it to be contravened for any cause, or under any pretext whatsoever; and also to ratify the fame in due form, and cause our ratification to be delivered and exchanged in the time that shall be agreed on. For fuch is our pleasure. In testimony whereof we have hereunto fet our feal. Done at Versailles, this thirtieth day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand feven hundred and feventy-eight, and the fourth year of our reign.

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HE Moft Christian King, and the Thirteen United States of North-America, to ult, New-Hampshire, MassachusettsBay, Rhode-Island, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, South-Carolina, and Georgia, willing to fix in an equitable and permanent manner, the rules which ought to be followed relative to the correfpondence and commerce which the two parties defire to establish between their respective countries, states and subjects; his most christian majesty and the said united states have judged that the said end could not be better obtained, than by taking for the basis of their agreement, the most perfect equality and reciprocity, and, by carefully avoiding all those burthensome preferences which are usually sources of debate, embarrassment and discontent; by leaving alfo each party at liberty to make respecting navigation and commerce those interior regulations which it shall find mor convenient to itself, and by founding the advantage of commerce folely upon reciprocal utility, and the just rules of free intercourse; referving withal to each party the liberty of admitting, at its pleasure, other nations to a participation of the same advantages. It is in the spirit of this intention, and to fulfill these views, that his faid majefty having named and appointed for his plenipotentiary, Conrad Alexander Gerard, royal fyndic of the

city city of Strasbourg, secretary of his majesty's council of state; and the united states on their part, having fully empowered Benjamin Franklin, deputy from the state of Pennsylvania to the general congress, and prefident to the convention of the said state; Silas Deane, late deputy from the flate of Connecticut to the said congress; and Arthur Lee, counsellor at law: The said respective plenipotentiaries, after exchanging their powers, and after mature deliberation, haye concluded and agreed upon the following articles:

Article 1. THERE shall be a firm, inviolable and universal peace, and a true and fincere friendship, between the most christian king, his heirs and successors, and the united states of America, and the subjects of the most christian king and of the said states, and between the countries, islands, cities and towns situate under the jurisdiction of the most chriftian king, and of the said united states, and the people and inhabitants of every degree, without exception of persons or places, and the terms herein after mentioned shall be perpetual between the most chriftian king, his heirs and successors, and the faid united states.

Art. 2. The most christian king and the united states engage mutually not to grant any particular favour to other nations, in respect of commerce and navigation, which shall not immediately become common to the other party, who shall enjoy the fame favour freely, if the conceffion was freely made, or on allowing the fame compenfation, if the conceffion was conditional.

Art. 3. The subjects of the most chriftian king shall pay in the ports, havens, roads, countries, islands, cities or towns of the united states, or any of them, no other or greater duties or impofts, of what nature foever they may be, or by what name foever called, than those which the nations most favoured are or shall be obliged to pay; and they shall enjoy all the rights, liberties, privileges, immunities and exemptions in trade, navigation and commerce, whether in passing from one port in the faid states to another, or in going to and from the fame, from and to any part of the world, which the faid nations do or shall enjoy.

Art. 4. The subjects, people and inhabitants of the said united states, and each of them, shall not pay in the ports, havens, roads, islands, cities and places under the domination of his moft chriftian majesty in Europe, any other or greater duties or imposts, of what nature foever they may be, or by what name foever called, than those which the most favoured nations are or shall be obliged to pay; and they shall enjoy all the rights, liberties, privileges, immunities, and exemptions in trade, navigation and commerce, whether in paffing from one port in the faid doininions in Europe to another, or in going to and from the fame, from and to any part of the world, which the said nations do or shall enjoy. Art.

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Art. 5. In the above exemption is particularly comprized, the impofition of one hundred fous per ton, established in France on foreign ships, unless when the ships of the united states shall load with the merchandize of France, for another port of the faid dominions; in which cafe the ships shall pay the duty above mentioned, To long as other nations the most favoured shall be obliged to pay it; but it is understood, that the faid united states, or any of them, are at liberty, when they shall judge it proper, to establish a duty equivalent in the same case.

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Art. 6. The most christian king shall endeavour, by all the means in his power, to protect and defend all vessels and the effects belonging to the fubjects, people or inhabitants of the faid united states, or any of them, being in his ports, havens or roads, or on the seas near his countries, islands, cities or towns; and to recover and restore to the right owners, their agents or attornies, all such vessels and effects which shall be taken within his jurisdiction and the ships of war of his most chriftian majesty, or any convoy failing under his authority, shall upon all occafions take under their protection all vessels belonging to the fubjects, people, or inhabitants of the faid united states, or any of them, and holding the fame course, or going the fame way, and shall defend such veffels, as long as they hold the same course, or go the same way, against all attacks, force or violence, in the fame manner as they ought to protect and defend the vessels belonging to the subjects of the most christian king.

Art. 7. In like manner the faid united states, and their ships of war failing under their authority, shall protect and defend, conformably to the tenor of the preceding article, all the vessels and effects belonging to the subjects of the most christian king, and use all their endeavours to recover, and cause to be restored, the faid vessels and effects that shall have been taken within the jurifdiction of the faid united states, or any of them.

Art. 8. The inoft chriftian king will employ his good offices and interpofitions with the king or or emperor of Morocco or or Fez; the regencies of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoly, or with any of them; and also with every other prince, state or power, of the coaft of Barbary in Africa; and the subjects of the faid king, emperor, states and powers, and each of them, in order to provide as fully and efficacioufly as poffible for the benefit, conveniency and fafety of the faid united states, and each of them, their subjects, people and inhabitants, and their veffels and effects, against all violence, infults, attacks or depredations, on the part of the faid princes and states of Barbary, or their fubjects.

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Art. 9. subjects, inhabitants, merchants, commanders of ships, masters and mariners of the states, provinces and dominions of each party respectively, shall abstain and forbear to fish in all places poffefied, or which shall be possessed by the other party; the most chriftian king's subjects shall not fish in the havens,

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havens, bays, creeks, roads, coafts or places, which the faid united states hold, or shall hereafter hold; and in like manner the subjects, people and inhabitants of the united states shall not fish in the havens, bays, creeks, roads, coafts or places, which the most christian king possesses, or shall hereafter possess; and if any ship or vessel shall be found fishing contrary to the tenor of this treaty, the said ship or vessel with its lading, (proof being made thereof) shall be confiscated; it is however understood that the exclusion stipulated in the present article, shall take place only fo long and fo far, as the most chriftian king or the united states shall not in this respect have granted an exemption to some other nation.

Art. 10. The united states, their citizens and inhabitants, shall never disturb the subjects of the most christian king in the enjoyment and exercise of the right of fishing on the banks of Newfoundland, nor in the indefinite and exclusive right which belongs to them on that part of the coast of that island which is designed by the treaty of Utrecht, nor in the right relative to all and each of the ifles which belong to his most christian majesty, the whole conformable to the true sense of the treaties of Utrecht and Paris.

Art. 11. The subjects and inhabitants of the said united states, or any of them, shall not be reputed Aubains in France, and consequently shall be exempted from the Droit d'Aubaine, or other fimilar duty, under what name foever; they may by teftament, donation, or otherwise, dispose of their goods, moveable and immoveable, in favour of such persons as to them shall feem good; and their heirs, subjects of the united states, refiding whether in France or elsewhere, may succeed them, ab inteftat, without being obliged to obtain letters of naturalization, and without having the effect of this conceffion contested or impeded, under pretext of any rights or prerogatives of provinces, cities, or private perfons; and the said heirs, whether such by particular title, or ab inteftat, thall be exempted from the duty called Droit de detraction, or other duty of the fame kind; faving nevertheless the local rights or duties, as much and as long as fimilar ones are not established by the united states, or any of them. The subjects of the most chriftian king shall enjoy on their part, in all the dominions of the faid states, an entire and perfect reciprocity, relative to the stipulations contained in the present article: But it is at the fame time agreed, that its contents shall not affect the laws made, or that may be made hereafter in France, against emigrations, whichshall remain in all their force and vigour; and the united states, on their part, or any of them, shall be at liberty to enact such laws, relative to that matter, as to them shall feem proper.

Art. 12. The merchant ships of either of the parties, which shall be making into a port belonging to the enemy of the other ally, and concerning whose voyage and the species of goods on board

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her there shall be just grounds of fufpicion, shall be obliged to exhibit, as well upon the high seas, as in the ports and havens, not only her pafsports, but likewise certificates, expressly shewing that her goods are not of the number of those which have been prohibited as contraband.

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13. If, by exhibiting of the above-faid certificates, the other party discover there are any of those forts of goods which are prohibited and declared contraband, and configned for a port under the obedience of his enemy, it shall not be lawful to break up the hatches of such ship, or to open any cheft, coffers, packs, casks, or any other vessel found therein, or to remove the smallest parcel of her goods, whether fuch ship belong to the fubjects of France or the inhabitants of the faid united states, unless the lading be brought on shore, in the prefence of the officers of the court of admiralty, and an inventory thereof made; but there shall be no allowance to fell, exchange, or alienate the fame in any manner, until that after due and lawful process shall have been had against such prohibited goods, and the court of admiralty shall, by a fentence pronounced, have confifcated the fame, faving always as well the ship itself, as any other goods found therein, which by this treaty are to be esteemed free; neither may they be detained on pretence of their being as it were infected by the prohibited goods, much less shall they be confiscated as lawful prize; but if not the whole cargo, but only part thereof thall confift of prohibited or contraband goods, and the commander of the ship shall be ready and willing to deliver them to the captor who has discovered them, in such case the captor having received those goods, shall forthwith discharge the ship, and not hinder her by any means freely to profecute the voyage on which she was bound. But in cafe the contraband merchandizes cannot be all received on board the veslel of the captor, then the captor may, notwithstanding the offer of delivering him the contraband goods, carry the vessel into the nearest port, agreeable to what is above directed.

Art. 14. On the contrary it is agreed, that whatever shall be found to be laden by the subjects and inhabitants of either party on any ship belonging to the enemies of the other, or to their subjects, the whole, although it be not of the fort of prohibited goods, may be confiscated in the fame manner as if it belonged to the enemy, except such goods and merchandize as were put on board fuch ship before the declaration of war, or even after fuch declaration, if so be it were done without knowledge of such declaration; fo.that the goods of the subjects and people of either party, whether they be of the nature of such as are prohibited or otherwise, which, as is aforesaid, were put on board any ship belonging to an enemy before the war, or after the declara tion of the fame, without the knowledge of it, shall no ways be liable to confifcation, but fall well and truly be reftored