A.—s

4

the boundary between the British and German possessions on that coast, and following that parallel to point A, and thence continuing to points B, C, D, E, F, and G, as indicated in the accompanying charts, which points are situated as follows : (A.) 8° south latitude, 154° longitude east of Greenwich. (B.) 7° 15' south latitude, 155° 25' east longitude. (C.) 7° 15' south latitude, 155° 35' east longitude. (D.) 7° 25' south latitude, 156° 40' east longitude. (E.) 8° 50' south latitude, 159° 50' east longitude. (F.) 6° north latitude, 173° 30° east longitude. (G.) 15° north latitude, 173° 30' east longitude. The point Ais indicated on the British Admiralty Chart 780, Pacific Ocean (Southwest sheet); the points B, C, D, and E are indicated on the British Admiralty Chart 214 (South Pacific Solomon Islands); and the points F and G on the British Admiralty Chart 781, Pacific Ocean (North-west sheet). 3. Germany engages not to make acquisitions of territory, except protectorates, or interfere with the extension of British influence, and to give up any acquisitions of territory or protectorates already established in that part of the Western Pacific lying to the east, south-east, or south of the said conventional line. 4. Great Britain engages not to make acquisitions of territory, except protectorates, or interfere with the extension of German influence, and to give up any acquisitions of territory or protectorates already established in that part of the Western Pacific lying to the west, north-west, or north of the said conventional line. 5. Should further surveys show that any islands now indicated on the said charts as lying on one side of the said conventional line are in reality on the other side, the said line shall be modified so that such islands shall appear on the same side of the line as at present shown on the said charts. 6. This declaration does not apply to the Navigator Islands (Samoa), which are aifected by treaties with Great Britain, German}', and the United States ; nor to the Friendly Islands (Tonga), which are affected by treaties with Great Britain and Germany ; nor to the Island of Niue (Savage Island), which groups of islands shall continue to form a neutral region ; nor to any islands or places in the Western Pacific which are now under the sovereignty or protection of any other civilized Power than Great Britain or Germany. Declared and signed in duplicate at Berlin, this sixth day of April, 1886. (1.5.) Edwaed B. Malet. (1.5.) Graf Bismaeck.

ll.—Declabation between the Governments of Great Britain and the German Empire relating to the Eeciprocal Freedom of Trade and Commerce in the British and German Possessions and Protectorates in the Western Pacific. (Signed at Berlin, 10th April, 1886.) The Government of Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Government of His Majesty the German Emperor, having resolved to guarantee to each other, so soon as the British and German spheres of influence in the Western Pacific have been demarcated, reciprocal freedom of trade and commerce in their possessions and protectorates within the limits specified in the present declaration, the undersigned, Sir Edward Baldwin Malet, Her Britannic Majesty's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary ; and Count Herbert Bismarck, His Imperial Majesty's Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, having been duly empowered to that effect, have agreed, on behalf of their respective Governments, to make the following declaration :— 1. For the purpose of this declaration the expression " Western Pacific " means that part of the Pacific Ocean lying between the 15th parallel of north latitude and the 30th parallel of south latitude, and between the 165 th meridian of longitude west and the 130 th meridian of longitude east of Greenwich. 2. The Government of Her Britannic Majesty and the Government of His Majesty the Emperor agree that the subjects of either State shall be free to resort to all the possessions or protectorates of the other State in the Western Pacific, and to settle there, and to acquire and to hold all kinds of property, and to engage in all descriptions of trade and professions, and agricultural and industrial undertakings, subject to the same conditions and laws, and enjoying the same religious freedom, and the same protection and privileges, as the subjects of the sovereign or protecting State. 3. In all the British and German possessions and protectorates in the Western Pacific the ships of both States shall in all respects reciprocally enjoy equal treatment as well as most-favoured-nation treatment, and merchandise of whatever origin imported by the subjects of either State, under whatever flag, shall not be liable to any other or higher duties than that imported by the subjects of the other State or of any third Power. 4. All disputed claims to land alleged to have been acquired by a British subject in a German possession or protectorate, or by a German subject in a British possession or protectorate, prior to the proclamation of sovereignty or of protectorate by either of the two Governments, shall be examined and decided by a mixed Commission, to be nominated for that purpose by the two Governments. The claim may, however, be settled by the local authority alone, if the claimant to the land makes formal application to that effect. 5. Both Governments engage not to establish any penal settlements in, or to transport convicts to, the Western Pacific. 6. In this declaration the words " possessions and protectorates in the Western Pacific " shall not include the colonies 'which now have fully-constituted Governments and Legislatures. The present declai'ation shall take effect from the date of its signature. Declared and signed, in duplicate, at Berlin, this tenth day of April, 1886. (1.5.) Edwaed B. Malet. (1.5.) Graf Bismarck,