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America’s First Constitutions and Declarations of Rights
or appropriated—of granting letters of marque and reprisal in times of
peace—appointing courts for the trial of piracies and felonies committed
on the high seas and establishing courts for receiving and determining
finally appeals in all cases of captures, provided that no member of Congress shall be appointed a judge of any of the said courts.
The United States in congress assembled shall also be the last resort on
appeal in all disputes and differences now subsisting or that hereafter
may arise between two or more States concerning boundary, jurisdiction
or any other cause whatever; which authority shall always be exercised
in the manner following: Whenever the legislative or executive authority
or lawful agent of any State in controversy with another shall present a
petition to Congress, stating the matter in question and praying for a
hearing, notice thereof shall be given by order of Congress to the legislative or executive authority of the other State in controversy, and a day
assigned for the appearance of the parties by their lawful agents, who
shall then be directed to appoint, by joint consent, commissioners or
judges to constitute a court for hearing and determining the matter in
question; but if they cannot agree, Congress shall name three persons out
of each of the United States, and from the list of such persons each party
shall alternately strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until the number shall be reduced to thirteen; and from that number not less than
seven, nor more than nine names as Congress shall direct, shall in the
presence of Congress be drawn out by lot, and the persons whose names
shall be so drawn or any five of them, shall be commissioners or judges,
to hear and finally determine the controversy, so always as a major part
of the judges who shall hear the cause shall agree in the determination;
and if either party shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, without
showing reasons which Congress shall judge sufficient, or being present
shall refuse to strike, the Congress shall proceed to nominate three persons out of each State, and the secretary of Congress shall strike in behalf
of such party absent or refusing; and the judgment and sentence of the
court to be appointed, in the manner before prescribed, shall be final and
conclusive; and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit to the authority
of such court, or to appear to defend their claim or cause, the court shall
nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence, or judgment, which shall in
like manner be final and decisive, the judgment or sentence and other