262 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1800. 



the commerce of neutral nations ; 

 in like manner his majesty the king 

 of Sweden, and his imperial ma- 

 jesty of all the Russias, will and de- 

 termine, that all other merchandize 

 shall be and remain free; and in 

 order that the general principles of 

 the laws of nature, of which the 

 freedom of trade and navigation, as 

 well as the rights of neutral nations, 

 are the immediate consequence, 

 may be placed under a competent 

 and sure safeguard, they have re- 

 solved no longer to delay that vo- 

 luntary explanation from which they 

 have hitherto been restrained by 

 motives of their separate and tem- 

 porary interests. With this view 

 they have hereby determined. 



1st. That every ship may freely 

 navigate from one harbour to ano- 

 ther, and on the coast of the belli- 



gerent nations. 



Sd.That the effects whichbelongto 

 the subj ects of the belligerent powers 

 in neutral ships, with the exception 

 of contraband goods, shall be free. 



3d. That in order to determine 

 what shall be considered as a block- 

 aded harbour, such denomination 

 shall be admitted to apply only 

 where the disposition andnumberof 

 the ships of the power by which it 

 is invested, shall be such as to ren- 

 der it apparently hazardous to en- 

 ter, and that every ship which shall 

 go into a blockaded harbour, that is 

 evidently so blockaded, violates the 

 present convention as much as if 

 the commander of the blockade 

 had previously advised it of the state 

 of the harbour, and it had neverthe- 

 less endeavoured, by force or arti- 

 fice, to obtain admission. 



4'th. That with regard to neutral 

 ships, except those which, for just 

 reasons, and upon evident grounds, 

 shall be detained, sentence shall be 



pronounced without delay ; the 

 proceedings against them shall be 

 uniform, prompt, and lawful. — 

 Over and above the indemnity to 

 which tliey shall be entitled for the 

 damage they shall have sustained, 

 complete satisfaction shall be given 

 for the insult committed against the 

 flag of their majesties. 



5th. That the declaration of the 

 officers who shall command the ship 

 of war, or ships of war, of the king 

 or emperor, which shall be con- 

 voying one or more merchant ships, 

 that the convoy has no contraband 

 goods on board, shall be sufficient ; 

 and that no search of his ship, or the 

 other ships of the convoy, shall be 

 permitted. And the better to in- 

 sure respect to those principles, and 

 the stipulations founded upon them, 

 which their disinterested wishes to 

 pi'eserve the imprescriptible rights 

 of neutral nations have suggested, 

 thehigh con tractingpartieSj to prove 

 their sincerity and justice, will give 

 the strictest orders to their captains, 

 as well of their ships of war, as of 

 their merchant-ships, to load no 

 part of their ships, or secretly to 

 have on board, any articles, which, 

 by virtue of this present conven- 

 tion, may be considered as contra- 

 band : and for the more completely 

 carrying into execution this com- 

 mand, they will respectively take 

 care to give directions to their 

 courts of admiralty to publish it 

 wherever they shall think it neces- 

 sary, and to this end the regulation 

 which shall contain this prohibi- 

 tion, under the several penalties, 

 shall be printed at the end of the 

 present act, that no one may plead 

 ignorance. 



Art. IV. In order to place the 

 commerce of their subj ects upon the 

 most legal and permanent basis, his 



