care fhall be taken of the faid goods as of a native in like cafe, until the lawful owner may take measures for receiving them. And if queftions thould arife among feveral claimants, to which of them the goods belong, the fame fhall be decided by the laws and judges of the land wherein the faid goods are. And where on the death of any perfon holding a real eftate within the territories of the one party, fuch real eftate would, by the law of the land, defcend on a citizen or fubject of the other, were he not difqualified by being an alien, fuch fubject fhall be allowed a reasonable time to fell the fame, and to withdraw the proceeds without moleftation, and exempt from all right of detraction on the part of the government of the refpective ftates.

12. The merchant fhips of either party which fhall be making into ports, or into a port belonging to the enemy of the other party, and concerning whofe voyage, and the fpecies of goods on board her, there fhall be juft grounds of fuf picion, fhall be obliged to exhibit as well upon the high feas as i the ports and havens, not only he paffport, but likewife certificates exprefsly fhewing that her good are not of the number of thof which have been prohibited as contraband.

thing be taken from them, or any injury be done them, within that term, to either party, or the peo ple or fubjects of either, full fatisfaction fhall be made by the government.

14. No fubject of his Catholic. majefty fhall apply for, or take any. commiffion or letters of marque, for arming any fhip or fhips to act as privateers against the United States, or against the citizens, people, or inhabitants of the faid United States, or against the property of any of the inhabitants of any of them, from any prince or ftate, with which the United States fhall be at war. Nor fhalt any citizen, fubject, or inhabitant of the faid United States, apply for, or take any commiffion or letters of marque, for arming any fhip or fhips to act as privateers against the fubjects of his Catholic majefty, or the property of any of them, from any prince or with which the faid king f at war. And if any pe either nation fhall take f ion or letters of maro inifhed as a pirate It fhall be law ar fubjects e y, and the babitant to fai

trade with the fame liberty and fecurity from the places, ports, or havens of thofe who are enemies to both, or either party, without any oppofition or difturbance whatfoever, not only from the places of the enemy afore-mentioned to neutral places, but allo from one place, belonging to an enemy, whether they be under the jurifdiction of the fame prince, or under feveral; and it is hereby ftipulated, that free fhips fhall alfo give freedom to goods, and that every thing fhall be deemed free and exempt which fhall be found on board the fhips belonging to the subjects of either of the contracting parties, although the whole lading, or any part thereof, fhould appertain to the enemy of either, contraband goods being always excepted. It is also agreed, that the fame liberty be granted to perfons who are on board a free fhip, fo that although they may be enemies to either party, they fhall not be made prifoners, or taken out of that free ship, unless they are foldiers, and in actual service of the enemies.

16. This liberty of navigation and commerce hall extend to all kinds of merchandizes, excepting only those which are diftinguished by the name of contraband; and under this name of contraband, or prohibited goods, fhall be comprehended arms, great guns, bombs, with their fufees, and the other things belonging to them, cannonballs, gun-powder, match, pikes, fwords, lances, fpears, halberts, mortars, petards, grenades, faltpetre, mufkets, musket-balls, buck lers, helmets, breaft-plates, coats of mail, and the like kind of arms, proper for arming foldiers; musket

refts, belts, horfes with their furniture, and all other warlike intruments whatever. Thefe merchandizes which follow, thall not be reckoned amongst contraband or prohibited goods; that is to fay, all forts of cloths, and all other manufactures woven of any wool, flax, filk, cotton, or any other materials whatever, all kinds of wearing apparel, together with all fpecies whereof they are used to be made; gold and filver, as well coined as uncoined, tin, iron, latten, brafs, copper, coals; as alfo wheat, barley, and oats, and any other kind of corn and pulfe; tobacco, and likewife all manner of fpices, falted and fmoked flesh, falted fish, cheese and butter, beer, oils, wines, fugar, and all forts of falt; and in general, all provifions which ferve for the fuftenance of life: furthermore, all kinds of cotton, hemp, flax, tar, pitch, ropes, fails, fail-cloths, anchors, or any part of anchors, alfo fhip-mafts, planks and wood of all kinds, and all things proper either for building or repairing fhips, and all other goods whatever which have not been worked into the form of any inftrument prepared for war by land or by fea, fhall not be reputed contraband, much lefs fuch as have been already wrought and made up for any other ufe; all which thall be wholly reckoned amongst free goods; as likewife all other merchandizes and things which are not comprehended, and particularly mentioned in the foregoing enumeration of contraband goods; fo that they may be tranfported and carried in the freeft manner by the fubjects of both parties, even to places belonging to an enemy, fuch towns or places being only excepted

U 2

excepted as are at that time beffegel, blocked up, or invetted. And except the places in which any fhip of war or fquadron thall, in confequence of forms or other accidents at fea, be under the neceflity of taking the cargo of any trading veffel or veffels, in which cafe they may ftop the faid veffel or veffels, and furnish themfelves with neceffaries, giving a receipt, in order that the power to whom the faid thip of war belongs, may pay for the article fo taken, according to the price thereof, at the port to which they may appear to have been deftined by the thip's papers; and the two contracting parties engage, that the veffels fhall not be detained longer than may be abfolutely neceffary for the faid ships to fupply themselves with neceffaries; that they will immediately pay the value of the receipts, and indemnify the proprietor for all loffes which he may have fuftained in confequence of fuch tranfaction.

17. To the end that all manner of diffentions and quarrels may be avoided and prevented on one fide, and on the other, it is agreed, that in cafe either of the parties hereto fhould be engaged in a war, the fhips and veffels belonging to fubjects or people of the other party, must be farnifhed with fea letters or paffports, expreffing the name, property, and bulk of the fhip, as alfo the name and place of habitation of the mafter or commander of the faid fhips, that it may appear thereby that the fhips really and truly belong to fubjects of one of the parties; which paffport fhall be made out and granted according to the form annexed to this treaty. They fhall likewife be recalled every year, that is, if the hip hap

pens to return home within the space of a year.

It is likewife agreed that fuch fhips being laden, are to be provided not only with paffports, as above-mentioned, but also with certificates, containing the feveral particulars of the cargo, the place whence the fhip failed, that so it may be known whether any forbidden or contraband goods be on board the fame; which certificates fhall be made out by the officers of the place whence the fhips failed in the accuftomed form; and if any one fhall think it fit or adviseable to exprefs in the faid certificates the perfon to whom the goods on board belong, he may do fo; without which requifites they may be fent to one of the ports of the other contracting party, and adjudged by the competent tribunal, according to what is above fet forth, that all the circumftances of this omiffion having been well examined, they fhall be adjudged to be legal prizes, unless they fhall give legal fatisfaction of their property by teftimony equally equivalent.

18. If the hips of the faid fubjects, people or inhabitants of either of the parties, fhall be met with, either failing along the coasts, or on the high feas, by any fhips of war of the other, or by any privateer, the faid fhip of war or privateer, for avoiding any diforder, hall remain out of cannon fhot, and may fend their boats on board the merchant ship which they fhall fo meet with, and may enter her to the number of two or three inen only, to whom the mafter or commander of fuch fhip or vessel shall exhibit his paflports concerning the property of the hip, made out

according

according to the form inferted in this prefent treaty, and the fhip, when the fhall have fhewn fuch paffport, fhall be free and at liberty to pursue her voyage, so as it thall not be lawful to moleft or give her chace in any manner, or force her to quit her intended course.

19 Confuls thall be reciprocally established, with the privileges and power which thole of the moft favoured nations enjoy in the ports where their confuls refide, or are permitted to be.

20. It is alfo agreed, that the inhabitants of the territories of each party fhall refpectively have free access to the courts of juftice of the other; and they fhall be permitted to profecute fuits for the recovery of their property, the payment of their debts, and for obtaining fatisfaction for the damages which they may have fuftained, whether the perfons whom they may fue, be subjects or citizens of the country in which they be found, or any other perfons whatever who may have taken refuge therein; and the proceedings and fentences of courts, fhall be the fame as if the contending parties had been fubjects or citizens of the faid country.

21. In order to terminate all differences on account of the loffes fuftained by the citizens of the United States, in confequence of their veffels and cargoes having been taken by the fubjects of his Catholic majefty during the late war between Spain and France, it is agreed that all, fuch cafes fhall be referred to the final decifion of commiffioners to be appointed in the following manner. His Catholic majefty hall appoint one com

miffioner, and the prefident of the. United States, by and with the advice and confent of the fenate, fhall appoint another; and the faid two commiffioners fhall agree on the choice of a third, or if they cannot fo agree, they fhall each pro-, pofe one perfon, and of the two names fo propofed, one fhall be drawn by lot in the prefence of the two original commiffioners; and the perfon whofe name fhall be drawn fhall be the third commiffioner; and the three commiffioners fo appointed fhall be worn impartially to examine and decide the claims in queftion, according to the merit of the feveral cafes, and to juftice, equity, and the laws of nations. The faid commiflioners fhall meet and fit at Philadelphia; and in cafe of the death, fickness, or neceffary abfence of any fuch commiffioner, his place fhall be fupplied in the fame manner as he was first appointed, and the new commiffioner fhall take the fame oaths, and do the fame duties.They fhall receive all complaints and applications authorifed by this article during eighteen months from the day on which they fhall affemble. They fhall have power to examine all fuch perfons as coine before them, on oath or affirmation, touching the complaints in queftion, and alfo to receive in evidence all written teftimony, au-thenticated in fuch a manner as they fhall think proper to require or admit. The award of the faid commiflioners, or any two of them, fhall be final and conclufive, both. as to the juftice of the claim, and the amount of the fum to be paid to the claimants; and his Catholic majefty undertakes to caufe the fame

22. The two high contracting parties, hoping that the good correfpondence and friendship which happily reigns between them, will be further encreased by this treaty, and that it will contribute to augment their profperity and opulence, will in future give to their mutual commerce all the extenfion and favour which the advantages of both countries may require.

And in confequence of the ftipulations contained in the fourth article, his Catholic majefty will permit the citizens of the United States, for the fpace of three years from this time, to depofit their merchandizes and effects in the port of New Orleans, and to export them from thence without paying any other duty than a fair price for the hire of the ftores; and his majefty promifes, either to continue this permiffion, if he finds, during that time, that it is not prejudicial to the intereft of Spain, or if he fhould not agree to continue, he will affign to them, on another part of the banks of the Miffiffippi, an equivalent establishment.

23. The prefent treaty thall not be in force until ratified by the contracting parties, and the ratifications fhall be exchanged in fix months from that time, or fooner, if poffible.

In witnefs whereof, we the underwritten plenipotentiaries of his Catholic majefty and of the United States of America have figned this prefent treaty of friendship, limits,

Abstract of the Treaty between Great Britain and the United States of America.

THIS Treaty confifts of twentyeight articles:

The firft article establishes peace and friendship between his Britannic majefty and the United States.

In the fecond, his majefty confents to withdraw all his troops and garrifons from all pofts and places within the boundary lines affigned by the treaty of peace to the United States. The evacuation is to take place on or before the ift of June 1796.

The third article allows to his majefty's fubjects and the citizens of the United States, and to the Indians dwelling on either fide of the faid boundary line, freely to pafs and repafs by land or inland navigation into the refpective territories of the two parties. The country within the limits of the Hudson's Bay Company is excepted. Veffels belonging to the United States are not to be admitted into the ports of his majesty's faid territories, nor British veffels from the fea into the rivers of the United States beyond the highest ports of entry for foreign veffels from the fea. The navigation of Milliflippi, however is to be entirely free. Goods and merchandize fhall be conveyed into the territories

of