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Great Britain. 1814 Dec. 24. Records, 1814-1827.

Title: Records, 1814-1827.

Records, 1814-1827, mainly concerned with the work of the commissioners appointed under the 5th article of the Treaty of Ghent, to determine the U.S.-Canadian border in the eastern region of the two countries, and under the 6th and 7th articles to determine the boundary in the Great Lakes region. The language describing the boundaries in the 1783 treaty between the United States and Great Britain contained ambiguities, and the terrain had not been adequately surveyed. The commissioners appointed under the 5th article were Thomas Barclay, for Great Britain, and Cornelius P. Van Ness for the United States; under the 6th and 7th articles, John Ogilvy, succeeded by Anthony Barclay, for Great Britain, and Peter B. Porter for the United States. The commissioners appointed agents to organize surveys in the disputed regions and report on their findings. The agents appointed under the 6th and 7th articles were Joseph Delafield, for the United States, and J. Hale, for Great Britain; under the 5th article, William C. Bradley, for the United States, and Ward Chipman, for Great Britain. Surveyors appointed under the 5th article were Hiram Burnham, for the United States, and J.L. Tiarks, for Great Britain. The records begin with a volume giving drafts of the treaty antedating the version that was actually signed, then continue with two volumes related to the work of the commissioners appointed under the 6th and 7th articles. A journal of their proceedings includes maps, and detailed records of their disagreements on such issues as how to determine the middle of a body of water, and another volume contains the dissenting report of the United States commissioner, Porter. Because the boundary in this area runs through navigable waterways, the journal includes discussion of the importance of communications by water for both countries. The other volumes deal with the work of the commissioners appointed under the 5th article. They contain reports of surveys of the terrain, and a series of polemical papers exchanged between the agents of the two countries, recording disagreements about issues such as how to read the 1783 treaty, how to calculate latitude, and the decription of some geographical details. The final volume contains the dissenting report of the United States commissioner, Van Ness. Both sets of records include accounts of the expenses incurred by the commissioners and surveyors.

ArchivalResource: 11 v.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/58773493 View