[Boundary.] in the Figuier Roads, the middle of the principal course of the waters of that River, at low water, shall form the Line of separation of the two Sovereignties, without in any way changing the actual nationality of the Islands; those of the Faisans shall continue to belong to the two Nations. ARTS. X to XIX. Rights of bordering Populations. ARTS. XX and XXI. Freedom of Commerce and Navigation on the Bidassoa to its Mouth. ART. XXII. Freedom of Fishery. ART. XXIII. Impediments to the Navigation of the Bidassoa to be removed. ART. XXIV. Compensation to the Municipality of Fontarabia. ART. XXV. Separate Jurisdiction over Vessels Navigating, Passing through, or Fishing in the Bidassoa. ART. XXVI. Bohobie Bridge to belong equally to France and Spain, and to be maintained by them. ART. XXVII. The Ile des Faisans, known under the name of Ile de la Conference to be possessed jointly by France and Spain. Annulment of Treaties and Conventions. ART. XXVIII. All Treaties, Conventions, and Arbitration Awards, having reference to the Boundary of the Frontier between the summit of Analarra and the Mouth of the Bidassoa, are Annulled in fact and by right, in all that is contrary to the clauses stipulated in the preceding Articles, dating from the day on which the present Treaty shall be put into execution. Ratifications.* ART. XXIX AND LAST. In testimony whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Treaty in Duplicate at Bayonne, the 2nd December, 1856, and have affixed thereto the Seal of their Arms. (L.S.) BARON GROS. (L.S.) GENERAL CALLIER. (L.S.) FRANCISCO M. MARIN. (L.S.) MANL. DE MONTEVERDE. * Ratifications exchanged at Paris, 12th August, 1857. [Bessarabian Frontier. Delta of Danube. Isle of Serpents.] No. 276.-NOTE from the British Ambassador at Paris, explanatory of the Protocol of Conference between the Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain, Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, Sardinia, and Turkey, for carrying out certain of the Provisions of the Treaty of 30th March, 1856. Signed at Paris, 7th January, 1857. Lord Cowley to the Earl of Clarendon, enclosing Protocol of 6th January.-(Received 8th January.) My Lord, Paris, 7th January, 1857. I HAVE the honour to inclose herewith a certified copy of the Protocol of Conference, with the Plans annexed thereto, signed yesterday at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs by the Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain, Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, Sardinia, and Turkey, wherein are recorded the results of the discussions which have taken place on certain points connected with the execution of the Treaty of the 30th of March (No. 264), and by which, I trust, are definitively set at rest the differences of opinion which had arisen among the Powers parties to that Treaty, respecting the right interpretation of Article XX, in consequence of its being found on actual survey that certain localities were not situated as had been supposed by the Paris Congress. Although it is matter of regret, it is not surprising, considering the scanty information which could be obtained respecting the geographical details of the countries bordering the Lower Danube, that these errors should have occurred, or that, in endeavouring to rectify them, differences of opinion should have manifested themselves among the parties interested. But it was the duty of all, if a common centre of union was to be sought; if disagreement was not to degenerate into animosity; if the Treaty of the 30th of March (No. 264) was not to remain a dead letterto abate somewhat of their respective views, and to meet each other in a conciliatory spirit. The decision of the majority of the Conference might, indeed, have been appealed to, but when opinions have been so strongly pronounced, it could not have been enforced without leaving a feeling of soreness to be deprecated in the minds of those whose judgment was overruled. The necessity of a compromise, if harmony was to be preserved, was [Bessarabian Frontier. Delta of Danube. Isle of Serpents.] felt by all, and the Emperor, moved by this consideration, took upon himself to propose a settlement, which has been accepted by all parties. The arrangement proposed by His Majesty, while it maintains inviolate, by assigning both New and Old Bolgrad to Moldavia, the principle on which Article XX was originally framed, of removing Russia from all communication with the Danube and Lower Pruth, meets the desire of the Russian Government to have a capital for the Bulgarian Colonies which remain to Russia, by giving her the town of Komrat on the Yalpouk. At the same time the wish expressed by Turkey that the Delta of the Danube, of which she formerly was mistress, should be restored to her instead of being transferred to Moldavia, is acceded to, and the Isle of Serpents is declared to be an appendage of the Delta. Her Majesty's Government having met this proposal in the same conciliatory spirit in which it had been made by the French Government, and the other Governments interested, moved by sentiments equally honourable, having notified their acquiescence in it, the task of the Plenipotentiaries has been limited to recording in a collective instrument the agreement at which their Governments had separately arrived. It only remains for me to congratulate your Lordship and Her Majesty's Government on this termination of difficulties and discussions, which have not been without their gravity, and to express the hope that the agreement which has thus been attained may prove an omen of continued peace and friendship among the Powers who have given this proof of goodwill and respect for each other. I have, &c., COWLEY. [Bessarabian Frontier. Delta of Danube. Isle of Serpents.] No. 277.-PROTOCOL of Conference between the Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain, Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, Sardinia, and Turkey, for carrying out certain of the Provisions of the Treaty of 30th March, 1856. Signed at Paris, 6th January, 1857.* TABLE. Demarcation of Bessarabian Frontier. Evacuation of Moldavia and Wallachia by Austrian Troops, and De- Islands in Delta of the Danube to be replaced under Sovereignty of Isle of Serpents to be an Appendage of Delta of the Danube. Protocol to have the force of a Convention. Boundary Convention to be (Translation as laid before Parliament.†) Present: The Plenipotentiaries of Austria, France, Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, Sardinia, and Turkey. Demarcation of Bessarabian Frontier. THE Plenipotentiaries of the Courts of Austria, France, Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, Sardinia, and Turkey, duly authorised, having assembled in Conference in order to devise the means of terminating the difficulties which the Boundary Commission, charged with the execution of Article XX of the Treaty of Paris (No. 264), has encountered in consequence of the position of places, have decided, after an examination of the Reports of the Boundary Commissioners, that the said Frontier shall be definitively traced according to the Plan No. 1, initialled by the Undersigned, and annexed to the present Protocol; that it shall, consequently, commence from the Black Sea, at a point 2,936 meters to the east of Lake Bourna-Sola, marked on the said plan by the letter b, and following a broken line shown by the letters c, d, e, l, k, j, i, h, m, n, o, where it joins the Akerman Road, which it follows as far as the letter p; proceeding from thence to the Val de Trajan by the letters q, r, s, t, u, v, x, y, d', e', f', g', i'; following the Val de See also Treaty of 19th June, 1857. + For French version see "State Papers," vol. xlvii, p. 92. Isle of Serpents.] [Bessarabian Frontier. Delta of Danube. Trajan as far as the letter p'; again taking the Akerman Road as far as the ravine of Ali-Aga, which it ascends as far as the letter '; passing thence by the letters u', v', x', y'; reaching from thence, in a straight line, the Val de Trajan at the point where it is intersected by the River Karakourt coming from Koubey, and following it as far as the River Yalpouk, the midchannel of which it ascends to the mouth of the Kirsaou, to the north of Kongas, and at the letter A; ascending this stream till the line meets the road from Komrat to Borogani at the letter A', which road it follows as far as the letter B, and thence ascends the Lower Yalpougel as far as the letter C, and proceeds as far as the letter D, where it meets the Saratsika, which it ascends as far as the letter E; proceeding from thence towards the Pruth, by the line indicated by the letters v'', x'', y'', z'', r'', a''', b''', c''', d'"', e'"', f'""', g'"', h''', i''', j''', and k". Evacuation of Moldavia and Wallachia by Austrian Troops, and Departure of British Squadron from Black Sea and Bosphorus. The Plenipotentiaries having agreed that the marking out of the Boundary, and the delivery of the Territory to Moldavia, shall be completed by the 30th of March next, at the latest, it is understood that the Austrian troops shall have evacuated the Principalities of Wallachia and of Moldavia, and that the British Squadron shall have quitted the Black Sea and the Bosphorus, at latest, at the same date. The Convention of the Straits will, from that time, come into force (No. 265). Islands in Delta of the Danube to be replaced under Sovereignty of Turkey. The Plenipotentiaries agree that the Islands included between the different branches of the Danube at its mouth, and forming the Delta of that River, as shown by the Plan No. 2 hereunto annexed, and initialled, shall, instead of being annexed to the Principality of Moldavia, as stipulated by Article XXI of the Treaty of Paris (No. 264), be replaced under the immediate Sovereignty of the Sublime Porte, of which they formerly held. Isle of Serpents to be an Appendage of Delta of the Danube. The Plenipotentiaries agree, moreover, that the Treaty of |