VI. The remitter of a money order may, before payment of such order, demand repayment of the amount thereof or the rectification of the name or address of the payee.

Before repayment of a money order is made, it must be ascertained that the Administration upon which the order is issued has not paid and will not pay such order.

VII.-1. The amounts of money orders shall be guaranteed to the remitters until they have been paid in due course upon the presentation of such money orders.

2. The amounts of money orders which have not been paid within the time prescribed by the laws of the issuing Administration shall belong to the latter Administration.

3. Enquiries respecting the payment of a money order to an authorized person shall only be made within a year of the time of the expiry of the period during which a money order is valid.

VIII.-1. The accounts in connection with the exchange of money orders between the contracting countries shall be compiled by the Commonwealth of Australia.

The regulations mentioned in Article XI provide for the terms and other particulars respecting the drawing up of such accounts.

2. The balances shown by the accounts shall appear in English money. For the purpose of the conversion of these balances into English money 18:15 kroner shall be considered to equal 17.

IX. For the paying in and out of the amounts of money orders within the services of the contracting Administrations the internal rules of both countries shall apply, in so far as they do not conflict with this Convention or with the Detailed Regulations appended thereto.

X. Each of the two Administrations has the power under extraordinary circumstances which may warrant it, to suspend temporarily the exchange of money orders with the other.

Notice of such suspension shall be given to the other Administration, if necessary, by telegraph, if such means of communication are available.

XI. Further particulars for the carrying out of this Convention are provided in the Detailed Regulations to be mutually agreed to by the contracting Administrations.

XII. This Convention shall come into force upon the 1st April, 1910, and may be terminated by one Contracting Party giving six months' notice to the other.

Done in duplicate and signed at Christiania on the 13th day of December, 1909, and at Melbourne, Australia, on the 27th day of April, 1910.

JOHN QUICK, Postmaster-General of the

Commonwealth of Australia.

Den norske Poststyrelse:

THB. HEYERDAHL.

DETAILED REGULATIONS to the Convention respecting the Exchange of Money Orders between the Commonwealth of Australia and Norway.

In accordance with Article II of the Convention, the Norwegian Postal Department has decided on the Money Order Office at Christiania as its office of exchange, and the Postal Department of the Commonwealth has appointed the following as its offices of exchange, namely

Perth, for Western Australia; and

Adelaide, for South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and Tasmania.

2. The sender of each money order shall upon issue give the full surname and, at least, the initial of one Christian name (in the case of firms and companies, the name of the firm or company shall be given), and the exact address of the payee as well as his own name and address.

3.-(1.) The exchange offices shall furnish by every mail lists according to Form (A) of money orders issued by their Administration for payment by the other Administration. The lists shall be prepared in duplicate.

(2.) If there are no money orders to be advised, a "nil" return shall be furnished.

4. The lists of each exchange office shall be numbered consecutively from the beginning to the end of each calendar year. The money orders shown in the lists shall also be numbered consecutively (these numbers to be called "international numbers") from the beginning to the end of each calendar year.

5. Should a list not reach its office of destination, such office shall immediately make enquiries regarding it. The despatching office of exchange shall in such case immediately furnish a duplicate list.

6. Each list shall be carefully checked by the receiving office of exchange.

Should a list contain errors or irregularities which can only be rectified through enquiries of the exchange office of the country of issue, the receiving office of exchange shall immediately ask the issuing office of exchange for an explanation, which the latter office shall furnish as quickly as possible. Until such explanation is received, the payment of the money orders concerned shall be suspended.

7.-(1.) Immediately upon receipt of the lists the receiving office of exchange shall issue inland money orders accordingly, and such orders shall be sent to the payees or to the paying office, in accordance with the regulations governing the payment of money orders in the country of payment.

(2.) Should a money order be lost before payment, the Administration of the country of destination shall issue a duplicate or an authority for payment.

(3.) Should the payee have removed to another town, the orders may be sent to him within the Administration of the paying country. Should the payee have gone to another country, the orders shall be treated in accordance with the following paragraph.

(4.) Refused money orders and those of which the payee is unknown, or has gone away without leaving an address, shall be immediately returned to the country of origin with an intimation of the cause of the return. The amounts of these orders shall be credited to the Administration of the issuing country in the manner set forth in paragraph 1 of Article 10 following.

8.-(1.) Money orders which shall not have been paid within twelve calendar months after the month of issue shall become void, and the sums received therefor shall accrue to, and be at the disposal of, the country of origin.

(2.) Money orders of which payment has not been demanded by the payee within the period of validity of such orders, shall be credited to the issuing office in the manner set forth in paragraph 2 of Article 10 following.

9.-(1.) The issuing Administration authorizes repayment of money orders to the remitters

(a.) If it has been informed by the Administration of the country of destination in the manner set forth in the following Article 10, that the latter Administration has not paid and will not pay such order;

(b.) If the remitter asks for repayment and the Administration of the country of destination is agreeable thereto.

(2.) Under the foregoing conditions the Administration of the issuing country is also empowered to authorize payment of orders to the payees when the latter have taken their residence within the country of such Administration.

10. The Administrations shall furnish to one another at the end of each month statements in accordance with Form (B). These statements shall contain :—

(1.) Particulars of all money orders issued by the other Administration, of which that Administration at the request of the Administration which prepares the statement, has authorized the payment to the sender or to another person (Article 9).

(2.) Particulars of all money orders paid into the other Administration, which have been refused by the payee, or of which the payee is unknown, or has left without leaving address (Article 7, paragraph 4).

In the remarks column of Form (B) the reason for the return of the order shall be stated. The money orders shown in this statement must not, after entry therein, be paid by the Administration which has prepared the list.

Also after the end of each month both Administrations shall prepare statements according to Form (C), which shall contain particulars, of all the money orders issued by the other Administration, payment of which has not been demanded within the period of validity (Article 8, paragraph 2).

The statements (C) prepared by the Administration of the Commonwealth of Australia shall be furnished to the Norwegian Administration at the beginning of the following month.

11. (1.) At the close of each quarter, accounts in duplicate shall be prepared in, and forwarded by, the Postmaster-General's Department of the Commonwealth of Australia to the Norwegian Administration according to Form (D) for each State of the Commonwealth of Australia, and also a covering general account showing the balances of both Administrations arising out of the money order exchange during the expired quarter.

In such accounts the balances due to Norway shall be shown in Norwegian money, and those due to the Commonwealth of Australia in English money.

(2.) These accounts shall contain:

:

(a.) The totals of the amounts of money orders advised to each Administration during the previous quarter;

(b.) The totals of Statements (B) showing the money orders put at the disposal of one Administration by the other;

(c.) The totals of the monthly statements (C) respecting lapsed money orders.

(3.) The net amount due to each Administration shall be arrived at by deducting the totals of Statements (B) and (C) from the totals of the lists. To such net amount due to each Administration shall be added per cent. of the amount of such net amount as commission to that Administration for money orders paid by it (vide Article V, paragraph 2, of the Convention).

(4.) The amount due to Norway shall be converted into English money according to the rate provided under Article VIII, paragraph 2, of Convention, and the definitive credit of one Administration or the other shall be decided by deducting the lesser balance from the greater.

(5.) The general account and subsidiary accounts shall be furnished in duplicate to the Norwegian Administration which shall, after duly certifying same, return one copy thereof.

12.-(1.) The final balance due to the Norwegian Administration in a quarterly account shall be adjusted at the same time as the account is rendered.

(2.) Should the final balance be in favour of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Norwegian Administration shall adjust such balance within thirty days after receipt of the general account and subsidiary accounts.

13.-(1.) The payment of balances due to the Administrations shall, unless otherwise mutually arranged, be made by draft payable at thirty days in London.

(2.) The draft in payment of the balance due to Norway shall be forwarded to the Norwegian Administration by the Administration of the Commonwealth.

Should the balance be due to the Administration of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Norwegian Administration shall forward the draft to the General Post Office, London, to be placed to the credit of the Commonwealth of Australia.

(3.) Should one of the two Administrations before the preparation or verification of an account be convinced that it owes the other a sum of over 2,000l., the former shall, without delay, remit a sum approximating to the amount of the balance.

(4.) The cost of remitting shall in all cases be payable by the remitting Administration.

14. The Regulations shall come into force at the same time, and shall have the same duration as the Convention.

Done in duplicate and signed at Christiania, on the 13th day of December, 1909, and at Melbourne, Australia, on the 27th day of April, 1910.

JOHN QUICK, Postmaster-General of the
Commonwealth of Australia.

Den norske Poststyrelse:

THB. HEYERDAHL.

EXCHANGE OF NOTES between the Canadian and Belgian Governments regulating the Trade Relations between the two Countries.-Ottawa, June 6, 1910.*

The Canadian Minister of Finance to the Consul-General for

DEAR MR. KETELS,

Belgium.

Ottawa, June 6, 1910. REFERRING to the several interviews which we have had on the subject of commercial relations between Belgium and Canada, I desire, on behalf of the Canadian Government, to reciprocate the assurances you have given me of the disposition of your Government to maintain the friendly commercial arrangements which have so long existed between the two countries.

With respect to your desire that Canada should extend to Belgium all the benefits granted to France by the recent Convention respecting commercial relations between Canada and France, I must point out that this could only be done through the making of a formal Treaty by Plenipotentiaries duly authorized by His Majesty the King, on behalf of Canada, and His Majesty the King of Belgium, to be confirmed later by the Parliament of Canada and, I presume, by the Belgian legislative authority. If we should confine our view of the question to action along these lines, some considerable delay would inevitably occur. I have understood that it is your desire that some steps should be taken which would secure at a very early day an improvement in the position of Belgium in relation to Canadian trade.

The Canadian Government have the power to grant to

# ( 'Canada Gazette," June 10, 1910,