Treaty of Paris (1815)/Convention on private claims upon France

(Translation.) Convention between Great Britain and France, concluded in conformity to the IXth Article of the Principal Treaty, relative to the Examination and Liquidation of the Claims upon the French Government.

I N order to remove the difficulties which have arisen in the execution of divers Articles of the Treaty of Paris of the 30th May 1814, and especially of those relating to the Claims of Subjects of the Allied Sovereign Powers, the High Contracting Parties, being desirous of enabling their respective Subjects speedily to enjoy the rights which those Articles ensure to them, and at the same time prevent as much as possible all controversy which might arise on the interpretation of some of the dispositions of the said Treaty, have agreed upon the following Articles:

Art. I. The Treaty of Paris of the 30th May, 1814, being confirmed by Article XI of the Principal Treaty, to which the present Convention is annexed, this confirmation extends principally to Articles XIX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVI, XXX and XXXI, of the said Treaty, so far as the Stipulations contained in the said Articles have not been altered or modified by the present Act; and it is expressly agreed, that the explanations and developements which the High Contracting Parties have thought advisable to give to them by the following Articles, shall in no wise prejudice the claims of any other nature, which may be authorized by the said Treaty, though not specially stipulated by the present Convention.

Art. II. In conformity to this resolution, His Most Christian Majesty engages to cause to be liquidated, in the manner hereinafter specified, all sums which France may be found to owe, in Countries out of her Territory, as fixed by the Treaty to which the present Convention is annexed, by virtue of Article XIX of the Treaty of Paris, of 30th May, 1814, either to Individuals or to "Communes," or to Private Establishments, the Revenues of which are not at the disposal of Government.

This liquidation shall extend particularly to the following claims:

1. To those arising from Supplies and Deliveries of all kind, furnished by "Communes," or Individuals, and in general by all others but the different branches of the Government, by virtue of Contracts or Arrangements made by the French Administrative Authorities, under promise of payment; whether the said Supplies and Deliveries may have been furnished, either to or for the use of Military Magazines in general, or for the provisioning of Towns and Fortresses in particular, or, in short, to the French Armies, to Detachments of Troops or of "Gendarmerie," to the French Administrations, or the Military Hospitals, or in fine, for any Public Service whatsoever.

These Deliveries and Supplies are to be vouched by Receipts from the Storekeepers, Officers, Civil or Military, Commissaries, Agents or Inspectors, the validity of which shall be acknowledged by the Commission of Liquidation described in Article V of the present Convention.

The prices shall be regulated by the contracts or other engagements of the French Authorities, or in failure thereof, by the market prices of the places, the nearest to that where the delivery shall have taken place.

2. To arrears of pay and allowances, travelling expences, gratuities, and other indemnifications, due to Military or other Persons employed in the French Army, and become, by the Treaties of Paris of 30th May, 1814, and 20th November, 1815, Subjects of another Sovereign Power, during the period when the Individuals in question served in the French Armies, or were attached to Establishments thereunto belonging, such as Hospitals, Dispensaries, Magazines, &c.

These demands are to be supported by the production of the necessary vouchers, as required by the existing Military Rules and Regulations.

3. To the re-imbursement of expences for the maintenance of French Troops in such Civil Hospitals as did not belong to the Government, inasmuch as the payment of that maintenance has been stipulated for by positive engagements. The quota of the said expenses is to be vouched by abstracts of Accounts, certified by the Superintendents of those Establishments.

4. To the restitution of funds, entrusted to the French Post- offices, which have not reached their destination, the event of force being, however, excepted.

5. To the discharge of "Mandats," "Bons," and Orders for payment, given either on the Public Treasury of France, or on the "Caisse d'Amortissement," or their "Annexes," as well as of "Bons," given by this last mentioned "Caisse"; which "Mandats," "Bons," and Orders, have been subscribed to in favour of Inhabitants, "Communes," or Establishments situated in Provinces which have ceased to form part of France, or which may be in the hands of the said Inhabitants, "Communes" or Establishments; it not being possible for France to refuse payment of the same, on the plea, that the objects, by the sale of which the said "Bons," "Mandats," and Orders were to be realized, have passed under Foreign dominion.

6. To Loans made to the French Civil and Military Authorities, under promise of re-payment.

7. To indemnities granted for non-enjoyment of National Domains, let on lease; to all other indemnity and refunding for leases of National Domains, and also for professional attendance, remuneration, and fees for appraising, inspecting, or reporting, on the buildings, or other objects, done by order and on account of the French Government; inasmuch as the said indemnities, refundings, professional attendance, remuneration, and fees, have been acknowledged to be at the expense of the Government, and legally ordered by the French Authorities at the time existing.

8. To the re-imbursement of advances made from the Funds of the " Communes," by order of the French Authorities, and under promise of re-payment.

9. To indemnities due to Individuals for loss of ground, the demolition and destruction of buildings, in consequence of orders from the French Military Authorities, for the enlargement or security of Fortresses and Citadels; in such cases where indemnity is due, by virtue of the Law of 10th July 1791, and where there may have been an engagement to pay, either by Report of Arbitrators, regulating the amount of the Indemnity, or by any other deed of the French Authorities.

Art. III. The Claims of the Senate of Hamburgh, on account of the Bank of that City, shall be the subject of a Special Convention between the Commissioners of His Most Christian Majesty and those of the City of Hamburgh.

Art. IV. Those Claims shall also be liquidated, preferred by several Individuals against the execution of a Decree, dated Nassen, the 8th May, 1813, by virtue of which Colonial Goods, part of which they had purchased of the French Government, were seized to their detriment, and by virtue of which they have been obliged to pay a second time, on cottons, the single and double Custom-house dues, although they had paid, in due time, what they owed lawfully.

These Claims shall be liquidated by the Commissioners appointed by the Convention of this day, and the amount thereof shall be paid. in Inscriptions on the Great Book of the Public Debt, at a rate not under 75, in the same manner as has been agreed upon with regard to the securities to be refunded.

Art. V. The High Contracting Parties, being animated by the desire of agreeing on a mode of liquidation, calculated at once to accelerate the same, and promote, in each particular case, a final decision, have resolved, while expounding the arrangements of Article XX of the Treaty of 30th May 1814, to appoint Commissions of Liquidation, to be employed, in the first place, in the examination of the Claims ; and also Commissions of Arbitration, which are to decide on such cases on which the former Commission do not agree. The mode to be acted upon, in this respect, is to be as follows:

1. Immediately after the exchange of the Ratifications of the present Treaty, France, and the other High Contracting Parties, or those interested in this object, shall mum: Commissioners of Liquidation, and Commissioners of Arbitration, or Umpires, who are to reside at Paris, and shall be instructed to direct, and carry into execution, the arrangements contained in Articles XVIII and XIX of the Treaty of 30th May, 1814, and Articles II, IV, VI, VII, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XXII, XXIII, and XXIV, of the present Convention.

2. The Commissioners of Liquidation are to be named by all the Parties interested, in such numbers as each of them may think proper to appoint. They will be instructed to receive and examine, according to a Scale fixed upon for that purpose, and with the least possible delay, and liquidate, if there be just cause, all claims.

Each Commissioner shall be at liberty to unite in one Committee, all the Commissioners of the respective Governments, and to lay before them, and cause them to examine the Claims of the Subjects of his Government, or else to treat separately with the French Government.

3. The Arbitrators are to be instructed to decide definitively, and without appeal, on all Cases referred to them in conformity to the present Article, by the Commissioners of Liquidation, who may not have been able to agree thereon. All the High Contracting Parties, or those interested, may name as many of these Arbitrators as they may think proper; but every one of these Arbitrators must make oath before the Chancellor of France, and in the presence of the Ministers of the other High Contracting Parties residing at Paris, to pass judgment, without partiality whatever for the Parties, according to the principles laid down by the Treaty of 30th May, 1814, and by the present Convention.

4. As soon as the Arbitrators named by France, and by at least 2 of the other Parties interested, shall have taken this oath, all the said Commissioners who may be in Paris shall meet, under the Presidency of the Senior Commissioner, for the purpose of arranging the appointments of one or more of the Recorders or Record- keepers, and of 1 or more Clerks, who are to be sworn before them, as well as for the purpose of discussing, if necessary, a general system for the dispatch of business, the keeping of the Registers, and other matters of internal regulation.

5. The Commissioners appointed to form the Commissions of Arbitration being thus ordained, whenever the Commissioners of Liquidation shall not have agreed on a Case, the Arbitrators are to proceed with the same in the manner hereinafter mentioned.

6. In those cases wherein the Claims are of the nature provided for by the Treaty of Paris, or by the present Convention, and wherein the question is merely to determine on the validity of the demand, or the amount of the sum claimed, the Commission of Arbitration is to be composed of 6 Umpires, namely, 3 French, and 3 appointed by the reclaiming Government.

The said 6 Arbitrators shall then draw lots, for the purpose of deciding which of them is to be thrown out, and being thus reduced to 5, are then finally to determine on the Claim referred to them.

7. In the event of the question being, whether the contested Claim can be reckoned amongst those provided for by the Treaty of Paris of 30th May, 1814, or by the present Convention, the Commission of Arbitration is to be composed of 6 Members, whereof 3 are to be French, and 3 named by the Government reclaiming.

These 6 Umpires are then to decide by a majority, whether the Claim is susceptible of being admitted to liquidation : in the event of an equality of votes, the examination of the affair is to be suspended, and is to become subject matter of future regular Negotiation between the Governments.

8. Every time that a Case shall be referred to the decision of a Commission of Arbitration, the Government, whose Commissioner of Liquidation shall not have been able to agree with the French Government, shall name 3 Umpires, and France shall name as many; all of them chosen amongst those who shall have taken, or may take, previously to their acting, the stipulated oath. This choice is to be made known to the Record-keeper, at the same time transmitting to him the whole of the Documents. The Record-keeper will duly note this nomination and the deposit of the Papers, and will enter the claim in the proper Register, which shall have been opened for that purpose.

When the turn of a Claim shall come round in its regular order of entry, the Record-keeper is to summon the 6 Arbitrators above named.

When the case shall happen to be one of those specified in Section 6 of the present Article, the names of the said 6 Arbitrators shall be put in an urn; the last drawn shall of course go out, in order that their number may be reduced to 5. The parties are, however, at liberty to abide, if they all agree thereto, by a Commission of 4 Arbitrators, the number of whom, in order to obtain an odd number, is to be in like manner reduced to 3.

In the cases specified by Section 7 of the present Article, the 6 Umpires, or the 4, if the parties have agreed to that number, are to enter into discussion, without previous elimination of 1 of their number. In either of these cases, the Arbitrators convoked for the purpose are immediately to enter upon the examination of the Claim, or class of Claim in question, and are to decide by a majority of voices, without appeal. The Record-keeper is to attend all the sittings, and to act as Minute-clerk.

If the Commission of Arbitration have not decided upon the class of a Claim, though it has, on a Claim itself, such decision terminates the affair. If it has decided on the class of a Claim, the case, provided that class be acknowledged as admissible, goes back to the Commission of Liquidation, for that Commission to determine on the admission of the individual Claim, and the amount thereof, or refer it anew to a Commission of Arbitration of 5 or 3 Members.

Judgment being given, the Recorder is to notify to the Commission of Liquidation every such sentence, for the purpose of being inserted in their proceedings; as the said decisions are to be considered and acted upon as precedents by the Commission of Liquidation.

It is to be well understood, that Commissions appointed by virtue of the present Article, are not to extend their labours beyond the liquidation of the obligation specified by the present Treaty, and that of 30th May, 1814.

Art. VI. The High Contracting Parties, desiring to secure the full performance of the XXIst Article of the Treaty of Paris of 30th May, 1814, and, accordingly, determinate the mode of crediting France for such debts, specially secured in their origin by mortgages upon Countries which have ceased to form part of France, or otherwise contracted by their internal Administration, and which have been converted into Inscriptions in the Great Book of the National Debt of France; have agreed that the amount of the capital which each of the Governments of the said respective Countries may have to reimburse to France, shall be determined by the price which the funds may bear, on an average, between the day of the signature of the present Convention and the 1st of January, 1816. This capital is to be made good to France, according to the statements which the Commission appointed by Article V of the present Convention, shall draw up and settle every 2 months after the titles have been duly verified, on the strength of which the Inscriptions have been made.

France is not to be reimbursed the amount of the Inscriptions arising from debts secured by mortgage on immoveables which, the French Government have alienated, whatever be the nature of the said immoveables, provided the purchasers thereof have paid the amount into the hands of the Agents of the French Government, unless the said immoveables should at present be (otherwise than by possession obtained unfairly during the continuance of the French Administration) in the hands either of the present Government, of Public Establishments, or of the former Possessors. The French Government remains charged with the payment of the dividends on those Inscriptions.

The countervailing Accounts of what may become due to France in Inscriptions, and the Payments to which she has engaged herself by the present Convention, cannot be settled but with mutual consent, excepting for what follows in the succeeding Article.

Art. VII. From these reimbursements shall be deducted:

1. The interest on Inscriptions in the Great Book of the State, till the period of the 22nd December, 1813; also, the interest which France may have paid subsequently to that period, shall, in like manner be made good to her by the respective Governments.

2. The capitals and interest secured by mortgage on immoveables alienated by the French Government, although the said capitals have not yet been converted into Inscriptions in the Great Book of the Public Debt; provided, however, that on account of the present Stipulation, nothing shall be done contrary 10 the Laws or Orders of the Government,which decreed forteitures, &c., or in virtue of which the Debts were to become extinct to the benefit of France, by way of "Confusion," or of Compensation.

Art. VIII. The French Government having refused to recognize the claim of the Government of the Low Countries, relative to the payment of the interest of the Debt of Holland, which may not have been paid for the half years of March and September, 1813, it is agreed to refer to a Commission of Arbitration the decision of the principle of the said question.

This Commission is to be composed of 7 Members, 2 of them to be named by the French Government, 2 by the Government of the Netherlands, and the 3 others to be chosen from the States decidedly neuter, and who have no interest in the question, such as Russia, Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark, and the Kingdom of Naples. The choice of these 3 last Commissioners is to be made in such manner, that 1 of them is to be named by the French Government, another by that of the Netherlands, and the 3d by the said 2 neutral Commissioners.

The Commission is to meet at Paris, on the 1st of February 1816. The Members thereof are to take the same oath to which the Commissioners of Arbitration are subject, as stated in Article V of the present Convention, to be administered in the same manner.

At soon as the Commission shall be constituted, the Commissioners of Liquidation of the 2 Powers, shall each submit in writing, the arguments in support of their opinion, in order that the Arbitrators may be enabled to decide, which of the 2 Governments, the French Government, or the Government of the Netherlands, shall be bound to pay the aforesaid arrears of interest, taking for basis the dispositions of the Treaty of Paris, of 30th May, 1814, and whether the reimbursement which the Government of the Netherlands may have to make to France, for Inscriptions of the debts of Countries re-united to the Crown of the Netherlands, and detached from France, is to be required without deducting the dividends of the Debt of Holland, in arrear for 1813.

Art. IX. The liquidation shall be proceeded in, of the unpaid interests of the debts secured on mortgage upon the soil of Countries ceded to France by the Treaties of Campo Formio and Luneville, and arising from loans formally acknowledged by the Governments of the ceded Countries, or from expenses incurred by the effective Administration of the said Countries.

The Commissioners of Liquidation are to regulate their operations according to the dispositions of the Treaties of Peace, and the Laws and Decrees of the French Government, with respect to the liquidation and extinction of the debts of the nature in question.

Art. X. As it has been stipulated by Article XXIII of the Treaty of Paris, of 30th May, 1814, that the French Government should reimburse the securities given by the Public Functionaries entrusted with the management of public money in the Countries separated from France, 6 months after the presenting of their Accounts, the case alone of misdemeanour being excepted, it remains agreed:

1. That the obligation of presenting their Accounts to the French Government does not extend to the Receveurs Communaux; nevertheless, as the French Government has had nn interest in certain portions of the receipts wherewith those accountable Persons were charged, and that consequently it may still call for redress against them, in cases of misdemeanor, no application for restitution of their Securities shall be presented, without being accompanied by a Certificate from the Superior Authorities of the Country to which these Persons accountable may belong, at the same time specifying the sum which, alter the audit of their Accounts, shall have been acknowledged to be due to the French Government on the account above-mentioned, and which the latter shall deduct from the security, giving proof that nothing is due to the same, except, in either case, the deduction of those balances which France has reserved to herself by Article XXIV of the present Convention.

2. The Accounts of the Functionaries who have had the management of money belonging to the French Government, and who were bound to have their administration approved by the Court of Accounts, shall be examined by the French Government, in conjunction with the Commission of the present Government of the Province where the Person accountable has been employed.

The examination of each Account is to take place within 6 months after it has been delivered in; if during this period no decision has been given, the French Government renounces all claim against the Person accountable. This Stipulation does not derogate, with respect to those who are accountable, from the time of forfeiture fixed by Article XVI, it being well understood that, in the event of the non-presentation of the Accounts, the French Government reserves to itself the right of proceeding against the said Persons accountable, in the customary manner.

3. The Functionaries not being liable to be made responsible for what has occurred relative to their "Caisses," since the entrance of the Foreign Troops, it has been expressly agreed, that the French Government are not to charge them with the balances which they owed at that period, and that it shall only be a manifest misdemeanor, committed before the entrance of those Troops, which shall authorize the French Government to withhold the whole, or part of the security. In all other respects the same is to be restored, in the manner expressed in Article XIX, Section 2.

Art. XI. Conformably to Article XXV of the Treaty of the 30th of May, 1814, the funds deposited by "Communes," and Public Establishments, in the coffers of the Governments, are to be repaid to them, with deduction of the advances which may have been made to them. The Commissioners of Liquidation are to verify the amount of the said deposits and advances. Nevertheless, should there be lodged any Attachments, the repayment of these funds shall not take place until replevin shall have been ordered, by the proper tribunals, or voluntarily allowed by the attaching creditors. The French Government shall be bound to show the justice of the said Attachments. It is well understood, that such Attachments lodged by creditors who are not Frenchmen, cannot authorize the French Government to detain these deposits.

Art. XII. The Funds belonging to the Caisse d'Agriculture of Holland, and which have been lodged as a deposit in the Caisse d'Amortissement, in the Caisse de Service, or in any other Caisse of Government, shall be restored as well as all other deposits, with the exception of such compensations as the said Caisses may have to debit the said funds.

Art. XIII. The Commissioners of Liquidation and of Arbitration, ordained by virtue of Article V of the present Convention, shall also be employed in the liquidation of the objects recited in Articles XXII to XXV of the Treaty of the 30th May, 1814, and shall proceed in the same manner, with regard to these points, as that adopted for the other liquidations with which they are charged. The French Government engages to deliver, 4 months after the signature of the present Convention, to the respective Commissioners of Liquidation, exact Statements, drawn from the Treasury and other Registers, of all sums and debts alluded to in the aforesaid Articles; and these Statements are to be compared with the receipts of the Claimants, for the purpose of being thus proved.

Art. XIV. The XXVIth Article of the Treaty of the 30th May, 1814, which releases the French Government from the 1st January, of the same year, from the payments of all Pensions, Civil, Military and Ecclesiastical, Allowances on retiring, and half pay, to all Individuals no longer Subjects of France, is maintained. With regard to the arrears of Pensions, to the period above-mentioned, the French Government engages to give evidence of them, by furnishing exact Statements, drawn from the Pension Registers, which are to be compared with those kept by the Local Administrative Authorities.

Art. XV. Doubts having arisen upon the XXXIst Article of the Treaty of the 30th of May, 1814, concerning the restitution of the Maps of the Countries which have ceased to belong to France, it is agreed that all the Maps of the Countries ceded, including those which the French Government has caused to be executed, shall be exactly given up, with the copper-plates belonging to them, in the space of 4 weeks after the exchange of the Ratifications of the present Treaty. The same shall be done respecting the Archives, maps and plates, taken away from the Countries occupied for a time by the different Armies, as it is stipulated in the 2nd paragraph of the XXXIst Article of the said Treaty.

Art. XVI. Governments who have Claims to prefer in behalf of their Subjects, engage to cause them to be presented for liquidation within a year, dating from the day of the exchange of the Ratifications of the present Treaty; after which time they are to forfeit all right to claim and recovery.

Art. XVII. Every 2 months, an Abstract is to be drawn up of the Liquidations finally adjusted, approved, or decided, specifying the name of each Creditor, and the amount for which his debt is to be discharged, either in principal, or arrears of interest. The sums which are to be paid in cash by the Royal Treasury, either for capital or interest, shall be remitted to the Commissioners of Liquidation of the Government concerned, upon their receipts, signed or approved by the French Liquidators. With regard to the debts which, in conformity to Articles IV and XIX of the present Convention, are to be paid in Inscriptions in the Great Book of the Public Debt, they are to be entered in the names of the Commissioners of Liquidation of the Governments concerned, or of those whom they may appoint. These Inscriptions are to be taken from the Guarantee Fund, stipulated by Article XX of the present Convention, and in the manner specified by Article XXI.

Art. XVIII. All debts which bear interest, either according to Law, or the Treaty of the 30th May, 1814, are to continue to bear the same. With respect to those, to which no interest appertains, either from their nature, or by the said Treaty, they are to bear an interest of 4 per cent, from the date of the signature of the present Convention. All interest is to be paid in cash, and on the amount of the nominal value of the debt. The Stipulations relating to interest are to be reciprocal between France and the other Contracting Powers.

Art. XIX. The Treaty of the 30th May, 1814, in regulating the periods within which the payments were to be completed, proclaimed 3 classes of debts. In order to make things agree with such an arrangement, it has been resolved to adopt, in like manner, 3 classes for reimbursement, as follows:

1 . The deposits legally entrusted to the Caisse d'Amortissement are to be refunded in money, within 6 months from the exchange of the Ratifications of the present Convention, whenever the delivery of the documents shall have taken place during the first 3 months of the liquidation. Those cases, whereof the documents shall have been delivered in subsequently, are to be liquidated within the succeeding 3 months.

2. The debts arising from the payment of securities, or from funds which were deposited by the Communes and Public Establishments, in the Caisse de Service, the Caisse d'Amortissement, or any other Caisse of the French Government, are to be reimbursed in Inscriptions in the Great Book of the Public Debt, at par; on condition, however, that in the event of the price of the day of settlement being under 75, the French Government is to have the benefit of the difference between the price of the day and 75.

3. The other debts, not comprehended in the 2 preceding sections, are to be likewise reimbursed in Inscriptions at par, with this difference, however, that the French Government guarantees to them only a price of 60; at the same time engaging to make good the difference between the price of the day and 60.

Art. XX. On the 1st of January next, at latest, shall be inscribed, as a guarantee fund, in the Great Book of the Public Debt of France, a capital producing 3,500,000 French francs yearly revenue, with possession, from 22d March, 1816, in the name of 2, 4, or 6 Commissioners, one-half of them Subjects of His Most Christian Majesty, and the other half of the Allied Sovereign Powers; which said Commissioners are to be chosen and appointed, namely, 1, 2, or 3, by the French Government, and 1, 2, or 5, by the Allied Powers.

They are to receive the said yearly income every 6 months, of which they are to be the Trustees, without power of negotiating the same.

They are to place the amount thereof in the Public Funds, and receive the accumulated and compound interest of the same for the benefit of the Creditors.

In case the 3,500,000 francs of interest shall be insufficient, there shall be delivered to the said Commissioners, Inscriptions for larger sums, until their amount shall equal what may be necessary to pay the debts mentioned in the present Convention.

These additional Inscriptions, if they are necessary, shall be made over with the dividends from the same period as the 3,500,000 francs, yearly revenue above stipulated, and shall be administered by the same Commissioners, and according to the same principles; so that the debts which shall remain to be paid, shall be paid with the same proportion of accumulated and compound interest as if the fund of guarantee had been from the first sufficient.

As soon as the payments due to the Creditors shall have been made, the surplus of the Inscriptions not employed, if there be any, as well as the proportion of accumulated and compound interest which shall belong thereto, shall be given up to the disposal of the French Government.

Art. XXI. In proportion as the Abstracts of Liquidation, prescribe by Article XVII of the present Convention, shall be delivered to the Trustees or Commissioners of Deposit, the latter are to examine the same, in order to their being forthwith entered in the Great Book of the Public Debt, to the debit of their trust, and to the credit of the Commissioners of Liquidation of the reclaiming Governments.

Art. XXII. The present Sovereigns of the Countries which have ceased to belong to France, hereby renew the engagement which they have contracted, by Article XXI of the Treaty of the 30th May, 1814, to account with the French Government, from the 22nd December, 1813, for such of the Debts of the said Countries as have been converted into Inscriptions in the Great Book of the Public Debt of France. The Accounts relative to all the said Debts shall be drawn up and adjusted by the Commissions appointed by Article V of the present Convention. It is understood that France is to continue the payment of the dividends on these Inscriptions.

Art. XXIII. The Governments aforesaid renew the engagement to refund to French Subjects, in the service of the ceded Countries, the sums which they may have to claim on account of securities, or deposits in their respective Treasuries. These reimbursements shall be made in the same manner as that agreed upon in Article XIX of the present Convention, towards Subjects of the said Countries, for payments of a like nature.

Art. XXIV. It is reserved to the French Government, the right of deducting from those Securities, which, by Article XXII of the Treaty of the 30th May, 1814, and by Article X of the present Convention, it has engaged to refund the balances due from Persons accountable, whom a Judgment of the Court of Accounts, given before the 30th of May, 1814, shall have declared to be Withholders of Public Money. Such deduction is to take place, however, without being prejudicial to the proceedings which, in default of sufficient security, may be directed against the Defaulters, in the ordinary course, before the Tribunals of the Countries wherein the Persons accountable have settled.

Art. XXV. In the Countries ceded by the Treaty of the 30th of May, 1814, and by the present Treaty, such Persons who have accepted Bills, negotiable, to the advantage of the Royal Treasury, or of the "Caisse d'Amortissement," (not receivers of direct Contributions), and who should not have honoured the same when they became due, may be proceeded against for payment, before the regular Tribunals for the Country were they are settled, unless the should have been compelled to pay them before the 30th or May, 1814, or, with regards to the Countries ceded by the present Treaty, before the 20th November, 1815, in favour of the Agents of the New Possessors of the Countries.

Art. XXIV. All that has been agreed to by the present Convention, with respect to the period within which the Creditors of France are to deliver in their Claims for liquidation, the time when the Abstracts of Liquidations are to be drawn up, the interest to be allowed to the respective Classes of Debts, and the manner in which they are to be paid, applies equally to those .Debts which France may have to claim from the Governments of the Countries detached from France.

Done at Paris, the 20th of November, in the year of our Lord, 1815.

Additional article on the claim of the counts of Bentheim and Steinfurth
The House of the Counts of Bentheim and Steinfurth having advanced a Claim against the French Government upon different grounds; viz.

It has been settled, in the form of an Agreement, that the Government of France shall pay to that House, in lieu of every Claim whatsoever:

1. The sum of 800,000 francs in specie, to be paid by 12ths, in monthly instalments, commencing from the 1st of January, 1816.

2. The sum of 510,000 francs, by Inscriptions in the Great-Book of the Public Debt, at par, guaranteeing to the same the exchange at 75, or making up the difference between the exchange of the day and 75.

These Inscriptions shall be delivered before the 1st of January, and the interest on them shall commence from the 22nd of March, 1816.

In consideration of the payment of this sum of 1,310,000 francs, the House of the Counts of Bentheim and Steinfurth renounces the right of advancing or renewing any claim against the French Government, under any title or on any ground whatsoever, the said renunciation being made by agreement.

Done at Paris, the 20th of November, in the year of our Lord, 1815.

Claim of the Duchy of Warsaw
In the execution of the additional article of the 30th of May, 1814, his most Christian Majesty engages to send, without delay, to Warsaw, one or more commissioners, to concur in his name, according to the terms of the said article, in the examination and liquidation of the reciprocal claims of France and the late duchy of Warsaw, and in all the arrangements relative to them.

His most Christian Majesty recognizes, in respect to the Emperor of Russia, in his quality of King of Poland, the nullity of the convention of Bayonne, well understood that this deposition cannot receive any application but conformably to the principles established in the convention mentioned in the ninth article of the treaty of this day.

The present separate article has the same force and validity as if it were inserted word for word in the treaty of this day. It shall he ratified, and the ratifications shall he exchanged at the same time.

Done at Paris, the 20th of November, Year of Grace 1815.