UNITED STATES. 



773 



whenever tlie questions of discipline, or of faith, or 

 ecclesiastical rule, custom, or law, have been decided 

 by the highest of these church judicatories to which 

 the matter has been carried, the legal tribunals must 

 accept such decisions as final, and as binding on them 

 in their application to the case before them. 



In the case of Clinton et al. vs. Englebrecht 

 et al., Chief-Justice Chase delivered the opin- 

 ion establishing the principle that citizens in 

 the Territories have rights of self-government 

 cognate to those enjoyed by citizens in the 

 States. 



The commencement of the sessions of the 

 Tribunal for the settlement of the Alabama 

 claims took place at Geneva, in Switzerland, 

 on April 15th, as provided for in the recent 

 treaty between the United States and Great 

 Britain. (For the proceedings and decision of 

 the tribunal, see DIPLOMATIC COEEESPONDENCE.) 



By article thirty-four, of the above-mentioned 

 treaty, it was provided that the Emperor of 

 Germany should be selected as umpire in the 

 case of the disputed Northwestern boundary- 

 line. By the original Treaty of Washington, 

 of June 15, 1846, it was provided that the line 

 of boundary between the territory of the Uni- 

 ted States and those of her Britannic Majesty, 

 from the point on the forty-ninth parallel of 

 north latitude up to which it had then been 

 ascertained, should be continued westward 

 along the said parallel of north latitude to the 

 middle of the channel which separates the 

 continent from Vancouver's Island, and thence 

 southerly along the middle of the said channel 

 and of Fuca Strait to the Pacific Ocean. But 

 the commissioners, appointed by the contract- 

 ing parties to determine that portion of the 

 boundary which runs southerly through the 

 middle of the channel aforesaid, were unable 

 to agree upon the same. The British Govern- 

 ment claimed that such boundary-line should 

 be run through the Rosario Strait, and the 

 Government of the United States claimed that 

 it should be run through the Haro channel. 

 The decision of the Emperor of Germany con- 

 firmed and established the claim of the Gov- 

 ernment of the United States. 



Among the acts of Congress at its session 

 during the year, was one to set apart a tract 

 of land near the head-waters of the Yellow- 

 stone River as a public park. The tract is 

 described as commencing at the junction of 

 Gardiner's River with the Yellowstone River, 

 and running east to the meridian passing ten 

 miles to the eastward of the most eastern point 

 of Yellowstone Lake ; thence south along said 

 meridian to the parallel of latitude passing ten 

 miles south of the most southern point of Yel- 

 lowstone Lake ; thence west along said par- 

 allel to the meridian, passing fifteen miles west 

 of the most western point of Madison Lake : 

 thence north along said meridian to the lati- 

 tude of the junction of the Yellowstone and 

 Gardiner's Rivers ; thence east to the place of 

 beginning. This portion of land is reserved 

 and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, 

 or sale, under the laws of the United States, 



and is dedicated and set apart as a public park 

 or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoy- 

 ment of the people ; and all persons who shall 

 locate, or settle upon, or occupy the same, or 

 any part thereof, shall be considered trespassers, 

 and removed therefrom. 



It is stated, on page 215 of this volume, 

 that, by an act of Congress adopted on Feb- 

 ruary 2d, the number of members of the 

 House of Representatives was fixed at 283. 

 Subsequently, Congress passed another act, 

 which was' approved May 30th, and gave 

 to New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, 

 Pennsylvania, Indiana, Tennessee, Louisiana, 

 Alabama, and Florida, each one representative 

 in Congress, in addition to the number appor- 

 tioned by the previous act. 



The preparations for the election of a Presi- 

 dent of the United States during the year 1872 

 were commenced during the previous year. 

 The division between Republican members of 

 the Federal Senate became more distinct and 

 complete, and the questions at issue between 

 them were, to a certain extent, brought up for 

 decision by the result of the election. Many 

 other interests early appeared in the field, but 

 subsequently cooperated, in a degree, with one 

 or the other of the two great political parties. 



The first national convention, of a political 

 character, which was held during the year, 

 was that of the Labor Reform party. It 

 assembled at Columbus, Ohio, on February 

 21st. The States of Connecticut, Massachu- 

 setts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 

 Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Kan- 

 sas, and Nebraska, were represented. Edwin 

 M. Chamberlin, of Massachusetts, was ap- 

 pointed permanent president of the conven- 

 tion, and the following platform was adopted : 



We hold that all political power is inherent in the 

 people; that free government is founded on their 

 authority, and established for their benefit; that all 

 citizens are equal in political rights, entitled to the 

 largest religious and political liberty compatible with 

 the good order of society, as also the use and enjoy- 

 ment of the fruits of their labor and talents, and no 

 man or set of men are entitled to the exclusive, sep- 

 arate emoluments, privileges, or immunities, from 

 the Government, but in consideration of public ser- 

 vices ; and any laws destructive of these fundamen- 

 tal principles are without moral binding force, and 

 should be repealed ; and we ^believe that all the 

 evils resulting from unjust legislation now affecting 

 the industrial classes can be removed by the adop- 

 tion of the principles contained in the following dec- 

 larations : therefore resolved 



1. That it is the duty of the Government to estab- 

 lish a just standard of the distribution of capital and 

 labor, by providing a purely national circulating me- 

 dium, based on the faith and resources of the nation, 

 issued directly to the people, without the interven- 

 tion of any system of banking corporations, which 

 money shall be a legal tender in the payment of all 

 debts, public and private, and interchangeable, at 

 the option of the holder, for Government bonds, 

 bearing a rate of interest not to exceed three and 

 sixty-five hundredths per cent., subject to future 

 legislation by Congress. 



2. That the national debt should be paid in good 

 faith, according to the original contract, at the earli- 

 est option of the Government, without mortgaging 

 the property of the people, and the future earnings 



