time least likely to be desired by the family of the deceased for preservation. A claim for damages for a wrongful act of the decedent is not a debt which the consul may pay, unless it has been reduced to judgment.-18 Pick., 36.

400. Articles having sentimental value.-Jewelry and other articles having a sentimental value to relatives as keepsakes should be sold only in case of necessity, and, when practicable, the members of the decedent's family or his relatives should be notified, in order that they may purchase these articles if they desire. Evidences of debt not due and payable in the country where the decedent died and letters of credit are not assets, and they should not be sold.

401. After one year residue of estate paid into Treasury.-In one year after the death of the decedent, the consular officer is required to convert into money the residue of the estate left after paying the local debts and transmit the same to the Treasury of the United States, to be held in trust for the legal representatives. The articles mentioned in the preceding paragraph and remaining unsold should be sent to the Treasury along with the unused assets, to be delivered to the legal representative of the deceased.

402. Delivery to legal representative. If at any time before transmission to the Treasury the legal representative of the deceased demands the effects in the hands of the consular officer, the latter shall deliver them up, the prescribed fees being paid, and shall cease his proceedings. The consular officer is required to be at all times ready to deliver the effects and papers of a deceased citizen of the United States to the person who presents legal authority to receive them as representative of the deceased owner.

403. When right of legal representative is doubtful.-In case of doubt about the legal validity of a claimant's right to the effects of a deceased citizen, the consular officer may require him to prove his claim in the local courts; and rival claims to

represent the deceased, if involving doubtful questions, may be relegated to the courts for settlement.

404. Account of receipts and expenditures.-The consular officer is required to enter on his consular books a regular account between himself and the estate of the deceased, in which he shall enter to his own debit all the moneys and effects that come into his hands, and to his credit all the payments he may make, and, finally, the remainder that he may deliver over to the legal representative or remit to the Treasury so as to close the account. A copy of this account shall be delivered to the representative of the deceased, and another shall be transmitted to the Auditor for the State and other Departments.

405. Final settlement and account.-As soon as an estate shall be finally settled as far as the consular officer is concerned, he shall give notice thereof to the Department of State, transmitting at the same time an itemized statement of the receipts and expenditures on account of the estate, and showing the amount in money or the effects which have been delivered to the representative of the deceased or sent to the Auditor for the State and other Departments, as the case may be.

406. Retiring consul to close account of effects.--When one consul retires from office and is succeeded by another, the effects of deceased citizens which have been in the consul's hands more than one year and which ought to have been remitted to the Treasury should be remitted and accounted for by the outgoing officer, and not turned over to his successor. (Para

graph 68.)

407. Intervention where a will.-In the case where, by a testamentary disposition of the deceased, some person other than the consular officer is appointed to take charge of and manage the property, the latter has a right to require, before intervening officially, that the will should be probated so as to give it legal effect. If the decedent leaves a will intended to operate

in the United States, it is the right of the consular officer and his duty, in the absence of adult heirs on the spot, to see to the safe-keeping of the will and its transmission to the parties entitled. (Paragraph 387.)

408. Not authorized to employ counsel.-Consular officers are not authorized to employ counsel, either at the expense of the Government or of the estate, in the collection and disposition of the effects of citizens of the United States.

409. Consul provisional conservator of property.—A consular officer is by the law of nations and by statute the provisional conservator of the property within his district belonging to his countrymen deceased therein. He has no right, as a consular officer, apart from the provisions of treaty, local law, or usage, to administer on the estate, or in that character to aid any other person in so administering it, without judicial authorization. His duties are restricted to guarding and collecting the effects, and to transmitting them to the United States, or to aid others in so guarding, collecting, and transmitting them, to be disposed of pursuant to the law of the decedent's State.-7 Op. Att. Gen., 274. It is, however, generally conceded that a consular officer may intervene by way of observing the proceedings, and that he may be present on the making of the inventory.

CONSUL'S POWERS UNDER TREATIES.

410. By treaties with Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands (including the colonies), Roumania, and Servia, it is made the duty of the local authorities to advise the consular officer of the death of a citizen of the United States in order that the necessary information may immediately be given to the parties interested. In Germany, Roumania, and Servia the consular officer may also appear in person or by delegate in all proceedings in behalf of the absent or minor heirs or creditors until they are duly represented. 17824 C R-11

411. Argentine Republic and Colombia.-Consular officers in the Argentine Republic may, when any citizen of the United States dies within their respective jurisdictions, intervene in the possession, administration, and judicial liquidation of his estate, conformably with the laws of the country. The proceedings in such case must be in the ordinary courts of the country, unless waived by the local authorities. In Colombia a consular officer has the right to take possession of the effects of a deceased citizen, and to make inventories and appoint appraisers. In his proceedings he is required to act in conjunction with two merchants, chosen by himself, and in accordance with the laws of the United States and with the instructions he may receive from his own Government.

412. Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Paraguay.-By treaties with Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua, a consular officer is authorized to nominate a curator to take charge of the property of the deceased, so far as the laws of the country will permit, for the benefit of the lawful heirs and creditors, giving proper notice of the nomination to the authorities of the country. In Paraguay he may designate an executor or administrator, and may take charge of the decedent's property until this is done.

In

413. Morocco, Maskat, Persia, Tripoli, and Tunis.-In Morocco a consular officer may take possession of the effects, in the absence of a will, until the legal representative appears. If the heir is present, the property is to be delivered to him; and if a will appear, the property is to descend by it as soon as the consular officer shall have declared its validity. Maskat the consular officer may receive the property and send it to the heirs, after the payment of all debts due to subjects of the Sultan. By treaty with Persia the effects are to be delivered to the family or partners; but if there be no relatives or partners, then to the consular officer, to be disposed of according to the laws of the United States.

By

treaty with Tripoli the property of a decedent is to be placed under the immediate direction of the consular officer, without interference from the Government or the subjects of the country. In Tunis the consular officer has the right to the possession of the effects without interference by the local government.

414. Peru.-By treaty with Peru, in the absence of the legal heirs or representatives, a consular officer is made ex officio the executor or administrator of the property of citizens of the United States dying within his district and that of his countrymen who die at sea which may be brought to his district. He is required to make an inventory of the property conjointly with a local judicial officer; but the effects are to remain in his hands, with authority to sell the perishable part and to dispose of the remainder according to the instructions of his Government. If the deceased was engaged in business, the property is to be held for twelve calendar months, during which time creditors may present their claims. All questions between the consular officer and creditors are to be determined by the local laws; but if no claim is presented, the consular officer may close the estate and dispose of the effects and property according to the instructions of his Government. 415. Salvador.-In Salvador a consular officer has the right to nominate curators to take charge of the property, so far as the laws of the country will permit, for the benefit of heirs and creditors, giving proper notice of such nomination to the authorities of the country. He has the right to take possession of the personal and real estate. He is required to make an inventory conjointly with two merchants, and to publish the death in a newspaper of the country. It is his duty to collect all debts due the deceased in the country and to pay the debts due from him. He may sell the perishable part of the property and such other part as may be necessary to pay the debts; but he is prohibited from paying