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The Case of the Sloop "Active? and Mr. Smith. In the meantime Judge Ross had, with great dignity and firmness, placed upon the records of his court a vindication of his action, alleging that after mature consid eration he was of opinion that though the Court of Appeals had full authority to alter or set aside the decree of a judge upon a pure question of law, yet there its power ended; that the verdict of the jury was made con clusive upon the facts without re-examina tion or appeal, under the terms of the State law erecting his tribunal, and he would sub mit to no usurpation

of power. On the 6th of March, 1779, Con gress took steps to assert its final au thority, and after a spirited review of the facts, declared that it necessarily had the power to examine as well into verdicts on facts as decisions on law, and to decree finally thereon, and that no finding of a jury in any Court of Admiralty, or court for determining the RICHARD legality of captures on the high seas, can or ought to destroy the right of appeal and the re-examina tion of the facts expressly reserved to Congress. That no act of any one State can or ought to destroy the right of appeal to Congress, which was invested by these United States with the supreme sovereign power of war and peace. That the power of executing the law of nations was essential to the sovereign supreme power of war and peace; that the legality of all captures on the high seas must be determined by the law of nations, and that the authority to ultimately and finally decide on all matters and questions touching the law of nations

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rested in and was vested in the sovereign supreme power of war and peace. That a control by appeal was necessary, in order to compel a just and uniform execution of the law of nations; that this control must extend as well over the decisions of juries as judges, otherwise juries would be pos sessed of the ultimate power of executing the law of nations in all cases of capture, and might at any time exercise the same in such manner as to prevent a possibility of being controlled, a construction which in volved so many in conveniences and ab surdities as to destroy an essential part of the power of war and peace entrusted to Congress, and would disable Congress from giving satisfac tion to foreign na tions complaining of a violation of neu tralities, of treaties, or other branches of the law of nations, and would enable a jury in any one State to involve the United States in hostilities; PETERS a construction which fo1 these and many other reasons was inadmissible. It was also asserted that Congress had hitherto always exercised the power of controlling, by a committee of its own members through appeals, the several admiralty jurisdictions of the States. It was therefore resolved that the committee before whom had been deter mined the appeal from the Admiralty Court of Pennsylvania, in the case of the sloop "Active," was duly constituted and author ized to determine the same. Upon this resolution the vote stood twenty-one yeas to six nays, all of the Pennsylvania mem bers, and Mr. Witherspoon, of New Jersey,