The commissioners referred to in the preceding article shall be
appointed in the following manner; that is to say: One commissioner
shall be named by the President of the United States, one by Her
Britannic Majesty, and a third by the President of the United States
and Her Britannic Majesty conjointly; and in case the third
commissioner shall not have been so named within a period of three
months from the date when this article shall take effect, then the
third commissioner shall be named by the representative at London of
His Majesty the Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. In case of the
death, absence, or incapacity of any commissioner, or in the event of
any commissioner omitting or ceasing to act, the vacancy shall be
filled in the manner hereinbefore provided for making the original
appointment, the period of three months in case of such substitution
being calculated from the date of the happening of the vacancy.
The commissioners so named shall meet in the city of Halifax, in the
Province of Nova Scotia, at the earliest convenient period after they
have been respectively named, and shall before proceeding to any
business make and subscribe a solemn declaration that they will
impartially and carefully examine and decide the matters referred
to them to the best of their judgment and according to justice and
equity; and such declaration shall be entered on the record of their
proceedings.
Each of the high contracting parties shall also name one person to
attend the commission as its agent, to represent it generally in all
matters connected with the commission.