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them, fhall be at liberty to make refpecting this matter, fuch laws as they think proper.

VII. All and every the fubjects, inhabitants of the kingdom of Sweden, as well as thofe of the United States, fhall be permitted to navigate with their veffels in all fafety and freedom, and without any regard to those to whom the merchandifes and cargoes may belong, from any port whatever, and the fubjects and inhabitants of the two states fhall likewife be permitted to fail and trade with their veffels and with the fame liberty and fafety to frequent the places, ports and havens of powers, enemies to both or either of the two contracting parties, without being in any wife molefted or troubled, and to carry on a commerce, not only directly from the ports of an enemy to a neutral port, but even from one port to another port of an enemy, whether it be under the jurifdiction of the fame, or of different Princes. And as it is acknowledged by this treaty with respect to fhips and merchandises, that free fhips fhall make the merchandifes free, and that every thing which fhall be on board of thips belonging to fubjects of the one or the other of the contracting parties, fhall be confidered as free, even though the cargo, or a part of it fhould belong to the enemies of one or both; it is, nevertheless, provided, that contraband goods fhall always be excepted; which being intercepted fhall be proceeded against according to the fpirit of the following articles. It is likewite

agreed, that the fame liberty be extended to perfons who may be on board of a free fhip, with this effect, that although they be enemies to both or either of the parties; they fhall not be taken out of the free fhip, unless they are foldiers in the actual fervice of the faid enemies.

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VIII. This liberty of navigation and commerce fhall extend to all kinds of merchandifes, except thofe only which are expreffed in the following articles, and are distinguished by the name of contraband goods.

IX. Under the name of contraband or prohibited goods fhall be comprehended, arms, guns, cannon balls, arquebufes, mufquets, bombs, petards, granadoes, fauciffes, pitch, balls, carriages for ordnance, mufquetrefts, bandoliers, cannon powder, matches, faltpetre,

fulphur,

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fulphur, bullets, pikes, fabres, fwords, morions, helmets, cutlaffes, halberts, javelins, pistols, holsters, bayonets, belts, horses with their harness, and all other like kinds of arms and inftruments of war for the use of troops.

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X. These which follow fhall not be reckoned in the number of prohibited goods; that is to fay, all forts of clothes, and all other manufacturers of wool, flax filk, cotton, or any other materials, all kinds of wearing apparel, together with the things of which they are commonly made; gold, filver, coined or uncoined, brass, iron, lead, copper, latten, coals, wheat, barley, and all forts of corn or pulfe, tobacco, all kinds of fpices, falted or fmoaked fish, falted fish, cheese, butter, beer, oil, wines, fugar, all forts of falt, and provifions which ferve for the nourishment and fubfiftence of man; all kinds of cotton, hemp, flax, tar, pitch, ropes, cables, fail cloth, anchors, and any part of anchors, fhip mafts, planks, boards, beams, and all forts of trees, and other things proper for building or repairing fhips; nor fhall any goods be confidered as contraband which have not been worked into the form of any inftrument or thing for the purpose of war, by land or by fea, much lefs fuch as have been prepared or wrought up for any other ufe. All which fhall be reckoned free goods, as likewife all others which are not comprehended and particularly mentioned in the foregoing articles; fo that they fhall not, by any pretended interpretation, be comprehended among prohibited or contraband goods; on the contrary, they may be freely transported by the fubjects of the King and the United States, even to places belonging to an enemy, fuch places only excepted as are befieged, blocked, or invested; and thofe places only fhall be confidered as fuch which are nearly furrounded by one of the belligerant powers.

XI. In order to avoid and prevent, on both fides, all difputes and difcord, it is agreed, that in cafe one of the parties fhall be engaged in a war, the fhips and veffels belonging to the fubjects or inhabitants of the other fhall be furnished with fea letters or paffports, expreffing the name, property, and port of the veffel, and alfo the name and place of abode of the mafter or commander

of

of the faid veffel, in order that it may thereby appear, that the faid veffel really and truly belongs to the fubjects of the one or the other party. These paff ports, which shall be drawn up in good and due form, fhall be renewed every time the veffel returns home in the courfe of the year. It is alfo agreed, that the faid veffels, when loaded, fshall-also be provided not only with fea letters, but also with certificates, containing a particular account of the cargo, the place from which the veffel failed, and that of her deftination, in order that it may be known whether they carry any of the prohibited or contraband merchandifes mentioned in the ninth article of the prefent treaty; which certificates fhall be made out by the officers of the place from which the veffel fhall depart. !

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XII. Although the veffels of the one and the other party may navigate freely, and with all fafety, as is explained in the feventh article, they fhall, nevertheless, be bound at all times, when required, to exhibit as well on the high feas as in port, their paffports and certificates above mentioned. And, not having contraband merchandife on board for an enemy's port, they, may freely, and without hindrance, purfue their voyage to the place of their deftination. Nethertheless, the exhibition of the papers fhall not be demanded of merchant fhips under the convoy of veffels of war, but credit fhall be given to the word of the officer commanding the convoy.

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XIII. If, on producing the faid certificates, it be difcovered that the veffel carries fome of the goods which: are declared to be prohibited or contraband, and which are configned to an enemy's port, it fhall not, however, be lawful to break up the hatches of fuch fhips, nor to open any cheft, coffers, packs, cafks, or veffels, nor to remove or difplace the fmalleft part of the merchandifes until the cargo has been landed in the prefence of officers appointed for the purpose, and until an inventory thereof has been taken; nor fhall it be lawful to fell, exchange, or alienate the cargo, or any part thereof, until legal procefs fhall have been had against the prohibited merchandifes, and fentence fhall have paffed declaring them liable to confifcation, saving, nevertheless, as well the hips. themfelves as the other merchandises which fhall have

been

been found therein, which, by virtue of this prefent treaty, are to be esteemed free, and which are not to be detained on pretence of their having been loaded with prohibited merchandife, and much lefs confifcated as lawful prize. And in cafe the contraband merchandise be only a part of the cargo, and the master of the veffel agrees, confents, and offers to deliver them to the vessel that has difcovered them, in that cafe, the latter, after receiving the merchandifes which are good prize, shall immediately let the veffel go, and fhall not, by any means, hinder her from pursuing her voyage to the place of her deftination. When a veffel is taken and brought into any of the ports of the contracting parties, if, upon examination, the be found to be loaded only with merchandise declared to be free, the owner, or he who has made the prize, fhall be bound to pay all cofts and damages to the mafter of the veffel unjustly detained.

XIV. It is likewife agreed, that whatever fhall be found to be laden by the fubjects of either of the two contracting parties on a fhip belonging to the enemies of the other party, the whole effects, although not of the number of those declared contraband, thall be confifcated as if they belonged to the enemy, excepting, nevertheless, fuch goods and merchandifes as were put on board before the declaration of war, and even fix months after the declaration, after which term none fhall be prefumed to be ignorant of it, which merchandifes fhall not, in any manner, be fubject to confifcation, but fhall be faithfully and fpecifically delivered to the owners who fhall claim or cause them to be claimed before confifcation and fale, as alfo their proceeds if the claim be made within eight months, and could not be made fooner after the fale, which is to be made publick: provided, nevertheless, that if the faid merchandises be contraband, it fhall not be, in anywife, lawful to carry them afterwards to a port belonging to the enemy.

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XV. And that more effectual care may be taken for the fecurity of the two contracting parties, that they fuffer no prejudice by the men of war of the other party, or by privateers, all captains and commanders of fhips of his Swedish Majefty, and of the United States, and

all

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all their fubjects, fhall be forbidden to do any injury or damage to thofe of the other party; and if they act to the contrary, having been found guilty on their examination by their proper judges, they fhall be bound to make fatisfaction for all damages, and the intereft thereof, and to make them good under pain and obligation of their perfons and goods.

XVI. For this caufe, every individual who is defirous of fitting out a privateer fhall, before he receives letters patent or fpecial commiffion, be obliged to give bond, with fufficient fureties, before a competent judge, for a fufficient fum to answer all damages and wrongs which the owner of the privateer, his officers, or others in his employ may commit during the cruize, contrary to the tenor of this treaty, and contrary to the edicts published by either party, whether by the King of Sweden or by the United States, in virtue of this fame treaty, and alfo under the penalty of having the faid letters patent and fpecial commiffion revoked and made void.

XVII. One of the contracting parties being at war and the other remaining neuter, if it fhould so happen that a merchant ship of the neutral power be taken by the enemy of the other party, and be afterwards retaken by a fhip of war or privateer of the power at war, alfe fhips and merchandise, of what nature foever they may be, when recovered from a pirate or fea rover, fhall be brought into a port of one of the two powers, and shall be committed in the cuftody of the officers of the faid port, that they may be reftored entire to the true proprietor as foon as he fhall have produced full proof of the property. Merchants, mafters, and owners of the ships, feamen, people of all forts, fhips and veffels, and, in general, all merchandifes and effects of one of the allies or their fubjects, fhall not be fubject to embargo, nor detained in any of the countries, territories, iflands, cities, towns, ports, rivers, or domains whatever of the other ally on account of any military expedition, or any publick or private purpose whatever, by feizure, by force, or by any fuch manner; much lefs fhall it be lawful for the fubjects of one of the parties to feize or take any thing by force from the fubjects of the other party

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