in a friendly spirit, and endeavour to finally remove the causes thereof in a manner that shall be satisfactory to the traders who frequent the river, and the native merchants. Any settlement so made to be submitted to Her Britannic Majesty's Consul, and if approved and ratified by him, to become a law of trade, and binding equally with the Articles of this Treaty.

XVII. That in the event of any sericus dispute arising between the British and natives, or in the event of any crime or outrage having been committed by either party against the other, the native Chiefs on their part, and the British traders on theirs (should it be deemed necessary by the British subjects to solicit the aid of Her Britannic Majesty's Consul), agree to continue amicable relations with each other, and to avoid hostilities (unless life or the security of property be threatened or in danger), until Her Britannic Majesty's Consul or a British naval officer shall enter the river, when a fair hearing will be given to all parties concerned, a strict investigation take place, and due punishment be inflicted.

XVIII. That upon the death of any supercargo in the river, no second comey can be demanded from his successor for the ship that is left vacant by such a death; and that all trust given out by any supercargo previous to such an event shall be considered a debt to the merchants of whom he is the representative, and to be paid to whomsoever is appointed to succeed him.

XIX. That a copy of this Treaty be furnished to each Chief receiving comey, and a copy of that part referring to the pilotage to the chief pilot, the Chiefs to produce it when receiving comey, and the pilot to show it to the masters upon any vessels entering the river; and that these Articles be held to be the laws existing between British supercargoes and the natives for the regulation of trade matters, to be observed, so long as they continue law, by those who were not present at their enactment, as by those who

were.

XX. That the Chiefs and gentlemen of Brass, satisfied that payment of comey as well as the introduction of legitimate traffic to their country is sufficient compensation to them for the abandonment of the Slave Trade, hereby engage to fulfil the conditions of this Treaty, and to become severally and conjointly responsible for the due payment of all fines to which they, or any Brass subject or subjects, may become liable under its provisions.

XXI. That the Chiefs of the Bento hereby pledge themselves that no British subject shall, from the date of this, be detained on shore, maltreated, or molested in any way or under any pretence whatsoever. If any such maltreatment or molestation shall take place, the Chiefs of the Bento will incur the displeasure of Her

Majesty the Queen of England, and be declared enemies of Great Britain.

Ratified under my hand and seal, on board Her Majesty's steam sloop Merlin, lying in the Brass river, this 17th day of November,

1856.

THOS. J. HUTCHINSON, H.B.M.'s Consul for the
Bight of Biafra and the Island of Fernando Po.

Witnesses:

JOHN WHITE, Master, Lydia.

JAMES STRATTON, Master, Wm. Owen.

WILLIAM ROBINSON, Master, Severn.

THOMAS B. LEE, Secretary to H.B.M.'s Consul.

BRITISH NOTIFICATION of the Blockade of the Port and River of Canton.-London, October 13, 1857.*

Foreign Office, October 13, 1857.

Ir is hereby notified that the Right Honourable the Earl of Clarendon, Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, has received from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty a despatch from Rear-Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, K.C.B., Commanding Her Majesty's Naval Forces in China, dated from on board Her Majesty's ship the Calcutta, August 8th, 1857, stating that he had on that day established a Blockade of the port and river of Canton by a competent force under his command. And it is hereby further notified that all the measures authorised by the laws of nations and treaties will be adopted and executed with respect to all vessels which may attempt to violate the said Blockade.

* "London Gazette" of October 13, 1857.

BRITISH ORDER IN COUNCIL, additional to the Order in Council of June 13, 1853,* respecting the Government of British Subjects in China.-Windsor, February 2, 1857.†

At the Court at Windsor, the 2nd day of February, 1857.
PRESENT,

THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY IN COUNCIL.

WHEREAS, by an Order of Her Majesty in Council “for the government of Her Majesty's subjects, being within the dominions of the Emperor of China, or being within any ship or vessel at a distance of not more than a hundred miles from the coast of China," bearing date the 13th day of June, 1853, Her Majesty was pleased, amongst other things, to order that if any party charged with an offence committed against the treaties, or rules and regulations therein referred to, should escape or remove from the consular district within which such offence was committed, and should be found within another consular district, it should be lawful for the Consul within whose district the party should be found to proceed against him in the same manner as if the offence had been committed within such district: And whereas, in and by the said Order in Council, provision was nade for the manner in which British subjects, convicted of crimes and offences committed within the dominions of the Emperor of China, or being required and being unable, or wilfully omitting, to give sufficient security to keep the peace, or to find security for their good behaviour, might be sent out of the dominions of the Emperor of China to the colony of Hong Kong, and also for the manner in which the expenses of so sending such persons to the said colony of Hong Kong should be defrayed: And whereas, it is expedient to make further provision in respect of the matters aforesaid:

I. Now, therefore, in pursuance of the several Acts of Parliament in the said Order in Council of the 13th day of June, 1853, recited and referred to, and in execution of the powers thereby in Her Majesty in Council vested, Her Majesty is pleased, with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and doth hereby order, that the Chief Superintendent or Consul within whose jurisdiction any party charged with having committed any offence against such treaties, or such rules or regulations as aforesaid, and who shall have escaped or removed from the consular district within which such offence was committed, shall be found, may lawfully, if such Chief Superintendent or Consul shall think fit, cause such party to be taken into

* Vol. XLII. Page 254.
+ "London Gazette" of February 3, 1857.

custody, and sent back to the consular district from which he shall so have escaped or removed, to be there dealt with according to the provisions of the said Order in Council of the 13th day of June, 1853.

II. And it is further ordered, that all removals whatsoever of prisoners or other parties from or to the said colony of Hong Kong, or from or to any port or place in China, under the authority of the said Order in Council of the 13th day of June, 1853, shall be effected, and the expenses of all such removals shall be defrayed in like manner as by Articles XX, XXI, XXII, and XXIII, of the said Order in Council of the 13th day of June, 1853, is provided with respect to the enbarking, conveying, delivering, commitment, and expenses of persons deported under the authority of the said Articles respectively, so far as the provisions thereof respectively shall be applicable to the circumstances of each particular case.

III. And it is further ordered, that this Order shall be read and construed with and as being a part of the said Order in Council of the 13th day of June, 1853.

IV. And it is further ordered that this Order shall take effect from and after the 30th day of April, 1857.

And the Right Honourable the Earl of Clarendon, and the Right Honourable Henry Labouchere, two of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, and the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, are to give the necessary directions herein as to them may respectively appertain.

C. C. GREVILLE.

BRITISH ORDER IN COUNCIL, for the apprehending and delivering up of Seamen, Deserters from the Merchant Vessels of Morocco and Fez, in British and East Indian Ports.*-London, May 6, 1857.

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 6th day of May, 1857. PRESENT,

THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY IN COUNCIL.

WHEREAS by the "Foreign Deserters' Act, 1852," [cap. 26],† it is provided, that whenever it is made to appear to Her Majesty that due facilities are or will be given for recovering and apprehending seamen who desert from British merchant ships in the territories of any foreign power, Her Majesty may by Order in Council, stating "London Gazette" of May 8, 1857.

+ Vol. XLI. Page 680.

that such facilities are or will be given, declare that seamen, not being slaves, who desert from merchant ships belonging to a subject of such power, when within Her Majesty's dominions or the territories of the East India Company, shall be liable to be apprehended and carried on board their respective ships, and may limit the operation of such Order, and may render the operation thereof subject to such conditions and qualifications, if any, as may be deemed expedient.

And whereas it has been made to appear to Her Majesty that due facilities will be given for recovering and apprehending seamen (not being Moorish subjects), who desert from British merchant ships in the territories belonging to the Sultan of Morocco and Fez.

Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by virtue of the powers vested in Her by the said "Foreign Deserters' Act, 1852," and by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, is pleased to order and declare, and it is hereby ordered and declared, that from and after the publication hereof in the "London Gazette," seamen, not being slaves, and not being British subjects, who desert from merchant ships belonging to subjects of the Sultan of Morocco and Fez within Her Majesty's dominions, or the territories of the East India Company, shall be liable to be apprehended and carried on board the respective ships.

Provided always, that if any such deserter has committed any crime in Her Majesty's dominions, or the territories of the East Indian Company, he may be detained until he has been tried by a competent court, and until his sentence (if any) has been fully carried into effect.

And the Right Honourable the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, and the Commissioners for the affairs of India are to give the necessary directions herein accordingly.

WM. L. BATHURST.

BRITISH ORDER IN COUNCIL, containing Rules for the execution of the Convention of 1839,* and Laws for the Regulation of the Fisheries in the Seas between the British Islands and France.+-London, May 6, 1857.

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 6th day of May, 1857. PRESENT,

THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY IN COUNCIL.

WHEREAS by an Act passed in the session of Parliament held in the 6th and 7th years of the reign of her present Majesty, • Vol. XXVII. Page 983. + "London Gazette" of May 15, 1857.