MISCELLANEOUS CLAIMS. 197 
One of the earliest of our conventions of this nature 
was contained in the Treaty of 1818, in execution of 
an article of the Treaty of Ghent [1815], by which 
the United States and Great Britain stipulated to re. 
fer a certain question of indemnities to some friend- 
ly Sovereign or State. Afterward the Emperor of 
Russia was selected as such arbitrator, and rendered 
an award against Great Britain, in general terms, by 
reason of which it became necessary to provide by a 
second treaty [1822] for the appointment of a com- 
missioner and arbitrator on the part of the United 
States, and a commissioner and arbitrator on the part 
of Great, Britain, to assemble at Washington and as- 
sess damages under the umpirage of the Minister of 
the mediating Power accredited to the United States. 
This example is curious and instructive, seeing that 
the debtor Government, so to speak,—Great Britain,— 
in order to give effect to its engagement at Ghent 
entered into three successive international compacts 
with the United States,—one to appoint an arbiter, 
another to name him, and a third to give effect to his 
award. There could be no better illustration of the 
moral force of treaties of arbitration in the estimation 
of modern States. 
TENDENCY OF REASON AND JUSTICE TO PREVAIL OVER 
FORCE. 
These many examples, it seems to me, tend to man- 
ifest the increasing desire of modern nations to ter- 
minate all their controversies, if possible, by friendly 
means rather than by force. Where they can not 
