304 ronmo crnnscrins. dor of St. Ste hen of Hungary, of the Black and oi the Red Eagle of Prussia of the Legion of Honour of France, of Charles III oil §|}Rlll,'Ci St. Ferdinand and of Merit of Naples, of St. Maurice and oi St. Lararns of Sardinia, of the Elephant of Denmark, of Fidelity and of the Lion of Zahringen of Baden, Bnrgher of the Canton of Vaud, and also of the Canton and of the Republic of Geneva, as his Plenipotentiaries to treat, adjust, and conclude such articles of agreement as may tend to the attainment of the above-mentioned e_nd, with the Plenipotentiaries of the United States and of His Britanmc Majesty, that_1s to say : t Plenipctentiary Cn the part of the President of the United States, with the advice 0f Mw U¤i°°d and consent of the Senate thereof, Henry Middleton, a eitiren of the Smt°°‘ said United States, and their Envoy Extraordinary and ·Lill1lSt0I' Pleurpotentiary to His Majesty the Emperor of all_the Russias; and on the Pl°¤iP°*°P**P'Y part of His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom ot Great Britain °f G'°“* B"°“"" and Ireland, the Right Honorable Sir Charles Bagot, one of H1s_Majesty’s most Honorable Privy Council, Knight Grand Cross of the most honorable Order of the Bath, and His Majesty’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias; And the said Plenipotentiaries, after a reciprocal communication of their respective full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon the following articles: Aarrcnn I. Arbjtrawrs and For the purpose of ascertaining and determining the amount of f)‘;“‘""°€‘°t‘;g’“ *° indemnification which may be dueto citizens of the United States under "pP°mthe decision of His Imperial Majesty, two Commissioners and two arbitrators shall be appointed in the manner following, that is to say : One Commissioner and one Arbitrator shall be nominated and. appointed by the President of the United States of America, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof; and one Commissioner and one Arbitrator shall be appointed by His Britannic Majesty. And the two Commissioners and two Arbitrators, thus appointed, shall meet and hold their sittiugs as a board in the city of Washington. They shall have power toappoint a secretary, and before proceeding to the other business of the commission, they shall, respectively, take the following 0,,,,, 0,. ,,m,.,,,,,, oath (or atlirmation) in the presence of each other; which oath or tion. affirmation, being so taken, and duly attested, shall be entered on the record of their proceedings, that is to say; “I, A. B., one of the Commissioners (or Arbitrators, as the case may be) appointed in pursuance of the convention concluded at St. Petersburg on the jg day of one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, between His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, the United States of America, and His Britannic Majesty, do solemnly swear (or atlirm) that I will diligently, impartially, and carefully examine, and, to the best of my judgment, according to justice and equity, decide all matters submitted to me as Commissioner (or Arbitrator, as the case may be) under the said conven ron. Vacancies. All vacancies occurring by death or otherwise shall be filled up in the manner of the original appointment, and the new Commissioners or Arbitrgtgrs shall take the same oath or affirmation, and perform the same u ies. Anrrcnm II. Avemgevalueof If, at the first meeting of this board, the Governments of the United
- 8- States and of Great Britain shall not have agreed upon an average
value, to be allowed as compensation for each,slave for whom indemnification may be due; then, and in that case, the Commissioners and Arbitrators shall conjointly proceed to examine the testimony which shall be produced under the authority of the President of the United States, together with such other competent testimony as they may see cause to
