[Belgium and Holland.] two Countries. He shall afterwards appoint a person charged with the Provisional Government of Belgium. The Governor-General shall enter into the functions of the actual Austrian Governor, and he shall administer that country in the name of the Allied Powers, until the definitive and formal Union, which can only take place at the time of the general arrangements of Europe. Separate Arrangements to be entered into with the Allies under Mediation of England. The Prince of Orange shall nevertheless be invited to act under the most liberal principles, and in a spirit of conciliation, in order to prepare and effect the amalgamation of the two Countries on the basis adopted by the Powers. The demands of the Powers on Holland and Belgium shall be the object of a separate transaction with the Prince of Orange, to whom England will extend her mediation. The negotiation relative to this object shall also take place at Vienna. Vienna, 14th June, 1814. NESSELRODE. HARDENBERG. METTERNICH. [Dutch Colonies.] No. 5.-CONVENTION between Great Britain and the Netherlands.-Signed at London, 13th August, 1814. Preamble. House of Orange. Arrangements respecting Dutch Colonies conquered during the war. 1. Colonies restored to the Netherlands; the Cape of Good Hope, Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice excepted. 2. Cession of Island of Banca by Great Britain to the Netherlands in exchange for Cochin. 3. Surrender of Places and Forts. 4. Commerce, &c., of the Dutch within British Dominions in India placed on footing of the most favoured nation. No Fortifications to be erected by the Dutch. Number of Troops to be limited in Colonies restored. 5. Periods of Cession. 6. Security of Persons and Property in Countries ceded and restored. 7. Right of Emigration. 8. Abolition of the Slave Trade. 9. Ratifications. Additional Articles. 1. § 1. Compensation to Sweden for Guadaloupe. § 2. Expenses of Defence of the Low Countries. § 3. Union with Holland. Cession to Great Britain of the Cape of Good Hope, Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice. Dutch proprietors in Berbice. Resort of Dutch ships to the Cape. 2. Cession to Great Britain of District of Bernagore, near Calcutta. 3. Validity of Additional Articles. To be ratified with Treaty. Preamble. House of Orange. Arrangement respecting Dutch Colonies during the war. (English version.*) In the name of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity. THE United Provinces of the Netherlands, under the favour of Divine Providence, having been restored to their Independence, and having been placed by the loyalty of the Dutch people and the achievements of the Allied Powers, under the Government of the Illustrious House of Orange;t and His Britannic Majesty being desirous of entering into such arrangements with the Prince Sovereign of the United Netherlands, concerning the Colonies of the said United Netherlands, which have been conquered by His Majesty's arms during the late war, as may conduce to the prosperity of the said State, and may afford a lasting testimony of His Majesty's friendship and attachment to the family of Orange and to the Dutch nation; the said High Contracting *For French Version, see "State Papers," vol. ii, p. 370. + See Treaty of 30th May, 1814, Art. VI. [Dutch Colonies.] Parties, equally animated by those sentiments of cordial goodwill and attachment to each other, have nominated for their Plenipotentiaries, namely: His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Right Honourable Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, one of His said Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, a Member of Parliament, Colonel of the Londonderry Regiment of Militia, Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter, and his Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, &c.; And His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange-Nassau, Prince Sovereign of the United Netherlands, his Excellency Henry Fagel, his Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Court of His Britannic Majesty; Who, after having exchanged their Full Powers, found in good and due form, have agreed to the following Articles: Colonies restored to the Netherlands;-the Cape of Good Hope, Demerara, Essequiho, and Berbice excepted. ART. I. His Britannic Majesty engages to restore to the Prince Sovereign of the United Netherlands, within the term which shall be hereafter fixed, the Colonies, Factories, and Establishments, which were possessed by Holland at the commencement of the late War, viz., on the 1st of January, 1803, in the Seas and on the continents of America, Africa, and Asia, with the exception of the Cape of Good Hope and the Settlements of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice, of which possessions the High Contracting Parties reserve to themselves the right to dispose by a Supplementary Convention, hereafter to be negotiated according to their mutual interests; and especially with reference to the provisions contained in Articles VI and IX of the Treaty of Peace sigued between His Britannic Majesty and His Most Christian Majesty, on the 30th of May, 1814 (No. 1). Cession of Banca by Great Britain to the Netherlands, in exchange for Cochin. ART. II. His Britannic Majesty agrees to cede in full Sovereignty the Island of Banca, in the Eastern Seas, to the Prince Sovereign of the Netherlands, in exchange for the Settlement of Cochin and its dependencies on the coast of Malabar, which is to remain in full Sovereignty to His Britannic Majesty. See 1st Additional Article; and Convention between Great Britain and Netherlands of 12th August, 1815. [Dutch Colonies.] Surrender of Places and Forts. ART. III. The Places and Forts in the Colonies and Settlements which by virtue of the two preceding Articles are to be ceded and exchanged by the two High Contracting Parties, shall be given up in the state in which they may be at the moment of the signature of the present Convention. Commerce, &c., of the Dutch within British Dominions in India placed on footing of the most favoured Nation. ART. IV. His Britannic Majesty guarantees to the Subjects of His Royal Highness the Prince Sovereign of the United Netherlands, the same facilities, privileges, and protection with respect to Commerce, and the security of their Property and Persons, within the limits of the British sovereignty on the Continent of India, as are now or shall be granted to the most favoured Nations. No Fortifications to be erected by the Dutch. Number of Troops to be limited in Colonies restored. His Royal Highness the Prince Sovereign, on his part, having nothing more at heart than the perpetual duration of Peace between the Crown of England and the United Netherlands, and wishing to do his utmost to avoid anything which might affect their mutual good understanding, engages not to erect any Fortifications in the Establishments which are to be restored to him within the limits of the British Sovereignty upon the Continent of India, and only to place in those Establishments the number of troops necessary for the maintenance of the police. Periods of Cession. ART. V. Those Colonies, Factories, and Establishments which are to be ceded to His Royal Highness the Sovereign Prince of the United Netherlands by His Britannic Majesty, in the seas or on the continent of America, shall be given up within three months, and those which are beyond the Cape of Good Hope within the six months which follow the ratification of the present Convention. Security of Persons and Property in Countries ceded and restored. ART. VI. The High Contracting Parties, desirous to bury in entire oblivion the dissensions which have agitated Europe, declare and promise that no individual, of whatever rank or condition he may be, in the countries restored and ceded by the present Treaty, [Dutch Colonies.] shall be prosecuted, disturbed, or molested in his person or property, under any pretext whatever, either on account of his conduct or political opinions, his attachment either to any of the Contracting Parties, or to any Government which has ceased to exist, or for any other reason except for Debts contracted towards individuals, or acts posterior to the date of the present Treaty. Right of Emigration. ART. VII. The native inhabitants and aliens, of whatever nation or condition they may be, in those countries which are to change Sovereigns, as well in virtue of the present Convention as of subsequent arrangements to which it may give rise, shall be allowed a period of six years, reckoning from the exchange of the ratifications, for the purpose of disposing of their property, if they think fit, whether it be acquired before or during the late war, and of retiring to whatever Country they may choose. Abolition of Slave Trade. ART. VIII. The Prince Sovereign of the United Netherlands, anxious to co-operate, in the most effectual manner, with His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, so as to bring about the total abolition of the Trade in Slaves on the Coast of Africa, and having spontaneously issued a Decree on the 15th June, 1814, wherein it is enjoined that no ships or vessels whatever, destined for the Trade in Slaves, be cleared out or equipped in any of the harbours or places of his dominions, nor admitted to the forts or possessions on the coast of Guinea, and that no inhabitants of that country shall be sold or exposed as Slaves,-does moreover hereby engage to prohibit all his subjects in the most effectual manner and by the most solemn laws, from taking any share whatsoever in such inhuman traffic. Ratifications. ART. IX. The present Convention shall be ratified, and the Ratifications shall be duly exchanged at London within three weeks from the date hereof, or sooner if possible. In witness whereof, we the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, in virtue of our respective Full Powers, have signed the present Convention, and have affixed thereto the Seal of our Arms. Done at London, this 13th day of August, 1814. (L.S.) CASTLEREAGH. (L.S.) H. FAGEL. |