38 TREATY WITH THE NETHERLANDS. 1782. ARTICLE IX. ‘ ‘ or It is further a reed and concluded, that it shall be wholly free for all ¤ilg::l¤l:I:l*¤¤S· merchants, commanders of ships, and otherosubjects and inhabitants of °°""“ b"‘”°"‘ the contracting parties, in every place, subjected to the jurisdiction of the two powers respectively, to manage themselves, their own- business; and moreover as to the use offinlterpi·etershor brgkers, azhalso inhrelptlgog to the loadino or unloading o their vesse s, an every mg w rc a relation thereato, they shall be, on one side and on the other, considered and treated upon the footing of natural subjects, or, at least, upon an equality with the most favored nation. ARTICLE X. Merchant The merchant ships, of either of the parties, coming from the port •l¤iP¤· if *°*LE‘j){‘ of an enemy, or from their own, or a neutral port, may navigate freely §Q;_§f,'gf,j‘ towards any port of an renemy of the other ally: they shall be, neverif no contrdband theless, held, whenever it shall be required, to exhibit, as well upon the z¤¤d¤ ¤h¤U high-seas, as in the ports, their sea·letters, and other documents, del““°' scribed in the twenty-fifth article, stating expressly that their effects are not of the number of those, which are prohibited, as contraband: and not having any contraband goods for an enemy’s port, they may freely and without hindrance, pursue their voyage towards the port of an enemy. Nevertheless, it shall not be required to examine the papers of vessells convoyed by vessells of war, but credence shall be given to the word of the officer, who shall conduct the convoy. ARTICLE XI. Mm, of pm, If by exhibiting the sea-letters, and other documents, described more oeeding when particularly in the twenty-fifth article of this treaty, the other party shall °°":,f‘l’°‘“‘j,. discover there are any of those sorts of goods, which are declared pro- §g$_,,,6§j° u` hibited, and contraband, and that they are consigned for a port under the obedience of his enemy, it shall not be lawfull to break up the hatches of such ship, nor to open any chest, coffer, packs, casks, or other vessells found therein, or to remove the smallest parcell of her oods, whether the said vessell belongs to the subjects of their High hlightinesses, the States General of the United Netherlands, or to the subjects or inhabitants of the said United States of America, unless the lading be brought on shore, in presence of the officers of the court of admiralty, and an inventary thereof made; but there shall be no allowance to sell, exchange, or alienate the same, untill after that due and lawful} process shall have been had against such prohibited goods of contraband, and the court of admiralty, by a sentence pronounced, shall have confiscated the same, saving always as well the ship itselfi, as any other goods found therein, which are to be esteemed free, and may not be detained on pretence of their being infected by the prohibited goods, much less shall they be confiscated as lawfull prize: but on the contrary, when by the visitation at land, it shall be found that there are no contraband goods in the vessell, and it shall not appear by the papers that he who has taken and carried in the vessell has been able to discover any there, he ought to be condemned in all the charges, damages and interests of them, which he shall have caused, both to the owners of Vessells, and to the OWDBYS and freighters of cargoes with which they shall be loaded, by his temerity in taking and carrying them in; declaring most expressly the free vossclls shall assure the liberty of the effects with which they shall be loaded, and that this liberty shall extend itself? equally to the persons who shall be found in a free vessell, who may not be taken out of her, unless they are military men actually in the service of an enemy.
