194 THE TREATY OF WASHINGTON. 
ment as to the nature of.the injury or amount of 
the indemnity could not be arrived at, mixed commis- 
sions have been established by treaty in numerous in- 
stances, to judge and decide the questions at issue be- 
tween the-two contending Governments. 
On three several occasions, within a brief period, 
the United. States and Great Britain have had re- 
course to the international tribunal of a mixed com- 
mission for settlement of unliquidated claims of citi- 
zens or subjects of one country against the Govern- 
ment of the other, namely, by the Treaty of July 26, 
1853; by that of July 1, 1863; and by the present 
Treaty of Washington. Other examples of this occur 
in our earlier history. And the United States have 
had treaties of a similar character with the Mexican 
Republic, with the Republic of New Granada, with 
that of the United States of Colombia, and with the 
Republics of Costa Rica, Venezuela, and Peru. 
An eminent French publicist, M. Pradier Fodéré, 
observes: 
“T/arbitrage, trés-usité dans le moyen-dge, a été 
presque entiérement négligé dans les temps modernes; 
les exemples d’arbitrage offerts et acceptés sont deve- 
nus de plus en plus rares, par l’expérience des incon- 
vénients qui semblent étre presque inséparables de ce 
moyen, ordinairement insuffisant par le défaut d’un 
pouvoir sanctionnateur. Lorsque les grandes puissan- 
ces constituent un tribunal arbitral, ce n’est ordinaire- 
ment que pour des objets d’intérét secondaire.” 
As to the absence of any power to compel observ- 
ance of the award of an international tribunal, it may 
