FRANCE AND UNITED STATES. Consular Convention between France and the United States.* Signed at Washington, [Ratifications exchanged at Washington, August 11, 1853.] THE President of the United States of America, and His Majesty the Emperor of the French, being equally desirous to strengthen the bonds of friendship between the two nations, and to give a new and more ample development to their commercial intercourse, deem it expedient, for the accomplishment of that purpose, to conclude a special Convention which shall determine, in a precise and reciprocal manner, the rights, privileges, and duties of the Consuls of the two Countries. Accordingly they have named: The President of the United States, the Honourable Edward Everett, Secretary of State of the United States; His Majesty the Emperor of the French, the Count de Sartiges, Commander of the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour, &c., his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Washington; Who, after communicating to each other their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon the following Articles : ARTICLE I. The Consuls-General, Consuls, and Vice-Consuls, or Consular Agents of the United States and France, shall be reciprocally received and recognized, on the presentation of their Commissions, in the form established in their respective countries. The necessary exequatur for the exercise of their functions shall be furnished to them without charge; and on the exhibition of this exequatur, they shall be admitted at once, and without difficulty, by the territorial authorities, Federal or State, judicial or executive, of the ports cities, and places of their residence and district, to the enjoyment of the prerogatives' reciprocally granted. The Government that furnishes the exequatur reserves the right to withdraw it on a statement of the reasons for which it has thought proper to do so. ARTICLE II. The Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or Consular Agents of the United States and France, shall enjoy in the two countries the privileges usually accorded to their offices, such as personal immunity, except in the case of crime, exemption from military billetings, from service in the militia or the national guard, and other duties of the same nature; and from all direct and personal taxation, whether federal, State, or municipal. If, however, the said Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or Consular Agents, are citizens of the country in which they reside; if they are, or become, owners of property there, or engage in commerce, they shall be subject to the same taxes and imposts, and with the reservation of the treatment granted to commercial agents, to the same jurisdiction, as other citizens of the country who are owners of property, or merchants. They may place on the outer door of their offices, or of their dwelling houses, the arms of their nation, with an inscription in these words: "Consul of the United States,' or "Consul of France;" and they shall be allowed to hoist the flag of their country thereon. They shall never be compelled to appear as witnesses before the courts. When any declaration for judicial purposes, or deposition, is to be received from them in the administration of justice, they shall be invited, in writing, to appear in court, and if unable to do so, their testimony shall be requested in writing, or be taken orally at their dwellings. Consular pupils shall enjoy the same personal privileges and immunities as ConsulsGeneral, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular Agents. In case of death, indisposition, or absence of the latter, the Chancellors, Secretaries, Signed also in the French language. Appendix No. 24. France and United States. Appendix No. 24. and Consular pupils attached to their offices, shall be entitled to discharge ad interim ti duties of their respective posts, and shall enjoy, whilst thus acting, the prerogatives grante to the incumbents. France and United States. ARTICLE III. The Consular offices and dwellings shall be inviolable. The local authorities shall no invade them under any pretext. In no case shall they examine or seize the papers ther deposited. In no case shall those offices or dwellings be used as places of asylum. ARTICLE IV. The Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or Consular Agents, of both countries shall have the right to complain to the authorities of the respective Governments, whethe federal or local, judicial or executice, throughout the extent of their Consular district, of an infraction of the Treaties or Conventions existing between the United States and France or for the purpose of protecting informally the rights and interests of their countrymer especially in cases of absence. Should there be no Diplomatic Agent of their nation, the shall be authorized, in case of need, to have recourse to the General or Federal Govern ment of the country in which they exercise their functions. ARTICLE V. The respective Consuls-General, and Consuls, shall be free to establish, in such part of their districts as they may see fit, Vice-Consuls, or Consular Agents, who may be take indiscriminately from among Americans of the United States, Frenchmen, or citizens o other countries. These Agents, whose nomination, it is understood, shall be submitted to the approval of the respective Governments, shall be provided with a certificate given t them by the Consul by whom they are named, and under whose orders they are to act. ARTICLE VI. The Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or Consular Agents, shall have the right of taking at their offices or bureau, at the domicil of the parties concerned, or or board ship, the declarations of captains, crews, passengers, merchants, or citizens of thei country, and of executing there all requisite papers. The respective Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or Consular Agents, shal have the right, also, to receive at their offices, or bureau, conformably to the laws and regulations of their country, all acts of agreement executed between the citizens of their own country and [the] citizens or inhabitants of the country in which they reside, and even all such acts between the latter, provided that these acts relate to property situated, or to business to be transacted, in the territory of the nation to which the Consul or the Agent before whom they are executed may belong. Copies of such papers, duly authenticated by the Consuls-General, Consuls, ViceConsuls, or Consular Agents, and sealed with the official seal of their Consulate or Consular Agency, shall be admitted in courts of justice throughout the United States and France, in like manner as the originals. ARTICLE VII. In all the States of the Union, whose existing laws permit it, so long and to the same extent as the said laws shall remain in force, Frenchmen shall enjoy the right of possessing personal and real property by the same title and in the same manner as the citizens of the United States. They shall be free to dispose of it as they may please, either gratuitously or for value received by donation, testament, or otherwise, just as those citizens themselves and in no case shall they be subjected to taxes on transfer, inheritance, or any others different from those paid by the latter, or to taxes which shall not be equally imposed. As to the States of the Union, by whose existing laws aliens are not permitted to hold real estate, the President engages to recommend to them the passage of such laws as may be necessary for the purpose of conferring this right. In like manner, but with the reservation of the ulterior right of establishing reciprocity in regard to possession and inheritance, the Government of France accords to the citizens of the United States, the same rights within its territory in respect to real and personal property, and to inheritance, as are enjoyed there by its own citizens. ARTICLE VIII. The respective Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or Consular Agents, shall have exclusive charge of the internal order of the merchant-vessels of their nation, and shall alone take cognizance of differences which may arise, either at sea or in port, between the captain, officers, and crew, without exception, particularly in reference to the adjustment of wages and the execution of contracts. The local authorities shall not, on any pretext, interfere in these differences, but shall lend forcible aid to the Consuls, when they may ask it, to arrest and imprison all persons composing the crew whom they may deem it necessary to confine. Those persons shall be arrested at the sole request of the Consuls, addressed in writing to the local authority, and supported by an official extract from the register of the ship or the list of the crew, and shall be held, during the whole time of their stay in the port, at the disposal of the Consuls. Their release shall be granted at the mere request of the Consuls made in writing. The expenses of the arrest and detention of those persons shall be paid by the Consuls. Appendix No. 24. France and United States. ARTICLE IX. The respective Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or Consular Agents, may arrest the officers, sailors, and all other persons making part of the crews of ships-of-war, or merchant-vessels of their nation, who may be guilty or be accused of having deserted said ships and vessels, for the purpose of sending them on board or back to their country. To that end the Consuls of France in the United States shall apply to the magistrates designated in the Act of Congress of May 4, 1826, that is to say, indiscriminately to any of the federal, State, or municipal authorities; and the Consuls of the United States in France shall apply to any of the competent authorities and make a request in writing for the deserters, supporting it by an exhibition of the registers of the vessel and list of the crew, or by other official documents, to show that the men whom they claim belonged to said crew. Upon such request alone, thus supported, and without the exaction of any oath from the Consuls, the deserters, not being citizens of the country where the demand is made, either at the time of their shipping or of their arrival in the port, shall be given up to them. All aid and protection shall be furnished them for the pursuit, seizure, and arrest of the deserters, who shall even be put and kept in the prisons of the country at the request. and at the expense of the Consuls, until these agents may find an opportunity of sending them away. If, however, such opportunity should not present itself, within the space of two months, counting from the day of the arrest, the deserters shall be set at liberty, and shall not again be arrested for the same cause. ARTICLE X. The respective Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or Consular Agents, shall receive the declarations, protests, and reports of all captains of vessels of their nation in reference to injuries experienced at sea; they shall examine and take note of the stowage ; and when there are no stipulations to the contrary between the owners, freighters, or insurers, they shall be charged with the repairs, If any inhabitants of the country in which the Consuls reside, or citizens of a third nation, are interested in the matter, and the parties cannot agree, the competent local authority shall decide. ARTICLE XI. All proceedings relative to the salvage of American vessels wrecked upon the coasts of France, and of French vessels wrecked upon the coasts of the United States, shall be respectively directed by the Consuls-General, Consuls, and Vice-Consuls of the United States in France, and by the Consuls-General, Consuls, and Vice-Consuls of France in the United States, and until their arrival by the respective Consular Agents, wherever an agency exists. In the places and ports where an agency does not exist, the local authorities, until the arrival of the Consul in whose district the wreck may have occurred, and who shall be immediately informed of the occurrence, shall take all necessary measures for the protection of persons and the preservation of property. The local authorities shall not otherwise interfere than for the maintenance of order, the protection of the interests of the salvors, if they do not belong to the crews that have been wrecked, and to carry into effect the arrangements made for the entry and exportation of the merchandize saved. It is understood that such merchandize shall not be subjected to any Custom-house [339] T Appendix No. 24. duty if it is to be re-exported, and, if it be entered for consumption, a diminution of such duty shall be allowed in conformity with the regulations of the respective countries. France and United States. ARTICLE XII. The respective Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or Consular Agents, as well as their Consular pupils, chancellors, and secretaries, shall enjoy in the two countries all the other privileges, exemptions, and immunities which may at any future time be granted to the Agents of the same rank of the most-favoured nation. ARTICLE XIII. The present Convention shall remain in force for the space of ten years from the day of the exchange of the ratifications, which shall be made in conformity with the respective Constitutions of the two countries, and exchanged at Washington within the period of six months, or sooner, if possible. In case neither party gives notice, twelve months before the expiration of the said period of ten years, of its intention not to renew this Convention, it shall remain in force a year longer, and so on from year to year, until the expiration of a year from the day on which one of the parties shall give such notice. In testimony whereof, the respective Plenipotentiarics have signed this Convention, and hereunto affixed their respective seals. Done at the City of Washington, the 23rd day of February, A.D. 1853. FRANCE AND VENEZUELA. Convention Consulaire entre la France et le Vénézuela. Signée à Caracas, [Les ratifications ont été échangées à Caracas, le 23 Mai, 1857.] SA Majesté l'Empereur des Français et la République de Venezuela, désire de rendre plus étroites les relations des deux pays, et reconnaissant que le manque de règles fixes en matière de facultés et de priviléges appartenant aux Consuls, devient, parfois, la source de différends qu'il convient et qu'il est désirable d'éviter, ont résolu de conclure une Convention qui comble cette lacune. A cet effet, ont nommé pour leurs Plénipotentiaires : Sa Majesté l'Empereur des Français, M. Léonce Levraud, Chevalier de l'Ordre Impérial de la Légion d'Honneur, et Consul-Général et Chargé d'Affaires de France à Caracas; Et son Excellence le Président de Venezuela, M. Jacinto Gutierrez, Secrétaire d'Etat aux Départements de l'Intérieur, de la Justice, des Finances, et des Relations Extérieures ; Lesquels, après avoir examiné et échangé leurs pleins pouvoirs, trouvés en bonne et due forme, sont convenus des Articles suivants : ARTICLE I. Il pourra être établi des Consuls-Généraux, Consuls et Vice-Consuls de chacun des deux pays dans l'autre, pour la protection du commerce. Ces Agents seront réciproquement admis et reconnus, dès qu'ils présenteront leurs provisions selon la forme établie dans leurs pays respectifs. L'exéquatur nécessaire pour le libre exercice de leurs fonctions leur sera délivré sans frais; et, sur l'exhibition de cette pièce, les autorités administratives et judiciaires des ports, villes ou lieux où ils devront résider, les y feront jouir immédiatement, ainsi que dans tout le reste de leur arrondissement respectif, des prérogatives et priviléges ci-après. ARTICLE II. Les Consuls-Généraux, Consuls et Vice-Consuls, ainsi que les Elèves-Consuls, Chanceliers, Secrétaires attachés à leur Mission, jouiront, dans les deux pays, des priviléges généralement attribués à leurs charges, tels que l'exemption des logements militaires et celle de toutes les contributions directes, tant personnelles que mobilières ou somptuaires, à moins, toutefois, qu'ils ne soient citoyens du pays ou qu'ils ne deviennent, soit propriétaires, soit possesseurs temporaires de biens immeubles, ou enfin qu'ils ne fassent le commerce; pour lequel cas ils seront soumis aux mêmes taxes, charges et impositions que les autres particuliers. Ces Agents jouiront, dans tous les cas, de l'immunité personnelle; ils ne pourront être arrêtés, traduits en jugement ou mis en prison, excepté dans le cas de crime atroce; et, s'ils sont négociants, la contrainte par corps ne pourra leur être appliquée que pour les seuls faits de commerce et non pour causes civiles. Ils pourront placer au-dessus de la porte extérieure de la maison qu'ils occuperont, un tableau aux armes de leur nation avec une inscription portant "Consulat de France" ou "Consulat de Venezuela;" et aux jours de solennités publiques, nationales ou religieuses, ils pourront aussi arborer sur la maison Consulaire un pavillou aux couleurs de leur pays. Il est bien entendu que ces marques extérieures ne pourront jamais être interprétées comme constituant un droit d'asile, mais serviront principalement à désigner aux matelots, autres nationaux et étrangers, l'habitatiou Consulaire. Les Consuls-Généraux, Consuls et Vice-Consuls, non plus que les Elèves-Consuls, Chanceliers et Secrétaires attachés à leur Mission, ne pourront être sommés de comparaître devant les tribunaux du pays de leur résidence; quand la justice locale aura besoin de prendre auprès d'eux quelque information juridique, elle devra la leur demander par écrit ou se transporter à leur domicile pour la recueillir de vive voix. En cas de décès, d'empêchement ou d'absence des Consuls-Généraux, Consuls et ViceConsuls, les Elèves-Consuls, les Chanceliers ou Secrétaires seront admis de plein droit à gérer par intérim les affaires de l'établissement Consulaire, sans empêchement ni obstacle de la part des autorités locales, qui leur donneront au contraire toute aide et assistance. Pour l'exécution du paragraphe antérieur, il est convenu que les Chefs de Postes Appendix No. 25 France and |