REPORT ON EXCHANGES. 55 



Department of State, Montevideo, July 24, 1884. 



DECREE. 



In conformity with the provisions of article 3 of the law of May 27, 

 1884, the Executive of the Republic decrees : 



Article 1. After the office of luteruational Exchanges of Publications 

 referred to in the preceding law has been established and organized, 

 the director of the national library will, with the view to the better 

 service of said office, prepare regulations for the same, which he will 

 in due time submit to the Government for its api)roval. 



Article 2. The above-mentioned functionary will on the 31st Decem- 

 ber of each year present to tbis ministry a report showing the progress, 

 the needs, and the increase of said office, which document, v/heu pub- 

 lished, shall be transmitted to all institutions which exchange j)ublica- 

 tious with the national library. 



Article 3. All the departments and their bureaus will transmit to the 

 office of International Exchanges of Publications 25 copies of all the 

 documents jjublished by them. 



Article 4. The director of the national library will acquire for the 

 office to which this decree relates, all such publications as will, in his 

 opinion, tend to contribute to the reputation of the Republic in foreign 

 parts, with the view that this office may distribute them. The provis- 

 ions of this arfcle, however, shall not interfere with any donations 

 which may be made to the office of exchanges. 



Article 5. All agents of the Republic in foreign countries will aid the 

 director of the library, whenever he calls on them for such aid ; and 

 if such obligation involves any expenditure, the agents shall, before 

 takiug any action, inform the director of the amount needed, so that he 

 may either allow the expenditure or refuse it, according to the amount 

 of funds at his disposal for the purpose. 



Article 6. Any conventions which may be concluded in the future 

 shall be formulated according to the test of the convention concluded 

 between the charg6 d' affaires of Uruguay in Chili and the Govern- 

 ment of Chili on the 6th June, 1873, and whenever this is impossi- 

 ble, according to the project of a convention prepared at Brussels on 

 the 26th August, 1880.* 



Article 7. In view of the fact that any delay in the conclusion of con- 

 ventions may prove prejudicial to the Republic and the national li- 

 brary, the director of that institution will propose to the Department 

 of State the establishment of an exchange of publications with all those 

 nations with whom, in his opinion, such an exchange should be estab- 

 lished, determining at the same time what publications should be 

 exchanged. And if the Department of State approves of the projjo- 



*[T-ho articles of this conventiou were published in the Smithsoniau Report for 

 1883, pp. I":i3,124.] 



