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JSTOR helps people discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content through a powerful research and teaching platform, and preserves this content for future generations. JSTOR is part of ITHAKA, a not-for-profit organization that also includes Ithaka S+R and Portico. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. 180 THE AMERICAN JOUBNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW or to Liberian vessels is performed between 6 p. m. and 6 a. m., or on Sundays, or on days which are bank holidays in Sierra Leone, there shall be payable by the importer, in addition to the fees specified in this agreement, for every hour the officer is employed, overtime fees at the rates specified by the law which is at the time in force in Sierra Leone. 8. This agreement shall only apply to goods upon which the duties of customs shall have already been paid in Liberia. 9. The present agreement shall come into force from the date of its signature. It is concluded for one year, but shall remain in force until the expiration of three months from the day on which one of the high contracting parties shall have given notice of its intention of terminating it. Done in duplicate at Monrovia, the 10th day of April, 1913. R. C. F. Maugham, Acting British Consul-General. C. D. B. King, Secretary of State, Republic of Liberia. AGREEMENT BETWEEN RUSSIA AND MONGOLIA, WITH ACCOMPANYING 1 PROTOCOL Signed at Urga, October 21 /November S, 1912 In accordance with the desire unanimously expressed by the Mon- golians to maintain the national and historic constitution of their coun- try, the Chinese troops and authorities were obliged to evacuate Mon- golian territory, and Djebzoun Damba-Khutukhta was proclaimed Ruler of the Mongolian people. The old relations between Mongolia and China thus came to an end. At the present moment, taking into consideration the facts stated above, as well as the mutual friendship which has always existed be- tween the Russian and Mongolian nations, and in view of the necessity of defining exactly the system regulating trade between Russia and Mongolia: 1 Command Papers (Great Britain), No. 6604. OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS 181 The Actual State Councillor Jean Korostovetz, duly authorized for the purpose by the Imperial Russian Government; and The protector of the ten thousand doctrines, Sain-noin Khan Namnan- Souroun, President of the Council of Ministers of Mongolia; The plenipotentiary Tchin-souzouktou Tzin-van Lama Tzerin- Tchimet, Minister of the Interior; The plenipotentiary Daitzin-van Handa-dorji, of the rank of Khan- erdeni, Minister for Foreign Affairs; The plenipotentiary Erdeni Dalai Tzun-van Gombo-Souroun, Minis- ter of War; The plenipotentiary Touchetou Tzun-van Tchakdorjab, Minister of Finance; and The plenipotentiary Erdeni Tzun-van Namsarai, Minister of Justice; Duly authorized by the Ruler of the Mongolian nation, by the Mon- golian Government and by the ruling Princes, have agreed as follows: — Article 1 The Imperial Russian Government shall assist Mongolia to maintain the autonomous regime which she has established, as also the right to have her national army, and to admit neither the presence of Chinese troops on her territory nor the colonization of her land by the Chinese. Article 2 The Ruler of Mongolia and the Mongolian Government shall grant, as in the past, to Russian subjects and trade the enjoyment in their possessions of the rights and privileges enumerated in the protocol an- nexed hereto. It is well understood that there shall not be granted to other foreign subjects in Mongolia rights not enjoyed there by Russian subjects. Article 3 If the Mongolian Government finds it necessary to conclude a separate treaty with China or another foreign Power, the new treaty shall in no case either infringe the clauses of the present agreement and of the pro- tocol annexed thereto, or modify them without the consent of the Im- perial Russian Government. 182 the american journal of international law Article 4 The present amicable agreement shall come into force from the date of its signature. In witness whereof the respective plenipotentiaries, having compared the two texts, Russian and Mongolian, of the present agreement, made in duplicate, and having found the two texts to correspond, have signed them, have affixed thereto their seals, and have exchanged texts. Done at Urga on the 21st October, 1912, corresponding to the 24th day of the last autumn month of the 2nd year of the reign of the Unani- mously Proclaimed, according to the Mongolian calendar. Protocol annexed to Russo-Mongolian Agreement of the 21st October (3rd November), 1912 By virtue of the enactment of the second article of the agreement signed on this date between Actual State Councillor, Ivan Korostovets, plenipotentiary of the Imperial Russian Government, and the President of the Council of Ministers of Mongolia, Sain-noin Khan Namnan- Souroun, the protector of ten thousand doctrines; the plenipotentiary and Minister of the Interior, Tchin-souzouktou Tzin-van Lama Tzerin- Tchimet; the plenipotentiary and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Daitzin- van Handa-dorji of the rank of Khan-erdeni; the plenipotentiary and Minister of War, Erdeni-Dalai Tzun-van Gombo-Souroun; the pleni- potentiary and Minister of Finance, Touchetou Tzun-van Tchakdorjab; and the plenipotentiary and Minister of Justice, Erdeni Tzun-van Nam- sarai, on the authority of the Ruler of Mongolia, the Mongolian Govern- ment, and the ruling Princes; the above-named plenipotentiaries have come to an agreement respecting the following articles, in which are set forth the rights and privileges of Russian subjects in Mongolia, some of which they already enjoy, and the rights and privileges of Mon- golian subjects in Russia: Article I Russian subjects, as formerly, shall enjoy the right to reside and move freely from one place to another throughout Mongolia; to engage there in every kind of commercial, industrial, and other business; and to enter into agreements of various kinds, whether with individuals, or firms, or institutions, official or private, Russian, Mongolian, Chinese, or foreign. official documents 183 Article 2 Russian subjects, as formerly, shall enjoy the right at all times to import and export, without payment of import and export dues, every kind of product of the soil and industry of Russia, Mongolia and China, and other countries, and to trade freely in it without payment of any duties, taxes, or other dues. The enactments of this (2nd) article shall not extend to combined Russo-Chinese undertakings, or to Russian subjects falsely declaring themselves to be owners of wares not their property. Article 3 Russian credit institutions shall have the right to open branches in Mongolia, and to transact all kinds of financial and other business, whether with individuals, institutions, or companies. Article 4 Russian subjects may conclude purchases and sales in cash or by an exchange of wares (barter), and they may conclude agreements on credit. Neither "khoshuns" nor the Mongolian Treasury shall be held responsible for the debts of private individuals. Article 5 The Mongolian authorities shall not preclude Mongolians or Chinese from completing any kind of commercial agreement with Russian sub- jects, from entering into their personal service, or into commercial and industrial undertakings formed by them. No rights of monopoly as regards commerce or industry shall be granted to any official or private companies, institutions, or individuals in Mongolia. It is, of course, understood that companies and individuals who have already received such monopolies from the Mongolian Government previous to the con- clusion of this agreement shall retain their rights and privileges until the expiry of the period fixed. Article 6 Russian subjects shall be everywhere granted the right, whether in towns or "khoshuns," to hold allotments on lease, or to acquire them as their own property for the purpose of organizing commercial indus- 184 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW trial establishments, and also for the purpose of constructing bouses, shops, and stores. In addition, Russian subjects shall have the right to lease vacant lands for cultivation. It is, of course, understood that these allotments shall be obtained and leased for the above-specified purposes, and not for speculative aims. These allotments shall be as- signed by agreement with the Mongolian Government in accordance with existing laws of Mongolia, everywhere excepting in sacred places and pasture lands. Article 7 Russian subjects shall be empowered to enter into agreements with the Mongolian Government respecting the working of minerals and timber, fisheries, etc. Article 8 The Russian Government shall have the right, in agreement with the Government of Mongolia, to appoint consuls in those parts of Mon- golia it shall deem necessary. Similarly, the Mongolian Government shall be empowered to have government agents at those frontier parts of the empire where, by mu- tual agreement, it shall be found necessary. Article 9 At points where there are Russian consulates, as also in other locali- ties of importance for Russian trade, there shall be allotted, by mutual agreement between Russian consuls and the Mongolian Government, special "factories" for various branches of industry and the residence of Russian subjects. These "factories" shall be under the exclusive control of the above-mentioned consuls, or of the heads of Russian commercial companies if there be no Russian consul. Article 10 Russian subjects, in agreement with the Mongolian Government, shall retain the right to institute, at their own costs, a postal service for the dispatch of letters and the transit of wares between various localities in Mongolia and also between specified localities and points on the Russian frontier. In the event of the construction of "stages" and other necessary buildings, the regulations set forth in Article 6 of this protocol must be duly observed. official documents 185 Article 11 Russian consuls in Mongolia, in case of need, shall avail themselves of Mongolian Government postal establishments and messengers for the dispatch of official correspondence, and for other official require- ments, provided that the gratuitous requisition for this purpose shall not exceed one hundred horses and thirty camels per month. On every occasion, a courier's passport must be obtained from the Government of Mongolia. When travelling, Russian consuls, and Russian officials in general, shall avail themselves of the same establishments upon pay- ment. The right to avail themselves of Mongolian Government "stages " shall be extended to private individuals, who are Russian subjects, upon payment for the use of such "stages" of amounts which shall be determined in agreement with the Mongolian Government. Article 12 Russian subjects shall be granted the right to sail their own merchant- vessels on, and to trade with the inhabitants along the banks of, those rivers and their tributaries which, running first through Mongolia, sub- sequently enter Russian territory. The Russian Government shall afford the Government of Mongolia assistance in the improvement of navigation on these rivers, the establishment of the necessary beacons, etc. The Mongolian Government authorities shall assign on these rivers places for the berthing of vessels, for the construction of wharves and warehouses, for the preparation of fuel, etc., being guided on these occasions by the enactments of Article 6 of the present protocol. Article 13 Russian subjects shall have the right to avail themselves of all land and water routes for the carriage of wares and the droving of cattle, and, upon agreement with the Mongolian authorities, they may con- struct, at their own cost, bridges, ferries, etc., with the right to exact a special due from persons crossing over. Article 14 Travelling cattle, the property of Russian subjects, may stop for the purpose of resting and feeding. In the event of prolonged halts being necessary, the local authorities shall assign proper pasturage areas along 186 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW travelling cattle routes, and at cattle markets. Fees shall be exacted for the use of these pasturing areas for periods exceeding three months. Article 15 The established usage of the Russian frontier population harvesting (hay), as also hunting and fishing, across the Mongolian border shall remain in force in the future without any alteration. Article 16 Agreements between Russian subjects and institutions on the one side and Mongolians and Chinese on the other may be concluded ver- bally or in writing, and the contracting parties may present the agree- ment concluded to the local government authorities for certification. Should the latter see any objection to certifying the contract, they must immediately notify the fact to a Russian consul, and the mis- understanding which has arisen shall be settled in agreement with him. It is hereby laid down that contracts respecting real estate must be in written form, and presented for certification and confirmation to the proper Mongolian Government authorities and a Russian consul. Documents bestowing rights to exploit natural resources require the confirmation of the Government of Mongolia. In the event of disputes arising over agreements concluded verbally or in writing, the parties may settle the matter amicably with the as- sistance of arbitrators selected by each party. Should no settlement be reached by this method, the matter shall be decided by a mixed legal commission. There shall be both permanent and temporary mixed legal commis- sions. Permanent commissions shall be instituted at the places of resi- dence of Russian consuls, and shall consist of the consul, or his repre- sentative, and a delegate of the Mongolian authorities of corresponding rank. Temporary commissions shall be instituted at places other than those already specified, as cases arise, and shall consist of representatives of a Russian consul and the prince of that "khoshun" to which the defendant belongs or in which he resides. Mixed commissions shall be empowered to call in as experts persons with a knowledge of the case from among Russian subjects, Mongolians, and Chinese. The decisions of mixed legal commissions shall be put into execution without delay, in the case of Russian subjects through a Russian consul, and in the OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS 187 case of Mongolians and Chinese through the prince of the "khoshun" to which the defendant belongs or in which he is resident. Abticle 17 The present protocol shall come into force from the date of its signa- ture. In witness whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries, finding, upon comparison of the two parallel texts of the present protocol — Russian and Mongol — drawn up in duplicate, that the texts correspond, have signed each of them, affixed their seals, and exchanged texts. Executed at Urga, the 21st October, 1912 (o. s.), and by the Mongo- lian calendar, on the twenty-fourth day of the last autumn moon, in the second year of the administration of the " Unanimously Proclaimed." [In the original follow the signature of M. Korostovets, Minister Plenipotentiary; and in the Mongol language the signatures of the President of the Mongolian Council of Ministers, and the plenipoten- tiaries, the Ministers of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, War, Finance, and of Justice.] DECLABATION BY NOBWAY, DENMABK AND SWEDEN BELATIVE TO THE December 21, 1912 The Governments of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, with a view to establishing uniform rules of neutrality in accord with the conven- tional stipulations signed at The Hague, having entered into negotia- tions which have resulted in an agreement upon all matters of prin- ciple, as is proved by the accompanying texts of the rules severally adopted by the three respective governments. And fully appreciating how important it is that the agreement which so fortunately exists shall continue to remain in force, Have agreed that no one of the three governments shall make changes in the rules approved by it without having previously notified the two others in ample time to admit of an exchange of views upon the matter. 1 Translated from Archives Diplomatiques, January-March, 1913, pp. 125-128.