Nor

from whatever place arriving, shall not be subject to other or higher duties or charges than those paid on the like articles, the produce or manufacture of the territories of any other foreign country. shall any prohibition or restriction be maintained or imposed on the importation of any article the produce or manufacture of the territories of either of the Contracting Parties into the territories of the other, from whatever place arriving, which shall not equally extend to the importation of the like articles being the produce or manu-facture of the territories of any other foreign country.

The only exceptions of this general rule shall be in the case of the sanitary or other prohibitions occasioned by the necessity of securing the safety of persons or of cattle, or of plants useful to agriculture, and of the measures applicable in the territories of either of the Contracting Parties to articles enjoying a direct or indirect bounty in the territories of the other Contracting Party.

ARTICLE 6.

Articles, the produce or manufacture of the territories of either of the Contracting Parties, exported to the territories of the other shall not be subjected to other or higher duties or charges than those paid on the like articles exported to any other foreign country. Nor shall any prohibition or restriction be imposed on the exportation of any article from the territories of either of the Contracting Parties to the territories of the other which shall not equally extend to the exportation of the like article to any other foreign country.

ARTICLE 7.

As an exception from the general undertaking given by the Latvian Government to accord most-favoured-nation treatment to the commerce of His Britannic Majesty's territories, it is understood that His Britannic Majesty will not claim the benefit of any Customs preferences or other facilities of whatever nature which are, or may be, granted by Latvia in favour of Russia, Finland, Esthonia or Lithuania in regard to Russian, Finnish, Esthonian or Lithuanian goods respectively so long as such preferences or facilities are not extended by Latvia to any other foreign country.

ARTICLE 8.

The stipulations of the present Treaty with regard to the mutualTM accord of the treatment of the most favoured nation apply unconditionally to the treatment of commercial travellers and their samples. The Chambers of Commerce, as well as such other Trade Associations and other recognised Commercial Associations in the territories of the Contracting Parties as may be authorised in this behalf, shall be mutually accepted as competent authorities for issuing any certificates that may be required for commercial travellers.

Articles imported by commercial travellers as samples, shall in the territories of each of the Contracting Parties be temporarily admitted [10874]

free of duty on compliance with the Customs regulations and formalities established to assure their re-exportation or the payment of the prescribed Customs duties if not re-exported within the period allowed by law. But the foregoing privilege shall not extend to articles. which, owing to their quantity or value, cannot be considered as samples, or which, owing to their nature, could not be identified upon re-exportation.

The marks, stamps or seals placed upon such samples by the Customs authorities of one Contracting Party at the time of exportation and the officially attested list of such samples, containing a full description thereof, issued by them shall be reciprocally accepted by the Customs officials of the other as establishing their character as samples and exempting them from inspection, except so far as may be necessary to establish that the samples produced are those enumerated in the list. The Customs authorities of either Contracting Party may, however, affix a supplementary mark to such samples in special cases where they may think this precaution necessary.

ARTICLE 9.

No internal duties levied for the benefit of the State, local authorities or corporations which affect, or may affect, the production, manufacture or consumption of any article in the territories of either of the Contracting Parties, shall for any reason be a higher or more burdensome charge on articles, the produce or manufacture of the other, than on similar articles of native origin.

The produce or manufacture of either of the Contracting Parties imported into the territories of the other, and intended for warehousing or transit, shall not be subjected to any internal duty. It is understood that ordinary charges for the handling of goods in the ports are not within the scope of this Article and may be levied.

ARTICLE 10.

The establishment and the activities of limited liability and other companies and associations, commercial, industrial, financial; forwarding, navigation and assurance are based on the laws and regulations of the Contracting Party in the territories of which they may be situated.

It is understood that this Article does not give the right to impose by the enactment of laws or otherwise special conditions on companies of either of the Contracting Parties operating in the territories of the other involving treatment less favourable than that which is applied to national or foreign companies operating in those territories.

ARTICLE 11.

Limited liability and other companies and associations, commercial, industrial and financial, already or hereafter to be organised in accordance with the laws of either Contracting Party, and regis

tered in the territories of such Party, are authorised, in the territories of the other, to exercise their rights and to appear in the Courts either as plaintiffs or defendants, subject to the laws of such other Party.

ARTICLE 12.

Each of the Contracting Parties undertakes to place no obstacle in the way of any company (duly organised in accordance with the laws of the other) which may desire to carry on in its territories, whether through the establishment of branches or otherwise, commercial, industrial, insurance, banking, or other description of business which the subjects or companies of any foreign country are or may be permitted to carry on; and in framing and administering laws with regard to the taxation of such companies and branches, each Contracting Party will be guided by the principle embodied in Article 1 of this Treaty, that is to say, that the system of taxation shall be so framed and administered as to place national companies and the business in the territories of each Contracting Party of the companies organised in the territories of the other so far as possible on the same footing in this respect.

ARTICLE 13.

The measures taken by the Contracting Parties for regulating and forwarding traffic across their territories shall facilitate free transit by rail or waterway on routes in use convenient for international transit. No distinction shall be made which is based on the nationality of persons, the flag of vessels, the place of origin, departure, entry, exit or destination, or on any circumstances relating to the ownership of goods or of vessels, coaching or goods stock or other means of transport.

In order to ensure the application of the foregoing provisions the Contracting Parties will allow transit in accordance with the customary conditions and reserves across their territorial waters.

Traffic in transit shall not be subject to any special dues in respect of transit (including entry and exit) except for such dues as are intended solely to defray expenses of supervision and administration. entailed by such transit. It is understood that ordinary charges for the handling of the goods in the ports are not within the scope of this Article and may be levied.

Neither Contracting Party shall be bound by this Article to afford transit for passengers whose admission into its territories is forbidden, or for goods of a kind of which the importation is prohibited, either on grounds of public health or security, or as a precaution against diseases of animals and plants.

For the purpose of this Article, persons, baggage and goods, and also vessels, coaching and goods stock, and other means of transport shall be deemed to be in transit across the territories of the Contracting Parties, when the passage across such territories, with or without transhipment, warehousing, breaking bulk, or change in the mode of

transport, is only a portion of a complete journey, beginning and terminating beyond the frontier of the Party across whose territories the transit takes place.

ARTICLE 14.

Each of the Contracting Parties shall permit the importation or exportation of all merchandise which may be legally imported or exported, and also the carriage of passengers from or to their respective territories, upon the vessels of the other; and such vessels, their cargoes and passengers, shall enjoy the same privileges as, and shall not be subjected to any other or higher duties or charges than, national vessels and their cargoes and passengers or the vessels, cargoes and passengers of the most favoured nation.

ARTICLE 15.

The provisions of this Treaty relating to the mutual concession of national treatment in matters of navigation do not apply to the coasting trade, in respect of which the subjects and vessels of the Contracting Parties shall enjoy most-favoured-nation treatment.

British and Latvian vessels may, nevertheless, proceed from one port to another, either for the purpose of landing the whole or part of their cargoes or passengers brought from abroad, or of taking on board the whole or part of their cargoes or passengers for a foreign. destination.

It is also understood that, in the event of the coasting trade of either Party being exclusively reserved to national vessels, the vessels of the other Party, if engaged in trade to or from places not within the limits of the coasting trade so reserved, shall not be prohibited from the carriage between two ports of the former Party of passengers holding through tickets or merchandise consigned on through billsof-lading to or from places not within the above-mentioned limits, and while engaged in such carriage these vessels and their passengers and cargoes shall enjoy the full privileges of this Treaty.

ARTICLE 16.

In all that regards the stationing, loading and unloading of vessels in the ports, docks, roadsteads and harbours of the territories of the Contracting Parties, no privilege or facility shall be granted by either Party to vessels of any other foreign country or to national vessels which is not equally granted to vessels of the other Party.

ARTICLE 17.

In regard to duties of tonnage, harbour, pilotage, lighthouse, quarantine, or other analogous duties or charges of whatever denomination, levied in the name or for the profit of the Government, public functionaries, private individuals, corporations or establishments of any kind, the vessels of either Contracting Party shall enjoy in the ports of the territories of the other treatment at least as

favourable as that accorded to national vessels or the vessels of any other foreign country.

ARTICLE 18.

Any vessel of either of the Contracting Parties which may be compelled, by stress of weather or by accident, to take shelter in a port of the other, shall be at liberty to refit therein, to procure all necessary stores, and to put to sea again, without paying any dues other than such as would be payable in a similar case by a national vessel. In case, however, the master of a merchant-vessel should be under the necessity of disposing of a part of his merchandise in order to defray his expenses, he shall be bound to conform to the Regulations and Tariffs of the place to which he may have come.

If any vessel of one of the Contracting Parties should run aground or be wrecked upon the coasts of the other, such vessel, and all parts thereof, and all furniture and appurtenances belonging thereunto, and all goods and merchandise saved therefrom, including any which may have been cast into the sea, or the proceeds thereof, if sold, as well as all papers found on board such stranded or wrecked vessel, shall be given up to the owners of such vessel, goods, merchandise, &c., or to their agents when claimed by them. If there are no such owners or agents on the spot then the vessel, goods, merchandise, &c., referred to shall, in so far as they are the property of a subject or citizen of the other Contracting Party, be delivered to the Consular Officer of that Contracting Party in whose district the wreck or stranding may have taken place, upon being claimed by him within the period fixed by the laws of that Contracting Party, and such Consular Officers, owners, or agents shall pay only the expenses incurred in the preservation of the property, together with the salvage or other expenses which would have been payable in the like case of a wreck or stranding of a national vessel.

The Contracting Parties agree, moreover, that merchandise saved shall not be subjected to the payment of any Customs duty unless cleared for internal consumption.

In the case of a vessel either being driven in by stress of weather, run aground, or wrecked, the respective Consular Officers shall, if the owner or master or other agent of the owner is not present, or is present and requires it, be authorised to interpose in order to afford the necessary assistance to their fellow-countrymen.

ARTICLE 19.

All vessels which, according to British law, are to be deemed British vessels, and all vessels which, according to Latvian law, are to be deemed Latvian vessels, shall for the purpose of this Treaty be deemed British and Latvian vessels respectively.

ARTICLE 20.

It shall be free to each of the Contracting Parties to appoint Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls and Consular Agents to