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[2nd Peace of Paris. Private Claims on France.]

writing the arguments in support of their opinion, in order that the Arbitrators may be enabled to decide which of the two Governments, the French Government, or the Government of the Netherlands, shall be bound to pay the aforesaid Arrears of Interest, taking for basis the dispositions of the Treaty of Paris, of 30th May, 1814 (No. 1), and whether the reimbursement which the Government of the Netherlands may have to make to France, for Inscriptions of the Debts of Countries re-united to the Crown of the Netherlands, and detached from France, is to be required without deducting the dividends of the Debt of Holland, in arrear for 1813.

Liquidation of Debts of Countries Ceded to France.

ART. IX. The liquidation shall be proceeded in, of the unpaid interest of the Debts secured on mortgage upon the soil of countries ceded to France by the Treaties of Campo Formio* and Luneville,† and arising from loans formally acknowledged by the Governments of the ceded countries, or from expenses incurred by the effective administration of the said countries.

Bases on which Commissioners of Liquidation are to Regulate

themselves.

The Commissioners of Liquidation are to regulate their operations according to the dispositions of the Treaties of Peace, and the laws and decrees of the French Government, with respect to the liquidation and extinction of the debts of the nature in question.

Reimbursement of Securities.

ART. X. As it has been stipulated by Article XXIII of the Treaty of Paris, of 30th May, 1814 (No. 1), that the French Government should reimburse the Securities given by the public functionaries entrusted with the management of public money in the countries separated from France, 6 months after the presenting of their accounts, the case alone of misdemeanour being excepted, it remains agreed:

1. That the obligation of presenting their accounts to the French Government does not extend to the Receveurs Communaux; nevertheless, as the French Government has had an interest in

* (17th October, 1797). See Appendix.
+(9th February, 1801). See Appendix.

[2nd Peace of Paris. Private Claims on France.]

certain portions of the receipts wherewith those accountable persons were charged, and that consequently it may still call for redress against them, in cases of misdemeanour, no application for restitution of their Securities shall be presented, without being accompanied by a certificate from the superior authorities of the country to which these persons accountable may belong, at the same time specifying the sum which, after the audit of their accounts, shall have been acknowledged to be due to the French Government on the account above mentioned, and which the latter shall deduct from the security, giving proof that nothing is due to the same, except, in either case, the deduction of those balances which France has reserved to herself by Article XXIV of the present Convention.

2. The accounts of the functionaries who have had the management of money belonging to the French Government, and who were bound to have their administration approved by the Court of Accounts, shall be examined by the French Government, in conjunction with the Commissioner of the present Government of the province where the person accountable has been employed.

The examination of each account is to take place within 6 months after it has been delivered in; if during this period no decision has been given, the French Government renounces all claim against the person accountable. This stipulation does not derogate, with respect to those who are accountable, from the time of forfeiture fixed by Article XVI, it being well understood that, in the event of the non-presentation of the accounts, the French Government reserves to itself the right of proceeding against the said persons accountable, in the customary manner.

3. The functionaries not being liable to be made responsible for what has occurred relative to their "Caisses," since the entrance of the Foreign Troops, it has been expressly agreed, that the French Government are not to charge them with the balances which they owed at that period, and that it shall only be a manifest misdemeanor, committed before the entrance of those Troops, which shall authorise the French Government to withhold the whole, or part of the Security. In all other respects the same is to be restored, in the manner expressed in Article XIX, Section 2.

Funds deposited by Communes and Public Establishments. ART. XI. Conformably to Article XXV of the Treaty of the 30th May, 1814 (No. 1), the Funds deposited by "Communes," and

[2nd Peace of Paris. Private Claims on France.]

Public Establishments, in the coffers of the Governments, are to be repaid to them, with deduction of the advances which may have been made to them. The Commissioners of Liquidation are to verify the amount of the said deposits and advances. Nevertheless, should there be lodged any attachments, the repayment of these funds shall not take place until replevin shall have been ordered, by the proper tribunals, or voluntarily allowed by the attaching creditors. The French Government shall be bound to show the justice of the said attachments. It is well understood that such attachments, lodged by creditors who are not Frenchmen, cannot authorise the French Government to detain these deposits.

Funds of Caisse d'Agriculture of Holland.

ART. XII. The Funds belonging to the "Caisse d'Agriculture" of Holland, and which have been lodged as a deposit in the "Caisse d'Amortissement," in the "Caisse de Service," or in any other "Caisse" of Government, shall be restored, as well as all other Deposits, with the exception of such compensations as the said "Caisses" may have to debit the said Funds.

Commissioners of Liquidation and Arbitration to liquidate Claims of Pensions, &c., of Persons no longer French Subjects. Securities. Caisse d'Amortissement, and Caisse de Service, &c.

ART. XIII. The Commissioners of Liquidation and of Arbitration ordained by virtue of Article V of the present Convention, shall also be employed in the liquidation of the objects recited in Articles XXII to XXV of the Treaty of 30th May, 1814 (No. 1), and shall proceed in the same manner, with regard to these points, as that adopted for the other liquidations with which they are charged. The French Government engages to deliver, 4 months after the signature of the present Convention, to the respective Commissioners of Liquidation, exact statements, drawn from the Treasury and other Registers, of all sums and debts alluded to in the aforesaid Articles; and these statements are to be compared with the receipts of the claimants, for the purpose of being thus proved.

Arrears of Pensions.

ART. XIV. Article XXVI of the Treaty of the 30th May, 1814 (No. 1), which releases the French Government, from the

[2nd Peace of Paris. Private Claims on France.]

1st January, of the same year, from the payments of all Pensions, civil, military, and ecclesiastical, allowances on retiring, and half pay to all individuals no longer subjects of France, is maintained. With regard to the arrears of Pensions to the period above mentioned, the French Government engages to give evidence of them, by furnishing exact statements, drawn from the Pension Registers, which are to be compared with those kept by the local Administrative Authorities.

Restitution of Archives, Maps, &c., of Ceded Countries.

ART. XV. Doubts having arisen upon Article XXXI of the Treaty of the 30th May, 1814 (No. 1), concerning the restitution of the Maps of the Countries which have ceased to belong to France, it is agreed that all the Maps of the Countries ceded, including those which the French Government has caused to be executed, shall be exactly given up, with the copper plates belonging to them, in the space of 4 weeks after the exchange of the Ratifications of the present Treaty. The same shall be done respecting the Archives, Maps, and Plates taken away from the Countries occupied for a time by the different armies, as it is stipulated in the 2nd paragraph of Article XXXI of the said Treaty.

Limit of Time for Presentation of Claims.

ART. XVI. Governments who have Claims to prefer in behalf of their Subjects, engage to cause them to be presented for liquidation within a year, dating from the day of the exchange of the Ratifications of the present Treaty, after which time they are to forfeit all right to claim and recovery.

Payment of Claims Adjudicated.

ART. XVII. Every two months an abstract is to be drawn up of the liquidations finally adjusted, approved, or decided, specifying the name of each creditor, and the amount for which his debt is to be discharged, either in principal or arrears of interest. The sums which are to be paid in cash by the Royal Treasury, either for capital or interest, shall be remitted to the Commissioners of Liquidation of the Government concerned, upon their receipts, signed or approved by the French Liquidators. With regard to the debts which, in conformity to Articles IV and XIX of the present Convention, are to be paid in Inscriptions in the

[2nd Peace of Paris. Private Claims on France.]

Great Book of the Public Debt, they are to be entered in the names of the Commissioners of Liquidation of the Governments concerned, or of those whom they may appoint. These Inscriptions are to be taken from the Guarantee Fund stipulated by Article XX of the present Convention, and in the manner specified by Article XXI.

Interest on Debts.

ART. XVIII.* All Debts which bear Interest, either according to law or the Treaty of the 30th May, 1814 (No. 1), are to continue to bear the same. With respect to those to which no Interest appertains, either from their nature or by the said Treaty, they are to bear an interest of 4 per cent. from the date of the signature of the present Convention. All interest is to be paid in cash, and on the amount of the nominal value of the debt. The stipulations relating to interest are to be reciprocal between France and the other Contracting Powers.

*

Periods for Payment of Claims.

ART. XIX. The Treaty of the 30th May, 1814 (No. 1), in regulating the periods within which the payments were to be completed, proclaimed 3 Classes of Debts. In order to make things agree with such an arrangement, it has been resolved to adopt, in like manner, 3 Classes for Reimbursement, as follows:

1. The Deposits legally entrusted to the "Caisse d'Amortissement" are to be refunded in money within 6 months from the exchange of the Ratifications of the present Convention, whenever the delivery of the documents shall have taken place during the first three months of the liquidation. Those cases whereof the documents shall have been delivered in subsequently are to be liquidated within the succeeding 3 months.

2. The Debts arising from the payment of securities, or from funds which were deposited by the "Communes" and Public Establishments in the "Caisse de Service," the "Caisse d'Amortissement," or any other "Caisse" of the French Government, are to be reimbursed in Inscriptions in the Great Book of the Public Debt, at par, on condition, however, that in the event of the price of the day of settlement being under 75, the French Government is to have the benefit of the difference between the price of the day and 75,

* See Convention of 25th April, 1818.

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