in the most effectual manner, to prevent all their respective subjects from taking any share whatever in this nefarious traffic.

Art. 2. 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 herein-after 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.

Art. 3. In the intention of explaining the mode of execution of the preceding Article it is agreed; ist, 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 names 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

is

suing the same to the other high contracting party. 3rd. 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 royal navy of either of the two high contracting parties authorized to make such visit as aforesaid, should proceed to visit any merchant ship or ships under the flag, and proceeding under the convoy of any vessel or vessels of the royal navy of the other high contracting party, that the commanding officer of the ship duly authorized and instructed to make such visit, shall proceed to effect the same in communication with the commanding officer of the convoy, who, it is hereby agreed, shall give every facility to such visit, and to the eventual detainer of the merchant ship or ships so visited, and in all things assist to the utmost of his power in the due execution of the present convention, according to the true intent and meaning thereof. 5th. It is further mutually agreed, that the commanders of the ships of the two royal navies, who shall be employed on this service, shall adhere strictly to the exact tenor cf the instructions which they shall receive for this purpose.

Art. 4. As the two preceding Articles are entirely reciprocal, the two high contracting parties engage mutually to make good any losses which their respective subjects

subjects may incur unjustly, by the arbitrary and illegal detention of their vessels; it being understood that this indemnity shall invariably be borne by the government whose cruizer shall have been guilty of the arbitrary detention; and that the visit and detention of ships specified in this Article shall only be effected by those British or Netherland vessels which may form part of the two royal navies, and by those only of such vessels which are provided with the special instructions annexed to the present treaty, in pursuance of the provisions thereof.

Art. 5. No British or Nether land cruizer shall detain any ship whatever not having slaves actually on board; and in order to render lawful the detention of any ship, whether British or Netherland, the slaves found on board such vessel must have been brought there for the express purpose of the traffic.

Art. 6. All ships of the royal navies of the two nations, which shall hereafter be destined to prevent the traffic in slaves, shall be furnished by their respective governments with a copy of the instructions annexed to the present treaty, and which shall be considered as an integral part thereof. These instructions shall be written in the Dutch and English languages, and signed for the vessels of each of the two powers, by the minister of their respective marine. The two high contracting parties reserve the faculty of altering the said in structions, in whole or in part, according to circumstances; it being, however, well understood,

that the said alterations cannot take place but by the common agreement, and by the consent of the two high contracting parties.

Art. 7. In order to bring to adjudication, with the least delay and inconvenience, the vessels which may be detained for having been engaged in a traffic of slaves, according to the tenor of the fifth Article of this treaty, there shall be established, within the space of a year at furthest from the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty, two mixed courts of justice, formed of an equal number of individuals of the two nations, named for this purpose by their respective sovereigns. These courts shall reside -one in the possession belonging to his Britannic Majesty, the other within the territories of his majesty the king of the Netherlands; and the two governments, at the period of the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty, shall declare, each for its own dominions, in what places the courts shall respectively reside. Each of the two high contracting parties reserving to itself the right of changing, at its pleasure, the place of residence of the court held within its own dominions: provided, however, that one of the two courts shall always be held upon the coast of Africa, and the other in one of the colonial possessions of his majesty the king of the Netherlands. These courts shall judge the causes submitted to them according to the terms of the present treaty, without appeal, and according to the regulations and instructions annexed to the present treaty, of which they

shall

part.

Art. 8. In case the commanding officer of any of the ships of the royal navies of Great Britain, and of the Netherlands, commissioned under the second Article of this treaty, shall deviate in any respect from the dispositions of the said treaty, and shall not be enabled to justify himself, either by the tenor of the said treaty, or of the instructions annexed to it; the government which shall conceive itself to be wronged by such conduct shall be entitled to demand reparation, and in such case the government, to which the captor may belong, binds itself to cause inquiry to be made into the subject of the complaint, and to inflict upon the captor, if he be found to have deserved it, a punishment proportioned to the transgression which may have

been committed.

Art. 9. The acts or instruments annexed to this treaty, and which form an integral part thereof, are as follows: A. Instructions for the ships of the royal navies of both nations, destined to prevent the traffic in slaves. B. Regulation for the mixed courts of justice, which are to hold their sittings on the coast of Africa, and in one of the colonial possessions of his majesty the king of the Netherlands.

Art. 10. The present treaty, consisting of ten articles, shall be ratified, and the ratifications exchanged within the space of one month from this date; or sooner, if possible. In witness whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and thereunto affixed the seal of their

4. Instructions for the Ships of

A.

the British and Netherland Royal Navies, employed to prevent the Traffic in Slaves.

Art. 1. Every ship of the royal British or Netherland navy, which, furnished with these instructions, shall, in conformity with the second Article of the Treaty of this date, have a right to visit the merchant ships of either of the two powers actually engaged, or suspected to be engaged in the slave trade, may, except in the seas exempted by the third Article of the said Treaty, proceed to such visit; and should any slaves be found on board, brought there for the express purposes of the traffic, the commander of the said ship of the royal navy may detain them, and having detained them, he is to bring them as soon as possible for judgment, before that of the two mixed courts of justice, appointed by the seventh Article of the Treaty of this date, which shall be the nearest, or which the commander of the capturing ship shall, upon his own responsibility, think he can soonest reach from the spot where the ship shall have been detained. Ships, on board of which no slaves shall be found, intended for purposes of traffic, shall not be detained on any account or pretence whatever. Negro servants or sailors that may be

found

found on board the said vessels cannot in any case be deemed a sufficient cause for detention.

Art. 2. Whenever a ship of the royal navy, so commissioned, shall meet a merchantman liable to be searched, it shall be done in the mildest manner, and with every attention which is due between allied and friendly nations; and in no case shall the search be made by an officer holding a rank inferior to that of lieutenant in the navies of Great Britain and of the Netherlands.

Art. 3. The ships of the royal navies so commissioned, which may detain any merchant ship, in pursuance of the tenor of the present instructions, shall leave on board all the cargo, as well as the master, and a part at least of the crew of the above-mentioned ship: the captor shall draw up in writing an authentic declaration, which shall exhibit the state in which he found the detained ship, and the changes which may have taken place in it. He shall deliver to the master of the detained ship, a signed certificate of the papers seized on board the said vessel, as well as of the number of slaves found on board at the moment of detention. The negroes shall not be disembarked till after the vessels which contain them shall be arrived at the place where the legality of the capture is to be tried by one of the two mixed courts, in order that in the event of their not being adjudged legal prize, the loss of the proprietors may be more easily repaired. If, how ever, urgent motives, deduced from the length of the voyage, the state of health of the negroes,

or other causes, required that they should be disembarked entirely, or in part, before the vessel could arrive at the place of residence of one of the said courts,. the commander of the capturing ship may take on himself the responsibility of such disembarkation, provided that the necessity be stated in a certificate in proper form.

B. Regulations for the Mixed Courts of Justice, which are to reside on the Coast of Africa, and in a Colonial Possession of his Majesty the King of the Netherlands.

Art. 1. The mixed courts of justice, to be established by the Treaty of this date, upon the coast of Africa and in a colonial possession of his majesty the king of the Netherlands, are ap pointed to decide upon the lega lity of the detention of such vessels as the cruizers of both nations shall detain in pursuance of this same treaty. The above. mentioned courts shall judge definitively and without appeal, according to the present treaty. The proceeding shall take place as summarily as possible; the courts are required to decide (as far as they shall find it practicable), within the space of twenty days, to be dated from that on which every detained vessel shall have been brought into the port where they shall reside;-First, upon the legality of the capture; Secondly, in the cases in which the captured vessel shall have been liberated, as to the indemnification which the said vessel is to receive. And it is hereby provided, that in all cases the

final sentence shall not be delayed on account of the absence of witnesses, or for want of other proofs, beyond the period of two months, except upon the application of any of the parties inter ested, when, upon their giving satisfactory security to charge themselves with the expense and risks of the delay, the courts may at their discretion grant an additional delay not exceeding four months.

Art. 2. Each of the above mentioned mixed courts, which are to reside on the coast of Africa, and in a colonial possession of his majesty the king of the Netherlands, shall be com. posed in the following manner :The two high contracting parties shall each of them name a judge and an arbitrator, who shall be authorized to hear and to decide without appeal all cases of capture of vessels which, ir pursuance of the stipulations of the treaty of this date, shall be brought before them. All the essential parts of the proceedings carried on before these mixed courts shall be written down in the legal language of the country in which the court may reside. The judges and the arbitrators shall make oath before the principal magistrate of the place in which the courts may reside, to judge fairly and faithfully, to have no preference either for the claimants or the captors, and to act in all their decisions, in pursuance of the stipulations of the treaty of this date. There shall be attached to each court a secretary or registrar, appointed by the sovereign of the country in which the court may reside, who shall register all its acts, and

who, previous to his taking charge of his post, shall make oath before the court to conduct himself with respect for their authority, and to act with fidelity in all the affairs which may belong to his charge.

Art. 3. The form of the process shall be as follows: The judges of the two nations shall, in the first place, proceed to the examination of the papers of the vessels, and to receive the depositions of the captain and of two or three at least of the principal individuals on board of the detained vessel, as well as the declaration on oath of the captor, should it appear necessary, in order to be able to judge and to pronounce whether the said vessel has been justly detained or not, according to the stipulations of the present treaty, and in order that according to this judgment it may be condemned or liberated. And in the event of the two judges not agreeing in the sentence they ought to pronounce, whether as to the legality of the detention, or the indemnification to be allowed, or any other question which might result from the stipulations of the present treaty, they shall draw by lot the name of one of the two arbitrators, who, after having considered the documents of the process, shall consult with the above-mentioned judges on the case in question, and the final sentence shall be pronounced conformably to the opinion of the majority of the above-mentioned judges, and of the above-mentioned arbitrator.

Art. 4. In the authenticated declaration, which the captor shall make before the court, as

well