mission in Mexico, subject to the regulations and special tariffs which govern the International Telegraph Service of the Republic of Mexico, and they shall be taxed and charged for according to the aforesaid special Mexican regulations and tariffs in addition to the regulations and tariffs of British Honduras.

III. If with a view to evade the payment of a portion of the dues indicated above, it should occur that a message originating at a place within the territory of one of the high contracting parties should be handed in direct at an office of the other, the office at which the message is so handed in shall count and fix the charges on the same strictly on the basis laid down in Rules I and II of the present article, and shall credit the other high contracting party with the share of the charges corresponding hereto in conformity with the said rules, exactly as if the message had been duly handed in at an office of the latter.

ARTICLE XVI.

Each of the high contracting parties shall be at liberty to fix and modify, at its discretion, their rules and tariffs in force on their respective lines, but should communicate these to the other party, and no alteration of such rules shall be effective until one month after the official advice in respect to the same has reached the principal office responsible for the management of the telegraphic service of the other high contracting party. In the interest of the said service, however, every endeavour should be made to render the rules and regulations of both countries simple, uniform, and precise.

ARTICLE XVII.

The Mexican Federal telegraph and telephone offices will collect in Mexican "pesos the tolls on every message addressed from Mexico to British Honduras from the office of origin in Mexico to its final destination.

The British Honduras telegraph offices will collect in United States currency the tolls of all messages transmitted over their lines addressed to places in Mexico.

The tolls on international messages passing through Mexico under the stipulations of Rule II of Article 15 of this convention, shall be collected in Mexico as well as in British Honduras, as provided for in that regulation and the laws of Mexico bearing on the subject.

ARTICLE XVIII.

For the application in Mexico of the internal tariffs of British Honduras, as well as for the application in British Honduras of the internal tariffs of Mexico, the Mexican "peso" will be considered equal to fifty cents United States currency, during the first year of the operation of this convention.

For the purpose of the application of the special tariff rates in force for the International Service of Mexico, which are referred to in Rule II of the 15th Article, as well as in the 2d paragraph of the 17th Article, the telegraph offices of Mexico as well as those of British Honduras, will proceed as laid down by the law of the former country while such law is in force, and thereafter as may be agreed upon between the two high contracting parties. The balance shown by the account in respect to the said International Service shall be paid in accordance with the above mentioned law, quarterly, as stipulated in the 23d Article of the present convention.

ARTICLE XIX.

The rate of exchange for the liquidation of the accounts between the two high contracting parties after the expiration of the first year of the operation of this convention, for messages sent exclusively from and addressed exclusively to, places within the territories of the aforesaid high contracting parties, shall be fixed annually by mutual agreement between the said high contracting parties.

ARTICLE XX.

The press of the two countries shall, for the purposes of the service between the two countries, be subject to the regulations which may be made by each administration and which these administrations should in due course make known to each other.

As regards the tariff applicable to the aforesaid press service the charge shall be fifty per cent. of those in force for the general public, but the rules governing special messages mentioned in Article 13 shall not apply to these messages.

ARTICLE XXI.

The sender who desires to indicate the route his message should follow must do so in his own handwriting.

When the sender indicates the route the message is to take, the respective telegraph offices shall be bound to comply with his instructions unless the route indicated should be interrupted or known to be overcrowded with work; in such cases the sender shall have no claim against the telegraph department for the use of another route. If on the other hand the sender does not indicate the route, the offices at the point where the routes diverge may determine which route the message shall follow.

When the sender requests to have his telegram transmitted by telegraph to an office which he specifies, and thence to its destination by post, the offices shall comply with his request.

Messages to be forwarded to other countries through the Federal offices connected with the lines of the Western Union Telegraph Company must be addressed "Viâ the Frontier; those to be transmitted by the Mexican Telegraph Company, "Viâ Galveston."

ARTICLE XXII.

The offices of each line shall collect the full cost of the messages transmitted by them to the other line and shall keep account of the same in the manner decided upon by each administration.

Nevertheless, for the liquidation of accounts between the General Federal Telegraph Department of Mexico and the Postal and Telegraph Department of British Honduras these departments shall settle between themselves the manner in which the accounts are to be rendered.

ARTICLE XXIII.

There shall be a quarterly settlement of accounts in the City of Mexico between the Government of Mexico and that of British Honduras, and the balance shown shall be paid without any delay to the party to whom it is due. To this end the quarterly period shall be so arranged to cover the months of the year as follows:

1st Quarter. January, February and March. 2nd Quarter. April, May and June.

3rd Quarter. July, August and September, and 4th Quarter. October, November and December.

ARTICLE XXIV.

The high contracting parties limit their responsibility for the telegraphic service to the refund of the cost of messages which are lost or fail to serve their object, through the fault of the employees of either of the two administrations; but this responsibility only applies to the telegraphic service and not to the telephonic messages forwarded over their lines; neither will they be responsible in any way for messages destined to places beyond their own wires, once such messages have left their lines.

ARTICLE XXV.

In the event of international conflict or grave internal disturbance of the peace, both high contracting parties reserve to themselves the right to suspend totally or partially the telegraphic service which is the object. of this convention.

ARTICLE XXVI.

If any doubts or difficulties should arise concerning the meaning or the execution of this convention between the Government of Mexico and that of British Honduras the same shall be decided by mutual agreement between the two high contracting parties, or should this fail, the case must be settled by arbitration, both parties referring the disputed point to the Tribunal of the Hague; except in regard to questions which may arise out of a state of war in which either of the two high contracting parties is concerned.

ARTICLE XXVII.

This convention shall come into force as soon as it shall be ratified by both governments and the ratifications exchanged in this City of Mexico, and shall then remain in force indefinitely until one year after denunciation by one of the high contracting parties.

In witness whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the present convention, in two originals, and have affixed their seals, in the City of Mexico, the twenty-seventh day of the month of May of the year one thousand nine hundred and ten.

CONVENTION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND NICARAGUA CONCERNING

A NICARAGUAN LOAN.1

Signed at Washington, June 6, 1911.

[Unratified at the date of publication in the JOURNAL.]

The Republic of Nicaragua, being now established on a firm political and constitutional basis, after eleven months of civil war and after seventeen years of administrative abuses resulting in the illegal diversion of public property and revenue, the accumulation of debts and claims in the hands of both natives and foreigners, and the existence of ruinous. and disputed concessions in many of which foreigners are beneficiaries, finds the financial and economic situation of the country in urgent need of radical reconstruction; and believing that this needed reconstruction on account of the circumstances above set forth will be difficult and complicated, especially as it involves the necessity of obtaining a loan adequate in amount yet on terms commensurate with the national resources, the Republic of Nicaragua has indicated its desire for cooperation on the part of the United States for the refunding of its debt and the placing of its finances and administration upon a sound and stable basis with a view to meeting its foreign obligations, and to securing the tranquillity, prosperity, and progress of the country; and the Government of the United States, animated by a desire to promote the peace and prosperous development of all the Central American countries, and appreciating the wish of Nicaragua to contribute to such development by establishing on a firm footing its own material strength; and it being recognized as necessary, in view of the present conditions of Nicaraguan finances and resources, that, to afford efficient and legitimate security and to obtain. the special benefits sought, the governments concerned should assume a special relation thereto; and the two governments being convinced that some contract should be negotiated and concluded between the Government of Nicaragua and some competent and reliable American banking group, said contract to afford a beneficial, just, and equitable accomplishment of the purposes in question, have, with these objects in view, named as their plenipotentiaries:

The President of the United States of America, Philander C. Knox, Secretary of State of the United States; and

1 Confidential Executive B, 62d Cong., 1st Session.