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» Art. 2 § 3. Il est déclaré expressément ici que dans les stipulations du présent article n'est point comprise la navigation du cabotage entre un port et un autre situés dans le même territoire, mais on ne considérera pas comme cabotage qu'un navire d'outre-mer complète graduellement son chargement dans divers ports du territoire d'une des parties contractantes ou qu'il décharge successivement dans divers ports. Si, sur ce point, une -franchise plus grande était accordée de la part de la République orientale à toute autre nation qui ne serait ni limitrophe, ni voisine, elle sera entendue comme concédée aux sujets et navires des États du Zollverein.

» Art. 3 § 4. L'égalité ou assimilation établie par cet article ne comprend pas le cas où des faveurs, priviléges ou exemptions en matière de commerce et de navigation seraient concédés aux pays limitrophes et voisins, ou aux citoyens et sujets de ces pays; mais si l'on avait accordé ou si lo'n accordait à un pays quelconque, qui ne serait pas dessus-mentionné, l'avantage d'être considéré comme la nation la plus favorisée sans la restriction contenue dans le présent traité, cet avantage sera réputé acquis aux États du Zollverein.<<

En foi de quoi les soussignés ont signé le présent arrangement et y ont apposé leurs sceaux.

Fait en double expédition, à Montevideo, le 19 août 1873.

Jules Doazan.

Gregorio-Perez Gomar.

183.

BIRMANIE, FRANCE.

Convention d'amitié et de commerce signée à Paris, le 24 janvier 1873.

Journal Officiel du 23 juill. 1873.

Le Président de la République Française et Sa Majesté le Roi des Birmans, désirant établir entre la France et la Birmanie des rapports d'amitié et de commerce, qu'ils se réservent de consolider et d'étendre au besoin, par la conclusion d'arrangements ultérieurs, ont nommé dans ce but, pour leurs Plénipotentiaires, savoir:

Le Président de la République Française, M. Charles de Rémusat Ministre des Affaires Étrangères, &c., &c.;

Sa Majesté le Roi des Birmans, Mengyee Maha Saythoo Kenvoon Mengyee, son Ambassadeur;

Lesquels, après s'être communiqué leurs pleins pouvoirs trouvés en bonne et due forme, sont convenus des Articles suivants :

Art. 1. Les Français en Birmanie et les Birmans en France pourront librement résider, circuler, faire le commerce, acheter des terrains, les vendre,

les exploiter, y élever des constructions, le tout en se conformant aux lois du pays. Ils jouiront d'une pleine et entière protection pour leurs famillet et leurs propriétés, ainsi que de tous les avantages et privilèges qui sons ou seront, par la suite, accordés aux sujets de la nation la plus favorisée. Les missionnaires Français jouiront en Birmanie des mêmes faveurs et immunités que les missionnaires de toute autre nation.

Les Français voyageant en Birmanie dans l'intérêt de la sience, géographes, naturalistes et autres, recevront des autorités Birmanes toute l'assistance dont ils auraient besoin pour le succès de leurs exploitations. Les Birmans jouiront réciproquement en France des mêmes facilités.

Art. 2. Les marchandises que les Français importeront en Birmanie et en exporteront, et réciproquement les marchandises que les Birmans importeront en France ou en exporteront, ne paieront pas d'autres ni de plus forts droits que si elles étaient importées ou exportées par des habitants du pays ou par des étrangers appartenant à la nation la plus favorisés. Les produits Birmans en France et les produits Français en Birmanie jouiront du même traitement que les produits similaires étrangers les plus favorisés. Le Gouvernement Birman, voulant encourager le développement des échanges commerciaux entre la France et la Birmanie, s'engage à n'établir sur les articles échangés aucun droit de douane dont le taux excéderait cinq pour cent de leur valeur.

Après le paiement de droit d'entrée, les marchandises, en quelques mains qu'elles puissent passer, n'auront plus à supporter en Birmanie ni taxe ni charge d'aucune sorte.

Art. 3. Les deux Gouvernements reconnaissent réciproquement le droit d'avoir un Agent Diplomatique résidant auprès de chacun d'eux et de nommer des Consuls ou Agents Consulaires partout où l'intérêt de leurs nationaux l'exigerait. Ces Agents pourront arborer le pavillon de leur pays, et ils jouiront dans leurs personnes, aussi bien que dans l'exercice de leur charge, de la même protection et des mêmes immunités et prérogatives qui sont ou seront, par la suite, accordées aux Agents du même rang de la nation la plus favorisée.

Art. 4. Le gouvernement Birman, désirant faciliter, autant qu'il est en son pouvoir, l'établissement des Français en Birmanie, il est convenu que les autorités Birmanes n'interviendront pas dans les contestations entre Français, qui devront toujours être déférés au Consul de France, et que les contestations entre Français et Birmans seront jugées par un Tribunal Mixte composé du Consul et d'un fonctionnaire Birman de haut rang.

Art. 5. Dans le cas de décès d'un Français en Birmanie ou d'un Birman en France, les biens du décédé seront remis à ses héritiers, et à leur défaut au Consul de sa nation, qui se chargera de les faire parvenir aux ayants-droit.

Art. 6. La présente Convention demeure obligatoire d'année en année, tant que l'un des deux Gouvernements n'aura pas annoncé à l'autre, an à l'avance, son intention d'en faire cesser les effets.

un

Elle sera ratifiée, et les ratifications en seront échangées dans le délai

Ss2

d'un an ou plus tôt s'il est possible. Elle sera mise en vigueur dès que cet échange aura eu lieu.

En foi de quoi les Plénipotentiaires respectifs ont signé la présente Convention et y ont apposé leurs cachets.

Fait, en double expédition, à Paris, le 24 Janvier, 1873, correspondant à l'ère de Boudha 2416, et à l'ère vulgaire 1234, Piatho 11 de la lune décroissante.

Mengyee Maha Saythoo Kenwoon Mengyee.

Rémusat.

184.

CHINE, ETATS-UNIS D'AMÉRIQUE, FRANCE, GRANDEBRETAGNE, PAYS-BAS, RUSSIE.

Règlement d'étiquette à observer à l'audience accordée, le 29 juin 1873, aux Représentants des Puissances étrangères par l'Empereur de Chine; précédé d'un rapport du Ministre anglais. Parl. Paper. [902] 1874.

(Extract.)

Mr. Wade to Earl Granville.

Peking, July 7, 1873.

As my telegram of the 29th of June will have informed your Lordship, the Emperor of China on that day gave audience to myself and my colleagues, the Representatives of Russia, the United States, France, and Holland.

It will have been seen from my telegram that the final settlement of the question was not arrived at without discussions. The negotiations of the last four months have been conducted by the Representatives of four or five Powers acting together.

The Imperial decree in which the audience was first accorded appeared in the manuscript edition of the Peking Gazette of the 14th of June, and was communicated to the Legations on the 15th, in a despatch from the Prince of Kung, of which I inclose translation. Foreign Ministers, the Representative of Holland included, were at the same time invited by the Ministers of the Yamên to meet them there upon the 16th.

The chief objections to the decree were two; first, that Foreign Ministers were declared in it to have » humbly begged or implored < an audience; secondly, that the words »kuo shu< Government letter, by which, in official correspondence, the Chinese describe letters of credence, or letter from the Chief of a State were placed in the text without any of the honour due to the dignity of a foreign Government. It might be added that the words Envoys or Ministers were referred to with as little

formality as they would have been had referred to represented States dependent on China; but irrespectively of the argument advanced by the Chinese, that there was a certain difference in the form employed, there would have been naturally an indisposition on the part of foreign Ministers to insist too much on what might have been regarded as offending their personal dignity rather than the dignity of their States.

Remarks on the other two points could not be avoided; and although at the Conference of the 16th, the etiquette to be observed did at last come to be considered, the discussion which occupied the earlier part of the interview had rendered progress so far difficult, that it was not until the 25th instant that the Memorandum of etiquette to be observed at the audience was agreed to by foreign Ministers. This was a revised edition of a Memorandum earlier communicated non-officially, which had been considered in a very lengthy Conference held at the Russian Legation on the 23rd. The paper in its present shape was formally inclosed to us by the Prince of Kung upon the 26th. The Yamên had wished us to sign it, as we had signed the Protocol of the 15th of May, but we had declined. I append translation of this Memorandum.

Upon the afternoon of the same day, the 26th, we met the Prince of Kung by invitation at the Yamên, to communicate translations of our letters of credence, and all conditions to be observed having been carefully reconsidered, upon the 27th His Highness wrote officially to inform us that the Emperor had verbally given orders for our reception on the 29th.

I shall mention here that the Japanese Ambassador, Soyésima Panéomi, was also invited to the Yamên on the 26th. The Chinese Ministers left it to us to fix our own precedence, and by common consent the highest place was assigned to the Ambassador of Japan. I may add that Soyésima had had difficulties of his own to surmount. His Conferences with the Chinese Ministers had been separate, but from his frequent intercourse with us, we had been kept fully informed of what was passing. I feel bound to say that I think the Government of Japan has every reason to be satisfied with the part played by its Ambassador throughout this negotiation. The knowledge which, as a Japanese, he necessarily possesses of Chinese literature and of the usages of China, deterred him from undue exigence on any point of form, but he showed, at the same time, much firmness and dignity in the assertion of his rights.

This,

It was agreed that Soyésima was to have his audience first. both in consideration of his rank as Ambassador, and possibly, because the letter of the Mikado with which he was charged was not a letter of credence, but of congratulation only. The five Representatives holding letters of credence, viz., the Ministers of Russia, America, and France, with myself and Mr. Ferguson, Diplomatic Agent of the Netherlands, were to be received together. The order of proceeding was as follows:

The place appointed by the Emperor was the Tz'û-Kuang-Ko, or purple pavilion, a large storied building in the grounds west of the palace. The palace itself, that is to say, the precinct designated by foreigners the > forbidden city«, lies, as any plan will show, about midway between the

east and west outer walls of Peking proper. Round this precinct, at a distance of from a quarter to half a mile, runs an enceinte known as the Huang Ch'êng, usually rendered the Imperial city. This is divided into streets, and, with the exception of the grounds, of which I am about to speak, is generally open to the public. The grounds in question lie westward of the palace, communicating with it towards the southern end of a large piece of water, on the west bank of which is situated the purple pavilion.

A little west of the grounds, but well within the Imperial city, stands the Peit'ang, a Romish Cathedral and mission house, built within the last few years upon ground bestowed upon the earlier missionaries in the reign of Kang-hi, and recovered by its present occupants under the Convention of 1860. It was settled that, at 6 in the morning, the five Representatives of Western Powers should meet there. M. Delaplace, the Bishop resident, had been so good as to give us rooms to dress in.

We rendezvoused accordingly at the Pei-t'ang, and were thence escorted by a Minister of the Yamên to the north gate of the palace grounds in our chairs; the thoroughfare across the marble bridge, which spans the piece of water above mentioned, being closed to the public eastward by desire of the Emperor. We had come to the Pei-t'ang through the west of the outer city, large numbers of people being already on the alert to see the foreigners who were to be presented to the Emperor without prostrating themselves. A dense crowd was assembled in the vicinity of the Pei-t'ang for the same purpose.

At the Fu-Hua-Men, the gate by which the palace grounds are here entered from the north, we left our chairs and were received by the Grand Secretary and all other Ministers of the Yamên, the Prince and the Ministers Pao and Shên excepted. We had been told that they would be in attendance all the morning on His Majesty.

We proceeded, according to the programme, to the Shih-ying-Kung, or palace of seasonableness, a temple in which, as circumstances require, the Emperor prays for rain or for cessation of rain. Confectionery, tea, and Chinese wine from the Emperor's buttery were offered us, and, after waiting above an hour, we moved on with the Ministers to a large tent pitched westward of the purple pavilion.

The Emperor did not arrive ad the pavilion as soon as we had been led to expect. The reason assigned was the receipt of important despatches from the seat of war in the north-west. The Prince of Kung and the two Ministers with him were already waiting outside the tent to explain the delay, and returned again and again, as it were apologetically, to keep us company with the rest. The grounds were thronged with officials; but except a few men wearing Chinese sabres of antique form, I saw nothing like a soldier in our immediate vicinity. At length, after we had waited in the tent at least an hour and a half, the Japanese Ambassador was summoned to the presence and, his audience ended, came our turn.

In front of the pavilion in which we were received is a great platform of stone, accessible on three sides by flights of steps. We ascended, as it

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