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748. BARBARY STATES, Confederation Articles.—

Proposals for concerted
operation among the powers at war with the
piratical States of Barbary: 1. It is proposed,
that the several powers at war with the piratical
States of Barbary, or any two or more of
them who shall be willing, shall enter into a
convention to carry on their operations against
those States, in concert, beginning with the
Algerines. 2. This convention shall remain
open to any other power who shall at any future
time wish to accede to it; the parties reserving
the right to prescribe the conditions of
such accession, according to the circumstances
existing at the time it shall be proposed. 3.

The object of the convention shall be to compel
the piratical States to perpetual peace, without
price, and to guarantee that peace to each other.
4. The operations for obtaining this peace shall
be constant cruisers on their coast, with a naval
force now to be agreed on. It is not proposed
that this force shall be so considerable as to be
inconvenient to any party. It is believed that
half a dozen frigates, with as many tenders or
Xebecs, one half of which shall be in cruise,
while the other half is at rest, will suffice. 5.
The force agreed to be necessary shall be furnished
by the parties in certain quotas now to
be fixed; it being expected that each will be
willing to contribute in such proportion as circumstances
may render reasonable. 6. The miscarriages
often proceed from the want of harmony
among officers of different nations, the
parties shall now consider and decide whether
it will not be better to contribute their quotas
in money to be employed in fitting out, and
keeping on duty, a single fleet of the force
agreed on. 7. The difficulties and delays too
which will attend the management of these
operations, if conducted by the parties themselves
separately, distant as their Courts May
be from one another, and incapable of meeting
in consultation, suggest a question whether it
will not be better for them to give full powers
for that purpose to their Ambassadors or other
Ministers Resident at some one Court of Europe,
who shall form a Committee or Council
for carrying this convention into effect; wherein
the vote of each member shall be computed in
proportion to the quota of his sovereign, and
the majority so computed shall prevail in all
questions within the view of this convention.
The Court of Versailles is proposed, on account
of its neighborhood to the Mediterranean, and
because all those powers are represented there,
who are likely to become parties to this convention.
8. To save to that council the embarrassment
of personal solicitations for office, and
to assure the parties that their contributions
will be applied solely to the object for which
they are destined, there shall be no establishment
of officers for the said Council, such as
Commissioners, Secretaries, or any other kind,
with either salaries or perquisites, nor any
other lucrative appointments but such whose
functions are to be exercised on board the said
vessels. 9. Should war arise between any two
of the parties to this convention it shall not
extend to this enterprise, nor interrupt it; but
as to this they shall be reputed at peace. 10.
When Algiers shall be reduced to peace, the
other piratical States, if they refuse to discontinue
their piracies, shall become the objects
of this convention, either successively or
together, as shall seem best. 11. Where this
convention would interfere with treaties actually
existing between any two of the parties and
the said States of Barbary, the treaty shall
prevail, and such party shall be allowed to
withdraw from the operations against that
State.—
Autobiography. Washington ed. i, 65. Ford ed., i, 91.