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ocean from those that fall into the river St Lawrence," designated in the treaty, and which are claimed as constituting the northern boundary of this State. They were also rendered absolutely certain by the reference to "the north west angle of Nova Scotia", the point at which the boundaries defined in the treaty commence; which angle by successive acts and documents of the Government of Great Britain, for many years previous, as well as subsequent to the treaty of 1783, is proved to be at the highlands which bound the sources of the rivers that fall into the river St. Lawrence, and divide them from the rivers that fall into the Atlantic Ocean, which highlands also constitute a part of the boundaries of the province of Quebec or Lower Canada. Accordingly, it appears, by the report of our Agents, recently appointed to procure information information respecting this territory, that after the true St Croix river and its sources were ascertained in 1798, the British Government ceased to exercise jurisdiction over any part of the territory, since disputed; and for nearly twenty years afterwards, and until the line at Mars Hill was claimed as the boundary, it was not resumed. And it is probable that no serious difficulty would ever have arisen in settling this boundary with the British Government, if that unfortunate provision had not been made in the treaty of Ghent, which provides for submitting the question to an arbiter.

After that treaty had been ratified by the proper authority, it became, within the limits of the federal constitution, the supreme law of the land, and the United States were in good faith to carry it into effect. Commissioners were therefore appointed in pursuance of its provisions who differing as to some of the points submitted to them, the convention was subsequently made with Great Britain, by which it was agreed, "that the points in difference which have arisen in the settlement of the boundary line between American and British dominions as described in the fifth article of the Treaty of Ghent, shall be referred