, 1869-01-29
ARTICLE l..

TWO COUNTRIES.
ARTICLE 1.
There shall be au exchange Of correspondence
between the United States of America and the
North German Union, BY means OF their respec>
tive post departments and this correspondence
shall embrace
lst. Letters ordinary and registered.
I'd. Newspapers, book packets, prints OF all
kinds, comprising maps, plans, engravings,
drawings, photographs, Iithograpns' anu al
other like productions Of mechanical processes
sheets of music. &c, and patterns or samples
of merchandise, Including grains and seeds
And such correspondence may be exchanged,
whether originating in either of said couDtrles
and destined for the other, or originating in or
destined for foreign countries to which these
may respectively serve as Intermediates
ARTfCLE II.
The Offices for-the exchange of mails shall be
(a) on the part of the United States:
lst. New York.
I'd. Boston.
Sd. Portland.
4th. Detroit.
5th. Chicago.
10y on the part Of the North German Union !:
lst Aachen, AK la Chapelle.)
ID. Bremen.
Sd. Hamburg.
The two post departments may at any time
discontinue either of said Offices of exchange or
establish others by mutual consent
ARTICLE III.
Each Office shall make its own arrangements
for the despatch of its mails to the other Office
by regular lines of communication and shall at
its own cost pay the expense of such intermedi-
ate transportation.
The two Offices, however, mutually agree that,
in making contracts for TIE despatch of mails
from American ports, or from European ports,
those steamers and lines should always be ems
ployed so far as consistent with the rates of
postage, by which the mails despatched shall
earliest arrive at their destination and when
the speed is substantially the same, that the
most favorable pecuniary conditions should be
preferred. 1t is also agreed that the cost Of
international ocean and territorial transit of the
closed mails between the respective frontiers
shall be first betrayed by that one of the two
departments which shall have obtained from the
Intermediates the most favorable pecuniary
terms for such conveyance; and any amount so
advaDced by one for account of the other shall
be promptly reimbursed,
ARTICLE II.
The standard weight for the single rate of in
teruatonal postage, and rule of progression,
shall be
lst For letters, Is grammes.
ID. For all other correspondence mentioned in
paragraph two of the first article, that which
the despatching Office shall adopt for the mails
which it dispatches 70 the other, adapted to the
convenience and habits of its interior admins
tratiou. But each Office shall give notice to the
other of the standard weight it adopts, and of
any subsequent change thereof.
The rule of progression shall always be an
additional single rate for each additional stand-
ard weight or fraction thereof. The weight
stated by the despatching Office shall always be
accepted except in case OF manifest mistake.
1t is, however, understood that so long as the
German office employs the 10th as its standard
for the single weight Of letters which it des>
patches, it shall also be accepted by the United
States office as the equivalent OF Is grammes, in
respect to the mails which it receives from the
German office.
ARrIcE Y
The single rate of postage oH the direct cor,
respondeuce exchanged between the two admin
strations shall be as follows:
lst On letters from the United States via dis
rect line Of steamers to Hamburg and Bremen,
CONDITIONED that the sea rate in such case shall
not exceed five cents for single letter rate and
ten cents per kilOgram for other correspondence,
ten cents.
Cd. Ou letters from the North German Union
via said direct line, Subject to same condition, }
four silber groschen.
3D. On letters from the United States via
England, fifteen cents.
4th On letters from the North German Union
via England. six silber groschen.
5:h OF the international letter postage via
England, the ocean single letter rate shall not
exceed eight cents, nor shall the English and
Belgian single letter transit rates exceed one
cent each.
9th. 1t is further agreed, that whenever any
other regular line of steam communication, ac
ceptable to the two offices, may be employed di.
rectly between any port of the United States aud
any port of the north of Europe at such rates
that the entire cost of transportation between the
two frontiers shall not exceed for each single
letter rate five cents, and for each kilogram Of
other correspondence ten cents, in that case the
international single rate Of letter postage BY
such line shall be reduced to ten cents.
7th On all other correspondence mentioned
in paragraph two of the first article, the rate
shall be, for the mails despatched, that which
the despatehing office shall adopt, adopted to
the convenience and habits of its interior admin.
istrauon. But each office shall give notice to
the other of the rate it adopts, and of any subs
sequent change thereof.
ARTICLE VI.
The prepayment Of postage on ordinary letters
shall be optional, subject to the conditions 10
Article VII, mentioned /; but on registered letters
and on ali other correspondence mentioned 10
paragraph two Of the first article, it shall be
obligatory.
ARTICLE VII
L H. however, the postage on any correspoud.
ence shall be prepaid insuiiciently, it shall new
ertheless be forwarded to its destination, bul
charged with the deficient postage.
upon the delivery of any unpaid or insult,