same in his name, according to the usages of the country, in order to give them the validity required by law.

II. British subjects possessing immoveable property shall pay the same municipal and fiscal taxes which are paid by natives, and shall discharge in general the obligations which are by law attached to, and are discharged by, the like property held by natives.

III. Every proprietor of houses, magazines, or other tenements, shall conform to the municipal regulations now existing or which shall hereafter exist.

IV. All cases of litigation respecting immoveable property, and relating to the ownership or occupation of houses or lands, between a British and a Tunisian subject, shall be referred for adjudication to the competent legal tribunals, whose summons for the appearance of the British subject shall be transmitted through the British Consul-General, or, in his absence, through his deputy, in order that he or his deputy may be present at the trial. And the condemned party shall have the right to appeal to the Courts constituted for that purpose, until the appeal shall have reached the Meglis Elakbar (Legislative Assembly); and whatever decision might be given by the last tribunal, the authority of the condemned party shall carry it out. But in cases where the dispute is between British subjects, it shall be optional for them, or either of them, to have their difference heard and determined by their Consul-General, or his deputy, whose decision, however, shall be governed by the laws and usages of the country, so far as they can be ascertained, and so far as the conditions expressed in the contract will permit.

V. British subjects holding immoveable property shall be free to sell, dispose of, and convey their property to natives; but they shall not sell, transfer, or convey their property to foreigners, except to subjects of such friendly Governments as have, by Convention or other agreement with His Highness the Bey, acquired for their subjects the right to purchase and hold immoveable property in the Regency of Tunis; and, in order to guard against any infraction of the present Article, as well as to avoid any dispute or litigation that may arise therefrom, it is agreed that in all cases of a sale or conveyance of immoveable property from a British to a foreign subject, the instrument of transfer shall have affixed to it the seals of the Ecclesiastical Court, or those of the competent native authorities, to render the sale valid and lawful.

VI. If a British proprietor die, either wholly intestate or intestate as to his immoveable property, the succession to his immoveable property shall be governed by the same law as the succession, ab intestato, to his moveable property, without any let or hindrance on the part of the Tunisian authorities.

VII. It being established at all times that the Consul-General, or, in his absence, his deputy, do administer the estate of a British subject dying intestate in the Regency of Tunis, it is further established and agreed that the same right of administration shall

extend to the lands, houses, and tenements of a British subject so dying. And it is moreover established, that upon the written declaration of Her Majesty's Agent and Consul-General, or in his absence, of his deputy, given under the seal of his office, that he has sold, disposed of, or conveyed the immoveable property belonging to the deceased, the Courts and legal authorities shall recognise such sale; and shall, upon the testimony of two notaries that the sale was made in due and legal form, furnish the purchaser, being a native or a foreigner coming within the provision of Artice V of the present Convention, with such legal instruments or deeds as will enable the said purchaser, in case of contention, sale, conveyance, or mortgage, to prove his right over the said property.

VIII. The stipulations of the foregoing Article, and the rights therein reserved, shall also apply to, and shall be exercised by, the Consul-General, or his deputy in his absence, with regard to the immoveable property of a British subject who has become involved in pecuniary difficulties, or who has declared himself insolvent, in order to the payment of his debts and liabilities.

IX. The written declaration of Her Majesty's Agent and Consul-General, or, in his absence, of his deputy, that he has disposed of the immoveable property of a British subject, for the reasons and for the purposes specified in Article VII and VIII, shall be held to free from responsibility the legal authorities and Courts recognising and confirming the transfer of such property; and for the satisfaction of the Courts that the transaction has been made in due form, it shall be optional for them to depute their own notaries to assist at such sales and conveyances.

X. In all transactions relating to immoveable property, British subjects shall pay the notarial and other fees which are fixed by law and are paid by the natives.

XI. No British subject shall be forced to dispose of his immoveable property, except for objects of public utility. But in all cases of expropriation, Articles XI and XII of the Municipal Law of Tunis shall be the rule for effecting the compulsory expropriation for any public purpose in a lawful manner, and for fixing the amount of the indemnity to be paid; and such indemnity shall be paid in full, and to the satisfaction of the proprietor, before the act of expropriation can be carried out.

XII. As a further protection, however, to proprietors, the Decree declaring the public object for which the expropriation has been rendered necessary shall emanate from His Highness the Bey. The Consul-General, or, in his absence, his deputy, shall have due information thereof, so that he may have it in his power to watch over the execution of the provisions of Article XI of the Municipal Law heretofore established and agreed upon with reference to the mode of ascertaining and fixing the amount of the indemnity.

XIII. With a view to prevent complaints, abuses, or a misconstruction being put upon an act of expropriation, it is agreed

that, should the Bey's Decree, specifying the object of public utility for which the expropriation has been made, be not executed at the expiration of one year after its date, the owner of the immoveable property shall have the right to recover the same by reimbursing in full the amount of the indemnity.

XIV. Whenever a British subject shall desire to introduce machinery, or establish a manufactory in the Regency of Tunis, he shall be bound to apply for and obtain the permission of the Bey for that purpose, and His Highness, in according such permission, shall specify in the body of the Decree or Concession the conditions upon which it has been granted, in order that the Decree shall serve, in case of litigation, or of an infraction of any of the conditions, as a rule and a guidance for the equitable adjustment of the point or points at issue.

XV. The building and appurtenances of manufactories being immoveable property, are subject to the conditions and stipulations relating to such property in general. But as a further security to the local Government and to the public revenue, it is moreover established and agreed that, upon the written requisition of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, or of the President of the Municipal Council, to the Consul-General, or, in his absence, to his deputy, the fiscal officers shall have the right to ascertain, by personal inspection, that the manufactory has not been diverted from the purpose for which permission was given, and that the internal taxes and imposts levied upon raw materials, either previously to or after their being manufactured, are duly paid.

XVI. British subjects holding, or hereafter becoming possessed of, property called anzal (leasehold), shall continue to enjoy the conditions which constitute and are attached to that description of property, and which conditions are hereby established and confirmed.

XVII. British subjects holding immoveable property in the Regency of Tunis shall, in conforming to the local laws and regulations, exercise and enjoy the same immunities, privileges, and rights that are accorded to Tunisian proprietors; and for that purpose the right of British subjects to hold immoveable property being derived from the enactments founded upon the organic laws (Aad-el-Aman) the said enactments are hereby confirmed; and their observance being considered necessary for the more efficient protection of the immoveable property held as aforestated, it has been further agreed that they shall be maintained, as a greater security for the due performance of the conditions of the present Convention. And they shall be furthermore entitled to all the immunities, privileges, and exemptions accorded, or to be hereafter accorded, to the subjects or citizens of the most favoured nation.

This Convention has been written in triplicate, consisting of

VOL. XI.

4 B

17 Articles, besides the introduction, and contained in the preceding 19 pages, to be signed by both parties, and to be executed in the manner explained and clearly set forth in its several provisions, having for object the duration, confirmation, and maintenance of amity between them.

Dated on Saturday, the 26th day of Rabi-el-Thany, 1280 of the Hedjira, corresponding to the 10th of October, in the year of our Lord 1863, at the Palace of the Goletta.

(L.S.) RICHARD WOOD.

(Signed in Arabic) (L.S.) MOHAMED ESSADOK BEY. (Countersigned by the Bey's Prime Minister.)

BRITISH ORDER IN COUNCIL, extending the Regulations for preventing Collisions at Sea, to the Ships of Turkey, the Roman States, and Chile. November 17th, 1863.

At the Court at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, the 17th day of November, 1863.

PRESENT, THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY IN COUNCIL.

WHEREAS the rules and practice observed for the purpose of preventing collisions at sea, which were formerly adopted by maritime nations, have proved insufficient to satisfy the requirements of modern navigation; and whereas various alterations in such rules and practice have from time to time been made by different nations, but the rules so altered have been found to be in some cases inconsistent with each other, and in other cases to have the force of municipal law only; and whereas certain regulations for the purpose aforesaid have been sanctioned by the "Merchant Shipping Act Amendment Act, 1862," and are contained in Table C in the schedule to that Act." And whereas for the purpose of correcting certain clerical errors the said regulations have, in pursuance of the provisions in the said Act contained, been modified by an Order in Council, bearing date the 9th day of January, 1863,† and the said regulations so modified are appended to the said Order, and to this Order. And whereas by virtue of the said Act and of the said Order, the said regulations so appended as aforesaid, so far as relates to British and French ships, and also so far as relates to other Foreign ships when within British jurisdiction, came into operation on the 1st day of June, 1863.

And whereas it is provided by the same Act, that whenever it is made to appear to Her Majesty that the Government of any Foreign country is willing that the regulations for preventing collision, contained in Table C in the schedule to the said Act, or † See Page 221.

* See Page 340,

such other regulations for preventing collision as are, for the time being, in force under the said Act, should apply to the ships of such country when beyond the limits of British jurisdiction, Her Majesty may, by Order in Council, direct that such regulations shall apply to the ships of the said Foreign country, whether within British jurisdiction or not.

And it is further provided by the said Act, that whenever an Order in Council has been issued applying any regulation made by or in pursuance of the said Act to the ships of any Foreign country, such ships shall in all cases arising in any British court be deemed to be subject to such regulation, and shall for the purpose of such regulation be treated as if they were British ships:

And whereas it has been made to appear to Her Majesty that the following Governments, that is to say:

The Government of His Majesty the Sultan ;
The Government of His Holiness the Pope; and
The Government of the Republic of Chile;

are willing that the said regulations appended to the said Order and to this Order, should apply to ships belonging to their respective countries when beyond the limits of British jurisdiction.

Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by virtue of the power vested in Her by the said recited Act, and by and with the advice and consent of Her Privy Council, is pleased to direct :

That the said regulations appended to the said Order in Council, bearing date the 9th day of January, 1863, and to this Order, from the date of this Order, should apply to ships belonging to the following countries and states, that is to say:

Turkey, Roman States, and Chile, whether within British jurisdiction or not.

EDMUND HARRISON.

REGULATIONS REFERRED TO IN THE FOREGOING Order.

Regulations for preventing Collisions at Sea. [See page 221.]