3

F.—s

Every packet which does not exceed 50 grammes in weight shall be considered a single packet. The charge upon packets exceeding that weight shall be a single rate for every 50 grammes or fraction of 50 grammes.* For all conveyance by sea of more than 300 nautical miles within the district of tho Union, there may be joined to the ordinary postage an additional charge which shall not exceed the half -of the general Union rate fixed for articles of this class. The maximum weight of the articles mentioned above is fixed at 250 grammes for patterns of merchandise, and at 1,000 grammes for all the others. There is reserved to the Government of each country of the Union the right to refuse to convey over its territory or to deliver articles specified in I he present Article with regard to which the laws, orders, and decrees which regulate the conditions of their publication and circulation have not been observed. Article V. The articles specified in Article 11. may be registered. Every registered packet must be prepaid. . The postage payable on registered articles is the same as that on articles not registered. The charge to be made for registration and for acknowledgments of receipt must not exceed that made in the inland service of the country of origin. In case of the loss of a registered article, and except in the case of force majeure, there shall be paid an indemnity of 50 francs to the sender, or, at his request, to the addressee, by the office of the country in the territory or in the maritime service of which the loss has occurred —that is to say, where the trace of the article has been lost —unless, according to the legislation of such country, the office is not responsible for the loss of registered articles sent through its inland post. The payment of this indemnity shall be effected with the least possible delay, and, at the latest, within a year dating from the date of application. All claim for au indemnity is excluded if it be not made within one year, counting from the date on which the registered article was posted. Article VI. Prepayment of postage on every description of article can be effected only by means of postage stamps or stamped envelopes valid in the country of origin. Newspapers and other printed papers unpaid or insufficiently paid shall not be forwarded. Other articles when unpaid or insufficiently paid shall be charged as unpaid letters, after deducting the value of the stamped envelops or postage stamps (if any) employed. Article VII. No additional postage shall be charged for the retransmission of postal articles within the interior of the Union. But in case an article which has only passed through the inland service of one of \\i& countries of the Union should, by being redirected, enter into the inland service of another country of the Union, the Post Office of the country of destination shall add its inland rate. Article VIII. Official correspondence relative to the Postal Service is exempt from postage. With this exception, no franking or reduction of postage is allowed. Article IX. Each Office shall keep the whole of the sums which it collects by virtue of the foregoing Articles 111., IV., V., VI., and VII. Consequently there will be no necessity on this head for any accounts between the several Offices of the Union. Neither the senders nor tho addressees of letters and other postal packets shall be called upon to pay, either in the country of origin or in that of destination, any tax or duty other than those contemplated by the Articles above mentioned. Article X. The right of transit is guaranteed throughout the entire territory of the Union. Consequently, there shall be full and entire liberty of exchange, the several Post Offices of the Union being able to send reciprocally, in transit through intermediate countries, closed mails as well as correspondence in open mails, according to the wants of the traffic and exigencies of the Postal Service. Closed mails and correspondence sent in open mails must always be forwarded by the most rapid routes at the command of the Post Offices concerned. AVhen several routes offer the same advantages of speed, the despatching Office shall have the right of choosing the route to be adopted. It is obligatory to make up closed mails whenever the number of letters and other postal packets is of a nature to hinder tho operations of the transit Office, according to the declaration of the Office interested. The despatching Office shall pay to the Office of the territory providing the transit the sum of two francs per kilogramme for letters and 25 centimes per kilogramme for the several articles specified in Article IV., net weight, whether the transit takes place in closed mails or in open mails. * By Article 21 of the Detailed Regulations for carrying this Treaty into effect, any country which has not adopted the decimal metrical system of weight may substitute two ounces for 50 grammes, and may raise to four ounces the weight to bo allowed for a single newspaper.