[Mentone and Roccabruna.] No. 210.-DECREE of the King of Sardinia, relative to the Annexation of Mentone and Roccabruna to Sardinia. Turin, 18th September, 1848.* (Translation.) Charles Albert, by the Grace of God, &c. CONSIDERING the acts of the inhabitants of Mentone and Roccabruna of the 2nd March, 28th May, 26th and 30th June, of the present year; on the proposition of our Minister of the Interior, the Council of Ministers being heard, have ordered and order as follows: Sole Article. The two towns of Mentone and Roccabruna shall be occupied without delay by our Government, to be provisionally governed in accordance with the Laws in force, until it shall hereafter have been decreed. Turin, 18th September, 1848. CHARLES ALBERT. [Various important Political Events took place in Hungary, in the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom, in SchleswigHolstein, and in other parts of Europe, in this year; but as they led to no permanent change in the MAP OF EUROPE, it has not been thought necessary to allude to them in this work.] By the Treaty between France and Sardinia of 2nd February, 1861, Mentone and Roccabruna were ceded to France. [Treaty of Balta-Liman.] No. 211.-ACT between Russia and Turkey, relative to Moldavia and Wallachia. Signed at Balta-Liman, 1st May, 1849.* Preamble. Reference to Treaties of 7th October, 1826, and 14th September, 1829. 1. Election of Hospodars of Moldaria and Wallachia by the Sultan. 2. Alterations in Organic Statute of 1831. 3. Commissions of Revision of Organic Statute to be established at Jassy and Bucharest. Work of Commissioners to be sanctioned by Ottoman Government. 4. Occupation of the Country by Ottoman and Russian Troops. 5. Extraordinary Russian and Ottoman Commissioners to reside in Principalities. 6. Agreement to last 7 years. 7. Treaties, &c., respecting Principalities to remain in Force. (Translation as laid before Parliament.) Reference to Treaties of 7th October, 1826, and 14th September, 1829. His Imperial Majesty the Most High and Most Mighty Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias, and His Imperial Majesty the Most High and Most Mighty Emperor and Padishah of the Ottomans, animated by an equal solicitude for the wellbeing of the Principalities of Moldavia and of Wallachia, and faithful to the antecedent Engagements which secure to the said Principalities the privilege of a distinct administration and certain other local immunities, have recognised that in consequence of the commotions by which those Provinces, and more particularly Wallachia, have been agitated, it becomes necessary to adopt by common Agreement extraordinary and effectual measures for the protection of those immunities and privileges, either against revolutionary and anarchical convulsions, or against the abuses of power which paralysed the execution of the laws therein, and deprived the peaceable inhabitants of the benefits of the administration which the two Principalities ought to enjoy in virtue of the solemn Treaties concluded between Russia and the Sublime Porte (see Nos. 131, 145). For this purpose we, the Undersigned, by order and by the express authorisation of His Majesty the Emperor of All the * See also General Treaty of 30th March, 1856, and Convention of 19th August, 1858. [Treaty of Balta-Liman.] Russias, and His Highness Reshid Pasha, Grand Vizier, and His Excellency Aali Pasha, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Sublime Ottoman Porte, by order and by the express authorisation of His Majesty the Sultan, after having duly communicated and concerted together, have agreed upon and concluded the following Articles: Election of Hospodars of Moldavia and Wallachia by the Sultan. ART. I. Considering the exceptional circumstances brought on by the recent events, the two Imperial Courts have agreed, that instead of following the mode established by the Regulation of 1831 for the election of the Hospodars of Moldavia and Wallachia, those high functionaries shall be nominated by His Majesty the Sultan according to a mode especially agreed upon for this occasion between the two Courts, with the view of confiding the administration of those Provinces to the candidates most worthy, and enjoying the best reputation among their fellow-countrymen. For this occasion likewise, the two Hospodars shall only be nominated for 7 years, the two Courts reserving to themselves, a year before the expiration of the term fixed for the present Agreement, to take into consideration the internal state of the Principalities, and the services which may have been rendered by the two Hospodars, in order, by mutual agreement, to consider of the further determinations to be taken. Alterations in Organic Statute of 1831. ART. II. The Organic Statute granted to the Principalities in 1831 shall remain in force, saving the alterations and modifications of which the necessity shall have been proved by experience, specifically in regard to the Ordinary and Extraordinary Assemblies of the Boyards. These Assemblies, in the form in which they have heretofore been composed and elected, having more than once given rise to deplorable conflicts, and even to acts of open insubordination, their convocation shall continue to be suspended, and the two Courts reserve to themselves to come to an understanding on the subject of their re-establishment on bases settled with all requisite deliberation, at the time when they shall judge that that measure can be carried into effect without inconvenience as regards the maintenance of public tranquillity in the two Principalities. The deliberative functions shall be provisionally entrusted to Councils or Divans, ad hoc, composed of the Boyards [Treaty of Balta-Liman.] who are the most notable and the most worthy of confidence, and of some members of the higher Clergy. The principal attributes of these Councils shall be the assessment of the Taxes, and the examination into the yearly Budget in the two Provinces. Commissions of Revision of Organic Statute to be Established at Jassy and Bucharest. ART. III. In order to proceed with all necessary deliberation to the organic improvements required by the actual state of the Principalities and the administrative abuses which have been introduced there, two Commissions of Revision shall be established, one at Jassy and the other at Bucharest, composed of the Boyards most commendable from their character and abilities, to whom shall be entrusted the task of revising the existing Regulations and of pointing out the modifications best calculated to confer upon the Administration of the Country the Regularity and Unity in which they have frequently been deficient. Work of Commissioners to be sanctioned by Ottoman Government. The work of these Commissioners shall be submitted with the shortest delay possible to the examination of the Ottoman Government, which, after having come to an understanding with the Court of Russia thereupon, and having thus proved their mutual approbation, shall grant to the said modifications its definitive sanction, which shall be published in the usual manner by a Hatti-sheriff of His Majesty the Sultan. Occupation of the Country by Ottoman and Russian Troops. ART. IV. The troubles which have so deeply disturbed the Principalities having demonstrated the necessity of affording to their Governments the support of a Military Force capable of promptly repressing every Insurrectional Movement, and of causing the established authorities to be respected, the two Imperial Courts have agreed to prolong the presence of a certain portion of the Russian and Ottoman Troops which at present occupy the country; and specifically, in order to preserve the Frontiers of Wallachia and of Moldavia from casualties from abroad, it has been determined to leave therein, for the time, from 25,000 to 35,000 men of each of the two Parties. After the tranquillity of the said Frontiers shall be re-established, there shall remain in the two Countries about 10,000 men on each side, until the com [Treaty of Balta-Liman.] pletion of the work of the Organic Improvement and the Consolidation of the Internal Tranquillity of the two Provinces. Thereupon the troops of the two Powers shall completely evacuate the Principalities, but they shall still remain at hand to re-enter immediately, in case the occurrence of serious events in the Principalities should require that measure to be again adopted. Independently of that, provision shall be made for completing without delay the reorganisation of the Native Militia, so that by its discipline and efficiency it may afford a sufficient guarantee for the maintenance of legal order. Extraordinary Russian and Ottoman Commissioners to Reside in Principalities. ART. V. Pending the duration of the Occupation the two Courts shall continue to cause an Extraordinary Russian Commissioner and an Extraordinary Ottoman Commissioner to reside in the Principalities. These Special Agents will be commissioned to watch over the progress of affairs, and to offer in common to the Hospodars their advice and counsel whensoever they shall observe any serious abuses or any measure prejudicial to the tranquillity of the Country. The said Extraordinary Commissioners shall be furnished with identic instructions agreed upon between the two Courts, which shall prescribe to them their duties and the degree of interference which they will have to exercise in the affairs of the Principalities. The two Commissioners will likewise have to agree together upon the choice of the members of the Commissions of Revision to be established in the Principalities, as has been stated in Article III. They will give an account to the respective Courts of the work of those Commissions, adding thereto their own observations. Agreement to last 7 Years. ART. VI. The duration of the present Arrangement is fixed at 7 years, at the expiration of which the two Courts reserve to themselves to take into consideration the situation in which the Principalities may then be, and to determine upon the ulterior measures which they may judge most suitable and proper to insure for a long time hereafter the well-being and the tranquillity of those Provinces. Treaties, &c., respecting Principalities to remain in force. |