CONVENTION

 

BETWEEN THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF HAWAII , CONCERNING THE EXCHANGE OF MONEY ORDERS.

The Government of the Republic of the United States of America and the Government of His Majesty the King of Hawaii, being desirous of facilitating the exchange of sums of money between the two countries by making use of postal money orders, the undersigned, W. Q. Gresham, Post Master General of the United States of America, in virtue of the powers, vested in him by law, and H. A. P. Carter; Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the King of Hawaii, in, the name of his Government, and by virtue of the powers which lie has formally presented to this effect, have agreed upon the following Convention:

ARTICLE I. There shall be a regular exchange of money orders between the two countries.

The maximum of each order is fixed at fifty dollars ($54.00. )

No money order shall include a fractional part of a cent.

The amount of each order, whether issued in the United States or in the Kingdom of Hawaii , must be expressed in letters as well as in figures.

ARTICLE II. The Hawaiian Post Office Department shall, have power to fix the rates of commission on all money orders issued in the Kingdom of Hawaii , and the Post Office Department of the United States shall have the same power in regard to all money orders issued in the United. States.

Each Department shall communicate to the other its tariff of charges, or rates of commission, which shall be established under this Convention, and these rates shall, in all ,cases, be payable in advance by the remitters, and shall not be repayable.

It is understood, moreover, that. each Department is. authorized to suspend, temporarily, the exchange of money orders in case the course of exchange, or any other circum­stance should give rise to abuses, or, cause detriment to the postal revenue.

ARTICLE III. Each country shall keep the commission charged on all money orders within its jurisdiction, but shall pay to the other country three-fourths of one per cent. on the amount of such orders.

ARTICLE IV. The service of the, postal money order sys­tem between the two countries shall be performed exclu­sively by the agency of offices of exchange. On the part of the United States the office of exchange shall be San Francisco, California, and on the part of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Honolulu.

Orders shall be drawn only on the authorized, money order offices of the respective countries; and each Postal Administration shall furnish to the other a list of such offices, and shall, from time to time, notify any addition to, or change in such list. Every order and advice must contain the name of the office and of the country of destination, and if relating to an order payable in the United States , the name of the State in which such office is situated; if relating, to an order payable in the Hawaiian Kingdom , the name of the Island .

ARTICLE V. No money order shall be issued unless the applicant furnish the name and address of the person to whom the amount is to be paid, and his own name and .address; or, the name of the firm, or company who are the remitters or payees, together with the addresses of each.

The money orders, issued in either country, shall be forwarded by the remitters to the payees, at their own expense.

ARTICLE VI. The advises of all money orders issued upon the Hawaiian Kingdom by the post, offices in the United States shall be sent to the office of exchange at San Francisco, where they shall be examined, and, if found correct, impressed with the dated stamp of that office, and transmitted, by the next direct mail, to the exchange office at Honolulu accompanied by a list, in duplicate, drawn upon the model of Form “A”

The advices, on their arrival in Honolulu , shall be compared with the entries in the list, and, afterwards dispatched to the paying offices.

In like manner the advices of money orders, drawn on the United States . by, Postmasters in the Hawaiian Kingdom, shall be sent to the exchange office at Honolulu, where they shall be examined, and, if found correct, impressed with the dated stamp of that office, and transmitted by the next direct mail, to the exchange 'office at San Francisco, accompanied by a list, in duplicate, drawn upon the model of Form “B.”

The advices, on their receipt at San Francisco , shall be compared with the entries in the list, and afterwards dispatched to the paying offices.

The advices of orders issued in the United States in the month of March, which may arrive at the office of exchange at San Francisco in the earlier days of the following month, shall be entered on lists supplementary to that of the last day of the month of March, and in like manner, the advices of orders issued in the Hawaiian Kingdom in the month of June, which may arrive at the exchange office at Honolulu in the earlier days of the following month, shall be entered on lists. supplementary to that of the last day of the month of June.

ARTICLE VII: The lists, dispatched from each office of exchange, shall be numbered consecutively, commencing with , No. 1 at the beginning of the month of July in each year; and the entries in these lists shall also have consecutive numbers.

Of each list dispatched a duplicate shall be sent, which duplicate, after being verified by the receiving office of exchange, shall be returned to the dispatching office of exchange.

Each office of exchange shall promptly communicate to the other the correction of any simple error, which it may discover in the verification of the lists.

When the lists shall show irregularities, which the receiving exchange office shall not be able to rectify, that office shall apply for an explanation which shall be afforded without delay.

Should any lists fail to be received in due course, the dispatching exchange office, on receiving information to that effect, shall transmit, without delay, a duplicate of the list, duly certified as such.

ARTICLE VIII. Duplicate orders shall only be issued by the Postal Administration of the country, on which the original orders were drawn, and in conformity with the regulations established, or, to be established in that country.

ARTICLE IX. The orders issued by each country on the other shall be subject, as regards payment, to the regulations which govern the payment of inland orders of the country, on which they were drawn.

The paid orders shall remain in the possession of the country of payment. .

ARTICLE X. Repayment of orders to remitters shall not be made until an authorization for such repayment shall first have been obtained by the country of issue from the country where such orders are payable;. and the amounts of the repaid orders shall; be duly credited to the former country in the quarterly account. (Article XII.)

It is the province of each Postal Administration to determine the manner in which repayment to the remitter is to be made.

ARTICLE XI. Orders which shall not have been paid within 12 calendar months from the month of issue, shall become void, and the sums received shall accrue to and beat the disposal of the country of origin.

The Hawaiian Post Office Department shall, therefore, ,enter to the credit of the United States, in the quarterly account, all money orders entered in the lists received from the United States, which remain unpaid at the end of the period specified. (Article XII.)

On the other hand the Post Office Department of the United States shall, at the close of each month, transmit to the Hawaiian Post Office Department, for entry in the quarterly account, a detailed statement of all orders included in the lists dispatched from the latter office, which under this Article become void.

ARTICLE XII. At the close of each quarter an account shall be prepared at the Hawaiian Post Office Department, showing in detail the totals of the lists, containing the particulars of orders issued in either country during the quarter, and the balance resulting from such transactions..

Three copies of this account shall be transmitted to the Post Office Department of the United States, at Washington, and the balance, after proper verification, shall, if due by the Post Office Department of Hawaii, be paid at San Francisco, but, if due by the Post Office Department of the United States , it shall be paid at Honolulu .

If pending the settlement of an account, one of the two Postal Administrations shall ascertain that it owes the other :a balance exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars .500), the indebted Administration shall prompty remit the approximate amount of such balance to the credit of the other.

This account shall be in accordance with the forms " C," `` D," `` E" and " F," annexed to this Convention.

ARTICLE XIII. In the exchange of money orders between the two countries, one dollar in Hawaiian money shall be; taken as the equivalent of one dollar in United States money. This standard in either country shall he gold value.

ARTICLE XIV. The United States Postal Administration undertakes to serve as intermediary for the exchange of postal orders from the Hawaiian Kingdom to be paid in any European country with which that Administration maintains an exchange of postal orders, and with which the Postal Administration of the Hawaiian Kingdom does not have such exchange, as well as for the exchange of orders from any such European country destined for payment in the Hawaiian Kingdom, provided the European country interested consent to an arrangement of this nature.

ARTICLE XV. The Postal Administration in each country shall be authorized to adopt any additional rules, if not, repugnant to the foregoing, for the greater security against fraud, or, for the better working of the system generally.

All such additional rules, however, must be promptly communicated to the Post Office Department of the other country.

ARTICLE XVI. This present Convention shall take effect on the first day of January, 1884, and shall continue in force until twelve months after either of the contracting parties shall have notified to the other its intention to terminate it.

ARTICLE XVII. The ratifications of the present Conven­tion shall be changed prior to the first day of December, 1883.

In witness whereof, the respective Plenipotentiaries have, signed the present Convention and have affixed thereto their seals.

Executed in duplicate and signed at AV, Washington , the eleventh day of September, 1883.

[L, S. ]                   WALTER Q. GRESHAM,

Postmaster General of the United States .

[L. S. ]                   H. A. P. CARTER,

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Hawaii to the United States .

I hereby approve the foregoing Convention, and in testimony thereof, I have caused the seal of the United, States to be hereto affixed.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR:

By the President:

[L. S.]                    FRED'K T. FRELINGHUYSEN,

Secretary of State. Washington , September 13, 1883 .

I hereby approve the foregoing Convention, and in testimony thereof, I have caused the seal of the Hawaiian Kingdom to be hereto affixed.

KALAKAUA REX.

By the King:

[L. S. ]                   WALTER M. GIBSON,

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Premier.

Honolulu , October 13th, 1883 .

We, H. A. P. Carter, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Hawaii to the United States, and W. Q., Gresham, Postmaster General of the United States, certify that on this date we have proceeded to perform the exchange of ratifications of the Convention between the Post Office Department of the Kingdom of Hawaii and the Post Office Department of the United States of America, concerning the exchange of money orders, which was concluded at Washington, on the eleventh day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three.

Done in duplicate, and signed at Washington this second day of November, 1883.

[L. S. ]                   H. A. P. CARTER,

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States .

[L. S. )                   WALTER Q. GRESHAM,

Postmaster General of the United States .