THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 3RD OCTOBER, 1863.
ARTICLE III.
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The Mixed Courts of Justice are to decide upon the legality of the detention of such vessels as the cruizers of either nation shall detain, in pursuance of the said Treaty.
The said Courts shall adjudge definitively and without appeal, all questions which shall arise out of the capture and detention of such vessels.
The proceedings of the Courts shall take place as summarily as possible; and for this purpose the Courts are required to decide each case, as far as may be practicable, within the space of twenty days, to be dated from the day on which the detained vessel shall have been brought into the port where the deciding Court shall reside.
The final sentence shall not, in any case, be delayed beyond the period of two months, either on account of the absence of witnesses, or for any other cause, except upon the application of any of the parties interested; but in that case, upon such party or parties giving satisfactory security that they will take upon themselves the expense and risks of the delay, the Courts may, at their discretion, grant an additional delay, not exceeding four months.
Either party shall be allowed to employ such Counsel as he may think fit, to assist him in the conduct of his cause.
All the acts and essential parts of the proceedings of the said Courts shall be committed to writing and be placed upon record.
ARTICLE IV.
The form of the process, or mode of proceeding to judgment, shall be as follows:-
The Judges appointed by the two Governments, respectively, shall in the first place proceed to examine the papers of the detained vessel, and shall take the depositions of the master or commander, and of two or three, at least, of the principal individuals on board of such vessel; and shall also take the declaration on oath of the captor, if it should appear to them necessary to do so, in order to judge and to pronounce whether the said vessel has been justly detained or not, according to the stipulations of the aforesaid Treaty, and in order that, according to such judginent, the vessel may be condemned or released. In the event of the two Judges not agreeing as to the sentence which they ought to pronounce in any case brought before them, whether with respect to the legality of the detention, or the liability of the vessel to condemnation, or as to the indemnification to be allowed, or as to any other question which may arise out of the said capture; or in case any difference of opinion should arise between them as to the mode of procceding in the said Court, they shall draw by lot the name of one of the two Arbitrators so appointed as aforesaid, which Arbitrator, after having considered the proceedings which have taken place, shall consult with the two Judges on the case; and the final sentence or deci- sion shall be pronounced conformably to the opinion of the majority of the three.
ARTICLE V.
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If the detained vessel shall be restored by the sentence of the Court, the vessel and the
cargo, the state in which they shall then be found (with the exception of the negroes found on board, if such negroes shall have been previously disembarked under the provisions of Articles IV and V of the Ins- tructions annexed to the Treaty of this date), shall forthwith be given up to the master, or to the person who represents him: and such master or other person may, before the same Court, claim a valuation of the damages which he may have a right to demand. The captor himself, and in his default his Govern- ment, shall remain responsible for the damages to which the master of such vessel, or the owners either of the vessel or of her cargo, may be pronounced to be entitled.
The two High Contracting Parties bind themselves to pay, within the term of a year from the date of the sentence, the costs and damages which may be awarded by the Court; it beint mutually agreed, that such costs and damages shall be paid by the Government of the country of which the captor shall be a subject.
ARTICLE VI.
If the detained vessel shall be condemned, she shall be declared lawful prize, together with her cargo, of whatever description it may be, with the exception of the negroes who shall have been brought on board for the purpose of trade; and the said vessel, subject to the stipulations in the VIIIth Article of the Treaty of this date, shall, as well as her cargo, be sold by public sale for the profit of the two Governments, subject to the payment of the expenses hereinafter mentioned.
The negroes who may not previously have been disembarked, shall receive from the Court a certi- ficate of emancipation, and shall be delivered over to the Government to whom the cruizer which made the capture belongs, in order to be forthwith set at liberty.
ARTICLE VII.
The Mixed Courts of Justice shall also take cognizance of, and shall decide definitively and without appeal, all claims for compensation on account of losses occasioned to vessels and cargoes which shall
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