THE TRITE STORY OF A 
 "SCRAP OF PAPER." 
 
 1915 
 
The True Story of a 
 ''Scrap of Paper r 
 
COPYRIGHTED, I915, BY 
 GEORGE BARRIE's SONS 
 
 ©CU410054 
 AUG II 1915 
 
 "X4^ . / • 
 
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 Article VII of the treaty of 1839 which guaranteed the independence and perpetual 
 
 neutrality of Belgium. 
 
 Last page of the treaty of 1839 which guaranteed the neutrality of Belgium, showing the 
 seals and signatures of the plenipotentiaries of Austria, Great Britain, Belgium, France, Russia, 
 and Prussia. 
 
y' 
 
 V 
 
 Despatch from the British Ambassador at Berlin 
 Respecting the Rupture of Diplomatic Rela- 
 tions WITH THE German Government 
 
 (It is in this confidential letter that the ambassador relates the ' ' scrap of paper ' ' incident.) 
 
 Sir E. Gosc/ien to Sir Edward Grey. 
 
 Sir, Lo7idon, August 8, 1914. 
 
 In accordance with the instructions contained in your 
 telegram of the 4th instant I called upon the Secretary of 
 State that afternoon and enquired, in the name of His 
 Majesty's Government, whether the Imperial Government 
 would refrain from violating Belgian neutrality. Herr von 
 Jagow at once replied that he was sorry to say that his 
 answer must be "No," as in consequence of the German 
 troops having crossed the frontier that morning, Belgian 
 neutrality had been already violated. Herr von Jagow 
 again went into the reasons why the Imperial Govern- 
 ment had been obliged to take this step, namely, that they 
 had to advance into France by the quickest and easiest 
 way, so as to be able to get well ahead with their opera- 
 tions and endeavor to strike some decisive blow as early as 
 possible. It was a matter of life and death for them, as if 
 they had gone by the more southern route they could not 
 
 have hoped, in view of the paucity of roads and the strength 
 
 1 
 
of the fortresses, to have got through without formidable 
 opposition entaiUng great loss of time. This loss of time 
 would have meant time gained by the Russians for bring- 
 ing up their troops to the German frontier. Rapidity of 
 action was the great German asset, while that of Russia 
 was an inexhaustible supply of troops. I pointed out to 
 Herr von Jagow that this fait accompli of the violation of 
 the Belgian frontier rendered, as he would readily under- 
 stand, the situation exceedingly grave, and I asked him 
 whether there was not still time to draw back and avoid 
 possible consequences, which both he and I would deplore. 
 He replied that, for the reasons he had given me, it was 
 now impossible for them to draw back. 
 
 During the afternoon I received your further telegram 
 of the same date, and, in compliance with the instructions 
 therein contained, I again proceeded to the Imperial For- 
 eign Office and informed the Secretary of State that unless 
 the Imperial Government could give the assurance by 12 
 o'clock that night that they would proceed no further with 
 their violation of the Belgian frontier and stop their advance, 
 I had been instructed to demand my passports and inform 
 the Imperial Government that His Majesty's Government 
 would have to take all steps in their power to uphold the 
 neutrality of Belgium and the observance of a treaty to 
 which Germany was as much a party as themselves. 
 
 Herr von Jagow replied that to his great regret he could 
 give no other answer than that which he had given me 
 earlier in the day, namely, that the safety of the Empire 
 rendered it absolutely necessary that the Imperial troops 
 should advance through Belgium. I gave his Excellency 
 a written summary of your telegram and, pointing out 
 that you had mentioned 12 o'clock as the time when His 
 Majesty's Government would expect an answer, asked him 
 whether, in view of the terrible consequences which would 
 
necessarily ensue, it were not possible even at the last 
 moment that their answer should be reconsidered. He 
 replied that if the time given were even twenty-four hours 
 or more, his answer must be the same. I said that in that 
 case I should have to demand my passports. This inter- 
 view took place at about 7 o'clock. In a short conversa- 
 tion which ensued Herr von Jagow expressed his poignant 
 regret at the crumbling of his entire policy and that of the 
 Chancellor, which had been to make friends with Great 
 Britain and then, through Great Britain, to get closer to 
 France. I said that this sudden end to my work in Berlin 
 was to me also a matter of deep regret and disappointment, 
 but that he must understand that under the circumstances 
 and in view of our engagements, His Majesty*s Govern- 
 ment could not possibly have acted otherwise than they 
 had done. 
 
 I then said that I should like to go and see the Chan- 
 cellor, as it might be, perhaps, the last time I should have 
 an opportunity of seeing him. He begged me to do so. 
 I found the Chancellor very agitated. His Excellency at 
 once began a harangue, which lasted for about 20 minutes. 
 He said that the step taken by His Majesty's Government 
 was terrible to a degree; just for a word — "neutrality," a 
 word which in war time had so often been disregarded — 
 just for a scrap of paper Great Britain was going to make 
 war on a kindred nation who desired nothing better than 
 to be friends with her. All his efforts in that direction 
 had been rendered useless by this last terrible step, and the 
 policy to which, as I knew, he had devoted himself since 
 his accession to office had tumbled down like a house of 
 cards. What we had done was unthinkable; it was like 
 striking a man from behind while he was fighting for 
 his life against two assailants. He held Great Britain 
 responsible for all the terrible events that might happen. 
 
I protested strongly against that statement, and said that, in 
 the same way as he and Herr von Jagow wished me to 
 understand that for strategical reasons it was a matter of 
 life and death to Germany to advance through Belgium 
 and violate the latter's neutrality, so I would wish him to 
 understand that it was, so to speak, a matter of "life and 
 death" for the honor of Great Britain that she should keep 
 her solemn engagement to do her utmost to defend Bel- 
 gium's neutrality if attacked. That solemn compact sim- 
 ply had to be kept, or what confidence could anyone have 
 in engagements given by Great Britain in the future ? The 
 Chancellor said, " But at what price will that compact have 
 been kept. Has the British Government thought of that ? 
 I hinted to his Excellency as plainly as I could that fear of 
 consequences could hardly be regarded as an excuse for 
 breaking solemn engagements, but his Excellency was so 
 excited, so evidently overcome by the news of our action, 
 and so little disposed to hear reason that I refrained from 
 adding fuel to the flame by further argument. As I was 
 leaving he said that the blow of Great Britain joining 
 Germany's enemies was all the greater that almost up 
 to the last moment he and his Government had been 
 working with us and supporting our efforts to maintain 
 peace between Austria and Russia. I said that this was 
 part of the tragedy which saw the two nations fall apart 
 just at the moment when the relations between them 
 had been more friendly and cordial than they had been 
 for years. Unfortunately, notwithstanding our efforts to 
 maintain peace between Russia and Austria, the war had 
 spread and had brought us face to face with a situation 
 which, if we held to our engagements, we could not possi- 
 bly avoid, and which unfortunately entailed our separation 
 from our late fellow-workers. He would readily under- 
 stand that no one regretted this more than I. 
 
After this somewhat painful interview I returned to the 
 embassy and drew up a telegraphic report of what had 
 passed. This telegram was handed in at the Central Tele- 
 graph Office a little before 9 P.M. It was accepted by that 
 office, but apparently never despatched.* 
 
 At about 9.30 P. M. Herr von Zimmermann, the Under- 
 Secretary of State, came to see me. After expressing his 
 deep regret that the very friendly official and personal 
 relations between us were about to cease, he asked me 
 casually whether a demand for passports was equivalent to 
 a declaration of war. I said that such an authority on 
 international law as he was known to be must know as 
 well or better than I 'what was usual in such cases. I 
 added that there were many cases where diplomatic rela- 
 tions had been broken off and, nevertheless, war had not 
 ensued; but that in this case he would have seen from 
 my instructions, of which I had given Herr von Jagow a 
 written summary, that His Majesty's Government expected 
 an answer to a definite question by 12 o'clock that night 
 and that in default of a satisfactory answer they would be 
 forced to take such steps as their engagements required. 
 Herr Zimmermann said that that was, in fact, a declaration 
 of war, as the Imperial Government could not possibly give 
 the assurance required either that night or any other night. 
 
 In the meantime, after Herr Zimmermann left me, a 
 flying sheet, issued by the Berliner Tageblatty was circu- 
 lated stating that Great Britain had declared war against 
 Germany. The immediate result of this news was the 
 assemblage of an exceedingly excited and unruly mob 
 before His Majesty's Embassy. The small force of police 
 which had been sent to guard the embassy was soon over- 
 powered, and the attitude of the mob became more threat- 
 ening. We took no notice of this demonstration as long 
 
 * This telegram never reached the British Foreign Office. 
 
as it was confined to noise, but when the crash of glass 
 and the landing of cobble stones into the drawing-room, 
 where we were all sitting, warned us that the situation was 
 getting unpleasant, I telephoned to the Foreign Office an 
 account of what was happening. Herr von Jagow at once 
 informed the Chief of Police, and an adequate force of 
 mounted police, sent with great promptness, very soon 
 cleared the street. From that moment on we were well 
 guarded, and no more direct unpleasantness occurred. 
 
 After order had been restored Herr von Jagow came 
 to see me and expressed his most heartfelt regrets at what 
 had occurred. He said that the behavior of his country- 
 men had made him feel more ashamed than he had words 
 to express. It was an indelible stain on the reputation of 
 Berlin. He said that the flying sheet circulated in the 
 streets had not been authorized by the Government; in 
 fact, the Chancellor had asked him by telephone whether 
 he thought that such a statement should be issued and he 
 had replied, "Certainly not, until the morning." It was 
 in consequence of his decision to that effect that only a 
 small force of police had been sent to the neighborhood 
 of the embassy, as he had thought that the presence of a 
 large force would inevitably attract attention and perhaps 
 lead to disturbances. It was the "pestilential TageblattJ' 
 which had somehow got hold of the news, that had upset 
 his calculations. He had heard rumors that the mob had 
 been excited to violence by gestures made and missiles 
 thrown from the embassy, but he felt sure that that was 
 not true (I was able soon to assure him that the report had 
 no foundation whatever), and even if it was, it was no 
 excuse for the disgraceful scenes which had taken place. 
 He feared that I would take home with me a sorry impres- 
 sion of Berlin manners in moments of excitement. In fact, 
 no apology could have been more full and complete. 
 
On the following morning, the 5th August, the Emperor 
 sent one of His Majesty's aides-de-camp to me with the 
 following message: — 
 
 " The Emperor has charged me to express to your Excellency his regret for the 
 occurrences of last night, but to tell you at the same time that you will gather from 
 those occurrences an idea of the feelings of his people respecting the action of 
 Great Britain in joining with other nations against her old allies of Waterloo. His 
 Majesty also begs that you will tell the King that he has been proud of the titles of 
 British Field-Marshal and British Admiral, but that in consequence of what has 
 occurred he must now at once divest himself of those titles." 
 
 I would add that the above message lost none of its 
 acerbity by the manner of its delivery. 
 
 On the other hand,! should like to state that I received 
 all through this trying time nothing but courtesy at the 
 hands of Herr von Jagow and the officials of the Imperial 
 Foreign Office. At about 11 o'clock on the same morn- 
 ing Count Wedel handed me my passports — which I had 
 earlier in the day demanded in writing — and told me that 
 he had been instructed to confer with me as to the route 
 which I should follow for my return to England. He said 
 that he had understood that I preferred the route via the 
 Hook of Holland to that via Copenhagen ; they had there- 
 fore arranged that I should go by the former route, only I 
 should have to wait till the following morning. I agreed 
 to this, and he said that I might be quite assured that there 
 would be no repetition of the disgraceful scenes of the 
 preceding night as full precautions would be taken. He 
 added that they were doing all in their power to have 
 a restaurant car attached to the train, but it was rather a 
 difficult matter. He also brought me a charming letter from 
 Herr von Jagow couched in the most friendly terms. The 
 day was passed in packing up such articles as time allowed. 
 
 The night passed quietly without any incident. In the 
 morning a strong force of police was posted along the usual 
 
8 
 
 route to the Lehrter Station, while the embassy was smug- 
 gled away in taxi-cabs to the station by side streets. We 
 there suffered no molestation whatever, and avoided the 
 treatment meted out by the crowd to my Russian and 
 French colleagues. Count Wedel met us at the station to 
 say good-bye on behalf of Herr von Jagow and to see that 
 all the arrangements ordered for our comfort had been 
 properly carried out. A retired colonel of the Guards 
 accompanied the train to the Dutch frontier, and was 
 exceedingly kind in his efforts to prevent the great crowds 
 which thronged the platforms at every station where we 
 stopped from insulting us; but beyond the yelling of 
 patriotic songs and a few jeers and insulting gestures we 
 had really nothing to complain of during our tedious 
 journey to the Dutch frontier. 
 
 Before closing this long account of our last days in Berlin 
 I should like to place on record and bring to your notice 
 the quite admirable behavior of my staff under the most 
 trying circumstances possible. One and all, they worked 
 night and day with scarcely any rest, and I cannot praise 
 too highly the cheerful zeal with which counsellor, naval 
 and military attaches, secretaries, and the two young attaches 
 buckled to their work and kept their nerve with often a 
 yelling mob outside and inside- hundreds of British subjects 
 clamoring for advice and assistance. I was proud to have 
 such a staff to work with, and feel most grateful to them 
 all for the invaluable assistance and support, often exposing 
 them to considerable personal risk, which they so readily 
 and cheerfully gave to me. 
 
 I should also like to mention the great assistance ren- 
 dered to us all by my American colleague, Mr. Gerard, 
 and his staff. Undeterred by the hooting and hisses with 
 which he was often greeted by the mob on entering and 
 leaving the embassy, his Excellency came repeatedly to see 
 
9 
 
 me to ask how he could help us and to make arrangements 
 for the safety of stranded British subjects. He extricated 
 many of these from extremely difficult situations at some 
 personal risk to himself, and his calmness and savoir-faire 
 and his firmness in dealing with the Imperial authorities 
 gave full assurance that the protection of British subjects 
 and interests could not have been left in more efficient and 
 able hands. 
 
 I have etc., 
 
 W. E. GOSCHEN. 
 
Official Text of the Treaties Guaranteeing the 
 
 Independence and Perpetual Neutrality of 
 
 Belgium with Two Facsimiles 
 
 Treaty between Austria ^ ^France, Great Britain ^ Prussia, and 
 
 Russia of the one part and Belgium of the other. Concluded 
 
 and signed at London, 19 April 1839. 
 
 In the name of the Most Holy and Indivisible Trinity: 
 
 Article I. His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, King 
 of Hungary and Bohemia, His Majesty the King of the 
 French, Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom 
 of Great Britain and Ireland, His Majesty the King of 
 Prussia and His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, 
 declare that the articles hereto annexed and forming the 
 tenor of the treaty concluded this day between His Majesty 
 the King of the Belgians and His Majesty the King of the 
 Netherlands, Grand-Duke of Luxemburg, are considered 
 as having the same force and value as if they were textu- 
 ally inserted in the present act, and that they are thus 
 placed under the guarantee of their said Majesties. 
 
 Article II. The Treaty of 15 November 1831, between 
 His Majesty the King of the Belgians and Their Majesties 
 the Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, 
 the King of the French, the Queen of the United King- 
 dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the King of Prussia and 
 
 11 
 
12 
 
 the Emperor of all the Russias, is declared not to be 
 binding upon the high contracting parties. 
 
 Article III. The present treaty shall be ratified, and 
 the ratifications shall be exchanged at London in six 
 weeks, or sooner, if it can be done. This exchange shall 
 take place at the same time as the ratifications of the 
 treaty between Belgium and Holland. 
 
 In faith of which the respective plenipotentiaries have 
 signed the present treaty and set the seal of their arms. 
 
 Done at London, the nineteenth April, in the year of 
 grace one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine. 
 
 iSeal) Palmerston (Seal) Sylvain Van de Weyer 
 
 (Seal) Senfft 
 
 (Seal) Sebastiani 
 
 (Seal) BiJLOW 
 
 (Seal) Pozzo DI BORGO 
 
 As will he seen, the above treaty confirms the provisions of the other treaty signed 
 the same day "as having the same force and value as if they were textually inserted 
 in the present act." 
 
 The following is a complete translation of the other treaty except that some of 
 the long, unimportant articles are condensed. 
 
Official Copy made at Brussels Conformable to 
 
 THE Collated Text, Word by Word, of the 
 
 Original Instrument Signed by the 
 
 Respective Plenipotentiaries 
 
 Treaty made and signed at London, 19 April 1839 y between 
 
 Belgium and Holland, relative to the separation of 
 
 their respective territories. 
 
 In the name of the Most Holy and Indivisible Trinity: 
 
 His Majesty the King of the Belgians and His Majesty 
 the King of the Netherlands, Grand-Duke of Luxemburg, 
 taking into consideration their treaties concluded with the 
 Courts of Austria, of France, of Great Britain, of Prussia 
 and of Russia, to wit: by His Majesty the King of the Bel- 
 gians, the 15 November 1831, and by His Majesty the King 
 of the Netherlands, Grand-Duke of Luxemburg, this day, 
 their said Majesties have named as their plenipotentiaries: 
 His Majesty the King of the Belgians, the Sieur Sylvain 
 Van de Weyer, his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister 
 Plenipotentiary to Her Britannic Majesty, Officer of the 
 Order of Leopold, Grand-Cross of the Order of Ernest of 
 Saxony, of the Order of the Tower and the Sword, of 
 the Military and Religious Order of Saints Maurice and 
 Lazarus, Commander of the Royal Order of the Legion 
 of Honor, etc., etc.: 
 
 13 
 
14 
 
 And His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, Grand- 
 Duke of Luxemburg, the Sieur Salomon Dedel, Com- 
 mander of the Order of the Lion of Netherlands, 
 Commander of the Order of the Polar Star of Sweden, 
 his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to 
 Her Britannic Majesty, 
 
 Who, after having communicated their full powers, found 
 in good and due form, have agreed on the following articles : 
 Article L The Belgian territories shall comprise the 
 southern provinces of Brabant, 
 
 Liege, 
 
 Namur, 
 
 Hainan t. 
 
 West Flanders, 
 
 East Flanders, 
 
 Antwerp, and 
 
 Limburg, 
 Such as they have formed part of the united kingdom of 
 the Netherlands, constituted in 1815, with the exception 
 of the districts in the province of Limburg set out in 
 Article IV. 
 
 The Belgian territory shall comprise, in addition, the part 
 of the grand-duchy of Luxemburg set out in Article H. 
 
 Article II. His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, 
 Grand-Duke of Luxemburg, agrees that, in the grand- 
 duchy of Luxemburg, the limits of the Belgian territory 
 shall be as described hereunder: 
 
 (Then follows the description of the line of frontier to he established between Belgium 
 and the grand-duchy of Luxemburg.) 
 
 Article III. For the cessions made in the preceding 
 article, a territorial indemnity shall be assigned to the King 
 of the Netherlands, Grand-Duke of Luxemburg, in the 
 province of Limburg. 
 
15 
 
 Article IV. In the execution of the part of Article I 
 relative to the province of Limburg, and as a consequence 
 of the cessions made by His Majesty the King of the 
 Netherlands, Grand-Duke of Luxemburg, in Article II, 
 his said Majesty shall possess, either as Grand-Duke of 
 Luxemburg, or to be united with Holland the territories 
 whose limits are set forth hereunder: 
 
 (Then follow U ] the lines of the territory on the right bank of the Mense, forming the 
 part of Limburg to be ceded ; and 12] the boundaries of the territory to the south of 
 Dutch Brabant on the left bank of the Meuse to be similarly ceded to Holland. The 
 former Dutch limits in the province of Limburg, on the left batik of the Meuse shall 
 belong to Belgium, except the town of Maestricht and a strip of territory of 2400 yards.) 
 
 Article V. His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, 
 Grand-Duke of Luxemburg, shall come to an agreement 
 with the Germanic Confederation and the agnates of the 
 House of Nassau as to the application of the stipulations 
 made in Articles III and IV, as well as to all the arrange- 
 ments that may be necessary in relation to said articles, 
 both with the above-named House of Nassau and the 
 Germanic Confederation. 
 
 Article VI. In virtue of the territorial arrangements 
 stipulated above, each of the two parties renounces recip- 
 rocally, in perpetuity, all claim upon the territories, towns, 
 places and spots situated in the limits of the possessions of 
 the other party, as described in Articles I, II, and IV. 
 
 (Provision is made for the commissioners of the two countries to meet at Maestricht 
 to mark out the said limits.) 
 
 Article VII. Belgium, within the limits indicated in 
 Articles I, II, and IV, shall form an independent and 
 perpetually neutral State. 
 
 She shall be held to observe the same neutrality toward 
 all the other States. 
 
16 
 
 Article VIII. Provides for the regulation of the flow 
 of the waters of Flanders. 
 
 (Then follow details.) 
 
 Article IX. Provides for the free navigation of rivers 
 and navigable streams which separate or flow through the 
 adjacent territories of the two countries. 
 
 (Then follow details.) 
 
 Article X. The use of canals that cross both countries 
 shall continue to be free and common to their inhabitants. 
 
 It is understood that they will enjoy reciprocal advan- 
 tages on the same conditions; and that neither party shall 
 impose other than moderate dues for the navigation of 
 the canals. 
 
 Article XI. The commercial communications by the 
 town of Maestricht, and by that of Sittard, shall remain 
 wholly free and cannot be restricted under any pretence. 
 
 Further stipulation is made as to keeping the roads from 
 the above-named towns to the German frontier unob- 
 structed and in good condition, and that only moderate 
 tolls shall be levied. 
 
 Article XII. Provides that if Belgium shall open a 
 new road or canal which shall extend to the canton of 
 Sittard, Holland shall permit the continuation of such 
 road or canal at the expense of Belgium to the frontier 
 of Germany, and provides further for levying of dues 
 and tolls. 
 
 Article XIII. Provides that Belgium will assume the 
 charge of five million Dutch florins for annual interest and 
 the capital thereof of the public debt of the Netherlands ; 
 for the validity of such debt; the payment of interest; its 
 finality of obligation in respect of the public debt of Hol- 
 land on the part of Belgium; and for the method of 
 
17 
 
 transfer of debt, and the delivery of archives, charts and 
 documents belonging to Belgium. 
 
 Article XIV. The port of Antwerp, in conformity 
 with the stipulations of Article XV of the Treaty of Paris 
 of 30 May 1814, will continue to be solely a port of 
 commerce. 
 
 Article XV. Works of public or private utility, such 
 as canals, roads, or others of similar character, constructed 
 in whole or in part at the cost of the Netherlands, shall 
 belong, together with the benefits and charges appertain- 
 ing thereto, to the country in which they are situated. 
 
 (Then follows an agreement as to what shall be considered as charges on such works.) 
 
 Article XVI. Provides for the restoration of all prop- 
 erties sequestrated in Belgium during the troubles, for 
 political reasons. 
 
 Article XVII. Gives right to persons in territory trans- 
 ferred by the treaty to dispose of their property and remove 
 to the other country. 
 
 Further, expressly renounces on the part of both coun- 
 tries the right to tax as aliens the subjects of the other. 
 
 Article XVIII. The status of mixed subject, as relates 
 to property, shall be recognized and maintained. 
 
 Article XIX. Adopts the regulations of the treaty 
 between Austria and Russia of 3 May 1815, which are an 
 integral part of the Acts of the Congress of Vienna, relating 
 to mixed owners, their election of domicile, the rights which 
 they may exercise as subjects of one or the other State, 
 and to the conditions of neighborhood in respect of prop- 
 erties lying on each side of the frontier, for both owners 
 and properties in Belgium, Holland or the Grand-Duchy 
 of Luxemburg. 
 
 Mineral products are included in the products of the 
 soil mentioned in the treaty of 3 May 1815 referred to. 
 
18 
 
 Further, all alien taxes are agreed to be null and void in 
 Belgium, Holland and the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg 
 as among the three countries. 
 
 Article XX. No person in the countries of changed 
 dominion, shall be sought out or disturbed in any way for 
 any direct or indirect participation in political events. 
 
 Article XXI. Provides for payment of pensions and 
 salaries to all persons entitled thereto in conformity with 
 the law in force on 1 November 1830. 
 
 It is agreed that such pensions and salaries as are due to 
 persons born on Belgian territory shall be a charge on the 
 Belgian treasury and of those born on Netherlands terri- 
 tory shall be chargeable to that country. 
 
 Article XXII. Prescribes the regulations for adjusting 
 claims of Belgian subjects. 
 
 Article XXIII. Stipulates that all judgments rendered 
 in civil and commercial actions and the acts of public offi- 
 cials of Belgium shall be upheld in the parts of Limburg 
 and the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg that are to be 
 transferred. 
 
 Article XXIV. Provides for the evacuation of the terri- 
 tory by the military forces and the transfer by the civil 
 authorities, in fifteen days, or earlier, if possible. 
 
 Article XXV. In pursuance of the stipulations of this 
 treaty, there shall be peace and friendship between His 
 Majesty the King of the Belgians, on the one part, and 
 His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, Grand-Duke 
 of Luxemburg, on the other part, their heirs and succes- 
 sors, their States and their respective subjects. 
 
 Article XXVI. The present treaty shall be ratified and 
 the ratifications shall be exchanged at London in six weeks, 
 or earlier, if possible. This exchange shall take place at 
 the same time as that of the ratification of the treaty made 
 this day between His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, 
 
19 
 
 Grand-Duke of Luxemburg, and Their Majesties the Em- 
 peror of Austria, King of Hungary and of Bohemia, the 
 King of the French, the Queen of the United Kingdom 
 of Great Britain and Ireland, the King of Prussia and the 
 Emperor of all the Russias. 
 
 In faith hereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have 
 signed the present treaty and set thereagainst the seal of 
 their arms. 
 
 Done at London, the nineteenth day of April in the year 
 of grace one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine. 
 
 {Seal) Sylvain Van de Weyer. 
 (Seal) Dedel. 
 
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