222 of the Treaty with Austria has special customs arrangements with such States.

ARTICLE 14.

Pending the conclusion of the general convention referred to above, the Serb-Croat-Slovene State undertakes to treat on the same footing as national vessels or vessels of the most favoured nation the vessels of all the Allied and Associated Powers which accord similar treatment to Serb-Croat-Slovene vessels. As an exception from this provision, the right of the Serb-Croat-Slovene State or of any other Allied or Associated Power to confine its maritime coasting trade to national vessels is expressly reserved. The Allied and Associated Powers further agree not to claim under this Article the benefit of agreements which the States obtaining territory formerly belonging to the AustroHungarian Monarchy may conclude as regards coasting traffic between the ports of the Adriatic Sea.

ARTICLE 15.

Pending the conclusion under the auspices of the League of Nations of a general convention to secure and maintain freedom of communications and of transit, the Serb-Croat-Slovene State undertakes to accord freedom of transit to persons, goods, vessels, carriages, wagons and mails in transit to or from any Allied or Associated State over Serb-Croat-Slovene territory, including territorial waters, and to treat them at least as favourably as Serb-Croat-Slovene persons, goods, vessels, carriages, wagons and mails respectively or those of any other more favoured nationality, origin, importation or ownership, as regards facilities, charges, restrictions and all other matters. All charges imposed in the territory of the Serb-Croat-Slovene State on such traffic in transit shall be reasonable having regard to the conditions of the traffic. Goods in transit shall be exempt from all customs or other duties.

Tariffs for transit across the Serb-Croat-Slovene State and tariffs between the Serb-Croat-Slovene State and any Allied or Associated Power involving through tickets or waybills shall be established at the request of the Allied or Associated Power concerned.

Freedom of transit will extend to postal, telegraphic and telephonic services.

Provided that no Allied or Associated Power can claim the benefit

of these provisions on behalf of any part of its territory in which reciprocal treatment is not accorded in respect of the same subjectmatter.

If within a period of five years from the coming into force of the present Treaty no general convention as aforesaid shall have been concluded under the auspices of the League of Nations, the SerbCroat-Slovene State shall be at liberty at any time thereafter to give twelve months' notice to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations to terminate the obligations of this Article.

ARTICLE 16.

All rights and privileges accorded by the foregoing Articles to the Allied and Associated Powers shall be accorded equally to all States, Members of the League of Nations.

The present Treaty, in French, in English and in Italian, of which in case of divergence the French text shall prevail, shall be ratified. It shall come into force at the same time as the Treaty of Peace with Austria.

The deposit of ratifications shall be made at Paris.

Powers of which the seat of the Government is outside Europe will be entitled merely to inform the Government of the French Republic, through their diplomatic representative at Paris, that their ratification has been given; in that case they must transmit the instrument of ratification as soon as possible.

A procès-verbal of the deposit of ratifications will be drawn up. The French Government will transmit to all the Signatory Powers a certified copy of the procès-verbal of the deposit of ratifications.

In faith whereof the above-named Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Treaty.

Done at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the tenth day of September, one thousand nine hundred and nineteen, in a single copy which will remain deposited in the archives of the French Republic, and of which authenticated copies will be transmitted to each of the Signatory Powers.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BELGIUM, THE BRITISH EMPIRE, CHINA, CUBA, FRANCE, GREECE, ITALY, JAPAN, NICARAGUA, PANAMA, POLAND, PORTUGAL, ROUMANIA, THE SERB-CROATSLOVENE STATE, SIAM AND THE CZECHO-SLOVAK STATE, WITH REGARD TO THE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COST OF LIBERATION OF THE TERRITORIES OF THE FORMER AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN MONARCHY.1

Signed at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Sept. 10, 1919.

THE undersigned, duly authorized by their respective governments, have agreed on the following provisions:

ARTICLE 1.

Poland, Roumania, the Serb-Croat-Slovene State and the CzechoSlovak State, as states to which territory of the former AustroHungarian Monarchy is transferred or states arising from the dismemberment of that monarchy, severally agree to pay, as a contribution towards the expenses of liberating the said territories, sums not exceeding in the aggregate the equivalent of 1,500,000,000 fr. gold, the gold frane being taken as of the weight and fineness of gold as enacted by law on January 1, 1914.

ARTICLE 2.

The total amount of the contribution referred to in Article 1 shall be divided between the said states on the basis of the ratio between the average for the three financial years 1911, 1912 and 1913 of the revenues of the territories acquired by them from the former AustroHungarian Monarchy, the revenues of the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina being excluded from this calculation.

The revenues forming the basis for this calculation shall be those adopted by the Reparation Commission, in accordance with Article 203, Part IX (Financial Clauses) of the Treaty of Peace with Austria, as best calculated to represent the financial capacity of the respective 1 British Treaty Series (1919), No. 14.

territories. Nevertheless, in no case shall the sum paid by the CzechoSlovak State exceed the sum of 750,000,000 fr. Should the contribution attributable to the Czecho-Slovak State exceed the sum of 750,000,000 fr., the difference between that sum and the sum of 750,000,000 fr. shall be in diminution of the aggregate sum of 1,500,000,000 fr. and shall not be attributable to the other states.

ARTICLE 3.

The amount due as above by each state for liberation, together with the value of the property and possessions of the former AustroHungarian Monarchy transferred to each of them, assessed in accordance with Article 207, Part IX (Financial Clauses) of the Treaty of Peace with Austria, shall be set off against the approved claims, if any, of these states for reparation.

ARTICLE 4.

If in the case of any of the above states the amount due for liberation and the value of property transferred is in excess of the approved. reparation claims, that state shall, within three months of the notification to it by the Reparation Commission of the amount, if any, of its approved claims for reparation, issue bonds to the amount of this excess and shall deliver them to such person or body as the Governments of the United States of America, the British Empire, France and Italy may designate.

The above bonds shall be to bearer, principal and interest being payable by the issuing state without deduction for any tax or charge imposed by it or under its authority. The bonds shall bear interest at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum, payable half-yearly, beginning on January 1, 1926. They shall be repaid in twenty-five equal annual drawings, beginning on January 1, 1931. The issuing state, however, may, at its option, redeem all or part of the bonds issued by it at par and accrued interest at any time, provided ninety days' notice of its intention so to do is given to the Governments of the United States of America, the British Empire, France and Italy.

ARTICLE 5.

In the case of those states whose approved claims for reparation are in excess of the amount due for liberation and the value of prop