present Act of Navigation shall specially devote its attention
t°—1
. The indication of such -works as are necessary for ensuring
the navigability of the Congo, in accordance with the requirements
of international trade.
On sections of the river where no Power exercises rights of
sovereignty, the International Commission shall itself take the
measures necessary for ensuring the navigability of the stream.
On sections of the river occupied by a sovereign Power, the In te rnational
Commission shall arrange with the riverside authority. ^
2. The fixing of the tariff for pilotage and of the general tariff
of navigation dues, provided for in the second and third paragraphs
of Article X IY .
The tariffs mentioned in the first paragraph of Article XIY. shall
be settled by the territorial authority within the limits provided
for in th a t Article.
The collection of these dues shall be under the care of the international
or territorial authority, on whose account they have been
established.
3 . The administration of the revenues accruing from the application
of the foregoing paragraph 2 .
4. The surveillance of the quarantine establishment instituted
in compliance with Article XXIY.
5. The nomination of agents for the general Service of the navigation
and its own particular servants.
The appointment of sub-inspectors shall belong to the territorial
authority over sections occupied by a Power, and to the In te rnational
Commission over the other sections of the river.
The riverside Power will notify to the International Commission
the nomination of its sub-inspectors which it shall have appointed,
and this Power shall pay th eir salaries.
In the exercise of its duties as defined and limited above, the
International Commission shall not be subject to the territorial
authority.
Article XXI.
In the execution of its task, the International Commission shall
have recourse in case of need to the vessels of war belonging to
the signatory Powers of this Act, and to those which in the future
shall accept it, if not in contravention of the instructions which
shall have been given to the commanders of those vessels by their
respective Governments.
Article XXII.
The vessels of war of the Powers signatory to the present Act
which enter the Congo are exempt from the payment of the
navigation dues provided for in paragraph 3 of Article XIV. ; but
they shall pay the contingent pilotage dues as well as the harbour
dues, unless their intervention has been demanded by the In te rnational
Commission or its agents under the terms of the precedin«-
Article. B
Article X X III. '
With the object of meeting the technical and administrative
expenses^ which it may have to incur, the International Commission,
instituted under Article XVII., may in its own name issue
loans secured on the revenues assigned to the said Commission.
The resolutions of the Commission regarding the issue of a loan
must be carried by a majority of two-thirds of its votes. I t is
understood th a t the Governments represented on the Commission
shall not, in any ease, be considered as assuming any guarantee
nor contracting any engagement or joint responsibility with
regard to the said loans, unless special treaties are concluded
amongst them to th a t effect.
The proceeds of the dues specified in the th ird paragraph of
Article XIV., shall be in th e first place set aside for the payment of
interest and the amortisation of the said loans, in accordance with
the agreements entered into with the lenders.
Article XXIV.
At the mouths of the Congo there shall be founded, either at the
initiation of the riverside Powers, or by the intervention of the
International Commission, a quarantine establishment, which shall
exercise control over the vessels entering and departing.
I t shall be decided later on by the Powers, if any, and under
what conditions sanitary control shall be exercised over vessels
navigating the river.
Article XXV.
The provisions of the present Act of Navigation shall remain in
force during times of war. Consequently, the navigation of all
nations, neutral and belligerent, shall a t all times be free for the
purposes of trade on the Congo, its branches, its affluents, and its