FEBRUARY 17, 1905.

Agreement between the Post-Office Department of the United States of America and the post-office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the direct exchange of parcels by parcel post.

February 3, 1905. February 17, 1905.

For the purpose of making better postal arrangements between the Preamble. United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the undersigned, Robert J. Wynne, Postmaster-General of the United States of America, and Edward George Villiers Stanley, C. B., commonly called Lord Stanley, His Majesty's PostmasterGeneral, have agreed upon the following Articles for the establishment of an exchange of parcels by parcel post between the United States and the United Kingdom.

ARTICLE I.

The provisions of this Agreement relate only to parcels to be exchanged by the system herein provided for, and do not affect the arrangements now existing under the Universal Postal Union Convention, which will continue as heretofore; and all the conditions hereinafter specified apply exclusively to mails exchanged under the present Agreement directly between such offices in the United States and the United Kingdom as may from time to time be designated offices of exchange by mutual consent.

ARTICLE II.

Extent of conven tion.

Articles admitted to

1. With the exception of the articles specifically prohibited by thArticles Article III, there shall be admitted to the parcel mails all articles which are admitted to the mails under any conditions in the internal service of the country of origin and the country of destination. No parcel may, however, exceed 50 dollars (50$) or 101 in value, four pounds six ounces (or two kilogrammes) in weight, nor the following dimensions:-greatest length in any direction, three feet six inches; greatest length and girth combined, six feet.

2. Every parcel must bear the exact address of the addressee and Address, etc. must be packed in a manner adequate for the length of the journey and the protection of its contents. The packing must be of such a nature as to permit the contents to be easily examined by officers of the Post Office or of the Customs.

ARTICLE III.

1. It is forbidden to send by post:

(a) Parcels containing letters, or communications of the nature of Articles prohibited. a letter; live animals, except bees in properly constructed boxes; dead animals, except insects and reptiles when thoroughly dried; fruits and vegetables which easily decompose; publications which violate the copyright laws of the country of destination; poisons and explosive or

Exceptions.

Violation.

List.

Rates of postage.

Delivery.

Receipts.

Charges.

Customs declarations.

Collection of duties.

Nonresponsibility for correctness of dec

lottery tickets, lottery advertisements, or lottery circulars; all obscene or immoral articles; or articles the admission of which is not authorized by the Customs or other laws or regulations of either country, and, in general, articles the conveyance of which is dangerous.

A parcel may, however, contain an open invoice in its simplest form.

2. No parcel may contain an enclosure which bears an address other than that borne by the parcel itself.

3. if a parcel contravening any of these prohibitions or not conforming to the stipulations of Article II. be handed over by one Administration to the other, the latter shall proceed in the manner and with the formalities prescribed by its law or inland regulations.

4. The two Administrations shall furnish each other (from time to time) with a list of prohibited articles; but they will not thereby undertake any responsibility whatever towards the police, the Customs authorities, or the senders of parcels.

ARTICLE IV.

1. The following rates of postage shall in all cases be FULLY PREPAID by means of postage stamps of the country of origin, viz.:

2. In the United States for a parcel not exceeding one pound in weight, 12 cents; and for each additional pound or fraction of a pound, 12 cents.

3. In Great Britain for every parcel of four pounds six ounces or less in weight, two shillings.

4. The parcel shall be promptly delivered to addressees in accordance with the inland regulations of the country of destination, free of charge for postage; but the country of destination may, at its option, levy and collect from the addressee for interior service and delivery a charge, the amount of which is to be fixed according to its own regulations, but which shall in no case exceed in the United States five cents, and in the United Kingdom 2td., for each parcel whatever its weight.

ARTICLE V.

The sender may at the time of posting obtain a certificate of posting on the form provided for the purpose.

ARTICLE VI.

The parcels to which the present Agreement applies cannot be subjected to any postal charge other than those contemplated by the different Articles of this Agreement.

ARTICLE VII.

1. The sender of each parcel shall make a Customs declaration upon a special form provided for the purpose, giving a general description of the parcel, an accürate statement of its contents and value, the date of posting, and the sender's signature and place of address. This declaration shall be pasted upon or attached to the parcel.

2. The parcels in question shall be subject in the country of destination to all Customs duties and all Customs regulations in force in that country for the protection of its Customs revenues; and the Customs' duties pr properly chargeable thereon shall be collected on delivery, in accordance with the Customs regulations of the country of destination.

3. The Administrations decline all responsibility for the correctness

ARTICLE VIII.

FEBRUARY 17, 1905.

1. Each country shall retain to its own use the whole of the postages and delivery fees it collects on the said parcels; consequently this Agreement will give rise to no postage accounts between the two countries.

Fees to be retaine

Future modific

2. The foregoing clause, however, shall not preclude either office tiona from proposing a system of accounts, or of insurance or registration of parcels, after some experience has been gained of the working of the post, and if such arrangement be made the necessary modifications in the provisions of the present Agreement shall be carried out by mutual consent.

ARTICLE IX.

The parcels shall be considered as a component part of the mails Transportation. exchanged DIRECT between the United States and the. United Kingdom, to be despatched to destination by the country of origin at its cost, and by such means as it provides; but they must be forwarded, at the option of the despatching office, either in boxes or baskets prepared expressly for the purpose, or in ordinary mail sacks, marked "Parcel Post," and securely sealed with wax, or otherwise, as may be mutually agreed upon.

2. Each country shall hall promptly return EMPTY to the despatching office by next mail all such receptacles.

ARTICLE X.

Each despatch of a Parcel-Post mail must be accompanied by a descriptive list, in duplicate, of all the parcels sent, showing distinctly the list number of each parcel, the office of origin, the name of the addressee with address of destination, and the declared contents and value. This list must be enclosed in one of the receptacles composing the mail.

ARTICLE XI.

Return of sacks, et

Descriptive list.

1. As soon as a parcel mail shall have reached the office of destina- Receipt of mail. tion, that office shall check the contents of the mail.

2. In the event of the parcel bill not having been received, a substitute shall at once be prepared.

Parcel bill.

Errors.

3. Any errors in the entries on the parcel bill which may be discovered shall, after verification by a second officer, be corrected and reported to the despatching office by means of a verification note,

which should be sent in a special envelope.

cels.

4. If a parcel advised on the bill be not received, the entry on the Nonreceipt of pa bill shall be cancelled after the nonreceipt has been verified by a sec

ond officer, and the circumstance reported at once.

5. Should a parcel be received in a damaged or imperfect condition, Damaged parcels.

full particulars shall be reported by means of a verification note.

6. If no verification note or note of error be received, a parcel mail shall be considered as duly delivered, and as having been found on examination correct in all respects.

ARTICLE XII.

1. Missent parcels shall be immediately returned to the despatching office of exchange. Attention shall be called to the error by means of a verification note.

2. If a parcel cannot be delivered as addressed or is refused by the addressee, the sender shall be consulted (through the Administration of the country of origin) as to its disposal. If within two months of

Correct mails.

Missent parcels.

Failure to deliver.

shall not have received instructions from the sender the parcel shall be treated as abandoned.

3. Parcels redirected from one country to the other, or parcels returned at the sender's request, incur a supplementary charge on the basis of the rates fixed by Article IV., which may be collected either in advance or on delivery, as may be convenient. Parcels redirected from one address to another in the country of destination are subject to such additional- charge as the domestic regulations of that country prescribe.

4. Articles liable to deterioration or corruption may, however, be sold immediately, without previous notice or legal formality, for the benefit of the right party. An account of the sale shall be drawn up.

The sum realized by the sale shall be used in the first place to defray the charges upon the parcel. Any balance which there may be shall be remitted to the office of origin to be paid to the sender. If for any reason a sale is impossible the spoilt or worthless articles are destroyed or taken possession of by the Customs.

5. The Customs duties on parcels which have to be sent back to the country of origin or redirected to a third country shall be cancelled both in the United States and in the United Kingdom.

ARTICLE XIII.

Neither of the contracting Administrations will be responsible for the loss or damage of any parcel, consequently no indemnity can be claimed by the sender or addressee in either country.

ARTICLE XIV.

Laws, etc., applica

ble.

1. The internal legislation of both the United States and the United Kingdom shall remain applicable as regards everything not provided for by the stipulations contained in the present Agreement.

Notice of.

Transportation, etc.

Effect.

Signatures.

Approved by the

United States.

2. The Administrations shall communicate to each other from time to time the provisions of their laws or regulations applicable to the conveyance of parcels by Parcel Post.

3. They shall regulate the mode of transmission of these parcels, and fix all other measures of detail and order necessary for ensuring the performance of the present Agreement.

ARTICLE XV.

This Agreement shall come into operation on the first day of April 1905, and shall be terminable on a notice of six months by either party. Done in duplicate at London on the third day of February 1905, and at Washington on the seventeenth day of February, 1905.

ROBERT J. WYNNE,

Postmaster-General of the United States of America.

[SEAL]

STANLEY, His Majesty's Postmaster General. [SEAL]

The foregoing Convention between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland has been negotiated and concluded with my advice and consent, and is hereby approved and ratified.

In testimony whereof I have caused the Seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed.

By the President,
JOHN HAY

Secretary of State.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT.