(1) That all vessels may navigate freely from port to port and along the coasts of the nations at war.

(2) That the effects belonging to subjects of the said Powers at war shall be free on board neutral vessels, with the exception of contraband merchandise.

(3) That to determine what constitutes a blockaded port, none shall be considered such except a port where the attacking Power shall have disposed and stationed its vessels sufficiently near to render access thereto clearly dangerous, and that no vessel sailing toward a blockaded port shall be considered as having contravened the present convention, unless, after having been notified by the commanding officer of the blockading fleet of the condition of the port, it shall attempt, either by force or by ruse, to enter therein.

(4) That neutral vessels may not be arrested except for just cause and for self-evident acts; that their cases shall be tried without delay; that the procedure shall always be uniform, prompt, and legal; and that in every instance, in addition to the indemnities granted to those who have suffered loss, without having been at fault, complete satisfaction shall be given for the insult to the flag of Their Majesties.

(5) That the declaration of the commanding officer of the vessel or vessels of the imperial or royal navy, which accompanies the convoy of one or more merchant ships, that his convoy carries no contraband merchandise, must be considered sufficient, and that thereupon there shall be no occasion to visit either his vessel or those of his convoy.

The better to ensure to these principles the respect due to stipulations dictated by a disinterested desire to maintain the inalienable rights of neutral nations, and to give further proof of their devotion to and love of justice, the high contracting Powers hereby bind themselves most solemnly to issue new and strict orders forbidding their captains, whether of ships of the line or of merchant ships, to load, hold, or conceal on board any articles which, by the terms of the present convention, might be considered contraband, and to see, respectively, to the execution of the orders that they shall have published in their admiralties and wherever else it may be necessary, with a view to which the ordinance, which shall renew this prohibition under the severest penalties, shall be printed at the end of the present act,' in order that there may be no allegation of ignorance thereof.

1 For the regulations as published by the King of Sweden, see post, p. 549.

ARTICLE 41

In return for this accession His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias shall see to it that the commerce and navigation of Prussian subjects enjoy the protection of his fleets, by ordering all the commanding officers of his squadrons to protect and to defend from insult and molestation such Prussian merchant ships as happen to be along their course, as those of a Power that is friendly, allied and strictly observant of neutrality; it being understood, however, that the aforesaid ships shall not be employed in any commerce that is illicit or contrary to the rules of the strictest neutrality.

The same protection and the same assistance shall be given to the Prussian flag by Danish and Swedish war-ships, and His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias binds himself to cooperate, if necessary, in the arrangements to be stipulated to this effect in separated conventions, to be concluded as a consequence of the present act between the Courts of Berlin, of Copenhagen, and of Stockholm.

ARTICLE 5

This convention shall have no retroactive effect, and consequently no action shall be taken with respect to differences which may have arisen before its conclusion, unless it is a question of continuous acts of violence, tending to establish an oppressive system for all the neutral nations of Europe in general.

ARTICLE 6

If, in spite of the most scrupulous care on the part of the two Powers and in spite of the observance of the most complete neutrality by them, merchant ships of His Imperial Majesty of all the Russias or of His Prussian Majesty should be insulted, pillaged, or taken by the war-ships or privateers of any of the Powers at war, then the Minister of the injured party shall make representations to the Government whose war-ships or privateers shall have committed such acts, demand the seized ship, and insist upon suitable indemnification, never losing sight of the reparation due for the insult to the flag.

1This article is substituted for Articles 4, 5 and 6 of the conventions with Sweden and Norway (ante, pp. 534, 540), and Article 5 of those treaties appears herein as a supplementary article (post, p. 549).

The Minister of the other contracting Party shall join with him and support his complaints in the most energetic and effectual manner, and they shall thus act in concert and in perfect accord. If justice should be refused on these complaints, or if the rendering of justice should be postponed from time to time, then Their Majesties shall employ reprisals against the Powers so refusing, and they shall take counsel with each other as to the most effectual method of carrying out such reprisals.

ARTICLE 7

If either of the two Powers or both of them, because of or in contempt of the present convention, should be disturbed, molested, or attacked, it is likewise agreed that they shall make common cause for their mutual defense and shall work and act in concert to secure full and complete satisfaction for the insult to their flag and for the losses caused to their subjects.

ARTICLE 8

The principles and the measures adopted by the present act shall be applicable also to all naval wars, which may unfortunately arise to disturb Europe. These stipulations shall therefore be regarded as permanent and shall constitute the rule for the contracting Powers in the matter of commerce and navigation, whenever there shall be occasion to pass upon the rights of neutral nations.

ARTICLE 9

The principal aim and object of this convention being to ensure general freedom of commerce and navigation, His Imperial Majesty of all the Russias and His Prussian Majesty agree and bind themselves. in advance to permit other neutral Powers to accede hereto, and that by adopting the principles they shall share the obligations as well as the advantages hereof.

ARTICLE 10

In order that the Powers at war may not allege ignorance of the arrangements concluded between Their said Majesties, they agree to bring to the knowledge of the belligerent parties the measures which they have together adopted, which are all the less hostile because they are not detrimental to any other country, for they tend solely to protect the commerce and navigation of their respective subjects.

ARTICLE 11

The present convention shall be ratified by the two contracting Parties, and ratifications thereof shall be exchanged in good and due form within six weeks, or sooner if possible, from the day on which. it is signed.

In faith whereof, we, the undersigned, by virtue of our full powers, have signed and hereto affixed the seal of our arms.

Done at St. Petersburg, December 6/18, 1800.

[L. S.] COUNT DE ROSTOPSIN

[L. S.] SPIRIDON COUNT DE LUSI

SUPPLEMENTARY ARTICLE

To prevent the annoyances that may arise as the result of the bad faith of those who make use of the flag of a nation to which they do not belong, it is agreed to lay down as an inviolable rule that, for a vessel to be considered as the property of the country whose flag it flies, its captain and half of its crew must belong to that country, and it must have on board papers and passports in good and due form; but any vessel that shall not observe this rule and that shall contravene the published ordinances to this effect, printed at the end of the present convention, shall lose all right to the protection of the contracting Powers, and the Government to which it belongs shall bear alone the losses, damages, and annoyances that may result therefrom.

1

Swedish Marine Regulations, December 23, 18002

The preamble states the necessity of rendering the rights of commerce clear and explicit. For this effect, in order to secure the protection of the Government, the commerce of Sweden must observe the following requisites:

1. In order that a ship be entitled to be considered as a Swede, she

1 For the regulations as published by the King of Sweden, see infra. 2Translation. For the German text, see Martens, 2d ed., vol. 7, p. 281. See also, Collection of State Papers, vol. 11, p. 206. These regulations were revised on January 21, 1804, post, p. 629.

must be built in Sweden, or the provinces under her dominion; or shipwrecked on the Swedish coast, and there sold; or bought in a foreign country by a legal and authentic contract. If such purchase is made in a country threatened with war, it shall be considered legal if made three months prior to its actually breaking out. Every ship purchased must be naturalized. As however the naturalization of ships bought in a foreign country, and afterwards taken by a cruiser belonging to any of the belligerent Powers, may frequently produce disagreeable explanations in the sequel, it is hereby declared, that in time of war ships shall not be allowed to be naturalized which have formerly been the property of the belligerents or their subjects: nevertheless, with the exception of all ships that were naturalized before the present regulation was adopted, which shall enjoy all the rights which are connected with the character of neutrals and Swedes.

2. The captain of the ship must be provided with all papers requisite and proper for the security of his voyage. Of this kind are (in case the ship goes through the Sound), a certificate of the place where the vessel was built, an invoice, letters showing the cargo not contraband, Turkish and Latin passports, a certificate by the magistrate of the place, a pass for the crew, a copy of the oath of the owner; a charter-party with the subscription of the freighter, the captain, and the person freighting the vessel; a manifest with the like subscriptions, containing a list of the different articles of the lading, and the conditions of the intended voyage; and a bill of health when the same is necessary. If the voyage is merely to the ports of the Baltic or the Sound, the Turkish and Latin passes are not necessary: but the captains must have all the other papers enumerated, without exception.

3. All these documents must be made out and delivered in a Swedish port, unless when a ship has lost her papers by accident, or where they have been forcibly taken away, in which case these documents may be renewed in a foreign port, if the captain, immediately on his arrival, takes the precaution to exhibit an authentic and properly certified declaration, by which the accident is proved, or the ground stated on which he desires the renewal.

4. The captain is prohibited to have false acts or certificates, or duplicates thereof. He is likewise prohibited to make use of a foreign flag.

5. It is required that the captain and half of the crew shall be Swedish subjects.