under the auspices of the League of Nations within five years from the coming into force of the present Treaty.

The Serb-Croat-Slovene State also undertakes to extend to all the Allied and Associated Powers any favors or privileges in customs matters which it may grant during the same period of five years to any State with which since August, 1914, the Allied and Associated Powers have been at war, or to any State which in virtue of Article 222 of the Treaty with Austria has special customs arrangements with such States.

1

ARTICLE 14.

Pending the conclusion of the general convention referred to above, the Serb-Croat-Slovene State undertakes to treat on the same footing as natior al vessels or vessels of the most favored nation the vessels of all the Allied and Associated Powers which accord similar treatment to Serb-Croat-Slovene vessels. As an exception from this provision, the right of the Serb-Croat-Slovene State or of any other Allied or Associated Power to confine its maritime coasting trade to national vessels is expressly reserved. The Allied and Associated Powers further agree not to claim under this Article the benefit of agreements which the States obtaining territory formerly belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy may conclude as regards coasting traffic between the ports of the Adriatic Sea.

ARTICLE 15.

Pending the conclusion under the auspices of the League of Nations of a general convention to secure and maintain freedom of communications and of transit, the Serb-Croat-Slovene State undertakes to accord freedom of transit to persons, goods, vessels, carriages, wagons and mails in transit to or from any Allied or Associated State over Serb-Croat-Slovene territory, including territorial waters, and to treat them at least as favorably as Serb-Croat-Slovene persons, goods, vessels, carriages, wagons and mails respectively or those of any other more favored nationality, origin, importation or ownership, as regards facilities, charges, restrictions and all other

matters.

All charges imposed in the territory of the Serb-Croat-Slovene State on such traffic in transit shall be reasonable having regard to the conditions of the traffic. Goods in transit shall be exempt from all customs or other duties.

Tariffs for transit across the Serb-Croat-Slovene State and tariffs between the Serb-Croat-Slovene State and any Allied or Associated Power involving through tickets or waybills shall be established at the request of the Allied or Associated Power concerned.

Freedom of transit will extend to postal, telegraphic and telephonic services.

Provided that no Allied or Associated Power can claim the benefit of these provisions on behalf of any part of its territory in which reciprocal treatment is not accorded in respect of the same subject

matter.

If within a period of five years from the coming into force of the present Treaty no general convention as aforesaid shall have been

1 See page 3230.

concluded under the auspices of the League of Nations, the SerbCroat-Slovene State shall be at liberty at any time thereafter to give twelve months' notice to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations to terminate the obligations of this Article.

ARTICLE 16.

All rights and privileges accorded by the foregoing Articles to the Allied and Associated Powers shall be accorded equally to all States Members of the League of Nations.

The present Treaty, in French, in English and in Italian, of which in case of divergence the French text shall prevail, shall be ratified. It shall come into force at the same time as the Treaty of Peace with Austria.

The deposit of ratifications shall be made at Paris.

Powers of which the seat of the Government is outside Europe will be entitled merely to inform the Government of the French Republic through their diplomatic representative at Paris that their ratification has been given; in that case they must transmit the instrument of ratification as soon as possible.

A procès-verbal of the deposit of ratifications will be drawn up. The French Government will transmit to all the signatory Powers a certified copy of the procès-verbal of the deposit of ratifications. In faith whereof the above-named Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Treaty.

Done at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the tenth day of September one thousand nine hundred and nineteen, in a single copy which will remain deposited in the archives of the French Republic, and of which authenticated copies will be transmitted to each of the Signatory Powers.

INTERNATIONAL.

1919.

CONVENTION REVISING THE GENERAL ACT OF BERLIN, FEBRUARY 26, 1885, AND THE GENERAL ACT AND DECLARATION OF BRUSSELS, JULY 2, 1890.

Signed at Saint-Germain-en-Laye September 10, 1919.1

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BELGIUM, THE BRITISH EMPIRE, FRANCE, ITALY, JAPAN AND PORTUGAL;

Whereas the General Act of the African Conference, signed at Berlin on February 26, 1885, was primarily intended to demonstrate the agreement of the Powers with regard to the general principles which should guide their commercial and civilising action in the little known or inadequately organised regions of a continent where slavery and the slave trade still flourished; and

Whereas by the Brussels Declaration of July 2, 1890,2 it was found necessary to modify for a provisional period of fifteen years the system of free imports established for twenty years by Article 4 of the said Act, and since that date no agreement has been entered into, notwithstanding the provisions of the said Act and Declaration; and

Whereas the territories in question are now under the control of recognised authorities, are provided with administrative institutions suitable to the local conditions, and the evolution of the native populations continues to make progress;

1 Ratifications have been deposited by the British Empire, Belgium, and France. 2 For text see Vol. II, p. 1964.