# United States Treaty Series/Volume 1/Universal Postal Union (1897)

This is the official United States government version published in the first volume of the United States Treaty Series (Bevans).
UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION
* Convention and final protocol signed at Vienna July 4, 1891
* Ratified and approved by the Postmaster General of the United States May 24, 1892
* Approved by the President of the United States May 24, 1892
* Entered into force July 1, 1892
* Terminated by convention of June 15, 1897
28 Stat. 1078; Post Office Department print
[TRANSLATION]
Convention
Universal Postal Convention concluded between Germany and the German Protectorates, the United States of America, the Argentine Republic, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chili, the Republic of Colombia, the Independent State of Congo, the Republic of Costa Rica, Denmark and the Danish Colonies, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ecuador, Spain and the Spanish Colonies, France and the French Colonies, Great Britain and various British Colonies, the British Colonies of Australasia, Canada and British India, Greece, Guatemala, the Republic of Haiti, the Kingdom of Hawaii, the Republic of Honduras, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Liberia, Luxemburg, Mexico, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Norway, Paraguay, the Netherlands and the Netherlands Colonies, Peru, Persia, Portugal and the Portuguese Colonies, Roumania, Russia, Salvador, Servia, the Kingdom of Siam, the South African Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, the Regency of Tunis, Turkey, Uruguay, and the United States of Venezuela.
The undersigned, plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the countries above enumerated, being assembled in Congress at Vienna, by virtue of Article 19 of the Universal Postal Convention concluded at Paris on the 1st of June 1878, have by common consent, and subject to ratification, revised said Convention, as well as the Additional Act relating thereto concluded ​at Lisbon on the 21st of March 1885, in conformity with the following stipulations:
Article 1
The countries between which the present Convention is concluded, as well as those which may join it hereafter, form, under the title of Universal Postal Union, a single postal territory for the reciprocal exchange of articles of correspondence between their post-offices.
Article 2
The stipulations of this Convention extend to letters, to single post-cards and post-cards with paid reply, printed matter of every kind, commercial papers and samples of merchandise originating in one of the countries of the Union, and intended for another of those countries. They also apply to the exchange by mail of the articles above mentioned between the countries of the Union and the countries foreign to the Union, whenever the services of two of the contracting parties at least are used for that exchange.
Article 3
1.—The Postal Administrations of neighboring countries, or countries able to correspond directly with each other without using the intermediary of the services of a third Administration, determine, by mutual agreement, the conditions of the conveyance of mails which they exchange across the frontier, or from one frontier to the other.
2.—Unless there be a contrary arrangement, the direct maritime-conveyance performed between two countries by means of packets or vessels depending upon one of them, shall be considered as a third service, and this conveyance, as well as that performed between two offices of the same country by the intermediary of maritime or territorial services depending upon another country, is regulated by the stipulations of the following Article.
Article 4
1.—The right of transit is guaranteed throughout the entire territory of the Union.
2.—Consequently, the several Postal Administrations of the Union may send reciprocally, through the intermediary of one or of several of them, as well closed mails as correspondence in open-mail according to the needs of the traffic, and the convenience of the postal service.
3.—The correspondence exchanged, whether in open-mail or in closed mails between two Administrations of the Union, by means of the services of one or several other Administrations of the Union, is subject to the ​following transit charges, to be paid to each of the countries traversed, or whose services participate in the conveyance, viz:
* 1st. For territorial conveyance, 2 francs per kilogram of letters or post-cards, and 25 centimes per kilogram of other articles;
* 2nd. For maritime conveyance, 15 francs per kilogram of letters or post-cards, and 1 franc per kilogram of other articles;
4.—It is, however, understood—
* 1st. That wherever the transit is already gratuitous at present, or subject to more advantageous conditions, such condition is maintained, except in the case provided for in paragraph 3d, following;
* 2nd. That wherever the maritime transit charges are fixed at present at 5 francs per kilogram of letters or post-cards, and at 50 centimes per kilogram of other articles, these charges are maintained;
* 3d. That every maritime conveyance not exceeding 300 nautical miles is gratuitous, if the Administration concerned is already entitled, on account of mails or articles benefiting by this conveyance, to the remuneration applicable to territorial transit; in the contrary case, payment is made at the rate of 2 francs per kilogram of letters or post-cards, and 25 centimes per kilogram of other articles;
* 4th. That in the case of maritime conveyance effected by two or more Administrations, the expenses of the entire transportation cannot exceed 15 francs per kilogram of letters or post-cards and 1 franc per kilogram of other articles; these expenses are in such case shared between those Administrations pro rata for the distances traversed, without prejudice to other arrangements between the parties interested;
* 5th. That the rates specified in the present Article do not apply either to conveyance by means of services depending upon Administrations foreign to the Union, or to conveyance within the Union by means of extraordinary services specially established or maintained by one Administration, either in the interest, or at the request of one or several other Administrations. The conditions of these two categories of conveyance are regulated by mutual agreement between the Administrations interested.
5.—The expenses of transit are borne by the Administration of the country of origin.
6.—The general settlement of these expenses takes place on the basis of statements prepared every three years, during a period of 28 days to be determined on in the Regulations of execution referred to in Article 20 hereafter.
7.—The correspondence between the Postal Administrations, the reply halves of double post-cards returned to the country of origin, articles reforwarded or missent, undeliverable articles, return-receipts, money orders, and ​all other documents relative to the postal service, are exempt from all transit charges, whether territorial or maritime.
Article 5
1.—The rates of postage for the conveyance of postal articles throughout the entire extent of the Union, including their delivery at the residence of the addressees in the countries of the Union where a delivery service is or shall be organized, are fixed as follows:
* 1st. For letters, 25 centimes in case of prepayment, and double that amount in the contrary case, for each letter and for every weight of 15 grams or fraction of 15 grams;
* 2nd. For post-cards, 10 centimes for a single card, or for each of the two halves of apost-card with paid reply. Post-cards not prepaid are subject to the rate of postage for letters not prepaid.
* 3d. For printed matter of every kind, commercial papers, and samples of merchandise, 5 centimes for each article or packet bearing a particular address, and for every weight of 50 grams or fraction of 50 grams, provided that such article or packet does not contain any letter or manuscript note having the character of actual and personal correspondence, and that it be made up in such a manner as to admit of its being easily examined. The charge on commercial papers cannot be less than 25 centimes per packet, and the charge on samples cannot be less than 10 centimes per packet.
2.—In addition to the rates fixed by the preceding paragraph, there may be levied:
* 1st. For every article subjected to maritime-transit charges of 15 francs per kilogram of letters or post-cards and 1 franc per kilogram of other articles, and in all the relations to which these transit charges are applicable, a uniform surtax which may not exceed 25 centimes per single rate for letters, 5 centimes per post-card, and 5 centimes per 50 grams or fraction of 50 grams for other articles.
* 2d. For every article conveyed by services depending on Administrations foreign to the Union, or by extraordinary services in the Union giving rise to special expenses, a surtax in proportion to these expenses.
3.—In case of insufficient prepayment, articles of correspondence of every kind are liable to a charge equal to double the amount of the deficiency, to be paid by the addressees, which charge however may not exceed that which is levied in the country of destination on correspondence not prepaid, of the same nature, weight and origin.
4.—Articles other than letters and post-cards must be prepaid at least in part.
​5.—Packets of samples of merchandise may not contain any article having a salable value; they must not exceed 250 grams in weight, or measure more than 30 centimeters in length, 20 centimeters in breadth and 10 centimeters in depth, or if they are in the form of a roll, 30 centimeters in length and 15 centimeters in diameter. The Administrations of the countries interested are, however, authorized to adopt by common consent, for their reciprocal exchanges, limits of weight or size exceeding those fixed above.
6.—Packets of commercial papers and printed matter may not exceed 2 kilograms in weight or measure more in any direction than 45 centimeters. Packets in the form of a roll may, however, be admitted to the mails provided they do not exceed 10 centimeters in diameter, and 75 centimeters in length.
Article 6
1.—The articles specified in Article 5 may be registered.
2.—Every registered article is liable, at the charge of the sender:
* 1st. To the ordinary prepaid rate of postage upon the article, according to its nature;
* 2nd. To a fixed registration fee of 25 centimes at the maximum, including the issue of a receipt to the sender.
3.—The sender of a registered article may obtain an acknowledgment of delivery of said article by paying in advance a fixed fee of 25 centimes at the maximum.
Article 7
1.—Registered articles may be sent, marked with trade charges up to the amount of 500 francs, to be collected on delivery, in the mails exchanged between the countries whose Administrations agree to introduce this service. These articles are subject to the formalities and rates applicable to registered articles.
2.—The amount collected from the addressee must be transmitted to the sender by means of a money order, after deducting the fee chargeable for said money order, and a fee of 10 centimes for collection.
Article 8
1.—In case of the loss of a registered article, and except in case of force majeure, the sender, or, at his request, the addressee, is entitled to an indemnity of 50 francs.
2.—The obligation to pay the indemnity is incumbent on the Administration to which the dispatching office belongs. There is reserved to that Administration a remedy against the responsible Administration, that is to say, against the Administration within whose territory or in whose service the loss occurred.
​3.—Until the contrary is proved, the responsibility rests with the Administration which, after having received the article without making any remark, cannot prove either its delivery to the addressee, or its regular transmission to the next Administration, as the case may be. As regards articles addressed poste restante, the responsibility ceases upon delivery to a person who has proved, according to the regulations in force in the country of destination, that his name and description are in conformity with the indications of the address.
4.—The payment of the indemnity by the dispatching office should be made as soon as possible, and at the latest within the period of one year dating from the day of the reclamation. The responsible office is bound to refund to the dispatching office without delay the amount of the indemnity paid by the latter. In the case where the responsible office has notified the dispatching office not to make the payment, the former must refund to the latter office the expenses which may result from such non-payment.
5.—It is understood that the reclamation is only entertained if made within the period of one year from the time when the registered article was mailed; after this period has passed, the claimant has no right to any indemnity.
6.-If the loss has occurred during transportation, and it is impossible to ascertain on the territory of which country the loss took place, the Administrations concerned bear the loss in equal proportions.
7.—The Administrations cease to be responsible for registered articles, the addressees of which have given a receipt for them and have accepted them.
Article 9
1.—The sender of an article of correspondence may cause it to be withdrawn from the service, or cause the address to be changed, as long as the article has not been delivered to the addressee.
2.—The request to be formulated for this purpose is transmitted by mail or by telegraph, at the expense of the sender, who must pay, as follows:
* 1st for every request by mail the charge applicable to a registered single letter;
* 2nd for every request by telegraph, the charge for the telegram according to the ordinary tariff.
3.—The provisions of this Article are not obligatory in countries the legislation of which does not allow the sender to dispose of an article in course of transportation.
Article 10
Those countries of the Union which have not the franc for their monetary unit fix their postage rates at the equivalents, in their respective currencies, of the rates determined by Articles 5 and 6 preceding. Such countries have the ​option of rounding off the fractions in conformity with the Table inserted in the Regulations of execution mentioned in Article 20 of the present Convention.
Article 11
1.—Prepayment of postage on every description of article can be effected only by means of postage-stamps valid in the country of origin for the correspondence of private individuals. Nevertheless, the reply-halves of post-cards with paid reply bearing postage-stamps of the country which issued these cards are likewise considered as duly prepaid.
2.—Official correspondence relative to the postal service, and exchanged between the Postal Administrations, is alone exempt from this obligation and admitted free.
3.—Correspondence mailed on the high seas in the letter-box of a vessel or by being handed to the captains of vessels may be prepaid by means of the postage-stamps and according to the postage-rates of the country to which said vessel belongs or on which it is dependent. If the mailing on board takes place during the stay of the vessel at one of the two terminal points of the voyage or at one of the intermediate ports of call, prepayment of postage is not valid unless it is effected by means of the postage-stamps and according to the postage-rates of the country in whose waters the vessel happens to be.
Article 12
1.—Each Administration keeps the whole of the sums which it collects in execution of the foregoing Articles 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11, except the payments due for money orders provided by paragraph 2 of Article 7.
2.—Consequently, there is no necessity on this head for any accounts between the several Administrations of the Union, except as regards the payments mentioned in paragraph 1 of the present Article.
3.—Neither the senders nor the addressees of letters and other postal articles can be called upon to pay, either in the country of origin or in that of destination, any postage or any postal fee other than those contemplated by the Articles above-mentioned.
Article 13
1.—Articles of correspondence of every kind are, at the request of the senders, delivered at the residence of the addressees by a special carrier immediately after their arrival, in the countries of the Union which consent to undertake this service in their reciprocal relations.
2.—These articles, which are endorsed "express", are subject to a special charge for delivery at the residence; this charge is fixed at 30 centimes, and must be paid in full and in advance, by the sender, over and above the ​ordinary postage. It belongs to the Administration of the country of origin.
3.—If the article is destined for a locality where there is no post office, the Postal Administration of the country of destination may levy an additional charge, to the amount of the rate fixed for delivery by special carrier in its domestic service, a deduction being made of the fixed rate paid by the sender, or of its equivalent in the money of the country which levies this additional charge.
4.—"Express" articles upon which the entire charges payable in advance are not fully prepaid, are delivered by the ordinary means.
Article 14
1.—No additional charge is levied for the reforwarding of postal articles within the interior of the Union.
2.—Undeliverable articles do not give rise to a restitution of the transit charges due to intermediary Administrations for the previous conveyance of said articles.
3.—Unpaid letters and post-cards, and insufficiently prepaid articles of every kind, when returned to the country of origin, owing to their being reforwarded or because they have become undeliverable, are liable, at the expense of the addressees or senders, to the same rates as similar articles addressed directly from the country of the first destination to the country of origin.
Article 15
1.—Closed mails may be exchanged between the post offices of any one of the contracting countries and the commanders of naval squadrons or ships-of-war of the same country stationed abroad, through the intermediary of the territorial or maritime services depending on other countries.
2.—Articles of every kind enclosed in these mails must consist exclusively of those addressed to or sent by the officers and crews of the vessels for which the mails are destined or from which they are dispatched; the rates and conditions of dispatch applicable thereto are determined by the Postal Administration of the country to which the vessels belong, in accordance with its domestic regulations.
3.—Unless there be a contrary arrangement between the offices interested, the Post Office which dispatches or receives the mails in question is accountable to the intermediary Offices for the transit expenses calculated in conformity with the provisions of Article 4.
Article 16
1.—Circulation shall not be given:
* b) to articles of the same categories which exceed the limits of weight and size fixed by Article 5;
* c) to samples of merchandise which have a salable value.
2.—If any of the articles mentioned in the preceding paragraph be given circulation, they should be returned to the office of origin, and, if possible, be delivered to the sender.
3.—It is forbidden:
1st to send by mail:
* a) samples and other articles which, from their nature, may prove dangerous to the postal employés, soil or injure the correspondence;
* b) explosive, inflammable or dangerous substances; animals and insects, living or dead, excepting the cases provided for in the Regulations of detail.
2nd to insert in ordinary or registered articles placed in the mails:
* a) current coin;
* b) articles liable to customs duty;
* c) gold or silver bullion, precious stones, jewelry, and other precious articles, but only in case their insertion or transmission is prohibited by the legislation of the countries concerned.
4.—Articles coming under the prohibition of paragraph 3 preceding which have been forwarded erroneously, should be returned to the office of origin, except in cases where the Administration of the country of destination is authorized by its legislation or by its domestic regulations to dispose of them otherwise.
5.—There is, moreover, reserved to the Government of every country of the Union the right to refuse to convey over its territory, or to deliver, as well articles liable to the reduced rate in regard to which the laws, ordinances or decrees which regulate the conditions of their publication or circulation in that country have not been complied with, as correspondence of every kind which bears ostensibly inscriptions, designs, etc. forbidden by the legal enactments or regulations in force in the same country.
Article 17
1.—The Offices of the Union which have relations with countries outside the Union, admit all the other Offices of the Union, to take advantage of such relations for the exchange of postal articles with the said countries.
2.—The postal articles exchanged in open-mail between a country of the Union and a country foreign to the Union, through the intermediary of another country of the Union, is treated, as regards the conveyance beyond the limits of the Union, in conformity with the Conventions, Arrangements, or special provisions governing the postal relations between the latter country and the country foreign to the Union.
​3.—With regard to the expenses of transit within the limits of the Union, articles originating in or addressed to a country foreign to the Union are assimilated to those from or for the country of the Union which maintains relations with the first mentioned country.
4.—With regard to the expenses of transit beyond the limits of the Union, articles addressed to a country foreign to the Union are subjected to the following transit charges, credited to the country of the Union which maintains relations with the country foreign to the Union:
* a) for maritime transits beyond the Union, 20 francs per kilogram of letters or post-cards, and one franc per kilogram of other articles;
* b) for territorial transits beyond the Union, if any, the charges per kilogram announced by the country of the Union which maintains relations with the country foreign to the Union serving as intermediary.
5.—In the case of maritime conveyance effected by two or more Administrations, the charges for the entire maritime transit, within and beyond the Union, may not exceed 20 francs per kilogram of letters or post-cards and 1 franc per kilogram of other articles; if the case demands it, these charges are shared between these Administrations pro rata for the distances traversed, without prejudice to other arrangements between the parties interested.
6.—The above-mentioned expenses of transit beyond the Union are payable by the Administration of the country of origin. They apply to all articles dispatched whether in open-mail or in closed mails. But in the case of closed mails dispatched from a country of the Union to a country foreign thereto, or from a country foreign to the Union to a country of the Union, a previous arrangement concerning the mode of payment of the transit expenses should be concluded between the Administrations interested.
7.—The general settlement of the transit expenses for articles exchanged between a country of the Union and a country foreign to it, through the intermediary of another country of the Union, takes place on the basis of statements which are prepared at the same time as the statements prepared by virtue of Article 4 preceding, for determining the expenses of transit within the Union.
8.—The rates to be levied in a country of the Union on articles addressed to or originating in a country foreign to the Union and using the intermediary of another country of the Union, can never be lower than the normal Union rates. These rates belong entirely to the country which levies them.
Article 18
The high contracting parties engage to adopt, or to propose to their respective legislatures, the necessary measures for punishing the fraudulent use, for the prepayment of postal articles, of counterfeit postage-stamps, or postage-stamps which have already been used. They likewise engage to adopt, or to propose to their respective legislatures, the necessary measures for prohibiting ​and suppressing the fraudulent manufacture, sale, offering for sale, or distribution of embossed and adhesive stamps in use in the postal service, counterfeited or imitated in such a manner as to be mistakable for the embossed and adhesive stamps issued by the Administration of any one of the contracting countries.
Article 19
The services concerning letters and boxes with declared value, and those of money-orders, postal parcels, collection of bills and drafts, books of identity, subscription to newspapers, etc., form the subject of special arrangements between the different countries or groups of countries of the Union.
Article 20
1.—The Postal Administrations of the various countries composing the Union are competent to establish by mutual agreement, in Regulations of execution, all the measures of order and detail which are judged necessary.
2.—The several Administrations may, moreover, make among themselves the necessary arrangements on the subject of questions which do not concern the Union generally, provided that those arrangements are not contrary to the present Convention.
3.—The Administrations interested are, however, permitted to conclude mutual agreements for the adoption of lower rates of postage within a radius of 30 kilometers.
Article 21
1.—The present Convention involves no alteration in the legislation of any country as regards anything which is not provided for by the stipulations contained in this Convention.
2.—It does not restrict the right of the contracting parties to maintain and to conclude treaties, as well as to maintain and establish more restricted Unions, with the view to the improvement of postal relations.
Article 22
1.—There is maintained, under the name of the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union, a central office, which is conducted under the superintendence of the Swiss Postal Administration, and the expenses of which are borne by all the Administrations of the Union.
2.—This Bureau continues to be charged with the duty of collecting, collating, publishing and distributing information of every kind which concerns the international postal service; of giving, at the request of the parties concerned, an opinion upon questions in dispute; of making known propositions for modifying the acts of the Congress; of giving notice of the changes adopted, and, in general, of undertaking such researches and labors as may be entrusted to it in the interest of the Postal Union.
Article 23
1.—In case of disagreement between two or more members of the Union, as to the interpretation of the present Convention or as to the responsibility of an Administration in case of the loss of a registered article, the question in dispute is decided by arbitration. To that end, each of the Administrations concerned chooses another member of the Union not directly interested in the matter.
2.—The decision of the arbitrators is given by an absolute majority of the votes.
3.—In case the votes are equally divided, the arbitrators choose, in order to settle the difference, another Administration equally disinterested in the disputed question.
4.—The provisions of the present Article apply equally to all the Agreements concluded by virtue of Article 19, preceding.
Article 24
1.—Countries which have not taken part in the present Convention are admitted to adhere thereto upon their demand.
2.—Notice is given of this adhesion, through the diplomatic channel, to the Government of the Swiss Confederation, and by that Government to all the countries of the Union.
3.—It implies, as a right, accession to all the clauses and admission to all the advantages stipulated by the present Convention.
4.—It devolves upon the Government of the Swiss Confederation to determine, by mutual agreement with the Government of the country interested, the share to be contributed by the Administration of this latter country toward the expenses of the International Bureau, and, if necessary, the rates to be levied by that Administration in conformity with Article 10, preceding.
Article 25
1.—Congresses of plenipotentiaries of the contracting countries or simple administrative conferences, according to the importance of the questions to be solved, are held when a demand for them is made or approved by two-thirds, at least, of the Governments or Administrations, as the case may be.
2.—Nevertheless, a Congress must be held at least once every five years.
3.—Each country may be represented either by one or several delegates, or by the delegation of another country. But it is understood that the delegate or delegates of one country can be charged with the representation of two countries only, including the country which they represent.
4.—In the deliberations each country has one vote only.
5.—Each Congress fixes the place of meeting for the following Congress.
6.—For Conferences, the Administrations fix the places of meeting upon the proposal of the International Bureau.
Article 26
1.—In the interval which elapses between the meetings, any Postal Administration of a country of the Union has the right to address to the other Administrations belonging to it, through the intermediary of the International Bureau, propositions concerning the regimen of the Union.
2.—Every proposition is subject to the following procedure:
A period of five months is allowed to the Administrations of the Union to examine the propositions, and to transmit to the International Bureau, if necessary, their observations, amendments, or counter-propositions which they may desire to submit. The replies are tabulated by the International Bureau and communicated to the Administrations with the invitation to pronounce either for or against the proposition. Those Administrations which have not transmitted their vote within a period of six months, counting from the date of the second circular of the International Bureau notifying them of the observations made, are considered as abstaining from voting.
3.—In order to become binding the propositions must obtain, as follows:
* 1st. Unanimity of votes, if they involve the addition of new Articles or a modification of the stipulations of the present Article and of Articles 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15 and 18;
* 2nd. Two-thirds of the votes, if they involve a modification of stipulations of the Convention other than those of Articles 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 18, and 26;
* 3d. Simply an absolute majority, if they affect the interpretation of the stipulations of the Convention, except in the case of dispute contemplated in Article 23 preceding.
4.—The binding decisions are sanctioned, in the first two cases, by a diplomatic declaration, which the Government of the Swiss Confederation is charged to prepare and transmit to all the Governments of the contracting countries, and, in the third case, by a simple notification from the International Bureau to all the Administrations of the Union.
5.—No modification or resolution adopted is binding until at least two months after its notification.
Article 27
The following are considered as forming, for the application of Articles 22, 25 and 26 preceding, a single country, or a single Administration, as the case may be:
* 2nd.1st. The Empire of British India;
* 2nd. The Dominion of Canada;
* 2nd.3d. The whole of the British Colonies of Australasia;
* 2nd.4th. The whole of the Danish Colonies;
* 2nd.5th. The whole of the Spanish Colonies;
* 2nd.6th. The whole of the French Colonies;
* 2nd.7th. The whole of the Netherlands Colonies;
* 2nd.8th. The whole of the Portuguese Colonies.
Article 28
The present Convention shall be put into execution on the 1st of July, 1892, and shall remain in force during an indefinite period; but each contracting party has the right to withdraw from the Union, by means of a notice given one year in advance by its Government to the Government of the Swiss Confederation.
Article 29
1.—From the date on which the present Convention takes effect, all the stipulations of the Treaties, Conventions, Arrangements, or other Acts previously concluded between the various countries or Administrations, in so far as those stipulations are not in accordance with the terms of the present Convention, are abrogated, without prejudice to the rights reserved by Article 21 preceding.
2.—The present Convention shall be ratified as soon as possible. The acts of ratification shall be exchanged at Vienna.
3.—In faith of which, the plenipotentiaries of the above named countries have signed the present Convention at Vienna on the fourth of July, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-one.
[Final Protocol]
At the moment of proceeding to sign the Conventions concluded by the Universal Postal Congress of Vienna, the undersigned plenipotentiaries have agreed as follows:
I
In modification of the stipulation of Article 6 of the Convention, which fixes the maximum registration-fee at 25 centimes, it is agreed that the States outside of Europe are authorized to maintain this maximum at 50 centimes, including a receipt given to the sender.
II
In modification of the stipulations of Article 8 of the Convention, it is agreed that, as a temporary measure, the Administrations of the countries outside of Europe, whose legislation is at present opposed to the principle of responsibility, retain the option of postponing the application of that principle until they shall have been able to obtain from the legislative power the authority to introduce it. Up to that time, the other Administrations of the Union are not bound to pay an indemnity for the loss, in their respective services, of registered articles addressed to or originating in the said countries.
III
Bolivia, Chili, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua, which form part of the Postal Union, not having been represented at the Congress, the protocol remains open for their adhesion to the Conventions which have been concluded at the Congress, or only to one or the other of these Conventions.
The protocol also remains open to the British Colonies of Australasia, whose delegates at the Congress have declared the intention of those countries to enter the Universal Postal Union on the 1st of October 1891.
It also remains open to the South African Republic, whose delegate to the Congress has declared the intention of that country to adhere to the Universal Postal Union, reserving the right to hereafter fix the date of its entry into the Union.
Finally, with the view of facilitating the entry into the Universal Postal Union of other countries which are still outside the Union, the protocol remains equally open for them.
IV
The protocol remains open to those countries whose representatives have signed this day the principal Convention only or only a certain number of the Conventions concluded by the Congress, for the purpose of allowing them to adhere to the other Conventions signed this day, or to one or the other of them.
V
The adhesions contemplated by Article III preceding, must be notified to ​the Imperial and Royal Government of Austria-Hungary, by the respective Governments, in diplomatic form. The term accorded to them for that notification will expire on the 1st of June 1892.
VI
In case one or more of the contracting parties to the Postal Conventions signed this day at Vienna, shall not ratify one or the other of those Conventions, that Convention shall be none the less valid for the States which shall have ratified it.
In faith of which, the undersigned plenipotentiaries have drawn up the present final protocol, which shall have the same force and value as if its provisions were inserted in the text itself of the Conventions to which it relates, and they have signed it on a single copy which shall remain in the Archives of the Austrian Government, and a copy of which shall be delivered to each party.
Done at Vienna the fourth of July one thousand eight hundred and ninety-one.
* For Germany and the German Protectorates
** Dr. v. Stephan
** Sachse
** Fritsch
* For the United States of America
** N. M. Brooks
** William Potter
* For the Argentine Republic
** Cárlos Calvo
* For Austria
** Obentraut
** Dr. Hofmann
** Dr. Lilienau
** Habberger
* For Hungary
** P. Heim
** S. Schrimpf
* For Belgium
** Lichtervelde
* For Bolivia
* For Brazil
** Luiz Betim Paes Leme
* For Bulgaria
** P. M. Mattheeff
* For Chili
* For the Republic of Colombia
** G. Michelsen
* For the Independent State of the Congo
** Stassin
** Lichtervelde
** Garant
** De Craene
* For the Republic of Costa Rica
* For Denmark and the Danish Colonies
** Lund
* For the Dominican Republic
* For Egypt
** Y. Saba
* For Ecuador
* For Spain and the Spanish Colonies
** Federico Bas
* For France
** Montmarin
** I. De Selves
** Ansault
* For the French Colonies
** G. Gabrié
* For Great Britain and various British Colonies
** S. A. Blackwood
** H. Buxton Forman
* For the British Colonies of Australasia
* For Canada
* For British India
** H. M. Kisch
* For Greece
** I. Georgantas
* For Guatemala
** Dr. Gotthelf Meyer
* For the Republic of Haiti
* For the Kingdom of Hawaii
** Eugène Borel
* For the Republic of Honduras
* For Italy
** Emidio Chiaradia
** Felice Salivetto
* For Japan
** Indo
** Fujita
* For the Republic of Liberia
** Bn. de Stein
** W. Koentzer
** C. Goedelt
* For Luxemburg
** Mongenast
* For Mexico
** L. Breton y Vedra
* For Montenegro
** Obentraut
** Dr. Hofmann
** Dr. Lilienau
** Habberger
* For Nicaragua
* For Norway
** Thb. Heyerdahl
* For Paraguay
* For the Netherlands
** Hofstede
** Baron van der Feltz
* For the Netherlands Colonies
** Johs. J. Perk
* For Peru
** D. C. Urrea
* For Persia
** Genl. N. Semino
* For Portugal and the Portuguese Colonies
** Guilhermino Augusto de Barros
* For Roumania
** Colonel A. Gorjean
** S. Dimitrescu
* For Russia
** Général de Besak
** A. Skalkovsky
* For Salvador
** Louis Kehlmann
* For Servia
** Svetozar I. Gvozditch
** Et. W. Popovitch
* For the Kingdom of Siam
** Luang Suriya Nuvatr
** H. Keuchenius
* For the South African Republic
* For Sweden
** E. von Krusenstjerna
* For Switzerland
** Ed. Höhn
** C. Delessert
* For the Regency of Tunis
** Montmarin
* For Turkey
** E. Petacci
** A. Fahri
* For Uruguay
** Federico Susviela Guarchi
** José G. Busto
* For the United States of Venezuela
** Cárlos Matzenauer
[For text of regulations for execution of the convention, see 28 Stat. 1102.]
* ↑ For text of regulations for execution of the convention, see 28 Stat. 1102.
* ↑ Post, p. 206.
* ↑ Ante, p. 51.
* ↑ Ante, p. 97.
* ↑ See footnote 1, p. 188.
Footnotes
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse