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WASHINGTON, George. Document signed ("G:o Washington") as President, endorsed and counter-signed by Timothy Pickering, Secretary of State, Philadelphia, 1 April 1796.
Oblong 4to, written in a clear, upright clerical hand, ON FINE PARCHMENT, papered Great Seal at lower left, slight abrasion to text along old folds, several tiny holes, otherwise in very good condition.
WASHINGTON IMPLEMENTS THE CONTROVERSIAL JAY TREATY
An important Presidential appointment by which Washington and Pickering appoint Christopher Gore and William Pinckney joint commissioners--as stipulated under Jay's Treaty-- to negotiate American spoliation claims arising from seizures and destruction of American vessels during hostilities between France and Britain. The use of such commissions was a turning point in the settlement of differences between nations, in recognition of the fact that the claims in question were too technical and numerous to be handled by treaty negotiators. The text observes that "complaints have been made by divers merchants and other citizens that...during the course of the war in which his Brittanic majesty was engaged, they have sustained considerable losses and damages...." In accordance with the 7th Article of the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation, and with the advice and consent of the Senate, Gore of Massachusetts and Pinckney of Maryland are named "commissioners with full powers" to meet and negotiate with their British counterparts.
In 1794 Chief Justice John Jay traveled to London as Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary on a special peace mission, which resulted in the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation with Britain. On the secret advice of Hamilton, Jay chose to acquiesce in British maritime measures for the duration of Britain's war with France in return for the British surrender of a frontier post in the Northwest and the establishment of a joint commission (two British, two American and one jointly named commissioner) to formally investigate and adjudicate American spoliation claims from maritime seizures. But to the disgust of President Washington, Jay's Treaty aroused stiff partisan opposition, and the Jeffersonian Republicans in the House effectively stalled its implementation. Although the treaty was ratified in 1795 and had gone into effect on 29 February 1796, the President was not able to make nominations until March. The formal commission--the present document--was finally signed on 1 April. When the two nations' commissioners met, in the summer of that year, a fifth commissioner, John Trumbull, was named. The task before these five men, though, proved to be far more complicated and time-consuming than anticipated, and it would take six years of hard negotiation before agreement on the spoliation claims was reached. American claimants ultimately received just over $10 million in reparations.
Oblong 4to, written in a clear, upright clerical hand, ON FINE PARCHMENT, papered Great Seal at lower left, slight abrasion to text along old folds, several tiny holes, otherwise in very good condition.
WASHINGTON IMPLEMENTS THE CONTROVERSIAL JAY TREATY
An important Presidential appointment by which Washington and Pickering appoint Christopher Gore and William Pinckney joint commissioners--as stipulated under Jay's Treaty-- to negotiate American spoliation claims arising from seizures and destruction of American vessels during hostilities between France and Britain. The use of such commissions was a turning point in the settlement of differences between nations, in recognition of the fact that the claims in question were too technical and numerous to be handled by treaty negotiators. The text observes that "complaints have been made by divers merchants and other citizens that...during the course of the war in which his Brittanic majesty was engaged, they have sustained considerable losses and damages...." In accordance with the 7th Article of the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation, and with the advice and consent of the Senate, Gore of Massachusetts and Pinckney of Maryland are named "commissioners with full powers" to meet and negotiate with their British counterparts.
In 1794 Chief Justice John Jay traveled to London as Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary on a special peace mission, which resulted in the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation with Britain. On the secret advice of Hamilton, Jay chose to acquiesce in British maritime measures for the duration of Britain's war with France in return for the British surrender of a frontier post in the Northwest and the establishment of a joint commission (two British, two American and one jointly named commissioner) to formally investigate and adjudicate American spoliation claims from maritime seizures. But to the disgust of President Washington, Jay's Treaty aroused stiff partisan opposition, and the Jeffersonian Republicans in the House effectively stalled its implementation. Although the treaty was ratified in 1795 and had gone into effect on 29 February 1796, the President was not able to make nominations until March. The formal commission--the present document--was finally signed on 1 April. When the two nations' commissioners met, in the summer of that year, a fifth commissioner, John Trumbull, was named. The task before these five men, though, proved to be far more complicated and time-consuming than anticipated, and it would take six years of hard negotiation before agreement on the spoliation claims was reached. American claimants ultimately received just over $10 million in reparations.