USA > Texas > The history of the republic of Texas, from the discovery of the country to the present time; and the cause of her separation from the republic of Mexico > Part 36
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Sec. 6. That if any slave or free person of colour shall use insulting or abusive language to, or threaten any free white per- son, upon complaint thereof before any justice of the peace, such justice shall cause such negro to be arrested, and upon convic- tion, the slave or free person of colour shall be punished by stripes not exceeding one hundred, nor less than twenty-five.
SAM HOUSTON.
Approved Dec. 14, 1837.
JOINT RESOLUTION RELATIVE TO CONSULATES.
Be it resolred, by the senate and house of representatives of the republic of Texas, in congress assembled, That the consular system of the United States of America, be, and is hereby adopted for the government of the consular agents of this republic, so far as its provisions may be suitable to the conditions of Texas.
Sec. 2. That it shall be the duty of the secretary of state, from time to time, to furnish said consuls with such instructions as may become necessary for the proper regulations of the commer- cial intercourse between this and foreign countries.
Sec. 3. That no consul of this republic shall be allowed to charge any fees for passports or certificates of characters or intentions.
Approved Dec. IS, 1837. SAM HOUSTON.
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THE LOAN ACT.
Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the senate and house of representa- tives of the republic of Texas, in congress assembled, that for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of the act of congress, passed the 22nd January, 1839, setting apart annually the sum of 300,000 dollars, as a permanent and accumulating sinking-fund, for the redemption of such bonds of the republic as may be issued by J. Hamilton and A. T. Burnley, in pursu- ance of the several Joan acts of 1836, 1838, and 1839, the secre- tary of the treasury, secretary of state, and first auditor of the republic, be, and hereby are appointed commissioners of the said sinking-fund.
Sec. 2. That immediately after the survey of the republic lands, and any portion of the same, shall be brought into market and sold, it shall be the duty of the secretary of the treasury to pay over to said commissioners, on the first days of May and November, each year, the said sum of 300,000 dollars, in two equal semi-annual instalments of 150,000 dollars, each, which the said commissioners are hereby commanded and directed to remit forthwith to such agents in London, Paris, Amsterdam, or wherever the said loan may be negociated, and the dividends on the aforesaid bonds are made payable.
Sec. 3. This section provides that in case the said 300,000 dollars should not be raised from the sale of the public lands, then the secretary of the treasury is to provide from other sources of revenue for carrying out the provisions of the preceding section.
Sec. 4. That the said agent: in London, Paris, Amsterdam, or wherever said loan may be negociated, shall, with the aforesaid fund, enter the market and purchase at the lowest price at which they may be obtained, the aforesail ten per cent. bonds of the five millions loan. Should, however, the market price of the said bonds reach fifty per cent. premium beyond their par value, the holders of said bonds shall be required, on the application of said agents, to surrender and cancel the same, on the payment of the said par value and the said premium.
Sec. 5. That the lowest numbers of the bonds in circulation shall be re-imbursable at the maximum price in the first instance, provided they cannot be obtained at a lower price.
Sec. 6. That the said agents in London, Paris, Amsterdam, or wherever the loan may be negociated, in case they are not able to purchase the aforesaid bonds at $150 money, for £100 stock, they shall make a public declaration in one or more of the London, Paris, Amsterdam, for wherever the loan may be nego- ciated ] newspapers, designating the numbers of the bonds to be
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paid off, beginning at the lowest number; after which declara- tion, no further interest will be paid beyond the demi-annual dividend then next accruing.
Sec. 7. That it shall be the duty of the said agents in London, Paris, Amsterdam, or wherever the loan is negociated, provided the holders of the bonds announced to be redeemed, do not pre- sent the same for payment within ninety days after said an- nouncement, to invest the amount in their hands, not applied to the redemption of the bonds, in exchequer bills, or in the public securities of the country where the said loan is negociated, to be deposited in the bank of England, Paris, Amsterdam, or where- . ever the loan is negociated, to be held on account and risk of the holders of said bonds advertised for redemption.
Sec. S. That the agents in London, Paris, Amsterdam, or where- ever the loan may be negociated, shall demi-annually announce in one or more of the newspapers, where said loan is negociated, the numbers and amount of the bonds so redeemed, which shall be cancelled and deposited in the banks of England, Paris, or Amsterdam, as the case may be, and a notarial certificate of the specification of said redemption be transmitted to the secretary of the treasury of this republic, to whom likewise a demi-annual account of said agents shall be rendered.
Sec. 9. That the commissioners of loan of this republic, in case they deem it advisable to sign and issue bonds bearing interest of 6, 5, 4, 3 per cent., are empowered to issue a sufficient number to make up the sum of five million of dollars, and that they be authorised, conformably to the most advantageous terms on which the bonds can be disposed of, to make them payable in ten, twenty, or thirty years, provided not more than one-third of the sune shall be payable in a less term than ten years, and provided the bonds sold amount to not more than 7,000,000 dollars.
Sce. 10. That in case any supplementary loan shall be authorised by the president, under instructions of both branches of congress, the spid powers and discretion are hereby given to said commais- sioners, both as to rate of interest and time of payment.
Sec. 11. That in case of any additional loan other than the five millions, now authorized by law, be negociated, the sum of 65,000 dollars for each million negociated or borrowed, over and above the interest, is reserved and set apart out of the sale of public lands, as a permanent and accumulating sinking fund, for the redemption of said bonds, to be annually remitted to the agents in London, Paris, Amsterdam, or wherever said loan is negociated, who shall be authorized to pay the dividends on the bonds, to purchase the said bonds, whenever those bearing a less rate of interest than 10 por cent., can be purchased at or under par. And it is further declared, that any saving of interest, which may arise from the negociations of the bonds bearing a less
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rate of interest than 10 per cent., shall be annually carried to a sinking fund appropriated for the redemption of said loan or loans.
Sec. 12. That so soon as the loan, or any part of the loan hereby authorized, is negociated, the commissioners, or any one of them, shall have full power to draw forthwith for the same, or autho- rize any president or cashier of any bank in the first credit, in the city of New York, to do the same, and to deposit the net proceeds of said loan, or any part of it, which may be nogociated to the credit of the republic of Texas, in said bank, and to re- main there till disposed of by congress.
(Section 13 provides, that in case of the absence or death of one of the commissioners, any contract made by the other, shall be conclusive, and binding; and Section 14 repeals such parts of all previous acts as may conflict with the present.)
Sec. 15. That all loans negociated by the authority of the re- public of Texas independently of the reservation of the sinking fund, the proceeds of the public land generally, its revenue, and public faith, are solemnly pledged for their redemption.
1810.
TREATY BETWEEN TEXAS AND FRANCE.
MIRABEAU B. LAMAR, President of the Republic of Texas : to all and singular who shall see these presents, greeting :
Whereas, a Treaty of Ainity, Navigation, and Commerce, between the Republic of Texas and His Majesty the King of the French, comprising three additions! articles, signed on the same day, and to be of the same force as the said Treaty, was concluded and signed by General J. Pinckney Henderson, a citizen of Texas, Plenipotentiary on the part of the Govern- ment of Texas, and Jean de Dien Soult, Dake of Dalmatia, Plenipotentiary on the part of the King of the French, at the city of Paris, on the 25th day of September, in the year of our Lord, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-nine, which Treaty and additional articles are word for word as follows :---
The president of the republic of Texas and his majesty the king of the French, desiring to regulate, in a permanent manner, the political and commercial relations between Texas and France, have resolved to conclude a treaty of anity, navigation, and com- merce, founded on the common interests of the two countries, and which shall establish the formal recognition, on the part of
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France, of the independence of the republic of Texas ; and, to this effect, have named for their plenipotentiaries, that is to say, the president of Texas, General James Pinkney Henderson, a citizen of the said republic, and his majesty the king of the French, Jean de Dieu Soult, Duke de Dalmatia, martial and peer of France, grand cross of his royal order of the legion of honour, &c. &c. &c., his minister and secretary of state for the depart- ment of foreign affairs, president of his council of ministers.
And the aforesaid plenipotentiarics, after having compared and exchanged their several powers, found to be in due forni, have agreed upon the following articles : --
ART. 1. There shall be perpetual peace and amity between his majesty the king of the French, his heirs and successors, on the one part, and the republic of Texas, on the other part, and between the citizens of the two states, without exception of persons or places.
ART. 2. The French and Texans shall enjoy, in their persons and property, in the entire extent of their respective territories, the same rights, privileges, and exemptions, which are or may be granted to the most favoured nation, They shall have the right of disposing freely of their property by sale, exchange, by deed of gift, will, or in any other manner, without any impediment or difficulty. In like manner, the citizens of each, inheriting pro- perty in either of the states, may become heirs, without any hinderance, to such property which may devolve to them abiut state, and without being held to pay any other or higher tax on the succession than that which shall be paid in similar cases by the citizens of the country themselves. They shall be exempted from all military service, from all war contributions, forecd loans, military requisition, and in every other case, their per- soual or real estate shall not be subject to any other charge or impost than that which shall be paid by the citizens of the country themselves.
ART. 3. If it should happen that one of the two contracting parties be at war with any other power whatever, the other party shall prohibit their citizens from taking or holding commissions or letters of marque to cruize against the other, or to molest the connerce or property of her citizens.
ART. 1. The two contracting parties adopt, in their mutual relations, the principle, " that the flag covers the goods." If one of the two parties remains neuter when the other may be at . war with a third power, the goods covered by the neuter flag shall also be considered to be neutral, even if they should belong to the enemies of the other contracting party.
It is equally understood that the neutrality of flag protects also the freedom of persons, and that the individuals belonging to a hostile power, who may be found on board a neutral vessel,
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shall not be made prisoners, unless they are actually engaged in the service of the enemy.
In consequence of the principle that the merchandize is to be considered as belonging to the nation under the flag of which it sails, neutral property found on board an enemy's vessel, shall be considered as enemy's, unless it shall have been shipped on board the vessel before the declaration of war, or before know- ledge of such declarations in the port from whence the vessel may have departed.
The two contracting parties will not apply this principle, as it may concern other powers, except in the case of those by whom . it may be recognized.
ART. 5. In case one of the contracting parties should be at war with another power, and her ships at war should be compelled to exercise the right of search, it is agreed that if they meet a vessel belonging to the other, then neutral party, they shall send their boat on board said vessel, with two persons charged to euter on an examination of the nationality and cargo of said vessel. The commanders shall be responsible for all vexatious acts of violence which they may cither commit or tolerate on such occasions.
The search shall not be permitted but on board vessels which navigate without convoy ; it will be sufficient when they are convoyed, that the commander of the convoy declares verbally, and on his word of honour, that the vessels placed under his protection, and under his convoy, belongs to the state under whose flag he sails, and that he declares, when the vessels shall all be destined to an enemy's port, that they have no goods on board, contraband of war.
ART. 6. In case one of the two countries should be at war with a third power, the citizens of the other country shall have a right to continue their commerce and their navigation with the same power, with the exception of the towns or ports before which there shall be established an actual and effective blockade.
It is fully understood this liberty of commerce and of navigation shall not extend to articles reputed contraband of war, such as cannon and fire-arms, swords, pikes, projectiles, powder, salpetre, objects of military equipment, and all instruments whatever ma- nufactured for the purposes of war.
In no case a trading vessel belonging to citizens of either of the two countries, which shall have sailed for a port blockaded, by the other state, shall be seized, captured, or condemned, unless the commander has previously been notified of the existence of the blockade, by some vessel making a part of the squadron or division forming the blockade ; and in order that no vessel may alledge ignorance of the frets, and really be liable to capture on her re-appearance before the same port whilst the blockade is enforced, the commander of the ship-of-war who shall first meet
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her, must endorse on her papers his visa, indicating the date, the place or latitude and longitude where he has visited the vessel, and given the notifications in question, which shall contain, be- sides, all the other indications required for the risa.
ART. 7. The vessels of one of the two countries, forced into one of the ports of the other by distress, shall be exempt from all duties, either upon the ship or cargo, if they enter into com- mercial operations, provided that the necessity of entering such a port is legally established, and that they do not remain in the port longer than the necessity of the case requires.
ART. 8. The two contracting parties shall have the right to appoint consuls, vice-consuls, and consular-agents in all the cities or ports open to the foreign commerce ; these agents shall not enter on their functions until they shall have obtained the autho- rization of the government of the country.
ART. 9. The respective consuls, vice-consuls, and consular- agents, and their chancellors, shall enjoy in the two countries the privileges which generally belong to their functions, such as exemptions from having soldiers quartered upon them, from all direct contributions personal, as moveable or sumptuary, unless however they are citizens of the country, or that they become proprietors or holders of real estate, or are engaged in commer- cial business, in either of which cases they shall be subject to the same taxes and charges as other individuals. These agents shall enjoy, besides all the other privileges, exemptions, and immunities, which shall be granted in their place of residence to the agents of the same rank of the most favoured nation.
ART. 10. The archives, and in general all the papers of the officers of the respective consulates shall be inviolable ; and under no pretext, nor in any case, shall they either be seized ant searched by the local authorities.
ART. 11. The respective consuls, vice-consuls, and consu- lai-agents, shall have the right, on the death of their felles citizens, who shall have died, without having made a will, or nominated testamentary executors, to execute either by victre of their office, or at the request of the parties interested [ taking care to give previous notice to the competent local authorities. all the formalities necessary for the security of the heirs ; to take possession in the name of the succession, and to liquidate and administer the same, either personally, or by substitutes. named under their responsibility.
ART. 12. The respective consuls, vice-consuls, and consul.r- agents shall be charged exclusively with the internal police of the commercial vessels of their nation, and the local authorities shall not interfere except in cases of riot or disturbances of a nature calculated to effect the public peace, either on shore, er on board other vessels.
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ART. 13. The respective consuls, vice-consuls, and consular- agents, shall have the right to arrest all sailors, who shall have deserted from vessels of war, or merchant vessels belonging to their respective countries, and may send them on board, or to their own country to this effect, they will address themselves in writing to the competent local authorities, and will justify by the exhibition of the ship's register, or roll of the crew, or if the said ship should have sailed, by a copy of the said documents duly certified by them, that the men whom they claim were a part of the same crew. On this demand thus justified, the deli- very shall not be referred to them. Besides, every aid and assistance shall be given to them in seeking out, seizing, and arresting the said deserters, who shall even be detained and kept in the prison of the country, on the requisition, and at the ex- pense of the consuls, until these agents shall have found an opportunity to send them away. If, however, this opportunity should not present itself in the space of four months, counting from the day of their arrest, the deserters shall be set at liberty, and cannot again be arrested for the same cause.
ART. 14. French vessels arriving in or sailing out of the ports of Texas, and Texan vessels on their entry in, or leaving the ports of France, shall not be subject to other or higher duties of tonnage, of light money, port charges, pilotage, quarantine, or any other affecting the body of the vessel, than those which are paid, or shall be paid by vessels of the country itself.
ART. 15. The products of the soil, and of the industry of either of the two countries imported directly into the ports of the other, the origin of which shall be duly ascertained, shall pay the same duties, whether imported in French or Texan vessels.
In like manner. the products exported will pay the same duties, and will enjoy the same privileges, allocations, and draw- backs which are or should be allowed on the exportation of the same articles in the vessels of the country from which they are exported.
ART. 16. The cottons of Texas, without distinction of quality, will pay on their entry into the parts of France, when they shall be imported directly in French of Texan vessels, a uniform duty of twenty franes, or one hundred killogrammes.
All reductions of duties which may hereafter be made in favour of the cottons of the United States, shall be equally applied to those of Texas gratuitously. should the concession be gratuitous, or with the same compensation, it the concession is conditional.
ART. 17. From the day of the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty, the duties at present levied in Texas, on all fabrics and other articles of sill, or of which silk shall be a chief component part, imported directly into Texas, the manufacture
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of France, in French or Texan vessels, shall be reduced one- half.
It is clearly understood that if the Texan government reduce the duties upon similar products of other nations to a rate inferior to one-half of the duties now existing, France cannot be obliged, in any case, to pay higher duties than those paid by the most favoured nation.
The duties at present levied in Texas on the wines and brandies of France, also imported directly in Texan or French vessels, shall be reduced, the first two-fifths, and the second one-fifth.
It is understood that in case the republic of Texas should here- after think proper to diminish the present duties on wines and brandies, the productions of other countries, a corresponding re- duction shall be made on the wines and brandies of France, gra- tuitously if the concession is gratuitous, or with the same com- pensation if the concession is conditional.
ART. 18. The inhabitants of the French colonies, their pro- perty and ships, shall enjoy in Texas, and reciprocally the citizens of Texas, their property and ships, shall enjoy in the French colonies all the advantages which are or shall be granted to the most favoured nation.
ART. 19. The stipulations of the present treaty shall be perpetual, with the exception fo Articles the 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th, the duration of which is fixed to eight years, counting from the day of the exchange of the ratifications.
ART. 20. The present treaty shall be ratified by the contracting parties, and the ratifications shall be exchanged at Paris or Austin, within the period of eight months, or sooner if possi- blc.
In witness whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the present treaty, and have affixed thereto their seals. Done at Paris, the twenty-fifth day of September, in year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.
J. PINCKNEY HENDERSON. MAL. DUC DE DALMATIA.
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES.
ART. 1. As the laws of France require, as conditions of the nationality of a vessel :
That it should have been built in France ; that the owner, the captain, and three-fourths of the crew shall be citizens of France.
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And Texas, by reason of the particular circumstances in which she is placed, being unable to comply with the same conditions, the two contracting parties have agreed to consider as Texan vessels those which shall be bona fide the exclusive and real pro- perty of a citizen or citizens of Texas, residents of the country for at least two years, and of which the captain and two-thirds of the crew shall also be bona fide citizens of Texas.
ART. 2. It is understood that if the republic of Texas thinks proper hereafter to diminish the duties now in force on silk goods, they will maintain between the silk goods, the produce of coun- tries beyond the Cape of Good Hope and similar goods of other countries, a difference of ten per cent. in favour of the latter.
ART. 3. The present additional articles shall have the same force for eight years, as if they had been, word for word, inserted in the treaty of this day.
They shall be equally ratified by the contracting parties, and the ratifications exchanged at the same time as those of the treaty.
Done at Paris, the 25th day of September, in the year of our Lord, 1839.
J. PINCKNEY HENDERSON, {I. S. ] MAL. DUC DE DALMATIA, [L. s. ]
And whereas, the senate of the republic of Texas, by their resolution of the 11th day of January, 1810, two-thirds of the senators present concurring, did advise and consent to the ratifi- cation of the said treaty.
Now therefore, I Mirabeau B. Lamar, President of the republic of Texas, have caused the said treaty, with the additional Articles, to be made public, to the end that the same, and every clause and article thereof, may be observed and fulfilled with good faith by the republic of Texas, and the citizens thereof.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the great seal of the republic of Texas to be affixed. Done at the city of Austin, this 18th day of January, in the year of our Lord, 1810, and of the inde- pendence of the republic the fourth.
MIRARTAU B. LAMAR, [L. S. ]
By the President,
David G. Burnet,
Acting Secretary of State.
London, 15th Sept., 1840.
MY LORD,
Immediately on my arrival at Liverpool, from the republic of Texas, I forwarded to the government journal an account of the
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latest movements of the Federalists in Texas, which appeared in the Morning Chronicle of the 17th August, showing the course which the Texan government has engaged to pursue pending the struggle between the Centralists and Federalists of Mexico; in addition to which, I beg to direct your Lordship's attention to the traffic in slaves, which is carried on at this moment in the most barefaced manner, between the Southern States of the North American Union and the republic of Texas. The vessels engaged in this branch of the American slave trade are steamers of the first class, of which there are no less than three ; the " Neptune," " Columbia," and " New York." These boats respectively make two voyages a month, and the number of slaves thus transported across the Gulf of Mexico may be estimated at one hundred each boat per month. Nothing would be deemed more just, my Lord, than the seizure of the boats thus employed : considering that Mexico was the first civilized nation that abolished slavery, and that that act was not only seized by the British government of 1825 as the medium of opening a direct intercourse between Great Britain and Mexico, and was made the ostensible basis on which our rela- tionship with Mexico was to rest ; and moreover, that the legis- lature of Texas, (if she may for an instant be deemed an independent republic,) the country whence the slaves are taken, has made the importation of slaves by sea, except from the United States, piracy, which exception is overruled by the treaties established in accord- ance with international law ; and lastly, that the United States, the country to which the boats in question belong, as if to demonstrate to the world her repugnance to the slave trade, seized six small vessels in the month of April last, in the port of New York, on a mere suspicion that they were fitting out for the slave trade.
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