integral, or felf-fubfiftent nation, and to promote its happinefs; thus to enjoy the only, but the greatest confolation which a fovereign canwifh for his manifold troubles and cares. I fhall moreover affure him, that he will have to reign over a faithful nation, always fubmiffive to the laws of the country; and which, by its truft in God, by its faith, fincerity, harmony, and unity, conftitutes a great people.

Since I have opened to you, in this folemn place, the inmoft of my thoughts and principles, with fincerity and confidence, I have reafon to expect that you, my faithful fubjects, will anfwer my wifhes. Be affured that, when in your deliberations with me, unity, harmony, and fincerity, fhall be found to reign, we may expect from the grace of God, that this diet will terminate to the welfare of the empire. Then fhall I think myfelf amply rewarded for all my past care and folicitude; and who among you will not feel within himself the lively fatisfaction of having laboured and contributed to the real profperity of his country?

Convinced that you, as faithful Swedish fubjects, worthy of your ancestors, partake of my fentiments, I wish that the heavenly grace and bleffing of the Almighty God may attend your deliberations, and remain with royal grace and good will, your affectionate, &c.

His majefty having ended his address, baron Ehrenheim read the articles propofed by the king as the fubjects of the deliberations, which principally relate to the regulation of the finances, the amendment of feveral civil laws, and to measures of economy and police.

Convention between the French Republic and the United States of America.

HE chief conful of the French

TH

republic, in the name of the French people, and the prefident of the United States of America, equally animated with a defire to put an end to the differences which have arifen between the two ftates, have refpectively named their plenipotentiaries, and have given them full powers to negociate concerning thefe differences, and to terminate them; that is to fay, the chief conful of the French republic, in the name of the French people, has nominated, as plenipotentiaries of the faid republic, citizens Jofeph Bonaparte, late ambaffador of the French republic at Rome, and counfellor of ftate; Charles Peter Claret Fleurieu, member of the national inftitution, and of the board of longitude, counsellor of ftate, and prefident of the fection of marine; and Peter Lewis Roederer, member of the national inftitute, counfellor of ftate, and prefident of the fection of the inte rior; and the prefident of the United States of America, by and with the advice and confent of the fenate of the faid ftates, has nominated, as their plenipotentiaries, Oliver Elfworth, chief-juftice of the United States; William Richardfon Davie, late governor of South Carolina, and William Vans Murray, refident minifter of the United States at the Hague:

Who, after having exchanged their credentials, and long and maturely difcuffed the respective interefts of the two ftates, have agreed to the following condi

tions:

1ft. There

Ift. There fhall be a firm, in violable, and univerfal peace, and a true and fincere friendship between the French republic and the United States of America, as well as between their countries, territories, cities, and towns, and between their citizens and inhabitants, without exception of per fons or places.

2d. The minifter plenipotentiary of the two parties not being able, for the prefent, to come to an agreement with regard to the treaty of alliance of the 6th of February, 1778, the treaty of friendship and commerce of the fame date, and the convention under date of the 14th of November, 1778; nor, likewife, with regard to the indemnities mutually due or reclaimed; the parties will negociate ulteriorly upon those points at a convenient time; and till they have come to a definitive agreement, the faid treaties and conventions fhall have no effect, and the relations of the two states shall be regulated as follows:

3d. The veffels belonging to government, which have been taken on both fides, or may be taken before the exchange of the ratifications, fhall be restored.

4th. The property captured and not yet definitively condemned, or which may be captured before the exchange of the ratifications, except contraband merchandise destined for an enemy's port, shall be mutually restored upon the following proofs of property, viz.

On both fides the proofs of property, with regard to merchant-velfels, armed, or not armed, fhall be a paffport in the following form:

To all thofe to whom these prefents may come, be it known,

that freedom and permiffion have been granted to mafter or commander of the fhip called of the city of of the burden of tons, or thereabout, at prefent in the port and harbour of and bound for laden with -; that after his fhip has been vifited, and before his departure, he fhall make oath before the of ficers authorized for that purpose, that the faid fhip belongs to one or more of the fubjects of whose agreement fhall be fubjoined at the bottom of the paffport; likewise, that he will obferve, and make be obferved by his crew, the maritime ordinances and regulations; and he fhall deliver a lift figned and attefted by witneffes, containing the names and furnames, the births, places and refidences, of the perfons compofing the crew of his hip. and of all those who fhall embark with him, whom he fhall not receive on board without the permiffion of the authorized officers; and in every port or harbour he fhall enter with his fhip, he fshall fhow the prefent permiffion to the officers authorifed for this purpose, and fhall give them à faithful account of what has happened during his voyage; and he hall carry the colours, arms, and enfign [of the French republic, or of the United States] during his faid voyage. In witnefs whereof we have figned this paper, have made it be counterfigned by ———, and have affixed to it feals bearing our arms. "Given at

the year of

And this passport shall of itself be fufficient, notwithstanding all regulations to the contrary. It fhall not be required that this paffport be renewed or revoked, whatever

number

number of voyages the veifel may make, at leaft if the has not touched at her own port during the courfe of a year.

With regard to the cargo, the proofs fhall be certificates containing an account of the place from which the veffel has failed, and that to which he is bound; fo that prohibited and contraband goods may be diftinguished by certificates, which certificates fhall have been made by the officers of the place from which the veffel fhall have failed, in the ufual form of the country; and if these pafiports, or certificates, or either of them, have been defiroyed by accident, or feized by violence, the want of them may be fupplied by all the other proofs of property admiffible according to the general ufage of nations.

For other than merchant fhips, the proofs fhall be the commiflion, which they bear.

This article fhall take effect from the date of the fignature of the prefent convention; and if, after the date of the faid fignature, property fhall be condemned, contrary to the fpirit of the faid convention, before this ftipulation is known, the property thus condemned fhall, with out delay, be reftored, or paid for.

Art. 5. The debts contracted by one of the two nations to individuals of the other, or by individuals of the one to individuals of the other, fhall be paid, or their payment fhall be fued for, as if there had been no mifunderftanding between the two ftates; but this claufe fhall not extend to indemnities claimed for captures cr

condemnations.

6th. The commerce between the two parties fhall be free; the

veffels of the two nations, and their privateers, as well as their prizes, thall be treated, in the refpective ports, as thofe of the most favoured nations; and in general the two parties fhall enjoy in the ports of each other, in what refpects commerce and navigation, all the privileges of the most favoured nations.

7th. The citizens and inhabitants of the United States fhall be allowed to difpafe, by testament, gift, or otherwife, of their property, real and perfonal, poffeffed in the European territories of the French republic; and the citizens of the French republic fhall have the fame power with regard to real and perfonal property poffeffed in the territories of the United States, in favour of fuch perfons as to them fhall feem good. The citizens and inhabitants of one of the two ftates who fhall be heirs to property, real or perfonal, fituated in the other, fhall fucceed ab inteftato, without there being occafion for letters of naturalization, and without it be ing poffible for the effect of this flipulation to be denied or difputed under any pretext whatsoever; and the faid heirs, whether by will of ab inteftato, fhall, in both nations, be free from every tax. It is ftipulated that this article fhall, in no wife, infringe the laws which are now in force in the two nations, or which may hereafter be enacted againft emigration; and likewife, that, in cafe the laws of one of the two fiates fhould limit the rights of foreigners to real property, it fhall be lawful to fell fuch property, or to difpofe of it otherwife, in favour of the inhabitants or citizens of the country in which it is fituated; and the other nation fhall be at li

liberty

berty to establish fimilar regulations.

8th. In order mutually to promote the operations of commerce, it is agreed, that if (which the Lord forbid!) war should break out between the two countries, there fhall be allowed, mutually, to the merchants and other citizens, or refpective inhabitants, fix months after the declaration of war, during which period they will have the permillion to retire with fuch goods and effects as they may be able to carry off, or to fell the whole, agrecably to their own option, without the interpofition of any reftraint. Not only their goods, much less their perfons, can be feized on, during the prescribed period of fix months. On the contrary, they fhall be furnished with paffports, to fecure their fafe return home. Thefe paffports fhall avail them as guarantees against every infult and feizure on the part of privateers, who may attempt to capture their goods or their perfons; and if, within the term above mentioned, they fhould fuftain from any of the parties, their fellow-citizens, or abettors, any damage or injury, either in their perfons or property, they fhall receive complete fatisfaction thereof.

9th. The debts due by the individuals of one or the other nation to the individuals of the other, fhall not, in any cafe of hoftility or national difagreement, be fequeftrated or confifcated, no more than the depofits that are placed in the public funds, or in the houfes of public or private bankers.

10th. The two contracting parties may appoint, for the protection of commerce, commercial agents, who fhall refide in France

Each

and in the United States. party, may point out the fpot where they may wish their agents to be placed. Before any agent can exercife his functions, he must be received in the ufual forms by the party among whom he is to refide; and when he is received, and provided with his exequatur, he shall enjoy the rights and privileges that are to be enjoyed by the most favoured nations.

11th. The

citizens of the

French republic fhall not pay' in the ports, harbours, creeks, iflands, diftricts, or in any part of the United States, any higher impofts on entries of whatfoever nature or denomination than thofe that are or must be paid by the most favoured nations and they fhall enjoy all the rights, liberties, privileges, immunities, and exemptions, as far as regards trade, navigation, and commerce, whether in paffing from any one of the ports to the other of the faid United States, or in going thither or coming from thence, or whether they be deftined for any other part of the world, provided the above-mentioned powers are participants, or may participate therein. And, reciprocally, the citizens of the United States fhall enjoy within the territory of the French republic in Europe, the fame privileges, immunities, &c. &c. not only with regard to their perfons and property, but alfo as to what relates to trade, navigation, and commerce.

12th. The citizens of the two nations may convey their hips and merchandife, excepting always contraband goods, into any port belonging to the enemy of the other country. They may navigate and trade, in full freedom and fecurity, with their merchandise and ships

in the country, ports, &c. of the enemies of either party, without encountering any obftacle or control; and not only pafs directly from the ports and fortreffes of the enemy above mentioned into neutral ports and fortreffes, but, more over, from any place belonging to an enemy into any other appertaining to another enemy, whether it be or be not fubjected to the fame jurifdiction, unlels thefe ports or fortreffes be actually befieged, blockaded, or invested.

And in cafe, as it often happens, that veffels fail for a fortrels or port belonging to an enemy, without knowing that they are befreged, blockaded, or invested, it is provided, that every fhip that fhall be found in fuch circumftances fhall veer off from fuch harbour or for trefs, without being expofed to be detained or confifcated in any part of its cargo (unless it be contraband, or that it be proved that the faid fhip, after having been apprized of the faid blockade, &c. had attempted to enter into fuch harbour,) but it fhall be empowered to go into any other port or harbour it may deem convenient. No fhip belonging to either nation, that enters into a port or fortrefs before it be really put in a ftate of fiege or blockade by the other, fhall be prevented from failing out with its cargo.

13th. In order to regulate what is understood by contraband during war, under that head are to be comprised gunpowder, faltpetre, petards, matches, balls, búllets, bomb-fhells, piftols, halberds, cannon, harneffes, artillery of all forts, and, in general, all kinds of arms and implements for the equipment of troops. All the above

mentioned articles, whenever they fhall be found destined for an enemy's port, fhall be declared contraband, and juftly expofed to confifcation. But the fhip with which they were freighted, as well as the reft of the cargo, fhall be regarded as free, and in no manner thall be vitiated by the contraband goods, whether they belong to many, or to one and the fame proprietor.

14th. It is ftipulated by the prefent treaty, that free fhips fhall likewife enfure the freedom of goods, and that all things on board fhall be reckoned free belonging to the citizens of one of the contracting parties, although the cargo, or part of it, thould belong to the enemies of the two; it being understood, nevertheless, that contraband goods will always be excepted. It is, likewife, agreed, that this freedom fhall extend to the perfons of those who fhall be found on board the free fhips, although they thould be enemies to one of the two contracts ing parties; and it shall not be law ful to take them from the laid free fhips, at leaft if they are not foldiers, and actually in the service of the enemy.

15th. It is agreed, on the other hand, that all goods found put by the relpective citizens on board fhips belonging to the enemy of the other party, or to their fubjects, fhall be confifcated, without diftinction of prohibited or non-prohibited, and, likewife, if they belong to the enemy, to the exception always of effects and merchandises which fhall have been put on board the faid fhips before the declaration of war, or even after the above declaration, if it could not be known at the moment of lading; fo that the merchandises of the citizens of the two

parties,