country that induces me to acquiesce in the nomination of Mr. Martin Van Buren, and I do so the more readily because I cannot but conceive that the man whom the citizens of so great a country as the United States should have deemed worthy to fill the part of Chief Magistrate and Ruler, must likewise be worthy of the confidence of a nation whose laws, sympathies, and feelings are nearly identical with their own. "Mr. Martin Van Buren's career and character are so well known and esteemed in England, and his reputation as a statesman, a lawyer and a gentleman, is so firmly established here, that I do not hesitate to waive in his favor the more important of the objections which I felt myself justified in making to the appointment of an American to the office of umpire under the convention constituting the commission; and in so far as he is concerned, I am willing to give up my own opinion on the expediency of choosing that officer from a class entirely indifferent by reason of nationality to the claimants of either country. "In thus acquiescing in the nomination of one of the gentle men proposed by you, a countryman of your own, and also of one section of the claimants, I am actuated alone by the consideration of his high personal qualifications, my full reliance on your good faith, and my own desire to avoid the alternative provided by the convention in case of a disagreement between us on this important particular. To these considerations I look for my justification with my countrymen, feeling assured that in having acted on my own judgment for the best, I am en deavoring, so far as it is in my power, to serve indifferently the real interests of both sets of claimants."1 Declination of Mr. On the 13th of October 1853 the commissioners wrote to Mr. Van Buren, who was then in Florence, apprising him of his selection as umpire and expressing the hope that he might be able so to act. On the 22d of October Mr. Van Buren replied, expressing his regret to find himself constrained to decline the appointment. He said: "After spending the principal part of my life in the public service, I have for several years withdrawn myself not only from all personal participation in public affairs, but from attention to business of every description, save only what has been indispensable to the management of my private affairs. By adhering to this course I have secured to myself a degree of repose suitable to my age and condition, and eminently conducive to my happiness, and nothing could be more repugnant to my feelings than to depart from it now. Still if the matters in contestation consisted of a single question, which I could dispose of by one decision, in case of difference between the commissioners, I would not under the circumstances feel Mr. Hornby to Mr. Upham, October 11, 1853. (MSS. Dept. of State.) myself at liberty to decline the responsibility of the umpirage. But my knowledge of the character of joint commissions like the present, and their almost invariable tendency to be kept on foot long after the expiration of the time first agreed upon for their conclusion, satisfies me that I ought not at my time of life to accept a trust which, besides exposing me to serious inconvenience, must control my personal movements for a considerable length of time, and may postpone my return to the United States to a period far beyond that which would be at present anticipated."1 Selection of Joshua Mr. Van Buren having declined the post of umpire, the American commissioner proposed in his place Joshua Bates, of London, of the firm of Baring Brothers & Co. "Mr. Bates," said the Ameri can commissioner, "is an American-born citizen, who in early life gained such reputation for intelligence, energy, honorable character, and business acquirements as to cause a demand for his services in the leading banking house of this country and the world. His long residence in England in that position and his great success has established him here permanently as his adopted home, and has given him a standing and character that should impart full confidence to the claimants of both countries, as well as to the governments themselves, in the intelligence, integrity, and impartiality of his decisions."" In the nomination of Mr. Bates the British commissioner concurred, "having every confidence in his integrity and unblemished reputation." The nominee was at once notified of his selection, and duly accepted the trust; and, having received a commission,3 he attended the meeting of the commissioners 1S. Ex. Doc. 103, 34 Cong. 1 sess. 456-457. 2 Mr. Upham to Mr. Hornby, October 31, 1853. (S. Ex. Doc. 103, 34 Cong. 1 sess. 457.) 3“To all and singular to whom these presents shall come, greeting: "Whereas, a convention was concluded and signed, at London, on the eighth day of February, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, between the United States of America and her Britannic Majesty, for the adjustment of certain outstanding claims of citizens of either government against the other, by which it is provided that one commissioner shall be named by each of said governments, with power to investigate and decide upon such claims, and that the said commissioners shall name some third person to act as arbitrator, or umpire, in any case or cases on which they may differ in opinion; and the honorable Nathaniel G. Upham having been appointed commissioner on the part of the United States, and Edmund Hornby, esquire, on the part of her Britannic Majesty, and having been, severally, duly qualified and entered on the duties of their commission, on November 14, 1853, and made and subscribed the solemn declaration required by the convention.' Joshua Bates was born at Weymouth, Massachusetts, in 1788. At the age of fifteen he entered the countinghouse of Mr. William R. Gray, an eminent merchant of Boston, and at one time the largest shipowner in America. After some years he was sent to Europe as Mr. Gray's agent, and established his headquarters in London. In the course of his business, which often required him to visit the Continent, he attracted the favorable regard of Mr. Peter Cæsar Labouchère, a connection of the Barings and head of the house of Hope & Co., of Amsterdam. Through Mr. Hope he became associated in business with one of the Barings, and in time was admitted as a partner in the house of Baring Brothers & Co., in which he at length became the senior member and acquired his large fortune. In more than one conjuncture his position, due not only to his extensive connections in business, but also to his high personal character, and on the thirty-first day of October, 1853, having agreed on Joshua Bates, esquire, of London, as arbitrator, or umpire: "Now, therefore, be it known that we, the undersigned commissioners, reposing especial trust and confidence in the impartiality, integrity, and ability of said Joshua Bates, esquire, do hereby, by virtue of the authority invested in us as aforesaid, appoint him arbitrator, or umpire, under said convention, and do authorize and empower him to execute and fulfill the duties of said office, with all the powers and privileges connected therewith, according to the provisions of the convention. "In witness whereof, we have hereunto severally affixed our signatures this thirty-first day of October, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three. "NATHANIEL G. UPHAM, "Commissioner on the part of the United States. "EDMUND HORNBY, "Commissioner on the part of Great Britain." (S. Ex. Doc. 103, 34 Cong. 1 sess. 19.) "I hereby solemnly declare that I will impartially and carefully examine and decide, according to the best of my judgment and according to justice and equity, without fear, favor, or affection to the government of the United States or of her Britannic Majesty, all such claims as may be submitted to me as arbitrator or umpire by the commissioners of the said governments appointed for the adjustment of certain claims on the part of citizens of either of the said governments against the other, under a convention signed at London, February eight, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three. "In witness whereof, I have, this fourteenth day of November, made and subscribed this solemn declaration. "JOSHUA BATES." (S. Ex. Doc. 103, 34 Cong. 1 sess. 20.) enabled him to contribute to the good relations between the country of his birth and that of his adoption. In 1852 he gave the first effective impulse "to the foundation on a broad basis of the Boston public library by a gift of $50,000, which he afterward more than doubled by the purchase and donation of books." The reading room in the new Boston public library, as was that in the old, is called Bates Hall, in memory of Joshua Bates. There are also two portraits of him in the library, one of which hangs in the trustees' room. It may be remarked that Mr. Bates's only child, a daughter, was the wife of M. Van de Weyer, the Belgian minister in London, who was suggested by the British commissioner as a desirable person for umpire. As umpire, Mr. Bates, if possible, more than fulfilled the expectations formed of him, and materially contributed to the happy results of the commission. On many of the most important and delicate questions before the board it became his duty to give the final decision. Though this circumstance rendered his labors arduous and his responsibility great, he decided all questions that came before him with promptitude, and with a sound, impartial, independent judgment, and, although provision was made by the convention for the compensation of the umpire, he declined to receive for his services. any remuneration whatever. On the part of the United States the comThe Commissioners. missioner was Nathaniel G. Upham, of New Hampshire, a neighbor of President Pierce, by whom he was appointed, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, on March 23, 1853. Mr. Upham was a native of New Hampshire, having been born at Deerfield on January 8, 1801; he died at Concord in 1869. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he adopted the profession of the law, and was for some years a judge of the supreme court of New Hampshire. Besides acting as commissioner under the present convention, he was umpire of the commission under the treaty between the United States and New Granada of September 10, 1857. On the part of Great Britain the commissioner was Edmund Hornby, who was appointed by the Queen on August 26, 1853. A Memorial of Joshua Bates from the City of Boston: Boston, 1865. Handbook of the New Public Library in Boston, 73. Mr. Hornby was trained to the law and admitted as a barrister. In 1855, after his service under the present convention, he was appointed a commissioner on behalf of England to control the expenditure of the Turkish loan. He also became judicial assessor to the British consulate-general at Constantinople. During the Crimean war he was sole arbitrator in all questions arising between the British Government and the contractors for supplies to the army in the East. From 1857 to 1864 he was judge of the supreme consular court of the Levant at Constantinople. In 1862 he was knighted, and in 1865 he became judge of the British supreme court of China and Japan. He was retired on a pension in 1876, and has lately died. His last published work was a pamphlet containing an interesting plan for an international court of arbitration.' The object of the tribunal, as described by the author, would be not only to decide particular disputes, but also to build up the system of international law. In this aspect the tribunal would form a college as well as a court. For the purpose of constituting it, nations would be divided into three classes, according to their respective resources. Each nation would be invited to nominate, for a period of at least ten years, a member, not necessarily of its own nationality and not as its representative, but as a person possessing proper qualifications for membership. It would be left open to nations of the second and third classes to nominate or not while adhering to the scheme. The locality of the tribunal should be permanent, and on quasineutral ground, such as Switzerland. Its site should be declared extraterritorial, and its members and staff invested with ambassadorial privileges. The members should have the title of senators or of jurisconsults, preferably the former, and rank next to sovereign rulers; and they should choose from their number a president annually, by secret ballot, the person so chosen to be eligible for reelection by a twothirds vote. They should be absolved from allegiance to any earthly power, and forbidden to accept during life any title, rank, decoration, or place from any one. For at least nine months in each year they should reside at or near the seat of the tribunal; their salaries should not be less than £10,000 a year, and, if not renominated, they should receive a retiring 'An International Tribunal, by Sir Edmund Hornby: London, 1895. 5627-26 |