United States, and that by the operation of various lawful impediments, since the peace, not only the full recovery of the said debts has been delayed, but also the value and security thereof, have been, in several instances, impaired and lessened; so that by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, the British creditors cannot now obtain, and actually have and receive full and adequate compensation for the losses and damages which they have thereby sustained it is agreed, that in all such cases, where full compensation for such losses and damages cannot, for whatever reason, be actually obtained, had and received by the said creditors, in the ordinary course of justice, the United States will make full and complete compensation for the same, to the said creditors; but, it is distinctly understood, that this provision is to extend to such losses only as have been occasioned by the lawful impediments aforesaid; and is not to extend to losses occasioned by such insolvency of the debtors, or other causes, as would equally have operated to produce such loss, if the said impediments had not existed; nor to such losses or damages as have been occasioned by the manifest delay or negligence, or wilful omission of the claimant.

"For the purpose of ascertaining the amount of any such losses and damages, five Commissioners shall be appointed, and authorized to meet and act in manner following, viz. two of them shall be appointed by His Majesty, two of them by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and the fifth by the unanimous voice of the other four; and if they should not agree in such choice, then the Commissioners named, by the two parties, shall respectively propose one person, and of the two names so proposed, one shall be drawn by lot, in the presence of the four original Commissioners. When the

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five Commissioners thus appointed shall first meet, they shall, before they proceed to act, respectively take the following oath or affirmation, in the presence of each other; which oath, or affirmation being so taken, and duly attested, shall be entered on the record of their proceedings, viz. Í, A. B., one of the Commissioners appointed in pursuance of the sixth article of the treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation, between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will honestly, diligently, impartially, and carefully examine, and to the best of my judgment, according to justice and equity, decide all such complaints, as under the said article shall be preferred to the said Commissioners; and that I will forbear to act as a Commissioner, in any case in which I may be personally interested.

"Three of the said Commissioners shall constitute a Board, and shall have power to do any act appertaining to the said commission, provided that one of the Commissioners named on each side, and the fifth Commissioner shall be present, and all decisions shall be made by the majority of the voices of the Commissioners then present, eighteen months from the day on which the said Commissioners shall form a Board, and be ready to proceed to business, are assigned for receiving complaints and applications; but they are nevertheless authorized, in any particular cases in which it shall appear to them to be reasonable and just, to extend the said term of eighteen months, for any term not exceeding six months, after the expiration thereof. The said Commissioners shall first meet at Philadelphia, but they shall have power to adjourn from place to place, as they shall see cause..

"The said Commissioners, in examining the complaints and applications so preferred to them, are empowered and required, in pursuance of the true

intent and meaning of this article, to take into their consideration all claims, whether of principal or interest, or balances of principal and interest, and to determine the same respectively, according to the merits of the several cases, due regard being had to all the circumstances thereof, and as equity and justice shall appear to them to require. And the said Commissioners shall have power to examine all such persons as shall come before them, on oath or affirmation touching the premises; and also to receive in evidence according as they may think most consistent with equity and justice, all written depositions, or books, or papers, or copies, or extracts thereof; every such deposition, book, or paper, or copy, or extract, being duly authenticated, either according to the legal forms now respectively existing in the two countries, or in such other manner as the said Commissioners shall see cause to require or allow.

"The award of the said Commissioners, or of any three of them, as aforesaid, shall in all cases be final and conclusive, both as to the justice of the claim, and to the amount of the sum to be paid to the creditor or claimant: And the United States undertake to cause the sum so awarded to be paid in specie to such creditor or claimant without deduction; and at such time or times, and at such place or places as shall be awarded by the said Commissioners; and on condition of such releases or assignments to be given by the creditor or claimant, as by the said Commissioners may be directed; provided always that no such payment shall be fixed by the said Commissioners to take place sooner than twelve months from the day of the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty." Agreeably to the stipulations of this article, the four Commissioners met at Philadelphia, on the 25th of May, 1797. Mr. Thomas M'Donald,

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a gentleman of family and of high reputation at the bar, and Mr. Henry Pye Rich, an eminent merchant, were the Commissioners appointed on the part of His Britannic Majesty; Mr. Thomas Fitzsimons, a merchant of Philadelphia, and Mr. James Imes, a planter and lawyer of Virginia, a gentleman of fortune and of strict honour, were appointed on the part of the United States. These gentlemen having assembled, and verified their powers, proceeded to the choice of the fifth Commissioner, who, as was provided by the article of the treaty above quoted, was to be chosen by lot. The name of Mr. John Guillemard, a gentleman of unexceptionable character, was put into the urn by the British Commissioners; those of the United States put in that of Mr. Fisher Ames, an able lawyer and most worthy gentleman of Massachusetts. The lot fell upon Mr. Guillemard; of course, Mr. Ames was excluded.

"The Board, thus formed, was now ready to proceed to business; but, as the space of two years was allowed for creditors to give in their claims, the inconceivable tardiness of these people gave the Board but little occupation till the term allowed by the treaty was nearly expired. During this season of inactivity, Mr. Innes (" than whom," says Mr. M'Donald, "a man more truly honourable never existed") Mr. Innes, unfortunately, died. His loss would not, however, have been so much felt, had the American government appointed Mr. Ames to succeed him, and why he was not appointed can be accounted for only by the total change of policy, which that government had thought fit to adopt. To Mr. Fitzsimons, the remaining American Commissioner, was now joined Mr. Samuel Sitgreaves, a lawyer of Pennsylvania. With respect. to the private character, the morality and religion, of these gentlemen, we shall say nothing at present,

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reserving to ourselves, however, the full liberty of making use of our information on these subjects, if the intolerable insolence of the American press should provoke us to an abandonment of that forbearance which we have hitherto thought it not unbecoming our character to exercise.

"The publication now under our perusal being what, indeed, it professes to be, no more than a "brief statement of opinions," given in the "Board of Commissioners," it would be next to impossible for us, by any analysis, or selection of extracts, to communicate that information to our readers, which we wish them to be possessed of; particularly as each opinion refers to numerous facts and documents, the nature and purport of which do not here admit of a statement. We shall, however, endeavour to render our arrangement as perspicuous as possible, hoping that the pamphlet itself, as well as every document relating to this striking instance of American duplicity, will, 'ere long, be submitted to the public.

"It appears, that after Mr. Sitgreaves joined the Board, a system of quibble and procrastination was begun, and persevered in, by the American Commissioners, who, unable to inveigle, intimidate, or weary the majority of the board, at last fell upon the disgraceful expedient of secession, thereby furnishing their government (under whose positive direction, with shame be it said, they acted this shuffling part) with an excuse for its non fulfilment of the treaty.

"Before we enter on the grounds upon which this secession was attempted to be justified, it may be necessary for us to observe, that, besides a secretary to the Board, there was a General Agent, who preferred the claims and supported them by evidence and argument, while, on the other hand, they were examined, and afterwards replied to,