THE COUNCIL OF FOUR


the Government of Alsace and Lorraine and the Grand Duchy of
Baden concerning the works to be carried out on the Rhine; she may
also, should she so desire, denounce such agreements within a term
of five years dating from the signature of the Preliminary Peace
Treaty.
France shall also have the option of causing works to be carried out
which may be recognised as necessary by the Central Commission for
the upkeep or improvement of the navigability of the Rhine above
Mannheim.
ARTIE 41
Should the Belgian Government, within a period of 25 years from
the signature of the Preliminary Peace Treaty decide to create a deep-
draught Rhine-Meuse navigable waterway, in the region of Ruhrort,
the German Government or the Government which may have been
substituted therefor shall be bound to construct, in accordance with
plans to be communicated to them by the Belgian Government, after
agreement with the Central Commission, the portion of this navigable
waterway situated within their territory.
The Belgian Government shall, for this purpose, have the right to
carry out on the ground all necessary surveys.
Should the German Government or any Government which may
have been substituted therefor fail to carry out all or part of these
works, the Central Commission shall be entitled to carry them out in-
stead; and, for this purpose, the Commission shall be qualified to de-
cide upon and fix the limits of the necessary sites and to occupy the
ground after a period of two months after simple notification, subject
to the payment of indemnities to be fixed by it and paid by Germany.
This navigable waterway shall be placed under the same administra-
tive r6gime as the Rhine itself, and the division of the cost of initial
construction, including the above indemnities, among the States
crossed thereby shall be made by the Central Commission of the river.
AS  CLE 42
The B States will offer no objections to any proposals of the Central
Rhine Commission for extending its jurisdiction-.
(1) to the Moselle below the Franco-Luxemburg frontier down to
the Rhine, subject to the consent of the Government of the Grand
Duchy of Luxemburg;
(2) to the Rhine above Basle up to the Lake of Constance, subject
to the consent of the Government of the Swiss Confederation;
(3) to the lateral canals and channels which may be established
either to duplicate or to improve naturally navigable sections of the
Rhine or the Moselle, or to connect two naturally navigable sections
of these rivers, and also any other parts of the Rhine river system
which may be covered by the General Convention mentioned in Article
18 above.
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