STATE PAPERS. 



287 



parties, whether they are contra- 

 band or otherwise, which, as has 

 been said, shall have been put on 



board a vessel belonging to 



an 



enemy before the war, or even 

 after the declaration of war, when 

 it was not known, shall in no wise 

 be subject to confiscation, but shall 

 faithfully and bona fide be restored, 

 without delay, to their proprietors, 

 who shall claim them ; it being, 

 nevertheless understood, that it is 

 unlawful to carry into the enemy's 

 ports any goods which are contra- 

 band. The two contracting par- 

 ties agrree that two months having 

 elapsed after the declaration of war, 

 their respective citizens, from what- 

 ever part of the world they come, 

 shall not be allowed to allege the 

 ignorance in question in the present 

 article. 



1 6th. Merchant-ships belonging 

 to the citizens of either of the 

 two contracting parties, where they 

 would wish to enter the ports of 

 the enemy of one of the two par- 

 ties, if voyage or cargo give just 

 cause of suspicion, the said ships shall 

 be obliced to exhibit on the high 

 seas, as well as in harbours or roads, 

 not only their passports but like- 

 wise their certificates proving that 

 these effects are not of the same 

 kind as those contraband articles 

 specified in Article 13 of the present 

 convention. 



17th. And to avoid captures 

 upon frivolous suspicions, and to 

 prevent the mischief which results 

 from them it is agreed, that when 

 one of the two parties shall be at 

 war, and the other neutral, the 

 vessels of the neutral party shall be 

 furnished with passports similar to 

 those specified in Article 4, so that 

 it may thus appear that the vessels 

 belong truly to the neutral party. 



Those passports shall be valid for 

 any number of voyages ; but they 

 shall be renewed every year, if 

 the vessel returns home during the 

 course of a year. 



If these ships are laden, they shall 

 be furnished, not only with the pass- 

 ports above-mentioned, but like- 

 wise with the certificates described 

 in the samearticle, so that it maybe 

 known whether any contraband 

 merchandise is on board. There shall 

 not be demanded any other docu- 

 ment, notwithstanding all usages to 

 the contrary ; and if it does not ap- 

 pear by these certificates that there 

 is any contraband merchandise on 

 board, the vessels shall be allowed 

 to proceed on their voyages. If, 

 on the contrary, it appears by these 

 certificates that the vessels have 

 contraband merchandises on board, 

 and the masteroffers to deliver them 

 up, the offer shall be accepted, and 

 the ship shall be left at liberty to 

 proceed on her voyage, at least if 

 the quantity of contraband mer- 

 chandise is not too great to be con- 

 veniently taken on board a ship of 

 war or privateer ; in that case, it 

 shall be lawful to take the ship into 

 a harbour, there to deliver the said 

 merchandise. 



If a ship is found without the 

 passport or the certificates thus 

 demanded, the affair shall be ex- 

 amined by the judges or competent 

 tribunals ; and if it appears, by 

 other documentsorproofsadmissible 

 by the usage of nations, that the 

 ship belongs to the citizens of the 

 neutral party, she shall not be con- 

 demned, but shall be set at liberty 

 with her cargo, the contraband 

 goods excepted, and shall be at 

 liberty to proceed on her voyage. 



If tlie captain named in the pass- 

 port of the ship should die, or cease 



