Page images
PDF
EPUB

And Her Majesty the Duchess of Parma and Placentia, &c., His Excellency the Count Appony, Commander of the Imperial Order of Leopold, Imperial Chamberlain, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, at the Imperial and Royal Court of Tuscany.

Who, having reciprocally communicated their Full Powers, and found them to be in due form, have agreed, and do hereby agree, upon the following Articles:

ART. I. Individuals who are accused,-of the Crime of High Treason, Resistance to the Public Force, or of Public Outrage ;-of Homicide of whatsoever kind, except that which is accidental, or merely in self-defence ;-of Wounding, so as to endanger loss of life or limb;-of Incendiarism ;-of Falsification of Money;-of Forgery of Public Documents;-of Theft, including that of Cattle, provided the value of the Animal be not less than 200 Lire of Tuscany, or 675 Lire of Parma ;-of Highway Robbery ;-of Fraudulent Administration of the Revenues of the Prince, the Community, or the Public Establishments; and of Falsely Accusing any Person of either of the aforesaid Crimes;-and also Individuals who have been condemned for any or either of the aforesaid Crimes ;-shall not be allowed to remain, or find shelter, in either of the 2 States, but shall be arrested and consigned to the Government requiring them to be delivered up; excepting in cases in which the said accused or condemned Persons are Subjects of the Sovereign in whose State they have taken refuge, either by birth or by domicile, acquired agreeably to the Laws actually in force, in that State.

Should the Party arrested be a Subject of 1 of the 2 Sovereigns by birth, and of the other by domicile, he shall be consigned to a Prison of that State in which he shall have committed the Crime.

II. Should the Delinquent belong, either by birth or by legitimate domicile, to the Government from which he is required, and be not in the latter case a Subject by birth of the Government requiring him, he shall not be delivered up to the Government so requiring him, but shall first be tried according to the Laws of the Country, and in default of them by the Law common to both Powers.

For this purpose, the Judge within whose jurisdiction the proceedings shall have commenced, shall forward to the Judicial Authorities of the Place where the guilty Party is detained, the legal Documents relating to the Case, in order that the Trial may be concluded, according to the Regulations there existing. The Sentence shall be communicated by one Government to the other by a simple notice.

Should a case occur of an atrocious Crime, and one which seriously compromises the public tranquillity, having been committed in 1 of the 2 States, and of Subjects of both Governments being Accomplices therein, the Accused shall be delivered up to the Judge of the

Place in which the Crime has been committed, in order that they may be confronted, and undergo the examinations necessary to the complete proof of their guilt, agreeably to the measures to that effect, which shall have been previously concerted between the respective Justices; after which the Accused shall be again delivered back, in order that they may be tried in the requiring State.

III. Should any of the Delinquents have committed one or more Crimes in the State from which they are required, it shall be in the power of the Government of the said State, either to inflict upon them the merited punishment, previously to delivering them up to the State requiring them, or to forward them to that State, together with the legal Documents touching their Crimes, in order that the said Documents may enable the Tribunals of the State which required the said Criminals, to judge of the propriety of inflicting upon them a proportionate increase of punishment.

IV. The delivering up of accused or condemued Persons must always be in consequence of an Official and direct demand from one to the other Government. There must also be forwarded, together with the Accused, Copies of the Proceedings which have been had before the delivering up of the Party; but no charge shall be made, except for copying the said Documents: there shall also be sent, together with the Papers, the arms, money, and any other objects, which may have relation to, or may serve as proof of, the crime.

The arrest of the accused or condemned Individuals may be effected, upon the mere Application of a Justice of the State adjoining; especially if there should be reason to suppose that the Criminal would attempt to escape by flight ;-but, in such case, both the Subaltern Authority requiring, and the Subaltern Authority required, must immediately render an account of the arrest so effected to their respective Government.

V. The property, whether stolen or not, which, in the course of the Proceedings, shall be found to belong to a third Person, shall, after it has served the purposes of justice, be restored to its Owners, without any expenses; provided that the said Owners shall have proved their lawful right thereto, before the presiding Judge, or before the competent Judge of the place of their residence, and have obtained his Order to that effect.

The property immediately belonging to Malefactors, or which shall be found upon them, shall be disposed of according to the Laws of the State in which the execution of the sentence shall take place.

VI. The Government, which, conformably to the present Convention, shall be lawfully required to deliver up any condemned Person or Delinquent, shall not have the power to grant him a pardon, safe conduct, or impunity; excepting only such safe conduct as may be necessary for obtaining proof of other Crimes, according to the rules and practice in all criminal cases; which safe conduct, however, and other documents

which may, for any other purpose, have been granted to the Criminal, shall be withdrawn, and become null and void, upon a formal requisition to that effect from the other Government.

Should the delivering up of the Criminal not take place, owing to his being included in I of the cases contemplated in Article II., no pardon or impunity can be granted to him, except with the knowledge and consent of the other Government.

VII. Should one of the Contracting Parties require from the other the delivering up of Individuals who, being neither Subjects of the State so required, nor permanently domiciled therein, have been guilty of Crimes which have not been committed in either of the 2 States, but against which Crimes the State so requiring has occasion to proceed, the required State is at liberty to comply with or to refuse the said demand, regard being had to any Treaties existing with other States upon this subject, as well as to the nature and circumstances of the Crime itself.

VIII. The Expense incurred for the maintenance of Criminals, from the time of their arrest to that of their being delivered up, shall be at the charge of the requiring Government, and shall be regulated upon the same footing as that existing for those detained in the required State; excepting such greater Expenses as the condition and circumstances of the Individuals arrested, or other causes, may render necessary, of which, as well as of the Expenses for Copies of the Proceedings, a particular Account shall be exhibited and settled between the 2 Governments every 6 months.

IX. Any Person belonging to either of the respective States, who shall knowingly harbour, assist, or favour, any Individual or Individuals, accused or convicted of any of the Crimes enumerated in Article I, shall incur the penalties imposed by the Laws of the Place, with respect to the harbouring or assisting Banditti; with the exceptions reserved by the said Laws, in favour of Persons united by blood, according to the degrees of kindred, or other circumstances of the case.

X. The Public Force of either State, employed or dispatched in search of a Delinquent, must stop at the Frontiers of the other State; and shall not cause the Party to be pursued within the Dominions of the other, until 1, or, at most, 2 Individuals, provided with a proper Warrant, shall have proceeded to the nearest Town, there to claim the assistance of the Civil and Military Authorities, who must lend every aid in their power for discovering the Individual so pursued, and for causing him to be arrested without delay. The Party, when arrested, must be conveyed to a Prison of one of the Tribunals of the State, the arrest being immediately followed by the steps agreed upon between the 2 Governments, which must of necessity precede the delivering up of the Party; and such delivery shall be effected at no other place than at some point upon the Frontiers.

XI. As it may sometimes occur that 1 or more Criminals may flee from one State and enter the Military Service of the other, with the view of eluding the effect of the present Convention; it is agreed that, in such cases, they shall be handed over to the Government requiring them, which, on its part, shall return the amount of the Enlistment Money which the Delinquent may have received.

XII. The Justices and other Magistrates of the respective Dominions, more especially those who are resident near the Frontiers, shall be ordered to keep a vigilant watch over all idle Persons, Vagabonds, and Foreigners, and to adopt the necessary measures, according to the nature of each case, in order to enforce the due execution of the Laws made and provided for that object.

In like manner, the Judges and Tribunals of both Territories, within whose jurisdiction may be found accused or convicted Persons, coming under the provisions of the present Convention, shall be directed to use all possible diligence, and adopt the most efficacious means, to cause them to be arrested; and to proceed without delay to obtain the necessary information, by the examination of the Witnesses, and other proofs which may further the ends of penal justice, in order to furnish full Instructions for the Proceedings to be instituted before the respective Judges and Tribunals.

XIII. The present Convention shall be published in both Dominions, so soon as the exchange of the Ratifications shall have been effected, and shall be in force, even for all Crimes committed anterior to the same, after the term of 15 days from the day on which the said exchange shall take place.

It shall continue in force for 5 years, after the expiration of which time, it may be renewed every 5 years, unless a Declaration to the contrary be made by either of the 2 Governments.

In faith whereof, the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the present, and have affixed thereunto the Seal of their Arms.

Florence, the 2nd of August, 1817.

(L. S.) V. FOSSOMBRONI.

(L. S.) COUNT A. APPONY.

NOTE of the Plenipotentiaries of Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia, to the French Government, relative to the Diminution of the Allied Army of Occupation in France. --Paris, 10th February, 1817.

Les Plénipotentiaires des Cours d'Autriche, d'Angleterre, de Prusse et de Russie, à Paris, au Gouvernement Français, relative à la Diminution de l'Armée d'Occupation en France.

Paris, le 10 Février, 1817. LES Cours d'Autriche, d'Angleterre, de Prusse et de Russie, ayant

pris en considération le désir manifesté par Sa Majesté Très Chrétienne, de voir diminuer le nombre de l'Armée d'Occupation, et proportionellement celui des charges que sa présence sur le Territoire Français exige, ont autorisé les Soussignés à faire à Son Excellence M. le Duc de Richelieu, Président du Conseil des Ministres et Secrétaire d'Etat au Département des Affaires Etrangères, la Communication suivante :

Au moment où le Roi, rétabli sur son Trône et mis en possession de son autorité légitime et constitutionnelle, chercha, de concert avec les autres Puissances, les moyens les plus efficaces de consolider l'ordre intérieur en France, et d'associer son Royaume au système de bonne intelligence et de pacification générale interrompue par les troubles qu'on venait à peine d'arrêter, il fut reconnu que la présence temporaire d'une Armée Alliée était absolument nécessaire, soit pour rassurer l'Europe contre les suites des agitations qui menaçaient de se renouveler, soit pour offrir à l'Autorité Royale l'occasion d'exercer dans le calme son influence bienfaisante, et de se fortifier par l'attachement et la soumission de tous les Français.

La sollicitude de Sa Majesté Très Chrétienne à rendre cet expédient indispensable le moins onéreux à ses Sujets, et la sagesse qui dirigea les Souverains Alliés dans tous les arrangemens qui furent stipulés à cette époque, les portèrent à prévoir, d'un commun accord, le cas où la diminution de l'Armée d'Occupation pourrait avoir lieu sans affaiblir les motifs, ou nuire aux grands intérêts, qui en avoient rendu la présence nécessaire.

Ces conditions, les Soussignés aiment à les rappeler avec une vraie satisfaction elles consistaient dans l'affermissement de la Dynastie légitime, et dans le succès des efforts et des soins de Sa Majesté Très Chrétienne pour comprimer les factions, dissiper les erreurs, calmer les passions, et réunir tous les Français autour du Trône par les mêmes vœux et les mêmes intérêts.

Ce grand résultat, désiré et réclamé par l'Europe entière, ne pourrait être ni l'ouvrage d'un moment, ni l'effet d'une seule tentative. Les Puissances Alliées ont vu avec une attention suivie, mais non pas avec étonnement, les divergences d'opinions qui ont existé sur le mode de l'obtenir dans cette attitude, elles ont attendu de la haute sagesse du Roi les mesures propres à fixer les incertitudes, et à imprimer à son administration une marche ferme et régulière, ne doutant pas qu'il sût allier, avec la dignité du Trone et les droits de sa Couronne, cette magnanimité qui, après les discordes civiles, rassure et encourage les faibles, et par une confiance éclairée excite le zèle de tous les autres.

Une heureuse expérience ayant déjà rempli, autant que la nature des choses pourrait le permettre, l'espoir de l'Europe à ce sujet, les Souverains Alliés, jaloux de contribuer à ce grand ouvrage, et de faire jouir la Nation de tous les biens que les efforts et la sagesse de son Roi lui préparent, n'hésitent nullement à regarder l'état actuel des affaires comme suffisant pour fixer la question qu'ils ont été appelés à décider.

[ocr errors]
« PreviousContinue »