The respective Consuls General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or consular agents, shall have the right, also, to receive at their offices, or bureaux, conformably to the laws and regulations of their country, all acts of agreement executed between the citizens of their own country and citizens or inhabitants of the country in which they reside, and even all such acts between the latter, provided that these acts relate to property situated, or to business to be transacted, in the territory of the nation to which the Consul or the agent before whom they are executed may belong.

Copies of such papers, duly authenticated by the Consuls General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or consular agents, and sealed with the official seal of their consulate or consular agency, shall be admitted in courts of justice throughout the United States and France, in like manner as the originals.

Copies authenticared by them to be received as evidence.

ARTICLE VII.

Right to hold property.

In all the States of the Union, whose existing laws permit it, so long and to the same extent as the said laws shall remain in force, Frenchmen shall enjoy the right of possessing personal and real property by the same title and in the same manner as the citizens of the United States. They shall be free to dispose of it as they may please, either gratuitously or for value received, by donation, testament, or otherwise, just as those citizens themselves; and in no case shall they be subjected to taxes on transfer, inheritance, or any others different from those paid by the latter, or to taxes which shall not be equally imposed.

As to the States of the Union, by whose existing laws aliens are not permitted to hold real estate, the President engages to recommend to them the passage of such laws as may be necessary for the purpose of conferring this right.

In like manner, but with the reservation of the ulterior right of estab lishing reciprocity in regard to possession and inheritance, the Government of France accords to the citizens of the United States the same rights within its territory in respect to real and personal property, and to inheritance, as are enjoyed there by its own citizens.

Consuls to

ences between cap

crews, of their own

nation.

ARTICLE VIII.

The respective Consuls General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or consular have agents, shall have exclusive charge of the internal order of Cognizance of differ the merchant-vessels of their nation, and shall alone take tains, officers, and Cognizance of differences which may arise, either at sea or in port, between the captain, officers, and crew, without exception, particularly in reference to the adjustment of wages and the execu tion of contracts. The local authorities shall not, on any pretext, interfere in these differences, but shall lend forcible aid to the Consuls, when they may ask it, to arrest and imprison all persons composing the crew whom they may deem it necessary to confine. Those persons shall be arrested at the sole request of the Consuls, addressed in writing to the local authority, and supported by an official extract from the register of the ship or the list of the crew, and shall be held, during the whole time of their stay in the port, at the disposal of the Consuls. Their release shall be granted at the mere request of the Consuls made in writing. The expenses of the arrest and detention of those persons shall be paid by the Consuls.

ARTICLE IX.

The respective Consuls General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or consular agents, may arrest the officers, sailors, and all other per- Case of deserters sons making part of the crews of ships of war, or mer. from vessels, chant vessels of their nation, who may be guilty or be accused of having deserted said ships and vessels, for the purpose of sending them on board, or back to their country. To that end the Consuls of France in the United States shall apply to the magistrates designated in the act of Congress of May 4, 1826-that is to say, indiscriminately to any of the Federal, State, or municipal authorities; and the Consuls of the United States in France shall apply to any of the competent authorities and make a request in writing for the deserters, supporting it by an exhibition of the registers of the vessel and list of the crew, or by other official documents, to show that the men whom they claim belonged to said crew. Upon such request alone, thus supported, and without the exaction of any oath from the Consuls, the deserters, not being citizens of the country where the demand is made, either at the time of their shipping or of their arrival in the port, shall be given up to them. All aid and protection shall be furnished them for the pursuit, seizure, and arrest of the deserters, who shall even be put and kept in the prisons of the country at the request and at the expense of the Consuls until these agents may find an opportunity of sending them away. If, however, such opportunity should not present itself within the space of three months, counting from the day of the arrest, the deserters shall be set at liberty, and shall not again be arrested for the same cause.

ARTICLE X.

Protests, &c.

The respective Consuls General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or consular agents, shall receive the declarations, protests, and reports of all captains of vessels of their nation in reference to injuries experienced at sea; they shall examine and take note of the stowage; and when there are no stipulations to the contrary between the owners, freighters, or insurers, they shall be charged with the repairs. If any inhabitants of the country in which the Consuls reside, or citizens of a third nation, are interested in the matter, and the parties cannot agree, the competent local authority shall decide.

ARTICLE XI.

Salvage.

All proceedings relative to the salvage of American vessels wrecked upon the coasts of France, and of French vessels wrecked upon the coasts of the United States, shall be respectively directed by the Consuls General, Consuls, and Vice-Consuls of the United States in France, and by the Consuls General, Consuls, and Vice-Consuls of France in the United States, and until their arrival by the respective consular agents, wherever an agency, exists. In the places and ports where an agency does not exist, the local authorities, until the arrival of the Consul in whose district the wreck may have occurred, and who shall be immediately informed of the occurrence, shall take all necessary measures for the protection of persons and the preservation of property.

The local authorities shall not otherwise interfere than for the maintenance of order, the protection of the interests of the salvors, if they do not belong to the crews that have been wrecked, and to carry into

effect the arrangements made for the entry and exportation of the merchandise saved.

It is understood that such merchandise shall not be subjected to any custom-house duty if it is to be re-exported; and if it be entered for consumption, a diminution of such duty shall be allowed in conformity with the regulations of the respective countries.

ARTICLE XII.

The respective Consuls General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or consular agents, as well as their consular pupils, chancellors, and secConsuls, immunities. retaries, shall enjoy in the two countries all the other privileges, exemptions, and immunities which may at any future time be granted to the agents of the same rank of the most favored nation.

convention.

ARTICLE XIII.

The present convention shall remain in force for the space of ten Duration of this years from the day of the exchange of the ratifications, which shall be made in conformity with the respective constitutions of the two countries, and exchanged at Washington within the period of six months, or sooner if possible. In case neither party gives notice twelve months before the expiration of the said period of ten years of its intention not to renew this convention, it shall remain in force a year longer, and so on from year to year, until the expiration of a year from the day on which one of the parties shall give such notice.

In testimony whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed this convention, and hereunto affixed their respective seals. Done at the city of Washington the twenty-third day of February, anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.

CONVENTION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND FRANCE, AGREEING TO AN ADDITIONAL ARTICLE TO THE EXTRADITION CONVENTION BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES. SIGNED AT WASHINGTON FEBRUARY 10, 1858; RATIFICATIONS EXCHANGED AT WASHINGTON FEBRUARY 12, 1859; PROCLAIMED FEBRUARY 14, 1859.

Additional article to the extradition convention between the United States and France, of the 9th of November, 1843, and to the additional article of the 24th of February, 1845.

Persons to be surrendered.

It is agreed between the high contracting parties that the provisions. of the treaties for the mutual extradition of criminals between the United States of America and France, of November 9th, 1843, and February 24th, 1845, and now in force between the two Governments, shall extend not only to persons charged with the crimes therein mentioned, but also to persons charged with the following crimes, whether as principals, accessories, or accomplices, namely: Forging or knowingly passing or putting in circulation counterfeit coin or bank

notes or other paper current as money, with intent to defraud any person or persons; embezzlement by any person or persons hired or salaried to the detriment of their employers, when these crimes are subject to infamous punishment.

In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the present article in triplicate, and have affixed thereto the seal of their arms.

Done at Washington the tenth of February, 1858.

Date.

CONVENTION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND FRANCE, CONCERNING TRADE-MARKS. CONCLUDED APRIL 16, 1869; RATIFICATIONS EXCHANGED JULY 3, 1869; PROCLAIMED JULY 6, 1869.

The United States of America and His Majesty the Emperor of the French, desiring to secure in their respective territories a guarantee of property in trade-marks, have resolved to conclude a special convention for this purpose, and have named as their Plenipotentiaries: The President of the United States, Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State, and His Majesty the Emperor of the French, J. Berthemy, Commander of the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honor, &c., &c., &c., accredited as his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States; and the said Plenipotentiaries, after an examination of their respective full powers, which were found to be in good and due form, have agreed to and signed the following articles:

ARTICLE I.

Every reproduction in one of the two countries of trade-marks affixed in the other to certain merchandise to prove its origin and quality is forbidden, and shall give ground for an action for damages in favor of the injured party, to be prosecuted in the courts of the country in which the counterfeit shall be proven, just as if the plaintiff were a subject or citizen of that country.

The exclusive right to use a trade-mark for the benefit of citizens of the United States in France, or of French subjects in the territory of the United States, cannot exist for a longer period than that fixed by the law of the country for its own citizens.

If the trade-mark has become public property in the country of its origin, it shall be equally free to all in the other country.

ARTICLE II.

If the owners of trade-marks, residing in either of the two countries, wish to secure their rights in the other country, they must deposit duplicate copies of those marks in the Patent-Office at Washington, and in the clerk's office of the tribunal of commerce of the Seine, at Paris.

ARTICLE III.

The present arrangement shall take effect ninety days after the exchange of ratifications by the two Governments, and shall continue in force for ten years from this date.

In case neither of the two high contracting parties gives notice of its intention to discontinue this convention, twelve months before its expiration, it shall remain in force one year from the time that either of the high contracting parties announces its discontinuance.

ARTICLE IV.

The ratifications of this present arrangement shall be exchanged at Washington, within ten months, or sooner if possible.

In faith whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the present convention in duplicate, and affixed thereto the seal of their arms. Done at Washington the sixteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.

HAMILTON FISH. [SEAL.]
BERTHEMY.

SEAL.

The following decisions have been made in courts of the United States upon provisions of our treaties with France:

The treaty of amity and commerce of 1778 with France, Article 11, enabling French subjects to purchase and hold lands in the United States, being abrogated in 1798; the act of Maryland of 1780, permitting the lands of a French subject who had become a citizen of that State, dying intestate, to descend on the next of kin, being a nonnaturalized Frenchman, with a proviso vesting the lands in the State if the French heirs should not within ten years become resident citizens of the State, or convey the lands to a citizen; and the convention of 1800, between France and the United States, enabling the people of one country, holding lands in the other, to dispose of the same by testament, and to inherit lands in the other, without being naturalized: Held, that the latter treaty dispensed with the performance of the condition in the act of Maryland, and that the constitutional rule applied equally to the case of those who took by descent under the act, as to those who acquired by purchase without its aid. (Chirac vs. Chirac, 2 Wheat., 259; 4 Cond. Rep., 111.)

The further stipulation in the treaty, "that in case the laws of either of the two States should restrain strangers from the exercise of the rights of property with respect to real estate, such real estate may be sold, or otherwise disposed of, to citizens or inhabitants of the country where it may be," does not affect the rights of a French subject who takes or holds by the convention, so as to deprive him of the power of selling to citizens of the country; and gives to a French subject who has acquired lands by descent or devise, (and, perhaps, in any other manner,) the right during life to sell or otherwise dispose of the same, if lying in a State where lands purchased by an alien, generally, would be immediately escheatable. (Ibid.)

Although the convention of 1800 has expired, yet the instant a descent was cast on a French subject during its continuance, his rights became complete under it, and cannot be affected by its subsequent expiration. (Ibid.)

America was bound as an ally of France by the capitulation between France and Great Britain for the surrender of Dominica. (Miller vs. The Ship Resolution, 2 Dall. Rep., 15.)

The Phoebe Ann, a British vessel, had been captured by a French privateer, and sent into Charleston. Restitution of the prize was claimed by the British consul, who filed a libel in the district court, suggesting that the privateer had been illegally fitted out, and had illegally augmented her force within the United States. It appeared in proof that the privateer had originally entered the port of Charleston, armed and commissioned for war; and that she had taken out her guns, masts, and sails, which remained on shore until the general repairs of the vessel were completed. when they were again put on board, with the same force or thereabouts; and on a subsequent cruise the prize was taken.

ELLSWORTH, Chief Justice. Suggestions of policy and convenience cannot be considered in the judicial determination of a question of right; the treaty with France, whatever that is, must have its effect. By the nineteenth article it is declared that French vessels, whether public and of war, or private and of merchants, may, on any urgent necessity, enter our ports, and be supplied with all things needful for repairs. In the present case the privateer only underwent a repair; and the mere replacement of her force cannot be a material augmentation; even if an augmentation of force could be proven, which we do not decide å sufficient cause of restitution. (Moodie vs. The Sloop Phabe Ann, 3 Dall. Rep., 319.)