If war should hereafter arise between Great Britain and the United States, which God forbid, the merchants of either country, then residing in the other, shall be allowed to remain nine months to collect their debts and settle their affairs, and may depart freely, carrying off all their effects, without molestation or hinderance. And all fishermen, all cultivators of the earth, and all artisans or manufacturers, unarmed and inhabiting unfortified towns, villages, or places, who labor for the common subsistence and benefit of mankind, and peaceably follow their respective employments, shall be allowed to continue the same, and shall not be molested by the armed force of the enemy, in whose power, by the events of war, they may happen to fall; but if anything is necessary to be taken from them for the use of such armed force, the same shall be paid for at a reasonable price. All merchants or traders, with their unarmed vessels employed in commerce, exchanging the products of different places, and thereby rendering the necessaries, conveniences and comforts of human life more easy to obtain, and more general, shall be allowed to pass freely unmolested. And neither of the powers, parties to this treaty, shall grant or issue any commission to any private armed vessel, empowering them to take or destroy such trading ships or interrupt such commerce.
And in case either of the contracting parties shall happen to be engaged in war with any other nation, it is further agreed, in order to prevent all the difficulties and misunderstandings that usually arise respecting the merchandise heretofore called contraband, such as arms, ammunition, and military stores of all kinds, that no such articles carrying by the ships or subjects of one of the parties to the enemies of the other, shall, on any account, be deemed contraband, so as to induce confiscation and a loss of property to individuals; nevertheless, it shall be lawful to stop such ships and detain them for such length of time as the captors may think necessary to prevent the inconvenience or damage that might ensue from their proceeding on their voyage, paying, however, a reasonable compensation for the loss such arrest shall occasion to the proprietors. And it shall further be allowed to use in the service of the captors, the whole, or any part of the military stores so detained, paying to the owners the full value of the same, to be ascertained by the current price at the place of its destination.