330 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
must have seemed to the British particularly justifiable. The result 
was the British claim of 1818 to the Mars Hill highlands, a claim 
which as the result proved, largely, if not entirely, attained its end. 
Great Britain was fortunate in the advocate she secured, for although 
Ward Chipman must have found this task little congenial in com- 
parison with the strong cases he had to defend in the St. Croix and 
the Passamaquoddy Island Commissions, he and his son, with and after 
him, formulated and pressed the British case with such ability that, 
though he could not obtain the full extent of his claim, he laid a 
foundation which resulted in a compromise extremely favorable to 
Great Britain. The skill with which he handled the case must excite 
the admiration of everyone who follows the subject. Moore, in his 
calm and judicial treatment of this subject in his Arbitrations, (78), a 
work which reflects the disinterested and scientific attitude of the 
modern historical investigator, says :— 
“The British Agent claimed Mars Hill as the desired point, [northwest angle 
of Nova Scotia] and while it must be admitted that he supported it by 
remarkable dexterity of reasoning, it must also be conceded that he did not 
exceed in that respect the requirements of his pretension (Arbitrations, 78). 
Gallatin, the jurist and diplomatist, who so strongly supported the 
American claim in his various writings, spoke of Chipman’s arguments 
as “ a tissue of unfounded assertions and glaring sophistries.” I 
think this judgment is too harsh as regards the unfounded asser- 
tions, for Chipman appears to me very careful in all of his statements 
of fact, though he allows his imagination free play in regard to inten- 
tions, ete., but as to the sophistries, | think the judgment is correct. 
Chipman did indulge in sophistries, but it was that or nothing. He 
was an advocate with a very weak case to defend; the judgment of 
his profession and the world justifies the winning of such causes by 
such means, and he employed them with consummate skill and practi- 
cally with abundant success. 
The Attempt to determine the North-West Angle of Nova Scotia by 
Arbitration 1821-1831. 
We have traced the attempt to settle the north-west angle of 
Nova Scotia by a commission, and have seen that it failed. The same 
treaty which established the commission provided that in case of a 
disagreement of the commissioners the subject should be referred for 
decision to some friendly sovereign or state. This was, however, in- 
definite, and much negotiation was necessary before a definite plan 
was formulated. This was undertaken in 1826 by Albert Gallatin, 
