thereof, shall be, and thereby are repealed; and, that the courts of law and equity, in all cases and questions cognizable by them respectively, and arising from or touching the said treaty, shall decide and judge according to the true intent and meaning of the same, any thing in the said acts, or parts of acts, to the contrary thereof notwithstanding."

"Şuch laws would answer every purpose, and be easily formed. The more they were of the like tenor, throughout the states, the better. They might each recite,

"Whereas, certain laws, or statutes, made and passed in some of the United States, are regarded and complained of, as repugnant to the treaty of peace with Great Britain, by reason whereof, not only the good faith of the United States, pledged by that treaty, has been drawn into question, but their essential interests, under that treaty, greatly affected: and, whereas, justice to Great Britain, as well as a regard to the honour and interests of the United States, require that the said treaty be faithfully executed, and that all obstacles thereto, and particularly such as do, or may be construed to proceed from the laws of this state, be effectually removed: therefore, be it enacted by

and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, that such of the acts, or parts of acts, of the legislature of this state, as are repugnant to the treaty of peace between the United States and his Britannic Majesty, or any article thereof, shall be, and hereby are repealed: and further, that the courts of law and equity, within this state, be and they hereby are directed and required, in all causes and questions cognizable by them respectively, and arising from or touching the said treaty, to deçude and adjudge according to the tenor, true intent, and meaning of the same, any thing in the said acts, or parts of acts, to the contrary thereof, in any wise notwithstanding."

" Such a general law would, we think, be preferable to one that should minutely enumerate the acts and clauses intended to be repealed, because omissions might accidentally be made in the enumeration, or questions might arise, and perhaps not be satisfactorily determined, respecting particular acts or clauses, about which contrary opinions may be entertained. By repealing in general terms, all acts and clauses repugnant to the treaty, the business will be turned over to its proper department, viz. the judicial: and the courts of law will have no difficulty in deciding whether any particular act.or clause is, or is not contrary to the treaty. Besides, when it is considered, that the judges in general, are men of character and learning, and feel, as well as know, the obligations of office, and the value of reputation; there is no reason to doubt that their conduct and judgment relative to these, as well as other judicial matters, will be wise and upright.

"Be pleased, Sir, to lay this letter before the legis-lature of your state, without delay. We flatter ourselves, they will concur with us in opinion, that candour and justice are as necessary to true policy, as they are to sound morality, and that the most honourable way of delivering ourselves from the embarrassment of mistakes, is fairly to correct and amend them. It certainly is time, that all doubts respecting the public faith be removed, and that all questions and differences between us and Great Britain, be amicably and finally settled. The states are informed of the reasons why his Britannic Majesty still continues to occupy the frontier posts, which by the treaty he agreed to evacuate; and we have the strongest assurances, an exact compliance with the treaty on our part, shall be followed by a punctual punctual performance of it on the part of Great

Britain.

"It is important, that the several legislatures should, as soon as possible, take these matters into consideration; and we request the favour of you, to transmit to us, an authenticated copy of such acts and proceedings of the legislature of your state, as may take place on the subject, and in pursuance of this letter.

"By order of Congress,

"A. ST. CLAIR, President."

"New-York, April, 1797."

"To his Excellency

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Governor of the State of.”

This remonstrance, in which the Congress confesses, that the treaty had not been fulfilled, on the part of the United States, produced no effect; and the matter remained in this unsettled state, till the year 1794, when MR. JAY was sent to London, and when a new treaty was made.

I cannot find a better continuation of the history of this dispute, than the review of a pamphlet, entitled,

"A Brief Statement of Opinions, given in the Board of Commissioners, under the Sixth Article of the Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, with Great Britain, Written by MR. M'DONALD, one of the Commissioners, and published at Philadelphia, previous to his departure for England. The Review is taken from the Anti-Jacobin.

"As

"As an almost total ignorance appears to prevail in England, respecting the American Board of Commissioners, and the object of their appointment, we shall preface our extracts from the "Brief Statement," by a repetition of our account of those translations, which led to the formation of the Board.

66

By the fourth article of the treaty of peace, between Great Britain and America, concluded at Paris, on the 3d of September 1783, 'It is agreed, that the creditors on either side shall meet with no lawful impediment, to the recovery of the full value in sterling money, of all bond file debts heretofore

contracted.'

"Notwithstanding this positive engagement, on the part of the Americans, to remove every legal impediment, to the recovery of British debts, all such impediments were suffered to remain in full force. The creditors made repeated efforts to enforce their lawful claims, but uniformly failed, as well in the Courts of the United States, or Federal Courts, as in the courts of each particular state. The laws which constituted the impediments, remained unrepealed; the laconic plea of 'British debt was deemed sufficient, even to deprive the plaintiff of the benefit of a trial; and, to such an excess was this systematic evasion of justice, this profligate violation of treaty carried, that the Grand Jury, in the High Federal Court, in the district of Virginia, did not blush to present, (on the 23d of May, 1794) 'us a national GRIEVANCE, the recovery of such debts by British subjects.

6

" It was farther agreed, by the same treaty, that his Britannic Majesty should give up certain fortresses, on the frontiers of Canada, to the United States; but the constant violation of the terms of that treaty by the latter, rendered it a matter of prudence, on the part of his Majesty, to retain these forts, until such time as the American govern

VOL. XII.

F

ment

ment should shew a disposition to fulfil their part of the treaty, by complying with the positive stipulations of the fourth article. In this unsettled state, did things remain, until the month of November 1794, when his Majesty concluded a treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation, with the United States, one object of which was the final settlement of those claims which had been so long and so unjustly evaded. The means devised for this purpose were certainly such as, had the Americans acted honestly and uprightly, must have proved effectual, in removing every ground of complaint.

"His Majesty, ever sincere and honourable himself, demonstrated his perfect confidence in the national honour of the United States, by agreeing to give up, within a certain time, (an agreement which he has faithfully and punctually fulfilled) all the posts which had been withholden for the purpose before specified; while, in return, he received what was deemed a perfect security for the debts due from the Americans to his subjects; viz. the solemn, absolute, and unconditional stipulation, on the part of the United States, that mutual Commissioners, or the majority of them, should make an award; and that their award should be " in all cases, final, conclusive, and binding on the said States."

"But, that our readers may clearly understand the subsequent matter, it will be proper for us to commence our extracts with the sixth article of the treaty of 1794, under which the Commissioners were to assemble, and according to which their proceedings and determinations were to be regulated.

"Art. Sixth. "Whereas, it is alleged by divers British merchants, and others His Majesty's subjects, that debts to a considerable amount, which were bonâ fide contracted before the peace, still remain owing to them by citizens or inhabitants of the United