# Treaty of Paris (1815)/Convention on pecuniary indemnity

Convention between Great Britain and France, concluded in conformity with the 4th Article of the Principal Treaty, relative to the Payment of the Pecuniary Indemnity to be furnished by France to the Allied Powers.
The payment to which France has bound herself to the Allied Powers as an Indemnity by the IVth Article of the Treaty of this day, shall take place in the form and at the periods prescribed by the following Articles.
ART. I. The sum of 700,000,000 of francs, being the amount of the Indemnity, shall be discharged day by day, in equal portions, in the space of 5 years, by means of Bons au Porteur on the Royal Treasury of France, in the manner that shall be now set forth.
ART. II. The Treasury shall give over immediately to the Allied Powers, Fifteen Engagements for 46,000,000 and 2-3rds each, forming together the sum of 700,000,000; the first Engagement payable on the 31st of March 1816, the second on the 31st of July of the same year, and so on, in every 4th month, during the 5 successive years.
ART. III. These Engagements shall not be negotiable, but they shall be periodically exchanged against Bons au Porteur, negotiable, drawn in the form used in the ordinary service of the Royal Treasury.
ART. IV. In the month which shall precede the 4 in the course of which an Engagement is to be paid, that Engagement shall be divided by the Treasury of France, into Bons au Porteur payable in Paris, in equal portions, from the 1st to the last day of the 4 months.
Thus the Engagement of 46,000,000 and 2-3rds, falling due the 31st of March 1816, shall be exchanged in the month of November 1815, against Bons au Porteur payable in equal portions from the 1st of December 1815, to the 31st of March 1816.
The Engagement of 46,000,000 and 2-3rds which will fall due the 31st of July 1816, shall be exchanged in the month of March of the same year, against Bons au Porteur payable in equal portions from the 1st of April 1816 to the 31st of July of the same year, and so on, every four months.
ART. V. No single Bons au Porteur shall be delivered for the sum due each day, but the sum so due, shall be divided into several Coupures or Bills of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, and 20,000 Francs, the which sums added together, will amount to the sum total of the payment due for each day.
ART. VI. The Allied Powers, convinced that it is as much their interest as that of France, that too considerable a sum of Bons au Porteur should not be issued at once, agree that there never shall be in circulation Bons for more than 50,000,000 of francs at a time.
ART. VII. No interest shall be paid by France for the delay of 5 years which the Allied Powers allow to her for the payment of the 700,000,000 of francs.
ART. VIII. On the 1st of January 1816, there shall be made over by France to the Allied Powers, as a guarantee for the regularity of the payments, a fund of interest inscribed in the Grand Livre of the Public Debt of France, of 700,000,000 of francs, on a capital of 140,000,000. This fund of interest shall be used to make good, if there should be need of it, the deficiencies in the Acceptances of the French Government, and to render the payments equal, at the end of every 6 months, to the Bons au Porteur which shall have fallen due, as shall be hereafter detailed.
ART. IX. This fund of interest shall be inscribed in the name of such persons as the Allied Powers shall point out; but these persons cannot be the holders of the Inscriptions, except in the case provided for in the XIth Article ensuing.
The Allied Powers further reserve to themselves, the right to transfer the Inscriptions to other names, as often as they shall judge necessary.
ART. X. The deposit of these Inscriptions shall be confided to one Treasurer named by the Allied Powers, and to another named by the French Government.
ART. XI. There shall be a Mixed Commission, composed of an equal number on both sides, of Allied and French Commissioners, who shall examine, every 6 months, the state of the payments, and shall regulate the balance. The Bons of the Treasury paid, shall constitute the payments; those which shall not yet have been presented to the Treasury of France, shall enter into the account of the subsequent balance; those also which shall have fallen due, been presented, and not paid, shall constitute the arrear, and the sum of Inscriptions to be applied at the market price of the day, to cover the deficit.
As soon as that operation shall have taken place, the Bons unpaid shall be given up to the French Commissioners, and the mixed Commission shall order the Treasurers to pay over the sum so determined upon, and the Treasurers shall be authorized and obliged to pay it over to the Commissioners of the Allied Powers, who shall dispose of it as they shall think proper.
ART. XII. France engages to replace immediately in the hands of the Treasurers, an amount of Inscriptions equal to that which may have been made use of, according to the foregoing Article, in order that the fund stipulated in the Eighth Article may be always kept at its full amount.
ART. XIII. France shall pay an interest of 5 per cent, per annum from the date of the Bons au Porteur falling due, upon all such Bons the payment of which may have been delayed by the act of France.
ART. XIV. When the first 600,000,000 of francs shall have been paid, the Allies, in order to accelerate the entire liberation of France, will accept, should it be agreeable to the French government, the Fund mentioned in the VIIIth Article at the market price of that day, to such an amount as will be equal to the remainder due of the 700,000,000. France will only have to furnish the difference, should any exist.
ART. XV. Should this plan not be convenient to France, the 100,000,000 of fracs which would remain due, may be discharged in the manner pointed out in the IInd,IIIrd IVth amd Vth Articles; and, after the complete payment of the 700,000,000, the Inscriptions stipulated for in the VIIIth Article shall be returned to France.
ART. XVI. The French government engages to execute, independently of the Pecuniary Indemnity stipulated by the present Convention, all the Engagements stipulated for in the Special Conventions concluded with the different Powers and their Co-Allies, relative to the clothing and equipment of their Armies; and engages tor the exact deliverance and payment of the Bons and Mandats arising from the said Conventions, in as far as they shall not have been already discharged, at the time of the signature of the Principal Treaty, and of the present Convention.
Done at Paris this 20th day of November, in the year of our Lord 1815.
| (Signed) | (Signed) |
| (L. S.) Castlereagh. | (L. S.) Richelieu. |
| (L. S.) Wellington. | |

## Protocol for the pecuniary indemnity to be furnished by France

PROTOCOL respecting the Distribution of the 700 millions which France is to pay to the Allied Powers, under Art. IV. of the Treaty, and which is to sent instead of a particular Convention on that head. — Paris 20th Nov. 1815.
The undersigned Plenipotentiaries being met to fix the principles of the distribution of the sums which France is to pay, in pursuance of the Treaty of Paris of the 20th November 1815, between their respective Courts and the other Allied States, and having taken it into consideration, that it appears superfluous to conclude a particular Convention for this arrangement, have resolved to lay down, in the present Protocol, every thing that relates to that object, and to consider this Protocol as having the same force and validity as a formal and express Convention entered into by virtue of the full powers with which they are armed, and in pursuance of the instructions they have received from their respective Courts. In conformity with this determination they have concluded the following Articles:
ART. I. The Allied Powers, acknowledging the necessity of guaranteeing the tranquillity of the countries bordering on France, by erecting fortifications on certain points the most exposed, have determined to set apart for that object a portion of the sums which are to be paid by France, leaving the remainder for general distribution, under the head of Indemnities. A fourth part of the total sum to be paid by France shall be applied to the erecting fortifications. But as the cession of the fortress of Saar Louis, equally founded on the motive of general safety, renders the construction of new fortifications in the vicinity of that fortress superfluous, and that the same has been estimated at fifty millions, by the Military Committee who were consulted upon that point, the said fortress shall be set down at the above-mentioned sum, in the calculation of the sums to be expended in fortifications, so that the aforesaid fourth part shall not be deducted from the 700 millions of francs promised by France, but from 750 millions, including the cession of Saar-Louis.
In conformity with this disposition, the sum deducted for fortifications is fixed at 187½ millions of francs, viz. 137½ millions in real value, and 50 millions, represented by the fortress of Saar-Louis.
ART. II. In apportioning these 187½ millions of francs amongst the states bordering on France, the undersigned ministers have had in view the necessity, more or less urgent, of those states to have additional fortresses, and the expense, more or less considerable, which die erecting them would incur, compared with the means which they severally possess, or will acquire by the present Treaty.
According to these principles,
| Recipient | Millions of francs | Millions of francs |
| The King of the Netherlands will receive | 60 | |
| The King of Prussia | 20 | |
| The King of Sardinia | 10 | |
| The King of Bavaria, or such other Sovereign of the countries bordering on France between the Rhine and the. Prussian territory | 15 | |
| The King of Spain | 7 | ½ |
Of the 25 millions which remain to be distributed, five shall be appropriated to finish the works at Mayence, and the remaining twenty shall be assigned for the erection of a new federal fortress upon the Upper Rhine. These sums shall 'be employed conformably with the plans and regulations which the powers shall adopt for that purpose.
ART. III. The sum destined for the fortifications being deducted, there remains 562½ millions, under the head of Indemnities which shall be apportioned in the following manner:
ART. IV. Although all the Allied States have afforded proofs of the same zeal and devotion for the common cause, there are some, notwithstanding, like Sweden, (which, from the very commencement, was released from all active co-operation, in consequence of the difficulty of conveying her troops across the Baltic) who have made no efforts whatever: Others, like Spain, Portugal, and Denmark, although they have armed to assist in the struggle, have been prevented by the rapidity of events from effectually contributing to its success. Swisserland, which has rendered most essential services to the common cause, did not accede to the Treaty of the 25th March on the same conditions as the other Allies.
These States are thereby placed in a different situation which does not allow of their being classed with the other Allied States, according to the number of their troops. it is therefore agreed, in order to obtain for them a just indemnity, as far as circumstances will permit to apportion 12½ millions in the following manner: —
| Recipient | Millions of francs | Millions of francs |
| Spain | 5 | |
| Portugal | 2 | |
| Denmark | 2 | ½ |
| Swisserland | 3 | |
ART. V. The burthen of the war having been borne in the first instance by the armies under the respective commands of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington and Field Marshal Prince Blucher; and these armies having, moreover taken the city of Paris, it is agreed that there shall be retained out of the contributions paid by France, the sum of 25 millions for the service of Great Britain, and 25 millions for that of Prussia. Subject to the arrangements which Great Britain is to make with the powers, whose forces constituted the army of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington, as to the sum which is to fail to their share under this head.
ART. VI. The 500 millions which remain after the deduction of the sums stipulated in the preceding Articles shall be apportioned in such manner as that Prussia, Austria, Russia and England shall each have a fifth part.
ART. VII. Notwithstanding the States which have acceded to the Treaty of the 25th of March of this year, have furnished collectively less than one fourth of the number of troops furnished by the four principal powers conjointly; it has been resolved not to take notice of this inequality; they will therefore, taken collectively, enjoy the fifth part which, in pursuance of the disposition contained in the preceding Article, remains of the five hundred millions.
ART. VIII. The allotment of this fifth amongst the several acceding States shall be in proportion to the number of troops furnished by them, and in the same manner as they have participated in the sum of ten millions, allowed by the French government for the pay of the troops; the table of this allotment is annexed to the present Protocol.
ART. IX. As his Majesty the King of Sardinia recovers part of Savoy, and his Majesty the King of the Low Countries receives in addition to the places of Marienbourg and Philipeville, and some other districts, that part of Belgium which the Treaty of Paris of the 30th May 1814, left to France; and it being understood that these two Sovereigns finding, in those accessions of territory, a fair compensation for their efforts, are not to participate in the pecuniary indemnity, their proportion, such as it is fixed in the table annexed to the preceding Article, shall be divided between Prussia and Austria.
ART. X. As the payments of the French government are to be made at the periods fixed by the Treaty, and of the Convention annexed thereto, it is resolved that each state who participates in these payments, in consequence of the present Protocol, shall receive at each of these periods the pro-rota of his share, and the same rule shall be followed where a State participates under various heads at once. Austria, for instance, in right of its fifth and in right of the part which she is to receive of the proportion of Belgium and Sardinia. This principle shall likewise be adopted, if, in case of the non-payment of the French government, it should be necessary to proceed to the sale of a portion of the Inscriprtions which shall be deposited by way of pledge.
ART. XI. Prussia and Austria having declared the pressing necessity of their obtaining, in the course of the six first months, a larger sum than by an equal distribution would fall to their share; Russia and England consent, in order to facilitate the general arrangement, that each of those two powers should anticipate ten millions of francs of their proportion, to take date from the first payment, on condition of their holding themselves accountable for that sum in the subsequent years.
ART. XII. This deduction shall be made by one-fifth every year, so that Austria and Prussia will each relinquish to Russia and England 2,500,000 francs of their respective shares, in each of the four subsequent years.
ART. XIII. In order to avoid the numberless inconveniences which must result from a want of unity in recovering the sums to be paid by France, it has been settled, that a commission, residing at Paris, shall have the sole management of recovering the same; that none of the States participating in these payments shall treat separately with the French government for this object; that they shall neither ask or receive directly from the said government, and without the intervention of the said commission, the documents by which the said payments may be obtained.
This Commission shall be composed of commissioners from Austria, Russia, Great Britain and Prussia, who shall treat with the French government; it shall be at the option of the other Allied States, in like manner to delegate Commissioners expressly to superintend their interests at the said Commission, which Commission shall be charged to deliver to them the effects or the specie which shall be recovered for their States. A regulation shall be forthwith drawn up respecting the exercise of the functions of the said Commission; to which shall be annexed the Table of the proportion which each State is to receive, and of the period of payment, according to the principles laid down in the present Act.
ART. XIV- The fifty millions stipulated by the Article of the Military Convention annexed to the Treaty of the 20th instant for the pay and other demands of the army which is to occupy a part of France, shall be divided in such wise, as that
| Recipient | Francs | Cents |
| Russia | 7,142,857 | 16 |
| Austria | 10,714,285 | 71 |
| England | 10,714,585 | 71 |
| Prussia | 10,714,285 | 71 |
| The Acceding States | 10,714,285 | 71 |
When France shall only pay, as will he the case in the first year, thirty millions, or any other sum less than fifty millions, for the object above specified; the same proportion shall he observed in the distribution of the sum so modified. The money which is referred to here shall be levied and allotted by the same Commission, established in pursuance of the 13th Article of the present Act, for the raising of the pecuniary indemnity.
ART. XV. Four exact copies shall be made of the present Protocol, which shall be furnished with the signature of the under-mentioned Plenipotentiaries, and shall have the force and validity herein-before expressed.
| (Signed) | (Signed) |
| Castlereagh | Hardenberg |
| Wellington | Humboldt |
| Metternich | Wessenberg |
| Rasoumoffsky | Capo D'Istria |

## Table of allotment

TABLE OF THE ALLOTMENT of the One Hundred Millions of Francs amongst the acceding Powers.
| Names of the acceding Powers | | The 100 Millions of Francs make per Man 425 Francs 29 $_{15,623}$ Cents. $^{23,813}$ | The 100 Millions of Francs make per Man 425 Francs 29 $_{15,623}$ Cents. $^{23,813}$ |
| | Men | Francs | Cents |
| Bavaria | 60,000 | 25,517,798 | 66½ |
| Low Countries | 50,000 | 21,264,832 | 22½ |
| Wirtemberg | 20,000 | 8,505,932 | 88½ |
| Sardinia | 15,000 | 6,379,449 | 66½ |
| Baden | 16,000 | 6,804,746 | 31½ |
| Hanover | 10,000 | 4,252,966 | 44 |
| Saxony | 16,000 | 6,804,746 | 31½ |
| Hess-Darmsadt | 8,000 | 3,402,373 | 15½ |
| Hesse-Cassel | 12,000 | 5,103,559 | 73½ |
| Mecklenburg-Schwerin | 3,800 | 1,616,127 | 24½ |
| Meklenburg-Strelitz | 800 | 340,237 | 31½ |
| Saxe-Gotha | 2,200 | 935,652 | 61½ |
| Saxe-Weimar | 1,600 | 680,474 | 63½ |
| Nassau | 3,000 | 1,275,889 | 93½ |
| Brunswick | 3,000 | 1,275,889 | 93½ |
| Hansc Towns | 3,000 | 1,275,889 | 93½ |
| Town of Francfort | 750 | 381,972 | 48½ |
| Hohenzollern-Hittengen | 194 | 82,507 | 54½ |
| Hohenzollcrn-Sigmaringen | 386 | 164,164 | 50½ |
| Lichtenstein | 100 | 42,529 | 66½ |
| Saxe-Meinungen | 600 | 255,177 | 98½ |
| Heldbourglmusen | 400 | 170,118 | 66 |
| Saxe-Cobourg | 800 | 340,237 | 81½ |
| Anholt | 1,600 | 680,474 | 63½ |
| Schwarzbourg | 1,300 | 552,885 | 63½ |
| Reusse | 900 | 382,766 | 37 |
| Lippe | 1,300 | 552,885 | 63½ |
| Waldeck | 800 | 340,237 | 31½ |
| Oldeuberg | 1,600 | 680,474 | 63½ |
| Total | 235,130 | 100,000,000 | |

## Notes

* ↑ British and Foreign State Papers p. 293–298
* ↑ British and Foreign State Papers p. 293–298
* ↑ The Stipulations of the Convention upon this subject, concluded on the same day, between Austria, Prussia, and Russia, and France, were, verbatim, the same as those of this Treaty. (British and Foreign State Papers p. 293–298)
* ↑ Two-thirds
* ↑ Protocol for the pecuniary indemnity to be furnished by France: The Parliamentary Debates from the Year 1803 to the Present Time, p. 276–280 — No. XII. in the official British Parliamentary translation. Andrew Kippis, William Godwin, G. G. and J. Robinson. The New Annual Register, Or General Repository of History, Politics, and Literature, for the Year 1815, George Robinson, Paternoster Row, London, England, 1816. p. 361–363 — formatting of paragraphs, tables, etc. British and Foreign State Papers, 242 p. 242–245 French original
* ↑ (sic) Switzerland
* ↑ The Parliamentary Debates from the Year 1803 to the Present Time. pp. 280-282
* ↑ sic. should be 31½. It was an error in the original French version of the treaty (British and Foreign State Papers p. 246)

## References

* Great Britain Foreign Office. British and Foreign State Papers, Volume 3 (1815–1816), Great Britain Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1838.
* Hansard, The Parliamentary Debates from the Year 1803 to the Present Time ..., Volume 32. 1 February to 6 March 1816, T.C. Hansard, 1816.