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The Jay Treaty, 1794
Concluded November 19, 1794; ratification advised by the senate with amendment June 24, 1795;
ratified by the President; ratifications exchanged October 28, 1795; proclaimed February 29, 1796.
His Britannic Majesty and the United States
of America, being desirous, by a treaty of amity, commerce and
navigation, to terminate their difference in such a manner, as,
without reference to the merits of their respective complaints and
pretentions, may be the best calculated to produce mutual satisfaction
and good understanding; and also to regulate the commerce and
navigation between their respective countries, territories and people,
in such a manner as to render the same reciprocally beneficial and
satisfactory; they have, respectively, named their Plenipotentiaries,
and given them full powers to treat of, and conclude the said treaty,
that is to say:
His Britannic Majesty has named for his
Plenipotentiary, the Right Honorable William Wyndham Baron Grenville
of Wotton, one of His Majesty's Privy Council, and His Majesty's
Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; and the President of
the said United States, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate thereof, hath appointed for their Plenipotentiary, the
Honorable John Jay, Chief Justice of the said United States, and their
Envoy Extraordinary to His Majesty;
Who have agreed on and concluded the
following articles:
ARTICLE I.
There shall be a firm, inviolable and
universal peace, and a true and sincere friendship between His
Britannic Majesty, his heirs and successors, and the United States of
America; and between their respective countries, territories, cities,
towns and people of every degree, without exception of persons or
places.
ARTICLE II.
His Majesty will withdraw all his troops and
garrisons from all posts and places within the boundary lines assigned
by the treaty of peace to the United States. This evacuation shall
take place on or before the first day of June, one thousand seven
hundred and ninetysix, and all the proper measures shall in the
interval be taken by concert between the Government of the United
States and His Majesty's Governor-General in America for settling the
previous arrangements which may be necessary respecting the delivery
of the said posts: The United States in the mean time, at their
discretion, extending their settlements to any part within the said
boundary line, except within the precincts or jurisdiction of any of
the said posts. All settlers and traders, within the precincts or
jurisdiction of the said posts, shall continue to enjoy, unmolested,
all their property of every kind, and shall be protected therein. They
shall be at full liberty to remain there, or to remove with all or any
part of their effects; and it shall also be free to them to sell their
lands, houses or effects, or to retain the property thereof, at their
discretion; such of them as shall continue to reside within the said
boundary lines, shall not be compelled to become citizens of the
United States, or to take any oath of allegiance to the Government
thereof; but they shall be at full liberty so to do if they think
proper, and they shall make and declare their election within one year
after the evacuation aforesaid. And all persons who shall continue
there after the expiration of the said year, without having declared
their intention of remaining subjects of His Britannic Majesty, shall
be considered as having elected to become citizens of the United
States.
ARTICLE III.
(explanatory article)
It is agreed that it shall at all times be
free to His Majesty's subjects, and to the citizens of the United
States, and also to the Indians dwelling on either side of the said
boundary line, freely to pass and repass by land or inland navigation,
into the respective territories and countries of the two parties, on
the continent of America, (the country within the limits of the
Hudson's Bay Company only excepted.) and to navigate all the lakes,
rivers and waters thereof, and freely to carry on trade and commerce
with each other. But it is understood that this article does not
extend to the admission of vessels of the United States into the
seaports, harbours, bays or creeks of His Majesty's said
territories; nor into such parts of the rivers in His Majesty's said
territories as are between the mouth thereof, and the highest port of
entry from the sea, except in small vessels trading bona fide between
Montreal and Quebec, under such regulations as shall be established to
prevent the possibility of any frauds in this respect. Nor to the
admission of British vessels from the sea into the rivers of the
United States, beyond the highest ports of entry for foreign vessels
from the sea. The river Mississippi shall, however, according to the
treaty of peace, be entirely open to both parties; and it is further
agreed, that all the ports and places on its eastern side, to
whichsoever of the parties belonging, may freely be resorted to and
used by both parties, in as ample a manner as any of the Atlantic
ports or places of the United States, or any of the ports or places of
His Majesty in Great Britain
All goods and merchandize whose importation
into His Majesty's said territories in America shall not be entirely
prohibited, may freely, for the purposes of commerce, be carried into
the same in the manner aforesaid, by the citizens of the United
States, and such goods and merchandize shall be subject to no higher
or other duties than would be payable by His Majesty's subjects
on the importation of the same from Europe into the said territories.
And in like manner all goods and merchandize whose importation into
the United States shall not be wholly prohibited, may freely, for the
purposes of commerce, be carried into the same, in the manner
aforesaid, by His Majesty's subjects, and such goods and
merchandize shall be subject to no higher or other duties than would
be payable by the citizens of the United States on the importation of
the same in American vessels into the Atlantic ports of the said
States. And all goods not prohibited to be exported from the said
territories respectively, may in like manner be carried out of the
same by the two parties respectively, paying duty as aforesaid.
No duty of entry shall ever be levied by
either party on peltries brought by land or inland navigation into the
said territories respectively, nor shall the Indians passing or
repassing with their own proper goods and effects of whatever nature,
pay for the same any impost or duty whatever. But goods in bales, or
other large packages, unusual among Indians, shall not be considered
as goods belonging bona fide to Indians.
No higher or other tolls or rates of ferriage
than what are or shall be payable by natives, shall be demanded on
either side; and no duties shall be payable on any goods which shall
merely be carried over any of the portages or carrying places on
either side, for the purpose of being immediately reembarked and
carried to some other place or places. But as by this stipulation it
is only meant to secure to each party a free passage across the
portages on both sides, it is agreed that this exemption from duty
shall extend only to such goods as are carried in the usual and direct
road across the portage, and are not attempted to be in any manner
sold or exchanged during their passage across the same, and proper
regulations may be established to prevent the possibility of any
frauds in this respect.
As this article is intended to render in a
great degree the local advantages of each party common to both, and
thereby to promote a disposition favorable to friendship and good
neighborhood, it is agreed that the respective Governments will
mutually promote this amicable intercourse, by causing speedy and
impartial justice to be done, and necessary protection to be extended
to all who may be concerned therein.
ARTICLE IV.
Whereas it is uncertain whether the river
Mississippi extends so far to the northward as to be intersected by a
line to be drawn due west from the Lake of the Woods, in the manner
mentioned in the treaty of peace between His Majesty and the United
States: it is agreed that measures shall be taken in concert between
His Majesty's Government in America and the Government of the United
States, for making a joint survey of the said river from one degree of
latitude below the falls of St. Anthony, to the principal source or
sources of the said river, and also of the parts adjacent thereto; and
that if, on the result of such survey, it should appear that the said
river would not be intersected by such a line as is above mentioned,
the two parties will thereupon proceed, by amicable negotiation, to
regulate the boundary line in that quarter, as well as all other
points to be adjusted between the said parties, according to justice
and mutual convenience, and in conformity to the intent of the said
treaty.
ARTICLE V.
(explanatory article)
Whereas doubts have arisen what river was
truly intended under the name of the river St. Croix, mentioned in the
said treaty of peace, and forming a part of the boundary therein
described; that question shall be referred to the final decision of
commissioners to be appointed in the following manner. viz.:
One commissioner shall be named by His
Majesty, and one by the President of the United States, by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and the said two
commissioners shall agree on the choice of a third; or if they cannot
so agree, they shall each propose one person, and of the two names so
proposed, one shall be drawn by lot in the presence of the two
original Commissioners. And the three Commissioners so appointed shall
be sworn, impartially to examine and decide the said question,
according to such evidence as shall respectively be laid before them
on the part of the British Government and of the United States. The
said Commissioners shall meet at Halifax, and shall have power to
adjourn to such other place or places as they shall think fit. They
shall have power to appoint a Secretary, and to employ such surveyors
or other persons as they shall judge necessary. The said Commissioners
shall, by a declaration, under their hands and seals, decide what
river is the river St. Croix, intended by the treaty. The said
declaration shall contain a description of the said river, and shall
particularize the latitude and longitude of its mouth and of its
source. Duplicates of this declaration and of the statements of their
accounts, and of the journal of their proceedings, shall be delivered
by them to the agent of His Majesty, and to the agent of the United
States, who may be respectively appointed and authorized to manage the
business on behalf of the respective Governments. And both parties
agree to consider such decision as final and conclusive, so as that
the same shall never thereafter be called into question, or made the
subject of dispute or difference between them.
ARTICLE VI.
Whereas it is alleged by divers British
merchants and others His Majesty's subjects, that debts, to a
considerable amount, which were bona fide contracted before the peace,
still remain owing to them by citizens or inhabitants of the United
States, and that by the operation of various lawful impediments since
the peace, not only the full recovery of the said debts has been
delayed, but also the value and security thereof have been, in several
instances, impaired and lessened, so that, by the ordinary course of
judicial proceedings, the British creditors cannot now obtain, and
actually have and receive full and adequate compensation for the
losses and damages which they have thereby sustained: It is agreed,
that in all such cases, where full compensation for such losses and
damages cannot, for whatever reason, be actually obtained, had and
received by the said creditors in the ordinary course of justice, the
United States will make full and complete compensation for the same to
the said creditors: But it is distinctly understood, that this
provision is to extend to such losses only as have been occasioned by
the lawful impediments aforesaid, and is not to extend to losses
occasioned by such insolvency of the debtors or other causes as would
equally have operated to produce such loss, if the said impediments
had not existed; nor to such losses or damages as have been occasioned
by the manifest delay or negligence, or wilful omission of the
claimant.
For the purpose of ascertaining the amount of
any such losses and damages, five Commissioners shall be appointed and
authorized to meet and act in manner following, viz.: Two of them
shall be appointed by His Majesty, two of them by the President of the
United States by and with the advice and consent of the Senate
thereof, and the fifth by the unanimous voice of the other four; and
if they should not agree in such choice, then the Commissioners named
by the two parties shall respectively propose one person, and of the
two names so proposed, one shall be drawn by lot, in the presence of
the four original Commissioners. When the five Commissioners thus
appointed shall first meet, they shall, before they proceed to act,
respectively take the following oath, or affirmation, in the presence
of each other; which oath, or affirmation, being so taken and duly
attested, shall be entered on the record of their proceedings, viz.:
I, A. B., one of the Commissioners appointed in pursuance of the sixth
article of the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation, between His
Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, do solemnly swear
(or affirm) that I will honestly, diligently, impartially and
carefully examine, and to the best of my judgment, according to
justice and equity, decide all such complaints, as under the said
article shall be preferred to the said Commissioners: and that I will
forbear to act as a Commissioner, in any case in which I may be
personally interested.
Three of the said Commissioners shall
constitute a board, and shall have power to do any act appertaining to
the said Commission, provided that one of the Commissioners named on
each side, and the fifth Commissioner shall be present, and all
decisions shall be made by the majority of the voices of the
Commissioners than present. Eighteen months from the day on which the
said Commissioners shall form a board, and be ready to proceed to
business, are assigned for receiving complaints and applications; but
they are nevertheless authorized, in any particular cases in which it
shall appear to them to be reasonable and just, to extend the said
term of eighteen months for any term not exceeding six months, after
the expiration thereof. The said Commissioners shall first meet at
Philadelphia, but they shall have power to adjourn from place to place
as they shall see cause.
The said Commissioners in examining the
complaints and applications so preferred to them, are empowered and
required in pursuance of the true intent and meaning of this article
to take into their consideration all claims, whether of principal or
interest, or balances of principal and interest and to determine the
same respectively, according to the merits of the several cases, due
regard being had to all the circumstances thereof, and as equity and
justice shall appear to them to require. And the said Commissioners
shall have power to examine all such persons as shall come before them
on oath or affirmation, touching the premises; and also to receive in
evidence, according as they may think most consistent with equity and
justice, all written depositions, or books, or papers, or copies, or
extracts thereof, every such deposition, book, or paper, or copy, or
extract, being duly authenticated either according to the legal form
now respectively existing in the two countries, or in such other
manner as the said Commissioners shall see cause to require or allow.
The award of the said Commissioners, or of
any three of them as aforesaid, shall in all cases be final and
conclusive both as to the justice of the claim, and to the amount of
the sum to be paid to the creditor or claimant; and the United States
undertake to cause the sum so awarded to be paid in specie to such
creditor or claimant without deduction; and at such time or times and
at such place or places, as shall be awarded by the said
Commissioners; and on condition of such releases or assignments to be
given by the creditor or claimant, as by the said Commissioners may be
directed: Provided always, that no such payment shall be fixed by the
said Commissioners to take place sooner than twelve months from the
day of the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty.
ARTICLE VII.
Whereas complaints have been made by divers
merchants and others, citizens of the United States, that during the
course of the war in which His Majesty is now engaged, they have
sustained considerable losses and damage, by reason of irregular or
illegal captures or condemnations of their vessels and other property,
under color of authority or commissions from His Majesty, and that
from various circumstances belonging to the said cases, adequate
compensation for the losses and damages so sustained cannot now be
actually obtained, had, and received by the ordinary course of
judicial proceedings; it is agreed, that in all such cases, where
adequate compensation cannot, for whatever reason, be now actually
obtained, had, and received by the said merchants and others, in the
ordinary course of justice, full and complete compensation for the
same will be made by the British Government to the said complainants.
But it is distinctly understood that this provision is not to extend
to such losses or damages as have been occasioned by the manifest
delay or negligence, or wilful omission of the claimant.
That for the purpose of ascertaining the
amount of any such losses and damages, five Commissioners shall be
appointed and authorized to act in London, exactly in the manner
directed with respect to those mentioned in the preceding article, and
after having taken the same oath or affirmation, (mutatis mutandis,)
the same term of eighteen months is also assigned for the reception of
claims, and they are in like manner authorized to extend the same in
particular cases. They shall receive testimony, books, papers and
evidence in the same latitude, and exercise the like discretion and
powers respecting that subject; and shall decide the claims in
question according to the merits of the several cases, and to justice,
equity and the laws of nations. The award of the said Commissioners,
or any such three of them as aforesaid, shall in all cases be final
and conclusive, both as to the justice of the claim, and the amount of
the sum to be paid to the claimant; and His Britannic Majesty
undertakes to cause the same to be paid to such claimant in specie,
without any deduction, at such place or places, and at such time or
times, as shall be awarded by the said Commissioners, and on condition
of such releases or assignments to be given by the claimant, as by the
said Commissioners may be directed.
And whereas certain merchants and others, His
Majesty s subjects, complain that, in the course of the war, they have
sustained loss and damage by reason of the capture of their vessels
and merchandise, taken within the limits and jurisdiction of the
States and brought into the ports of the same, or taken by vessels
originally armed in ports of the said States:
It is agreed that in all such cases where
restitution shall not have been made agreeably to the tenor of the
letter from Mr. Jefferson to Mr. Hammond, dated at Philadelphia,
September 5, 1793, a copy of which is annexed to this treaty; the
complaints of the parties shall be and hereby are referred to the
Commissioners to be appointed by virtue of this article, who are
hereby authorized and required to proceed in the like manner relative
to these as to the other cases committed to them; and the United
States undertake to pay to the complainants or claimants in specie,
without deduction, the amount of such sums as shall be awarded to them
respectively by the said Commissioners, and at the times and places
which in such awards shall be specified; and on condition of such
releases or assignments to be given by the claimants as in the said
awards may be directed: And it is further agreed, that not only the
now existing cases of both descriptions, but also all such as shall
exist at the time of exchanging the ratifications of this treaty,
shall be considered as being within the provisions, intent and meaning
of this article.
ARTICLE VIII.
It is further agreed that the Commissioners
mentioned in this and in the two preceding articles shall be
respectively paid in such manner as shall be agreed between the two
parties such agreement being to be settled at the time of the exchange
of the ratifications of this treaty. And all other expenses attending
the said Commissions shall be defrayed jointly by the two parties, the
same being previously ascertained and allowed by the majority of the
Commissioners. And in the case of death, sickness or necessary
absence, the place of every such Commissioner respectively shall be
supplied in the same manner as such Commissioner was first appointed,
and the new Commissioners shall take the same oath or affirmation and
do the same duties.
ARTICLE IX.
It is agreed that British subjects who now
hold lands in the territories of the United States, and American
citizens who now hold lands in the dominions of His Majesty, shall
continue to hold them according to the nature and tenure of their
respective estates and titles therein; and may grant, sell or devise
the same to whom they please, in like manner as if they were natives
and that neither they nor their heirs or assigns shall, so far as may
respect the said lands and the legal remedies incident thereto, be
regarded as aliens.
ARTICLE X.
Neither the debts due from individuals of the
one nation to individuals of the other, nor shares, nor monies, which
they may have in the public funds, or in the public or private banks,
shall ever in any event of war or national differences be sequestered
or confiscated, it being unjust and impolitic that debts and
engagements contracted and made by individuals having confidence in
each other and in their respective Governments, should ever be
destroyed or impaired by national authority on account of national
differences and discontents.
ARTICLE XI.
It is agreed between His Majesty and the
United States of America, that there shall be a reciprocal and
entirely perfect liberty of navigation and commerce between their
respective people, in the manner, under the limitations, and on the
conditions specified in the following articles.
ARTICLE XII.
(additional article)
His Majesty consents that it shall and may be
lawful, during the time hereinafter limited, for the citizens of the
United States to carry to any of His Majesty's islands and ports in
the West Indies from the United States, in their own vessels, not
being above the burthen of seventy tons, any goods or merchandizes,
being of the growth, manufacture or produce of the said States, which
it is or may be lawful to carry to the said islands or ports from the
said States in British vessels; and that the said American vessels
shall be subject there to no other or higher tonnage duties or charges
than shall be payable by British vessels in the ports of the United
States; and that the cargoes of the said American vessels shall be
subject there to no other or higher duties or charges than shall be
payable on the like articles if imported there from the said States in
British vessels.
And His Majesty also consents that it shall
be lawful for the said American citizens to purchase, load and carry
away in their said vessels to the United States, from the said islands
and ports, all such articles, being of the growth, manufacture or
produce of the said islands, as may now by law be carried from thence
to the said States in British vessels, and subject only to the same
duties and charges on exportation, to which British vessels and their
cargoes are or shall be subject in similar circumstances.
Provided always, that the said American
vessels do carry and land their cargoes in the United States only, it
being expressly agreed and declared that, during the continuance of
this article, the United States will prohibit and restrain the
carrying any molasses, sugar, coffee, cocoa or cotton in American
vessels, either from His Majesty's islands or from the United States
to any part of the world except the United States, reasonable
seastores excepted. Provided, also, that it shall and may be lawful,
during the same period, for British vessels to import from the said
islands into the United States, and to export from the United States
to the said islands, all articles whatever, being of the growth,
produce or manufacture of the said islands, or of the United States
respectively, which now may, by the laws of the said States, be so
imported and exported. And that the cargoes of the said British
vessels shall be subject to no other or higher duties or charges, than
shall be payable on the same articles if so imported or exported in
American vessels.
It is agreed that this article, and every
matter and thing therein contained, shall continue to be in force
during the continuance of the war in which His Majesty is now engaged;
and also for two years from and after the date of the signature of the
preliminary or other articles of peace, by which the same may be
terminated.
And it is further agreed that, at the
expiration of the said term, the two contracting parties will
endeavour further to regulate their commerce in this respect,
according to the situation in which His Majesty may then find himself
with respect to the West Indies, and with a view to such arrangements
as may best conduce to the mutual advantage and extension of commerce.
And the said parties will then also renew their discussions, and
endeavour to agree, whether in any and what cases, neutral vessels
shall protect enemy's property; and in what cases provisions and other
articles, not generally contraband, may become such. But in the mean
time, their conduct towards each other in these respects shall be
regulated by the articles hereinafter inserted on those subjects.
ARTICLE XIII.
His Majesty consents that the vessels
belonging to the citizens of the United States of America shall be
admitted and hospitably received in all the seaports and harbors of
the British territories in the East Indies. And that the citizens of
the said United States may freely carry on a trade between the said
territories and the said United States, in all articles of which the
importation or exportation respectively, to or from the said
territories, shall not be entirely prohibited. Provided only, that it
shall not be lawful for them in any time of war between the British
Government and any other Power or State whatever, to export from the
said territories, without the special permission of the British
Government there, any military stores, or naval stores, or rice. The
citizens of the United States shall pay for their vessels when
admitted into the said ports no other or higher tonnage duty than
shall be payable on British vessels when admitted into the ports of
the United States. And they shall pay no other or higher duties or
charges, on the importation or exportation of the cargoes of the said
vessels, than shall be payable on the same articles when imported or
exported in British vessels. But it is expressly agreed that the
vessels of the United States shall not carry any of the articles
exported by them from the said British territories to any port or
place, except to some port or place in America, where the same shall
be unladen and such regulations shall be adopted by both parties as
shall from time to time be found necessary to enforce the due and
faithful observance of this stipulation. It is also understood that
the permission granted by this article is not to extend to allow the
vessels of the United States to carry on any part of the coasting
trade of the said British territories; but vessels going with their
original cargoes, or part thereof, from one port of discharge to
another, are not to be considered as carrying on the coasting trade.
Neither is this article to be construed to allow the citizens of the
said States to settle or reside within the said territories, or to go
into the interior parts thereof, without the permission of the British
Government established there; and if any transgression should be
attempted against the regulations of the British Government in this
respect, the observance of the same shall and may be enforced against
the citizens of America in the same manner as against British subjects
or others transgressing the same rule. And the citizens of the United
States, whenever they arrive in any port or harbour in the said
territories, or if they should be permitted, in manner aforesaid, to
go to any other place therein, shall always be subject to the laws,
government and jurisdiction of what nature established in such harbor,
port pr place, according as the same may be. The citizens of the
United States may also touch for refreshment at the island of St.
Helena, but subject in all respects to such regulations as the British
Government may from time to time establish there.
ARTICLE XIV.
There shall be between all the dominions of
His Majesty in Europe and the territories of the United States a
reciprocal and perfect liberty of commerce and navigation. The people
and inhabitants of the two countries, respectively, shall have liberty
freely and securely, and without hindrance and molestation, to come
with their ships and cargoes to the lands, countries, cities, ports,
places and rivers within the dominions and territories aforesaid, to
enter into the same, to resort there, and to remain and reside there,
without any limitation of time. Also to hire and possess houses and
warehouses for the purposes of their commerce, and generally the
merchants and traders on each side shall enjoy the most complete
protection and security for their commerce; but subject always as to
what respects this article to the laws and statutes of the two
countries respectively.
ARTICLE XV.
It is agreed that no other or high duties
shall be paid by the ships or merchandise of the one party in the
ports of the other than such as are paid by the like vessels or
merchandize of all other nations. Nor shall any other or higher duty
be imposed in one country on the importation of any articles the
growth, produce or manufacture of the other, than are or shall be
payable on the importation of the like articles being of the growth,
produce or manufacture of any other foreign country. Nor shall any
prohibition be imposed on the exportation or importation of any
articles to or from the territories of the two parties respectively,
which shall not equally extend to all other nations.
But the British Government reserves to itself
the right of imposing on American vessels entering into the British
ports in Europe a tonnage duty equal to that which shall be payable by
British vessels in the ports of America; and also such duty as may be
adequate to countervail the difference of duty now payable on the
importation of European and Asiatic goods, when imported into the
United States in British or in American vessels
The two parties agree to treat for the more
exact equalization of the duties on the respective navigation of their
subjects and people, in such manner as may be most beneficial to the
two countries. The arrangements for this purpose shall be made at the
same time with those mentioned at the conclusion of the twelfth
article of this treaty, and are to be considered as a part thereof. In
the interval it is agreed that the United States will not impose any
new or additional tonnage duties on British vessels, nor increase the
nowsubsisting difference between the duties payable on the importation
of any articles in British or in American vessels.
ARTICLE XVI.
It shall be free for the two contracting
parties, respectively, to appoint Consuls for the protection of trade,
to reside in the dominions and territories aforesaid; and the said
Consuls shall enjoy those liberties and rights which belong to them by
reason of their function. But before any Consul shall act as such, he
shall be in the usual forms approved and admitted by the party to whom
he is sent; and it is hereby declared to be lawful and proper that, in
case of illegal or improper conduct towards the laws or Government, a
Consul may either be punished according to law, if the laws will reach
the case, or be dismissed, or even sent back, the offended Government
assigning to the other their reasons for the same.
Either of the parties may except from the
residence of Consuls such particular places as such party shall judge
proper to be so excepted.
ARTICLE XVII.
It is agreed that in all cases where vessels
shall be captured or detained on just suspicion of having on board
enemy's property, or of carrying to the enemy any of the articles
which are contraband of war, the said vessels shall be brought to the
nearest or most convenient port; and if any property of an enemy
should be found on board such vessel, that part only which belongs to
the enemy shall be made prize, and the vessel shall be at liberty to
proceed with the remainder without any impediment. And it is agreed
that all proper measures shall be taken to prevent delay in deciding
the cases of ships or cargoes so brought in for adjudication, and in
the payment or recovery of any indemnification, adjudged or agreed to
be paid to the masters or owners of such ships.
ARTICLE XVIII.
In order to regulate what is in future to be
esteemed contraband of war, it is agreed that under the said
denomination shall be comprised all arms and implements serving for
the purposes of war, by land or sea, such as cannon, muskets, mortars,
petards, bombs, grenades, carcasses, saucisses, carriages for cannon,
musketrests, bandoliers, gunpowder, match, saltpetre, ball, pikes,
swords, headpieces, cuirasses, halberts, lances, javelins,
horsefurniture, holsters, belts, and generally all other implements of
war, as also timber for shipbuilding, tar or rozin, copper in sheets,
sails, hemp, and cordage, and generally whatever may serve directly to
the equipment of vessels, unwrought iron and fir planks only excepted,
and all the above articles are hereby declared to be just objects of
confiscation whenever they are attempted to be carried to an enemy.
And whereas the difficulty of agreeing on the
precise cases in which alone provisions and other articles not
generally contraband may be regarded as such, renders it expedient to
provide against the inconveniences and misunderstandings which might
thence arise: It is further agreed that whenever any such articles so
becoming contraband, according to the existing laws of nations, shall
for that reason be seized, the same shall not be confiscated, but the
owners thereof shall be speedily and completely indemnified; and the
captors, or, in their default, the Government under whose authority
they act, shall pay to the masters or owners of such vessels the full
value of all such articles, with a reasonable mercantile profit
thereon, together with the freight, and also the demurrage incident to
such detention.
And whereas it frequently happens that
vessels sail for a port or place belonging to an enemy without knowing
that the same is either besieged, blockaded or invested, it is agreed
that every vessel so circumstanced may be turned away from such port
or place; but she shall not be detained, nor her cargo, if not
contraband, be confiscated, unless after notice she shall again
attempt to enter, but she shall be permitted to go to any other port
or place she may think proper; nor shall any vessel or goods of either
party that may have entered into such port or place before the same
was besieged, blockaded, or invested by the other, and be found
thereinafter the reduction or surrender of such place, be liable to
confiscation, but shall be restored to the owners or proprietors
there.
ARTICLE XIX.
And that more abundant care may be taken for
the security of the respective subjects and citizens of the
contracting parties, and to prevent their suffering injuries by the
menofwar, or privateers of either party, all commanders of ships of
war and privateers, and all others the said subjects and citizens,
shall forbear doing any damage to those of the other party or
committing any outrage against them, and if they act to the contrary
they shall be punished, and shall also be bound in their persons and
estates to make satisfaction and reparation for all damages, and the
interest thereof, of whatever nature the said damages may be.
For this cause, all commanders of privateers,
before they receive their commissions, shall hereafter be obliged to
give, before a competent judge, sufficient security by at least two
responsible sureties, who have no interest in the said privateer, each
of whom, together with the said commander, shall be jointly and
severally bound in the sum of fifteen hundred pounds sterling, or, if
such ships be provided with above one hundred and fifty seamen or
soldiers, in the sum of three thousand pounds sterling, to satisfy all
damages and injuries which the said privateer, or her officers or men,
or any of them, may do or commit during their cruise contrary to the
tenor of this treaty, or to the laws and instructions for regulating
their conduct; and further, that in all cases of aggressions the said
commissions shall be revoked and annulled.
It is also agreed that whenever a judge of a
court of admiralty of either of the parties shall pronounce sentence
against any vessel or goods or property belonging to the subjects or
citizens of the other party, a formal and duly authenticated copy of
all the proceedings in the cause, and of the said sentence, shall, if
required, be delivered to the commander of the said vessel, without
the smallest delay, he paying all legal fees and demands for the same.
ARTICLE XX.
It is further agreed that both the said
contracting parties shall not only refuse to receive any pirates into
any of their ports, havens or towns, or permit any of their
inhabitants to receive, protect, harbor, conceal or assist them in any
manner, but will bring to condign punishment all such inhabitants as
shall be guilty of such acts or offences.
And all their ships, with the goods or
merchandizes taken by them and brought into the port of either of the
said parties, shall be seized as far as they can be discovered, and
shall be restored to the owners, or their factors or agents, duly
deputed and authorized in writing by them (proper evidence being first
given in the court of admiralty for proving the property) even in case
such effects should have passed into other hands by sale, if it be
proved that the buyers knew or had good reason to believe or suspect
that they had been piratically taken.
ARTICLE XXI.
It is likewise agreed that the subjects and
citizens of the two nations shall not do any acts of hostility or
violence against each other, nor accept commissions or instructions so
to act from any foreign Prince or State, enemies to the other party;
nor shall the enemies of one of the parties be permitted to invite, or
endeavor to enlist in their military service, any of the subjects or
citizens of the other party; and the laws against all such offences
and aggressions shall be punctually executed. And if any subject or
citizen of the said parties respectively shall accept any foreign
commission or letters of marque for arming any vessel to act as a
privateer against the other party, and be taken by the other party, it
is hereby declared to be lawful for the said party to treat and punish
the said subject or citizen having such commission or letters of
marque as a pirate.
ARTICLE XXII.
It is expressly stipulated that neither of
the said contracting parties will order or authorize any acts of
reprisal against the other, on complaints of injuries or damages,
until the said party shall first have presented to the other a
statement thereof, verified by competent proof and evidence, and
demanded justice and satisfaction, and the same shall either have been
refused or unreasonably delayed.
ARTICLE XXIII.
The ships of war of each of the contracting
parties shall, at all times, be hospitably received in the ports of
the other, their officers and crews paying due respect to the laws and
Government of the country. The officers shall be treated with that
respect which is due to the commissions which they bear, and if any
insult should be offered to them by any of the inhabitants, all
offenders in this respect shall be punished as disturbers of the peace
and amity between the two countries. And His Majesty consents that in
case an American vessel should, by stress of weather, danger from
enemies, or other misfortune, be reduced to the necessity of seeking
shelter in any of His Majesty's ports, into which such vessel could
not in ordinary cases claim to be admitted, she shall, on manifesting
that necessity to the satisfaction of the Government of the place, be
hospitably received, and be permitted to refit and to purchase at the
market price such necessaries as she may stand in need of, conformably
to such orders and regulations at the Government of the place, having
respect to the circumstances of each case, shall prescribe. She shall
not be allowed to break bulk or unload her cargo, unless the same
should be bona fide necessary to her being refitted. Nor shall be
permitted to sell any part of her cargo, unless so much only as may be
necessary to defray her expences, and then not without the express
permission of the Government of the place. Nor shall she be obliged to
pay any duties whatever, except only on such articles as she may be
permitted to sell for the purpose aforesaid.
ARTICLE XXIV.
It shall not be lawful for any foreign
privateers (not being subjects or citizens of either of the said
parties) who have commissions from any other Prince or State in enmity
with either nation to arm their ships in the ports of either of the
said parties, nor to sell what they have taken, nor in any other
manner to exchange the same; nor shall they be allowed to purchase
more provisions than shall be necessary for their going to the nearest
port of that Prince or State from whom they obtained their
commissions.
ARTICLE XXV.
It shall be lawful for the ships of war and
privateers belonging to the said parties respectively to carry
whithersoever they please the ships and goods taken from their
enemies, without being obliged to pay any fee to the officers of the
admiralty, or to any judges whatever; nor shall the said prizes, when
they arrive at and enter the ports of the said parties, be detained or
seized, neither shall the searchers or other officers of those places
visit such prizes, (except for the purpose of preventing the carrying
of any of the cargo thereof on shore in any manner contrary to the
established laws of revenue, navigation, or commerce,) nor shall such
officers take cognizance of the validity of such prizes; but they
shall be at liberty to hoist sail and depart as speedily as may be,
and carry their said prizes to the place mentioned in their
commissions or patents, which the commanders of the said ships of war
or privateers shall be obliged to show. No shelter or refuge shall be
given in their ports to such as have made a prize upon the subjects or
citizens of either of the said parties; but if forced by stress of
weather, or the dangers of the sea, to enter therein, particular care
shall be taken to hasten their departure, and to cause them to retire
as soon as possible. Nothing in this treaty contained shall, however,
be construed or operate contrary to former and existing public
treaties with other sovereigns or States. But the two parties agree
that while they continue in amity neither of them will in future make
any treaty that shall be inconsistent with this or the preceding
article.
Neither of the said parties shall permit the
ships or goods belonging to the subjects or citizens of the other to
be taken within cannon shot of the coast, nor in any of the bays,
ports or rivers of their territories, by ships of war or others having
commission from any Prince, Republic or State whatever. But in case it
should so happen, the party whose territorial rights shall thus have
been violated shall use his utmost endeavors to obtain from the
offending party full and ample satisfaction for the vessel or vessels
so taken, whether the same be vessels of war or merchant vessels.
ARTICLE XXVI.
If at any time a rupture should take place
(which God forbid) between His Majesty and the United States, and
merchants and others of each of the two nations residing in the
dominions of the other shall have the privilege of remaining and
continuing their trade, so long as they behave peaceably and commit no
offence against the laws; and in case their conduct should render them
suspected, and the respective Governments should think proper to order
them to remove, the term of twelve months from the publication of the
order shall be allowed them for that purpose, to remove with their
families, effects and property, but this favor shall not be extended
to those who shall act contrary to the established laws; and for
greater certainty, it is declared that such rupture shall not be
deemed to exist while negociations for accommodating differences shall
be depending, nor until the respective Ambassadors or Ministers, if
such there shall be, shall be recalled or sent home on account of such
differences, and not on account of personal misconduct, according to
the nature and degrees of which both parties retain their rights,
either to request the recall, or immediately to send home the
Ambassador or Minister of the other, and that without prejudice to
their mutual friendship and good understanding.
ARTICLE XXVII.
It is further agreed that His Majesty and the
United States, on mutual requisitions, by them respectively, or by
their respective Ministers or officers authorized to make the same,
will deliver up to justice all persons who, being charged with murder
or forgery, committed within the jurisdiction of either, shall seek an
asylum within any of the countries of the other, provided that this
shall only be done on such evidence of criminality as, according to
the laws of the place, where the fugitive or person so charged shall
be found, would justify his apprehension and commitment for trial, if
the offence had there been committed. The expence of such apprehension
and delivery shall be borne and defrayed by those who made the
requisition and receive the fugitive.
ARTICLE XXVIII.
It is agreed that the first ten articles of
this treaty shall be permanent, and that the subsequent articles,
except the twelfth, shall be limited in their duration to twelve
years, to be computed from the day on which the ratifications of this
treaty shall be exchanged, but subject to this condition. That whereas
the said twelfth article will expire by the limitation therein
contained, at the end of two years from the signing of the preliminary
or other articles of peace, which shall terminate the present war in
which His Majesty is engaged, it is agreed that proper measures shall
by concert be taken for bringing the subject of that article into
amicable treaty and discussion, so early before the expiration of the
said term as that new arrangements on that head may by that time be
perfected and ready to take place. But if it should unfortunately
happen that His Majesty and the United States should not be able to
agree on such new arrangements, in that case all the articles of this
treaty, except the first ten, shall then cease and expire together.
Lastly. This treaty, when the same shall have
been ratified by His Majesty and by the President of the United
States, by and with the advice and consent of their Senate, and the
respective ratifications mutually exchanged, shall be binding and
obligatory on His Majesty and on the said States, and shall be by them
respectively executed and observed with punctuality and the most
sincere regard to good faith; and whereas it will be expedient, in
order the better to facilitate intercourse and obviate difficulties,
that other articles be proposed and added to this treaty, which
articles, from want of time and other circumstances, cannot now be
perfected, it is agreed that the said parties will, from time to time,
readily treat of and concerning such articles, and will sincerely
endeavor so to form them as that they may conduce to mutual
convenience and tend to promote mutual satisfaction and friendship;
and that the said articles, after having been duly ratified, shall be
added to and make a part of this treaty. In faith whereof we, the
undersigned Ministers Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the King of Great
Britain and the United States of America, have singed this present
treaty, and have caused to be affixed thereto the seal of our
arms.
Done at London this nineteenth day of November, one thousand seven
hundred and ninetyfour.
(SEAL.) GRENVILLE.
(SEAL.) JOHN
JAY.
Letter from Thomas
Jefferson to George Hammond.
PHILADELPHIA, September 5, 1793.
Sir: I am honored with yours of August 30.
Mine of the 7th of that month assured you that measures were taken for
excluding from all further asylum in our ports vessels armed in them
to cruise on nations with which we are at peace, and for the
restoration of the prizes the Lovely Lass, Prince William Henry, and
the Jane of Dublin; and that should the measures for restitution fail
in their effect, the President considered it as incumbent on the
United States to make compensation for the vessels.
We are bound by our treaties with three of
the belligerent nations, by all the means in our power, to protect and
defend their vessels and effects in our ports, or waters, or on the
seas near our shores, and to recover and restore the same to the right
owners when taken from them. If all the means in our power are used,
and fail in their effect, we are not bound by our treaties with those
nations to make compensation.
Though we have no similar treaty with Great
Britain, it was the opinion of the President that we should use
towards that nation the same rule which, under this article, was to
govern us with the other nations; and even to extend it to captures
made on the high seas and brought into our ports f done by vessels
which had been armed within them.
Having, for particular reasons, forbore to
use all the means in our power for the restitution of the three
vessels mentioned in my letter of August 7th, the President thought it
incumbent on the United States to make compensation for them; and
though nothing was said in that letter of other vessels taken under
like circumstances, and brought in after the 5th of June, and before
the date of that letter, yet when the same forbearance had taken
place, it was and is his opinion, that compensation would be equally
due.
As to prizes made under the same
circumstances, and brought in after the date of that letter, the
President determined that all the means in our power should be used
for their restitution. If these fail, as we should not be bound by our
treaties to make compensation to the other Powers in the analogous
case, he did not mean to give an opinion that it ought to be done to
Great Britain. But still, if any cases shall arise subsequent to that
date, the circumstances of which shall place them on similar ground
with those before it, the President would think compensation equally
incumbent on the United States.
Instructions are given to the Governors of
the different States to use all the means in their power for restoring
prizes of this last description found within their ports. Though they
will, of course, take measures to be infomed of them, and the General
Government has given them the aid of the customhouse officers for this
purpose, yet you will be sensible of the importance of multiplying the
channels of their infomation as far as shall depend on yourself, or
any person under your direction, or order that the Governors may use
the means in their power for making restitution.
Without knowledge of the capture they cannot
restore it. It will always be best to give the notice to them
directly; but any infomation which you shall be pleased to send to me
also, at any time, shall be forwarded to them as quickly as distance
will permit.
Hence you will perceive, sir, that the
President contemplates restitution or compensation in the case before
the 7th of August; and after that date, restitution if it can be
effected by any means in our power. And that it will be important that
you should substantiate the fact that such prizes are in our ports or
waters.
Your list of the privateers illicitly armed
in our ports is, I believe, correct.
With respect to losses by detention, waste,
spoilation sustained by vessels taken as before mentioned, between the
dates of June 5th and August 7th, it is proposed as a provisional
measure that the Collector of the Customs of the district, and the
British Consul, or any other person you please, shall appoint persons
to establish the value of the vessel and cargo at the time of her
capture and of her arrival in the port into which she is brought,
according to their value in that port. If this shall be agreeable to
you, and you will be pleased to signify it to me, with the names of
the prizes understood to be of this description, instructions will be
given accordingly to the Collector of the Customs where the respective
vessels are.
I have the honor to be, &c., TH:
JEFFERSON. GEO: HAMMOND, Esq.
ADDITIONAL ARTICLE.
It is further agreed, between the said
contracting parties, that the operation of so much of the twelfth
article of the said treaty as respects the trade which his said
Majesty thereby consents may be carried on between the United States
and his islands in the West Indies, in the manner and on the terms and
conditions therein specified, shall be suspended.
1796.
EXPLANATORY ARTICLE TO THE THIRD
ARTICLE OF THE TREATY OF NOVEMBER 19, 1794, RESPECTING THE LIBERTY
TO PASS AND REPASS THE BORDERS AND TO CARRY ON TRADE AND COMMERCE.
Concluded May 4, 1796; Ratification advised
by Senate May 9, 1796.
Whereas by the third article of the treaty of
amity, commerce and navigation, concluded at London on the nineteenth
day of November, one thousand seven hundred and ninetyfour, between
His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, it was agreed
that is should at all times be free to His Majesty's subjects and to
the citizens of the United States, and also to the Indians dwelling on
either side of the boundary line, assigned by the treaty of peace to
the United States, freely to pass and repass, by land or inland
navigation, into the respective territories and countries of the two
contracting parties, on the continent of America, (the country within
the limits of the Hudson's Bay Company only excepted,) and to navigate
all the lakes, rivers, and waters thereof, and freely to carry on
trade and commerce with each other, subject to the provisions and
limitations contained in the said article: And whereas by the eighth
article of the treaty of peace and friendship concluded at Greenville
on the third day of August, one thousand seven hundred and
ninety-five, between the United States and the nations or tribes of
Indians called the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanoes, Ottawas, Chippewas,
Putawatimies, Miamis, Eel River, Weeas, Kickapoos, Piankashaws, and
Kaskaskias, it was stipulated that no person should be permitted to
reside at any of the towns or the hunting camps of the said Indian
tribes, as a trader, who is not furnished with a licence for that
purpose under the authority of the United States: Which latter
stipulation has excited doubts, whether in its operation it may not
interfere with the due execution of the third article of the treaty of
amity, commerce and navigation: And it being the sincere desire of His
Britannic Majesty and of the United States that this point should be
so explained as to remove all doubts and promote mutual satisfaction
and friendship: And for this purpose His Britannic Majesty having
named for his Commissioner, Phineas Bond, Esquire, His Majesty's
ConsulGeneral for the Middle and Southern States of America, (and now
His Majesty's Charg d'Affaires to the United States,) and the
President of the United States having named for their Commissioner,
Timothy Pickering, Esquire, Secretary of State of the United States,
to whom, agreeably to the laws of the United States, he has intrusted
this negotiation: They, the said Commissioners, having communicated to
each other their full powers, have, in virtue of the same, and
conformably to the spirit of the last article of the said treaty of
amity, commerce and navigation, entered into this explanatory article,
and do by these presents explicitly agree and declare, that no
stipulations in any treaty subsequently concluded by either of the
contracting parties with any other State or nation, or with any Indian
tribe, can be understood to derogate in any manner from the rights of
free intercourse and commerce, secured by the aforesaid third article
of the treaty of amity, commerce and navigation, to the subjects of
his Majesty and to the citizens of the United States, and to the
Indians dwelling on either side of the boundary line aforesaid; but
that all the said persons shall remain at full liberty freely to pass
and repass, by land or inland navigation, into the respective
territories and countries of the contracting parties, on either side
of the said boundary line, and freely to carry on trade and commerce
with each other, according to the stipulations of the said third
article of the treaty of amity, commerce and navigation.
This explanatory article, when the same shall
have been ratified by His Majesty and by the President of the United
States, by and with the advice and consent of their Senate, and the
respective ratifications mutually exchanged, shall be added to and
make a part of the said treaty of amity commerce and navigation, and
shall be permanently binding upon His Majesty and the United States.
In witness whereof we, the said Commissioners
of His Majesty the King of Great Britain and the United States of
America, have signed this present explanatory article, and thereto
affixed our seals.
Done at Philadelphia this fourth day of May,
in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninetysix.
(SEAL.) P. BOND. (SEAL.) TIMOTHY PICKERING.
1798.
EXPLANATORY ARTICLE TO THE
TREATY OF NOVEMBER 19, 1794, RELEASING THE COMMISSIONERS UNDER THE
FIFTH ARTICLE FROM PARTICULARIZING THE LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE OF THE
RIVER ST. CROIX.
Concluded March 15, 1798; Ratification
advised by Senate June 5, 1798.
Whereas by the twentyeight
article of the treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation between
His Britannic Majesty and the United States, signed at London on the
nineteenth day of November, one thousand seven hundred and ninetyfour,
it was agreed that the contracting parties would, from time to time,
readily treat of and concerning such further articles as might be
proposed; that they would sincerely endeavour so to form such articles
as that they might conduce to mutual convenience and tend to promote
mutual satisfaction and ,friendship; and that such articles, after
having been duly ratified, should be added to and make a part of that
treaty: And whereas difficulties have arisen with respect to the
execution of so much of the fifth article of the said treaty as
requires that the Commissioners appointed under the same should in
their description particularize the latitude and longitude of the
source of the river which may be found to be the one truly intended in
the treaty of peace between His Britannic Majesty and the United
States, under the name of the river St. Croix, by reason whereof it is
expedient that the said Commissioners should be released from the
obligation of conforming to the provisions of the said article in this
respect. The undersigned being respectively named by His Britannic
Majesty and the United States of America their Plenipotentiaries for
the purpose of treating of and concluding such articles as may be
proper to be added to the said treaty, in conformity to the above
mentioned stipulation, and having communicated to each other their
respective full powers, have agreed and concluded, and do hereby
declare in the name of His Britannic Majesty and of the United States
of America that the Commissioners appointed under the fifth
article of the above mentioned treaty shall not be obliged to
particularize in their description, the latitude and longitude of the
source of the river which may be found to be the one truly intended in
the aforesaid treaty of peace under the name of the river St. Croix,
but they shall be at liberty to describe the said river, in such other
manner as they may judge expedient, which description shall be
considered as a complete execution of the duty required of the said
Commissioners in this respect by the article aforesaid. And to the end
that no uncertainty may hereafter exist on this subject, it is further
agreed, that as soon as may be after the decision of the said
Commissioners, measures shall be concerted between the Government of
the United States and His Britannic Majesty's Governors or Lieutenant
Governors in America, in order to erect and keep in repair a suitable
monument at the place ascertained and described to be the source of
the said river St. Croix, which measures shall immediately thereupon,
and as often afterwards as may be requisite, be duly executed on both
sides with punctuality and good faith.
This explanatory article, when the same shall
have been ratified by His Majesty and by the President of the United
States, by and with the advice and consent of their Senate, and the
respective ratifications mutually exchanged, shall be added to and
make a part of the treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation between
His Majesty and the United States, signed at London on the nineteenth
day of November, one thousand seven hundred and ninetyfour, and shall
be permanently binding upon His Majesty and the United States.
In witness whereof we, the said undersigned
Plenipotentiaries of His Britannic Majesty and the United States of
America, have signed this present article, and have caused to be
affixed thereto the seal of our arms.
Done at London this fifteenth day of March,
one thousand seven hundred and ninetyeight.
(SEAL.) GRENVILLE. (SEAL.) RUFUS KING. |
