Doubts in respect to the particular river intended to be understood by
the name of the St. Croix having arisen, an article was inserted in the
treaty of commerce signed in London in November, 1794, by Lord Grenville
on the part of Great Britain and by John Jay on the part of the United
States.[41] This article, the fifth of that treaty, provided for the
appointment of a joint commission with full powers to decide that
question. This commission was constituted in conformity, and the award
was accepted by both Governments.[42] The river designated in this award
became thenceforth the true St. Croix, however erroneous may have been
the grounds on which it was decided so to be. When, therefore, in the
fourth article of the treaty of Ghent it is declared that the due north
line from the source of the St. Croix has not been surveyed, and when in
this and the other articles of the same treaty all other uncertain parts
of the boundary are recited, the validity of the decision of the
commissioners under the fifth article of Jay's treaty is virtually
acknowledged. Nay, more; the acknowledgment is completed by the
stipulation in the second article of the treaty of Ghent that "all
territory, places, and possessions taken by either party during the
war," with certain exceptions, shall be forthwith restored to their
previous possessors.[43] The only exceptions are the islands in
Passamaquoddy Bay; and had it been believed that any uncertainty in
respect to the adjacent territory existed it would not have been
neglected. Nay, more; all the settlements lying within the line claimed
by Great Britain before the commission created by the treaty of 1794 had
been taken, and were in her actual possession at the time the treaty of
Ghent took effect, and were forthwith restored to the jurisdiction of
the United States. When, also, it became necessary to proceed to the
investigation of the second point of the discussion, the agents and
surveyors of both parties proceeded as a matter of course to the point
marked in 1798 as the source of the St. Croix.[44] This point is
therefore fixed and established beyond the possibility of cavil, and the
faith of both Governments is pledged that it shall not be disturbed.
[Footnote 41: See Note I, pp. 141,142.]
[Footnote 42: See Note II, p. 142.]
[Footnote 43: See Note III, pp. 142,143.]
[Footnote 44: See Note IV, p. 143.]