money, or other equivalent or indemnification by way of insurance or otherwise, for the loss or injury sustained, satisfaction for which is therein asked. And if such payment or indemnification has been made, to set forth when and from whom the same was received. "And that time may be allowed to the claimants to prepare and file the memorials above mentioned, "It is further ordered, that when this board shall close the present session, it will adjourn to meet again on the eleventh day of July next; at which time it will proceed to decide whether the memorials filed with the Secretary are in conformity to the foregoing orders, and proper to be received for examination. "Ordered, that a copy of these proceedings be published by the Secretary of this board, in all the newspapers in which the laws of the United States are printed." After adopting the foregoing rules the commissioners made an order authorizing the secretary "to permit claimants or their agents to examine and, if needful, copy papers in his possession," but forbidding the taking or copying of any such paper out of the office of the commission. On the 7th of April the commissioners ordered that a Notice of Organization. notice of the organization of the commission should be published in the Globe and the National Intelligencer in Washington, and in all other journals in which the Department of State had caused prior notice of their meeting to be published. The commissioners then adjourned to meet again on the 11th of the ensuing July. Second Session. At the second session of the commission the only business of any importance that was transacted was the adoption on July 16 of resolutions with respect to the filing of further memorials, the examination of claims, the taking of testimony, and the reception of arguments. These resolutions were as follows: "Ordered, that all persons having claims to be decided upon by this board, memorials of which claims have not yet been presented, or which, having been presented, have not been received by this board, do file original or supplemental memorials, as the case may be, in their several claims on or before the first Monday in October next, and that each of the said memorials shall be prepared and verified in conformity with the rules prescribed in the order of this board of the 7th [6th] of April last. Ordered, that all cases in which memorials have been received by this board be set down for examination after the expiration of six months from the date hereof; if, however, after the lapse of said term, any claimant shall show good cause for not then entering upon the examination, a further time may be allowed. "Ordered, that in all cases where claimants shall deem it necessary to take testimony in support of their claims, the said testimony, if taken within a district where commissioners have been appointed by the circuit court of the United States to take affidavits, shall be taken before such commissioner; if no such commissioner, then before any other person qualified by law to administer an oath. "Ordered, that all persons having claims under the convention between the United States and His Majesty the King of Denmark, be permitted to support their respective claims by the arguments of counsel, but that every such argument shall be reduced to writing and filed in the Secretary's office. 66 Ordered, that the several claimants under the said convention be permitted, under the direction of the secretary of this board, and in his office, to examine the memorials and documents in the several cases before this board, and to file objections accompanied by arguments in such cases as in the opinion of the remonstrants ought not to be favorably received: such objections and arguments, in cases in which memorials have been received, to be filed prior to the first Monday in January 1832. "Ordered, that when this board adjourn, it will adjourn to meet again on Monday the third day of October next, at which time it will proceed to decide whether any memorials which may have been filed with the secretary prior to said 3rd of October in pursuance of the above order, shall be received for examination." sions. The third session of the board began on the 3d of Third and Fourth Ses- October and closed on the 5th. The fourth session opened, pursuant to adjournment, on the 9th of January 1832. On the 12th of January an order was adopted to the effect "that no paper or document filed with a memorial shall be allowed to be withdrawn from the office unless upon written application by the claimant, supported by affidavit stating that the object is to withdraw the paper for the purpose of authenticating the same or proving the facts which it contains before some one of the persons authorized to take testimony in cases depending under this commission." On the 2d of February further orders were made. On the 7th of the preceding October a notice was published by direction of the board to the effect that it would, on the opening of its fourth session on the 9th of January 1832, proceed to determine the validity of all claims which should then have been filed and docketed. By the 2d of February the commissioners had disposed of all such claims as were ready for hearing; but it was found that a number of the cases, though duly filed and docketed, were not ready to be heard, and that in some of them the claimants had not exhibited "as much industry in preparation" as they should have done. The commissioners therefore gave notice that all persons having claims should present them on or before the 1st of the following May, verified in conformity with the rules of the board and accompanied with all proofs which they might think material; that when the board next met, on the 23d of April, it would proceed to decide all claims then filed but not previously acted on, and that after the 1st of May no memorial would be received unless satisfactory cause for not filing it before was shown.' At the same time the board published certain rules of decision to which a fuller reference will be made hereafter. The fifth session of the board began on the 23d of Fifth and Sixth Sessions. April 1832, and ended on the 10th of May, when an adjournment was taken till the first Monday in October. On that day the sixth session began, but only Mr. Duane appeared, the two other commissioners being ill. The sixth session was therefore ordered to stand adjourned till the 26th of November, and on that day the commissioners reassembled. They remained in session till December 19, when it was ordered that, as several applications had been made for rehearings, and as the board was anxious to afford claimants every opportunity to prove their claims, the commission would adjourn till March 1, 1833, a month before the termination of the period prescribed for its existence, and that no application for a rehearing or for filing original or supplemental memorials, or for the introduction of proof, would be received after that day. MSS. Dept. of State. Seventh Session. The seventh and last session of the board did not actually begin till the 4th of March 1833. On the 1st of March only one commissioner was present, and on the 2d there were only two. They did not all appear until the 4th. It has heretofore been stated that the commissioners on the 2d of February 1832, at the close of their fourth session, published certain rules of decision. These Rules of Decision. rules were as follows: "THURSDAY, February 2, 1832. "The board, having been for some time engaged in considering the validity of the claims which have been filed and docketed, and the proofs in support thereof, deem it proper to lay down certain rules, to be adhered to in all cases which shall not present à peculiar claim to exception from their operation: 66 Regarding the fund provided by the convention with Denmark as designed to indemnify claimants for the actual losses, and not for profits, which might or might not have been realized-it is Ordered, That in cases of condemnation, remuneration shall be made according to the actual value of vessel and cargo respectively, at the commencement of the voyage. "Considering the absence of proof in some cases, and its imperfection in others, in relation to freight, insurance, demurrage, and damage owing to detention; and consequently, that exact justice cannot be done in each particular case; comparing, besides, the several claims for freight, insurance, demurrage, and damage, with each other, and finding no standard therein-it is "2nd. Ordered, That in all cases of condemnation or detention there shall be allowed two-thirds of a fair freight for the passage in which the loss occurred, [and] a premium of insurance at the rate of - per cent upon the value of the vessel and cargo respectively at the commencement of the voyage. "3. That in all cases of detention of vessels, there shall be allowed, besides, for demurrage dollars per day on vessel under 150 tons burthen. between 150 and 200, inclusive. above 200. 4. That in cases of detention of cargo, there shall be allowed for damages at the rate of per cent per year. "That in cases in which special damage shall be proved, as where the cargo was in whole or in part of a perishable nature, or was wasted or destroyed, an additional allowance should be made according to the facts. "This allowance to be in full for all injuries resulting from capture and detention, including cases in which voyages were broken up, and all other speculative damages. "5. That in all cases, the expenses incurred in defending vessel and cargo shall be allowed in full. "As the board cannot anticipate whether the fund distributable under the convention with Denmark will, or will not, be adequate to the payment of all the sums which shall be awarded by this commission; it is "Ordered, that in each case such sum shall be awarded and stated as the board shall believe would be justly payable, were the fund adequate; and that if the fund shall not be adequate to pay the aggregate amounts allowed to all the claimants, a 'pro rata' distribution shall be made in conformity with the provisions of the convention. It is further "Ordered, that an entry be now made on the record of all the decisions made by the board at its present session." ate * # In applying these rules the board discovered that they "would not operequally upon various classes and descriptions of claims presented." The board therefore at its sixth session changed the rules and, setting aside all decisions that had been made in conformity with them, proceeded to make awards in accordance with a series of amended rules. These rules the board on the 22d of March 1833 ordered to be entered on the minutes. They were as follows: "That in all cases of condemnation there shall be allowed, "1st. The value of the vessel agreeably to the following scale: "For Eastern vessels-$40.00 per ton. "For Northern_vessels-$60.00 per ton. “2nd. The value of the cargo at the cost of the same in the port from whence she sailed, agreeably to the invoice, without any addition to the invoice for freight or insurance. "3rd. A premium of insurance, at the rate of eight per cent upon the value of the vessel and cargo. "4th. Freight, for the voyage in which the loss occurred, at the rate of twelve dollars per ton. "5th. Demurrage, on the following scale: "$15.00 per day for vessels under 150 tons. "$20.00 per day for vessels between 150 and 200 tons. 66 $25.00 per day for vessels between 200 and 300 tons. "That, in all cases of detention of vessel and cargo, there shall be allowed as follows: "1st. Freight, at the rate of six dollars per ton. "2nd. Premium of insurance, at the rate of eight per cent upon the value of vessel and cargo, respectively, at the commencement of the voyage. "3rd. For the detention of the vessel, for demurrage: "$20.00 per day on vessels under 150 tons. "$25.00 per day on vessels between 150 and 200. "That for detention of cargo there shall be allowed for damages, at the rate of twelve per cent per annum; and in cases of detention where special damages shall be proved, as where the cargo was in whole or part of a perishable nature or was wasted or destroyed, an additional allowance shall be made according to facts. "This allowance to be in full for all injuries resulting from capture and detention, including cases in which voyages were broken up, and all other speculative or consequential damages. "In all cases the expenses incurred in defending the vessel and cargo in the course of judicial investigation shall be allowed in full, but no other claim for expenses shall be allowed. "In all cases where the claim is presented by an underwriter, he shall receive no other or greater allowance for the loss or detention of vesselcargo-or freight, than would have been allowed to the owner agreeably to the foregoing rules." Final Report. The last meeting of the board was held on the 28th of March 1833, when the commission adjourned sine die. Prior to their adjournment the commissioners signed a report to the Secretary of State giving an account of their proceedings, and directed it to be recorded in the journal. This report, to which is annexed the order of adjournment, is as follows: THURSDAY, 28 March 1833. TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE OF THE UNITED STATES: "The undersigned Commissioners, Citizens of the United States, appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, having performed the duties with which they were charged, under the Convention between the United States and His Majesty the King of Denmark, bearing date the twenty-eighth day of March 1830, beg leave to submit an account of their proceedings in the following report. "The Undersigned having received their appointments from the President of the United States, in conformity to the third article of the Convention, assembled at the city of Washington on the 4th day of April 1831, and organized a Board pursuant to the provisions of the said Convention and the act of Congress appertaining thereto. "On the succeeding day they received from the Department of State various papers and documents, and from time to time thereafter certified copies of sentences in the Tribunals of Denmark, transmitted agreeably to the stipulations of the said Convention. "At this session of the Board various preliminary rules, or orders, and forms of proceeding were established, and, in the first place, an order was made, whereby all persons having claims under the said Convention were required to file a memorial of the same with the Secretary of this Board, to the end that they might be examined, and the validity and amounts thereof decided upon, according to the suitable and authentic testimony concerning the same, which order, as well as those subsequently made by the Board, was extensively circulated through the medium of the public newspapers. "The Second Session of the Board was held, agreeably to notice for that purpose given, and which session commenced on the 11th day of July 1831; and notwithstanding the Convention had been ratified for more than a year, and a large majority of the claimants had long before filed their claims in the Department of State, the Board had before them but 257 memorials, many of which were not received by the Board, but some of them were at subsequent meetings again presented for consideration, and were finally received. Upon disposing of all the business before them at this session, the Board adjourned to meet again on the third day of of October 1831, at which time it was found that there were 187 new memorials presented, making in all 444 up to that period. "After examining the new memorials, and recording those which had been presented at the previous meetings, the Board then determined to set down all the memorials for hearing and final decision, and gave notice to this effect in the usual manner, that the claimants might come prepared to sustain their claims. "At the Fourth session, which commenced on the ninth day of January 1832, the Board ascertained that 105 new memorials had been filed since the last adjournment; after preliminary disposal of which the Board proceeded to consider and decide all the cases which were ready for hearing, in pursuance to the notice previously given. The Board finding but a few cases ready for hearing, and that there had been great procrastination on the part of the claimants in furnishing the necessary proofs, thereupon adjourned to meet again on the 23rd day of April following. "The Board at the opening of their fifth session ascertained that 57 memorials had been filed during the last vacation. Those were all acted upon and preliminarily disposed of according to the rules which had been adopted. After having heard some of the principal questions pending before this Board discussed by eminent counsel, and acted upon all the cases ready for hearing, the Board adjourned to meet again on the first day of October following. "In consequence, however, of the indisposition of a majority of the Board, and of the epidemic which then prevailed at the city of Washington and other parts of the United States, one of the members of the Board repaired to Washington and adjourned the sitting of the Board to the 26th day of November following. "On that day the Board again assembled, and continued in session from time to time until they had disposed of all the cases that were ready for hearing. Even at this late date 20 new memorials were presented, received, and disposed of according to the rules of the Board. "Notice of the final session, to be held on the 1st day of March 1833 was given in the following order, which was published in the usual manner for the information of the claimants: "Ordered, that the Board of Commissioners had hoped to close the adjustment of claims under the Convention with Denmark during the present session, but having received several applications for re-hearing, and being anxious to afford to claimants every possible means of establishing |