104: TIIK TREATY OF WASHINGTON. 



mcnt as to tlic nature of tlie injury or amount of 

 the indemnity could not l)e arrived at, mixed commis- 

 sions have been establislicd by treaty in numerous in- 

 stances, to judge and decide the (juestions at issue be- 

 tween the t^vo contcndinc; Governments. 



On three several occasions, within a brief j)eriod, 

 the United States and (ireat Britain have liad re- 

 course to the international tribimal of a mixed com- 

 mission for settlement of uidiquidated claims of citi- 

 zens or sul)jects of one country against the Govern- 

 ment of the other, namely, V)y the Treaty of July 2G, 

 1S53; by that of July 1,180.'}; and by the jiresent 

 Treaty of Washington. Other examples of this occur 

 in our earlier history. And the United States have 

 liad treaties of a similar character ■with the jNIexicau 

 liCpiiblic, with the lve])ublic of N(;w Granada, with 

 that o^ the United States "of Colombia, and with the 

 Republics of Costa Rica, Venezuela, and Peru. 



An eminent French publicist, M. Pi-adier Fodcre, 

 observes : 



"L'arbitrage, tres-iisite dans le moyen-age, a etc 

 presque cntierement neglige dans ies temps modernes; 

 Ics exemples d'arbitrage otlerts et acceptes sont deve- 

 nus de ])lus en plus rares, par Texperience des ineon- 

 venients ([ui sendjlent etre ])i'es(iue inseparables de co 

 moyen, ordinairement insufrisant par le defaut d'un 

 pouvoir sanctionnatcur. Lorsquc Ies grandes puissan- 

 ces constituent nn trilmnal arbitral, ce n'est ordinaire- 

 ment que pour des objets d'interet secondaire." 



As to the absence of any power to compel observ- 

 ance of the award of au iuternatioual tribunal, it may 



