Birmingham state herald., 1896-01-05
FOUR COMMISSIONERS Have Received Their Certificates
 of Appointment. THEIR FE q MEETING HELD Justice B'e s as Expected, Was Made the
 Spresidng Officer. THE q sk HAS NOT BEEN SELECTED Thefl $ sGood Chance for Job for Some Enterprisng Man Who Can Write
 and Speak the Dutch, Spanish
 and English Language.
THE q sk HAS NOT BEEN SELECTED

Washington, Jan. 4.-Four members or the commission appointed by the press ldent to determine the true divisional ihe between the territory of the republic or venezuela and that of Great Britain'' assembled at the state department at II O'CLOCK this morning for a discussion of the great work before them. The ab- sentee was Dr. Andrew D. White of New York, who will be here Tuesday. MT. frederick Coudert was the first member or the commission to appear Fifteen minutes later Justice Brewer and Daniel Gilman arrived, and at II o'clock .Jus- t1ce Alvey put in his appearance. having just arrived from Hagerstown Md.
 The four commissioners remained with Secretary Olney for half an hour discuss- Ing routine matters pertaining to their organization. Mr. Olney will not partici- pate in any way in the work of the com. mission, and when the commission emere- ed from his office into the diplomatic re- ception room he remained behind.
 Each member of the tribunal with tba exception of Professor White received his formal certificate of appolntment~ rom the president today. The form of these credentials is peculiar and ex- tfeme1y explicit, urging the commission CTS to proceed without delay, pointing out rules for their government and not ing that the report must be made to the president. The form of this credential is as follows:
 You are hereby appointed a member of the commission to investogate and re- port upon the true location of the divis lonai line between the territory of the republic of Venezuela and that of Rrit ish Guiana"
 Tt is expected that the commission Will avail itself of all possible sources or information which apply to the mat ter, all pertinent rules of municipal and international law, and will make a re- port to the president of their conclu- slons together with the evidence and doc uments submitted to and considered by them, with as little delay as is compati- ble with the thorough and impartial con- sideration of the subject to be dealt with.
 Tn harmony whereof. have caused these letters to be patent and the seal of the United States to be hereunto fixed.
 Given under my hand at the city of Washington on the fourth day of Jan uary, in the year of Our Lord one thou sand eight hundred and ninety-six, and of the independence of the United States of America the one hundred and twen- tieth. GROVER CLEVELAND,
 By the president:
 RICHARD OLNEY, Secretary of State.
 Upon assembling in the diplomatic room, the commissioners immediately proceeded to the election of a presiding officer, who will hereafter be designated as president. As was expected, Justice Brewer was chosen unanimously. The fact that he was named first on the list of the commission, as announced by the president, was the basis for this expecta- ton, but Justice Brewers high standing as a jurist is understood to have been the real reason why he was the choice of his colleagues. President Brewer pro- ceeded to administer the oath of office to the other commissioners. and then Commissioner Alvey acted In a like ca- pacity for the president.
 A motion to designate clerk to act for the present temporary session of the com mission was adopted, and MT. J. w. Blandford, private secretary of the sec retary of state, was accordingly desig- mated.
 Commissioner Gilman moved that an inquiry be made as to the best map show ing the physical characteristics of the country in question, and whether it could be reproduced in convenient form for the use of the commission. This was second- ed by Commissioner Alvey and adopted, and the commission authorized Commits sioner Gilman to make such an inquiry. This concluded all business for present consideration, and on motion of Commis- SlOnef COuueft the commission aQJOurneu to meet on Saturday next. January II, at 10:30 o'clock a. m. (unless the president of the commission chooses to select another date), in the diplomatic room of the de- pertinent Of state.
 The four commissioners went back to Secretary Olney's office and, after telling him of what they had done. walked over to the White House to pay their respects to President Cleveland They spent about fifteen minutes with MT. Cleveland, and then went to lunch.
 The commission will exercise great care in the selection of a permanent clerk, as this matter is deemed to be of some importance. It Is understood that a per- son who speaks and writes the Dutch, Spanish and English languages is de- ciro6