No. 18. Convention between Great Britain and the Netherlands. Signed at London, August 13, 1814.

In the name of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity.

The United Provinces of the Netherlands, under the favor of Divine Providence, having been restored to their independence, and having been placed by the loyalty of the Dutch people and the achievements of the Allied Powers under the Government of the Illustrious House of Orange: and His Britannic Majesty being desirous of entering into such arrangements with the Prince Sovereign of the United Netherlands, concerning the Colonies of the said United Netherlands, which have been conquered by His Majesty's arms during the late war, as may conduce to the prosperity of the said States, and may afford a lasting testimony of His Majesty's friendship and attachment to the family of Orange, and to the Dutch nation: the said high Contracting Parties, equally animated by those sentiments of cordial good will and attachment to each other, have nominated Their Plenipotentiaries: namely, His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Right Honorable Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, one of His said Majesty's Most Honorable Privy Council; a Member of Parliament, Colonel of the Londonderry Regiment of Militia, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, and His Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, &c. &c.; and His Royal Highness the Prince of OrangeNassau, Prince Sovereign of the United Netherlands, His Excellency Henry Fagel, His Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Court of His Britannic Majesty:-who, after having exchanged their full Powers, found in good and due form, have agreed to the following Articles:

I. 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 of 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 negotiated 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 of May, 1814.*

II. 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.

III. 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 * See page 147.

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.

IV. His Britannic Majesty guarantees to the subjects of His Royal Highness the Prince Sovereign of theUnited Netherlands, the same facilities, privileges; and protection, with respect to commerce and the security of their persons and property within the linits of the British Sovereignty on the Continent of India, as are now or shall be granted to the most favored

nations.

His Royal Highness the Prince Sovereign, on His part, having nothing more at 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 night 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 Continent of India, and only to place in those establishments the number of troops necessary for the maintenance of the police.

V. Those colonies, factories, and establishments, which are to be ceded to His Royal Highness the Prince Sovereign 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 bevond the Cape of Good Hope within the six months which follow the ratification of the present Convention.

VI. The high Contracting Parties, desirous to bury in entire oblivion. the dissentions which have agitated Europe, declare and promise, that no individual, of whatever rank or condition he may be, in the countries retored and celed by the present Treaty, shall be prosecuted, disturbed, or molested in his person or property, under any pretext whatsoever. 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.

VII. The native inhabitants and aliens, of whatever nation or condition they may be, in those countries which are to change Sovereigns, as well in virtue of the present Convention as of the 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 retiring to whatever country they may choose.

VIII. The Prince Sovereign of the United Netherlands, anxious to cooperate, 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 dated the 15th of June 1814, wherein it is

enjoined, that no ships or vessels whatsoever, destined for the trade in slaves. be cleared out or equipped in any of the harbours or places of His Dominions, nor admitted to the forts or possessions on the coasts of Guinea, and that no inhabitants of that country shall be sold or exported as slaves, -does moreover hereby engage to prohibit al: His subjects, in the most effectual manner and by the most solemn laws, from taking any share whatsoever in such inhuman traffic.

IX. The presert Convention shall be ratified. and the ratifications shall be duly exchanged at London within three weaks from date thereof, or sooner if possible.

In witness whereof, we the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, in virtue of our respective full Powers, have signed the present Convention, and have affixed thereto the seals of our arms.

Done at London, this 13th day of August, 1814.

Signed

CASTLEREAGH. [L. S.]

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES.

H. FAGEL, [L. s.]

I. In order the better to provide for the defence and incorporation of the Belgic Provinces with Holland, and also to provide, in conformity to Article IX of the Treaty of Paris, a suitable conpensation 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 1,000,000 sterling to Sweden, in satisfaction of the claims aforesaid, and in pursuance of a Convention this day executed with His Swedish Majesty's Plenipotentiary to that effect, (a copy of which Convention is annexed to these Additional Articles.)

2dly. The advance of 2,000,000 sterling, to be applied, in concert with the Prince Sovereign of the Netherlands, and in aid of an equal sum to be furnished by Him towards augmenting and improving the defences of the Low Countries.

3dly To bear, equally with Holland, such farther charges as may be agreed upon between the said high Contracting Parties and their Allies, towards the final act satisfactory settlement of the Low Countries in union with Holland, and under the dominion of the House of Orange, not exceeding, in whole, the sum 3,000,000 sterling, to be defrayed by Great Britain.

In consideration, and satisfaction of the above engagements, as taken by His Britannic Majesty, the Prince Sovereign of the Netherlands agrees to cede in full Sovereignty to His Britannic Majesty, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Settlements of Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice, upon the condi

tion nevertheless, that the subjects of the said Sovereign Prince, being proprietors in the said Colonies or Settlements, shall be at liberty (under such regulations as may hereafter be agreed upon in a Supplementary Convention) to carry on trade between the said Settlements and the Territories in Evrope of the said Sovereign Prince.

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

II. The small district of Bernagore, situated close to Calcutta. being requisite to the due preservation of the peace and police of that city, the Prince of Orange agrees to cede 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.

III. The present Additional Articles shall have the same force and validity as if they were inserted word for word in the Convention signed this day. They shall be ratified, and the ratifications shall be exchanged at the same time and place.

In witness whereof, we, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries have signed, and affixed to them the seals of our arms.

Done at London, this 13th day of August. 1814.

Signed

CASTLEREAGH. [L. S.]

H. FAGEL. [L. s.]

No. 19. Treaty between Great Britain and the Netherlands. the Hague. May 4th, 1818.

In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity.

Signed at

His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, animated with a mutual desire to adopt the most effectual measures for putting a stop to the carrying on of the Slave Trade by their respective subjects, and for preventing their respective flags from being made use of as a protection to this nefarious traffic, by the people of other countries who may engage therein, their said Majesties have accordingly resolved to proceed to the arrangement of a Convention for the attainment of their objects, and have therefore named as Plenipotentiaries. ad hoc.

His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Right Honorable Richard Earl of Clancarty, Viscount Dunto. &c. &c. &c. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of His said Majesty to His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg; and His Majesty the King of the Netherlands. Anne William Charles Baron de Nagell d'Ampsen, Member of the Body of Nobles of the Province of

Guelderland, &c. &c &c. who, having exchanged their full Powers, found in good and due form, have agreed on the following Articles:

I. The laws of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland rendering it already highly penal for the subjects of His Britannic Majesty to carry on, or to be in any way engaged in trade in Slaves, His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, referring to the 8th Article of the Convention entered into with His Britannic Majesty on the 13th August 1814, engages in pursuance thereof, and within eight months from the ratification of these presents, or sooner if possible, to prohibit all His subjects, in the most effectual manner, and especially by penal law the most formal, to take any part whatever in the Trade of Slaves; and in the event of the measures already taken by the British Government, and to be taken by that of the Netherlands, be found ineffectual or insufficient, the high Contracting Parties mutually engage to adopt such further measures, whether by legal provision or other, wise, as may from time to time appear to be best calculated, in the most effectual manner, to prevent all their respective subjects from taking any share whatever in the nefarious traffic.

II. The two high Contracting Parties, for the more complete attainment of the object of preventing all traffic in Slaves, on the part of their respective subjects, mutually consent that the ships of their Royal Navies, which shall be provided with special instructions for this purpose, as hereinafter mentioned, may visit such merchant vessels of the two nations, as may be suspected, upon reasonable grounds, of having Slaves on board for an illicit traffic; and in the event only of their finding such Slaves on board, may detain and bring away such vessels, in order that they may be brought to trial before the tribunals established for this purpose, as shall hereinafter be specified :

III. In the intention of explaining the mode of execution of the preceding Article it is agreed:

1st. That such reciprocal right of visit and detention shall not be exercised within the Mediterranean Sea, or within the Seas in Europe lying without the Straits of Gibraltar, and which lie to the northward of the thirtyseventh parallel of north latitude, and also within, and to the eastward of the meridian of longitude twenty degrees west of Greenwich.

2d. That the naems of the several vessels furnished with such Instructions, the force of each, and the names of their several Commanders shall be, from time to time, immediately upon their issue, communicated by the Power issuing the same to the other high Contracting Party.

Sd. That the number of ships of each of the Royal Navies authorized to make such visit as aforesaid, shall not exceed the number of twelve, belonging to either of the high Contracting Parties, without the special consent of the other high Contracting Party being first had and obtained

4th. That if at any time it should be deemed expedient that any ship of the