ARTICLE VI.

The contracting parties in this convention engage to invite every state with which both or either have friendly intercourse to enter into stipulations with them similar to those which they have entered into with each other, to the end that all other states may share in the honor and advantage of having contributed to a work of such general interest and importance as the canal herein contemplated. And the contracting parties likewise agree that each shall enter into treaty stipulations with such of the Central American States as they may deem advisable, for the purpose of more effectually carrying out the great design of this convention, namely, that of constructing and maintaining the said canal as a ship communication between the two oceans for the benefit of mankind, on equal terms to all, and of protecting the same; and they also agree, that the good offices of either shall be employed, when requested by the other, in aiding and assisting the negotiation of such treaty stipulations; and should any differences arise as to right or property over the territory through which the said canal shall pass between the states or governments of Central America, and such differences should in any way impede or obstruct the execution of the said canal, the Governments of the United States and Great Britain will use their good offices to settle such differences in the manner best suited to promote the interests of the said canal, and to strengthen the bonds of friendship and alliance which exist between the contracting parties.

ARTICLE VII.

It being desirable that no time should be unnecessarily lost in commencing and constructing the said canal, the Governments of the United States and Great Britain determine to give their support and encouragement to such persons or company as may first offer to commence the same, with the necessary capital, the consent of the local authorities, and on such principles as accord with the spirit and intention of this convention; and if any persons or company should already have, with any state through which the proposed ship canal may pass, a contract for the construction of such a canal as that specified in this convention, to the stipulations of which contract neither of the contracting parties in this convention have any just cause to object, and the said persons or company shall moreover have made preparations, and expended time, money, and trouble, on the faith of such contract, it is hereby agreed that such persons or company shall have a priority of claim over every other person, persons, or company to the protection of the Governments of the United States and Great Britain, and be allowed a year from the date of the exchange of the ratifications of this convention for concluding their arrangements, and presenting evidence of sufficient capital subscribed to accomplish the contemplated undertaking; it being understood that if, at the expiration of the aforesaid period, such persons or company be not able to commence and carry out the proposed enterprise, then the Governments of the United States and Great Britain shall be free to afford their protection to any other persons or company that shall be prepared to commence and proceed with the construction of the canal in question.

ARTICLE VIII.

The Governments of the United States and Great Britain having not only desired, in entering into this convention, to accomplish a particular object, but also to establish a general principle, they hereby agree to

extend their protection, by treaty stipulations, to any other practicable communications, whether by canal or railway, across the isthmus which connects North and South America, and especially to the interoceanic communications, should the same prove to be practicable, whether by canal or railway, which are now proposed to be established by the way of Tehuantepec or Panama. In granting, however, their joint protection to any such canals or railways as are by this article specified, it is always understood by the United States and Great Britain that the parties constructing or owning the same shall impose no other charges or conditions of traffic thereupon than the aforesaid Governments shall approve of as just and equitable; and that the same canals or railways, being open to the citizens and subjects of the United States and Great Britain on equal terms, shall also be open on like terms to the citizens and subjects of every other state which is willing to grant thereto such protection as the United States and Great Britain engage to afford.

ARTICLE IX.

The ratifications of this convention shall be exchanged at Washington within six months from this day, or sooner if possible.

In faith whereof we, the respective plenipotentiaries, have signed this convention, and have hereunto affixed our seals.

Done at Washington, the nineteenth day of April, anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and fifty. JOHN M. CLAYTON. [L. S.] HENRY LYTTON BULWER. L. S.

TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA PROVIDING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN INTEROCEANIC CANAL ACROSS THE TERRITORY OF NICARAGUA.

The United States of America and the Republic of Nicaragua recognizing the importance of an interoceanic communication across the isthmus at Nicaragua which shall bring into close communication the ports of North and South America, and shall facilitate commerce between Europe and the ports of the Pacific, between the eastern ports of Asia and the Atlantic seaboard, and the ports of the United States on the Pacific and Atlantic, have agreed for this purpose to build a canal, and to that end to conclude a treaty, and have accordingly named as their respective plenipotentiaries the President of the United States, Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, Secretary of State of the United States of America, and the President of Nicaragua, General Joaquin Zavala, ex-President of the Republic of Nicaragua, who, after communicating to each other their full powers, found in due and proper form, have agreed upon the following articles:

ARTICLE I. The canal shall be built by the United States of America and owned by them and the Republic of Nicaragua, and managed as hereinafter provided.

ARTICLE II. There shall be perpetual alliance between the United States of America and the Republic of Nicaragua, and the former agree to protect the integrity of the territory of the latter.

AFTICLE III. A practicable ship-canal for vessels of the largest size

now commonly used in commerce shall be commenced by the United States and be prosecuted to as speedy conclusion as circumstances may permit, subject to the limitation provided in Article XX of this convention. This canal shall follow what may be decided to be the most available route from ocean to ocean; and the United States in building the canal shall enjoy the fullest liberty in its construction, and in its location, and that of its dependencies, accessories, and works, as well as in the selection of entrance ports.

Should it be found necessary or desirable to leave the bed of the San Juan River at any point and to construct a lateral canal the Government of Nicaragua reserves the right to require the establishment of a lock communication for vessels of 6 feet draft and 160 feet length, between the lower part of the river and that part used for the canal; but the Government of Nicaragua will advise the United States of its wishes in this regard so soon as work shall be begun in the river, and it is expressly stipulated that Nicaragua alone shall be responsible for the maintenance and operation of this communication, and for the navigable condition of the lower river.

ARTICLE IV. For the purpose of carrying out this agreement the Republic of Nicaragua agrees to give the United States free use of Lake Nicaragua, to furnish, free of cost, all the spaces necessary to the construction, maintenance, use, and enjoyment of the canal, and for any probable future enlargement thereof, whether these spaces be upon the dry land, in the lakes and upon their islands, in the rivers and upon their islands, or at the ports and roadsteads of the two oceans, together with their surroundings and declivities, and all the spaces required for the deposit of materials from excavations and cuttings, from the overflow arising from dams in the rivers, for all deviations of streams from their channels, as well as for reservoirs, dykes, piers, docks, spaces about locks, for lights, beacons, storehouses, machine shops, buildings, and for whatever other thing necessary, and in short, all lands, waters, and places within the Republic of Nicaragua required for the construction, maintenance, use, and business of the canal, including a railway, from one terminus of the canal to the other, substantially parallel to and near the bank of the canal and along the southern shore of Lake Nicaragua, together with a telegraph line, should the United States decide to construct either said railway or telegraph line, or both, which shall be regarded for all purposes of this treaty as part of the canal so long as they are maintained.

ARTICLE V. The work shall be declared one of public utility, and for the purposes of building and operating the canal, railway, and telegraph line, the Republic of Nicaragua undertakes to expropriate lands belonging to individuals. Any private property and real estate actually held by individuals or corporations which shall be taken or used by the United States for the construction of the canal or its accessories, or for their maintenance, shall be so taken upon condemnation and appraisement of the value of such property, and the Government of the United States will pay to the owners thereof the value fixed by a commission of assessors comprising three members, one of whom shall be appointed by the President of the United States, one by the President of Nicaragua, and the third to be chosen by these two jointly.

The United States or the board of managers hereafter provided for, as the case may be, shall have the right to take from the public lands of Nicaragua any materials whatever needed for the construction, preservation, maintenance, and use of the canal, and of its ports, dependencies, accessories, and equipments. When materials are taken from

private lands, the United States or the said board of managers shall enjoy in their use all the rights the Republic of Nicaragua enjoys by law and usage.

As to the contract of the Government of Nicaragua with Mr. F. A. Pellas, relating to steam navigation, that Government engages that the said contract shall not be considered applicable to the necessary operations of either party to this convention in constructing or operating the canal, or any part of it, during the time the contract has yet to run, this exemption to include necessary canal work and transportation on Lake Nicaragua and the rivers of the Republic; further, the said Government of Nicaragua agrees that should the Government of the United States during the period the said contract has yet to run find it advisable to purchase the franchise, property, and rights now held by said Pellas by virtue of said contract, the said franchise, property, and rights shall be expropriated by the same form and under the same conditions as are fixed in this article for the expropriation of other private property.

Should the United States in the construction of the said works find it necessary to occupy any lands belonging to the Republic, they shall have the right to do so free of charge during such temporary occupation, and the land so occupied, if sold or otherwise alienated, shall be conveyed with the reservation of this temporary right of occupation by the United States.

ARTICLE VI. The United States shall have the right throughout the extent of the canal, and of its accessories, dependencies, and adjuncts, as well as at its mouths on both oceans, and in the lake and rivers which the canal route may traverse, and that may be used in any manner in connection with the canal construction, to enter upon work of any kind whatsoever deemed necessary by the engineers for the construction of a safe, effective, durable, and speedy route for the transit of vessels from ocean to ocean, without let or hindrance of any kind from the Government or people of the Republic of Nicaragua; and also for the construction of the said railway and telegraph line.

ARTICLE VII. A strip of territory 2 English miles in width, the middle of this strip to coincide with the center line of the canal, and also a strip 2 miles wide around the southern end of the lake where the lake is used as a water-course for the canal, as well as a strip 2 miles wide along the river where the river is used as a part of the canal, shall be set aside for the work, and owned by the two contracting parties, and where the railway and telegraph line aforesaid may of necessity pass beyond the bounds of such strip of land a plot one-half of a mile in width, whose center line shall coincide with the railway outside of the belt reserved for the canal, shall also be so set aside and owned. And all the land in this article referred to shall be subject to the agreement herein before made as to lands, when owned by the State or by private individuals, necessarily used in the prosecution of the work; but the said lands in this article described shall not include towns, villages, or cities now in existence. In such case only that part shall be considered as embraced in this article as is absolutely essential to the economical prosecution or administration of the work. Over these strips, in time of peace, Nicaragua shall exercise civil jurisdiction, and its inhabitants shall not in any way be considered as impaired in their rights as citizens of the Republic.

ARTICLE VIII. No custom-house tolls or other taxes or impositions of any sort or kind shall be levied by the Government of Nicaragua upon any vessels passing the canal, their cargoes, stores, passengers, crews,

or baggage, or for unloading, loading, docking, or repairing vessels, it being the intent of this agreement that vessels, their cargoes, passengers, and crews, shall pass the canal free of any charge other than that imposed upon them by the two Governments, in their capacities as owners of the work. Nicaragua may, however, provide a police system. along the line of the canal to keep the peace and to prevent smuggling into her territory, the reasonable cost of which, as approved from time to time by the board of managers, shall be a charge upon the revenues of the canal.

The board of managers shall have the right to discharge and reload ships in transit, at such points as may be convenient, in order to make repairs, or to lighten the vessel, or to shift cargo, by reason of any cause rendering any of these acts necessary, or may transship cargo without being subject to search, exactions, duties, or taxes of any kind; but before beginning such operations notice thereof must be given to the nearest customs authority.

ARTICLE IX. The Government of the Republic of Nicaragua, in conformity with the laws, shall lend its protection to the engineers, contractors, agents, employés, and laborers employed in the construction, maintenance, and management of the canal and its accessories, and they shall be wholly exempt from military requisitions and forced loans; but if any such persons shall acquire real estate outside the strips provided for in Article VIII hereof they shall be subject to the taxes fixed by law.

The Government of Nicaragua guarantees to the canal and its accessories, and to its agents of all classes, security under the laws of the country against domestic acts of hostility, in the same degree as in the case of other inhabitants, employing all its powers for their protection. ARTICLE X. All contracts for the construction, maintenance, and management of the canal and its accessories may be enforced according to the laws of Nicaragua and the provisions of this convention.

ARTICLE XI. The canal and its accessories and dependencies of every kind shall be exempt, in peace and in war, from every form of taxation upon real or personal property acquired in virtue of this convention, and from every form of direct or indirect taxation, contributions, local taxes, or other dues in respect to the ownership and use of the canal and its accessories, or of the buildings, or constructions, or equipments, or appliances appertaining thereto, or to the ports and maritime establishments thereof anywhere in the Republic, and upon the lands set aside for the purposes of the canal and its accessories.

The Republic of Nicaragua binds itself not to establish tonnage dues, anchorage, light, wharf, or pilot dues, or charges of any class whatsoever upon vessels of whatever kind, or upon merchandise, or crews, or passengers, or gold or silver, or diamonds, or anything traversing the canal, all such dues being for the benefit of the two Governments in their capacity as joint owners and managers of the canal and its accessories; but merchandise, loaded or unloaded in any part of the canal or its accessories, coming from or destined to Nicaragua and intended for sale, shall pay dues for exportation or importation, fixed by the revenue laws of Nicaragua.

ARTICLE XII. All articles necessary for the construction and repair of the canal and its accessories may be imported without duty or tax of any kind being laid thereon by the Government of Nicaragua, including such iron, steel, locomotives, cars, telegraph wires and instruments, tugs, dredges, and vessels or other things as may at any time be used in the construction, improvement, prosecution or maintenance of the work, or