South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-05-19
The Joint High Commission Treaty.
WASHINGTON. Nav s

WASHINGTON, May s.
The following will appear in the Wash
ington National Republican tomorrow
morning. 1t is an authoritative official
statement of the results of the labOrs OF
the Joint High Commission:
The treaty is to be known as the Treaty
of Washington for the adjustment of
claims for injury alleged by the United
States on account of the escape of Con-
federate cruisers from British ports, and
the depredations committed by those ves-
sells during the late rebellion in this coun-
try.
A tribunal of arbitration is constituted,
to consist of five arbitraIors-one ap-
pointed by the United States, one by
Great Britain, and the other three each by
a designated sovereign state of Europe or
America.
The treaty establishes special rules of
neutral duty and obligation in addition to
the generally-received public law, which
rules, although not admitted by the British
Commissioners to have been in force at
the time, are yet, it is agreed, to retroact
and to govern the decisions of the arbitTa-
ton.
This tribunal may either award dam
ages in detail or in gross, at its discretion,
or it may refer this duty to board of as
SCISSORS sitting in the United States, which
also shall report from time TO time, with
payment to be made accordingly.
The British Government frankly ex-
presses its regret for the occurrence of the
incidents complained of by the United
States for adjudication.
For all other claims by citizens of the
United States against Great Britain, and
by citizens of Great Britain against the
United States during the same period
that is, from April 13, 1861, to April 8,
1865, an ordinary mixed commission is pro-
vided, to sit at Washington, with an um-
pire to be nominated, if necessary, by q
designated friendly power. This limita-
ton of time is material in substance, for it
confines reclamation against the United
States to the incident of actual war.
1t is accompanied, also, with declara-
ton, on the part of the British Commis-
sioners, TO the effect of excluding claims
on account of slave property.
Great Britain does not recognize the
claims of her subjects for the seizure of
cotton in cases where they took up their
ject to the contingencies of war.
In regard to the fisheries, in addition to
the liberties already secured to them by
the treaty of 1873, fishermen of the United
States shall have liberty to take sea fish
on the sea coast and shores, and in the
bays, harbors and creeks of the provinces
of Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Bruins
wick, and the colony of Prince Edwards
Island, and the islands adjacent, without
being restricted to any distance from the
shore, with permission to land upon such
coasts, shores and islands, and also
upon the Magdalen Islands for the pur-
pose of drying their nets and curing their
fish-subject, of course, in this respect, to
local rights and private property; and the
same liberty is granted to British subje cts
on eastern seacosts and shores of the
United States north of the 39th parallel of
latitude. This liberty is not to include
on either side the shellfish or salmon and
shad fisheries, or other fisheries in the
rivers and mouths of rivers. 1t is further
agreed that fish-oil and fish of all kinds,
except the fish of inland lakes and their
rivers, and except fish preserved in oil, the
produce of the fisheries of the United
States, or of the Dominion of Canada, or
of Prince Edwards Island, shall be adj
mitted into each country, respectively, free
of duty.
The privileges thus conceded to the
United States are, obviously, most import
ant ones 1t is asserted by the British Gov
ernment, but not admitted by the United
S. 70 that the privileges accorded to citi-
ms of the United States are of greater
value than those accorded to the subjects
of Great Britain, and, to prevent or avoid
controversy on this point, it was agreed
that mixed commission, with an umpire
to be appointed by designated friendly
power, shall determine whether any com
pensation for such alleged excess of priv
ileges, and, if so, how much ought to be
paid by the United States.
Next come various questions of naviga-
ton and commercial transit, which are dis
posed of by declaring the navigation of the
river st. Lawrence and the rivers Yucan,