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AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE FEDERATION OF SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS OF CHINA AND DR SVEN HEDIN FOR ORGANIZING A SCIENTIFIC MISSION TO NORTH-WESTERN CHINA

I. The Federation of the Scientific Institutions of China, hereafter named the Federation, organizes with the collaboration of Dr SVEN HEDIN a scientific mission to North-Western China to be named »The Scientific Mission to North-Western China under the Commission of the Federation of Scientific Institutions of China », hereafter named the Mission.

2. The Federation elects a Board of Directors whose specific function is to supervise and direct the activities of the Mission in accordance with this agreement.

3. The complete Staff of the Mission, both Chinese and foreign, is to be appointed by the Board of Directors, including those already selected by Dr HEDIN, and approved by the Federation; the names, nationalities, qualifications, and duties are to be clearly tabulated and attached to this agreement.

4. The Board of Directors appoints, out of the staff of the Mission, two Field Directors, one Chinese and one foreign; and Dr SVEN HEDIN is to be the foreign Field Director.

5. The duties of the Chinese and foreign Field Directors are as follows:—

1. The foreign Field Director is empowered to decide the movement of the Mission, the time of work etc., in consultation with the Chinese Field Director.

2. As to the distribution of work, the Foreign Field Director should confer beforehand with the Chinese Field Director, and should secure the latter's agreement before giving orders. In case the Chinese Field Director proposes any method of distribution of work, he should also secure the agreement of the Foreign Field Director.

3. The Chinese Field Director is empowered to undertake any dealings with the local authorities.

4. The transportation of materials collected is to be entrusted to the Chinese Field Director.

6. The expenditure of the Mission and other necessary equipments are subject to the following regulations:-

1. Dr SVEN HEDIN undertakes to pay all the expenses for the complete staff of its food, tents coolies, camels, medical attendance and other necessary expenditure throughout the journey viz., starting from the day when the Mission leaves Peking, and ending on the day when it returns to Peking. Dr HEDIN is also to undertake to defray the expenditure for transporting to Peking the materials collected.

2. Dr SVEN HEDIN undertakes to pay the salaries of the foreign staff, and further agrees to contribute $850.00, Chinese currency, per month to the Federation beginning from the day when the Mission leaves Peking and ending on the day when it returns to Peking.

The disposal of this fund is to be definitely stated in a note attached to this agreement.

3. Other related matters are to be dealt with as they arise according to the joint decision of the Chinese and Foreign Field Directors, and are to be reported to the Board of Directors.

7. The Mission is to follow the route: Peking, Pao-t'ou, Sogho-nor, Hami, Ti-hua, Lop-nor, and Charchan. In case of necessity, the Field Directors of the Mission may effect some slight modification with their joint decision. Important modifications cannot, however, be effected unless they are sanctioned by the Board of Directors.

8. The duration of the Mission is not to exceed two years, counting from the day when it leaves Peking.

9. The principal subjects to be dealt with by this Mission are as follows: — Geology, Geo-magnetism, Meteorology, Astronomy, Ethnology, Archaeology, Ethnography.

1o. No work should be undertaken by the staff which directly or indirectly infringes national sovereignty or endangers national defence. The Chinese Field Director is fully empowered to stop any such undertakings.

I I. Maps prepared during the journey should not exceed the scale of x:300,000 except for the working areas.

12. Under no pretext whatsoever, are the members of the staff of the Mission allowed to inflict any damage upon buildings of historical and artistic value; and no person in the Mission is allowed to purchase, in his private capacity, archaeological material.

13. No archaeological excavation is to be undertaken by the Mission except on such a small scale as to hinder in no serious way the movement of the Mission, and the material thus collected requires no special equipment for transportation; this is to say that archaeological excavations on a large scale can also be undertaken if they do not hinder the movements of the Mission.

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