File No. 422.11G93/738.
Minister Hartman to the Secretary of State.
Quito, February 8, 1914.
Answering your February 7. Arbitrators met in the room of the Chamber of Deputies, January 19, and took official oath They met [Page 276] next day to consider and adopt rules of procedure, but did not agree. After this meeting, negotiations were carried on by exchange of notes. After eleven days, they finally disagreed upon the following points:
The Ecuadorian Arbitrator insisted that the arbitration should be conducted under Ecuadorian law; that there should be but one secretary to the tribunal; that no person but a citizen of Ecuador could legally act as such secretary; that one of the secretaries of the Second Court is the only proper person to be such secretary; that the proceedings should be conducted, and official record kept, only in the Spanish language, and that the original record be filed in the courts here; that no time limit be fixed for receiving testimony; that the Arbitrators had no right to require by rule the parties to present their claims on penalty of their being barred.
From all these contentions Judge Miller dissented.