The merchant vessels of one of the two contracting parties, coming either from a port belonging to the enemy, or from their own, or a neutral port, and navigating towards a port of an enemy of the other, shall be bound every time they shall be required, to exhibit, as well on the high seas as in port, their passports, or sea letters, and other public documents, which shall expressly prove that their loading is not of that kind, which is prohibited as contraband; it being well understood, nevertheless, that in all cases, where such merchant vessels shall be escorted by one or more vessels of war, the simple declaration of the officer commanding the convoy, that these vessels do not carry any contraband goods, shall be considered as fully sufficient, and they shall not require to examine the papers of the escorted vessels. ARTICLE IX. It shall no sooner be found by the sea letters, passports, or other public documents, or by the verbal declaration of the commanding officer of the convoy, that the merchant vessels are not laden with contraband goods, than they shall be at liberty to continue their voyage without any hinderance; but if, on the contrary, the exhibition of the said passports or other documents, in case the vessels are not escorted, tends to discover that the said vessels carry merchandise reputed contraband, consigned to an enemy's port, it shall not, however, be permitted to break open the hatches of the said vessels, nor to open any chest, case, trunk, bale, package, or cask, which shall be found on board, or to displace or overturn the least part of the merchandise, whether the vessel belongs to his Danish Majesty's subjects, or to the citizens or inhabitants of the United States, until the cargo has been landed in presence of the officers of the Courts of Admiralty, and that the inventory has been made of it. And it shall not be permitted to sell, exchange, or alienate the merchandise reputed contraband, in any manner whatever, before trial has been held and legally finished, to declare them contraband, and that the Courts of Admiralty shall have pronounced them confiscated, without any prejudice, nevertheless, to the vessels or to the merchandise, which by virtue of the treaty shall be considered free. It shall not be permitted to retain these merchandises under pretence, that they have been intermixed with the contraband merchandise, and still less confiscate them as legal prizes. In case where a part only, and not the whole of the loading, shall consist of contraband merchandises, and that the commander of the vessel consents to deliver them up to the privateer, which shall have discovered them, then the captain, who shall have made the prize, after having received the merchandise, must immediately release the vessel, and shall not in any wise prevent the continuation of his voyage; but in case the contraband merchandise cannot all be taken on board the captor, then