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Restoration of colonies.

Banca in exchange for Cochiu.

Forts and places.

Facilities of commerce

and security of property

and persons. Fortifications

maintenance

of troops.

TITLE LXVIII.

NETHERLANDS AND THE LOW COUNTRIES. Convention between Great Britain and the United Netherlands, signed at London, the 13th August, 1814.

ARTICLE 1. His Britannic Majesty engages to restore to the Prince Sovereign of the United Netherlands, within the term which shall be hereafter fixed, the colonies, factories, and establishments, which were possessed by Holland at the commencement of the late war, viz. on the 1st January, 1803, in the seas and on the continents of America, Africa, and Asia; with the exception of the Cape of Good Hope, and the settlements of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice, of which possessions the high contracting parties reserve to themselves the right to dispose by a supplementary convention, hereafter to be negociated according to their mutual interests; and especially with reference to the provisions contained in the 6th and 9th articles of the treaty of peace signed between His Britannic Majesty and His Most Christian Majesty, on the 30th May, 1814. (a)

2. His Britannic Majesty agrees to cede in full sovereignty the island of Banca, in the eastern seas, to the Prince Sovereign of the Netherlands, in exchange for the settlement of Cochin and its dependencies on the coast of Malabar, which is to remain in full sovereignty to His Britannic Majesty.

3. The places and forts in the colonies and settlements, which by virtue of the two preceding articles are to be ceded and exchanged by the two high contracting parties, shall be given up in the state in which they may be at the moment of the signature of the present convention.

4. His Britannic Majesty guarantees to the subjects of His Royal Highness the Prince Sovereign of the United Netherlands, the same facilities, privileges, and protection, with respect to commerce and the security of their property and persons, within the limits of the British sovereignty on the continent of India, as are now or shall be granted to the most favoured nations.

His Royal Highness the Prince Sovereign, on his part, having nothing more at in India, and heart than the perpetual duration of peace between the crown of England and the United Netherlands, and wishing to do his utmost to avoid any thing which might affect their mutual good understanding, engages not to erect any fortifications in the establishments which are to be restored to him within the limits of the British sovereignty upon the continent of India, and only to place in those establishments the number of troops necessary for the maintenance of the police.

When colonies to be restored.

Security for individuals.

Time for dis

perty.

5. Those colonies, factories, and establishments which are to be ceded to His Royal Highness the Sovereign Prince of the United Netherlands by His Britannic Majesty in the seas or on the continent of America, shall be given up within three months, and those which are beyond the Cape of Good Hope within the six months which follow the ratification of the present convention.

6. The high contracting parties, desirous to bury in entire oblivion the dissensions which have agitated Europe, declare and promise, that no individual, of whatever rank or condition he may be, in the countries restored and ceded by the present treaty shall be prosecuted, disturbed, or molested in his person or property, under any pretext whatever, either on account of his conduct or political opinions, his attachment either to any of the contracting parties, or to any government which has ceased to exist, or for any other reason except for debts contracted towards individuals, or acts posterior to the date of the present treaty.

7. The native inhabitants and aliens, of whatever nation or condition they may be, posal of pro- in those countries which are to change sovereigns, as well in virtue of the present convention as of subsequent arrangements to which it may give rise, shall be allowed a period of six years, reckoning from the exchange of the ratifications, for the purpose of disposing of their property, if they think fit, whether it be acquired before or during the late war, and of retiring to whatever country they may choose.

Slave trade.

8. The Prince Sovereign of the United Netherlands, anxious to co-operate, in the most effectual manner, with his Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, so as to bring about the total abolition of the trade in slaves on the coast of Africa, and having spontaneously issued a decree on the 15th June, 1814, wherein it is enjoined that no ships or vessels whatever, destined for the trade in slaves,

(a) For this treaty, see TITLE 69.

be cleared out or equipped in any of the harbours or places of his dominions, nor admitted to the forts or possessions on the coast of Guinea, and that no inhabitants of that country shall be sold or exposed as slaves, does moreover hereby engage to prohibit all his subjects, in the most effectual manner, and by the most solemn laws, from taking any share whatsoever in such inhuman traffic.

Done at London, the 13th August, 1814.

CASTLEREAGH.

First Additional Article.

H. FAGEL.

In order the better to provide for the defence and incorporation of the Belgic Provinces with Holland, and also to provide, in conformity to the 9th article of the treaty of Paris, a suitable compensation for the rights ceded by His Swedish Majesty under the said article, which compensation, it is understood, in the event of the above reunion, Holland should be liable to furnish, in pursuance of the above stipulations, it is hereby agreed between the high contracting parties, that His Britannic Majesty shall take upon himself, and engage to defray, the following charges :

1st, The payment of one million sterling to Sweden, in Sweden, in satisfaction of the Payment for claims aforesaid, and in pursuance of a convention this day executed with His Swedish claims of Majesty's plenipotentiary to that effect, a copy of which convention is annexed to these Sweden, additional articles.

2dly, The advance of two millions sterling, to be applied, in concert with the Prince How money Sovereign of the Netherlands, and in aid of an equal sum to be furnished by him applied. towards augmenting and improving the defences of the Low Countries.

3dly, To bear equally with Holland such further charges as may be agreed upon Charges for between the high contracting parties and their allies, towards the final and satisfactory union. settlement of the Low Countries in union with Holland, and under the dominion of the House of Orange, not exceeding in the whole the sum of three millions, to be defrayed by Great Britain.

In consideration and in satisfaction of the above engagements, as taken by His Bri- Cape of tannic Majesty, the Prince Sovereign of the Netherlands agrees to cede in full so- Good Hope, vereignty to His Britannic Majesty, the Cape of Good Hope, and the settlements of Demerary, Demerary, Essequibo, and Berbice; upon the condition, nevertheless, that the subjects Essequibo, of the said Sovereign Prince, being proprietors in the said colonies or settlements, shall and Berbice, be at liberty (under such regulations as may hereafter be agreed upon in a supple- ceded. mentary convention) to carry on trade between the said settlements and the territories in Europe of the said Sovereign Prince.

It is also agreed between the two high contracting parties, that the ships of every Cape of kind belonging to Holland shall have permission to resort freely to the Cape of Good Good Hope. Hope, for the purposes of refreshment and repairs, without being liable to other charges than such as British subjects are required to pay.

Second Additional Article.

The small district of Bernagore, situated close to Calcutta, being requisite to the due Bernagore in preservation of the peace and police of that city, the Prince of Orange agrees to cede East Indies. the said district to His Britannic Majesty, upon a payment of such sum annually to His Royal Highness as may be considered by commissioners, to be appointed by the respective governments, to be just and reasonable, with reference to the profits or revenue usually derived by the Dutch government from the same.

Done at London, the 13th August, 1814.

CASTLEREAGH.

TITLE LXIX.-FRANCE.

H. FAGEL

Definitive Treaty of Peace and Amity between His Britannic Majesty and His Most
Christian Majesty, signed at Paris, the 30th May, 1814.

The following are the Articles of this Treaty in any wise affecting Trade.

ARTICLE 1. There shall be from this day forward perpetual peace and friendship Peace esta between His Britannic Majesty and His Allies on the one part, and His Majesty the blished. King of France and Navarre on the other, their heirs and successors, their dominions and subjects, respectively.

The high contracting parties shall devote their best attention to maintain, not only between themselves, but, inasmuch as depends upon them, between all the states of

Limits of
France.

Road by Versoy. Smuggling.

Europe, that harmony and good understanding which are so necessary for their tranquillity.

2. The kingdom of France retains its limits entire as they existed on the 1st of January, 1792. It shall further receive the increase of territory comprised within the line established by the following article:

3. On the side of Belgium, Germany, and Italy, the ancient frontiers shall be reestablished as they existed on the 1st January, 1792, extending from the North Sea, between Dunkirk and Nieuport, to the Mediterranean, between Cagnes and Nice, with the following modifications:

[These modifications do not seem material to the object of this book; they are there. fore omitted.]

4. To secure the communications of the town of Geneva with other parts of the Swiss territory situated on the lake, France consents that the road by Versoy shall be common to the two countries. The respective governments shall amicably arrange the means for preventing smuggling, regulating the posts, and maintaining the said road. Navigation of 5. The navigation of the Rhine, from the point where it becomes navigable unto the sea, and vice versa, shall be free, so that it can be interdicted to no one :—and at the future congress, attention shall be paid to the establishment of the principles according to which the duties to be raised by the states bordering on the Rhine may be regulated, in the mode the most impartial and the most favourable to the commerce of all nations.

the Rhine.

Duties.

Other rivers.

Holland.

Germany.
Switzerland.
Italy.

Malta.

Colonies, &c. in America, Africa, and

Asia, to be restored.

Guadaloupe.

French
Guyana.

Frontier.

How colonies, &c. to be restored.

India

The future congress, with a view to facilitate the communication between nations, and continually to render them less strangers to each other, shall likewise examine and determine in what manner the above provision can be extended to other rivers which, in their navigable course, separate or traverse different states.

6. Holland, placed under the sovereignty of the House of Orange, shall receive an increase of territory. The title and exercise of that sovereignty shall not in any case belong to a prince wearing or destined to wear a foreign crown.

The States of Germany shall be independent and united by a federative bond.
Switzerland, independent, shall continue to govern herself.

Italy, beyond the limits of the countries which are to revert to Austria, shall be composed of sovereign states.

7. The island of Malta and its dependencies shall belong in full right and sovereignty to His Britannic Majesty.

8. His Britannic Majesty, stipulating for himself and his Allies, engages to restore to His Most Christian Majesty, within the term which shall be hereafter fixed, the colonies, fisheries, factories, and establishments of every kind which were possessed by France on the 1st of January, 1792, in the seas and on the continents of America, Africa, and Asia, with the exception, however, of the islands of Tobago and St. Lucie, and of the Isle of France and its dependencies, especially Rodrigues and Les Séchelles, which several colonies and possessions His Most Christian Majesty cedes in full right and sovereignty to His Britannic Majesty, and also the portion of St. Domingo ceded to France by the treaty of Basle, and which His Most Christian Majesty restores in full right and sovereignty to His Catholic Majesty.

9. His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway, in virtue of the arrangements stipulated with the Allies, and in execution of the preceding article, consents that the island of Guadaloupe be restored to His Most Christian Majesty, and gives up all the rights he may have acquired over that island.

10. Her Most Faithful Majesty, in virtue of the arrangements stipulated with her Allies, and in execution of the 8th article, engages to restore French Guyana as it existed on the 1st of January, 1792, to His Most Christian Majesty, within the term hereafter fixed.

The renewal of the dispute which existed at that period on the subject of the frontier, being the effect of this stipulation, it is agreed that that dispute shall be terminated by a friendly arrangement between the two courts, under the mediation of His Britannic Majesty.

11. The places and forts in those colonies and settlements, which, by virtue of the 8th, 9th, and 10th articles, are to be restored to His Most Christian Majesty, shall be given up in the state in which they may be at the moment of the signature of the present treaty.

12. His Britannic Majesty guarantees to the subjects of His Most Christian Majesty the s me facilities, privileges, and protection, with respect to commerce, and the security of their persons and property within the limits of the British sovereignty on the continent of India, as are now or shall be granted to the most favoured nations.

His Most Christian Majesty, on his part, having nothing more at heart than the perpetual duration of peace between the two crowns of England and of France, and wish

ing to do his utmost to avoid any thing which might affect their mutual good understanding, engages not to erect any fortifications in the establishments which are to be restored to him within the limits of the British sovereignty upon the continent of India, and only to place in those establishments the number of troops necessary for the maintenance of the police.

13. The French right of fishery upon the great Bank of Newfoundland, upon the Fishery. coasts of the island of that name, and of the adjacent islands in the Gulf of St. Laurence, shall be replaced upon the footing in which it stood in 1792.

14. Those colonies, factories, and establishments, which are to be restored to His When coloMost Christian Majesty by His Britannic Majesty or his Allies in the Northern Seas, nies, &c. to or in the seas on the continents of America and Africa, shall be given up within the be restored. three months; and those which are beyond the Cape of Good of Hope, within the six months, which follow the ratification of the present treaty.

15. Antwerp shall for the future be solely a commercial port.

Antwerp.

32. All the powers engaged on either side in the present war shall, within the space Congress. of two months, send plenipotentiaries to Vienna, for the purpose of regulating in general congress, the arrangements which are to complete the provisions of the present treaty.

33. The present treaty shall be ratified, and the ratifications shall be exchanged Ratification. within the period of 15 days, or sooner if possible.

In witness whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed and affixed to it the seals of their arms.

Done at Paris, the 30th May, 1814.

CASTLEREAGH,

APERDEEN,

CATHCART,

CHAS. STEWART.

Additional Articles.

LE PRINCE DE BENEVENT.

Article 1. His Most Christian Majesty, concurring without reserve in the sentiments Slave trade. of His Britannic Majesty, with respect to a description of traffic repugnant to the principles of natural justice and of the enlightened age in which we live, engages to unite all his efforts to those of His Britannic Majesty, at the approaching congress, to induce all the powers of Christendom to decree the abolition of the slave trade, so that the said trade shall cease universally, as it shall cease definitively, under any circumstances, on the part of the French government, in the course of five years; and that, during the said period, no slave merchant shall import or sell slaves, except in the colonies of the state of which he is a subject.

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5. The two high contracting parties, desiring to establish the most friendly relations Commerce. between their respective subjects, reserve to themselves, and promise to come to a mutual understanding and arrangement, as soon as possible, upon their commercial interests, with the view of encouraging and increasing the prosperity of their respective

states.

The present additional articles shall have the same force and validity as if they were inserted word for word in the treaty patent of this day. They shall be ratified, and the ratifications shall be exchanged at the same time.

In witness whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have assigned and affixed to them the seals of their arms.

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Convention between Great Britain and France, signed at London, the 7th March, 1815.

Article 1. His Most Christian Majesty engages to farm to the British government in Salt on the India, the exclusive right to purchase at a fair and equitable price, to be regulated by coasts of Cothat which the said government shall have paid for salt in the districts in the vicinity of mandel and the French possessions on the coast of Coromandel and Orixa, respectively, the salt that Orixa. may be manufactured in the said possessions, subject however to a reservation of the quantity that the agents of His Most Christian Majesty shall deem requisite for the domestic use and consumption of the inhabitants thereof; and upon the condition, that the British government shall deliver in Bengal, to the agents of His Most Christian Majesty, the quantity of salt that may be judged necessary for the consumption of the inhabitants of Chandernagore; reference being had to the population of the said settlement; such delivery to be made at the price which the British government shall have paid for the said article.

Official ac

2. In order to ascertain the prices as aforesaid, the official accounts of the charges count of salt. incurred by the British government, for the salt manufactured in the districts in the vicinity of the French settlements on the coasts of Coromandel and Orixa, respectively, shall be open to the inspection of a commissioner to be appointed for that purpose by the agents of His Most Christian Majesty in India; and the price to be paid by the British government shall be settled according to an average to be taken every three years, of the charges as aforesaid, ascertained by the said official accounts, commencing with the three years preceding the date of the present convention.

Price of salt.

Salt works.

Price of salt.

Annual sum to King of France.

Quantity of opium for French King.

Frice.

Requisitions

of opium. Saltpetre.

French sub

The price of salt at Chandernagore to be determined, in the same manner, by the charges incurred by the British government for the salt manufactured in the districts nearest to the said settlement.

3. It is understood that the salt works in the possessions belonging to His Most Christian Majesty shall be and remain under the direction and administration of the agents of His said Majesty.

4. With a view to the effectual attainment of the objects in the contemplation of the high contracting parties, His Most Christian Majesty engages to establish in his possessions on the coasts of Coromandel and Orixa, and at Chandernagore in Bengal, nearly the same price for salt, as that at which it shall be sold by the British government in the vicinity of each of the said possessions.

5. In consideration of the stipulations expressed in the preceding articles, His Britannic Majesty engages that the sum of four lacs of sicca rupees shall be paid annually to the agents of His Most Christian Majesty duly authorized, by equal quarterly instalments; such instalments to be paid at Calcutta or at Madras, ten days after the bills that may be drawn for the same by the said agents shall have been presented to the government of either of those presidencies; it being agreed that the rent above stipulated shall commence from the 1st of October, 1814.

6. With regard to the trade in opium, it is agreed between the high contracting parties, that at each of the periodical sales of that article, there shall be reserved for the French government, and delivered, upon requisition duly made by the agents of His Most Christian Majesty, or by the persons duly appointed by them, the number of chests so applied for, provided that such supply shall not exceed 300 chests in each year; and the price to be paid for the same shall be determined by the average rate at which opium shall have been sold at every such periodical sale. It being understood that if the quantity of opium applied for at any one time shall not be taken on account of the French government by the agents of His Most Christian Majesty, within the usual period of delivery, the quantity so applied for shall nevertheless be considered as so much in reduction of the 300 chests hereinbefore mentioned.

The requisitions of opium as aforesaid are to be addressed to the governor-general at Calcutta, within 30 days after notice of the intended sale shall have been published in the Calcutta Gazette.

7. In the event of any restriction being imposed upon the exportation of saltpetre, the subjects of His Most Christian Majesty shall nevertheless be allowed to export that article to the extent of 18,000 maunds.

8. His Britannic Majesty further engages to permit the subjects of His Most Christian jects in India. Majesty in India to continue their residence and commerce so long as they shall conduct themselves peaceably, and shall do nothing contrary to the laws and regulations of the government.

Judicial proceedings.

Alteration in agreement.

But in case their conduct should render them suspected, and the British government should judge it necessary to order them to quit India, they shall be allowed the period of six months to retire with their effects and property to France, or to any other country they may choose.

At the same time it is to be understood, that this favour is not to be extended to those who may act contrary to the laws and regulations of the British government.

9. All Europeans and others whosoever, against whom judicial proceedings shall be instituted within the limits of the settlements or factories belonging to His Most Christian Majesty, for offences committed, or for debts contracted, within the said limits, and who shall take refuge out of the same, shall be delivered up to the chiefs of the said settlements and factories; and all Europeans and others whosoever, against whom judicial proceedings as aforesaid shall be instituted without the said limits, and who shall take refuge within the same, shall be delivered up by the chiefs of the said settlements and factories, upon demand being made of them by the British government.

10. For the purpose of rendering this agreement permanent, the high contracting parties hereby engage, that no alteration shall be made in the conditions and stipulatios in the foregoing articles, without the mutual consent of His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of His Most Christian Majesty.

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