THE NAUTICAL MAGAZINE. NEW SERIES. APRIL, 1873. ARBITRATION. "Look here, upon this picture, and on this." In our number for December, 1872, we expressed our opinion as to the good likely to result from international arbitration; and, if in the end Great Britain be bound to admit that our American cousins have got a million sterling out of us by the Geneva award, more than they ought to have obtained, it will prove nothing against the principles we advanced in December last. Although such a circumstance would prove nothing against international arbitration in the abstract, it would, however, point to something of great importance to the success of arbitration-viz., that claims presented in lump sums, claims got up in a slip-shod manner, are untrustworthy and suspicious, and it would. establish beyond dispute that the details of all claims set up by one nation against another should not be admitted in court unless first carefully criticised and settled and vouched for by the Government of the country preferring them. Unless this is done in future, the Government of the country preferring the claims for damage alleged to be done to its subjects, will be liable, at the very best, to a charge of slovenliness; and the Government paying them will be open to the charge of softness. We are led to make these remarks in consequence of a recent reperusal of two important Parliamentary Papers-one the correspondence that passed in the case of compensation paid for the British collier ships sunk by the Germans in the Seine; and the other VOL. XLII. T THE NAUTICAL MAGAZINE. NEW SERIES. APRIL, 1873. ARBITRATION. "Look here, upon this picture, and on this." In our number for December, 1872, we expressed our opinion as to the good likely to result from international arbitration; and, if in the end Great Britain be bound to admit that our American cousins have got a million sterling out of us by the Geneva award, more than they ought to have obtained, it will prove nothing against the principles we advanced in December last. Although such a circumstance would prove nothing against international arbitration in the abstract, it would, however, point to something of great importance to the success of arbitration-viz., that claims presented in lump sums, claims got up in a slip-shod manner, are untrustworthy and suspicious, and it would establish beyond dispute that the details of all claims set up by one nation against another should not be admitted in court unless first carefully criticised and settled and vouched for by the Government of the country preferring them. Unless this is done in future, the Government of the country preferring the claims for damage alleged to be done to its subjects, will be liable, at the very best, to a charge of slovenliness; and the Government paying them will be open to the charge of softness. We are led to make these remarks in consequence of a recent reperusal of two important Parliamentary Papers-one the correspondence that passed in the case of compensation paid for the British collier ships sunk by the Germans in the Seine; and the other VOL. XLII. T |