, shall be held responsible in accordance with the stipulations of the Union Parcel Post Convention.

After the delivery of trade charge parcels, the Postal Administrations are responsible for the amount of trade charges in accordance with the conditions fixed in the aforesaid Convention.

Application of the Union Convention.

17. The stipulations of the Union Parcel Post Convention, as well as the Regulations thereof, shall remain applicable as regards every parcel post relation between the two contracting countries not provided for in the present Agreement.

Parcels Sent to or from a Third Country.

18. (1.) Parcels posted in one of the two contracting countries and destined for a third country to be sent through the other, parcels posted in a third country and destined for one of the two contracting countries to be sent through the other, or parcels posted in a third country and destined for another country to be sent through the services of the two contracting countries shall be exchanged between the offices of exchange provided under Article 2.

(2.) The re-direction to a third country of parcels exchanged between the two contracting countries is allowed only when the parcels conform to the conditions of the postal relations existing between the re-directing country and the new country of destination; the re-directing country credits itself with charges for the new transmission which shall be payable by the addressees.

Any expense incurred by the return of parcels to the country of origin in consequence of the refusal of the payment of charges for re-direction or of any other cause shall be defrayed by the senders.

(3.) The stipulations of Article 13 are applicable to the parcels mentioned in the preceding paragraph when they are consigned for transmission in closed mails from one of the contracting countries to the other.

Validity of the Agreement.

19.-(1.) The present Agreement is drawn up in the Chinese, Japanese and English languages. In case of any disagreement in regard to its interpretation, the difference shall be decided by the English text.

(2.) This Agreement shall come into force on the day to be agreed upon by the two Postal Administrations.

3. The Contracting Countries may, at any time by common consent, make in this Agreement any such modifications as they find necessary.

4. Either country may cancel this Agreement by giving six months' notice.

5. This Agreement shall supersede, on the day on which it comes into force, the Agreement regulating the Exchange of Postal Parcels between the Imperial Postal Administration of China and the Imperial Postal Administration of Japan signed at Peking on the 9th February, 1910.

Done in duplicate and signed at Peking on the 8th December, 1922.

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of China,
LIOU FOU-TCHENG.

On behalf of the Government of the Empire of Japan,
YUKICHI OBĀTA.

CONVENTION between the United States of America, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Salvador for the Establishment of Commissions of Enquiry for Facilitating the Settlement of International Disputes -Washington, February 7, 1923.(1)

[Ratifications of United States, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua deposited June 13, 1925.]

Convention for the Establishment of International
Commissions of Enquiry.

THE Government of the United States of America and the Governments of the Republics of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, desiring to unify and recast in one single Convention the Conventions which the Government of the United States concluded with the Government of Guatemala on the 20th September, 1913, (2) with the Government of El Salvador on the 7th August, 1913, with the Government of Honduras on the 3rd November, 1913, (3) with the Government of Nicaragua on the 17th December, 1913, and with the Government of Costa Rica on the 13th February, 1914, (1) all relating to the establishment of International Commissions of Enquiry, have for that purpose named as their Plenipotentiaries:

The President of the United States of America: The Honourable Charles E. Hughes, Secretary of State of the United States of America; the Honourable Sumner Welles, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary;

(1) "United States Treaty Series, No. 717.” Signed also in the Spanish language. (3) Vol. CVII, page 922. (4) Vol. CVII, page 735.

(2) Vol. CVI, page 912.