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[Stade Toll.]

intend to act in future relative to the maintenance of the Free Navigation of the River.

"I therefore take the liberty of asking each of those Plenipotentiaries whether it is in their power to give explanations on this subject."

The Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the King of Denmark reads the following Declaration :

"The Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the King of Denmark declares that his Government engages to maintain in future, as in the past, so far as it is concerned, the Works serving to maintain the Navigability of the Elbe, without imposing, by way of compensation, any new Duty whatever, either upon the Hull of Vessels which shall ascend or descend that River, or upon their Cargoes."

The Plenipotentiary of Hamburgh, responding on his side to the invitation of the Plenipotentiary of Great Britain, says that he might, perhaps, contest the competency of the Conference to deal with the question thus raised. He will, however, abstain from doing so. In consequence, he has the honour to make, in the name of the Senate, the following Declaration :

"The Plenipotentiary of the Free City of Hamburgh declares that the Abolition of the Stade Toll will never be for that city a motive for altering the actual state of things relative to the maintenance at its expense of the Navigability of the Elbe from Hamburgh to the sea, which state of things will subsist in all respects without alteration."

At the request of the Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands, the Conference decides that the Declarations which have been read shall be textually inserted in the Protocol of the sitting, as well as the explanations of the Plenipotentiary of Great Britain which gave rise to them.

[Boundaries.]

No. 333.-CONVENTION between Italy and Switzerland, for the Settlement of the Disputed Frontier between Lombardy and the Canton of Ticino. Signed at Lugano, 5th October, 1861.

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Preamble. Reference to Treaty of Varese of 2nd August, 1752. Boundary between ex-Duchy of Milan and the ex-Bailiwicks of Locarno, Lugano, and Mendrisio.

1. Commissioners to be guided by the Treaty of Varese of 2nd August, 1752.

2. Communal Limits to be recognised.

3. Territorial Landmarks.

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4. Commission only to define Frontier Lines between State and State. 5. Plans of 1845, if correct, to be used to define New Frontier. Question I: Locality called Pairolo. Text of the Treaty. Modification by the Commission. Question II: Locality called Pian Biscagno. Text of the Treaty. Modification by the Commission. Question III: Locality called Sasso Rosso. Text of the Treaty. Modification by the Commission. Question IV: Locality called Pra del Gaggio. Text of the Treaty. Modification by the Commission. Question V Locality called Valle Rovina. Text of the Treaty. Modification by the Commission. Question VI: Locality called Colmo di Creccio. Text of the Treaty. Modification by the Commission. Question VII: Locality called Farm Pianazzo. Text of the Treaty. Modification by the Commission. Question VIII: Landmarks along the Torrent Vallinera. Text of the Treaty. Modification by the Commission. Question IX : Course of the River Tresa. Text of the Treaty. Modification by the Commission. Question X: Locality called Bocca-Nave. Text of the Treaty. Modification by the Commission. Question XI: Boundaries between the Commune of Campione and the Swiss Territory.

(Translation.)

Reference to Treaty of Varese of 2nd August, 1752. Boundary between ex-Duchy of Milan and the ex-Bailiwicks of Locarno, Lugano, and Mendrisio.

THE Frontier between Lombardy and the Canton of Ticino, the one belonging to the Kingdom of Italy and the other to the Helvetic Confederation, is regulated by the Treaty of Varese of 2nd August, 1752, between Her Majesty the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and the 12 Cantons of the Helvetic League ruling on this side the mountains. That Treaty, with its corre

[Boundaries.]

sponding explanations and specifications, provides for the determination of the Frontier between the ex-Duchy of Milan and the ex-Bailiwicks of Locarno, Lugano, and Mendrisio. Some disputes having arisen, in the progress of time, as to the course of that Frontier, whether from the alteration of the Boundury lines indicated, or from the not very precise specifications of the above-mentioned Treaty, or because some parts of the said Frontiers (such as those appertaining to the Lombard Commune of Campione, then a fief of the Abbey of St. Ambrose at Milan), were not taken account of in the Treaty, the Italian and Swiss Governments have agreed to proceed to a definitive settlement of the said dissensions. In consequence whereof, the following persons have been appointed Commissioners for the purpose:

On the part of His Majesty the King of Italy, the noble Cavalier Luigi Torelli, Governor of the Province of the Valtelline, &c.; the noble Cavalier Ezio De-Vecchi, Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Staff, &c.; and Signor Paolo Turconi, Departmental Chief in the Ministry of Finance;

On the part of the Swiss Confederation, M. Emanuel BourgeoisDoxat, Federal Colonel; and M. Charles Battaglini, Advocate Member of the Grand Council of the Canton of Ticino;

Who, when they had assembled at Lugano on the 11th of September, 1861, and had exchanged their Full Powers, which were found in good and due form, constituted themselves as a Commission, under the Presidency of Federal Colonel BourgeoisDoxat. Lieutenant-Colonel De-Vecchi was appointed to perform the duties of Secretary.

The Commission immediately began its operations, and agreed to adopt the following rules as the basis of the work of Delimitation:

Commissioners to be guided by the Treaty of Varese of 2nd August,

1752.

ART. I. The principal document which is to serve as a guide to the Commission in tracing out the true situation of the Boundaries between the Italian and Swiss States at the disputed parts, is the Treaty of Varese of 1752, together with the Boundary Specifications which have succeeded it, and the plans by which it is accompanied. This Convention, therefore, does not constitute a new Treaty, but simply an elucidation of the doubtful points of the preceding one. Consequently the descrip

[Boundaries.]

tions and decisions which it shall hereby be agreed to apply to the points in dispute, shall be considered as interpolated in the Treaty of Varese at the parts to which they refer; and wherever nothing is said to the contrary, it is understood that the Treaty itself continues in full force.

Communal Limits to be recognised.

ART. II. At the parts of the Frontier not treated of in the Treaty of Varese, the Commission will endeavour to adopt, as the State Limits, the Communal Limits already recognised.

Territorial Landmarks.

ART. III. Where it shall be thought necessary to set up new Territorial Landmarks for the definition of the Frontier at the disputed parts, they shall bear inscriptions similar to those already existing according to the Treaty of Varese, and their numbers, with the additions of a fraction, shall be interpolated in the progressive numeration of the latter; when the Landmarks mentioned in the Treaty of Varese are found to be wanting they shall be restored.

Commission only to define Frontier Lines between State and State.

ART. IV. The Commission agrees to confine its business to the definition of the Frontier lines between State and State, so far as regards the question of Sovereignty. It is settled that the Limits fixed for the respective Sovereign Jurisdictions of the two States shall, at the same time, mark those of the Communal Jurisdictions of the Frontier Communes, but it is not intended in any way to prejudice any question of Property, whether Communal or Private; such questions will still devolve altogether on the judicial authorities of the States wherein the Lands in question are comprised. The Commission even declares that its decisions are not to be taken either as proof or partial proof of Possessive Rights, whether of Communes or Private Persons, to Lands where such Rights are uncertain, and the ownership disputed.

Plans of 1845, if correct, to be used to define New Frontier. ART. V. Some detailed Plans of the most important Lands in dispute, which were drawn by direction of the Austro-Swiss International Commission which was engaged on the question

[Boundaries.]

in 1845, without coming to any agreement, may, if admitted to be exact representations of the Territory, be employed for the elucidation of the text in the definition of the new Frontiers, the agreements come to being graphically represented thereon. Those Plans shall then form an accompaniment to the textual descriptions, and like them shall be attested by the Commission.

These preliminaries having been agreed to, the Commission proceeded by means of examination of the documents and visitation of the ground in company with the communal authorities interested, to settle the frontiers at the disputed parts; and the following are the results arrived at, which are here set down, with a statement of the locality of the question and the communes interested, while over against them are placed the specificatory Articles of the Treaty of Varese which are modified thereby.

Question 1.

Locality called Pairolo.

Of the place called del Pairolo, between the Lombard Commune of Puria and the Swiss Commune of Sanvico.—Treaty of Varese. Specification of Porlezza, 25th August, 1754, paragraph 13, line 1, plan X of the Treaty of Varese.

Text of the Treaty.

From the said height called l'Arrabione, turning to the right between south and west as far as the summit and rocks called di Noresso, thence descending to the place denominated il Pianone, and then ascending again to the other summit, called del Noresso, following always the crest of the mountains up to the top of the rocks called dei Pozzetti, or to the summit of Pairolo, then descending to a plain in the vicinity of the locality which is called the Pairolo, which is a hollow of a spherical shape about 8 trabucchi deep and about 15 trabucchi in diameter, which locality all remains in the Valsolda, and from that place ascending the hill called del Pairolo up to the summit of the rocks of the Parazzo.

Modification by the Commission.

From the said height called l'Arrabione, turning to the right between south and west as far as the summit and rocks called di Noresso, thence descending to the place denominated il Pianone,

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