OF THE
NINETEENTH CENTURY
EDITED BY
SIR AUGUSTUS OAKES, C.B.
LATELY OF THE FOREIGN OFFICE
AND
R.B. MOWAT, M.A.
FELLOW AND ASSISTANT TUTOR OF CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE, OXFORD
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
SIR H. ERLE RICHARDS
K.C.S.I., K.C., B.C.L., M.A.
FELLOW OF ALL SOULS COLLEGE AND CHICHELE PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
AND DIPLOMACY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
ASSOCIATE OF THE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
OXFORD AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 1918
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW NEW YORK
TORONTO MELBOURNE CAPE TOWN BOMBAY
HUMPHREY MILFORD
PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY
INTRODUCTION
IT is now generally accepted that the substantial basis on which International Law rests is the usage and practice of nations. And this makes it of the first importance that the facts from which that usage and practice are to be deduced should be correctly appreciated, and in particular that the great treaties which have regulated the status and territorial rights of nations should be studied from the point of view of history and international law. It is the object of this book to present materials for that study in an accessible form.
The scope of the book is limited, and wisely limited, to treaties between the nations of Europe, and to treaties between those nations from 1815 onwards. To include all treaties affecting all nations would require many volumes; nor is it necessary, for the purpose of obtaining a sufficient insight into the history and usage of European States on such matters as those to which these treaties relate, to go further back than the settlement which resulted from the Napoleonic wars. The aim of the authors is to present an historical summary of the international position at the time of each treaty; to state the points at issue and the contentions of the parties; and so to make readily accessible the materials on which international lawyers have to work. For this reason the pure law-making treaties have been omitted; the Hague Conventions, for instance, speak for themselves, and in their construction the jurist needs little help from general history.
A special chapter has been written on diplomatic forms and procedure with regard to treaties, and this must take rank as a high authority on these points. It will be found of particular value in studying the details of the negotiations which have resulted in international agreements.
With the general law relating to treaties the authors make no attempt to deal, and in that they are well-advised; both because it is beyond the province of their work, and because on some points as to the continuance and avoidance of treaties the law is still indeterminate and lawyers differ. But there is one point of law on which an opinion has been pronounced in the chapter to which reference has been made, which is a point of much present importance; and since it is one that is likely to come up for decision in the near future, it may be useful to explain it at somewhat greater length than has been possible in that chapter. It is as to the effect of war on treaties. It may be that the peace settlement will make special provision for the treaties which existed between the belligerents before war, but if that be not done questions must arise as to the revival and continuance of former treaties.
The authors state the general proposition that a treaty is terminated by the occurrence of war between the parties, 'war being considered with certain exceptions as having the effect of abrogating treaties'. That statement of the law is well founded on authority, but there has been a tendency of late to advocate another view, and there are jurists who maintain that the rule is, or at least ought to be, that, subject to certain exceptions, treaties are suspended only by war and revive on the return of peace. It is desirable on general grounds to limit the effect of war on the relation of states as far as may be possible, but the usage of nations up to the present time affords no sufficient foundation for this opinion, in so far as it purports to be a statement of existing law.
The effect of war on any particular treaty must depend in the first instance on the character of the treaty itself. There are some treaties which are expressed to operate in the event of war and have been concluded with that object. Such, for instance, are the Hague Conventions and treaties providing for the neutralization of particular territories. These obviously cannot be suspended or annulled by war; on the contrary, they are brought into operation by the occurrence of war. Further, there are some treaties which affect third parties, and so far as their rights are concerned it is equally obvious as a general proposition that no belligerent can affect them by a declaration of war against any other nation. Again, there are some treaties which have been fully executed, that is, there are cases in which the obligations imposed by the treaty have been performed so that there is no longer any outstanding liability under them. Such are treaties of cession under which territory has been ceded and sovereignty assumed by the State to whom the cession has been made. It is clear that war does not divest that sovereignty, for it rests on the accomplished transfer and no longer on treaty obligation. So in the case of a treaty imposing the payment of a sum of money by way of indemnity or otherwise, and payment made; war does not open up that again, for the money has passed and the obligation of the treaty was thereupon ended. Martens and others have classified treaties such as these by the name of 'transi-tory', because the property has passed under them. But the term is misleading to us because of the sense in which it is ordinarily used in the English language, nor is the alternative 'dispositive' suggested by later English writers much more lucid. It serves little useful purpose, however, to dwell on a question of pure terminology; the English lawyer will understand what is meant if these treaties be called 'executed'. The real reason of the exception of this class of treaties is that title rests on a completed act, and not on a treaty obligation of which the liability is still continuing.
It has been said that within the class of treaties which remain unaffected by war are included treaties which create rights over land, and are sometimes called international servitudes. But in the absence of express stipulation the usage of nations affords no sufficient foundation for the recognition of a special class of treaty rights vested with special attributes, and in particular with the attribute of permanency in spite of war, such as is assumed in the conception of international servitudes. The distinction is largely the creation of text-writers, working on the analogy of the rights known as servitudes in Roman law; a dangerous analogy since the rules of private property cannot be applied with any degree of exactness to the sovereign rights of States. There seems no reason why rights conferred by treaty on one State to be exercised in the territory of another State should be in any different position from that of other treaty rights; and, indeed, that this is so would appear from the personal element which is inherent in most such grants to a greater or less extent. State A before war may be willing to admit the subjects of State B to the enjoyment of certain rights in the A territories; but after war, relations stand on an altogether different footing. The fact is, that the personal element enters largely into treaty concessions and that they bear no real analogy to private rights of servitude. Moreover, if that analogy were to apply at all, it must apply equally to the common case of treaties conferring rights of entering and residing for the purposes of trade, for those are rights to be exercised on the soil, if the connexion with the soil is to be the test. But any extension such as that would be opposed to well-established usage. The general question of servitudes was threshed out in the North Atlantic Fisheries Arbitration at The Hague in 1910, and the Award of the Tribunal is an express decision that treaty rights of fishing in territorial waters stand in no different position from any other treaty rights and that there is no special law of servitudes applicable to such a case, even if there be any such special class of servitude rights at all. The decision on this point has not been accepted in its entirety by all text-writers; some of them already committed to the theory of servitudes are reluctant to acquiesce in an adverse judgement. But it is thought that the Award is a correct statement of international law and that it is in accordance with the practice of nations; for though there is authority for the general doctrine of servitudes to be found in the opinion of jurists (and even they are not in agreement as to the extent and the attributes of a servitude), there is little or no precedent in the usage of nations. 1 Indeed, the investigation of the matter at The Hague demonstrated, as is submitted, that the doctrine could
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1 For instance, the French treaty-right of fishing on the Newfoundland coast (Treaty of Utrecht, 1713) was renewed in express terms after every war between France and Great Britain.
not be maintained, or at least could not be maintained to anything like the extent which has been claimed for it. The Mediatized States which formed the Germanic Confederation had mutual agreements relating to rights of way and the like which have been called servitudes, but this was a special case; the States in those respects were really in the position of landowners rather than sovereigns and the rights were analogous to those of dominium rather than of imperium. Nor has this precedent ever become part of international law. The better opinion, therefore, seems to be that so-called servitudes created by treaty stand in no different position than other treaty rights, and are affected by war in no different way.
There is another class of treaties which it seems reasonable to hold suspended only during war and to revive on the termination of hostilities, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary; such, for instance, are the treaties which provide for extradition or the mutual enforcement of judgements. These treaties are intended to be permanent, and depend on no personal considerations; they are matters of mutual convenience. But the law cannot be said to be definite on this point.
Subject to these observations the general rule is that treaties are terminated by war. And indeed this is only natural. The more common kind of treaties regulating, for instance, the alliances of States, the economic relations of States, mutual facilities for commerce -- all these must obviously depend on the personal relations of the contracting parties, and, as has been already observed, those personal relations cannot fail to be affected by war. Trade with a friend is one thing, trade with a nation which has till lately been a bitter enemy is another thing; the conditions are altered, and the rule that treaties generally are abrogated at the outbreak of war is based on good reason.
It has therefore been the common practice to make express provision in treaties of peace for the renewal or confirmation of such treaties existing before the war as the parties may agree to continue. In the absence of express provision it is of course still open to the parties to agree to the continuance in any other way, by diplomatic negotiation or by acquiescence. But in default of agreement, the general rule comes into force and treaties are held abrogated by war.
It will be observed that a large number of treaties discussed in this book fall within the class of executed contracts to which States other than belligerents are parties. But economic treaties between the belligerents are at an end, in default of provision to the contrary, and that gives to the opposing States the power of adjusting their trade relations in accordance with the altered conditions which will prevail after the war. H. ERLE RICHARDS.
NOTE IT is our pleasant duty to acknowledge the courtesy of the Foreign Office in affording us facilities for carrying out this work; and also to thank Godfrey Hertslet, Esq., of the Foreign Office for allowing us to use some of his father's material. We desire, also, to acknowledge gratefully the action of H.M. Stationery Office in waiving the Government Copyright in respect of certain documents in Hertslet Map of Europe by Treaty. For permission to use the material of the map of France in the last century from An Historical Atlas of Modern Europe ( Oxford University Press) we are indebted to Messrs. C. Grant Robertson and J. G. Bartholomew. Finally, our gratitude is due to Professor Sir H. Erle Richards for suggestions and help given to us at every stage.
A.H.O. R. B. M.
March, 1918.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION iii
I. ON THE CONCLUSION OF TREATIES IN ITS TECHNICAL ASPECT 1
II. THE RESTORATION OF EUROPE 16
Texts: The Treaty of Vienna (1815) -- Epitome of
Annexes 37
III. THE INDEPENDENCE OF GREECE 99
Texts: The Treaty of London (1832) -- The Protocol of London (1830) -- The Treaty of London (1863) 116
IV. THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM 126
Texts: The Treaty of London (1839) -- The Conversations of 1906 141
V. TURKEY AND THE POWERS OF EUROPE 158
Texts: The Treaty of Paris (1856) -- The Straits
Convention (1856) -- The Declaration of Paris
(1856) 176
VI. THE DANISH DUCHIES 186
Texts: The Treaty of London (1852) -- The Treaty
of Vienna (1864) 198
VII. THE UNION OF ITALY 210
Texts: The Treaty of Zurich (1859) -- The Treaty
of Vienna (1866) 226
VIII. AUSTRIA AND PRUSSIA 241
Text: The Treaty of Prague (1866) 251
IX. THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBURG 256
Text: The Treaty of London (1867) 260
X. THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 263
Texts: The Preliminaries of Versailles (1871) -- The
Treaty of Frankfort (1871) -- The Constitution of
the German Empire 274
XI. TURKEY, RUSSIA, AND THE BALKAN STATES 312
Texts: The Treaty of London (1871) -- The Treaty
of Berlin (1878) -- The Treaty of London (1913) --
The Treaty of Bucharest (1913) 330
XII. THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE 367
Texts: The Treaty of Vienna (1879) -- The Triple
Alliance (1903) 372
APPENDIX :
Text: The Treaty of San Stefano (1878) 377
MAPS
Napoleon's Empire 16
Partitions of Poland 20 -1
Central and Eastern Europe, 1815 23
Greece, 1832-1913 101
The Frontiers of Belgium 131
The Union of Italy, 1859-70 211
Prussia, 1815-71 245
France, 1814-1917 265
Aspirations of the Balkan States in 1912 315
Balkan States, 1878-1914 323
CHAPTER I
ON THE CONCLUSION OF TREATIES IN ITS
TECHNICAL ASPECT
Forms of international contract -- Full powers -- Signature -- Ratification -- U.S.A. -- Parliamentary authority -- Ratification article -- Permanent treaties -- Terminable treaties -- Interpretation -- Tariff treaties -- Extradition treaties.
USAGE has not prescribed any necessary form of international contract. 1
Treaties, Conventions, Agreements, Declarations, &c., are all assumed to have the same binding force, 2 and their observance or repudiation are matters of conscience (or the want of it) on the part of the contracting parties, provided always that there are no considerations such as force majeure to prevent their fulfilment.
In order to conclude or negotiate the more formal of these instruments, that is to say, Treaties and in many instances Conventions or Agreements, it is the practice to provide the negotiator with a full power from his sovereign, or in the case of a republic from the head of the state, investing him with the necessary powers for accomplishing his mission.
Full powers, in the practice of Great Britain, are of two kinds, called, respectively, general and special full powers. An ambassador, for instance, appointed to reside at a foreign court, may be provided with a general full power covering
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1 Hall International Law, 4th ed., p. 343, § 109.
2 Treaties, and some Conventions, are concluded in the names of the Sovereigns of the respective countries. Other Conventions, and as a rule Agreements and Declarations, are concluded in the name of the respective 'Governments'. To this extent they are of a less formal nature.
any negotiations with a view to the conclusion of a treaty which he may enter upon in the course of his residence at that court; a special full power, on the other hand, is limited to a particular occasion which is indicated. Both are otherwise couched in identical terms to the following effect:
George, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India. To all and singular to whom these Presents shall come, Greeting!
Whereas, for the better treating of and arranging any matters [certain matters] which are now in discussion or which may come into discussion between Us and . . . We have judged it expedient to invest a fit person with Full Power to conduct negotiations [to conduct the said discussion] on Our part: Know ye, therefore, that We, reposing especial Trust and Confidence in the Wisdom, Loyalty, Diligence, and Circumspection of Our [name, style and title of Plenipotentiary], have named, made, constituted and appointed, as we do by these Presents name, make, constitute and appoint him Our undoubted Commissioner, Procurator and Plenipotentiary: Giving to him all manner of Power and Authority to treat, adjust and conclude with such Minister or Ministers as may be vested with similar Power and Authority on the part of . . . any Treaty, Convention or Agreement between Us and . . . [any Treaty, Convention or Agreement that may tend to the attainment of the above-mentioned end] and to sign for Us and in Our name, everything so agreed upon and concluded, and to do and transact all such other matters as may appertain thereto, in as ample manner and form, and with equal force and efficacy, as We Ourselves could do, if personally present: Engaging and Promising, upon Our Royal Word, that whatever things shall be so transacted and concluded by Our said Commissioner, Procurator, and Plenipotentiary, shall, subject if necessary to Our Ratification, be agreed to, acknowledged and accepted by Us in the fullest manner, and that We will never suffer, either in the whole or in part, any person whatsoever to infringe the same, or act contrary thereto, as far as it lies in Our power.
In witness whereof We have caused the Great Seal of Our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to be affixed to these Presents, which We have signed with Our Royal Hand.
Given at Our Court of . . . the . . . day of . . . in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and . . . and in the . . . Year of Our Reign.
The words printed in italics between square brackets are those of the special full power.
The document bears the Royal sign manual.
Before entering upon negotiations, the Plenipotentiaries produce to each other their respective full powers. Every treaty, after reciting in its preamble its object and the names of the Plenipotentiaries, goes on to say, 'Who, after having communicated to each other their respective Full Powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon the following articles. . . .'
The treaty between two states which results from the negotiations thus authorized, is signed in duplicate by the respective Plenipotentiaries, and in the language of each of them in parallel columns. In a treaty between, say, Great Britain and France, the signature of the British Plenipotentiary comes first in the copy to be retained by the British Government, and that of the French Plenipotentiary last. Conversely, in the copy to be retained by the French Government the signature of the French Plenipotentiary comes first and that of the British Plenipotentiary last. Similarly, in the preamble of the English copy, the name of the English monarch is mentioned first, and in that of the French copy the name of the President of the French Republic.
On the conclusion of the treaty, the English copy is sent home for preservation amongst the British official archives, and the ratification of the Sovereign is prepared in the following form:
George, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India. To all and singular to whom these Presents shall come, Greeting!
Whereas a [Treaty or as the case may be] between Us and . . . was concluded and signed at . . . on the . . . day of . . . in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and . . . by the Plenipotentiaries of Us and of . . . duly and respectively authorized for that purpose, which [Treaty] is word for word as follows : -- [here follows a copy of the Treaty from beginning to end in both texts, as in the original, including the signatures and seals (L. S.) 1 also in copy].
We, having seen and considered the [Treaty] aforesaid, have approved, accepted and confirmed the same in all and every one of its Articles and Clauses, as We do by these Presents approve, accept, confirm and ratify it for Ourselves, Our Heirs and Successors; engaging and promising upon Our Royal Word that We will sincerely and faithfully perform and observe all and singular the things which are contained and expressed in the [Treaty] aforesaid, and that We will never suffer the same to be violated by any one, or transgressed in any manner, as far as it lies in Our power. For the greater testimony and validity of all which We have caused the Great Seal of Our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to be affixed to these Presents, which We have signed with Our Royal Hand.
Given at Our Court of . . . the . . . day of . . . in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and . . . and in the . . . year of Our Reign. [Here follows the Royal signature.]
This ratification is then sent to the British representative at the Court of the other signatory Power, to be exchanged against a similar document issuing from the latter, which is then sent home to be preserved amongst the official
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1 The letters L. S., enclosed in a circle, and placed on the left of the copy of a signature to a treaty or other document, indicate the place where the seal is affixed in the original document (Locus sigilli). It is usual in treaties occupying more than one folio page to connect the several pages together with a narrow ribbon of the national colours. The ends of the ribbons are then collected together on the last page of the document opposite the signatures, and the seals of the different Plenipotentiaries are impressed in wax upon them as a security against fraudulent abstraction of any of the pages.
archives. It is customary for the representative in question and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the other signatory Power to sign a protocol recording the fact that the exchange of the ratifications has been duly effected.
In the case of a general treaty between several Powers, the ratifications are sometimes deposited in the archives of the country in which the treaty is signed, as, for instance, those of the London Treaty of March 10, 1883, respecting the navigation of the Danube; those of the General Act of Brussels of July 2, 1890, respecting the African Slave Trade, &c.: thus the multiplication of ratifications is avoided.
The practice of the United States differs in one respect from the procedure above indicated. According to the constitution of that country, the treaty-making power is vested in the Senate, to whose approval a treaty must be submitted before ratification, and there are instances on record in which the Senate has introduced amendments into a treaty as a condition of its acceptance. If such amendments are not accepted by the other party to the treaty, the treaty remains inoperative, as in the case of the 'Clarendon-Dallas' Treaty of October 17, 1856, relating to Central America. 1
In the United States a treaty duly ratified by the Senate, and entering into force, becomes ipso facto a portion of the law of the land. This is not so in England, and care has therefore to be taken in negotiating a treaty that its stipulations are not antagonistic to the law, or if they are so, that the law be amended so that it shall agree with the
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1 State Papers, vol. xlvii, p. 677. See also United States Ratification with Amendments on p. 687 of the same volume. The question whether it would be possible for the Queen to ratify an engagement which had not been signed by a Plenipotentiary on the part of Her Majesty, was incidentally raised by Lord Clarendon on the receipt of the United States Ratification with Amendments; but as the Amendments were not accepted by Great Britain, this question did not assume a concrete form, but remained an open problem (see p. 692 of the same volume).
treaty; otherwise a government may find itself in the position of being bound towards a foreign country to give effect to stipulations which the law of the land forbids it to carry out. In this connexion it may be mentioned that a stipulation involving a money payment by England has been thus guardedly worded, 'Her Majesty undertakes to recommend to Her Parliament to vote a sum of money,' or words to that effect. Another case in point is that of Heligoland. Article XII of the Anglo-German Agreement of July 1, 1890, says:
'Subject to the Assent of the British Parliament, the Sovereignty over the Island of Heligoland, together with its dependencies, is ceded by Her Britannic Majesty to His Majesty the Emperor of Germany.'
1 It has been held in some quarters that no such assent was necessary, and that it constituted a surrender of the Queen's Prerogative. Be that as it may, an Act of Parliament was passed on August 4, 1890, assenting to the carrying out of this Agreement. 2 The Commercial Treaty of 1860 with France also contained many undertakings to recommend to Parliament the reduction of duties agreed to, subject to Parliament's assent. Thus no breach of the treaty would result from any failure on the part of the Parliament to comply with the recommendation.
In the case of general treaties between several Powers, concluded as a rule in the French language, the Plenipotentiaries sign in alphabetical order of countries: thus the German Plenipotentiary would sign under the letter A (Allemagne); those of Spain and the United States under the letter E (Espagne, états-Unis). This principle was adopted in the Vienna Congress Treaty of 1815. Nevertheless, the British copy of the General Act of Brussels of 1890 (relating to the African Slave Trade) was signed first by the British Plenipotentiaries, the others following in the alphabetical order of their countries.
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1 State Papers, vol. lxxxii, p. 46.
2 53 & 54 Vic. cap. 32. State Papers, vol. lxxxii, p. 668.
The Treaty of Berlin, 1878, 1 presents another variation of this principle. In the preamble of the British copy, Great Britain is mentioned first, then France, then the remainder in their alphabetical order. In signing, Great Britain came first, then Turkey, then the others in alphabetical order. No absolute rule is followed. With regard to the now customary use of the French language in general treaties between several Powers, it is to be observed that every country has strictly the right to require that its own version of a treaty shall be expressed in its own language. In departing from this custom, for the sake of convenience, in the Vienna Congress Treaty of 1815, it was expressly laid down in Article CXX of that instrument that the use of the French language therein should not be construed into a precedent for the future; that every Power, therefore, reserved to itself the adoption in future negotiations and conventions of the language it has heretofore employed in its diplomatic relations; and that that treaty should not be cited as a precedent contrary to the established practice.
All treaties and conventions contain, or should contain, a ratification article. Although its absence is no bar to ratification, it sets at rest all doubt as to the intention. 2 There are instances in which the less formal 'Agreement' has received ratification, though unprovided with a stipulation requiring it.
The ratification article is generally the last one in the treaty, and is couched in terms to the following effect: 'The present Treaty [Convention] shall be ratified and the Ratifications shall be exchanged at . . . within . . . weeks, or sooner if possible.' Occasionally no limit of time is stated, the words 'as soon as possible' being employed. It has sometimes happened that when the exchange of
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1 State Papers, vol. lxix, p. 749.
2 Of course, a treaty such as the 'Holy Alliance', which was signed by the Sovereigns themselves, does not require ratification.
ratifications has been delayed beyond the stipulated time, an agreement has been signed extending that time. On other occasions of the same kind the exchange has taken place notwithstanding the expiration of the period, and nothing said about it.
In modern times Treaties of Commerce have almost invariably been made terminable at the end of a certain specified time, subject to one of the parties thereto giving notice to the other of an intention to terminate it. Such a notice is often referred to as a 'Denunciation' of the treaty.
Article 25 of the Anglo-Belgian Treaty of Commerce and Navigation of July 23, 1862, 1 declares that 'The present Treaty shall continue in force for ten years dating from the tenth day after the exchange of the Ratifications. In case neither of the two Contracting Parties should have notified, twelve months before the end of the said period, its intention to terminate the Treaty, it shall remain in force until the expiration of a year dating from the day on which either of the High Contracting Parties shall have given notice for its termination.' An Article similar in its terms is now introduced generally into Treaties of Commerce.
In denouncing a treaty under the powers conferred by a stipulation of the above purport, no particular form or procedure is laid down. In the case of the Belgian Treaty of 1862, and of that with the Zollverein of May 30, 1865, both of which were denounced by Great Britain on July 28, 1897, the following procedure was adopted: On that date the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Lord Salisbury, addressed a dispatch to the British Minister at Brussels in the following terms:
'I have to request that you will at once give notice of the intention of Her Majesty's Government to terminate the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Great Britain and Belgium signed on the 23rd July, 1862. In virtue of the stipulations contained in Article XXV, the Treaty will accordingly terminate upon the expiration
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1 State Papers, vol. lii, p. 8.
of a year dating from the day upon which you give the notice.'
1 An exactly similar dispatch (mutatis mutandis) was addressed on the same day to the British Ambassador at Berlin denouncing the Zollverein Treaty of 1865. The reason for these denunciations, as explained in subsequent correspondence, was that these two treaties contained an unusual stipulation under which Belgian and German merchandise, respectively, was entitled to admission to British Colonies on the same terms as merchandise from Great Britain, the mother country. This treatment extended, under the operation of the 'most favoured nation' Article, to all other countries having commercial treaties with Great Britain. Canada was at that moment elaborating a law granting preferential treatment to the merchandise of the United Kingdom, in which foreign nations should not participate, and it became necessary, therefore, to get rid of the two obnoxious treaties which, as long as they continued in force, would entitle all foreign countries to participate in advantages intended for Great Britain only, thus making preferential treatment of the mother country impossible. The British representatives at Brussels and Berlin gave notice to the respective Governments, as instructed, and the two treaties lapsed in due course.
It is not unusual, and it is certainly desirable, to notify in the official press that a foreign country has denounced a treaty. In the instance quoted above, the Belgian Government announced the British denunciation of their treaty in the Moniteur Belge of August 1, 1897. Again, when the Hawaiian Government, in 1878, denounced certain Articles of their Treaty with Great Britain of July 10, 1851, a notice announcing the fact was published in the London Gazette of February 19, 1878. 2 When, in 1896, the Dominican Republic denounced their Treaty of March 6, 1850, by a Note from their Minister of Foreign Affairs to
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1 State Papers, vol. lxxxvi, p. 324.
2 Ibid., vol. lxix, p. 616.
the British Secretary of State, the fact was announced in the London Gazette of August 21, 1896, 1 and similarly in other cases the same course has been followed.
Speaking generally, political treaties are of a permanent character, and are not made subject to termination, unless their nature is such as to render that course desirable or obvious; but there are other treaties besides those for regulating commercial intercourse, which are as a rule terminable on denunciation, for instance, Extradition Treaties and others treating of a particular subject. Article XI of the Treaty of August 9, 1842, between Great Britain and the United States, declares that the tenth Article (which deals with the Extradition of fugitive criminals) 'shall continue in force until one or the other of the parties shall signify its wish to terminate it, and no longer'. 2 The Extradition Treaty between Great Britain and Serbia of November 23, 1901, Article 18, 3 provided that 'The present Treaty . . . may be terminated by either of the High Contracting Parties at any time on giving to the other six months' notice of its intention to do so'; that between Great Britain and Spain of June 4, 1878, contained a similar stipulation (Article 17). 4 Many other instances might be quoted, such as the Agreement with Denmark of June 21, 1881, respecting merchant seamen deserters, 5 terminable on one year's notice; a similar Agreement of July 25, 1883, respecting relief of distressed seamen, 6 also terminable on one year's notice; Agreement with Portugal respecting Money Orders, January 17, 1883, 7 terminable on six months' notice, &c.
A treaty which is not, in virtue of its stipulations, terminable in the manner described, can in strictness be terminated only by mutual agreement between the contracting parties, or by the occurrence of a war between
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1 State Papers, vol. lxxxviii, p. 214.
2 Ibid., vol. xxx, p. 366.
3 Ibid., vol. xcii, p. 46.
4 Ibid., vol. lxix, p. 12.
5 Ibid., vol. lxxii, p. 6.
6 Ibid., vol. lxxxiv, p. 77.
7 Ibid., vol. lxxiv, p. 5.
them, war being considered, with certain exceptions, as having the effect of abrogating treaties, or by the advent of special circumstances incompatible with its continued observance. These are matters which need not here be entered into: it will be sufficient to note one well-known instance in which an abrogation without consent has been attempted, namely, in the case of the Black Sea Articles of the Treaty of Paris of 1856, regarding which the Russian Government announced, in 1870, that it held itself to be emancipated. Great Britain replied that it had always been held that the right of releasing a party to a treaty belonged only to the Governments which had been parties to the original instrument. Russia's bare announcement of withdrawal, if acquiesced in, would result in the entire destruction of treaties in their essence. Russia thereupon abandoned the position she had taken up, and a conference was held in London at which the articles objected to were amended by common consent, and a Declaration was at the same time signed by the Powers (including Russia) on January 17, 1871, recognizing 'that it is an essential principle of the Law of Nations that no Power can liberate itself from the engagements of a Treaty, nor modify the stipulations thereof, unless with the consent of the Contracting Powers by means of an amicable arrangement'. 1 The Treaty for the revision of the Black Sea Articles of the Treaty of 1856 was signed on March 13, 1871. 2 Russia, therefore, gained her ends, or some of them, while the 'essential principle of the Law of Nations' was vindicated by the assent of the Powers. The annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria, on October 8, 1908, was in effect a repudiation of Article XXV of the Treaty of Berlin, July 13, 1878, although in her circular to the Powers announcing the annexation, the Austrian Government simply ignored the existence of the Treaty.
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1 State Papers, vol. lxi, p. 1198.
2 Ibid., vol. lxi, p. 7.
In order to avoid disputes respecting the true interpretation of a treaty when signed in more than one language, it has occasionally been agreed that in the event of discrepancy between the different 'texts', one or other of them shall be held to convey the intentions of the negotiators. Thus, in the Treaty of Peace between Japan and Russia signed at Portsmouth ( United States) on September 5, 1905, 1 it was agreed, in Article XV, as follows:
'The present Treaty shall be signed in duplicate, in both the English and French languages. The texts are in absolute conformity, but in case of discrepancy in interpretation, the French text shall prevail.'
Some commercial treaties are accompanied by a tariff of import and export duties to be charged on goods by the respective contracting parties. Others are not accompanied by any tariff, and depend mainly on the 'most favoured nation' articles. A good example of a tariff treaty is that of 1860 between Great Britain and France, 2 generally associated with the name of Richard Cobden, who was one of the Plenipotentiaries negotiating it. This treaty remained in force until May 15, 1882, when it was replaced by the Convention for the regulation of Commercial and Maritime Relations signed at Paris on February 28, 1882, which came into operation on May 16. The Treaty of January 23, 1860, contained an enumeration of articles upon which an ad valorem duty should be charged, and the Supplementary Conventions of October 12, 1860, 3 and November 16, 1860, 4 were accompanied by full tariffs of import duties on British goods imported into France. The changes in the duties arranged for in the Treaty of January 23 were made subject to the consent of the British Parliament.
The tariffs of 1860 came to an end by the operation of the Convention of 1882, which declared that the import
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1 State Papers, vol. xcviii, p. 735.
2 Ibid., vol. 1, p. 13.
3 Ibid., vol. 1, p. 31.
4 Ibid., vol. 1, p. 48.
duties should thenceforth be regulated by the internal legislation of the two countries, while in all other matters 'most favoured nation treatment' was mutually guaranteed. The Convention also dealt with the coasting trade, fisheries, taxes, residence, shipping, patterns, trade marks, and other kindred subjects, granting either 'most favoured nation' or 'national' treatment.
Some of these matters, as a rule, form the subject of separate treaties or agreements. Extradition, for example, is almost always treated separately. An Extradition Treaty contains a list of crimes, the commission of any of which will entail the surrender of the criminal, and it is usual to insert an article in such a treaty to the effect that the contracting parties reserve to themselves the right to refuse to surrender their own nationals: sometimes they declare categorically that they will not surrender them.
The question of capital punishment (in the case of murder) has sometimes proved an impediment to the conclusion of an Extradition Treaty. Portugal is a case in point, but in the treaty between Great Britain and that country of October 17, 1892, 1 the difficulty was got over by the acceptance by Great Britain of a reservation in Article II to the following effect:
'The Portuguese Government will not deliver up any person either guilty or accused of any crime punishable with death.'
This treaty, so far as Great Britain was concerned, was therefore incomplete, because Portugal could retrieve her murderers from Great Britain, while the latter enjoyed no reciprocity in this respect. However, the disadvantages were no doubt deemed to be overbalanced by the advantage of possessing a workable arrangement in respect of minor crimes, and the treaty, though one-sided, was concluded.
It may be useful to indicate in a few words the customary manner of proceeding on the meeting of a Congress or a
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1 State Papers, vol. lxxxiv, p. 83.
Conference to discuss international questions with a view to concluding a treaty for their settlement.
Such meetings, when taking place in London, are almost invariably held at the Foreign Office, 1 and a similar practice is no doubt followed at other capitals where structural arrangements permit, the respective Ministries for Foreign Affairs being the most convenient for purposes of reference to international documents.
The Paris Conferences in 1856 on the conclusion of the Crimean War, for instance, were held at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. On that occasion, at the first meeting on February 25, the Austrian Plenipotentiary opened the proceedings by proposing that the Presidency of the Conference should be conferred upon Count Walewski, the first French Plenipotentiary, not only, he said, because precedents pointed to this course, but also because it constituted a mark of respect towards the Sovereign whose hospitality the Representatives of Europe were at that moment enjoying. This proposal having been unanimously agreed to, Count Walewski, after thanking the Plenipotentiaries for the honour conferred upon him, proposed to confide the editing of the protocols of the meetings to M. Benedetti, the Director of the political affairs of the French Foreign Office, who was thereupon introduced. The Official occupying this post is called the 'Protocolist'. The Plenipotentiaries then proceeded to the verification of their respective full powers, after which they undertook to preserve absolute secrecy as to their proceedings in Conference. Their first business was to declare an armistice between the late belligerents for the duration of the Conference. 2
Take, again, the London Conferences of 1867 (held at the Foreign Office) on the question of the Grand Duchy
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1 The Conference of. London, however, at the conclusion of the First Balkan War, 1913, was held at the Palace of St. James.
2 State Papers, vol. xlvi, p. 63.
of Luxemburg. At the first meeting the Austrian Plenipotentiary proposed that Lord Stanley, the English Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, should be invited to assume the Presidency of the Conference. Lord Stanley then proposed Mr. Julian Fane, British Secretary of Embassy at Paris, as the Protocolist, and he was introduced accordingly. Then came the verification of the full powers. 1
The same course with little variation was adopted at the London Conference of 1883 respecting the navigation of the Danube. The German Plenipotentiary at the first meeting on February 8 proposed Earl Granville, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, for the Presidency, and the latter proposed Mr. J. A. Crowe of the Consular and Diplomatic Services, as Secretary 2 (no doubt intended as a synonymous term with Protocolist).
It is to be presumed that these appointments of Officers are decided by previous understanding amongst the Plenipotentiaries, hence that unanimity which is a feature of the plenary proceedings in this connexion.
Concerning the order of discussions, a similar procedure may be to some extent adopted. For the rest, a perusal of a variety of Protocols of Conferences (or Minutes of Meetings, as they would be called in less important unofficial circumstances) leads to an impression that discussions are there conducted much on the lines of a Committee of the House of Commons when considering a Bill before the House. Members are not limited to one speech apiece, but rise from time to time to give voice to their ideas in words many or few, as the spirit moves them or the complaisance of their audience can tolerate.
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1 State Papers, vol. Ix, p. 497.
2 Ibid., vol. lxxiv, p. 1231.
CHAPTER II
THE RESTORATION OF EUROPE
The French Revolution -- The Revolutionary Wars -- The First Peace of Paris -- Speech of the Prince Regent -- Congress of Vienna -- The Final Act -- The Balance of Power -- Poland -- France -- Alexander I -- The Peace of Ghent -- Alliance of Three States -- Italy -- Colonies -- Navigation of Rivers -- Slave trade -- Duration of Vienna Settlement -- Holy Alliance -- Great Britain -- and the Holy Alliance -- Second Peace of Paris.
Texts: The Treaty of Vienna ( 1815) -- Epitome of Annexes.
THE Congress of the European Powers which assembled at Vienna in the year 1814 was an indirect outcome of the French Revolution of the previous century, owing to the devastating wars to which that event gave rise.
The French Revolution is reckoned to have commenced with the destruction of the Bastille in July 1789. For some time previously the country, and in particular the capital, had been in a state of unrest owing, in great measure, to the unequal taxation of the people, and the privileges enjoyed in this and other respects by the aristo cracy and clergy. Matters having been brought to a head, the condition of affairs rapidly went from bad to worse. The King, Louis XVI, professed, and no doubt entertained, the best intentions for ameliorating the condition of the people, though there were others who were averse from all concessions, while on the side of the people there were many leaders who from various motives were bent upon pushing matters to a crisis. The intrigues of the democratic faction were prosecuted with success. Men and women of the lowest class were instigated to go to Versailles to demand bread. Riots ensued. The King submitted to a demand that he should return to Paris,
NAPOLEON's EMPIRE 1810
where in due course he virtually became a prisoner. He escaped with the royal family in 1791, but was recaptured at Varennes and taken back to the capital, where, though still ostensibly King, he was entirely in the hands of the Assembly. Some pourparlers on behalf of the King had taken place with certain Continental Powers ( Austria, Spain, and others) for military co-operation together with a royalist army, with a view to the restoration of tranquillity in France. The original scheme did not mature, but nevertheless a coalition of the Powers against France was effected in 1792, and the great French War was inaugurated by the invasion of France by Austrian and Prussian troops. They were repulsed by the Revolutionary Armies: the Province of Flanders was seized as well as all the Netherland Provinces except Luxemburg. Successful operations were also conducted by the Revolutionary General Custine in Germany. Savoy was also acquired by the French. In September 1792 the French Republic was proclaimed.
The success of Custine in Germany encouraged the Assembly to aim at further conquests, but its immediate attention was chiefly devoted to the process against the deposed representative of the House of Bourbon. It was proposed that he should be tried for his offences against the State. Robespierre and others denied the necessity of a trial, alleging that his criminality was undoubted, and that immediate condemnation was the proper treatment for a tyrant. However, the Girondist faction insisted on a previous inquiry, although they admitted his guilt. Louis was accordingly tried for treason against the nation, was condemned to death, and was executed on January 21, 1793. The Queen was beheaded in October of the same year.
It is easy to understand that the desperate condition of affairs in France, the anarchy, the massacres, and the outrages committed in the name of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, alarmed and disconcerted the monarchs and governments of neighbouring States, who feared lest the contagion should spread within their own borders. A coalition of the Powers against France was therefore not to be wondered at. Great Britain concluded treaties of subsidy and alliance against France with several of the European Powers, 1 and hostilities became general. France declared war against England in 1793, and with the exception of an interlude of peace of one year which followed on the signature of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, the war continued until the year 1814. Its character underwent some change as time went on. The appearance of Napoleon upon the scene, his elevation to the post of First Consul in 1799 and to the position of Emperor in 1804, his conquests and annexations of various territories, his ambition to become the arbiter of the affairs of Europe, as he was certainly the disturber of its peace, resulted finally in an alliance of the Powers against himself personally. An invasion of France took place, Paris was surrendered to the Allies on March 31, 1814, the Bourbon dynasty was restored in the person of Louis XVIII ( Louis XVII had died a prisoner in France in June 1795, never having ascended the throne), and Napoleon was deported to the Island of Elba, where he arrived on May 4, 1814, Louis having entered Paris on the previous day. It was then that the 'First Peace of Paris' was negotiated between Louis XVIII and the Allies.
This treaty, to which Great Britain, Austria, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and France were parties, was signed at Paris on May 30, 1814. 2
The preamble to the British version (as laid before Parliament) declared that His Majesty the King of the
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1 The subsidy treaties are in G. F. von Martens, Nouveau Recueil de Traités, vols. v, vii, and Supplémens, vol. v.
2 2 Separate treaties in identical terms were, in fact, concluded between France and each of the above-named Allied Powers, all dated May 30, 1814, with the exception of that with Spain, which was dated July 20. The whole, together, constitute 'The Treaty of Paris', and are to be regarded as one document.
POLAND - 1st Partition
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and his Allies, on the one part, and His Majesty the King of France and of Navarre, on the other part, animated by an equal desire to terminate the long agitations of Europe and the sufferings of mankind, by a permanent peace, founded upon a just repartition of force between its States, and containing in its stipulations the pledge of its durability, &c., had named Plenipotentiaries to sign a treaty of peace and amity. The British Plenipotentiaries were Lord Castlereagh, Lord Aberdeen, Lord Cathcart, and Sir Charles Stewart, all of whom, with the French Plenipotentiary, the Prince de Bénévent, signed the British copy of the treaty. 1
Article I contained the usual peace and friendship stipulation. Article II declared that the limits of France (with certain modifications) should be the same as they existed on January 1, 1792. Article III particularized these limits as modified. Article IV dealt with the road connecting Geneva with other parts of Swiss territory. Article V stipulated for the free navigation of the Rhine. Article VI provided for an increase of territory for Holland, for the independence of the States of Germany and the Government of Switzerland and Italy. Article VII declared that Malta should belong in full sovereignty to His Britannic Majesty. Articles VIII to XI provided for the restoration of certain colonies to France, and the cession of others to Great Britain, &c. By Article XII Great Britain guaranteed most favoured nation treatment in India to French subjects and commerce, and France undertook to erect no fortifications on her possessions on the continent of India. Article XIII replaced French fishery rights in Newfoundland on the footing of 1792. Article XV dealt with the disposal of the arsenals and ships of war, &c., found in the ports of the territories to be evacuated by France, and further declared Antwerp to be solely a commercial port.
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1 State Papers, vol, i, p. 151.
CENTRAL and EASTERN EUROPE 1815:
Kingdom of Sardinia, Aurstrian Dominions, Netherlands, Prussia, German Confederation, Turkish Empire, Russia, France, Papal States.
Article XVI secured the non-molestation of individuals for action taken during the war, and Article XVII provided that inhabitants of ceded territories should be at liberty, if they thought fit, to retire to other countries within a period of six years. By Article XVIII the Allied Governments renounced all pecuniary claims on France against a similar renunciation by France. By Article XIX France undertook to liquidate all debts owing by her beyond her own territories, and Article XX provided for the execution by commissioners of the stipulations of the two preceding Articles. Articles XXI to XXXI had reference to debts, claims of individuals, Caisses d'Amortissement, pensions, abolition of the Droits d'Aubaine, restoration of documents belonging to ceded countries, &c.
Article XXXII ran as follows: 'All the Powers engaged on either side in the present war shall, within the space of two months, send Plenipotentiaries to Vienna for the purpose of regulating, in General Congress, the arrangements which are to complete the provisions of the present Treaty.'
Article XXXIII contained the usual ratification clause.
Such was the purport of the treaty known as the First Peace of Paris, to which were added some additional and secret articles touching the Austrian possessions in Italy, the territories of Sardinia, the organization of Switzerland, the acquisition of territory by Holland, the abolition of the slave trade, 1 prisoners of war, claims, the Duchy of Warsaw, and kindred subjects.
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1 The additional Article on the subject of the slave trade runs as follows:
'His Most Christian Majesty concurring without reserve in the sentiments of His Britannic Majesty with respect to a description of traffic repugnant to the principles of natural justice and of the enlightened age in which we live, engages to unite all his efforts to those of His Britannic Majesty at the approaching Congress to induce all the powers of Christendom to decree the abolition of the Slave Trade, so that the said trade shall cease universally, as it shall cease definitively, under any circumstances, on the part of the French Government in the course of five years; and that during the said period no Slave Merchant shall import or sell Slaves except
The Prince Regent of Great Britain, in his speech closing Parliament on July 30, 1814, 1 said:
I have the satisfaction of contemplating the full accomplishment of all those objects for which the war was either undertaken or continued; and the unexampled exertions of this country, combined with those of His Majesty's Allies, have succeeded in effecting the deliverance of Europe from the most galling and oppressive tyranny under which it has ever laboured. The restoration of so many of the ancient and legitimate Governments of the Continent affords the best prospect of the permanence of that Peace which, in conjunction with His Majesty's Allies, I have concluded: and you may rely on my efforts being directed at the approaching Congress to complete the settlement of Europe which has been already so auspiciously begun; and to promote, upon principles of justice and impartiality, all those measures which may appear best calculated to secure the tranquillity and happiness of all the nations engaged in the late war.
The General Congress stipulated for in Article XXXII of the Treaty of Paris quoted above met accordingly at Vienna in September 1814, and concluded its labours on June 19, 1815, the General Treaty resulting therefrom being dated June 9, 1815. The British Plenipotentiaries were Lord Castlereagh, the Duke of Wellington, Lords Clancarty, Cathcart, and Stewart. Only the three latter signed the Treaty on behalf of Great Britain, the two former having been previously recalled from Vienna, the Duke of Wellington in order to take command of the army in the Netherlands to oppose Napoleon, who having escaped from Elba in March, was once more entering upon an armed resistance to the Allies. The 'Hundred Days' culminated in Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo on June 18, 1815, and his eventual deportation to St. Helena as a prisoner, where he died in
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in the Colonies of the State of which he is a subject.' See also Declaration of February 8, 1815 (Annex XV to the Congress Treaty of Vienna), State Papers, vol. iii, p. 971. See also Resolutions signed at Verona, November 28, 1822, State Papers, vol. x, p. 109.
1 State Papers, vol. i, p. 11.
1821. Meanwhile, the Treaty of the Congress of Vienna 1 was signed by the Plenipotentiaries then remaining at Vienna, and Louis XVIII, reinstated on the throne, returned to Paris.
The Congress Treaty (generally known as the Final Act of the Vienna Congress) dealt with many matters concerned with the 'just repartition of force amongst the States of Europe' alluded to in the Preamble of the Treaty of Paris of May 30, 1814. Some of these matters were not specifically treated of in the last-named treaty, but constituted the 'arrangements which were to complete' its provisions. The Powers represented at the Vienna Congress were Great Britain, Austria, France, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Spain, and Sweden. Spain did not sign the treaty, but she acceded to it by an Act dated June 7, 1817.
The Congress Treaty was accompanied by seventeen annexes which really formed part of the principal treaty. An epitome of them, indicating their nature and contents, will be found at the end of the treaty (page 95). Some of them are embodied verbatim or in substance in the treaty. They are enumerated in Article CXVIII.
The task virtually imposed upon the Powers assembled in Congress at Vienna, in pursuance of the provisions of the First Peace of Paris, was the reconstruction of Europe with a view mainly to the re-establishment of the 'Balance of Power' which, in so far as it had ever existed, had been overthrown by the Napoleonic wars. In the elaboration of this idea it was inevitable that due weight should be given to considerations of expediency and compromise. The Congress had, in fact, to reconstruct a Continent which had undergone many changes during a period of twenty years. In the process of reconstruction the principle of legitimism was adopted by the Congress, and this served to eliminate certain discordant elements. Still Poland and Saxony and German nationalism continued to present
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1 State Papers vol. ii, p. 3.
difficulties. Russia sought compensation in Poland in return for her sacrifices; Prussia looked for compensation from Saxony; Austria, on the other hand, was disinclined to concede to Prussia too great a preponderance in Germany; while England and France were jealous of the aggrandizement of Russia. In the end a compromise was effected, each party relinquishing a portion of its claims.
The doctrine of expediency and compromise is further illustrated by Article I of the Congress Treaty, which deals with Poland, and was said to have emanated directly from the Emperor Alexander I of Russia. In a correspondence between Great Britain and Russia in 1863, on the existing rebellion in Poland and the failure of Russia to carry out the promised reforms in that country, there appears a dispatch from Earl Russell to the British Ambassador at the Court of the Tsar alluding to the course adopted at the Congress in the matter. 'In 1815,' his Lordship wrote, ' Great Britain, Austria, France, and Prussia would have preferred to the arrangement finally made, a restoration of the ancient Kingdom of Poland as it existed prior to the first partition of 1772, or even the establishment of a new independent Kingdom of Poland, with the same limits as the present Kingdom. The great army which the Emperor Alexander then had in Poland, the important services which Russia had rendered to the Alliance, and, above all, a fear of the renewal of war in Europe, combined to make Great Britain, Austria, and Prussia accept the arrangement proposed by the Emperor Alexander, although it was, in their eyes, of the three arrangements in contemplation the one least likely to produce permanent peace and security in Europe.' 1
The fear of a renewal of war was by no means unwarranted. The conflicting interests of the principal Powers manifested themselves in the preliminary discussions which took place prior to the meeting of the full Congress.
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1 State Papers, vol. liii, p. 914.
The four Powers, Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia, had, prior to the negotiation of the Peace of Paris of 1814, come to an agreement regarding certain points connected with the reconstruction of Europe, but regarding others, e. g. Poland, Prussia, and Saxony, their views were antagonistic. This seems to have been the reason for the course then adopted, namely to confine the negotiations at Paris to matters in which France was more particularly concerned, and to which she must agree in advance, relegating to a future Congress the consideration of those which promised to give rise to controversy. They could not exclude France from all participation in the Congress, but they sought to contrive a state of things under which the French Plenipotentiary should proceed to Vienna with his pen and the seal of his arms ready to affix his signature at the foot of an agreement already elaborated by the four Powers before his arrival.
Preliminary conferences took place at Vienna, to which Talleyrand, overcoming the opposition of the 'Allies', succeeded in gaining admittance; but much difficulty was experienced in relation to Poland. The Emperor Alexander offered Saxony to Prussia, Venice to Austria, but was for a long time obstinate on the subject of Poland, intimating on one occasion that he had 200,000 men in the Duchy of Warsaw, and inviting the Powers to turn him out. The date for the meeting of the plenary Congress was again and again postponed. People became anxious, asking whether Europe was about to recommence a war for the division of the spoils of Napoleon. In this state of affairs it was agreed ( October 30, 1814) that although questions of importance were still pending, there was nothing to prevent the verification of the Full Powers of the Plenipotentiaries being entered on at once. This was done, and committees were appointed for the consideration of the less controversial of the subjects under discussion, one of them for German affairs in which Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Hanover, and Wurtemberg were represented, and another for the affairs of Switzerland in which Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia took part.
The Congress met to arrange for the verification of the Full Powers on October 30, 1814. 1
In the meantime the Emperor Alexander had receded somewhat from the position previously taken up by him, partly owing to the tenacity of Prussia, who argued that she had been promised not only reinstatement but an augmentation of territory. She suggested that Saxony might, for instance, be transferred to a portion of the vacant country on the left bank of the Rhine, with Bonn as the capital and the Moselle as the boundary, whilst she, Prussia, should take the territory bordering on the French frontier. Alexander, not seeing his way to the acquisition of the whole of the Duchy of Warsaw, and becoming aware that he must give up his demand for the cession of Galicia by Austria, modified his views rather than risk a renewal of war. He agreed that Prussia should take part of Saxony and the province of Posen, giving up her share of the partition of 1795, namely Warsaw. England and Austria being disposed to countenance the plan, negotiations were entered into on this basis.
It is therefore apparent that although the Powers assembled in Congress were not on the whole unmindful of the general interests of Europe, some of them were nevertheless keenly alive to their own particular interests which they pressed to the verge of war. These conflicting interests had a depressing effect on the Congress, and the progress made was very slow. The Peace between Great Britain and the United States, 2 however, tended to increase the weight of British influence in the Congress, inasmuch as she was thereby enabled to avail herself of the whole of her military resources. The news of this Peace having
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1 State Papers, vol. ii, p. 563.
2 Signed at Ghent, December 24, 1814; State Papers, vol. ii, p. 357.
reached Lord Castlereagh at Vienna on January 1, 1815, Talleyrand, the French Plenipotentiary, concerted with him with a view to common action, with the result that on January 3 a Treaty of Defensive Alliance was concluded between Great Britain, France, and Austria, 1 wherein the contracting parties reciprocally engaged to act in concert, with perfect impartiality and in complete good faith, to ensure that in execution of the Treaty of Paris the arrangements for completing its provisions be effected in a manner most conformable to the true spirit of that treaty. It went on to declare that if, in carrying out their policy thus indicated, an attack should be made on the possessions of one of the parties, the others, failing to effect an amicable intervention, would come to the assistance of the one attacked with all their available forces. Other stipulations of detail followed. The effect of this treaty was at once apparent, and all danger of war immediately vanished. In the course of February the Congress agreed to the re-establishment of the King of Saxony on his throne, this monarch at the same time renouncing all claim to the Duchy of Warsaw, and ceding a part of his kingdom to Prussia. The Congress also agreed to the retention by Austria of the portion of Eastern Galicia ceded to Warsaw in 1809: to the surrender by Prussia of parts of Poland while retaining the Grand Duchy of Posen, and receiving Swedish Pomerania, a portion of Saxony, the Rhine provinces, and territories on the right bank of the Rhine: and to the constitution of Poland as a kingdom under the sceptre of the Emperor of Russia. Thus the most difficult of the questions at issue were solved.
On Napoleon's return to France, Murat, King of Naples, failing to rouse the Italians, was defeated by the Austrians: Naples surrendered and Murat fled: Ferdinand was recalled as King of the Two Sicilies, and was recognized by the Vienna Congress. The task of settling the affairs of
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1 State Papers, vol. ii, p. 1001.
Italy became comparatively easy. Venice and Lombardy were left with Austria, the Legations restored to the Pope, the duchies to Austrian archdukes, Parma going to Marie Louise of Austria, Napoleon's wife.
The French colonial possessions were dealt with in the Treaty of Paris of May 30, 1814, under which some were restored, and others retained by Great Britain. The restoration of the Dutch colonies captured by Great Britain, with the exception of the Cape of Good Hope and Demarara, &c., was arranged for in the Convention between Great Britain and the Netherlands of August 13, 1814. 1 These questions were settled independently of the Vienna Congress. The Constitution of the Germanic Confederation was primarily settled by a committee of German representatives appointed by the Congress and was embodied in the Congress Treaty, to which the Constitution was itself attached as Annex IX. 2
The Treaty of Paris, 1814 (Article V), in stipulating for the free navigation of the Rhine, committed to the future Congress the consideration of the details for giving effect to that stipulation, as well as its extension to other international rivers. Articles CVIII to CXVII of the Congress Treaty therefore laid down the principles which should regulate international rivers, viz. freedom of navigation to every one throughout the entire navigable course, subject to police regulations: uniform system of collecting duties and regulation of tariff with a view to the encouragement of trade and navigation: repairs of towing-paths by each riverain state; no port or forced harbour dues: general arrangement to be come to. This arrangement is embodied in the Regulations of March 1815. 3
The article touching the abolition of the slave trade was
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1 State Papers, vol. ii, p. 370.
2 The Treaty of Paris, 1814 (Article 6), declared that the States of Germany should be independent, and united by a Federative Bond.
3 See Regulations, March 1815. These form Annex XVI to the Congress Treaty. State Papers, vol. ii, p. 162.
introduced into the Treaty of Paris at the instance of Great Britain, and it formed Article I of the additional articles between Great Britain and France. 1 In it the French King engaged 'to unite all his efforts to those of His Britannic Majesty, at the approaching Congress, to induce all the Powers of Christendom to decree the abolition of the Slave Trade', &c.
A good deal of correspondence passed between the Powers both at Paris and subsequently at Vienna on this subject. There was much opposition in France and in the French Chambers to the abolition of the traffic, although the Government expressed themselves anxious to do their utmost to accomplish it. With Spain matters were more difficult, as it was deemed that the abolition would result in the ruin of the Spanish colonies: the King, however, promised to consider what could be done consistently with the requirements of these possessions. Portugal engaged to take steps for the gradual extinction of the trade and its immediate limitation to certain localities. At Vienna Lord Castlereagh had audience of the Emperors of Russia and Austria and the King of Prussia, all of whom undertook to use their influence to bring about the abolition of the trade. The question was debated in Congress on the 16th, 20th, and 28th January, and the 4th and 8th February, 1815, the Plenipotentiaries of all the eight Powers being present. 2 The desirability of the abolition of the slave trade was unanimously agreed to 'in principle'. The time for its total abolition remained in dispute. Great Britain hinted at the possibility of the exclusion from her ports of the produce of slave labour until the discontinuance of the traffic; Spain and Portugal foreshadowed a resort to reprisals in such an eventuality. A compromise was finally effected, and a Declaration was signed on February 8 to the effect that the Powers, whilst sincerely desirous of
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1 State Papers, vol. ii, p. 172.
2 Ibid., vol. iii, p. 949.
putting a stop as soon as possible to the traffic in slaves, recognized that this general declaration could not lay down beforehand the exact period which each particular Power might judge to be the most convenient for its definitive cessation: therefore the fixing of that period must be the subject of negotiations between the several Powers. 1 This Declaration was attached to the Congress Treaty as Annex XV.
The slave trade question was further developed at the Congress of Verona in 1823. 2
These various matters were settled by the Plenipotentiaries in Congress to the best of their abilities, and they constituted the best available arrangement for ensuring the Balance of Power and the permanency of the Peace. The territorial distribution was not destined nor probably expected to be durable for all time, but much of it lasted for more than a generation. In 1830 the blending of Holland and Belgium proved a failure, and by the Treaties of 1831 and 1839 the connexion between the two was severed. In 1859 the Balance of Power was disturbed, and Lombardy and the duchies were wrested from Austria and added to the Sardinian Crown, which also acquired Sicily a little later on and the Papal territories. In 1864 Denmark was dismembered and the Elbe duchies seized by Austria and Prussia. In 1866 the Germanic Confederation was abolished and the North German Confederation (to the exclusion of Austria) was set up in its place, while Austria was further deprived of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, which was added to Sardinia. Sardinia then became the Kingdom of Italy. In 1870 the Balance of Power was further disturbed, and the German States (again to the exclusion of Austria) formed themselves into a German Empire, and destroyed the pre-existing boundaries of France by the annexation
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1 State Papers, vol. iii, p. 971.
2 Ibid., vol. x, pp. 89-110.
of Alsace and Lorraine. In 1905 the union between Sweden and Norway was dissolved.
To this extent the arrangements elaborated at the Vienna Congress have in the course of years had to give way to popular or autocratic pressure which could probably not have been foreseen or usefully counteracted at the time.
It was perhaps with a view to strengthening the work of the Congress that the sovereigns of Austria, Prussia, and Russia on September 26, 1815, concluded at Paris the treaty commonly called the 'Holy Alliance'. 1
In this somewhat unusual document it was intimated as a preliminary statement that
Their Majesties the Emperor of Austria, the King of Prussia, and the Emperor of Russia having, in consequence of the great events which have occurred in the course of the three last years in Europe, and especially of the blessings which it has pleased Divine Providence to shower down upon those States which place their confidence and their hope on it alone, acquired the intimate conviction of the necessity of settling the steps to be observed by the Powers, in their reciprocal relations, upon the sublime truths which the Holy Religion of our Saviour teaches; They solemnly declare that the present Act has no other object than to publish in the face of the whole world their fixed resolution, both in the administration of their respective States and in their political relations with every other Government, to take for their sole guide the precepts of that Holy Religion, namely the precepts of Justice, Christian Charity and Peace, which far from being applicable only to private concerns must have an immediate influence on the Councils of Princes and guide all their steps as being the only means of consolidating human institutions and remedying their imperfections. In consequence Their Majesties have agreed upon the following articles. 2
Article I declared that
Conformably to the words of the Holy Scriptures which command all men to consider each other as brethren the
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1 State Papers, vol. iii, p. 211.
2 Ibid
three contracting Monarchs will remain united by the bonds of a true and indissoluble fraternity, and considering each other as fellow countrymen, they will on all occasions and in all places lend each other aid and assistance; and regarding themselves towards their subjects and armies as fathers of families, they will lead them in the same spirit of fraternity with which they are animated, to protect Religion, Peace and Justice.
Article II says:
In consequence, the sole principle of force, whether between the said Governments or between their subjects, shall be that of doing each other reciprocal service, and of testifying by unalterable goodwill the mutual affection with which they ought to be animated, to consider themselves all as members of one and the same Christian nation; the three allied Princes looking on themselves as merely delegated by Providence to govern three branches of the One family, namely Austria, Prussia and Russia, thus confessing that the Christian world of which they and their people form a part has in reality no other Sovereign than Him to whom alone power really belongs. . . . Their Majesties consequently recommend to their people, with the most tender solicitude, as the sole means of enjoying that peace which arises from a good conscience, and which alone is durable, to strengthen themselves every day more and more in the principles and exercise of the duties which the Divine Saviour has taught to mankind.
Article III, and last, invited all the Powers who avowed the sacred principles indicated to join in this Holy Alliance.
It is stated in Martens' Recueil de Traités 1 that the greater part of the Christian Powers acceded to this treaty. France acceded to it in 1815; the Netherlands and Wurtemberg did so in 1816; and Saxony, Switzerland, and the Hanse Towns in 1817. But neither the Pope nor the Sultan were invited to accede. 2
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1 See Note on p. 319 of Hertslet Map of Europe by Treaty.
2 In view of the frequent references to Christianity in the treaty, the exclusion of the Sultan is less surprising than that of the Pope
The accession of Great Britain to the Holy Alliance was invited by the signatories in a royal letter to the Prince Regent in which the object of the compact was again set forth, and a copy of the treaty enclosed. The Prince Regent replied in a similar letter to the three Sovereigns, in which His Royal Highness stated his entire concurrence in the principles they had laid down of making the Divine Precepts of the Christian religion the invariable rule of their conduct, maxims which he would himself endeavour to practice, whilst co-operating with his august allies in all measures which might be likely to contribute to the peace and happiness of mankind; but His Royal Highness intimated that the forms of the British Constitution precluded him from acceding formally to the treaty in the shape in which it had been presented to him. 1 This did not of course constitute an accession to the treaty.
It was mainly on the strength of the Holy Alliance that the three monarchs met in Conference at Troppau and at Laibach in 1820 and 1821, when they decided to intervene forcibly for the suppression of the revolution then convulsing Naples. Great Britain stood aloof from these proceedings and withheld its approval, on the principle of nonintervention in the internal affairs of a foreign country unless under special circumstances threatening the safety of the intervenor.
The stipulations of the Act of Vienna and of the First Peace of Paris were modified by the Treaty of November 20, 1815, known as the Second Peace of Paris, 2 necessitated by the Napoleonic adventure of the Hundred Days. It was therein declared that the boundaries of France should be the same as in 1790 3 with certain modifications. France was thus mulcted in certain small portions of territory.
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1 State Papers, vol. iii, p. 212.
2 Ibid., p. 280.
3 Instead of 1792 as stipulated in the First Peace of Paris.
She was also condemned to a payment of 700,000,000 francs, the territory and the money together constituting a war indemnity.
GENERAL TREATY BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN, AUSTRIA, FRANCE,
PORTUGAL, PRUSSIA, RUSSIA, SPAIN, AND SWEDEN.
[The Congress of Vienna]
Signed at Vienna, 9th June, 1815. 1
English Version as presented to Parliament.
In the Name of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity.
The Powers who signed the Treaty concluded at Paris on the 30th of May, 1814, having assembled at Vienna, in pursuance of Article XXXII of that Act, with the Princes and States their Allies, to complete the provisions of the said Treaty, and to add to them the arrangements rendered necessary by the state in which Europe was left at the termination of the last war; being now desirous to embrace, in one common transaction, the various results of their negotiations, for the purpose of confirming them by their reciprocal Ratifications, have authorised their Plenipotentiaries to unite, in a general Instrument, the regulations of superior and permanent interest, and to join to that Act, as integral parts of the arrangements of Congress, the Treaties, Conventions, Declarations, Regulations, and other particular Acts, as cited in the present Treaty. And the above-mentioned Powers having appointed Plenipotentiaries to the Congress, that is to say: --
[Here follow the names of the Plenipotentiaries.]
Such of the above Plenipotentiaries as have assisted at the close of the negotiations, after having produced their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed to place in the said general Instrument the following Articles, and to affix to them their signatures: --
Arrangements respecting the ancient Duchy of Warsaw.
ARTICLE I. The Duchy of Warsaw, with the exception of the provinces and districts which are otherwise disposed of by the following Articles, is united to the Russian Empire. It shall be irrevocably attached to it by its Constitution, and be possessed by His Majesty the Emperor of
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1 The original French version is in State Papers, vol. ii, p. 3.
all the Russias, his heirs and successors in perpetuity. His Imperial Majesty reserves to himself to give to this State, enjoying a distinct administration, the interior improvement which he shall judge proper. He shall assume with his other titles that of Czar, King of Poland, agreeably to the form established for the titles attached to his other possessions.
The Poles, who are respective subjects of Russia, Austria, and Prussia, shall obtain a Representation and National Institutions, regulated according to the degree of political consideration, that each of the Governments to which they belong shall judge expedient and proper to grant them. 1
Boundaries of the Grand Duchy of Posen.
ARTICLE II. The part of the Duchy of Warsaw which His Majesty the King of Prussia shall possess in full sovereignty and property, for himself, his heirs, and successors, under the title of the Grand Duchy of Posen, shall be comprised within the following line: --
Proceeding from the frontier of Eastern Prussia to the village of Neuhoff, the new limit shall follow the frontier of Western Prussia, such as it subsisted from 1772 to the Peace of Tilsit 2 to the village of Leibitsch, which shall belong to the Duchy of Warsaw; from thence shall be drawn a line, which, leaving Kompania, Grabowiec, and Szczytno to Prussia, passes the Vistula, near the lastmentioned place, from the other side of the river, which falls into the Vistula opposite Szczytno, to the ancient limit of the district of the Netze, near Gross-Opoczko, so that Sluzewo shall belong to the Duchy, and Przybranowa, Holláender, and Maciejevo, to Prussia. From Gross-Opoczko it shall pass by Chlewiska, which shall remain to Prussia, to the village of Przybyslaw, and from thence by the villages of Piaski, Chelmce, Witowiczki, Kobylinka, Woyczyn, Orchowo, to the town of Powidz.
From Powidz it shall continue by the town of Slupce
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1 By a Russian Manifesto of February 14/ 26, 1832, the Kingdom of Poland was declared to be perpetually united to the Russian Empire, and to form an integral part thereof. The British Government protested against this Manifesto on July 3, 1832, as being an infraction of the Vienna Congress Treaty. (See Hertslet Map of Europe by Treaty, vol. i, p. 94, footnote.)
2 Treaty of Tilsit, 1807.
to the point of confluence of the rivers Wartha and Prosna.
From this point it shall reascend the course of the river Prosna to the village of Koscielnawies, to within one league of the town of Kalisch.
Then leaving to that town (on the side of the left bank of the Prosna), a semi-circular territory measured by the distance from Koscielnawies to Kalisch, the line shall return to the course of the Prosna, and shall continue to follow it, reascending by the towns of Grabow, Wieruszow, Boleslawiec, so as to terminate near the village of Gola, upon the frontier of Silesia, opposite Pitschin.
Salt-Mines of Wieliczka.
ARTICLE III. His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty shall possess, in full property and sovereignty, the saltmines of Wieliczka, and the territory thereto belonging.
Boundaries between Galicia and Russia.
ARTICLE IV. The way or bed (Thalweg) of the Vistula shall separate Galicia from the territory of the Free Town of Cracow. It shall serve at the same time as the frontier between Galicia and that part of the ancient Duchy of Warsaw united to the States of His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, as far as the vicinity of the town of Zavichost.
From Zavichost to the Bug, the dry frontiers shall be determined by the line drawn in the Treaty of Vienna of 1809, excepting such modifications as by common consent may be thought necessary to be introduced.
The frontier from the Bug shall be re-established on this side (de ce cété) between the two Empires, such as it was before the said Treaty.
Restitution of Districts separated from Eastern Galicia. ARTICLE V. His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias cedes to His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty the districts which have been separated from Eastern Galicia, in consequence of the Treaty of Vienna of 1809, 1 from the
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1 Extract from the Treaty of Peace between Austria and France. -Vienna, 14 Oct. 1809:
Art. III § 5. His Majesty the Emperor of Austria cedes to His Majesty the Emperor of Russia, in the
Circles of Zloczow, Brzezan, Tarnopol, and Zalesczyk, and the frontiers on this side (de ce côté) shall be re-established, such as they were before the date of the said Treaty.
Cracow declared a Free Town.
ARTICLE VI. The Town of Cracow, with its Territory, is declared to be for ever a Free, Independent, and strictly Neutral City, under the Protection of Austria, Russia, and Prussia.
Boundaries of the Territory of Cracow.
ARTICLE VII. The territory of the Free Town of Cracow shall have for its frontier upon the left bank of the Vistula a line, which, beginning at the spot near the village of Woliça, where a stream falls into the Vistula, shall ascend this stream by Cio, and Koscielniki as far as Czulice, so that these villages may be included in the district of the Free Town of Cracow; from thence passing along the frontiers of these villages the line shall continue by Dzickanovice, Garlice, Tomaszow, Karniowice, which shall also remain in the territory of Cracow, to the point where the limit begins which separates the district of Krzeszovice from that of Olkusz; from thence it shall follow this limit between the two said provinces, till it reaches the frontiers of Silesian Prussia.
Privileges granted to Podgorze.
ARTICLE VIII. His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, wishing particularly to facilitate as much as possible on his part, the commercial relations, and good neighbourhood between Galicia and the Free Town of Cracow, grants for ever to the town of Podgorze, the privileges of a Free Commercial Town, such as are enjoyed by the town of Brody. This liberty of commerce shall extend to a distance of 500 toises from the barrier of the suburbs of the town of Podgorze.
In consequence of this perpetual concession, which nevertheless shall not affect the rights of sovereignty of His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, the Austrian custom-
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Easternmost portion of Ancient Gallicia, a territory comprising a population of 400,000 souls, in which the town of Brody shall not be included. This territory shall be amicably delimited by Commissioners of the two Empires.
houses shall be established only in places situated beyond that limit. No military establishment shall be formed that can menace the Neutrality of Cracow, or obstruct the liberty of commerce which His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty grants to the town and district of Podgorze.
Neutrality of Cracow.
ARTICLE IX. The Courts of Russia, Austria, and Prussia engage to respect, and to cause to be always respected, the Neutrality of the Free Town of Cracow and its Territory. No armed force shall be introduced upon any pretence whatever.
On the other hand it is understood and expressly stipulated that no asylum shall be afforded in the Free Town and territory of Cracow to fugitives, deserters, and persons under prosecution, belonging to the country of either of the High Powers aforesaid; and in the event of the demand of their surrender by the competent authorities, such individuals shall be arrested and given up without delay, and conveyed, under a proper escort, to the guard appointed to receive them at the frontier.
Constitution, Academy, and Bishopric of Cracow.
ARTICLE X. The dispositions of the Constitution of the Free Town of Cracow, concerning the Academy, the Bishopric, and Chapter of that town, such as they are specified in Articles VII, XV, XVI, and XVII of the Additional Treaty relative to Cracow, which is annexed to the present General Treaty, shall have the same force and validity as if they were textually inserted in this Act.
General Amnesty in Poland.
ARTICLE XI. A full, general, and special Amnesty shall be granted in favour of all individuals, of whatever rank, sex, or condition they may be.
Sequestrations removed.
ARTICLE XII. In consequence of the preceding Article, no person in future shall be prosecuted or disturbed, in any manner, by reason of any participation, direct or indirect, at any time, in the political, civil, or military events in Poland. All proceedings, suits, or prosecutions are considered as null, the sequestrations and provisional confiscations shall be taken off, and every Act promulgated on this ground shall be of no effect.
Exception to preceding Article.
ARTICLE XIII. From these general regulations on the subject of confiscation are excepted all those cases in which edicts or sentences, finally pronounced, have already been fully executed, and have not been annulled by subsequent events.
Free Navigation of Rivers in Poland.
ARTICLE XIV. The principles established for the free navigation of Rivers and Canals, in the whole extent of ancient Poland, as well as for the trade to the ports, for the circulation of articles the growth and produce of the different Polish provinces, and for the commerce, relative to goods in transitu, such as they are specified in Articles XXIV, XXV, XXVI, XXVIII, and XXIX of the Treaty between Austria and Russia, and in Articles XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVIII, and XXIX of the Treaty between Russia and Prussia, shall be invariably maintained.
Cessions by the King of Saxony to the King of Prussia.
ARTICLE XV. His Majesty the King of Saxony renounces in perpetuity for himself, and all his descendants and successors, in favour of His Majesty the King of Prussia, all his right and title to the provinces, districts, and territories, or parts of territories, of the Kingdom of Saxony, hereafter named; and His Majesty the King of Prussia shall possess those countries in complete sovereignty and property, and shall unite them to his Monarchy. The districts and territories thus ceded shall be separated from the rest of the Kingdom of Saxony by a line, which henceforth shall form the frontier between the Prussian and Saxon territories, so that all that is comprised in the limit formed by this line shall be restored to His Majesty the King of Saxony; but His Majesty renounces all those districts and territories that are situated beyond that line, and which belonged to him before the war.
The line shall begin from the frontiers of Bohemia, near Wiese, in the neighbourhood of Seidenberg, following the stream of the River Wittich, until its junction with the Neisse.
From the Neisse it shall pass to the Circle of Eigen, between Tauchritz, which shall belong to Prussia, and Bertschoff, which shall remain to Saxony; then it shall follow the northern frontier of the Circle of Eigen, to the angle between Paulsdorf and Ober-Sohland; thence it shall be continued to the limits that separate the Circle of Görlitz from that of Bautzen, in such a manner that Ober, Mittel and Nieder Sohland, Olisch, and Radewitz remain in the possession of Saxony.
The great post road between Görlitz and Bautzen shall belong to Prussia, as far as the limits of the said Circles. Then the line shall follow the frontier of the Circle to Dubrauke; it shall then extend upon the heights to the right of the Löbauer-Wasser, so that this rivulet, with its two banks, and the places upon them, as far as Neudorf, shall remain, with this village, to Saxony.
The line shall then fall again upon the Spree, and the Schwarzwasser; Liska, Hermsdorf, Ketten, and Solchdorf are assigned to Prussia.
From the Schwarz-Elster, near Solchdorf, a right line shall be drawn to the frontier of the Lordship of Königsbruck, near Gross-graebchen. This lordship remains to Saxony, and the line shall follow its northern boundary as far as the Bailiwick of Grossenhayn, in the neighbourhood of Ortrand. Ortrand, and the road from that place by Merzdorf, Stolzenhayn, Gröbeln, and Mühlberg (with the villages on that road, so that no part of it remain beyond the Prussian territory) shall be under the Government of Prussia. The frontier from Gröbeln shall be traced to the Elbe near Fichtenberg, and then shall follow the Bailiwick of Mühlberg. Fichtenberg shall be the property of Prussia.
From the Elbe to the frontier of the country of Merseburg, it shall be so regulated that the Bailiwicks of Torgau, Eilenburg, and Delitsch, shall pass to Prussia, while those of Oschatz, Wurzen, and Leipsic, shall remain to Saxony. The line shall follow the frontier of these bailiwicks, dividing some inclosures and demi-inclosures. The road from Mühlberg to Eilenburg shall be wholly within the Prussian territory.
From Podelwitz (belonging to the Bailiwick of Leipsic, and remaining to Saxony) as far as Eytra, which also remains to her, the line shall divide the country of Merseburg in such a manner that Breitenfeld, Haenichen, Gross and Klein-Dolzig, Mark-Ranstädt and Knaut-Nauendorf, remain to Saxony; and Modelwitz, Skenditz, Klein-Liebenau, Alt-Ranstädt, Schkoehlen, and Zietschen, pass to Prussia.
From thence the line shall divide the Bailiwick of Pegau between the Floss-graben and the Weisse-Elster; the former, from the point where it separates itself above the town of Crossen (which forms part of the Bailiwick of Haynsburg) from the Weisse-Elster to the point where it joins the Saale, below the town of Merseburg, shall belong, in its whole course between those two towns, with both its banks, to the Prussian territory.
From thence, where the frontier touches upon that of the country of Zeitz, the line shall follow it as far as the boundary of the country of Altenburg, near Luckau.
The frontiers of the Circle of Neustadt, which wholly falls under the dominion of Prussia, remain untouched.
The inclosures of Voigtland, in the district of Reuss, that is to say Gefäll, Blintendorf, Sparenberg, and Blankenberg, are comprised in the share of Prussia.
Titles to be assumed by the King of Prussia.
ARTICLE XVI. The provinces and districts of the Kingdom of Saxony, which are transferred to the dominion of His Majesty the King of Prussia, shall be distinguished by the name of the Duchy of Saxony, and His Majesty shall add to his Titles those of Duke of Saxony, Landgrave of Thuringia, Margrave of the two Lusatias, and Count of Henneberg.
His Majesty the King of Saxony shall continue to bear the title of Margrave of Upper Lusatia.
His Majesty shall also continue, with relation to, and in virtue of his right of eventual succession to the possessions of the Ernestine branch, to bear the title of Landgrave of Thuringia and Count of Henneberg.
Guarantee of the Cessions indicated in Article XV.
ARTICLE XVII. Austria, Russia, Great Britain, and France guarantee to His Majesty the King of Prussia, his descendants and successors, the possession of the countries marked out in Article XV, in full property and sovereignty.
Renunciation by the Emperor of Austria of Rights of Sovereignty over Lusatia.
ARTICLE XVIII. His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, wishing to give to the King of Prussia a fresh proof of his desire to remove every object of future discussion between their two Courts, renounces for himself and his successors his rights of Sovereignty over the Margraviates of Upper and Lower Lusatia, which belonged to him as King of Bohemia, as far as these rights concern the portion of these provinces placed under the dominion of His Majesty the King of Prussia by virtue of the Treaty with His Majesty the King of Saxony, concluded at Vienna on the 18th May, 1815.
As to the right of reversion of His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty to the said portion of the Lusatias united to Prussia, it is transferred to the House of Brandenburg now reigning in Prussia, His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty reserving to himself and his successors, the power of resuming that right in the event of the extinction of the said reigning House.
His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty renounces also in favour of His Prussian Majesty, the districts of Bohemia inclosed within the part of Upper Lusatia ceded by the Treaty of the 18th May, 1815, to his Prussian Majesty, which districts comprehend the places of Giintersdorf, Taubentraenke, Neukretschen, Nieder-Gerlachsheim, Winkel, and Ginkel, with their territories.
Reciprocal Renunciation of Feudal Rights.
ARTICLE XIX. His Majesty the King of Prussia and His Majesty the King of Saxony, wishing particularly to remove every object of future contest or dispute, renounce, each on his own part, and reciprocally in favour of one another, all feudal rights or pretensions which they might exercise or might have exercised beyond the frontiers fixed by the present Treaty.
Reciprocal Freedom of Emigration.
ARTICLE XX. His Majesty the King of Prussia promises to direct that proper care be taken relative to whatever may affect the property and interests of the respective subjects, upon the most liberal principles.
The present Article shall be observed, particularly with regard to the concerns of those individuals who possess property both under the Prussian and Saxon Governments, to the commerce of Leipsic, and to all other objects of the same nature; and in order that the individual liberty of the inhabitants, both of the ceded and other provinces, may not be infringed, they shall be allowed to emigrate from one territory to the other, without being exempted, however, from military service, and after fulfilling the formalities required by the laws. They may also remove their property without being subject to any fine or drawback (Abzugsgeld).
Property of Religious Establishments.
ARTICLE XXI. The communities, corporations, and religious establishments, and those for public instruction in the provinces ceded by His Majesty the King of Saxony to Prussia, or in the provinces and districts remaining to His Saxon Majesty, shall preserve their property, whatever changes they may undergo, as well as the rents becoming due to them, according to the act of their foundation, or which they have acquired by a legal title since that period under the Prussian and Saxon Governments; and neither party shall interfere in the administration and in the collection of the revenues, provided that they be conducted in a manner conformable to the laws, and that the charges be defrayed, to which all property or rents of the like nature are subjected, in the territory in which they occur.
General Amnesty in Saxony.
ARTICLE XXII. No individual domiciliated in the provinces which are under the dominion of His Majesty the King of Saxony, any more than an individual domiciliated in those which by the present Treaty pass under the dominion of the King of Prussia, shall be molested in his person, his property, rents, pensions, or revenues of any kind, in his rank or dignities, nor be prosecuted or called to account in any manner for any part which he, either in a civil or military capacity, may have taken in the events that have occurred since the commencement of the war, terminated by the Peace concluded at Paris on the 30th of May, 1814.
This Article equally extends to those who, not being domiciliated in either part of Saxony, may possess in it landed property, rents, pensions or revenues of any kind.
Designation of Provinces of which Prussia resumes Possession. ARTICLE XXIII. His Majesty the King of Prussia having in consequence of the last war, reassumed the possession of the provinces and territories which had been ceded by the Peace of Tilsit 1 it is acknowledged and declared by the present Article that His Majesty, his heirs and successors, shall possess anew, as formerly, in full property and Sovereignty, the following countries, that is to say; Those of his ancient provinces of Poland specified in Article II; The City of Dantzig and its territory, as the latter was determined by the Treaty of Tilsit 2 ; The Circle of Cottbus; The Old March; The part of the Circle of Magdeburg situated on the left bank of the Elbe, together with the Circle of the Saale; The Principality of Halberstadt, with the Lordships of Derenburg, and of Hassenrode; The Town and Territory of Quedlinburg (save and except the rights of Her Royal Highness the Princess Sophia Albertine of Sweden, Abbess of Quedlinburg, conformably to the arrangements made in 1803); The Prussian part of the County of Mansfeld; The Prussian part of the County of Hohenstein; The Eichsfeld; The Town of Nordhausen with its territory; The Town of Mühlhausen with its territory; The Prussian part of the district of Trefourt with Dorla; The Town and Territory of Erfurth, with the exception of Klein-Brembach and Berlstedt, inclosed in the Principality of Weimar, ceded to the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar by Article XXXIX; The Bailiwick of Wandersleben, belonging to the County of Unter-gleichen; The Principality of Paderborn, with the Prussian part of the Bailiwicks of Schwallenberg, Oldenburg, and Stoppel-
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1 Treaty of Tilsit, 1807.
2 Article VI. La Ville de Danzig avec un territoire de 2 lieues de Rayon autour de son enceinte.
berg, and the jurisdictions (Gerichte) of Hagendorn and Odenhausen, situated in the territory of Lippe; The County of Mark, with the part of Lipstadt belonging to it; The County of Werden; The County of Essen; The part of the Duchy of Cleves on the right bank of the Rhine, with the town and fortress of Wesel; the part of the Duchy, situated on the left bank, specified in Article XXV; The secularised Chapter of Elten; The Principality of Munster, that is to say, the Prussian part of the former Bishopric of Munster, with the exception of that part which has been ceded to His Britannic Majesty, King of Hanover, in virtue of Article XXVII; The secularised Provostship of Cappenburg; The County of Tecklenburg; The County of Lingen, with the exception of that part ceded to the kingdom of Hanover by Article XXVII; The Principality of Minden; The County of Ravensburg; The secularised Chapter of Herford; The Principality of Neufchatel, with the County of Valengin, such as their Frontiers are regulated by the Treaty of Paris, and by Article LXXVI of this General Treaty.
The same disposition extends to the rights of Sovereignty and suzeraineté over the County of Wernigerode, to that of high protection over the County of Hohen-Limbourg, and to all the other rights or pretensions whatsoever which His Prussian Majesty possessed and exercised, before the Peace of Tilsit, and which he has not renounced by other Treaties, Acts, or Conventions.
Prussian Possessions on this side (en deça) of the Rhine.
ARTICLE XXIV. His Majesty the King of Prussia shall unite to his Monarchy in Germany, on this side of the Rhine, to be possessed by him and his successors in full property and Sovereignty, the following countries: The provinces of Saxony designated in Article XV, with the exception of the places and territories ceded, in virtue of Article XXXIX, to His Highness the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar; The territories ceded to Prussia by His Britannic Majesty, King of Hanover, by Article XXIX; Part of the Department of Fulda, and such of the territories comprehended therein as are specified in Article XL; The Town and Territory of Wetzlar, according to Article XLII; The Grand Duchy of Berg with the Lordships of Hardenberg, Broik Styrum, Schöller and Odenthal, formerly belonging to the said Duchy under the Palatine Government; The districts of the ancient Archbishopric of Cologne, lately belonging to the Grand Duchy of Berg; The Duchy of Westphalia, as lately possessed by His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Hesse; The County of Dortmund; The Principality of Corbey; The Mediatised Districts specified in Article XLIII.
The ancient possessions of the House of Nassau-Dietz, having been ceded to Prussia by His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, and a part of these possessions having been exchanged for the districts belonging to their Serene Highnesses the Duke and Prince of Nassau, the King of Prussia shall possess them, in Sovereignty and property, and unite them to his monarchy; 1. The Principality of Siegen with the Bailiwicks of Burbach and Neunkirchen, with the exception of a part containing 12,000 inhabitants, to belong to the Duke and Prince of Nassau; 2. The Bailiwicks of Hohen-Solms, Greifenstein, Braunfels, Frensberg, Friedewald, Schönstein, Schönberg, Altenkirchen, Altenwied, Dierdorf, Neuerburg, Linz, Hammerstein, with Engers and Heddesdorf; the town and territory (Banlieue, Gemarkung) of Neuwied; the parish of Ham, belonging to the Bailiwick of Hackenberg; the parish of Horhausen, constituting part of the Bailiwick of Hersbach, and the parts of the Bailiwicks of Vallendar and Ehrenbreitstein, on the right bank of the Rhine, designated in the Convention concluded between His Majesty the King of Prussia and their Serene Highnesses the Duke and Prince of Nassau, annexed to the present Treaty.
Prussian Possessions on the left bank of the Rhine.
ARTICLE XXV. His Majesty the King of Prussia shall also possess in full property and Sovereignty, the countries on the left bank of the Rhine, included in the frontier hereinafter designated: This frontier shall commence on the Rhine at Bingen; it shall thence ascend the course of the Nahe to the junction of this river with the Glan, and along the Glan to the village of Medart, below Lauterecken; the towns of Kreutznach and Meisenheim, with their territories, to belong entirely to Prussia; but Lauterecken and its territory to remain beyond the Prussian frontier. From the Glan the frontier shall pass by Medart, Merzweiler, Langweiler, Nieder and Ober-Feekenbach, Ellenbach, Creunchenborn, Answeiler, Cronweiler, Nieder-Brambach, Burbach, Boschweiler, Heubweiler, Hambach, and Rintzenberg, to the limits of the Canton of Hermeskeil; the above places shall be included within the Prussian frontiers, and shall, together with their territories, belong to Prussia.
From Rintzenberg to the Sarre the line of demarcation shall follow the cantonal limits, so that the Cantons of Hermeskeil and Conz (in which latter, however, are excepted the places on the left bank of the Sarre) shall remain wholly to Prussia, while the Cantons of Wadern, Merzig, and Sarreburg are to be beyond the Prussian frontier.
From the point where the limit of the Canton of Conz, below Gomlingen, traverses the Sarre, the line shall descend the Sarre till it falls into the Moselle; thence it shall reascend the Moselle to its junction with the Sarre, from the latter river to the mouth of the Our, and along the Our to the limits of the ancient Department of the Ourthe. The places traversed by these rivers shall not at all be divided, but shall belong, with their territories, to the Power in whose State the greater part of these places shall be situated; the Rivers themselves, in so far as they form the frontier, shall belong in common to the two Powers bordering on them.
In the old Department of the Ourthe, the five Cantons of Saint-Vith, Malmedy, Cronenburg, Schleiden, and Eupen, with the advanced point of the Canton of Aubel, 1 to the south of Aix-la-Chapelle, shall belong to Prussia, and the
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1 The Dutch and Prussian Commissioners, when they came to delimit the frontier, disagreed here, and finally the village of Moresnet was left without any nationality at all. It is about 20 miles east of Liège, and since 1839 has been administered by Belgium and Prussia jointly.
frontier shall follow that of these cantons, so that a line, drawn from north to south, may cut the said point of the Canton of Aubel, and be prolonged as far as the point of contact of the three old Departments of the Ourthe, the Lower Meuse, and the Roer; leaving that point, the frontier shall follow the line which separates these two last departments till it reaches the river Worm, which falls into the Roer, and shall go along this river to the point where it again touches the limits of these two departments; when it shall pursue that limit to the south of Hillensberg, shall ascend from thence towards the north, and leaving Hillensberg to Prussia, and cutting the Canton of Sittard in two parts, nearly equal, so that Sittard and Susteren remain on the left, shall reach the old Dutch territory; then following the old frontier of that territory, to the point where it touched the old Austrian Principality of Guelders, on the side of Ruremonde, and directing itself towards the most eastern point of the Dutch territory, to the north of Swalmen, it shall continue to inclose this territory.
Then, setting out from the most eastern point, it joins that other part of the Dutch territory in which Venloo is situated, without including the latter town and its district; thence to the old Dutch frontier near Mook, situated below Genep, it shall follow the course of the Meuse, at such a distance from the right bank that all the places situated within a thousand Rhenish yards (Rheinländische Ruthen) of this bank shall, with their territories, belong to the kingdom of the Netherlands; it being well understood, however, in regard to the reciprocity of this principle, that no point of the bank of the Meuse shall constitute a portion of the Prussian territory, unless such point approach to within 800 Rhenish yards of it.
From the point where the line just described joins the old Dutch frontier, as far as the Rhine, this frontier shall remain essentially as it was in 1795, between Cleves and the United Provinces. It shall be examined by the Commission which shall be appointed without delay by the two Governments to proceed to the exact determination of the limits, both of the kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, designated in Articles LXVI and LXVIII, and this Commission shall regulate, with the aid of experienced persons, whatever concerns the hydro-technical constructions, and other analogous points, in the most equitable manner, and conformably to the mutual interests of the Prussian States and of those of the Netherlands. This same disposition extends to the regulation of the limits in the Districts of Kyfwaerd, Lobith, and all the territory to Kekerdom.
The places (enclaves) named Huissen, Malburg, Lymers, with the town of Sevenaer, and the Lordship of Weel, shall form a part of the kingdom of the Netherlands, and His Prussian Majesty renounces them in perpetuity for himself, his heirs and successors.
His Majesty the King of Prussia, in uniting to his States the provinces and districts designated in the present Article, enters into all the rights and takes upon himself all the charges and engagements stipulated with respect to the countries dismembered from France by the Treaty of Paris of the 30th May, 1814.
The Prussian provinces upon the two banks of the Rhine, as far as above the town of Cologne, which shall also be comprised within this district, shall bear the name of Grand Duchy of the Lower Rhine, and His Majesty shall assume the title of it.
Kingdom of Hanover.
ARTICLE XXVI. His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, having substituted to his ancient title of Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, that of King of Hanover, and this title having been acknowledged by all the Powers of Europe, and by the Princes and Free Towns of Germany, the countries which have till now composed the Electorate of Brunswick-Luneburg, according as their limits have been recognised and fixed for the future, by the following Articles, shall henceforth form the Kingdom of Hanover. 1
Cessions by the King of Prussia to the Kingdom of Hanover.
ARTICLE XXVII. His Majesty the King of Prussia cedes to His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover, to be possessed by His Majesty and his successors, in full property and Sovereignty:
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1 The Kingdom of Hanover was annexed to the Prussian Dominions by a Decree of the King of Prussia of September 20, 1866. (See State Papers, vol. lvi, p. 1067.)
1. The Principality of Hildesheim, which shall pass under the Government of His Majesty, with all the rights and all the charges with which the said Principality was transferred to the Prussian Government;
2. The Town and Territory of Goslar;
3. The Principality of East Frieseland (Ost Friese), including the country called Harlingerland, under the conditions reciprocally stipulated in Article XXX for the navigation of the Ems and the commerce of the port of Embden. The States of the Principality shall preserve their rights and privileges;
4. 4. The Lower County (Nieder Grafschaft) of Lingen, and the part of the Principality of Prussian Munster which is situated between this county and the part of RheinaWolbeck occupied by the Hanoverian Government; but as it has been agreed that the kingdom of Hanover shall obtain by this cession an accession of territory, comprising a population of 22,000 souls, and as the Lower County of Lingen and the part of the Principality of Munster here mentioned, might not come up to this condition, His Majesty the King of Prussia engages to cause the line of demarcation to be extended into the Principality of Munster, as far as may be necessary to contain that population. The Commission, which the Prussian and Hanoverian Governments shall name without delay, to proceed to the exact regulation of the limits, shall be particularly charged with the execution of this provision.
His Prussian Majesty renounces in perpetuity, for himself, his descendants, and successors, the Provinces and Territories mentioned in the present Article, as well as all the rights which have any relation to them.
Renunciation by Prussia of the Chapter of St. Peter at Noerten.
ARTICLE XXVIII. His Majesty the King of Prussia renounces in perpetuity, for himself, his descendants, and successors, all right and claim whatever that His Majesty, in his quality of Sovereign of Eichsfeld, might advance to the Chapter of St. Peter, in the borough of Noerten, or to its dependencies, situated in the Hanoverian territory.
Cessions by the Kingdom of Hanover to Prussia.
ARTICLE XXIX. His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover, cedes to His Majesty the King of Prussia, to be possessed by him and his successors, in full property and sovereignty:
1. That part of the Duchy of Lauenburg situated upon the right bank of the Elbe, with the villages of Luneburg, situated on the same bank. The part of the duchy upon the left bank remains to the kingdom of Hanover. The States of that part of the duchy which passes under the Prussian Government shall preserve their rights and privileges; especially those founded upon the provincial Recès of the 15th September, 1702, and confirmed by the King of Great Britain, now reigning, under date of 21st June, 1765;
2. The Bailiwick of Klötze;
3. The Bailiwick of Elbingerode;
4. The Villages of Rudigershagen and Gaenseteich;
5. The Bailiwick of Reckeberg.
His Britannic Majesty, King of Hanover, renounces for himself, his descendants and successors for ever, the Provinces and Districts specified in the present Article, and all the rights which have reference to them.
Navigation and Commerce between the two States. ARTICLE XXX. His Majesty the King of Prussia, and His Britannic Majesty, King of Hanover, animated with the desire of entirely equalising the advantages of the commerce of the Ems and of the Port of Embden, and of rendering them common to their respective subjects, have agreed on this head to what follows: --
1. The Hanoverian Government engages to cause to be executed, at its expense, in the years 1815 and 1816, the works which a Commission, composed partly of artists, 1 and to be immediately appointed by Prussia and Hanover, shall deem necessary to render navigable that part of the river Ems which extends from the Prussian frontier to its mouth, and to keep it, after the execution of such works, always in the same state in which those works shall have placed it for the benefit of navigation.
2. The Prussian subjects shall be allowed to import and export, by the port of Embden, all kinds of provisions, productions, and goods, whether natural or artificial, and to keep in the town of Embden, warehouses wherein to
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1 'A mixed commission of experts.' See French version, State Papers, vol. ii, p. 24.
place the said goods for two years, dating from their arrival in the towns, without their being subject to any other inspection than that to which those of the Hanoverian subjects are liable. 4. The Prussian vessels and merchants of the same nation shall not pay for navigation, for exportation or importation of merchandise, or for warehousing, any other tolls or duties than those charged upon the Hanoverian subjects. These tolls and duties shall be regulated by agreement between Prussia and Hanover, and no alteration shall be introduced into the tariff hereafter but by mutual consent. The privileges and liberties just specified extend equally to those Hanoverian subjects who navigate that part of the river Ems which remains to the King of Prussia. 5. Prussian subjects shall not be compellable to employ the merchants of Embden for the trade they carry on with that port; they shall be at liberty to dispose of their commodities either to the inhabitants of the town or to foreigners, without paying any other duties than those to which the Hanoverian subjects are subjected, and which cannot be raised but by mutual consent.
His Majesty the King of Prussia, on his part, engages to grant to Hanoverian subjects the free navigation of the canal of the Stecknitz, so as not to exact from them any other duties than those which shall be paid by the inhabitants of the Duchy of Lauenburg. His Prussian Majesty engages, besides, to insure these advantages to Hanoverian subjects, should he hereafter cede the Duchy of Lauenburg to another Sovereign.
Military Roads.
ARTICLE XXXI. His Majesty the King of Prussia and His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover, mutually agree to three military roads through their respective dominions.
1st. One from Halberstadt, through the country of Hildesheim, to Minden.
2nd. A second from the Old March, through Gifhorn and Neustadt, to Minden.
3rd. A third from Osnabruck, through Ippenbiiren and Rheina to Bentheim.
The two first in favour of Prussia, and the third in favour of Hanover.
The two Governments shall appoint, without delay, a Commission to prepare, by common consent, the necessary regulations for the establishment of the said roads.
Relations of the Duc de Looz-Corswayen and of the County of Bentheim with the Kingdom of Hanover.
ARTICLE XXXII. The Bailiwick of Meppen, belonging to the Duke of Aremberg, as well as the part of RheinaWolbeck, belonging to the Duke of Looz-Corswaren, which at this moment are provisionally occupied by the Hanoverian Government, shall be placed in such relations with the Kingdom of Hanover, as the Federative Constitution of Germany shall regulate for the mediatised territories.
The Prussian and Hanoverian Governments having nevertheless reserved to themselves to agree hereafter, if necessary, to the fixing of another line of frontier with regard to the county belonging to the Duke of LoozCorswaren, the said Governments shall charge the Commission they may name for fixing the limits of the part of the County of Lingen ceded to Hanover, to deliberate thereupon, and to adjust definitively the frontiers of that part of the county belonging to the Duke of Looz-Corswaren, which, as aforesaid, is to be possessed by the Hanoverian Government.
The relations between the Hanoverian Government and the County of Bentheim shall remain as regulated by the Treaties of Mortgage existing between His Britannic Majesty and the Count of Bentheim; and when the rights derived from this Treaty shall have expired, the relations of the County of Bentheim towards the Kingdom of Hanover shall be such as the Federative Constitution of Germany shall regulate for the mediatised territories.
Cession to be made by the King of Hanover to the Duke of Oldenburg.
ARTICLE XXXIII. His Britannic Majesty, King of Hanover, in order to meet the wishes of His Prussian Majesty to procure a suitable arrondissement of territory for His Serene Highness the Duke of Oldenburg, promises to cede to him a district containing a population of 5,000 inhabitants.
Title of Grand Duke in the House of Holstein-Oldenburg.
ARTICLE XXXIV. His Serene Highness the Duke of Holstein-Oldenburg shall assume the title of Grand Duke of Oldenburg.
Title of Grand Duke in the Houses of Mecklenburg-Schweyin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. ARTICLE XXXV. Their Serene Highnesses the Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz shall assume the titles of Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Strelitz.
Title of Grand Duke in the House of Saxe-Weimar.
ARTICLE XXXVI. His Highness the Duke of SaxeWeimar shall assume the title of Grand Duke of SaxeWeimar.
Cessions to be made by Prussia to the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar.
ARTICLE XXXVII. His Majesty the King of Prussia shall cede from the mass of his States, as they have been fixed and recognised by the present Treaty, to His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, districts containing a population of 50,000 inhabitants, contiguous to, or bordering upon, the Principality of Weimar.
His Prussian Majesty engages also to cede to His Royal Highness out of that part of the Principality of Fulda which has been given up to him in virtue of the same stipulations, districts containing a population of 27,000 inhabitants.
His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Weimar shall possess the above districts in full property and Sovereignty, and shall unite them in perpetuity to his present States.
Ulterior Arrangements respecting these Cessions.
ARTICLE XXXVIII. The districts and territories which are to be ceded to His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, in virtue of the preceding Article, shall be determined by a particular Convention; and His Majesty the King of Prussia engages to conclude this Convention, and to cause the above districts and territories to be given up to His Royal Highness, within two months from the date of the exchange of the ratifications of the Treaty concluded at Vienna, 1st June, 1815, between His Prussian Majesty and His Royal Highness the Grand Duke.
Territories to be made over immediately to the Grand Duke of Weimar.
ARTICLE XXXIX. His Majesty the King of Prussia, however, cedes immediately, and promises to give up to His Royal Highness, in the space of a fortnight, reckoning from the signature of the above-mentioned Treaty, the following districts and territories; viz., The Lordship of Blankenhayn, with the reservation of the Bailiwick of Wandersleben, belonging to UnterGleichen, which is not to be comprised in this cession; The Lower Lordship (Niedere-Herrschaft) of Kranichfeld, the Commanderies of the Teutonic order of Zwaetzen, Lehesten, and Liebstadt, with their demesnial revenues, which, constituting a part of the Bailiwick of Eckartsberga, are inclosed in the territory of Saxe-Weimar, as well as all the other territories inclosed within the Principality of Weimar, and belonging to the said bailiwick; the Bailiwick of Tautenburg, with the exception of Droizen, Görschen, Wethalung, Wetterscheid, and Möllschütz, which shall remain to Prussia; The Village of Remssla, as well as the Villages of KleinBrembach and Berlstedt, inclosed within the Principality of Weimar, and belonging to the territory of Erfurth;
The property of the Villages of Bischoffsroda and Probsteizella, inclosed within the territory of Eisenach, the Sovereignty of which already belongs to His Royal Highness the Grand Duke.
The population of these different districts is understood to form part of that of 50,000 souls, secured to His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, by Article XXXVII, and shall be deducted from it.
Cession of a Portion of the former Department of Fulda to Prussia.
ARTICLE XL. The Department of Fulda, together with the territories of the ancient Nobility (l'Ancienne Noblesse immidiate de l'Empire) comprised, at this moment, under the provisional administration of this department, viz.: Mansbach, Buchenau, Werda, Lengsfeld; excepting, however, the following bailiwicks and territories, viz.; the Bailiwicks of Hammelburg, with Thulba and Saaleck, Brückenau with Motten, Saalmünster, with Urzel and Sonnerz; also the part of the Bailiwick of Biberstein, which contains the villages of Batten, Brand, Dietges, Findlos, Liebharts, Melperz, Ober-Bernhardt, Saifferts, and Thaiden, as well as the domain of Holzkirchen, inclosed in the Grand Duchy of Wiirtzburg; is ceded to His Majesty the King of Prussia, and he shall be put in possession of it within three weeks from and after the 1st June of this year.
His Prussian Majesty engages to take upon himself, in proportion to that part of the territory which he obtains by the present Article, his share of the obligations which all the new possessors of the heretofore Grand Duchy of Frankfort will have to fulfil, and to transfer such engagements to the Princes with whom His Majesty may hereafter make exchanges or cessions of these districts and territories of the Department of Fulda.
Arrangements relative to the Purchasers of Domains in the Principality of Fulda and the County of Hanau.
ARTICLE XLI. The domains of the Principality of Fulda and of the County of Hanau having been sold to purchasers, who have not as yet made good all their instalments, a Commission shall be named by the Princes to whom the said domains are transferred, to regulate, in an uniform manner, whatever has any reference to this transaction, and to do justice to the claims of the purchasers of the said domains. This Commission shall pay particular attention to the Treaty concluded at Frankfort, on the 2nd December, 1813, between the Allied Powers and His Royal Highness the Elector of Hesse; and it is laid down as a principle, that in case the sale of these domains should not be considered as binding, the purchasers shall receive back the sums already discharged, and they shall not be obliged to quit before such restitution shall have had its full and entire effect.
Cession of the Town of Wetzlar to His Majesty the King of Prussia.
ARTICLE XLII. The Town and Territory of Wetzlar passes, in all property and Sovereignty, to His Majesty the King of Prussia.
Relations of the Mediatised Districts of the Old Circle of Westphalia with the Prussian Monarchy.
ARTICLE XLIII. The following Mediatised districts, viz.; the possessions which the Princes of Salm-Salm and Salm-Kyrburg, the Counts called the Rhein- und Wildgrafen, and the Duke of Croy, obtained by the principal Recès of the extraordinary Deputation of the Empire, of the 25th February, 1803, in the old Circle of Westphalia, as well as the Lordships of Anholt and Gehmen, the possessions of the Duke of Looz-Corswaren, which are in the same situation (in so far as they are not placed under the Hanoverian Government), the County of Steinfurt, belonging to the Count of Bentheim-Bentheim, the County of Recklingshausen, belonging to the Duke of Aremberg, the Lordships of Rheda, Giitersloh, and Gronau, belonging to the Count of Bentheim-Tecklenburg, the County of Rittberg, belonging to the Prince of Kaunitz, the Lordships of Neustadt and Gimborn, belonging to the Count of Walmoden, and the Lordship of Homburg, belonging to the Princes of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, shall be placed in such relations with the Prussian Monarchy as the Federative Constitution of Germany shall regulate for the Mediatised territories.
The possessions of the ancient Nobility (l'Ancienne Noblesse immidiate de l'Empire) within the Prussian territory, and particularly the Lordship of Wildenberg, in the Grand Duchy of Berg, and the Barony of Schauen, in the Principality of Halberstadt, shall belong to the Prussian Monarchy.
Cession of the Grand Duchy of Würtzburg and of the Principality of Aschaffenburg to the King of Bavaria.
ARTICLE XLIV. His Majesty the King of Bavaria shall possess, for himself, his heirs and successors, in full property. and Sovereignty, the Grand Duchy of Würtzburg, as it was held by His Imperial Highness the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, and the Principality of Aschaffenburg, such as it constituted part of the Grand Duchy of Frankfort, under the denomination of Department of Aschaffenburg.
Maintenance of the Prince Primate.
ARTICLE XLV. With respect to the rights and prerogatives, and the maintenance of the Prince Primate as an ancient ecclesiastical Prince, it is determined;
1st. That he shall be treated in a manner analogous to the Articles of the Recès, which, in 1803, regulated the situation of the secularised Princes, and to the practice observed with regard to them.
2ndly. He shall receive for this purpose, dating from the 1st of June, 1814, the sum of 100,000 florins, by payments of three months, in good specie, at the rate of 24 florins to the mark, as an annuity.
This annuity shall be paid by the Sovereigns under whose Governments the provinces or districts of the Grand Duchy of Frankfort pass, in proportion to the part which each of them shall possess.
3rdly. The advances made by the Prince Primate, from his private purse, to the general chest of the Principality of Fulda, such as they have been liquidated and proved, shall be refunded to him, his heirs, or executors.
This expenditure shall be defrayed in proportions by the Sovereigns who shall possess the provinces and districts composing the Principality of Fulda.
4thly. The furniture and other objects which may be proved to belong to the private property of the Prince Primate, shall be restored to him.
5thly. The officers of the Grand Duchy of Frankfort, as well civil and ecclesiastical as military and diplomatic, shall be treated conformably to the principles of Article LIX of the Recès of the Empire, dated the 25th February, 1803, and from the 1st of June the pensions shall be proportionably paid by the Sovereigns who enter on the possession of the States which formed the said Grand Duchy since the 1st of June, 1814.
6thly. A Commission shall be established without delay, composed of members appointed by the said Sovereigns, to regulate whatever relates to the execution of the dispositions comprised in this Article.
7thly. It is understood, that in virtue of this arrangement, any claim that might be advanced against the Prince Primate, in his character of Grand Duke of Frankfort, shall be annulled, and that he shall not be molested on account of any reclamation of this nature.
Free Town of Frankfort.
ARTICLE XLVI. The City of Frankfort, with its territory, such as it was in 1803, is declared Free, and shall constitute a part of the Germanic League. Its institutions shall be founded upon the principle of a perfect equality of rights for the different sects of the Christian religion. This equality of rights shall extend to all civil and political rights, and shall be observed in all matters of government and administration. The disputes which may arise, whether in regard to the establishment of the Constitution, or in regard to its maintenance, shall be referred to the Germanic Diet, and can only be decided by the same. 1
Indemnities to the Grand Duke of Hesse.
ARTICLE XLVII. His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Hesse, in exchange for the Duchy of Westphalia, ceded to His Majesty the King of Prussia, obtains a territory on the left bank of the Rhine, in the ancient Department of Mont-Tonnerre, comprising a population of 140,000 inhabitants. His Royal Highness shall possess this territory in full Sovereignty and property. He shall likewise obtain the property of that part of the Salt Mines of Kreutznach which is situated on the left bank of the Nahe, but the Sovereignty of them shall remain to Prussia.
Reinstatement of the Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg.
ARTICLE XLVIII. The Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg is reinstated in his possessions, revenues, rights, and political relations, of which he was deprived in consequence of the Confederation of the Rhine.
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1 The Free Town of Frankfort was annexed to Prussia by Decree dated September 20, 1866. (See Hertslet Map of Europe by Treaty, vol. i, p. 240, foot-note.)
Territories reserved for the Houses of Oldenburg, SaxeCoburg, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Hesse-Homburg, and the Count of Pappenheim.
ARTICLE XLIX. In the ci-devant Department of the Sarre, on the Frontiers of the States of His Majesty the King of Prussia, there is reserved a district, containing a population of 69,000 souls, to be disposed of in the following manner: -- The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and the Duke of Oldenburg shall obtain each a territory comprising 20,000 inhabitants. The Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and the Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, each a Territory comprising 10,000 inhabitants; and the Count of Pappenheim a Territory comprising 9,000 inhabitants.
The territory of the Count of Pappenheim shall be under the Sovereignty of His Prussian Majesty.
Future Arrangements respecting these Territories.
ARTICLE L. The acquisitions assigned by the preceding Article to the Dukes of Saxe-Coburg, Oldenburg, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and the Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, not being contiguous to their respective States, their Majesties the Emperor of Austria, the Emperor of all the Russias, and the Kings of Great Britain and Prussia, promise to employ their good offices, at the close of the present war, or as soon as circumstances shall permit, in order to procure for the said Princes, either by exchanges or any other arrangements, the advantages that they are disposed to insure to them; and that the administration of the said districts may be rendered less complicated, it is agreed that they shall be provisionally under the Prussian administration for the benefit of the new proprietors.
Territory on the two Banks of the Rhine ceded to the Emperor of Austria.
ARTICLE LI. All the territories and possessions, as well on the left bank of the Rhine, in the old Departments of the Sarre and Mont-Tonnerre, as in the former Departments of Fulda and Frankfort, or inclosed in the adjacent countries, placed at the disposal of the Allied Powers by the Treaty of Paris of 30th May, 1814, and not disposed of by other Articles of the present Treaty, shall pass in full Sovereignty and property, under the Government of His Majesty the Emperor of Austria.
Principality of Isenburg.
ARTICLE LII. The Principality of Isenburg is placed under the Sovereignty of His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, and shall belong to him, under such limitations as the Federative Constitution of Germany shall regulate for the Mediatised States.
Germanic Confederation.
ARTICLE LIII. The Sovereign Princes and Free Towns of Germany, under which denomination, for the present purpose, are comprehended their Majesties the Emperor of Austria, the Kings of Prussia, of Denmark, and of the Netherlands; that is to say: -The Emperor of Austria and the King of Prussia, for all their possessions which anciently belonged to the German Empire; The King of Denmark, for the Duchy of Holstein; And the King of the Netherlands, for the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg; establish among themselves a perpetual Confederation, which shall be called 'The Germanic Confederation'. 1
Object of this Confederation.
ARTICLE LIV. The object of this Confederation is the maintenance of the external and internal safety of Germany, and of the Independence and Inviolability of the Confederated States.
Equality of its Members.
ARTICLE LV. The Members of the Confederation, as such, are equal with regard to their rights; and they all equally engage to maintain the Act which constitutes their union.
Federative Diet.
ARTICLE LVI. The affairs of the Confederation shall be confided to a Federative Diet, in which all the Members shall vote by their Plenipotentiaries, either individually or collectively, in the following manner, without prejudice to their rank: --
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1 The Germanic Confederation was dissolved after the AustroPrussian War of 1866, and replaced by the North German Confederation, of which Austria was not a member. This again was replaced, after the Franco-German War of 1870-1, by the German Empire.
1. Austria 1 Vote.
2. Prussia 1 "
3. Bavaria 1 "
4. Saxony 1 "
5. Hanover 1 "
6. Wurtemberg 1 "
7. Baden 1 "
8. Electoral Hesse1 1 "
9. Grand Duchy of Hesse2 1 "
10. Denmark, for Holstein 1 "
11. The Netherlands, for Luxemburg 1 "
12. Grand-Ducal and Ducal Houses of
Saxony 1 "
13. Brunswick and Nassau 1 "
14. Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Strelitz 1 "
15. Holstein- Oldenburg, Anhalt and
Schwartzburg 1 "
16. Hohenzollern, Liechtenstein, Reuss,
Schaumburg-Lippe, Lippe and
Waldeck 1 "
17. The Free Towns of Lubeck, Frank-
fort, Bremen, and Hamburgh 1 "
Total: 17 Votes.
Presidency of Austria.
ARTICLE LVII. Austria shall preside at the Federative Diet. Each State of the Confederation has the right of making propositions, and the presiding State shall bring them under deliberation within a definite time.
Composition of the General Assembly.
ARTICLE LVIII. Whenever fundamental laws are to be enacted, changes made in the fundamental laws of the Confederation, measures adopted relative to the Federative Act itself, and organic institutions or other arrangements made for the common interest, the Diet shall form itself into a General Assembly, and, in that case, the distribution of votes shall be as follows, calculated according to the respective extent of the individual States: --
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1 Hesse-Cassel.
2 Hesse-Darmstadt.
Austria shall have 4 Votes
Prussia 4 "
Saxony 4 "
Bavaria 4 "
Hanover 4 "
Wurtemberg 4 "
Baden 3 "
Electoral Hesse1 3 "
Grand Duchy of Hesse2 3 "
Holstein 3 "
Luxemburg 3 "
Brunswick 2 "
Mecklenburg- Schwerin 2 "
Nassau 2 "
Saxe-Weimar 1 Vote.
Saxe Gotha 1 "
Saxe-Coburg 1 "
Saxe-Meiningen 1 "
Saxe-Hildburghausen 1 "
Mecklenburg-Strelitz 1 "
Holstein-Oldenburg 1 "
Anhalt-Dessau 1 "
Anhalt-Bernburg 1 "
Anhalt-Köthen 1 "
Schwartzburg-Sondershausen 1 "
Schwartzburg-Rudolstadt 1 "
Hohenzollern-Heckingen 1 "
Liechtenstein 1 "
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen 1 "
Waldeck 1 "
Reuss (Elder Branch)3 1 "
Reuss (Younger Branch)4 1 "
Schaumburg-Lippe 1 "
Lippe 1 "
The Free Town of Lubeck 1 "
" " Frankfort 1 "
" " Bremen 1 "
" "Hamburgh 1 vote.
Total: 69 Votes.
1 Hesse-Cassel. 2 Hesse-Darmstadt.
3 Reuss-Greitz. 4 Reuss-Schleitz.
The Diet in deliberating on the organic laws of the Confederation, shall consider whether any collective votes ought to be granted to the ancient Mediatised States of the Empire.
Arrangements relative to the Diet.
ARTICLE LIX. The question, whether a subject is to be discussed by the General Assembly, conformably to the principles above established, shall be decided in the Ordinary Assembly by a majority of votes. The same Assembly shall prepare the drafts of resolutions which are to be proposed to the General Assembly, and shall furnish the latter with all the necessary information, either for adopting or rejecting them.
The plurality of votes shall regulate the decisions, both in the Ordinary and General Assemblies, with this difference, however, that in the Ordinary Assembly, an absolute majority shall be deemed sufficient, while, in the other, two-thirds of the votes shall be necessary to form the majority.
When the votes are even in the Ordinary Assembly, the President shall have the casting vote; but when the Assembly is to deliberate on the acceptance or change of any of the fundamental laws, upon organic institutions, upon individual rights, or upon affairs of religion, the plurality of votes shall not be deemed sufficient, either in the Ordinary or in the General Assembly.
The Diet is permanent: it may, however, when the subjects submitted to its deliberation are disposed of, adjourn for a fixed period, which shall not exceed four months.
All ulterior arrangements relative to the postponement or the dispatch of urgent business which may arise during the recess shall be reserved for the Diet, which will consider them when engaged in preparing the organic laws.
Order of Voting.
ARTICLE LX. With respect to the order in which the members of the Confederation shall vote, it is agreed, that while the Diet shall be occupied in framing organic laws, there shall be no fixed regulation; and whatever may be the order observed on such an occasion, it shall neither prejudice any of the members, nor establish a precedent for the future. After framing the organic laws, the Diet will deliberate upon the manner of arranging this matter by a permanent regulation, for which purpose it will depart as little as possible from those which have been observed in the ancient Diet, and more particularly accord3ing to the Recès of the Deputation of the Empire in 1803. The order to be adopted shall in no way affect the rank and precedence of the members of the Confederation except in as far as they concern the Diet.
Sittings of Diet to be held at Frankfort.
ARTICLE LXI. The Diet shall assemble at Frankfort on the Maine. Its first meeting is fixed for the 1st of September, 1815.
Framing of Fundamental Laws.
ARTICLE LXII. The first object to be considered by the Diet after its opening shall be the framing of the fundamental laws of the Confederation, and of its organic institutions, with respect to its exterior, military, and interior relations.
Maintenance of Peace in Germany.
ARTICLE LXIII. The States of the Confederation engage to defend not only the whole of Germany, but each individual State of the Union, in case it should be attacked, and they mutually guarantee to each other such of their possessions as are comprised in this Union.
When war shall be declared by the Confederation, no member can open a separate negotiation with the enemy, nor make peace, nor conclude an armistice, without the consent of the other members.
The Confederated States engage, in the same manner, not to make war against each other, on any pretext, nor to pursue their differences by force of arms, but to submit them to the Diet, which will attempt a mediation by means of a Commission. If this should not succeed, and a juridical sentence becomes necessary, recourse shall be had to a well organized Austregal Court (Austrägalinstanz), to the decision of which the contending parties are to submit without appeal.
Confirmation of Particular Arrangements of the Act of the Confederation.
ARTICLE LXIV. The Articles comprised under the title of Particular Arrangements, in the Act of the Germanic Confederation, as annexed to the present General Treaty, both in original and in a French translation, shall have the same force and validity as if they were textually inserted herein.
Kingdom of the Netherlands.
ARTICLE LXV. The ancient United Provinces of the Netherlands and the late Belgic Provinces, both within the limits fixed by the following Article, shall formtogether with the countries and territories designated in the same Article, under the Sovereignty of His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange-Nassau, Sovereign Prince of the United Provinces -- the Kingdom of the Netherlands, hereditary in the order of succession already established by the Act of the Constitution of the said United Provinces. The title and the prerogatives of the Royal dignity are recognised by all the Powers in the House of Orange-Nassau. 1
Boundaries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
ARTICLE LXVI. The line comprising the territories which compose the Kingdom of the Netherlands is determined in the following manner: --
It leaves the sea, and extends along the frontiers of France on the side of the Netherlands, as rectified and fixed by Article III of the Treaty of Paris of the 30th May, 1814, to the Meuse; thence along the same frontiers to the old limits of the Duchy of Luxemburg. From this point it follows the direction of the limits between that Duchy and the ancient Bishopric of Liège, till it meets (to the south of Deiffelt) the western limits of that canton, and of that of Malmedy, to the point where the latter reaches the limits between the old Departments of the
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1 The Netherlands and Belgium were separated under the provisions of the Treaties of 1831 and 1839, when Belgium was established as an Independent and Neutral State. This matter is subsequently dealt with in a separate chapter, see page 126.
Ourthe and the Roer; it then follows these limits to where they touch those of the former French Canton of Eupen, in the Duchy of Limburg, and following the western limit of that canton, in a northerly direction, leaving to the right a small part of the former French Canton of Aubel, joins the point of contact of the three old Departments of the Ourthe, the Lower Meuse, and the Roer; parting again from this point, this line follows that which divides the two latter departments, until it reaches the Worm (a river falling into the Roer), and goes along this river to the point where it again reaches the limit of these two departments, pursues this limit to the south of Hillensberg (the old Department of the Roer), from whence it reascends to the north, and leaving Hillensberg to the right and dividing the Canton of Sittard into two nearly equal parts, so that Sittard and Susteren remain on the left, it reaches the old Dutch territory, from whence, leaving this territory to the left, it goes on following its eastern frontier to the point where it touches the old Austrian Principality of Guelders, on the south side of Ruremonde, and directing itself towards the most eastern point of the Dutch territory, to the north of Swalmen, continues to inclose this territory.
Lastly, setting out from the most eastern point it joins that part of the Dutch territory in which Venloo is situated; that town and its territory being included within it. From thence to the old Dutch frontier near Mook, situated above Genep, the line follows the course of the Meuse at such a distance from the right bank that all the places within 1,000 Rhenish yards (Rheinländische Ruthen) from it shall belong, with their territories, to the Kingdom of the Netherlands; it being understood, however, as to the reciprocity of this principle, that the Prussian territory shall not at any point touch the Meuse, or approach it within the distance of 1,000 Rhenish yards.
From the point where the line just described reaches the ancient Dutch frontier, as far as the Rhine, this frontier shall remain essentially the same as it was in 1795, between Cleves and the United Provinces.
This line shall be examined by a Commission, which the Governments of Prussia and the Netherlands shall name without delay, for the purpose of proceeding to the exact determination of the limits, as well of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as of the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, specified in Article LXVIII; and this Commission, aided by professional persons, shall regulate everything concerning the hydrotechnical constructions, and other similar points, in the most equitable manner, and the most conformable to the mutual interests of the Prussian States, and of those of the Netherlands. This same arrangement refers to the fixing of limits in the Districts of Kyfwaerd, Lobith, and in the whole territory as far as Kekerdom.
The enclaves of Huissen, Malburg, Lymers, with the town of Sevenaer and Lordship of Weel, shall form a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; and His Prussian Majesty renounces them in perpetuity, for himself, his heirs and successors.
Grand Duchy of Luxemburg.
ARTICLE LXVII. That part of the old Duchy of Luxemburg which is comprised in the limits specified in the following Article, is likewise ceded to the Sovereign Prince of the United Provinces, now King of the Netherlands, to be possessed in perpetuity by him and his successors, in full property and Sovereignty. The Sovereign of the Netherlands shall add to his titles that of Grand Duke of Luxemburg, His Majesty reserving to himself the privilege of making such family arrangement between the Princes his sons, relative to the succession to the Grand Duchy, as he shall think conformable to the interests of his monarchy and to his paternal intentions.
The Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, serving as a compensation for the Principalities of Nassau-Dillenburg, Siegen, Hadamar and Dietz, shall form one of the States of the Germanic Confederation; and the Prince, King of the Netherlands, shall enter into the system of this Confederation as Grand Duke of Luxemburg, with all the prerogatives and privileges enjoyed by the other German Princes.
The Town of Luxemburg, in a military point of view, shall be considered as a Fortress of the Confederation; the Grand Duke shall, however, retain the right of appointing the Governor and military Commandant of this Fortress, subject to the approbation of the executive power of the Confederation, and under such other conditions as it may be judged necessary to establish, in conformity with the future Constitution of the said Confederation.
Boundaries of the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg.
ARTICLE LXVIII. The Grand Duchy of Luxemburg shall consist of all the territory situated between the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as it has been designated by Article LXVI, France, the Moselle, as far as the mouth of the Sure, the course of the Sure, as far as the junction of the Our, and the course of this last river, as far as the limits of the former French Canton of St. Vith, which shall not belong to the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg. 1
Arrangements respecting the Duchy of Bouillon.
ARTICLE LXIX. His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxemburg, shall possess in perpetuity, for himself and his successors, the full and entire Sovereignty of that part of the Duchy of Bouillon, which is not ceded to France by the Treaty of Paris; and which, therefore, shall be united to the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg.
Disputes having arisen with respect to the said Duchy of Bouillon, the competitor who shall legally establish his right, in the manner hereafter specified, shall possess, in full property, the said part of the Duchy, as it was enjoyed by the last Duke, under the Sovereignty of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxemburg.
This decision shall be made by Arbitration, and be without appeal. For this purpose there shall be appointed a certain number of arbitrators, one by each of the two competitors, and others, to the number of three, by the Courts of Austria, Prussia, and Sardinia. They shall assemble at Aix-la-Chapelle, as soon as the state of the war and other circumstances may admit of it, and their determination shall be made known within six months from their first meeting.
In the interim, His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxemburg, shall hold in trust the property of the said part of the Duchy of Bouillon, in order that he may restore it, together with the revenues of the provisional administration, to the competitor in whose favour the arbitrators shall decide; and His said Majesty shall
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1 A general Treaty was concluded on May 11, 1867, on the subject of the neutrality, &c., of Luxemburg. This matter is subsequently dealt with in a separate Paper; see p. 256.
indemnify him for the loss of the revenues arising from the rights of Sovereignty, by means of some equitable arrangement. Should the restitution fall to Prince Charles of Rohan, this property, when in his possession, shall be regulated by the laws of the substitution which constitutes his title thereto.
Cession to Prussia of the German Possessions of the House of Nassau-Orange.
ARTICLE LXX. His Majesty the King of the Netherlands renounces, in perpetuity for himself, his heirs, and successors, in favour of His Majesty the King of Prussia, the sovereign possessions which the House of NassauOrange held in Germany, namely, the Principalities of Dillenburg, Dietz, Siegen, and Hadamar, with the Lordships of Beilstein, such as those possessions have been definitively arranged between the two branches of the House of Nassau, by the Treaty concluded at the Hague on the 14th July, 1814.
His Majesty also renounces the Principality of Fulda, and the other districts and territories which were secured to him by Article XII of the Principal Recès of the Extraordinary Deputation of the Empire of the 25th of February, 1803.
Family Pact between the Princes of Nassau.
ARTICLE LXXI. The right and order of Succession, established between the two branches of the House of Nassau, by the Act of 1783, called Nassauischer Erbverein, is confirmed, and transferred from the four Principalities of Orange-Nassau to the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg.
Charges and Engagements pertaining to the Provinces detached from France.
ARTICLE LXXII. His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, in uniting under his Sovereignty the Countries designated in Articles LXVI and LXVIII, enters into all the rights, and takes upon himself all the charges and all the stipulated engagements, relative to the Provinces and Districts detached from France by the Treaty of Peace concluded at Paris the 30th May, 1814.
Act of Re-union of the Belgic Provinces.
ARTICLE LXXIII. His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, having recognised and sanctioned, under date of the 21st July, 1814, as the Basis of the Union of the Belgic Provinces with the United Provinces, the 8 Articles contained in the document annexed to the present Treaty, the said Articles shall have the same force and validity as if they were inserted, word for word, in the present Instrument. 1
Integrity of the Nineteen Cantons of Switzerland.
ARTICLE LXXIV. The integrity of the Nineteen Cantons, as they existed in a political body, from the signature of the Convention of the 29th December, 1813, is recognised as the basis of the Helvetic system. Union of Three new Cantons.
ARTICLE LXXV. The Valais, the territory of Geneva, and the Principality of Neufchatel, are united to Switzerland, and shall form Three new Cantons.La Vallée des Dappes, having formed part of the Canton of Vaud, is restored to it.
Union of Bishopric of Basle, and Town and Territory of Bienne, with Canton of Berne.
ARTICLE LXXVI. The Bishopric of Basle, and the city and territory of Bienne, shall be united to the Helvetic Confederation, and shall form part of the Canton of Berne.The following districts, however, are excepted from this last arrangement:
1. A District of about three square leagues in extent, including the Communes of Altschweiler, Schönbach, Oberweiler, Terweiler, Ettingen, Fürstenstein, Plotten, Pfeffingen, Aesch, Bruck, Reinach, Arlesheim; which District shall be united to the Canton of Basle.
2. A small Enclave, situated near the Neufchatel village of Lignières, which is at present, with respect to civil jurisdiction, dependant upon the Canton of Neufchatel, and with respect to criminal jurisdiction upon that of the Bishopric of Basle, shall belong in full Sovereignty to the Principality of Neufchatel.
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1 See foot-note to Article LXV.
Rights of Inhabitants of Countries united with Canton of Berne. ARTICLE LXXVII. The inhabitants of the Bishopric of Basle, and those of Bienne, united to the Cantons of Berne and Basle, shall enjoy, in every respect, without any distinction of Religion (which shall be maintained in its present state) the same political and civil rights which are enjoyed, or may be enjoyed, by the inhabitants of the ancient parts of the said cantons; they shall, therefore, be equally competent to become candidates for the places of Representatives, and for all other appointments, according to the constitution of the cantons. Such municipal privileges as are compatible with the constitution and the general regulations of the Canton of Berne, shall be preserved to the town of Bienne, and to the villages that formed part of its jurisdiction.
The sale of the national domains shall be confirmed, and the feudal rights and tithes cannot be re-established.
The respective Acts of the union shall be framed, conformably to the principles above declared, by Commissions, composed of an equal number of deputies from each of the directing parties concerned. Those from the Bishopric of Basle shall be chosen by the canton from amongst the most eminent citizens of the country. The said Acts shall be guaranteed by the Swiss Confederation. All points upon which the parties cannot agree, shall be decided by a court of Arbitration, to be named by the Diet.
Restoration of Lordship of Razüns to the Canton of Grisons.
ARTICLE LXXVIII. The cession, made by Article III of the Treaty of Vienna, of the 14th October, 1809, of the Lordship of Razüns, inclosed in the country of the Grisons, having expired; and His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, being restored to all the rights attached to the said possession, confirms the disposition which he made of it, by a Declaration, dated the 20th March, 1815, in favour of the Canton of the Grisons.
Arrangements between France and Geneva.
ARTICLE LXXIX. In order to ensure the commercial and military communications of the Town of Geneva with the Canton of Vaud, and the rest of Switzerland; and
with a view to fulfil, in that respect, Article IV of the Treaty of Paris of the 30th May, 1814, His Most Christian Majesty consents so to place the line of custom-houses, that the road which leads from Geneva into Switzerland by Versoy, shall at all times be free, and that neither the post nor travellers, nor the transport of merchandise, shall be interrupted by any examination of the officers of the Customs, nor subjected to any duty.
It is equally understood that the passage of Swiss troops on this road shall not, in any manner, be obstructed.
In the additional regulations to be made on this subject, the execution of the Treaties relative to the free communication between the town of Geneva and the jurisdiction of Peney, shall be assured in the manner most convenient to the inhabitants of Geneva. His Most Christian Majesty also consents that the gendarmerie and militia of Geneva, after having communicated on the subject with the nearest military post of the French gendarmerie, shall pass on the high road of Meyrin, to and from the said jurisdiction and the town of Geneva.
Cessions by the King of Sardinia to the Canton of Geneva.
ARTICLE LXXX. His Majesty the King of Sardinia cedes that part of Savoy which is situated between the river Arve, the Rhone, the limits of that part of Savoy ceded to France, and the mountain of Salève, as far as Veiry inclusive, together with that part which lies between the high road called that of the Simplon, the Lake of Geneva, and the present territory of the canton of Geneva, from Venezas to the point where the river Hermance crosses the said road; and from thence, following the course of that river to where it enters the Lake of Geneva, to the east of the village of Hermance (the whole of the road of the Simplon continuing to be possessed by His Majesty the King of Sardinia) in order that these countries shall be united (réunis) to the canton of Geneva; with the reservation, however, of determining more precisely, by Commissioners respectively, their limits, particularly that part which relates to the demarcation above Veiry and on the mountain of Salève; His said Majesty renouncing for himself and his successors, in perpetuity, without exception or reservation, all rights of Sovereignty, or other rights which may belong to him in the places and territories comprised within this demarcation.
His Majesty the King of Sardinia also agrees, that the communication between the canton of Geneva and the Valais, by the road of the Simplon, shall be established, in the same manner as it has been agreed to by France, between Geneva and the canton of Vaud, by the route of Versoy. A free communication shall also be at all times granted for the Genevese troops, between the territory of Geneva and the j Urisdiction of Jussy, and such facilities shall be allowed as may be necessary for proceeding by the lake to the road of the Simplon.
On the other hand, an exemption from all duties of transit shall be granted for all merchandise and goods which, coming from the States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia and the Free Port of Genoa, shall traverse the road called the Simplon in its whole extent, through the Valais and the State of Geneva. This exemption shall, however, be confined to the transit, and shall extend neither to the tolls established for the maintenance of the road, nor to duties levied on merchandise or goods intended to be sold or consumed in the interior. The same reservation shall apply to the communication granted to the Swiss between the Valais and the canton of Geneva; and the different Governments shall for this purpose take such measures as, by common agreement, they shall judge necessary, either for taxation or for preventing contraband trade in their territories, respectively.
Compensations between the Old and the New Cantons.
ARTICLE LXXXI. With a view to the establishing of reciprocal compensations, the Cantons of Argovia, Vaud, Tessin, and St. Gall, shall furnish to the ancient Cantons of Schweitz, Unterwald, Uri, Glaris, Zug and Appenzell (Rhode Intérieure) a sum of money to be applied to purposes of public instruction, and to the expenses of general administration, but principally to the former object, in the said cantons.
The quota, manner of payment, and division of this pecuniary compensation, are fixed as follows: --
The Cantons of Argovia, Vaud, and St. Gall shall furnish to the Cantons of Schweitz, Unterwald, Uri, Zug, Glaris, and Appenzell (Rhode Intérieure),a fund of 500,000 Swiss livres.Each of the former cantons shall pay the interest of its quota, at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum, or have the option of discharging the principal, either in money or funded property.The division, either of the payment or receipt of these funds, shall be made according to the scale of contributions laid down for providing the federal expenses.The Canton of Tessin shall pay every year to the Canton of Uri, a moiety of the produce of the tolls in the Levantine Valley.
Arrangements respecting Funds invested in England
ARTICLE LXXXII. To put an end to the discussions which have arisen, with respect to the funds placed in England by the Cantons of ZUrich and Berne, it is determined:
1. That the Cantons of Berne and ZUrich shall preserve the property of the funded capital as it existed in 1803, at the period of the dissolution of the Helvetic Government, and shall receive the interest thereof, from the 1st January, 1815;
2. That the accumulated interest due since the year 1798, up to the year 1814, inclusive, shall be applied to the payment of the remaining capital of the national debt, known under the denomination of the Helvetic debt;
3. That the surplus of the Helvetic debt shall remain at the charge of the other cantons, those of Berne and ZUrich being exonerated by the above arrangement. The quota of each of the cantons which remain charged with this surplus, shall be calculated and paid according to the proportion fixed for the contributions destined to defray federal expenses. The countries incorporated with Switzerland since 1813 shall not be assessed on account of the old Helvetic debt.
If it shall happen that an overplus remains after discharging the above debt, that overplus shall be divided between the Cantons of Berne and ZUrich, in the proportion of their respective capitals.
The same regulations shall be observed with regard to those other debts, the documents concerning which are deposited in the custody of the President of the Diet.
Indemnity to Proprietors of 'Lauds'
ARTICLE LXXXIII. To conciliate disputes respecting Lauds abolished without indemnification, an indemnity shall be given to persons who are owners of such Lauds; and for the purpose of avoiding all further differences on this subLect between the Cantons of Berne and Vaud, the latter shall pay to the Government of Berne the sum of 300,000 Swiss livres, which shall be shared between the Bernese claimants, proprietors of Lauds. The payments shall be made at the rate of a fifth part each year, commencing from the 1st January, 1816.
Confirmation of the Declaration of 20th March, 1815, relative to the affairs of Switzerland ARTICLE LXXXIV. The Declaration of the 20th March, addressed by the Allied Powers who signed the Treaty of Paris, to the Diet of the Swiss Confederation, and accepted by the Diet through the Act of Adhesion of the 27th May, is confirmed in the whole of its tenor; and the principles established, as also the arrangements agreed upon, in the said Declaration, shall be invariably maintained.
Boundaries of the States of the King of Sardinia.
ARTICLE LXXXV. The frontiers of the States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia shall be: --
On the side of France, such as they were on the 1st of January, 1792, with the exception of the changes effected by the Treaty of Paris of the 30th May, 1814;
On the side of the Helvetic Confederation, such as they existed on the 1st of January 1792, with the exception of the change produced by the cession in favour of the Canton of Geneva, as specified by Article LXXX of the present Act;
On the side of the States of His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, such as they existed on the 1st of January, 1792; and the Convention concluded between their Majesties the Empress Maria Theresa and the King of Sardinia, on the 4th October, 1751, shall be reciprocally confirmed in all its stipulations;
On the side of the States of Parma and Placentia, the frontier as far as it concerns the ancient States of the King of Sardinia, shall continue to be the same as they were on the 1st of January, 1792.
The borders of the former States of Genoa, and of the countries called Imperial Fiefs, united to the States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia, according to the following Articles, shall be the same as those which, on the 1st of January, 1792, separated those countries from the States of Parma and Placentia, and from those of Tuscany and Massa.
The island of Capraja, having belonged to the ancient republic of Genoa, is included in the cession of the States of Genoa, to His Majesty the King of Sardinia.
Union of the States of Genoa with the States of the King of Sardinia.
ARTICLE LXXXVI. The States which constituted the former republic of Genoa, are united in perpetuity to those of His Majesty the King of Sardinia, to be, like the latter, possessed by him in full Sovereignty and hereditary property; and to descend, in the male line, in the order of primogeniture, to the two branches of his house, viz. the royal branch, and the branch of Savoy-Carignan.
Title of Duke of Genoa.
ARTICLE LXXXVII. The King of Sardinia shall add to his present titles, that of Duke of Genoa.
Rights and Privileges of the Genoese. ARTICLE LXXXVIII. The Genoese shall enjoy all the rights and privileges, specified in this Act, intituled 'Conditions which are to serve as the basis of the Union of the Genoese States to those of His Sardinian Majesty', and the said Act, such as it is annexed to this General Treaty, shall be considered as an integral part thereof, and shall have the same force and validity as if it were textually inserted in the present Article.
Union of the Imperial Fiefs.
ARTICLE LXXXIX. The countries called Imperial Fiefs, formerly united to the ancient Lig Urian Republic, are definitely united to the States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia, in the same manner as the rest of the Genoese States; and the inhabitants of these countries shall enjoy the same rights and privileges as those of the States of Genoa, specified in the preceding Article.
Right of Fortifying.
ARTICLE XC. The right that the Powers who signed the Treaty of Paris of the 30th May, 1814, reserved to themselves by Article III of that Treaty, of fortifying such points of their States as they might judge proper for their safety, is equally reserved, without restriction, to His Majesty the King of Sardinia.
Cession by the King of Sardinia to the Canton of Geneva.
ARTICLE XCI. His Majesty the King of Sardinia cedes to the Canton of Geneva the districts of Savoy, designated in Article LXXX above recited, according to the conditions specified in the Act, intituled 'Cession made by His Majesty the King of Sardinia to the Canton of Geneva'. This Act shall be considered as an integral part of this General Treaty, to which it is annexed, and shall have the same force and validity as if it were textually inserted in the present Article. 1
Neutyality of Chablais and Faucigny.
ARTICLE XCII. The Provinces of Chablais and Faucigny, and the whole of the territory of Savoy to the north of Ugine, belonging to His Majesty the King of Sardinia, shall form a part of the Neutrality of Switzerland, as it is recognised and guaranteed by the Powers.
Whenever, therefore, the neighbo Uring Powers to Switzerland are in a state of open or impending hostility, the troops of His Majesty the King of Sardinia which may be in those provinces, shall retire, and may for that purpose pass through the Valais, if necessary. No other armed troops of any other Power shall have the privilege of passing through or remaining in the said territories and provinces, excepting those which the Swiss Confederation shall think proper to place there; it being well understood that this state of things shall not in any manner
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1 Savoy and Nice were ceded to France by Sardinia by the Treaty between those two Powers of March 24, 1860.
interrupt the administration of these countries, in which the civil agents of His Majesty the King of Sardinia may likewise employ the municipal guard, for the preservation of good order.
Designation of the Territories of which the Emperor of Austria resumes possession on the side of Italy.
ARTICLE XCIII. In pursuance of the Renunciations agreed upon by the Treaty of Paris of the 30th May, 1814, the Powers who sign the present Treaty recognise His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, his heirs and successors, as legitimate Sovereign of the Provinces and Territories which had been ceded, either wholly or in part, by the Treaties of Campo-Formio of 1797, of Lunéville of 1801, of Presburg of 1805, by the additional Convention of Fontainebleau of 1807, and by the Treaty of Vienna of 1809; the possession of which provinces and territories His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty obtained in consequence of the last war; such as, Istria, Austrian as well as heretofore Venetian, Dalmatia, the ancient Venetian Isles of the Adriatic, the Mouths of the Cattaro, the City of Venice, with its waters, as well as all the other provinces and districts of the formerly Venetian States of the Terra Firma upon the left bank of the Adige, the Duchies of Milan and Mantua, the Principalities of Brixen and Trente, the County of Tyrol, the Vorarlberg, the Austrian Frioul, the ancient Venetian Frioul, the territory of Montefalcone, the Government and Town of Trieste, Carniola, Upper Carinthia, Croatia on the right of the Save, Fiume and the Hungarian Littoyale, and the District of Castua. 1
Territories united to the Austrian Monarchy.
ARTICLE XCIV. His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty shall unite to his monarchy, to be possessed by him and his successors in full property and Sovereignty
1. Besides the portions of the Terra Firma in the Venetian States mentioned in the preceding Article, the other parts of those States, as well as all other territories situated between the Tessino, the Po, and the Adriatic Sea.
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1 By Article III of the Treaty of Peace between Austria and Italy of October 3, 1866, the Lombardo Venetian Kingdom was united to the Kingdom of Italy.
2. The Vallies of the Valteline, of Bormio, and of Chiavenna.
3. The territories which formerly composed the Republic of Ragusa.
Austrian Frontiers in Italy.
ARTICLE XCV. In consequence of the stipulations agreed upon in the preceding Articles, the frontiers of the States of His Imperial and Apostolic Majesty, in Italy, shall be: --
1. On the side of the States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia, such as they were on the 1st of January, 1792;
2. On the side of the States of Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla, the course of the Po, the line of demarcation following the Thalweg of the River;
3. On the side of the States of Modena, such as they were on 1st of January, 792;
4. On the side of the Papal States, the course of the Po, as far as the mouth of the Goro;
5. On the side of Switzerland, the ancient frontier of Lombardy, and that which separates the Vallies of the Valteline, of Bormio, and Chiavenna, from the Cantons of the Grisons and the Tessino.
In those places where the Thalweg of the Po forms the frontier, it is agreed, that the changes which the course of the river may undergo shall not, in future, in any way affect the property of the Islands therein contained.
Navigation of the Po.
ARTICLE XCVI. The general principles, adopted by the Congress at Vienna, for the Navigation of Rivers, shall be applicable to that of the Po.
Commissioners shall be named by the States bordering on rivers, within three months at latest after the termination of the Congress, to regulate all that concerns the execution of the present Article.
Arrangements respecting the Mont-Napoleon at Milan.
ARTICLE XCVII. As it is indispensable to preserve, to the establishment known by the name of the MontNapoleon at Milan, the means of fulfilling its engagements towards its creditors; it is agreed, that the landed and other immovable property of this establishment, in countries
which formed part of the ancient Kingdom of Italy, and have since passed under the government of different Princes of Italy, as well as the capital belonging to the said establishment placed out at interest in these different countries, shall be appropriated to the same object.
The unfunded and unliquidated debts of the MontNapoleon, such as those arising from the arrears of its charges, or from any other increase of the outgoings of this establishment, shall be divided between the territories which composed the late Kingdom of Italy; and this division shall be regulated according to the joint bases of their population and revenue.
The Sovereigns of the said countries shall appoint Commissioners, within the space of three months, dating from the termination of the Congress, to arrange with Austrian Commissioners whatever relates to this object. This Commission shall assemble at Milan.
Estates of Modena and of Massa and Carrara.
ARTICLE XCVIII. His Royal Highness the Archduke Francis d'Este, his heirs and successors, shall possess, in full Sovereignty, the Duchies of Modena, Reggio, and Mirandola, such as they existed at the signature of the Treaty at Campo-Formio. 2
The Archduchess Maria Beatrice d'Este, her heirs and successors, shall possess, in full Sovereignty and property, the Duchy of Massa and the Principality of Carrara, as well as the Imperial Fiefs in La Lunigiana.
The latter may be applied to the purpose of exchanges, or other arrangements made by common consent, and according to mutual convenience, with His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
The rights of Succession and Reversion, established in the branches of the Archducal Houses of Austria, relative to the Duchies of Modena, Reggio, and Mirandola, and the Principalities of Massa and Carrara, are preserved.
Parma and Placentia. 2
ARTICLE XCIX. Her Majesty the Empress Maria Louisa shall possess, in full property and Sovereignty, the Duchies of Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla, with the exception of
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2 Treaty of Campo-Formio between France and Austria, 1797.
2 Piacenza
the districts lying within the States of His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty on the left bank of the Po.The Reversion of these countries shall be regulated by common consent, with the Courts of Austria, Russia, France, Spain, England and Prussia; due regard being had to the rights of Reversion of the House of Austria, and of His Majesty the King of Sardinia, to the said countries. 1 Possessions of the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
ARTICLE C. His Imperial Highness the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria is re-established, himself, his heirs and successors, in all the rights of Sovereignty and property, in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and its dependencies, which he possessed previous to the Treaty of Lunéville. 2 The stipulations of the second Article of the Treaty of Vienna, of the 3rd October, 1735, 3 between the Emperor Charles VI and the King of France, to which the other Powers acceded, are fully renewed in favour of His Imperial Highness and his descendants, as well as the guarantees resulting from those stipulations.There shall be likewise united to the said Grand Duchy, to be possessed in full property and Sovereignty by the Grand Duke Ferdinand, his heirs and descendants
1. The State of the Presidii
2. That part of the Island of Elba, and its appurtenances, which were under the Suzeyainetéof His Majesty the King of the Two Sicilies before the year 1801.
3. The Suzeraineté and Sovereignty of the Principality of Piombino and its dependencies.
Prince Ludovisi Buoncompagni shall retain, for himself and his legitimate successors, all the property which his family possessed in the Principality of Piombino, and in the Island of Elba and its dependencies, previously to the occupation of those countries by the French troops in 1799, together with the mines, foundries, and salt mines.
The Prince Ludovisi shall likewise preserve his right of Fishery, and enjoy an entire exemption from duties, as well for the exportation of the produce of his Mines,
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1 Parma was united to Sardinia by Decree of March 18, 1860
2 Treaty of Lunéville between France and Austria, 1801,
3 For Article II of this treaty, see State Papers, vol. ii, p. 48, foot-note.
foundries, salt mines, and domains, as for the importation of Wood and other articles necessary for working the mines: he shall also be indemnified by His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke of Tuscany, for all the revenues the family of the latter derived from the crown duties before the year 1801. In case any difficulties should arise in the valuation of this indemnity, the parties concerned shall refer the decision to the Courts of Vienna and Sardinia.
5. The late Imperial Fiefs of Vernio, Montanto, and Monte Santa Maria, lying within the Tuscan States. 1
Duchy of Lucca.
ARTICLE CI. The Principality of Lucca shall be possessed in full Sovereignty by Her Majesty the Infanta Maria Louisa, and her descendants, in the direct male line.
The Principality is erected into a Duchy, and shall have a form of government founded upon the principles of that which it received in 1805.
An Annuity of 500,000 francs shall be added to the revenue of the Principality of Lucca, which His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, and His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke of Tuscany, engage to pay regularly, as long as circumstances do not admit of proc Uring another establishment for Her Majesty the Infanta Maria Louisa, her son, and his descendants. This annuity shall be specially mortgaged upon the Lordships in Bohemia, known by the name of Bavaro Palatines; which, in case of the Duchy of Lucca reverting to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, shall be freed from this charge, and shall again form a part of the private domain of His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty. 2
Reversion of the Duchy of Lucca.
ARTICLE CII. The Duchy of Lucca shall revert to the Grand Duke of Tuscany; either in case of its becoming vacant by the death of Her Majesty the Infanta Maria Louisa, or of her son Don Carlos, and of their direct male descendants; or in case the Infanta Maria Louisa or her
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1 Tuscany was united to the Kingdom of Sardinia by Decree of March 22, 1860.
2 Lucca was ceded to Tuscany by Treaty of October 4, 1847, and Tuscany was annexed to Sardinia by Decree of March 22, 1860.
direct heirs should obtain any other establishment, or succeed to another branch of their dynasty.The Grand Duke of Tuscany, however, engages, should the said Reversion fall to him, to cede to the Duke of Modena, as soon as he shall have entered into possession of the Principality of Lucca, the following territories: --
4. The Tuscan districts of Fivizano, Pietra Santa, and Barga.
5. The Lucca districts of Castiglione and Gallicano, lying within the States of Modena, as well as those of Minucciano and Monte-Ignose, contiguous to the country of Massa.
Arrangements relative to the Holy See
ARTICLE. CIII. The Marches, with Camerino, and their dependencies, as well as the Duchy of Benevento and the Principality of Ponte-Corvo, are restored to the Holy See.
The Holy See shall resume possession of the Legations of Ravenna, Bologna, and Ferrara, with the exception of that part of Ferrara which is situate on the left bank of the Po.
His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty and his successors shall have the right of placing Garrisons at Ferrara and Commachio.
The inhabitants of the countries who return under the Government of the Holy See, in consequence of the stipulations of Congress, shall enjoy the benefit of Article XVI of the Treaty of Paris of the 30th May, 1814.
All acquisitions made by individuals, in virtue of a title acknowledged as legal by the existing laws, are to be considered as good, and the arrangements necessary for the guarantee of the public debt and the payment of pensions shall be settled by a particular Convention between the Courts of Rome and Vienna. 1
Restoration of King Ferdinand IV at Naples.
ARTICLE CIV. His Majesty King Ferdinand IV, his heirs and successors, is restored to the throne of Naples, and His Majesty is acknowledged by the Powers as King of the Two Sicilies.
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1 The Marches were annexed to Sardinia by Decree of December 17, 1860.
Affairs of Portugal. Restitution of the Town of Olivença.
ARTICLE CV. The Powers, recognising the justice of the claims of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent of Portugal and the Brazils, upon the Town of Olivença, and the other territories ceded to Spain by the Treaty of Badajos of 1801, and viewing the restitution of the same as a measure necessary to insure that perfect and constant harmony between the Two Kingdoms of the Peninsula, the preservation of which in all parts of Europe has been the constant object of their arrangements, formally engage to use their utmost endeavours by amicable means, to procure the retrocession of the said territories in favour of Portugal. And the Powers declare, as far as depends upon them, that this arrangement shall take place as soon as possible. 1
Relations between France and Portugal.
ARTICLE CVI. In order to remove the difficulties which opposed the Ratification on the part of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent of the Kingdoms of Portugal and the Brazils, of the Treaty signed on the 30th of May, 1814, between Portugal and France; it is determined that the stipulations contained in Article X of that Treaty, and all those which relate to it, shall be of no effect, and that with the consent of all the Powers the provisions contained in the following Article shall be substituted for them, and which shall alone be considered as valid: with this exception, all the other clauses of the above Treaty of Paris shall be maintained, and regarded as mutually binding on the Two Courts.
Restitution of French Guiana.
ARTICLE CVII. His Royal Highness the Prince Regent of the Kingdoms of Portugal and the Brazils, wishing to give an unequivocal proof of his high consideration for His Most Christian Majesty, engages to restore French Guiana to His said Majesty, as far as the river Oyapock, the mouth of which is situated between the fourth and fifth degree of north latitude, and which has always been considered by Portugal as the Limit appointed by the Treaty of Utrecht.
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1 This arrangement was never carried out.
The period for giving up this Colony shall be determined, as soon as circumstances shall permit, by a Particular Convention between the two Courts; and they shall enter into an amicable arrangement, as soon as possible, with regard to the definitive demarcation of the limits of Portuguese and French Guiana, conformably to the precise meaning of Article VIII of the Treaty of Utrecht.
Navigalion of Rivers traversing different States.
ARTICLE CVIII. The Powers whose States are separated or crossed by the same navigable River engage to regulate. by common consent, all that regards its navigation. For this purpose they will name Commissioners, who shall assemble, at latest, within 6 months after the termination of the Congress, and who shall adopt, as the bases of their proceedings, the Principles established by the following Articles.
Freedom of Navigation.
ARTICLE CIX. The navigation of the Rivers, along their whole course, referred to in the preceding Article, from the point where each of them becomes navigable, to its mouth, shall be entirely free, and shall not, in respect to Commerce, be prohibited to any one; it being understood that the Regulations established with regard to the Police of this navigation shall be respected, as they will be framed alike for all, and as favourable as possible to the Commerce of all nations.
Uniformity of System for Collection of Dues.
ARTICLE CX. The system that shall be established both for the collection of the Duties and for the maintenance of the Police, shall be, as nearly as possible, the same along the whole course of the River; and shall also extend, unless particular circumstances prevent it, to those of its Branches and Junctions, which, in their navigable course, separate or traverse different States.
Regulation of the Tariff.
ARTICLE CXI. The Duties on navigation shall be regulated in an uniform and settled manner, and with as little reference as possible to the different quality of the
merchandise, in order that a minute examination of the cargo may be rendered unnecessary, except with a view to prevent fraud and evasion. The amount of the Duties, which shall in no case exceed those now paid, shall be determined by local circumstances, which scarcely allow of a general rule in this respect. The Tariff shall, however, be prepared in such a manner as to encourage commerce by facilitating navigation; for which purpose the Duties established upon the Rhine, and now in force on that River, may serve as an approximating rule for its construction.
The Tariff once settled, no increase shall take place therein, except by the common consent of the States bordering on the Rivers; nor shall the navigation be burdened with any other Duties than those fixed in the Regulation.
Offices for Collection of Dues.
ARTICLE CXII. The Offices for the collection of Duties, the number of which shall be reduced as much as possible, shall be determined upon in the above Regulation, and no change shall afterwards be made, but by common consent, unless any of the States bordering on the Rivers should wish to diminish the number of those which exclusively belong to the same.
Towing Paths.
ARTICLE CXIII. Each State bordering on the Rivers is to be at the expense of keeping in good repair the Towing Paths which pass through its territory, and of maintaining the necessary works through the same extent in the channels of the river, in order that no obstacle may be experienced to the navigation.
The intended Regulation shall determine the manner in which the States bordering on the Rivers are to participate in these latter works, where the opposite banks belong to different Governments.
Port and Harbour Dues.
ARTICLE CXIV. There shall nowhere be established Store-house, Port, or Forced Harbour Duties (Droits d'étape, d'échelle et de relâche forcée). Those already existing shall be preserved for such time only, as the States bordering
on Rivers (without regard to the local interest of the place or the country where they are established) shall find them necessary or useful to navigation and commerce in general.
Custom-Houses.
ARTICLE CXV. The Custom-Houses belonging to the States bordering on Rivers shall not interfere in the duties of navigation. Regulations shall be established to prevent officers of the Customs, in the exercise of their functions, throwing obstacles in the way of the navigation; but care shall be taken, by means of a strict Police on the bank, to preclude every attempt of the inhabitants to smuggle goods, through the medium of boatmen.
General Regulations to be drawn up.
ARTICLE CXVI. Everything expressed in the preceding Articles shall be settled by a general arrangement, in which there shall also be comprised whatever may need an ulterior determination.The arrangement once settled, shall not be changed, but by and with the consent of all the States bordering on Rivers, and they shall take care to provide for its execution with due regard to circumstances and locality.
Confirmation of Particular Regulations respecting the Navigation of the Rhine, the Neckar, the Maine, the Moselle, the Meuse, and the Scheldt. ARTICLE CXVII. The Particular Regulations relative to the navigation of the Rhine, the Neckar, the Maine, the Moselle, the Meuse, and the Scheldt, such as they are annexed to the present Act, shall have the same force and validity as if they were textually inserted herein.
Confirmation of the Treaties and Particular Acts annexed to the General Treaty.
ARTICLE CXVIII. The Treaties, Conventions, Declarations, Regulations, and other particular Acts which are annexed to the present Act, viz. : --
1. The Treaty between Russia and Austria, of the 21st April/ 3rd May, 1815;
1. The Treaty between Russia and Prussia, of the 21st April/ 3rd May, 1815;
2. The Additional Treaty, relative to Cracow, between Austria, Prussia, and Russia, of the 21st April/ 3rd May, 1815;
3. The Treaty between Prussia and Saxony of the 18th May, 1815;
4. The Declaration of the King of Saxony respecting the rights of the House of Schönburg, of the 18th May, 1815;
5. The Treaty between Prussia and Hanover, of the 29th May, 1815;
6. The Convention between Prussia and the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, of the 1st June, 1815;
7. The Convention between Prussia and the Duke and Prince of Nassau, of the 31st May, 1815;
8. The Act concerning the Federative Constitution of Germany, of the 8th June, 1815;
9. The Treaty between the King of the Netherlands, and Prussia, England, Austria, and Russia, of the 31st May, 1815;
10. The Declaration of the Powers on the Affairs of the Helvetic Confederation of the 20th March; and the Act of Accession of the Diet of the 27th May, 1815;
11. The Protocol of the 29th March, 1815, on the Cessions made by the King of Sardinia to the Canton of Geneva;
12. The Treaty between the King of Sardinia, Austria, England, Russia, Prussia, and France, of the 20th May, 1815;
13. The Act entitled 'Conditions which are to serve as the Basis of the Union of the States of Genoa with those of His Sardinian Majesty';
14. The Declaration of the Powers on the Abolition of the Slave Trade, of the 8th February, 1815;
15. The Regulations respecting the Free Navigation of Rivers;
16. The Regulation concerning the Precedence of Diplomatic Agents;
shall be considered as integral parts of the Arrangements of the Congress, and shall have, throughout, the same force and validity as if they were inserted, word for word, in the General Treaty.
Invitation to the Powers assembled in Congress to accede to the General Treaty. ARTICLE CXIX. All the Powers assembled in Congress, as well as the Princes and Free Towns, who have concurred in the arrangements specified, and in the Acts confirmed, in this General Treaty, are invited to accede to it.
Reservations as to the use of the French Language in the drawing up of this Act.
ARTICLE CXX. The French Language having been exclusively employed in all the copies of the present Treaty, it is declared, by the Powers who have concurred in this Act, that the use made of that Language shall not be construed into a Precedent for the future; every Power, therefore, reserves to itself the adoption in future Negociations and Conventions, of the Language it has heretofore employed in its diplomatic relations; and this Treaty shall not be cited as a Precedent contrary to the established practice.
Ratification of the Treaty and Deposit of the Original in the Archives of the Court and State at Vienna.
ARTICLE CXXI. The present Treaty shall be ratified, and the Ratifications exchanged in six months, and by the Court of Portugal in a year, or sooner, if possible.
A copy of this General Treaty shall be deposited in the Archives of the Court and State of His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, at Vienna, in case any of the Courts of Europe shall think proper to consult the original text of this Instrument.
In faith of which the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed this Act, and have affixed thereunto the Seals of their Arms.
Done at Vienna, the 9th of June, in the year of Our Lord, 1815.
(The Signatures follow in the Alphabetical Order of the Courts.)
AUSTRIA (L.S.) LE PRINCE DE METTERNICH.
(L.S.) LE BARON DE WESSENBERG.
(ESPAGNE) SPAIN. 1
FRANCE,
(L.S.) LE PRINCE DE TALLEYRAND.
(L.S.) LE DUC DALBERG.
(L.S.) LE COMTE ALEXIS DE NOAILLES.
GREAT BRITAIN
(L.S.) CLANCARTY.
(L.S.) CATHCART.
(L.S.) STEWART, L. G.
PORTUGAL,
(L.S.) LE COMTE DE PALMELLA.
(L.S.) ANTONIO DE SALDANHA DA GAMA.
(L.S.) D. JOAQUIM LOBO DA SILVEIRA.
PRUSSIA,
(L.S.) LE PRINCE DE HARDENBERG.
(L.S.) LE BARON DE HUMBOLDT.
RUSSIA
(L.S.) LE PRINCE DE RASOUMOFFSKY.
(L.S.) LE COMTE DE STACKELBERG.
(L.S.) LE COMTE DE NESSELRODE.
SWEDEN,
(L.S.) LE COMTE CHARLES-AXEL DE LOWEN-
HIELM.
(Save and except the reservation made to the Articles CI, CII, and CIV of the Treaty.)
[NOTE. -- For these reservations, see State Papers, vol. ii, pp. 759, 760.]
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1 Spain acceded to the treaty on June 7, 1817. She did not sign it.
EPITOME OF THE SEVENTEEN DOCUMENTS ANNEXED TO THE CONGRESS TREATY OF VIENNA
ANNEX I. Treaty between Austria and Russia respecting Poland. Signed at Vienna April 21/ May 3, 1815. 1 Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 were embodied in the principal Treaty as, respectively, 5, 3, 4, 6, and 1. They had reference to the new Austro-Russian frontiers, &c. Article 6 enabled inhabitants to leave the country on its transfer. Articles 7, 8, 9 were embodied in the principal Treaty as Articles 11, 12, and 13, general amnesty and sequestrations. Articles 10 to 23, property of proprietors having estates on both sides of boundary line. Articles 24 to 29, navigation of rivers in Poland, tariffs, &c. (see Article 14 of principal Treaty). Articles 30 to 40 related to loans and debts, surrender of documents, evacuation of territories, &c.
ANNEX II. Treaty between Russia and Prussia relating to Poland, signed at Vienna April 21/ MaY 3, 1815. 2
Articles 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 are embodied in substance in the principal Treaty as Articles 2, 6, 1, 11, 12, 13 respectively. The remaining provisions of the Treaty are very similar to those of the Austro-Russian Treaty (see Annex I).
ANNEX III. Additional Treaty between Austria, Prussia, and Russia relative to Cracow. Signed at Vienna April 21/ May 3, 1815. 3
Articles 1, 2, 3, 6, embodied in principal Treaty as Articles 6, 7, 8, 9. This Treaty constituted Cracow a free, neutral, and independent town under the protection of Austria, Prussia, and Russia, with consequent conditions and privileges. [By a treaty between the same Powers dated November 6, 1846, the above additional Treaty was abrogated, the independence of Cracow was put an end to, and the territory incorporated with Austrian dominions. The British and French Governments protested against this infraction of the Treaty of Vienna. 4 The constitution of Cracow, which was appended to this Annex, disappeared with the Treaty which created it.]
ANNEX IV. Treaty between Prussia and Saxony (also between Austria and Saxony and between Russia and
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1 State Papers, vol. ii, p. 56
2 Ibid., vol. ii, p. 63.
3 Ibid., vol. ii, p. 74.
4 Hertslet, vol. i, p. 120, foot-note.
Saxony) on the subject of territorial reconstruction. Signed at Vienna May 18, 1815. 1
Articles 2, 4, 13, 16, 21 were incorporated in the principal Treaty as Articles 15, 16, 20, 21, and 22. They related to territorial changes, religious property, amnesty, emigration, &c.
Article 17 concerned the navigation of the Elbe. Article 19, supply of salt from Prussia duty free.
Article 22, recognition by Saxony of sovereign rights of Austria, Prussia, and Russia in portions of Poland, &c. ( Great Britain acceded to this Treaty.)
ANNEX V. Declaration of King of Saxony on Rights of House of Schönburg, Vienna, May, 18, 1815. Act of Acceptation by the five Powers, May 29, 1815. 2
ANNEX VI. Treaty (territorial), Prussia and Hanover. Vienna, May 29, 1815. 3 Articles 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 embodied in the principal Treaty as Articles 27, 28, 29, 30, 31. Reciprocal cessions, Prussia, Hanover, Brunswick, Oldenburg, navigation of the Ems, debts, &c. 4
ANNEX VII. Convention (territorial), Prussia and SaxeWeimar. Vienna, June 1, 1815. 5 Article 3 was embodied in the principal Treaty as Article 39. 6
ANNEX VIII. Convention (territorial). Prussia and Nassau. Vienna, May 31, 1815. 7 This convention contains a stipulation (Article 5) relating to the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, enabling Prussia to erect military works within a certain radius of the fortress 'even in those communes which may remain under the Sovereignty of the House of Nassau'.
ANNEX IX. Act concerning the Federative Constitution of Germany. Vienna, June 8, 1815. 8 Articles 1 to 11, first paragraph, are embodied in the principal Treaty as Articles 53 to 63. This Act established a Confederation of the Sovereign Princes and Free Towns of Germany (17 in
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1 State Papers, vol. ii, p. 84
2 Ibid., vol. ii, pp. 93, 94
3 Ibid., vol. ii, p. 94.
4 The Kingdom of Hanover was annexed to Prussia by Decree of September 20, 1866; State Papers, vol. l vi, p. 1067.
5 State Papers, vol. ii, p. 100
6 A further Convention on the same subject was concluded between the two Powers on September 22, 1815; State Papers, vol. ii, p. 944.
7 State Papers, vol. ii, p. 102
8 Ibid., vol. ii, p. 114
number), including Denmark for the Duchy of Holstein and the Netherlands for the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, forming together the Germanic Confederation for the maintenance of the safety of Germany and the independence of the confederated States. Austria was also a member of this Confederation. A Federative Diet was formed to sit at Frankfort, each of the 17 members having one vote, and a General Assembly in which the number of votes to each member was apportioned according to the respective extent of the individual States. The Act further contained stipulations on various matters bearing on the regulation of affairs.
ANNEX X. Treaty, Great Britain, &c. and Netherlands. Vienna, May 31, 1815. 1 Union of the Netherlands and Belgium, 2 cessions of territory, Luxemburg, boundaries, &c. Articles 1 to 8 were embodied in the principal Treaty as Articles 65 to 73. Appended to the Treaty is an Act of the Netherlands Government of July 21, 1814, accepting the sovereignty of the Belgian Provinces.
ANNEX XI A. Declaration (8 Powers) respecting Helvetic Confederacy. Vienna, March 20, 1815. 3 3 Articles 1 to 8 are, with certain omissions, embodied in the principal Treaty as Articles 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 81, 82, 83. They deal with the integrity of the Cantons, the addition of 3 new Cantons, and stipulations for regrouping of territory, military roads and other internal arrangements.
ANNEX XI B. Act of Acceptance by Switzerland of the above Declaration. Z Urich, May 27, 1815. 4
ANNEX XII. Protocol (8 Powers). Vienna, March 29, 1815. 5 Cessions by Sardinia to Geneva. Passage of troops. Protection of Catholic religion in ceded territory, &c.
ANNEX XIII. Treaty, Austria and Sardinia (also Great Britain, Russia, Prussia, and France). Vienna, May 20, 1815. 6 Articles 1 to 8 embodied in principal Treaty as Articles 85 to 92. Boundaries of Sardinia, union of Genoa, fortifications, cessions to Geneva, neutrality of Chablais and Faucigny, passage of troops, &c. Appended to this
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1 State Papers, vol. ii, p. 136.
2 This Union was dissolved by Treaties of November 15, 1831, and April 19, 1839; see State Papers, vol. xviii, p. 645, and vol. xxvii, p. 1000. This matter is subsequently dealt with in a separate chapter: seep. 126 ff.
3 State papers, vol. ii, p. 142
4 Ibid., vol. ii, p. 147
5 Ibid., vol. ii, p. 149
6 Ibid., vol. ii, p. 152
Annex are the conditions respecting the government of Genoa, Geneva, &c.
ANNEX XIV. Conditions attaching to union of Genoa with Sardinia. 1
ANNEX XV. Declaration (8 Powers). Vienna, February 8, 1815. 2 Proposed universal abolition of the Slave Trade; to be a subject for separate negotiations between the Powers.
ANNEX XVI. Regulations. Vienna, March 1815. 3 Embodied in the principal Treaty as Articles 108 to 116. Navigation of rivers. General arrangements, uniformity of system, &c. The Rhine, Neckar, Maine, Moselle, Meuse, Scheldt.
ANNEX XVII. Regulations. Vienna, March 19, 1815. 4 Concerning the Rank and Precedence of Diplomatic Agents.
The above epitome gives roughly the purport of the seventeen Annexes to the Vienna Congress Treaty of June 9, 1815.
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1 Statc Papeys, vol. ii, p. 959.
2 Ibid., vol. iii, p. 971
3 Ibid., vol. ii, p. 162
4 Ibid., vol ii, p. 179.
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