Every facility will be given for the passage of employees of the Hedjaz Railway over the British and French Mandatory areas in order that the working of the said railway may be in no way prejudiced.

The French and British Governments agree, where necessary, and in eventual agreement with the local Governments, to conclude an arrangement whereby the stores and railway material passing from one Mandatory area to another and intended for the use of the Hedjaz Railway will not for this reason be submitted to any additional Customs dues and will be exempted so far as possible from Customs formalities.

VIII. Experts nominated respectively by the Administrations of Syria and Palestine shall examine in common within six months after the signature of the present Convention the employment, for the purposes of irrigation and the production of hydro-electric power, of the waters of the Upper Jordan and the Yarmuk and of their tributaries, after satisfaction of the needs of the territories under the French Mandate.

In

connection with this examination, the French Government will give its representatives the most liberal instructions for the employment of the surplus of these waters for the benefit of Palestine.

In the event of no agreement being reached as a result of this examination, these questions shall be referred to the French and British Governments for decision.

To the extent to which the contemplated works are to benefit Palestine, the Administration of Palestine shall defray the expenses of the construction of all canals, weirs, dams, tunnels, pipe-lines and reservoirs or other works of a similar nature, or measures taken with the object of re-afforestation and the management of forests.

IX. Subject to the provisions of Articles XV and XVI of the Mandate for Palestine, of Articles VIII and X of the Mandate for Mesopotamia, and of Article VIII of the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, and subject also to the general right of control in relation to education and public instruction, of the local Administrations concerned, the British and French Governments agree to allow the schools which French and British nationals possess and direct at the present moment in their respective Mandatory areas to continue their work freely; the teaching of French and English will be freely permitted in these schools.

The present article does not in any way imply the right of nationals of either of the two parties to open new schools in the Mandatory area of the other.

The present Convention has been drawn up in English and French, each of the two texts having equal force.

Done at Paris, the 23rd December, 1920, in a double copy, one of which will remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the French Republic, and the other in those of the Government of His Britannic Majesty.

(L.S.) HARDINGE OF PENSHURST. (L.S.) G. LEYGUES.

AGREEMENT between Great Britain and Germany respecting Article 297 (Property, Rights and Interests) of the Treaty of Versailles, June 28, 1919.-London, December 31, 1920.*

[Ratifications exchanged at London, October 6, 1921.]

THE Government of His Britannic Majesty and the German Government, with a view to the settlement of certain matters arising under Article 297 of the Treaty of Peace between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany, signed at Versailles on the 28th June, 1919, have agreed as follows:

ART. I. The Departments established in the United Kingdom and Germany for the settlement of matters relating to property, rights and interests will mutually appoint a representative or representatives in Berlin and London, through whose intervention communications may be exchanged between the respective Departments. These representatives will constitute in London and Berlin respectively offices which shall be established at the earliest possible date.

II. Property, rights and interests in Germany of British nationals which have been subjected to exceptional war measures, but have not been completely liquidated, shall be restored to them immediately upon application, in accordance with the provisions of Article 297 (a), free of any private lien in respect of any of the matters referred to in Article IV, or of any costs, charges or expenses of liquidation, administration or supervision, or any deduction whatsoever. The right of private persons to make such claims in respect of maintenance, safe-keeping, or administration as are provided for under Article IV is, however, recognised. This application may be made by the owner or his agent direct to the Landeszentralbehörde concerned, or, if it is not known in what part of Germany "Treaty Series, No. 26 (1921)." Signed also in the German language. + Vol. CXII, page 146.

the property is situated, to the "Reichsministerium für Wiederaufbau.” It shall be in writing and shall be signed by the applicant, whose signature shall be duly authenticated, and, if the applicant is the agent of the owner, it shall be accompanied by duly authenticated proof of his authorisation. It shall state

(1.) The name and address of the owner.

(2.) The name of his agent (if any) and the address at which the property, rights or interests, or the documents of title shall be delivered.

(3.) A list, as complete as possible, of the property, rights and interests to be restored. If this list cannot be made complete by the owner, it shall be completed by the German authorities from the information in their possession.

(4.) A detailed statement as to the locality where the property to be restored was left by the owner, or, in the case of real property or business undertakings, a statement of the locality in which such property or undertakings was situated.

Applications should be signed by the applicant, under whose signature a Justice of the Peace, Barrister or Commissioner for Oaths should certify

(a.) That the applicant is well known to him.

(b.) That the signature is the signature of the applicant. The person so certifying shall give his description and address.

Such a certificate shall be regarded as sufficient proof of the authenticity of the applicant's signature.

Alternatively, the application shall be accompanied by a statutory declaration, declared before a Justice of the Peace or a Commissioner for Oaths by the applicant, to the effect that he is the owner of the property in question. In any special case, such as that of inheritance, in which the ownership of the property has been altered since the taking effect of the exceptional war measure, the German authority shall, in addition to the certified application, be entitled to call for production of a statutory declaration setting out the title to the property of the claimant.

III. Where any prohibition or restriction exists upon the exportation from Germany of British property detained in Germany during the war, a licence to export such property, free of all conditions, shall be issued by the competent German authority immediately upon application by the British Office through the "Reichsministerium für Wiederaufbau."

IV. Claims by private persons in respect of expenses incurred in maintenance, safe-keeping and administration of British property in Germany will be settled in the following ways the property in question shall be restored immediately

upon application by the owner, free of any private lien in connection with such expenses.

(a.) In the case of claims constituting debts within the scope of the Clearing Office, the British Clearing Office will guarantee to credit to the German Clearing Office such sums as may be admitted or found due, without taking advantage of the exceptions contained in paragraph (b) of Article 296 and paragraph 4 of the Annex thereto.

(b.) Claims in respect of the period up to the 10th January, 1920, not falling within the scope of the Clearing Offices will be met by the German Government. under paragraph (1) of Article 297. Any amounts admitted or found due from British nationals by the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal, to whose decision they shall in case of dispute be submitted, in respect of such claims will be credited to the German Government in the account relating to German property, rights and interests.

(c) Claims in respect of the period after the 10th January, 1920, if not admitted by the owner, will be submitted for decision to the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal, and the British Clearing Office will guarantee payment of any amounts admitted or found due from British nationals by the Tribunal.

The obligation of the German Government under Article II and the present article to restore property free of any private lien shall not apply to any property in respect of which the British Office declines to apply the provisions of the present article.

V. A statement of the condition of the property, rights or interests restored shall be drawn up in writing in quadruplicate at the time of restitution and signed by the German Administrator, Liquidator or Supervisor (as the case may be), a representative of the German State Department ("Landeszentralbehörde ") and the owner; one copy to be retained by the owner, one by the State Department, one by the Administrator, Liquidator or Supervisor, and one to be transmitted by the State Department to the British Office in Berlin.

VI. Without prejudice to the rights of His Majesty's Government or the owner under paragraphs 8 and 13 of the Annex to Section 4 of Part X of the Treaty of Versailles, delivery of the documents referred to under Article 13 of the Annex relating to property, rights and interests falling within Article 297 (a) shall not ordinarily be required until the restitution of the property, rights or interests. Nevertheless, the final report of the Liquidator, Administrator or Supervisor and any further summary information required by the owner shall be handed or sent to him at his

request at any time, whether before or after application for restitution, and he shall be given free access to all the documents referred to above. Where property has been completely liquidated all the documents shall be handed to the British national concerned, or to his representative, or if so desired by him, sent to him or to such person as he may direct, at his expense and risk immediately upon his application by the Landeszentralbehörde, or the Reichsministerium.

VII. In all relations with the German authorities under the preceding articles, British nationals may act personally or through the British Clearing Office or other authorised agent. If the British Clearing Office is appointed agent to act on behalf of a British national, it shall furnish the German Office with a certificate to that effect. Delivery to the British Clearing Office or other authorised agent shall be equivalent to delivery to the owner.

VIII. In so far as it is not otherwise expressly agreed by the claimant, the signature by the claimant or his agent to any kind of document in connection with the restitution to him direct of his property, rights or interests, whether affixed before or after the signing of this Agreement, shall in no way prejudice any right to compensation which the claimant may have under the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.

IX. Any entries in Public Registers and Land Registers necessary in order to effect, complete or validate the restitution of property, rights or interests referred to in this Agreement to the British national concerned, will be made by the German authorities without delay and free of cost, in accordance with the provisions of the local law.

X. Claims by British nationals for compensation under Article 297 (e) may, notwithstanding their notification to the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal, be submitted through the British Office in Berlin to the German authorities concerned for the purpose of effecting settlement of the claims by agreement, and the State Department concerned may transmit to the British Office the terms of settlement proposed by them in respect of any claim. If a settlement is arrived at as a result of negotiations thus originated, the German Government shall transmit to the British Office in Berlin a consent to such settlement, which shall be submitted to the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal for formal judgment.

XI. The British Government will be prepared, on application through the German Office in London, to release from the charge established under the Treaty of Peace household furniture and effects, personal belongings and family souvenirs, and implements of trade belonging to