POSTAL CONVENTION between the British and Haytian Governments.—Signed at Port au Prince, September 9, 1858.

THE Government of Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Government of His Majesty the Emperor of Hayti, being desirous to regulate, by means of a Convention, the communications by post between the two Kingdoms upon a more liberal and advantageous basis for the inhabitants of the two countries,

The Undersigned, Henry Byron, Esquire, Her Majesty's Acting Consul-General in Hayti, furnished with full powers from the Postmaster-General of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and M. Jean Baptiste Alphonse Mirambeau, President of the Imperial Court of Commerce, and Member of the Council of Notables, and M. Joseph Sébastian Lacroix Laforestrie, merchant, furnished with full powers from the Minister of the Interior and of Agriculture of Hayti, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found to be in good and due form, have agreed upon the following Articles:

ART. I. The postage to be collected in the United Kingdom upon every letter not exceeding half an ounce British, in weight, posted in the United Kingdom and addressed to Hayti, or posted in Hayti and addressed to the United Kingdom, when conveyed by British Government vessels, or by vessels freighted or maintained by order of the British Government, shall be 6d.

And the postage to be collected in Hayti upon such letters shall be half a dollar (paper).

II. With respect to the charge upon letters above the weight of half an ounce British, the following scale of progression shall be applied in both countries, viz.:

For every letter above the weight of half an ounce and not exceeding one ounce, two rates of postage.

For every letter above one ounce and not exceeding two ounces, four rates of postage.

For every letter above two ounces and not exceeding three ounces, six rates of postage.

And so on, two rates being added for every additional ounce or fraction of an ounce.

III. The postage to be collected in the United Kingdom upon every newspaper posted in conformity with the regulations required to be observed, originating in the United Kingdom and addressed to Hayti, shall be 1d. per four ounces British, or fraction of four ounces British.

A like sum of 1d. per four ounces British, or fraction of four ounces British, shall be collected in the United Kingdom upon

every newspaper originating in Hayti, and addressed to the United Kingdom.

The postage to be collected in Hayti upon such newspapers shall be a quarter of a dollar (paper) per four ounces British, or fraction of four ounces British.

IV. Subject to the following conditions, book packets may be sent from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to Hayti, and vice versa :

1st. Every packet must be sent either without a cover, or in a cover open at the ends or sides, so as to admit of the enclosures being removed for examination.

2nd. A book packet may contain any number of separate books or other publications, prints, or maps, and any quantity of paper, parchment, or vellum; and the books or other publications, prints, maps, &c., may be either printed, written, or plain, or any mixture of the three. Further, all legitimate binding, mounting, or covering of a book, publication, &c., or of a portion thereof, shall be allowed, whether such binding, &c., be loose or attached, as also rollers, in the case of prints or maps; markers (whether of paper or other wise), in the case of books; and in short, whatever is necessary for the safe transmission of literary or artistic matter, or usually appertains thereto; but no patterns or books of patterns (unless consisting merely of paper) shall be allowed.

3rd. No book packet may contain any written letter, closed or open, or any enclosure sealed or otherwise closed against inspection; nor must there be any letter, nor any communication of the nature of a letter, written in any such packet, or in or upon its cover.

4th. No book packet must exceed two feet British, in length, width, or depth.

V. The postage to be collected in the United Kingdom upon book packets posted in the United Kingdom and addressed to Hayti, or posted in Hayti and addressed to the United Kingdom, shall be as follows:

For a packet not exceeding four ounces (British) in weight, 3d.; For a packet above four ounces, and not exceeding eight ounces, 6d. ;

For a packet above eight ounces, and not exceeding one pound, 18.;

For a packet above one pound, and not exceeding one pound and a half, 18. 6d. ;

For a packet above one pound and a half, and not exceeding two pounds, 28.;

And so on, 6d. being added for each additional half pound, or fraction of half a pound.

The postage to be collected in Hayti upon such book packets shall be as follows:

For a packet not exceeding four ounces in weight, half a dollar (paper);

For a packet above four ounces, and not exceeding eight ounces, 1 dollar (paper);

For a packet above eight ounces, and not exceeding one pound, 2 dollars (paper);

For a packet above one pound, and not exceeding one pound and a half, 3 dollars (paper) ;

For a packet above one pound and a half, and not exceeding two pounds, 4 dollars (paper);

And so on, 1 dollar (paper) being added for each additional half pound, or fraction of half a pound.

VI. No charge beyond the rates specified in the foregoing Articles, whether for delivery or for any other service, shall be made either in the United Kingdom or in Hayti, upon letters, newspapers, or book packets exchanged between the two countries.

VII. The postage to be paid to the British Post Office for letters and book packets (including newspapers), conveyed by the British mail packets from a port in Hayti to any other port, without passing through the United Kingdom, shall be as follows:

For every letter not exceeding half an ounce British in weight, 4d. sterling; and for letters of greater weight, an increased charge according to the scale laid down in Article II preceding.

For every book packet not exceeding four ounces British in weight, 1d. sterling; and for book packets of greater weight, an increased charge according to the scale laid down in Article V preceding.

VIII. The British Post Office and the Post Office of Hayti shall have power to modify, from time to time, by mutual consent, the arrangements made in virtue of all the preceding Articles.

IX. The present Convention shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1859, and shall continue in force until one of the two Contracting Parties shall have announced to the other, one year in advance, its intention to terminate it.

In witness whereof the Undersigned have, in virtue of their aforesaid full powers, signed the present Convention in duplicate, and affixed thereto their seals.

Done at Port au Prince, this 9th day of September, 1858.

(L.S.) HENRY BYRON.
(L.S.) J. A. MIRAMBEAU.
(L.S.) LAFORESTRIE.

POSTAL CONVENTION between the British and Liberian Governments.-Signed in London, January 20, 1858.

THE Government of Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Government of the Republic of Liberia, being desirous to promote the friendly relations existing between the two countries, and to regulate, by means of a Convention, the communication by post between the British dominions and the territories of the Republic, have named for this purpose, that is to say:

The Postmaster General of Her Britannic Majesty has named Rowland Hill, Esquire, Secretary of the General Post Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and his Excellency the President of the Republic of Liberia has named Gerard Ralston, Esquire, Consul General of the said Republic for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found to be in good and due form, have agreed upon the following Articles:

ART. I. The total amount of postage to be collected in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland upon ordinary letters posted in the United Kingdom addressed to Liberia, and conveyed between the United Kingdom and Liberia, by British mail packet, shall be as follows:

For every letter not exceeding the weight of half an ounce British, one rate of 6d., of which 5d. shall represent the British postage, and 1d. the Liberian postage.

Reciprocally, the total amount of postage to be collected in the Republic of Liberia upon ordinary letters posted in Liberia, addressed to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and conveyed between Liberia and the United Kingdom by British mail packets, shall be as follows:

For every letter not exceeding the weight of half an ounce British, one rate of 12 cents United States' currency, of which 2 cents shall represent the Liberian postage, and 10 cents the British postage.

With respect to the charge upon letters above the weight of half an ounce British, the following scale of progression shall be adopted in both countries:

For every letter above the weight of half an ounce British, and not exceeding one ounce, two rates :

For every letter above the weight of one ounce British, and not exceeding two ounces, four rates;

For every letter above the weight of two ounces British, and not exceeding three ounces, six rates;