ALABAMA CLAIMS. 125 
raised by successive requirements of the Tribunal. 
They had thus arrived at the point of discussing 
matters, which only affected the form and the amount 
of the judgment to be rendered against Great Britain. 
And here, on the 26th of August, the Tribunal 
voted to deliberate with closed doors, in spite of the 
objection of Sir Alexander Cockburn. 
Thenceforth, and until the final Conference of the 
14th of September, the Tribunal sat with closed doors, 
that is, without the assistance of the Agents and 
Counsel. 
Down to this time, the Agent, Counsel, Solicitor, 
and Secretaries of the United States had been assid- 
uously occupied in preparing, copying, translating, and 
printing Arguments and other documents for the use 
of the Tribunal. And even when the regular dis- 
cussions were ended, we had still to attend to the 
laborious task of preparing schedules of the claims 
of the United States in response to argumentative 
estimates filed by the British Government. 
FINAL JUDGMENT OF THE TRIBUNAL. 
On the 9th of September the Arbitrators defin- 
itively adopted the Act of Decision, which had been 
considered at the preceding Conference, and ordered 
it to be printed. They also resolved that the Decis- 
ion should be signed at the next Conference, to be 
held with open doors, and they then adjourned to the 
14th. 
