tained-a military fugitive, he will have to be tried by the military courts at home for the extraditable offense. Ormai, however, will not be prosecuted on the charge of desertion. Begging your excellency to take notice of the foregoing and kindly to acquaint the United States commissioner at Cleveland therewith, I renew, etc., HENGELMÜLLER. The Secretary of State to the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador. No. 661.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, April 17, 1911. EXCELLENCY: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 11th instant, in which, with reference to the Department's notes of October 8 and October 26 last, respectively, in the matter of the extradition of one Moritz Ormai, charged with forgery in Austria-Hungary, you advise me that, inasmuch as Ormai is a military fugitive, he must be tried by the military courts. In reply I have the honor to say that the Department understands from your note that Ormai will not be prosecuted on the charge of desertion, but will be tried for the offense for which this Government granted his surrender, namely, forgery. It is assumed that, if the occasion should arise in the future, the Government of Austria-Hungary will offer no objection to the trial before the military courts of the United States of a fugitive surrendered by that Government to the Government of the United States. Accept, etc., P. C. KNOX. The Austro-Hungarian Ambassador to the Secretary State. No. 1260.] [Translation.] AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMBASSY, YOUR EXCELLENCY: I have received your excellency's communication No. 661 of the 17th instant, relating to the Moritz Ormai extradition case, and I have the honor, by authorization, to state in reference to the final sentence thereof that the Austrian and Hungarian Government will also agree to the surrender, if a case arises, of fugitives extradited on account of crimes to the regular American military courts provided the latter have jurisdiction according to the American regulations to try the parties concerned. I avail, etc., HENGELMÜLLER. BELGIUM. RECOGNITION BY BELGIUM OF AMERICAN VICE AND DEPUTY CONSUL GENERAL AT BOMA, KONGO. File No. 125.2178/8. No. 115.] The American Minister to the Secretary of State. AMERICAN LEGATION, Brussells, March 2, 1911. SIR: I have the honor to report that complying with the Department's instruction No. 80 of December 3 last, I duly applied to the foreign office for the recognition of Mr. Charles C. Broy as American vice and deputy consul general at Boma, Congo. In reply I received notice of the formal recognition of Mr. Broy in the capacity named. I herewith transmit a copy of a note1 from the minister for foreign affairs which accompanied the authorization. I have, etc., CHARLES PAGE BRYAN. The Acting Secretary of State to the American Minister. No. 89.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, March 22, 1911. SIR: The Department is in receipt of your No. 115 of the 2d instant, relative to the recognition by the Belgian Government of Mr. Charles C. Broy as American vice and deputy consul general at Boma, and the present attitude of the United States toward the Congo. In instructing you to apply to the Belgian foreign office for the recognition of Mr. Broy, the Department was simply carrying out the rule and custom of asking consular recognition by the de facto authorities, it not being a question of de jure determination. I am, etc., HUNTINGTON WILSON. MERGING OF THE CONSULAR REPRESENTATION OF THE KONGO STATE WITH THE CONSULAR REPRESENTATION OF BELGIUM. File No. 702.5511-30. No. 64.] The Belgian Minister to the Secretary of State. BELGIAN LEGATION, Washington, January 23, 1911. SIR: I have the honor to inform you that the consular representation of the Congo State having been merged with the consular representation of Belgium, the functions of the consul general of the ■ Not printed. Congo to the United States, formerly held by Mr. James Gustavus Whiteley, have been discontinued and that the affairs that were handled by that consulate general are now and will hereafter be conducted through the consular representatives of Belgium in the United States. Accept, etc., CT. CONRAD DE BUISSERET. MARITIME LAW-SALVAGE-COLLISIONS THIRD INTERNA File No. 585.7A2/262. The American Delegates to the Third International Conference on Maritime Law to the Secretary of State. RICHMOND, VA., February 14, 1911. SIR: I have the honor to inclose the report of the American delegates upon the convention relating to salvage adopted by the Third International Conference on Maritime Law on September 23, 1910.* I have, etc., A. J. MONTAGUE. [Inclosure.] REPORT OF THE AMERICAN DELEGATION ON THE CONVENTION RELATING To Salvage. To the honorable the Secretary of State: The delegates of the United States designated to attend the reconvening of the Third International Conference on Maritime Law at Brussels on September 12, 1910, have the honor to report: In accordance with our instructions from the Department of State, we attended and participated in the sessions and deliberations of the reconvened conference. Mr. Gaston de Leval, the Belgian advocate who assisted us at the last session, again aided us as counsel, and we desire to express our appreciation of his services. At the opening of the conference we stated that we were authorized to sign the convention relating to collisions with certain reservations and that we were authorized to sign without reservations the convention relating to salvage. At the same time we stated that under the Constitution of the United States of America no treaty can become effective until approved by the Senate. On September 23, 1910, we signed the convention relating to the law of salvage, making one reservation as follows: The Government of the United States of America declares that it reserves the right to adhere to said convention and to denounce it for the insular possessions of the United States of America. Annexed hereto is a translation of the convention, which is identical with that adopted by the British delegates. No official translation of the convention was made or authorized by the conference. The convention on salvage makes few changes in our own or the British law except that article 5 provides that "remuneration is due notwithstanding that the salvage services have been rendered by or to vessels belonging to the same owner." This provision will permit the officers and crew of a salving vessel to 1 See Foreign Relations, 1910, p. 105, for the instructions of the Secretary of State to the American delegation. For date of original report see, below, the letter of Charles C. Burlingham, transmitting the Report on Collisions. The translation printed below contains some modifications recommended by Mr. Martin, one of the translators of the Department of State. recover for their services notwithstanding identity of ownership. It will also affect the right of subrogation of underwriters. The provision would, of course, apply only in a limited number of cases; but we deemed the provision just and unobjectionable. Article 9 contains a reasonable provision for salvors of human life, limiting the recovery, however, to cases where property also has been salved. Article 10 prescribes a limitation period of two years for bringing suits for salvage. Awaiting your further instructions, we have the honor to be, sir, Your obedient servants, [Not dated.] WALTER C. NOYES. EDWIN W. SMITH, A. J. MONTAGUE. CONVENTION FOR THE UNIFICATION OF CERTAIN RULES OF LAW IN REGARD TO ASSISTance and Salvage at Sea. [Translation from French.] ARTICLE 1. Assistance and salvage of seagoing vessels in danger of any things on board, of freight and passage money, and also services of the same nature rendered to each other by seagoing vessels and vessels of inland navigation are subject to the following provisions, without any distinction being drawn between the two kinds of service and in whatever waters the services have been rendered. ARTICLE 2. Every act of assistance or salvage which has had a useful result gives a right to equitable remuneration. No remuneration is due if the services rendered have no beneficial result. ARTICLE 3. Persons who have taken part in salvage operations, notwithstanding the express and reasonable prohibition on the part of the vessel to which services were rendered, have no right to any remuneration. ARTICLE 4. A tug has no right to remuneration for assistance to or salvage of the vessel she is towing or of the vessel's cargo except where she has rendered exceptional services which can not be considered as rendered in fulfilment of the contract of towage. ARTICLE 5. Remuneration is due notwithstanding that the salvage services have been rendered by or to vessels belonging to the same owner. ARTICLE 6. The amount of remuneration is fixed by agreement between the parties and, failing agreement, by the court. The proportion in which the remuneration is to be distributed among the salvors is fixed in the same manner. The apportionment of the remuneration among the owner, master, and other persons in the service of each salving vessel is determined by the law of the vessel's flag. ARTICLE 7. Every agreement as to assistance or salvage entered into at the moment and under the influence of danger can, at the request of either party, be annulled or modified by the court if it considers that the conditions agreed upon are not equitable. In all cases, when it is proved that the consent of one of the parties is vitiated by fraud or concealment, or when the remuneration is, in proportion to the serv44773°-FR 1911-7 ices rendered, in an excessive degree too large or too small, the agreement may be annulled or modified by the court at the request of the party affected. ARTICLE 8. The remuneration is fixed by the court, according to the circumstances of each case, on the basis of the following considerations: (a) First, the measure of success obtained, the efforts and the deserts of the salvors, the danger run by the salved vessel, by her passengers, crew, and cargo, by the salvors and by the salving vessel, the time expended, the expenses incurred and losses suffered, and the risks of liability and other risks run by the salvors, and also the value of the property exposed to such risks, due regard being had, the case arising, to the special adaptation of the salvor's vessel; (b) second, the value of the property salved. The same provisions apply to the apportionment provided for by the second paragraph of article 6. The court may reduce or deny remuneration if it appears that the salvors have by their fault rendered the salvage or assistance necessary, or have been guilty of theft, receiving stolen goods, or other acts of fraud. ARTICLE 9. No remuneration is due from the persons whose lives are saved, but nothing in this article shall affect the provisions of the national laws on this subject. Salvors of human life who have taken part in the services rendered on the occasion of the accident, giving rise to salvage or assistance, are entitled to a fair share of the remuneration awarded to the salvors of the vessel, her cargo, and accessories. ARTICLE 10. A salvage action is barred after an interval of two years from the day on which the operations of assistance or salvage are terminated. The grounds upon which the said period of limitation may be suspended or interrupted are determined by the law of the court where the case is tried. The high contracting parties reserve to themselves the right to provide by legislation in their respective countries that the said periods shall be extended in cases where it has not been possible to arrest the vessel assisted or salved in the territorial waters of the State in which the plaintiff has his domicile or principal place of business. ARTICLE 11. Every master is bound, so far as he can do so without serious danger to his vessel, her crew, and passengers, to render assistance to everybody, even though an enemy, found at sea in danger of being lost. The owner of the vessel incurs no liability by reason of contravention of the foregoing provision. ARTICLE 12. The high contracting parties whose legislation does not forbid infringements of the preceding article bind themselves to take or to propose to their respective legislatures the measures necessary for the prevention of such infringements. The high contracting parties will communicate to one another, as soon as possible, the laws or regulations which have already been or may be hereafter promulgated in their States for the purpose of giving effect to the above undertakings. ARTICLE 13. The convention does not affect the provisions of national laws or international treaties as regards the organization of services of assistance and salvage by or under the control of public authorities, nor, in particular, does it affect such laws or treaties on the subject of the salvage of fishing gear. ARTICLE 14. This convention does not apply to ships of war or to Government ships appropriated exclusively to a public service. ARTICLE 15. The provisions of this convention shall be applied as regards all persons interested when either the assisting or salving vessel or the vessel assisted or salved |