17. Assignment of Bosnia and Herzegovina to be occupied and administered by Austria

The provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be occupied and administered by Austria-Hungary. The Government of Austria-Hungary, not desiring to undertake the administration of the Sandjak of Novi-Bazar, which extends between Servia and Montenegro in a south-easterly direction to the other side of Mitrovitza, the Ottoman Administration will continue to exercise its functions there. Nevertheless, in order to assure the maintenance of the new political state of affairs, as well as freedom and security of communications, Austria-Hungary reserves the right of keeping garrisons and having military and commercial roads in the whole of this part of the ancient Vilayet of Bosnia. To this end the Governments of Austria-Hungary and Turkey reserve to themselves to come to an understanding on the details. (Article XXV, of the Treaty of Berlin, 1876.)

18. Austro-Hungarian Imperial Rescript of Oct. 7th, 1908, assuming Full Sovereignty over Bosnia and Herzegovina

WE, FRANCIS JOSEPH I, Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, and Apostolic King of Hungary to the inhabitants of Bosnia and the Herzegovina:

When a generation since our troops crossed the borders of your lands you were assured that they came not as foes but as friends, with the firm will to remedy the evils from which your Fatherland had suffered so severely for many years.

This word, given at a grave moment, has been honestly kept. It has been the constant endeavour of our Government to lead the country in calm legality, by ceaseless activity, towards a happier future.

To our great joy we can say that the seed then scattered in the furrows of a troubled soil has richly thriven. You yourselves must feel it a boon that order and security have replaced violence and oppression, that trade and traffic are constantly extending, that the moralizing influence of increased education

has been brought to bear, and that under the shield of an orderly administration every man may enjoy the fruits of his work.

It is the earnest duty of us all to march ceaselessly forward along this path. With this goal before our eyes we deem the moment come to give the inhabitants of the two lands a new proof of our trust in their political maturity. In order to raise Bosnia and the Herzegovina to a higher level of political life we have resolved to grant to both lands constitutional institutions that take account of prevailing conditions and general interests so as to create a legal basis for the representation of their wishes and needs. You shall henceforth have a voice when decisions are taken concerning the affairs of your home which, as hitherto, will have a separate administration.

But the indispensable premise for the introduction of this provincial Constitution is the creation of a clear and unambiguous juridical position for the two lands.

For this reason, and also remembering the ties that existed of yore between our glorious ancestors on the Hungarian Throne and these lands, we extend the rights of our Sovereignty to Bosnia and the Herzegovina and it is our will that the order of succession of our House be applied to these lands also.

The inhabitants of the two lands thus share all the benefits which a lasting confirmation of the present connexion can offer. The new order of things will be a pledge that civilization and welfare will find a sure place in your homes.

Inhabitants of Bosnia and the Herzegovina:

Among the many cares that surround our Throne, care for your material and spiritual welfare shall in future also not be the least. The exalted idea of equal right for all before the law, a share in the legislation and administration of provincial affairs, equal protection for all religious creeds, for languages and social idiosyncracies all these high possessions shall you enjoy in full measure. The freedom of the individual and the welfare of the whole will be the lodestar of our Government in the two lands. You will assuredly show yourselves worthy of the trust placed in you by attachment and loyalty to us and to our House. And thus we hope that the noble harmony between Prince and

people, that dearest pledge of all State progress, will ever accompany us upon our common path.

-(The Times, Oct. 7th, 1908.)

FRANCIS JOSEPH

19. Excerpts from the Convention of 1906 between Great Britain and France, establishing Joint Sovereignty in the

New Hebrides
Article I
Status

(1) The Group of the New Hebrides, including the Banks and Torres Islands, shall form a region of joint influence, in which the subjects and citizens of the two Signatory Powers shall enjoy equal rights of residence, personal protection, and trade, each of the two Powers retaining jurisdiction over its subjects or citizens, and neither exercising a separate control over the Group.

(2) The subjects or citizens of other Powers shall enjoy the same rights and shall be subject to the same obligations as British subjects or French citizens. They must choose within six months betewen the legal systems of one of the two Powers. Failing such choice, the High Commissioners mentioned in Article II. or their Delegates shall decide under which system they shall be placed.

(3) In all matters not contrary to the provisions of the present Convention, or the regulations made thereunder, the subjects and citizens of the two Signatory Powers and the subjects and citizens of other Powers shall, within the New Hebrides, remain subject to the fullest extent to the laws of their respective countries.

(4) The two Signatory Powers undertake not to erect Fortifications in the Group and not to establish penal settlements of any kind.

Article II

Local Authorities - Police

(1) The Signatory Powers shall be represented in the Group by two High Commissioners, one appointed by His Britannic

Majesty's Government, the other by the Government of the French Republic.

(2) The High Commissioners shall each be assisted by a Resident Commissioner, to whom they shall delegate their respective powers in so far as they consider it expedient, and who shall represent them in the Group when they do not reside there.

(3) The High Commissioners or their Delegates shall be provided with a police force of sufficient strength to guarantee effectively the protection of life and property.

(4) The force shall be divided into two divisions of equal strength. Each of these two divisions shall be under the orders of one of the two Resident Commissioners, and shall in no case be employed otherwise than in conformity with the principles laid down by the present Convention.

(5) When it is necessary to employ some or all of both divisions of the force in conformity with the present Convention or of the regulations framed for its execution, the force shall be under the joint direction of the High Commissioners or their Delegates.

Article IV

Public Services Undertaken in Common

(1) The following public services shall be undertaken in common:- Police, posts and telegraphs, public works, ports and harbours, buoys and lighthouses, public health, finance.

(2) These public services shall be organized and directed by the High Commissioners and their Delegates jointly.

(3) Special postage stamps shall be issued for the New Hebrides, in conformity with the International Postal Convention. (4) English and French money and bank-notes authorized by either Power shall be legal tender in the Group.

Article V

Financial Provisions

(1) Each of the two Signatory Powers shall defray the expenses of its own administration in the Group.

(2) The expenses of the Joint Court and of the public services undertaken in common shall be defrayed out of local taxes, to be imposed by the High Commissioners jointly, the receipts from fines and from the postal service, and all other revenue of a joint character.

In the event of the revenue from the above proving insufficient, the two Signatory Powers shall each pay one-half of the deficit.

Article X
Composition

(1) A Joint Court shall be established, consisting of three Judges, of whom one shall be President. A fourth officer shall act as Public Prosecutor, and shall have charge of the preliminary inquiries.

The Court shall be provided with a Registrar and the requisite staff.

(2) Each of the two Governments shall appoint one Judge.

His Majesty the King of Spain shall be invited to appoint the third, who shall be President of the Court. The officer who acts as Public Prosecutor shall be appointed in the same manner. Neither of these two officers shall be a British subject or a French citizen.

The Registrar and the staff shall be appointed by the President.

(3) If either of the two Governments considers that it has a cause of complaint against the President of the Joint Court, or the officer acting as Public Prosecutor, it shall inform the other Government.

If both Governments agree, they shall request His Majesty the King of Spain to appoint another person to fill the post.

If they disagree, His Majesty the King of Spain shall determine whether the complaint is justified and whether the officer complained of shall be retained or superseded.