Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 35 Part 2.djvu/847

 2006 BOUNDARY CONVENTION—GREAT BRTTAIN. Arm:. 11, 1908. sioner, and the Commissioners so appointed shall jointly lay down upon accurate modern charts, to be prepared or adopted by them for that purpose, the line of boundary along the middle of the River St. Croix from its mouth to its source as efined and established by the existing treaty provisions and the (proceedings thereunder, above referred to, with the agreed understan mg, howeyer, that the line of boundary through said river shall be a water lme throughout and shall follow the center of the main channel or thalweg as naturally existing, except where such course would change, or disturb, or_ conflict with the national character of an island as already established by mutual recognition and acquiescence, in which case the lme shall pass on the other side of any such island, following the middle of the channel nearest thereto,- or, if the Commissioners find that the national character of any island is in dispute, the question of its nationality shall be submitted by them to their respective Governments, with a chart or map certified jointly by said Commissioners, showing the depth and volume of the water at its high and low stages between such island and the river banks on each side and indicati the course of the main channel of the river as it passes such together with a descriptive statement by said Commissioners showin the reasons for selecting such channel as the main channel; and in allgsuch cases the High Contracting Parties a that the location _ of the boundary with respect to each island in dispute shall be deter~ - mined and settled in accordance with the following rules: R¤l¤•· (1) The nationality of each island in dispute shall be determined by the predominance of the claims established on either side to such island, arising from the exercise of jurisdiction and sovereignty over it, including such exercise of jurisdiction by the local governments on either side of the line. (2) The burden of roving the nationality of any such island shall be upon the party seehing to change the general course of the boundary as above prescribed so as to include such island on its own side of the boundary. · (3) The selection by the Commissioners of the main channel passin such island shall not be conclusive upon the parties hereto and is subject to review, but the burden of proving the main channel to be oéher than the one selected shall be upon the party proposing the c an e. ,Hf§°'”‘.{}""'i'§Z{R’}{ Thi Government proposing such change in the prescribed course of promptly present to the other Government a printed statement. with certified copies of any original documents in its possession referred to therein, showing the grounds and arguments upon which its claim of jurisdiction and ownership with respect to such island rests. Unless an agreement is reached upon the presentation of such statement, the Government to which such statement is presented shall within six months after its receipt present in reply a similar statement showing the grounds and arguments upon which the claims of the other Government are contested. If an agreement is reached between the two Governments. it shall be reduced to writing in the form of a. protocol and shall be communicated to the said Commissioners, who shall proceed to lay down and mark the boundary so as to leave such island on the side of the boundary to which it is shown it belongs, in accordance with the determination of its nationality arrived at as aforesaid. m#i;;>;;;¤:ge¤; ¤P°¤ In the event of a failure by the two Governments to come to an ` agreement within six months after the presentation of the printed statements in reply herein above provided for, then the question of the nationality of the islands in dispute shall be referred forthwith for
 * 1******- the boundary shall, upon the submission of the question of the nationality of any island or islands by the Commissioners as aforesaid,