Whereas the undersigned Edmund Roberts, a citizen of the United States of America and a resident of Portsmouth in the State of New Hampshire, being duly appointed a Special Agent by Letters Patent under the signature of the President, and seal of the United States of America, bearing date at the City of Washington, the twenty-sixth day of January, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, for negotiating and concluding a Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the United States of America and His Majesty Syud Sueed Bin, Sultan, of Muscat: now know ye, that I, Edmund Roberts, Special Agent as aforesaid, do conclude the foregoing Treaty of Amity and Commerce, and every Article and Clause therein contained, reserving the same nevertheless, for the final ratification of the President of the United States of America, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States.

Done at the Royal Palace in the City of Muscat, in the Kingdom of Oman, on the 21st day of September in the year of our Lord 1833, and of the Independence of the United States of America, the fifty-seventh, corresponding to the 6th day of the Moon, called Jumadee-ul-awul, in the year Allijra (Hijree) 1249.

MUSCAT.

APPENDIX No. X.-Page 196.

TREATY of COMMERCE concluded between HIS HIGHNESS the IMAM of MUSCAT and the KING of the FRENCH, on the 17th November 1844, and finally ratified on the 4th February 1846.

PREAMBLE.-The King of the French and HIS HIGHNESS STUD SUEED BIN SULTAN, the Sultan of Muscat and other places, being desirous to confirm and strengthen the good understanding which subsists between them, and to promote the commercial intercourse between their respective countries, and having come to the determination of entering into a Treaty of commerce and amity, the former has appointed as his Plenipotentiary, Monsieur Romain Desfossés, Captain in the Navy, and Chief of Bourbon and Madagascar, and the latter has resolved personally to carry on negotiations with the said Plenipotentiary. The Plenipotentiary of the King of the French having represented to His Highness the Imam and Sultan of Muscat that he was vested with the requisite powers, has concluded the following Articles with HIS HIGHNESS SYUD SUEED BIN SULTAN :

ARTICLE 1.

There shall always be good understanding and friendship between the King of the French, his heirs and successors, and His Highness Syud Sueed bin Sultan, the Sultan of Muscat, his heirs and successors, as also between their respective subjects.

ARTICLE 2.

The subjects of Syud Sueed bin Sultan, the Sultan of Muscat, shall be at liberty to enter, reside in, trade with, and pass with their merchandize through, France; and the French shall, in like manner, have similar liberty with regard to the territories of Syud Sueed bin Sultan, the Sultan of Muscat. The subjects of both the Government shall have all the privileges which are or may be conceded by the respective Governments to the subjects of the most favored nations.

ARTICLE 3.

The French shall be at liberty to purchase, sell, or rent land, houses, or warehouses, in the dominions of Syud Sueed bin Sultan, the Sultan of Muscat. The houses, warehouses, or other premises occupied by the French, or by persons in their service, shall not be forcibly entered without the permission of the French Consul. They shall not be prevented from leaving the dominions of Syud Sueed bin Sultan whenever they wish to do so.

ARTICLE 4.

The subjects of Syud Sueed bin Sultan, the Sultan of Muscat, actually in the service of the French, shall enjoy the same privileges which are granted to the French themselves; but if such subjects of His Highness shall be convicted of any crime or infraction of the law, they shall be discharged by the French, and delivered over to the authorities of the place.

ARTICLE 5.

The two high contracting parties acknowledge reciprocally the right of appointing Consuls to reside in each other's dominions, wherever the interests of commerce may require the presence of such officers; and such Consuls shall at all times be placed in the country in which they reside on the footing of the Consuls of the most favored nations. Each of the high contracting parties further agrees to permit his own subjects to be appointed to Consular Offices by the other contracting party, provided always that the persons so appointed shall not begin to act without the previous approbation of the Sovereign whose subjects they may be. The public functionaries of either Government, residing in the dominions of the other, shall enjoy the same privileges, immunities, and exemptions which are enjoyed within the same dominions by similar public functionaries of other countries. French Consul shall be at liberty to hoist the French flag over his house.

ARTICLE 6.

The

The authorities of the Sultan of Muscat shall not interfere in disputes between the French, or between the French and the subjects of other Christian nations. When differences arise between a subject of the Sultan of Muscat and a Frenchman, if the former be the complainant, the cause shall be heard by the French Consul; but if a Frenchman be the complainant against any of the subjects of the Sultan at Muscat, or against any Mahomedans, then the cause shall be decided by the authorities of the Sultan of Muscat, or by his deputy; but in such case the cause shall not be decided, except in the presence of the French Consul, or his deputy, who shall attend at the Court. In causes between a Frenchman and a subject of the Sultan of Muscat, the evidence of a man proved to have given false testimony on a former occasion shall not be received. A cause to be decided by the French Consul shall be tried in the presence of the Sultan of Muscat, or a person acting for him.

ARTICLE 7.

The property of a French subject who may die in any part of the dominions of the Sultan of Muscat, or of a subject of the Sultan of Muscat who may die in any part of the French dominions, shall be delivered over to the executor or administrator of the deceased, or, in default of such executor or administrator, to the respective Consuls of the contracting parties.

ARTICLE 8.

If a Frenchman shall become bankrupt in the dominions of the Sultan of Muscat, the French Consul shall take possession of all the property of

such bankrupt, and shall give it up to the creditors of the bankrupt, to be divided among them. This having been done, the bankrupt shall be entitled to a full discharge from his creditors, and he shall not at any time afterwards be required to make up the deficiency, nor shall any property he may afterwards acquire be considered liable for that purpose. But the French Consul shall use his endeavours to obtain for the benefit of the creditors all the property of the bankrupt. It shall also be incumbent upon the Consul to ascertain that everything possessed by the bankrupt at the time when he became insolvent has been given up.

ARTICLE 9.

If a subject of the Sultan of Muscat owes a debt to a Frenchman, the Sultan or his deputies shall urge the former to pay the claim of the latter. In like manner, the French Consul shall enjoin a Frenchman to pay a debt due by him to a subject of the Sultan of Muscat.

ARTICLE 10.

No duty exceeding five per cent. shall be levied on goods imported by French vessels into the dominions of Syud Sueed bin Sultan, the Sultan of Muscat. If a vessel of other nations imports any goods into the territories of the Sultan of Muscat, and pays less duty than five per cent., the same duty only shall be levied on similar goods imported by a French vessel into the said territories. A French vessel after she has paid the duty of five per cent., shall not be subject to any other charges, such as anchorage, pilotage, &c., nor shall any charge be made on that part of the cargo which may remain on board a French vessel; but if the vessel shall go to another part of the dominions of the Sultan of Muscat, duty shall be levied at five per cent. The above-mentioned duty having once been paid, the goods may be sold, by wholesale or retail, without paying any further duty. No charge whatever shall be made on French vessels which may enter any of the ports of the Sultan of Muscat for the purpose of refitting, or for refreshments, or to inquire about the state of the market; and they shall enjoy the same privileges which are enjoyed (by the vessels) of the most favored nations.

ARTICLE 11.

No vessel shall be prohibited from importing into, or exporting from, the territories of the Sultan of Muscat any kind of merchandize. The trade shall be perfectly free in the said territories, subject to the abovementioned duty, and to no other. The French shall be at liberty to buy and sell from whomsoever and to whomsoever they choose; but they shall not trade in the articles of ivory and gum copal on that part of the East Coast of Africa from the port of Tongate, situated in 5 degrees of south latitude, to the port of Culva, lying in nine degrees south of the equator, both ports inclusive. But if the English or Americans, or any other Christian nation, should carry on this trade, the French shall, in like manner, be at liberty to do so.