in a transatlantic warehousing port, or in the transatlantic country of production. 7. Duties on Scheldt Navigation.-The repayment, by Belgium, of the duty levied by the government of the Netherlands on the navigation of the Scheldt, under the 3rd paragraph of article 9 of the treaty of April 19, 1839, is guaranteed to British vessels. 8. Goods in Vessels of either Country.-Goods of every kind, the importation of which into the ports of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, its colonies and possessions, is or shall be legally permitted in British vessels, may likewise be imported in Belgian vessels, without being subject to any other or higher duties, of whatever denomination, than if such goods were imported in national vessels. 9. Export Reciprocity.-In all that regards exportations, without distinction as to place from whence arriving, or as to destination, and in all that regards the bounties, facilities, and drawbacks which the legislation of the two countries has established, or may hereafter establish, the two high contracting parties reciprocally insure to each other national treatment. 10. Articles by Railroads, Gunpowder.—Articles of every kind arriving from Great Britain, or forwarded to that country, and crossing Belgium by the railroads of the state, shall be exempt from all transit duty; and the prohibition which in Belgium still applies to the transit of some of those articles, is removed. The only exceptions to this general rule are in regard to gunpowder and iron; and in regard to the transmission to France of linen thread and tissues, and of coal. It is understood that the senders will have to conform, generally, and without distinction of nationality, to the regulations which are or may be prescribed by the Belgian administration for the prevention of fraud upon the excise. Belgian commerce shall enjoy in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland with regard to transit, the treatment of the most favoured nation. 11. Coasting Trade.-It is expressly understood, that the preceding articles are not applicable to the coasting trade, which each contracting party reserves to itself, and will regulate according to its own laws.* Neither are they applicable to the exemptions from duty, nor to the bounties which may be granted in the dominions of the high contracting parties to national fishery, carried on according to the regulations of each country. With this exception, the two flags shall be assimilated in regard to the importation of fish of all kinds. 12. Tonnage, Harbour, Lighthouse, &c., Duties.-No duties of tonnage, harbour, lighthouse, pilotage, quarantine, or other similar or corresponding duties, of whatever nature or under whatever denomination, levied for the profit or in the name of the government, public functionaries, communes, corporations, or establishments of whatever kind, shall be imposed in the ports of either country, upon the vessels of the other country, from whatever port or place arriving, which shall not be equally imposed in the like cases on national vessels. 13. What deemed Vessels of either country.-All vessels which according to the laws of Great Britain are to be deemed British vessels, and all vessels which according to the laws of Belgium are to be deemed Belgian vessels, shall, for the purposes of this treaty, be deemed British vessels and Belgian vessels respectively. 14. Stationing, Loading, and Unloading of Vessels. In all that regards the stationing, the loading, and unloading of vessels in the ports, basins, docks, roadsteads, harbours, or rivers of the two countries, no privilege shall be granted to national vessels, which shall not be equally granted to vessels of the other country; the intention of the contracting parties being, that in this respect also the respective vessels shall be treated on the footing of perfect reciprocity. 15. Discharging part or whole of Cargo.-The vessels of each of the two countries shall be at liberty either to discharge the whole of their cargo at one of the ports of the dominions of the other contracting party, or to discharge part of their cargo at one port, and then to proced with the remainder to other ports of the said dominions, according as the captain, proprietor, or other per See now, p. 1. son duly authorized to act in the port as agent for the vessel and cargo, shall consider advisable. 16. Wrecks. If any vessel of war or merchant vessel of either of the two countries should be wrecked upon the coasts of the other, such vessel, or any parts thereof, and all furniture and appurtenances belonging thereunto, as well as all goods which shall be saved therefrom, or the proceeds thereof, if sold, shall be faithfully restored to the proprietors or to their agents, on being claimed by them. In case there should be no such proprietors or agents upon the spot, the said articles and goods, or the proceeds thereof, as well as all the papers found on board of any such vessel, shall be delivered to the British or Belgian Consul in whose district the wreck shall have taken place; and such consul, proprietors, or agents, shall not be called upon to pay any charge but the expenses incurred in the preservation of the property, and the rate of salvage which would be equally payable in the like case of a wreck of a national vessel. The goods and merchandise saved from the wreck shall not be subject to the established duties, unless cleared for consumption. 17. Consuls. Each of the high contracting parties shall have the right to name consuls for the protection of trade in the dominions and territories of the other party; and the consuls who may be so appointed shall enjoy, within the territories of each party, all the privileges, exemptions, and immunities which are or may be granted in those territories to agents of the same rank and character appointed by or authorised to act for the government of the most favoured nation. Before any consul can act as such, he must, however, in the usual form be approved and admitted by the government of the country to which he is sent; and each of the two high contracting parties shall have the right to except from the residence of consuls, any particular places which either of them may judge proper to be excepted. 18. Management of Affairs-Brokers, &c.-The subjects of either of the two high contracting parties residing in the dominions of the other, shall have the same liberty as natives to manage their own affairs themselves, or to commit them to the management of any other persons, as brokers, factors, agents, or interpreters; they shall not be restrained in their choice, and shall not be obliged to pay any salary or remuneration to any person whom they shall not choose to employ in those capacities: buyers and sellers being at perfect liberty to bargain together, and to fix the price of any goods imported or destined for exportation, on condition of observing the regulations and the customs laws of the country. 19. Duration of Treaty. The present treaty shall be in force for seven years from January 1, 1852;* and further, until the end of twelve months after either of the two contracting parties shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the same; each of the contracting parties reserving to itself the right of giving such notice to the other at the end of the said term of seven years, or at any subsequent time. 20. Ratifications. The present treaty shall be ratified, and the ratifications shall be exchanged at London before January 1, 1852. In witness whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and have affixed thereto the seals of their arms. Done at London, October 27, 1851. ADDITIONAL ARTICLE. PALMERSTON. HENRY LABOUCHERE. Ionian Islands.-The Ionian Islands being under the protection of Her Britannic Majesty, the subjects and vessels of those islands shall enjoy, in the dominions of His Majesty the King of the Belgians, all the advantages which are granted to the subjects and vessels of Great Britain by the treaty of commerce and navigation signed this day, between Her Majesty the Queen of the *Altered to April 10, 1852, by the annexed declaration. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and His Majesty the King of the Belgians, as soon as the government of the Ionian Islands shall have agreed to grant to the subjects and vessels of His Majesty the King of the Belgians the same advantages which are granted in those islands to the subjects and vessels of Her Britannic Majesty: it being understood, that in order to prevent abuses, every Ionian vessel claiming the benefits of that treaty shall be furnished with a patent signed by the Lord High Commissioner of Her Britannic Majesty, or by his representative. The present additional article shall have the same force and effect as if it had been inserted, word for word, in the treaty of commerce and navigation signed this day. It shall be ratified, and the ratifications shall be exchanged at the same time as the ratifications of the treaty. In witness whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and have affixed thereto the seals of their arms. Done at London, October 27, 1851. PALMERSTON. HENRY LABOUCHERE. DECLARATION MADE ON THE EXCHANGE OF THE RATIFICATIONS OF THE PRECEDING TREATY. Declaration. In proceeding to the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty of commerce and navigation, the undersigned plenipotentiaries have received the commands of their respective sovereigns to declare as follows, with regard to salt, in article 5 of the treaty : 1. Salt-British spring salt shall be considered as raw salt, on importation into Belgium, only in those cases in which the legislation of Belgium permits the granting of exemption from excise. Those cases, in the present state of things, are: a. Destination to manufactories of chemical productions. b. Destination to the manuring of land. c. Destination to the feeding of cattle. d. Destination to the curing of fish. 2. If French salt refined in Belgium should, after August 16, 1852, continue to enjoy a deduction of more than seven per cent. from the general duty of excise, British salt refined in Belgium shall, from the same date, enjoy a deduction from excise, which shall not be inferior by more than seven per cent. to the deduction granted to French salt. 3. The British flag is assimilated to the French flag in regard to the transport of salt from France into Belgium. 4. There shall be annexed to the present declaration an explanation of the conditions necessary in order that British salt may enjoy the advantages conceded to it, and of the formalities which must be complied with for the same purpose. The undersigned further declare that the treaty of October 27, 1851, shall be carried into operation on either side, from April 10, 1852. Ratification. The ratifications of the treaty of October 27, 1851, are exchanged subject to the stipulations of the present declaration, which shall be considered as forming an integral part of the said treaty. Done at London, April 7, 1852. MALMESBURY. J. W. HENLEY. EXPLANATION ANNEXED TO THE DECLARATION OF APRIL 7, 1852. Salt. In order that British spring salt may enjoy the advantages which are conceded to it, it must be 1. Accompanied by a certificate of origin delivered by the Belgian consular agent residing in the locality of its production. 2. Declared, on its entry into Belgium, for one of those destinations which enjoy exemption from excise; and the formalities prescribed for such cases by the law of Belgium must be fulfilled. Those formalities shall be for British spring salt the same as for the raw salt of other countries destined for the same uses. On compliance with these two conditions, British spring salt shall be admitted free of import duty, if imported under the Belgian flag, and at the duty of fr. 140 per 100 kilogrammes, if imported under the British flag; and it shall, moreover, be exempted from duty of excise. Persons shall be at liberty to warehouse British spring salt on the same conditions which are imposed on the warehousing of raw salt properly so called; and in that case, the formalities above specified shall not be required until it is taken out of bond. British spring salt forwarded in transit by the railways of the state in Belgium, either directly, or through the bonded warehouses of the country, and whether imported by British ships or by Belgian ships, shall be free from all duty of import, excise, or transit, as well as from all process of alteration; subject, however, to the measures to be taken by the Belgian administration for the prevention of fraud; which measures shall be the same for British salt as for all other salt. MALMESBURY. J. W. HENLEY. TREATY WITH FRANCE. Among the stipulations assented to by France in favour of Belgium in the new commercial treaty, are the complete remodelling of the tariff of linen yarns and cloths. The treaty is in many respects a return to the tariff that was in operation before the ordinance of June 26, 1842. There is consequently a reduction in the present import duties. New standards are also adopted for the varieties of unbleached linens, and will, in general facilitate the importation of Belgian fabrics. The treaty grants to Belgium the privilege, hitherto denied her, of causing Belgian linens to pass in transit through France under the bonding system, that is to say, with English yarns upon condition of re-exportation. Guarantees have been granted against all advance upon French import duties on Belgian coals, cast iron, and forged iron; this is evidently the clause to which Belgium attached the greatest importance. Lime and Belgian building materials will henceforth be admitted free of duty; different reductions are consented to in favour of glass in sheets, of plaited straw and common straw hats; the abolition of surcharge in favour of Belgian machinery, which is regulated by the treaty of 1845, is confirmed; lastly, the prohibition upon the various kinds of pottery is set aside, and an ad valorem duty ranging from 33 francs to 165 francs per cwt. is substituted. On the other hand, France obtains from Belgium in favour of her wines, silks, and salts, the guarantee of a treatment analogous to that which she grants to Belgian coals and irons. The taxes imposed in 1838 and 1848 by different royal decrees upon woollens, cashmeres, linen yarns, and ready-made articles, cease to affect products of French manufactures and the suppression remains confirmed for French woven cottons; the most extensive facilities are accorded to French mercantile transit, in favour of which all custom duties are abolished; different reductions are made favourable to the entrance of French gypsum, &c., into Belgium, as well as to the importation into France of Belgian iron pyrites and charcoals; finally, French shipping admitted to the advantages conferred on English vessels by the treaty of December 27, 1851, now experiences the abolition of differential duties.-Economist, March 11, 1854. TARIFF. TARIFF of the Principal Articles Imported into, and Exported from, the Kingdom of Belgium. [By Authority. Translated specially for POPE'S YEARLY JOURNAL OF TRADE.] IMPORTS. Animals, oxen, bulls, cows, and young cattle not above two years old, also calves weighing more than 30 kilog., each calves weighing less than 30 kilog., each sheep and lambs, kilog. swine, each. from Holland, oxen, bulls, and cows, kilog. young cattle with milk teeth, also calves weighing 30 kilogrammes and more, kilog. sheep and lambs, kilog. Coffee, direct from the country of production, or a port in the vessels of the country of export, 100 kilog. vessels, 100 kilog. 11 50 in the vessels of the country of export, 100 kilog. 13 50 15 50 elsewhere, 100 kilog. 13 95 roasted or ground, 30 per cent. more. Copper ore, by sea, in Belgian vessels, 100 kilog. in foreign vessels, 100 kilog. of the first fusion, in blocks, sheets, &c., 100 kilog. combined with zinc in sheets and plates, 100 kilog. beaten in round or square bars for the bottoms of kettles and basins, also planks for lining ships, 100 kilog. wire and nails, 100 kilog. old, pure, or mixed, used only for melting, 100 kilog. 0 36 wrought, bronzed, gilt or silvered, or silver plated 100 kilog. Cotton, raw, Surinam by water from Holland, 100 kilog. 61 Good Hope, in Belgian vessels, 100 kilog. by land, 100 kilog. all other sorts direct from the country of produc tion, in Belgian vessels, 100 kilog. in the vessels of the country of export, 100 kilog. indirect by water, 100 kilog. by land, 100 kilog. from the Levantic ports and North African coast Prohibited. 60 1 70 0 17 43 |