come to an united opinion or decision, the Commissioners shall draw up, either jointly or separately, a Report or Reports, stating and explaining in detail the points on which they differ, and the grounds upon which their respective opinions have been formed. These Reports of the Commissioners on both sides, shall be prepared in duplicate, and one original copy of each, together with copies of all documents or maps annexed thereto, shall be transmitted by the British Commissioners to the British Government, and the other copy shall be transmitted by the American Commissioners to the Government of the United States. ARTICLE VIII. If the two Governments should not be able, upon a review of the statements of the Commissioners, to come to an undertanding upon the points about which the Commissioners shall have so differed, such points shall, at the desire of either of the two Governments, be referred for decision to a Commission of Arbitration, consisting of three persons eminent for their scientific attainments, and not being subjects of Great Britain or citizens of the United States. Her Britannic Majesty and the President of the United States engage to choose three friendly Sovereigns or States, each of whom shall be invited by the High Contracting Parties, to name and appoint one of the aforesaid three Commissioners; and in order to prevent unnecessary delay, the two Governments shall at once proceed to take steps for establishing this Commission of Arbitration. ARTICLE IX. As soon as the Members of the Commission of Arbitration shall have been named and appointed, they shall meet at [Frankfort on the Maine]. They shall, in presence of each other, be sworn, impartially, and to the best of their judgment, to examine and decide according to the evidence laid before them, all matters which may be referred to them by the Governments of Great Britain and the United States jointly. They shall have power to adjourn from time to time, and from place to place; and to appoint a Secretary and Clerks who shall not be subjects of Great Britain, or citizens of the United States. ARTICLE X. The documents to be submitted to the Commission of Arbitration, by the Governments of Great Britain and of the United States, shall be the reports made to those Governments, by the Commissioners of Exploration and Survey, of the points about which those Commissioners have differed, and of the points about which they have agreed, together with any observations which either Government may choose to make upon the statements and reports of the Commissioners of Exploration and Survey, on the matters about which those Commissioners may have differed; and if the Commission of Arbitration should need any further topographical information, to enable them to decide any of the points so submitted to them, they shall apply to the two Governments, who shall thereupon direct the Commission of Exploration to supply them with such information, in order to its being transmitted by the said Governments to the Commission of Arbitration. ARTICLE XI. The decisions of a majority of the Commission of Arbitration shall, upon being communicated to the two Governments, signed and sealed by the Commissioners, be held by the British and American Governments to be final and binding as to the points which such decisions may determine. may ARTICLE XII. The salaries of the said Commissioners of Exploration and Survey to be appointed according to the preceding Article I., shall be defrayed by their respective Governments; but all other expenses attending the Commission shall be defrayed in equal portions by the two High Contracting Parties. In case of the death, resignation, absence, or disability from any cause, of any Commissioner, the Government by which he was appointed shall name a successor with the least possible delay, and each new Commissioner shall be bound to take the same oath or affirmation, and to perform the same duties as his predecessor. ARTICLE XIII. The salaries and all expenses of the Commission of Arbitration to be appointed according to the preceding Article VIII., shall be defrayed in equal portions by the Governments of Great Britain and of the United States, upon accounts to be rendered periodically to each Government by the said Commission. ARTICLE XIV. The present Convention shall be ratified, and the ratifications shall be exchanged in London within a period of [six weeks.] In witness whereof, the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and have affixed thereto the seals of their arms. Done at Washington, the day of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and forty.. in the year of Inclosure 2 in No. 3. North-Eastern Boundary. American Counter-Project. PREAMBLE. WHEREAS neither that part of the Boundary between the United States and the British dominions in North America, which is on the Highlands lying due north of the source of the River St. Croix, and designated in the Treaty of Peace between the two Powers, signed at Paris, on the 3rd of September, 1783, as the north-west angle of Nova Scotia; nor that portion of said Boundary described in said Treaty, as commencing at the said north-west angle of Nova Scotia, viz., that angle which is formed by a line drawn due north from the source of the St. Croix River to the Highlands, along the said Highlands which divide those rivers that empty themselves into the River St. Lawrence, from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean, to the north-westernmost head of Connecticut River; thence down along the middle of that river, to the 45° of north latitude; from thence by a line due west on said latitude, till it strikes the Iroquois or Cataraguay; nor that other portion of the said Boundary which extends from the source of the River St. Croix, directly north to the abovementioned north-west angle of Nova Scotia, have yet been ascertained or determined; and whereas, adverse claims founded upon conflicting constructions of the said Treaty of 1783, have been set up by the respective, parties; the United States claiming as the position of the said northwest angle of Nova Scotia, a point due north of the River St. Croix, on the Highlands lying north of the River St. John, and which divide those rivers that empty themselves into the River St. Lawrence from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean, and Great Britain, claiming as the position of said northwest angle of Nova Scotia, a point on a Highland called Mars Hill, lying south of the River St. John, and dividing those waters which empty themselves into the said River St. John, from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean; and whereas, the President of the United States of America, and Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, have deemed it expedient to attempt a settlement of said Boundary in conformity with the stipulations of the aforesaid Treaty of 1783, by the appointment of a new Commission of Exploration and Survey, upon principles agreed upon between their respective Governments, with provisions for the final adjustment of the controversy, if the said Commission should unfortunately prove ineffectual; and with that view to conclude a Convention, they have named as their Plenipotentiaries for this purpose, that is to say, the President of the United States, &c., &c., and Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, &c., &c. Who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found to be in due form, have agreed upon and concluded the following Articles: There is no use in recording former differences and conflicting claims in a Convention which is intended to put an end to the former and reconcile the latter. This would be to admit, in the very outset of the Convention, the whole of the American claim. ence, to negative the British claim. This would be, virtually and by infer We want now to do more than merely to attempt a settlement. between the United States and the British dominions in America which is referred to in the third Article of this Convention, they shall draw up a report to that effect in duplicate, to which report each Commissioner shall affix his signature and seal in the presence of all the others; and one original of such report shall be forwarded by the United States' Commissioners to the Government of the United States, and the other original shall be forwarded by the British Commissioners to the Government of Her Britannic Majesty. The two High Contracting Parties formally agree to consider the report of the Commissioners so authenticated, as final upon this point, and as binding upon both Parties. ARTICLE V. It being the object, as it is the earnest desire, of the High Contracting Parties, to effect a just and amicable settlement of the line of Boundary in question by the direct action of the Joint Commission hereby established, or if that shall prove impracticable, to obtain authentic evidence of all material facts that are connected therewith, for the better guidance of the future action of the High Contracting Parties upon the subject, it is agreed between them as follows: 1st. That it shall be the further duty of the said Commissioners to explore, and when it is desired, to survey, such parts of the Disputed Territory other than the line due north from the monument aforesaid, and also of the contiguous territory, as they, or the Commissioners of either party, shall deem useful in ascertaining the true boundaries of that Treaty, and to note carefully the face of the country, the position and bearing of important relative objects, and all such other facts and circumstances, as they, or either of them, may deem important to a correct decision of the points in dispute. 2ndly. To collect, as far as they may be able to obtain the same, and carefully authenticate all such maps and surveys of the disputed and contiguous territory, and all official documents having relation to the premises, as will, in the opinion of the Commissioners, or of any two on either side, serve to elucidate the true intent and meaning of the parties to the Treaty of 1783, upon the points in question; and to this There does not seem to be any use in authorizing the American Commissioners to explore and survey the territory of New Brunswick. This, as worded, would enable the American Commissioners to place with an authentic character, upon the records of the Commission, the erroneous maps fabricated by American surveyors. |