ments as it shall find expedient for encouraging and extending its own navigation. The Ruffian merchants fhall enjoy the fame liberties and privileges as the British merchants of the Ruffian company enjoy; and, as the defign of the two high contracting parties, and the intention of this treaty, is to facilitate the reciprocal commerce of their fubjects, and to extend its limits and mutual advantages, it is agreed, that the British merchants trading in the dominions of Ruffia, shall have liberty, in cafe of death, a preffing exigency, or abfolute neceffity, when there are no other means of procuring money, or in cafe of bankruptcy, to difpofe of their effects, whether of Ruffian or foreign merchandise, in fuch manner as the perfons concerned fhall find most advantageous. The fame thing fhall be observed with regard to the Ruffian merchants in the dominions of Great Britain. All which, however, is to be underflood with this reftriction, that every fort of permiffion, on the one fide and on the other, fpecified in this article, fhall not be in any thing contrary to the laws of the country; and the British, as well as the Ruffian merchants and their factors fhall punctually conform to the rights, ftatutes, and ordinances of the country where they trade, in order to prevent all kind of fraud and impofition. 'Tis for this reafon, that the decifion of fuch events happening to the British compting-houfes in Ruffia, fhall be fubmitted, at Petersburgh, to the college of commerce, and in other towns where there is no college of commerce, to the tribunals that have the cognizance of commercial affairs.

V. It is agreed, that the subjects of Great Britain, if they have no rixdollars to pay the customs or other duties for the merchandize which they import or export, fhall be allowed to pay them in other foreign coin of a known name and established value, equal to that of the rixdollar, or in the current coin of Ruffia, the rixdollar valued at a hundred and twenty-five copecs (or pennies).

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VI. All

VI. All poflible affiftance and dispatch fhall be given to the loading and unloading of fhips, as well for the importation as the exportation of commodities, according to the regulations on that head eftablifhed; and they fhall not be in any manner detained, under the penalties denounced in the faid regulations. In like manner, if the fubjects of Great Britain make contracts with any chancery or college whatever, to deliver certain commodities or effects, upon notifying that fuch commodities are ready to be delivered, and after they fhall have been actually delivered at the time' fpecified in thefe contracts, they fhall be received, and immediately thereupon the accounts fhall be fettled and cleared between the faid college or chancery and the British merchants, at the time fixed in the faid contracts. The fame conduct fhall be obferved towards Ruffian merchants in the dominions of Great Britain.

VII. It is agreed, that the fubjects of Great Britain may, in all the towns and places of Ruffia, where freedom of trade is permitted to any other nation, pay for the commodities they purchafe in the fame current coin of Ruffia, which they take for the commodities they fell, unlefs in their contracts they have ftipulated the contrary; and this ought to be equally understood of Rufian merchants in the dominions of Great Britain.

VIII. In the places where embarkations are ordinarily made, permiffion fhall be granted to the fubjects of the high contracting parties, to load their fhips and carriages with, and tranfport by water or by land, all fuch forts of commodities as they fhall have purchased (with an exception, however, of thofe whofe exportation is prohibited) upon paying the cuftoms, provided thefe fhips and carriages conform to the laws.

IX. The fubjects of the high contracting parties fhall pay no greater duty for the importation or exportation of their commodities, than is paid by the fubjects

jects of other nations. Neverthelefs, to prevent on both fides the defrauding of the cuftoms, if it fhould be discovered that commodities have been entered clandeftinely, and without paying the cuftoms, they fhall be confifcated; but, befides that, no other punishment fhall be inflicted upon the merchants on either fide.

X. Permiffion fhall be granted to the fubjects of the two contracting parties to go, come, and trade freely with thofe ftates, with which one or other of the parties fhall at that time, or at any future period, be engaged in war, provided they do not carry military ftores to the enemy. From this permiffion, however, are excepted places actually blocked up, or besieged, as well by fea as by land; but, at all other times, and with the fingle exception of military ftores, the abovefaid fubjects may transport to thefe places all forts of commodities, as well as paffengers, without the least impediment. With regard to the fearching of merchant fhips, men of war and privateers fhall behave as favourably as the reafon of the war, at that time exifting, can poffibly permit towards the most friendly powers that hall remain neuter; obferving, as far as may be, the principles and maxims of the law of nations, that are generally acknowledged.

XI. All cannon, mortars, mufkets, piftols, bombs, grenades, bullets, balls, fufees, flint-ftones, matches, powder, falt-petre, fulphur, breaft-plates, pikes, fwords, belts, cartouch-bags, faddles, and bridles, beyond the quantity that may be neceffary for the use of the fhip; or beyond what every man ferving on board the fhip, and every paffenger, ought to have, fhall be accounted ammunition or military ftores; and, if found, fhall be confifcated, according to law, as contraband goods or prohibited commodities; but neither the fhips nor paffengers, nor the other commodities found at the fame time, fhall be detained or hindered to profecute their voyage. XII. 16,

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XII. If, what God forbid! the peace fhould come. to be broke between the two high contracting parties, the perfons, fhips, and commodities, fhall not be detained or confifcated; but they fhall be allowed, at leaft, the space of one year, to fell, difpofe, or carry off, their effects, and to retire wherever they pleafe; a ftipulation that is to be equally underflood of all thofe who fhall be in the fea or land fervice; and they fhall farther be permitted, either at or before their departure, to confign the effects which they fhall not as yet have di pofed of, as well as the debts that fhall be due to them, to fuch perfons as they fhall think proper, in order to difpofe of them according to their defire, and for their benefit; which debts, the debtors shall be obliged to pay in the fame manner as if no fuch rupture had happened.

XIII. In cafe of a fhipwreck happening in any place belonging to one or other of the high contracting parties, not only fhall all kind of affiftance be given to the unhappy fufferers, and no fort of violence fhall be offered to them, but even the effects which they fhall have faved themfelves, or which they fhall have thrown overboard into the fea, fhall not be concealed, withheld, or damaged, under any pretext whatfoever; on the contrary, the above-faid effects and commodities fhall be preferved and restored to them, upon their giving a moderate recompenfe to thofe who fhall have affifted, them in faving their lives, their fhips, and their commodities.

XIV. Permiffion fhall be granted to British merchants to build, buy, fell, and hire houfes in all the territories and towns of Ruffia, excepting, however, with regard to the permiffion of building and buying houfes in thofe towns of Ruffia which have particular rights of burgherfhip, and privileges inconfiftent with fuch indulgence; and it is exprefsly fpecified, that at St. Petersburgh, Mofcow, and Archangel, the houses which the British merchants fhall buy, or caufe to

be

be built, fhall be exempt from all quartering of foldiers, as long as they fhall belong to them, and shall be inhabited by them; but with regard to the houses which they fhall hire or let, thefe fhall be fubject to all the ufual charges of the town; the tenant and landlord fettling that matter between them. As to every other town of Ruffia, the houfes which they fhall purchase or caufe to be built, in the fame manner as thofe which they fhall hire or let, fhall not be exempted from the quartering of foldiers. Permiffion fhall likewife be granted the Ruffian merchants to build, buy, fell, and let houfes in Great Britain and Ireland, in the fame manner as is done by the fubjects of the most favoured nations. They fhall enjoy the free exercife of the Greek religion in their houfes, or in fuch places as are deftined for that purpose; and in like manner the British merchants hali enjoy the free exercife of the Proteftant religion. The fubjects of either power, eftablifhed in Ruffia or in Great Britain, fhall have power to difpofe of their eftates, and to leave them by will to whomfoever they think proper, following the cuftoms and laws of their own proper country.

XV. Paffports fhall be granted to all British subjects who defire to quit the dominions of Ruffia, two months after they fhall have fignified their defign of departing, without obliging them to give fecurity; and if, in that time, there appear no juft caufe for detaining them, they fhall be allowed to go; nor fhall they be obliged to apply for that purpose to any other quarter than to the college of commerce, or to that which may hereafter be eftablifhed in its place. The fame easy methods of departing fhall, upon like occafions, and agreeable to the cuftom of the country, be granted to Ruffian merchants, who want to quit the dominions of Great Britain.

XVI. British merchants, who fhall hire or employ domeftics, fhall, in this particular, be obliged

to