the affairs of several commercial places at the same time, and Vice-Consuls for ports of minor importance, or to act under the direction of the Consuls. Each Republic may, however, except those cities, places, or ports in which it may consider the residence of such functionaries inconvenient, such exception being common to all nations. All that is said in this treaty of Consuls in general shall be considered as relating not only to Consuls, properly so-called, but to Consuls General and Vice-Consuls in all the cases to which this treaty refers.

1037. ARTICLE XXXII.

The Consuls appointed by one of the contracting parties to reside in the ports or places of the other shall present to the Government of the Republic in which they are to reside their letters-patent or commission, in order that they may receive the proper exequatur, if it be deemed expedient to give it, which shall be granted without any charge; and this exequatur, when obtained, is to be exhibited to the chief authorities of the place in which the Consul is to exercise his functions, in order that they may cause him to be recognized in his character, and that he may be sustained in his proper prerogative in his respective consular district. The Government receiving the Consul may withdraw the exequatur or his consular commission whenever it may judge proper to do so, but in such case shall state a reasonable ground for the proceeding.

10038. ARTICLE XXXIII.

The Consuls admitted in either republic may exercise in their respective districts the following functions:

1. They may apply directly to the authorities of the district in which they reside, and they may, in case of necessity, have recourse to the national Government through the Diplomatic Agent of their nation, if there be any, or directly if there be no such Agent, in complaint against any infraction of the treaties of commerce committed by the authorities or persons employed by them in the country, to the injury of the commerce of the nation in whose service the Consul is engaged.

2. They may apply to the authorities of the Consular District, and, in case of necessity, they may have recourse to the national Government through the Diplomatic Agent of their nation, if there be any, or directly if there be no such Agent, against any abuse on the part of the authorities of the country, or the persons employed by them, against individuals of their nation in whose service the Consul is engaged; and they may, when necessary, take such measures as may be proper to prevent justice from being denied to them or delayed, and to prevent them from being judged or punished by any other than competent judges, and agreeably to the laws in force.

3. They may, as the natural defenders of their fellow-countrymen, appear in their name and behalf, whenever so requested by them, before the respective authorities of the place, in all cases in which their support may be necessary.

4. They may accompany the captains, mates, or masters of vessels of their nation in all that they may have to do with regard to the manifests of their merchandise and other documents, and be present in all cases in which the authorities, courts, or judges of the country may have to take any declarations from the persons above mentioned, or any other belonging to their respective crews.

3. They shall have the right, in the ports or places to which they are or may be severally appointed, of receiving the protests or declarations which such captains, masters, crews, passengers, and merchants as are citizens of their country may respectively choose to make there; and also such as any foreigners may choose to make before them relative to the personal interests of any of their citizens; and the copies of said acts, duly authenticated by the said Consuls under the seal of their Consulates, respectively, shall receive faith in law, as if they had been authenticated before the judges or courts of the respective countries.

6. They may determine on all matters relating to injuries sustained at sea by effects and merchandise shipped in vessels of the nation in whose service the Consul is employed arriving at the place of his residence, provided that there be no stipulations to the contrary between the shippers, owners, and insurers. But if among the persons interested in such losses and injuries there should be inhabitants of the country where the Consul resides, and not belonging to the nation in whose service he is, the cognizance of such losses and injuries appertains to the local authorities.

7. They may compromise amicably, and out of court, the differences arising between their fellow-countrymen, providing that those persons agree voluntarily to submit to such arbitration; in which case the document containing the decision of the Consul, authenticated by himself and his Chancellor or Secretary, shall have all the force of a notarial copy authenticated, so as to render it obligatory on the interested parties.

8. They may cause proper order to be maintained on board of vessels of their nation, and may decide on the disputes arising between the captains, the officers, and the members of the crew, unless the disorders taking place on board should disturb the public tranquillity, or persons not belonging to the crew or to the nation in whose service the Consul is employed, in which case the local authorities may interfere.

9. They may direct all the operations for saving vessels of their nation which may be wrecked on the coasts of the district where the Consul resides. In such cases the local authorities shall interfere only in order to maintain tranquillity, to give security to the interests of the parties concerned, and to cause the dispositions which should be observed for the entry and export of the property to be fulfilled. In the absence of the Consul, and until his arrival, the said authorities shall take all the measures necessary for the preservation of the effects of the wrecked vessel.

10. They shall take possession of the personal or real estate left by any of their citizens who shall die within their Consulate, leaving no legal representative or trustee by him appointed to take charge of his effects; they shall inventory the same with the assistance of two merchants, citizens of the respective countries, or for want of them of any others whom the Consuls may choose; shall cause a notice of the death to be published in some newspaper of the country where they reside; shall collect the debts due to the deceased in the country where he died, and pay the debts

due from his estate which he shall have contracted; shall sell at auction, after reasonable public notice, such of the estate as shall be of a perishable nature, and such further part, if any, as shall be necessary for the payment of his debts, but they shall pay no claims not reduced to a judgment for damages on account of any wrongful act alleged to have been done by the deceased. When soever there is no Consul in the place where the death occurs, the local authority shall take all the precautions in their power to secure the property of the deceased, and immediately notify the nearest Consul of the country to which the deceased belonged.

11. They may demand from the local authorities the arrest of seamen deserting from the vessel of the nation in whose service the Consul is employed, exhibiting, if necessary, the register of the vessel, her muster-roll, and any other official document in support of this demand. The said authorities shall take such measures as may be in their power for the discovery and arrest of such deserters, and shall place them at the disposition of the Consul; but if the vessel to which they belong shall have sailed, and no opportunity for sending them away should occur, they shall be kept in arrest at the expense of the Consul for two months; and if at the expiration of that time they should not have been sent away, they shall be set at liberty by the respective authorities, and cannot again be arrested for the same cause.

12. They may give such documents as may be necessary for the intercourse between the two countries, and countersign those which may have been given by the authorities. They may also give bills of health, if necessary, to vessels sailing from the port where the Consul resides to the port of the nation to which he belongs; they may also certify invoices, muster-rolls, and other papers necessary for the commerce and navigation of vessels.

13. They may appoint a Chancellor or Secretary whensoever the Consulate has none and one is required for authenticating documents.

14. They may appoint Commercial Agents to employ all the means in their power in behalf of individuals of the nation in whose service the Consul is, and for executing the commission which the Consul may think proper to intrust to them out of the place of his residence: Provided, however, That such Agents are not to enjoy the prerogatives conceded to Consuls, but only those which are peculiar to Commercial Agents.

1039. ARTICLE XXXIV.

The Consuls of one of the contracting republics residing in another country may employ their good offices in favor of individuals of the other republic which has no Consul in that country.

1040. ARTICLE XXXV.

The contracting republics recognize no diplomatic character in Consuls, for which reason they will not enjoy in either country the immunities granted to public agents accredited in that character; but in order that the said Consuls may exercise their proper functions without difficulty or delay, they shall enjoy the following prerogatives:

1. The Consular offices and dwellings shall be at all times inviolable.

The local authorities shall not, under any pretext, invade them. In no case shall they examine or scize the archives or papers there deposited. In no case shall those offices or dwellings be used as places of asylum. When, however, a Consular Officer is engaged in business, the papers relating to the Consulate shall be kept separate.

2. Consuls, in all that exclusively concerns the exercise of their fanetions, shall be independent of the state in whose territory they reside. 3. The Consuls and their Chancellors or Secretaries shall be exempt from all public service and from contributions, personal and extraordinary, imposed in the country where they reside, and they shall be exempt from arrest, except in the case of offenses which the local legislation qualifies as crimes and punishable as such. This exemption does not comprehend the Consuls or their Chancellors or Secretaries who may be natives of the country in which they reside.

4. No Consular Officer who is not a citizen of the country to which he is accredited shall be compelled to appear as a witness before the courts of the country where he resides. When the testimony of such Consular Officer is needed, it shall be asked in writing, or some one shall go to his house to take it viva voce. If, however, the testimony of a Consular Officer in either country should be necessary for the defense of a person charged with a crime and should not be voluntarily given, compulsory process requiring the presence of such Consular Officer as a witness may be issued.

5. In order that the dwellings of Consuls may be easily and generally known for the convenience of those who may have resort to them, they shall be allowed to hoist on them the flag, and to place over their doors the coat of arms of the nation in whose service the Consul may be, with an inscription expressing the functions discharged by him.

1041. ARTICLE XXXVI.

Consuls shall not give passports to any individual of their nation, or going to their nation, who may be held to answer before any authority, court, or judge of the country for delinquencies committed by them, or for a demand which may have been legally acknowledged, provided that in each case proper notice thereof shall have been given to the Consul.

SERBIA.

Consular convention, concluded October 2-14, 1881.

1042. ARTICLE I.

Each of the high contracting parties agrees to receive from the other Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular Agents in all its ports, cities, and places, except those where it may not be convenient to

recognize such officers. This reservation, however, shall not apply to one of the high contracting parties without also applying to every other power.

1043. ARTICLE II.

The Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular Agents of the two high contracting parties shall enjoy reciprocally, in the states of the other, all the privileges, exemptions, and immunities that are enjoyed by officers of the same rank and quality of the most favored nation. The said officers, before being admitted to the exercise of their functions and the enjoyment of the immunities thereto pertaining, shall present their commissions in the forms established in their respective countries. The Government of each of the two high contracting powers shall furnish them the necessary exequatur free of charge, and, on the exhibition of this instrument, they shall be permitted to enjoy the rights, privileges, and immunities granted by this convention.

1044. ARTICLE III.

Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular Agents, citizens of the State by which they are appointed, shall be exempt from preliminary arrest, except in the case of offenses which the local legislation qualifies as crimes and punishes as such; they shall be exempt from military billetings, from service in the regular army or navy, in the militia, or in the national guard; they shall likewise be exempt from all direct taxes, national, state, or municipal, imposed upon persons either in the nature of capitation tax or in respect to their property, unless such taxes become due on account of the possession of real estate, or for interest on capital invested in the country where the said officers exercise their functions. This exemption shall not, however, apply to Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or Consular Agents engaged in any profession, business, or trade; but said officers shall in such case be subject to the payment of the same taxes that would be paid by any other foreigner under the like circumstances.

1045. ARTICLE IV.

When a court of one of the two countries shall desire to receive the judicial declaration or deposition of a Consul-General, Consul, Vice-Consul, or Consular Agent, who is a citizen of the State which appointed him and who is engaged in no commercial business, it shall request him, in writing, to appear before it; and in case of his inability to do so, it shall request him to give his testimony in writing, or shall visit his residence or office to obtain it orally.

It shall be the duty of such officer to comply with this request with as little delay as possible.

In all criminal cases, contemplated by the sixth article of the amendments to the Constitution of the United States, whereby the right is socured to persons charged with crimes to obtain witnesses in their favor, the appearance in court of said Consular Officer shall be demanded, with