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And whereas the Governments of certain of the British possessions named in the Schedule to the said Act—namely, Newfoundland, Queensland, New Zealand, Cape of Good Hope, and Natal—have adhered to the said convention:

And whereas it is expedient that “The Mail Ships Act, 1891,” should apply as regards the said convention and the French Republic and the postal service and mail-ships described in the said convention:

And whereas it is also expedient that the said Act should, for the purpose of the said convention, apply to the above-mentioned British possessions, and also to all British possessions not named in the Schedule to the said Act, subject to the exceptions and modifications in this order contained:

Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by virtue and in exercise of the powers in this behalf by “The Mail Ships Act, 1891,” or otherwise in Her Majesty vested, is pleased, by and with the advice of her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—

1. “The Mail Ships Act, 1891,” shall apply during the continuance of this order as regards the convention set forth in the Schedule to this order, and as regards the French Republic and the postal service and mail-ships described in that convention.

2. The said Act shall apply as regards any public ship of the French Republic when employed as a mail-ship in the cases authorised by Article V. of the said convention.

3. The said Act shall, for the purpose of the said convention, apply to the following British possessions, namely, Newfoundland, Queensland, New Zealand, Cape of Good Hope, and Natal, and also to every British possession not named in the Schedule to the said Act, subject, however, to the provisions of section 8 of the said Act, and also to the exceptions and modifications following, that is to say:—

(1.) The expression “officer of Customs” shall mean an officer of the Customs Department of the possession, or, where there is no such department, an officer or one of the officers appointed for the purposes of the said Act by the Governor in Council, of which appointment notice shall be published in the Gazette of the possession.

(2.) The provisions of the said Act as to the amount of fines shall, in possessions having a dollar or rupee currency, be read as if the amounts were stated in dollars or rupees, as the case may be, at the rate of 5 dollars or 10 rupees to the pound sterling. In Gibraltar the said provisions shall be read as if the amounts were stated in pesetas, at the rate of 25 pesetas to the pound sterling.

(3.) In lieu of subsections (1) and (2) of section 7 of the said Act the following provisions shall be substituted, that is to say: Every offence may be prosecuted and every fine may be recovered by action or other legal proceeding in any Court of the possession competent to impose fines; but any fine imposed by a Court of inferior or limited jurisdiction shall not exceed either the amount authorised by the said Act and this order, or the amount of fine which the Court may impose in the exercise of its ordinary jurisdiction, whichever of the said amounts shall be the less; and there shall be the same right of appeal (if any) against any such fine as in other cases of fines imposed by the same Court in the exercise of its ordinary jurisdiction; and every Court, whether of original or appellate jurisdiction, may reduce the amount of any fine.

(4.) The regulations required to be made under subsection (4) of section 7 of the said Act, by the Commissioners of Customs with the consent of the Treasury, shall in the possession be made by the Governor in Council.

(5.) Section 5 of the said Act, so far as relates to the Commissioners of Customs, shall not apply in the possession.

4. This order may be cited as “The Mail Ships (France) Order in Council, 1892.”

And the Most Honourable the Marquis of Salisbury, K.G., and the Right Honourable Lord Knutsford, two of Her Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State, are to give the necessary directions herein as to them may respectively appertain.

C. L. PEEL.

SCHEDULE REFERRED TO IN FOREGOING ORDER IN COUNCIL.

CONVENTION BETWEEN HER MAJESTY AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC RESPECTING POSTAL COMMUNICATIONS.

(Signed at London, 30th August, 1890. Ratifications exchanged at London, 23rd March, 1891.)

Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the President of the French Republic, alike animated with the desire to fix the special treatment to be accorded to British packets in the ports of France and of the French colonies and possessions, and to French packets in the ports of the United Kingdom and of the British colonies and possessions, and availing themselves of the right reserved to the contracting parties by the convention of the Universal Postal Union, have resolved to conclude a convention to that end, and have named for their Plenipotentiaries:

Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: The Right Honourable Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne Cecil, Marquis of Salisbury, Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranborne, Baron Cecil, Peer of the United Kingdom, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Member of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council, Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, &c. ;

And the President of the French Republic: M. William Henri Waddington, Senator, Member of the Institute, &c., Ambassador of the French Republic to Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India:

Who have agreed upon the following articles:—

ARTICLE I.

Between the Postal Administration of France and the Postal Administration of Great Britain there shall be a regular exchange of correspondence of all kinds, which shall be effected by means of two steam-packet services, which shall continue to be maintained or subsidised, the one by the French Government and the other by the British Government, on the line between Calais and Dover.

The French Postal Administration and the British Postal Administration shall regulate, by common consent and in accordance with the mutual interests of both countries, the days and hours of departure and arrival of the subsidised packets.

ARTICLE II.

Independently of the correspondence which shall be exchanged between the Postal Administrations of the two countries by the means indicated in the preceding article, those Administrations may reciprocally forward from one to the other correspondence of all kinds by the several means hereinafter mentioned, namely—(1) By such packets as the French Government and the British Government may respectively think it right to maintain, to freight, or to subsidise for the conveyance of correspondence; (2) by merchant-ships plying between French ports and British ports.

ARTICLE III.

The commanders of British and French merchant-ships sailing from the ports of France or Algeria for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, on the one part, and the commanders of British and French merchant-ships sailing from the ports of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for France or Algeria, on the other part, shall be bound to take charge of the mails which the post-offices at the ports of departure may have to deliver to them.

ARTICLE IV.

The charges for the sea conveyance of correspondence exchanged between the French Postal Administration and the British Postal Administration by means of non-contract merchant-ships shall be paid to the commanders or owners of those vessels by the Postal Administration of the country of origin, namely: 1. At the rate of 5fr. per kilog. of letters and post-cards; 2. At the rate of 50 centimes per kilog. of other articles.

ARTICLE V.

When the packets employed by the French Postal Administration and by the British Postal Administration are national vessels owned by the State, or vessels belonging to companies subsidised for the execution of postal service, such packets cannot be diverted from their destination nor be liable to seizure, embargo, or “Arrêt de Prince.”

Passengers on such packets who may not desire to go on shore during the vessel’s stay in a port of either State cannot be on any account taken from on board.

Nevertheless, the local authorities may claim the expulsion from on board of persons wanted in pursuance of a regular warrant for any crimes or offences who may have taken refuge or embarked in mail-boats, and, in case of necessity, searches may be carried out on board such vessels by the competent authorities. The individuals in question shall then be handed over to them.

It is, however, agreed that the authorities cannot proceed on board unless they have previously given notice, at least one hour before the search, to the Consulate or Vice-Consulate, in order that the Consul or Vice-Consul, or his delegate, may be present at the searches in question. The letter giving notice shall be addressed to the Consul or Vice-Consul, and shall state the exact hour; and, if the agents neglect