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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year eighteen hundred and thirty

four, by Jonathan Elliot, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court, for the District of Columbia.

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AS A MARK OF ESTEEM FOR HIS PUBLIC SERVICES AND PRIVATE WORTH,

BY HIS OBEDIENT SERVANT, AND FELLOW CITIZEN,

J. ELLIOT.

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PREFATORY OUTLINE

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THE PLAN OF THE AMERICAN DIPLOMATIC CODE.

The inconvenience of having our National Treaties and Conventions scattered through a number of volumes and pamphlets, must be felt by all those, who, from official duty, inclination, or interest, are led to consult the stipulations of our Diplomatic Code. It has, therefore, occurred to the compiler, that a complete collection, methodically arranged, and accurately printed, would be extremely useful and convenient, in examining or adjusting Treaty Engagements, or in comparing the provisions of one Convention with another; which heretofore could only be investigated by reference to various sources, not always accessible to public men, on the pressure of the moment. In thus endeavouring to abridge the labour of research, the compiler believes he

may have performed an acceptable service in the production of his Book of Treaties-a labour which our elevated rank in the family of Nations, and our extensive political and commercial intercourse, with various parts of the globe, evidently demands. In Great Britain, in France, and in most of the other governments of Europe, great care has been taken to gather and to preserve, in a distinct and convenient form, collections of treaties, comprehending vast and valuable bodies of International Law,

of paramount utility to the Negotiator and the Statesman, and both curious and interesting to the learned.*

If we may judge from the bulk of the materials, composing these volumes, we have already reached that period of our national existence when a similar labour ought to be performed, not only for ourselves, but for the benefit of other independent political societies, and of posterity.

In relation to the plan of this collection it was thought proper to arrange and print the Treaties of the United States, at large, under three distinct heads

First-The Treaties concluded between the United States, and the Nations of Europe, from 1778 to 1834:

Second-The Treaties, Conventions, and Agreements, concluded with the Barbary Powers; and with the Ottoman Porte:

And Third, the Treaties concluded with Mexico, and the New Nations of South America.

In this classification, chronological order, with each power, has been preserved: for instance, commencing with France, (the first nation with whom we had diplomatic intercourse) all our treaties with that nation, from '78 to the present time, have been inserted in the order of their dates; and those with other governments follow. In general, where treaties have been negotiated, in two languages, both are presented in opposite pages; not only for the satisfaction of those, who may find it necessary to consult a copy of the original, but also for the satisfaction of foreign ministers, who may prefer perusing these public instruments in that dress. It is important for another reason, to preserve both languages, in order that the reader may arrive at the literal meaning of doubtful stipulations, where difference

* See Note at the end of the introductory articles.

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