(L.S.) LYONS.

(L.S.) DECAZES.

CONVENTION between Great Britain and Belgium, regulating the Communications by Post between the British and Belgian Dominions.t-Signed at London, February 17, 1876.

[Ratifications exchanged at London, March 24, 1876.]

HER Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and His Majesty the King of the Belgians, being desirous of strengthening the friendly relations which unite + Signed also in the French language.

the two countries, and wishing to regulate by special arrangements (forming a sequel to the General Postal Treaty concluded at Berne, on the 9th of October, 1874) the postal relations between their respective Offices, have named as their Plenipotentiaries for this purpose, that is to say:

Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Right Honourable Edward Henry Stanley, Earl of Derby, Baron Stanley of Bickerstaffe, a Peer and a Baronet of England, a Member of Her Britannic Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, &c. ; and the Right Honourable John James Robert Manners (commonly called Lord John Manners), a Member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, a Member of Parliament, Her Majesty's Postmaster-General;

And His Majesty the King of the Belgians, Baron Henry Solvyns, Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the King of the Belgians to Her Britannic Majesty, &c. ;

Who, after having reciprocally communicated to each other their respective full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon the following Articles :

ART. I. There shall be between the Post Offices of Great Britain and Belgium a periodical and regular exchange of correspondence of every kind in international service as well as in transit.

II. The exchange of correspondence between the two Offices shall be carried out through the following Post Offices:

On the part of Great Britain—

1. Dover.

2. London.

On the part of Belgium

1. Ostend (local office).

2. The Offices travelling between Brussels and Ostend. 3. The Office travelling between Brussels and Tournai. 4. The Office travelling between Ghent and Mouscron. The two Offices may, if they think proper, agree to name other Offices for the exchange of correspondence.

III. The mails between Great Britain and Belgium shall be conveyed by means of special packets running between Ostend and Dover.

Each Office shall have the right to employ subsidiarily, and so far as it shall be of any advantage on the score of speed, the route via France and the French packets from Calais to Dover, for the conveyance of its correspondence in closed bags to the other Office. With regard to the mails conveyed on account of other Offices, * Vol. LXV. Page 13.

it will be the duty of the despatching Office to indicate the route to be followed.

IV. The Post Offices of Great Britain and of Belgium shall fix by a mutual agreement the time for the departure of the packets from Ostend and Dover, and they shall regulate this service in connection with the railway trains, so as to insure with the greatest possible speed the transmission of mails for international as well as for transit service.

V. The Belgian Government shall continue to perform, at its own expense, the double daily service for the conveyance of the mails from Ostend to Dover, and vice versâ (a service which must be performed at least 6 days in the week, the service on Sunday being optional).

VI. The packets employed for the conveyance of the correspondence between Ostend and Dover shall be steam-boats of sufficient power and size for the service in which they are to be employed. They shall be vessels belonging to Government or freighted by order of Government.

These vessels shall be considered, and treated in the port of Dover, and in all other British ports at which they may accidentally touch, as vessels of war, and be there entitled to all the honours and privileges which the interests and importance of the service in which they are employed, demand.

They shall be exempted in those ports, as well on their entrance as on their departure, from all tonnage, navigation, and port dues excepting, however, the vessels freighted by order of Government, which must pay such dues in those ports where they are levied on behalf of corporations, private companies, or private individuals.

They shall not be diverted from their especial duty-that is to say, the conveyance of the mails-by any authority whatever, or be liable to seizure, detention, embargo, or arrêt de prince.

VII. The captains of the Belgian packets shall receive from the agents appointed for the service of exchange the mails at Ostend and at Dover, the bags being closed and sealed.

The number of these bags and the time of their delivery shall be entered on a way bill, which the captains or the officers entrusted under their orders with the care of the mails shall deliver on their arrival to the Office for which they are destined.

They shall bring back to the despatching Office a certificate of the punctual delivery of the mails, delivered to them by the agent who shall have received them.

VIII. Unless prevented by causes over which they have no control, the captains of the packets engaged in carrying the mails between Ostend and Dover shall proceed directly to their destination.

If in consequence of stress of weather or damage they should be compelled to alter their course, and to put into any other port than Ostend or Dover, they must justify such deviation in the manner that their respective Offices shall deem advisable.

Whenever a packet conveying mails shall be compelled to put into any other than its destined port, the captain shall immediately deliver the mails to the local Post Office, or forward them towards their destination, under the charge of an officer of the vessel.

IX. The boats which shall be necessary for taking on board or landing the mails, or for assisting the steam-packets upon their arrival or departure, shall be provided, both at Dover and Ostend, by the Belgian Government, and at its expense.

X. The mail-packets shall be at liberty to take on board or land at Dover, as well as at other British ports where they may be obliged to put in, any passengers of whatever nation they may be, with their wearing apparel and luggage, and also with their horses and carriages, on condition that the captains of the said packets shall conform to the regulations of the United Kingdom concerning the arrival and departure of travellers. They shall be prohibited from conveying goods or merchandize on freight, with the exception, however, of postal packets and small parcels, the weight of which shall be limited by mutual agreement between the two Offices.

XI. The expenses which may be incurred for signals of every kind, and for the burning of Bengal lights upon the pier for the use of the steam-packets, shall be borne both at Dover and at Ostend by the Belgian Government.

XII. The captains of the packets specially engaged in the conveyance of the respective mails of the two Offices are forbidden to take charge of any letter not included in their mail-bags, with the exception, however, of Government despatches.

They must take care that no letters are conveyed illegally by their crews or passengers, and must give information in the proper quarter of any breach of the laws which may be committed in that respect.

XIII. In case of war between the two nations, the mail-packets shall continue their navigation without impediment or molestation, until a notification is made on the part of either of the two Governments that the service is to be discontinued, in which case they shall be permitted to return freely, and under special protection, to the port in Belgium where they were fitted out.

XIV. The British Government engages to pay annually to the Belgian Government, in consideration of the advantages which it derives from the double daily packet service between Ostend and Dover, viz.

:

1. For the night service the sum of 4,000l. sterling; and

2. For the day service the sum of 5001. sterling.

These sums shall be paid quarterly to the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the King of the Belgians at the Court of Her Britannic Majesty.

It is understood that the British Government shall be at liberty to terminate such payment on giving to the Belgian Government a notice of at least six months; and that, even without such notice, the payment of either or both of the above-mentioned sums shall be lawfully discontinued at any time that the Belgian Government should cease to perform either a portion or the whole of the service.

XV. The two Governments engage to cause to be conveyed by the means which the respective Post Offices employ for their own business, the closed mails which one of the Offices may wish to exchange, through the medium of the other Office, with countries which are not parties to the General Postal Union.

The one of the two Offices on whose account this conveyance shall take place shall pay to the Office performing this service, in consideration of the distance traversed beyond the limits of the Union, rates which shall be determined by mutual agreement between them, and which shall not exceed the rates to be determined for the despatch of correspondence in open mails, in conformity with Article XI of the Treaty of Berne of the 9th of October, 1874.

XVI. In order to secure the whole of the receipts upon the correspondence passing between the two countries, the British and Belgian Governments engage to prevent by every possible means the said correspondence being sent by any other way than by their respective Posts.

XVII. The Post Offices of Great Britain and Belgium shall determine by mutual agreement, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Treaty of Berne of the 9th of October, 1874, the matters of detail connected with the execution of the present Convention, as well as all other arrangements deemed necessary for regulating the postal regulations between the two countries.

XVIII. The present Convention, which abrogates and takes the place of all previous postal arrangements concluded between Great Britain and Belgium, with the exception of those relating to Post Office money orders, shall come into force immediately after the exchange of the ratifications.

It is concluded for an indefinite period, each party reserving to itself the right to terminate it at any time upon giving at least twelve months' notice to the other party of its intention in this respect.

XIX. The present Convention shall be ratified, and the ratifications shall be exchanged at London as soon as possible.